It was a trap.

So yeah. Show of hands, who’s surprised?

At least Arkady seems to have enjoyed the opportunity to break some guy’s leg.

We headed into the woods around 11 figuring that if the sun was up it would lessen the chances of proxy fog ninjas launching sneak attacks. All joking and hindsight aside we did head out fairly early. Behind the building, just as in the dreams, we found a stone trimmed path into the trees which led to a shady clearing complete with a small picnic space, past the table and benches however the path continued into the woods.

We followed the path deeper and the rock markers started to slowly disappear, the trail transitioned into freshly tread grass and nothing else; the trees grew closer and taller until the sky was blackened by their branches and our pathway through the forest seemed more like a narrow twisting tunnel than anything else. And during all this I continued to step forward, I ignored the worrying signs of its world and led my friends farther and farther into those unworldly woods.

It took us hours to reach the fogline, much longer than a 3 mile or so walk should have taken… even if that walk was through knotted thickets and dim light. When we did finally reach the path’s end we found ourselves at an indentation into out prison’s barrier. It wasn’t large, maybe ten feet in diameter… a circle of clear air extending from the surface into the sky… a cracked and starry sky. Sitting on the very middle of the ring was a tear barely visible against the night. It emanated a sense of heightened gravity and colored my vision with hues that shouldn’t exist… it called back memories of the portal we found in the Astral Plane that led us into Onerios. It was exactly what I wanted to find though not at all what I expected… a way back into its domain.

You may think such a desire is insane… I really couldn’t care. It was a way back into the surreal Slenderland I’d experienced once before, a way back into the place that I’d found Sara and the little boy… and I’d come in through another door, one from the Astral Plane rather than this fragmented reality. Going into its lair might actually be the only way out of our cage.

Anyhow, we stood in awe of this half-existing beacon, surprised by its existence and more by its implications. Damien went to examine it while Arkady, Henry, and JD just gawked. I tried to traverse it but Henry held me back… he got a smack to the face as a result too. Our fascination was interrupted though when Arkady started laughing and pulled his blunted sword… while we were distracted a group of masked goons found their way to us. The path back to the hotel had closed and after a brief struggle the five of us were forced into the fog…

It’s a terrible thing to be lost alone in heavy fog, being unable to see the way ahead while wandering in the darkness. To listen intently at snapping twigs and trampled leaves, feeling something follow behind you, anticipation of the end that never comes. That is what my life has become… and that’s all it was to walk through the fog. Life without distraction.

I'm back at the hotel now though, most of the others have made it out as well, though Henry and JD are trying to lead Arkady out. Blogger is trying to tell me we were in there for days but I'm not sure I believe it... anyhow that doesn't matter right now. The only things that matter right now are the fact we've found a way in and possibly out, and that Arkady is going to have a great big smile on his face when he comes out of that fog.

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