Honey I'm Home
Chapter 3- Honey I’m Home
Finding the child had been a lot harder than Helen had expected it to be.
At first, he didn’t know why Slender assigned this job to him as it was usually Masky who collected the new creeps. The man was a better tracker by far and could handle any sort of crazy that came at him. Helen was but an anti-social painter who, while powerful enough to subdue victims, wasn’t the best at handling the ever changing moods of those who had just snapped.
It took seven (7) months for Helen to find the disturbed individual Slender wanted to recruit. It was like the child had dropped off the face of the earth, the only evidence of them was the charred remains of Number 4, Privet Drive. According to the file he was given, this was where the child had resided when he snapped and set the house a light with his family inside. The child had vanished soon after, only resurfacing that September to kill a red clad woman before disappearing again. The only reason Helen was able to find them, was because it had started to snow.
Helen hated the snow.
The poor thing was shivering, their lips turning an icy blue, as Helen approached. Once they got close enough, Helen crouched down with his worn duffle bag.
“Hello there.” The child opened their eyes. They were a bright, almost glowing green, but the most jarring part was their slitted pupils. Once blue met green, Helen knew why The Slenderman sent him. “I’m here to help you.”
He reached into the bag to pull out the jacket they had started bringing once the temperature dropped. It was a spare that belonged to no one in particular. Helen held it out and the child eyed it with great suspicion. As they uncurled from the fetal position, a black snake came out from under the collar of the black turtle neck they wore. It let out a few hisses, and only then did the child reach for him. Helen, upon seeing their frosted finger tips, gently pulled them into his arms while wrapping the jacket around their cold, wet body.
“I’m going to have to carry you. You are too cold.” They shifted the child and snake to their hip, grabbed the red backpack he assumed belonged to the kid, and made his way back through the forest. The mansion wasn’t to far, but they still walked quickly so they could get the too small child in his arms medical attention.
Then the child squirmed closer, and Helen had to jostle them a bit to keep them awake.
“You cannot sleep now. Not until you are warm.” The child whined at this, but said nothing. They found their voice after a little more walking.
“Who are you?” They wheezed. Voice scratchy from frost and underuse.
“My name is Helen.” He replied. Seeing the opportunity to keep the child awake until E.J. could look them over, they asked a question as well. “What is yours?”
“Freak” The snake hissed, “This Flame.”
Helen hummed in reply, although they doubted that the child caught it. Luckily they soon arrived at the mansion.
“Where are we?” Asked the newly named Freak.
“Home.” Helen answered, making his way to the door.
The mansion was meant as a safe haven for Slenderman’s proxies, or those he intended to recruit. That was the main reason anyone joined the being. The Slenderman offered protection, shelter from the elements, and a space where they could truly let go. In return they bound themselves to him, spreading his game, bringing him prey, and completing the missions he gave them. It wasn’t the most glamorous place to live, some of the walls were rotting and the roof was caved in in some places, but it truly was home for those that stayed full time.
They made their way inside, quickly locating the basement that E.J had converted into an infirmary. Luckily, the demon was already there looking through his coolers for something to eat. He lifted his head once he heard Helen approach.
“Helen, set the new one on the cot. I’ll adjust the heater.” Helen did exactly that. Although the child did not want to let go.
“Freak, please. You need medical attention, so my… friend needs to look you over.” The little one whined a bit, but eventually let go. E.J came back with a warm blanket, some spare clothes, and a hot drink.
“I won’t be able to examine them until they are warmer. You should report to Slender now. I will stay with them.” Helen was hesitant, but Slender didn’t like to be kept waiting so they made their way to the beings office. The office was in the back, the farthest away from the residents. He rarely interacted with the creeps, unless it was to give missions and receive reports. Upon walking in he was hit with the beings smothering aura.
‘Helen Otis, have you found the child?’ The staticky voice filled his mind, making it hard to think.
“Yes, they are with Eyeless Jack in the infirmary right now.”
‘Good. You will take care of them.’
Helen’s first instinct was to argue. He wasn’t fit to take care of a child, especially not one so young. But somewhere deep in his mind, he could feel their connection. Helen nodded.
‘Good.’ They were dismissed.
Once out the door, Helen made their way back to Freak, Flame, and E.J. The child was sound asleep, snake coiled on the pillow next to them.
“What did Slender say?” E.J asked.
“I am to take care of them.” Helen looked Freak over as E.J studied them. “I don’t know how to raise a child.”
E.J tilted his head.
“I’m sure you will do fine. The others will help. I will help. You are not alone.” The demon reassured, then went to go gather the tools he would need for Freaks exam. Helen sat next to them on the cot, seeing the child stir.
“Helen?”
“Yes?”
“Why am I here?”
“I will explain, but first we need to check your health.” The child was hesitant. “I will stay with you.” They soothed.
He sat Freak up as E.J walked back over. The grey man reached for them, making Freak flinch away.
“I will not hurt you, I only wish to make you healthy.” Jack reassured. Freak, while still seemingly hesitant, allowed the other to come closer.
The exam went smoothly, with E.J making sure to explain exactly what he was doing. The child was an oddity. To match the slitted eyes they had sharp fangs and a split tongue. Upon farther examination, they discovered the Jakobson organ that allowed for animals like snakes to “smell” with their tongues. They had a number of scars, the worst being the word FREAK carved into their upper back. When asked about it Freak only replied,
“I did something freaky.”
They found other injuries as well, such as the severe nerve damage done to their hands. The nerve endings had been burned off, leaving very little feeling, and the pain receptors were completely nonfunctional. Helen made a mental note to keep an eye on it, lest Freak hurt themself and not realize.
Once completed, E.J began to draw up a treatment plan. The hardest problem to fix would be the malnutrition. While the demon was busy, Freak seemed to feel comfortable asking questions.
“Are you a girl or a boy?” Helen blinked, surprised that was the first question that came to the child’s mind.
“I am male, but I don’t view myself as anything. I simply exist.” He replied. The other seemed confused, but after some hisses from the snake they seemed to understand.
“What do I call you?”
“You can call me anything you like, I don’t care. But Helen is my name.” They nodded.
“When can I leave?” Helen blinked.
“There is someone who wants to speak with you when you are well, it would be best for you to stay until then, but nothing is keeping you here.” Freak just stared, studying Helen. Before they could get any farther, Jack came back with a bowl of soup and pouch of what Helen assumed was some sort of nutrient potion mixed with blood. E.J always put new, non-cannibal, creeps on it if they would be staying, in order to help them adapt to his cooking. Jack was the only one who was trusted enough to make full meals, but he tended to use human meat as it was usually available and cut down grocery costs.
“Eat slow, it won’t settle properly if you eat too fast.” Freak eyed the bowl, occasionally flicking up to the two (2) proxies, before taking the provided spoon. Their eyes never left the others, the entire time he ate.
Helen knew it would take a while for the child to be relatively trusting of the others, but he had an uncharacteristic hope that Freak would be able to make this place home.