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I stayed tranquil, listening to what he had to say. I hardened my body and expressions with as much control as I had, my mouth began to dry in leaving me dried.

"(Y/N), I have noticed that bullying has been getting worse since you've started (your grade). I wanted to know if your parents had known about it?" He looked concerned but I didn't say anything to ease his worrying. My mother wasn't the most, how do I say this- Well, she isn't concerned about my wellbeing or rather not be concerned at all. He sighed in frustration, probably knowing I won't answer. After a minute or two of just awkward silence, he walked up to the door to his office. My eyes stayed on him as he did so, opening the door, he gestures his hand in a motion that meant I was free to go.

"Come back if there are any other problems with them, your free to leave early since it's Friday and your clothes-"

"Thank you, sir." I cut him off and dashed for the door, getting out of the place I call hell and heading to the road that separated the school from the woods. There was a pathway leading to my house, I usually go that way so I could get to my house faster.

As I strolled in the woods, a sudden chill went down my spine. But, it wasn't a chill like when you're cold, it was more like a bad feeling. A kind of presence was felt from behind me, I turned around to see a figure walking towards me in the distance. I had to squint my eyes to make out the figure. It was a person, but who? was it someone I knew or just my imagination? Of course, it's not my imagination. This thing was walking right for me and getting closer by the minute if I didn't do something quickly.

I started to drive farther into the forest, still eyeing the figure and taking glances up ahead so I didn't trip. The gods must have hated me because when I took one last look at the figure, I tripped with my foot getting caught in a hole. My brain turned all my nerves to panic-mode at the thought of that person getting any closer, as soon as I was off the ground, I ran for it.

I could feel my knees shaking from running so much today, wheezes puffed out into the air and an almost clear cloud formed. The person began to chase, I could hear them getting closer and closer with increasing speed. I picked up the speed as well, soon, my house was in sight. A smile formed on my dried lips from the autumn wind.

"Get away from me!" My voice was dry and it hurt my throat from lack of moisture, I could barely speak without my lips cracking.

Chuckles arose from behind me, it was deep and ghostlike. But that's impossible, ghosts aren't real. I made it into my yard and opened the door, turning around to shut the door but only to see nothing behind me. This day couldn't get any worse, oh wait, yes it could. I shut the door and locked it, still looking out into the woods to see if it went back into them or if it was hiding. I walked a little farther inside, looking inside the kitchen then the living room. No sign of mom anywhere.

"Anyone home!?" I yelled at the 'assumed-to-be' empty house, I sighed. Mom must be working again, figures. My mind trailed off as I walked up the stairs and into my bedroom, it's (f/c) walls welcoming me. I perched at my desk and did my homework for Monday so I didn't have to do it later. My phone goes off suddenly, my eyes read over the big bold letters.

I didn't want to talk to her, not once ever but, I had no choice and read the text from her.

I'm going out drinking with a friend, cleaning the house while I'm gone. Not going to be home until tomorrow night, have the house clean by then.

I read the text, knowing something like this would happen. My mom wasn't the soberest parent ever since dad left us, mom went into drinking while leaving me alone by myself most of the time. I sighed, reading the message again before setting it face down on the desk. Turning to the photos on my desk, I look over the pictures. Pictures of Dad, Mom, and I sit there within still frames. Our smiling faces made me hate my family, my eyes began to stream.

"Damn it..." I wiped the tears from my face, slamming the photo facing down. I put my head on the desk, hiding it within my arms while weeping.

"I'm pathetic, here I am crying because of some stupid picture. I should be used to it..." I trailed off, an idea appeared in my head abruptly. I got up from my desk, backing the essentials into a backpack I had since middle school. When I finished, I started down the stairs and to the door but before, I grabbed some food to last a week and shoved it into my bag. Opening the door and closing it behind me, a small smirk on my face.

I decided to stay at a log cabin that I found just a week ago while I was walking around to avoid my mother's wrath. After eating a snack, I noticed that it was getting darker out which provoked me to walk faster to avoid mishaps like earlier. Maybe I could stay there until my mom sends a search party for me, suspecting I had been kidnapped or killed. It probably won't be until my mom gets tired of cleaning the house or she can't find any friends to hang out with.

The log cabin has been cozy ever since I came here, today I was just reading a book when I heard something come from outside. It's 1 a.m., who is outside at this time. I've always been a night owl and stayed up late and this particular book was very interesting, it's (Fav. Book). I shifted off the chair I was sitting on and over to the front door, opening it a smidge to just get a glimpse of the outside. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I turned to look around the area, a few growls and thumps were present.

I yelped at the sounds, knowing full well that these were no animals. Yes, it could be animals but it sounded more like a person mimicking an animal. I built up my courage to go out and check around to make sure no one was hurt, grabbing a flashlight before heading out into the night.

"H-hello?" I spoke out with an inside voice, no answer. So, I decided to speak again but louder. Something stopped me though, something grabbed my ankle which sent a wave shock through my body. I crashed to the ground and dropped my flashlight, my body was now frozen in fear. My eyes tried to adjust to the dark while my mind raced with fear, I stared down to see a gray hand on my ankle. My eyes widen, my body now trembling in horror. It's probably just my eyesight being tricked by the dark, it can't be their actual skin color.... right?

Trying to get up was a challenge as the hand held me down with immense strength, there was a growl. My mind played back to when I was at the cabin, this was the noise I heard earlier. I glanced back to get a good look at the stranger's face but all I met with was a mask, a dark navy blue blob. My mind went blank, all it told me to do was run. Suddenly, a voice broke the silent pants and growls between the two of us.

"" I directed my attention up to see a dark figure, the only thing I could see was bright red eyes and horns the size of my head. Now, there were three. It stood tall enough to be mistaken for a tree if it stayed still enough, a knot caught in my throat. This can't be happening, this isn't real. No one is this tall in real life, I must be dreaming, yeah, dreaming. The creature clutching my ankle tightened their grip to a painful one, I whimpered and squirmed in discomfort.

"Zal... g.. o." It uttered, it was male. I could determine by the voice and body structure. His voice was croaky and hesitant like he hasn't spoken in a while.

"" The creature who I now knew was named Zalgo smiled at the mention of his name, my eyebrows furrowed. I- I knew that name from somewhere, but I couldn't quite figure it out.

"" His voice, raspy and distant-sounding was like a fork scraping against a dinner plate. I didn't want anyone to die, not because of me. I didn't even care if I didn't know this person or if something happened to me, I couldn't let him kill this guy, not on my watch.

"No... " I muttered, getting up and moving in front of the guy. He still held onto my ankle and now, I could feel bruises forming. I put my arms out to stop Zalgo from advancing any closer. My eyes met his, there was a silence that rushed over the forest, no animals or wind blowing. He suddenly bellowed into laughter, what a fuck-nut. at least I was trying.

"" He wiped away an imaginary tear from his eye, glancing at the guy before retreating to me. I didn't know how to answer, I took a risk by looking back to the guy I was protecting. His face was directed up to mine, the mask he was wearing had black eye holes leaking a tar-like substance out of the sockets from what I could tell.

Also, I noted that he was wearing black everything while his hood hung over his head so I could see his hair. He indeed looked creepy and distrust worthy, he might have done something to me if we were alone.

"I'm not going to watch a person get hurt, not when I could have done something. No one's life is worthless, regardless of their crime." I bellowed in my fakest brave voice, the feeling of death creeping up on me was disturbing but I stood my ground. Body shaking uncontrollably, the urge to run was at its peak but I didn't budge.

"" He leaned down closer to my face before whispering to me.

"" He stood straight and wandered away from us, my body gave out. The ground welcomed me with a hard landing, knees bruised as well as my ankle. I did it, I saved someone's life.

My eyes fluttered shut as I got more and more tired from the recent encounter, the situation now weighing me down. I turned to look at the man but was abruptly pounced on and pinned to the ground, I could hear a hiss come from his throat. I didn't even fight back, I knew what I was doing when I saved him. Even if he didn't want to kill me, I knew I would have asked beforehand.

My eyes opened to slits, tears flowing down my cheek. The hands tighten around my wrists with an iron grip as I wept. Such a weak state to be in front of a killer, I couldn't stop though. They just kept coming, my head throbbed and eyes swelled red. I muttered out three words before passing out.

"Kill me... please-"