Puppet Boy

2.

THE MAN woke Tyler up by shoving him to the ground in a new room. The room was isolated and empty, the sound of water dripping to the ground clear and echoing off the narrow walls.

Tyler's limbs were still bound but he no longer had duct tape over his mouth. He was free to scream, free to do anything he possibly could to get somebody to hear him. He had no idea where he was, but he held on to the little shred of hope buried within him.

"Help!" Tyler screamed. It was a desperate and raspy scream, which made the masked man swing his foot back and kick his rib cage with all the strength he had. Tyler inhaled sharply and doubled over, coughing as his face pressed against the cold floor.

"Fuck," Tyler groaned in pain.

"Excuse me, Puppet Boys do not swear," The Man said, pointing his finger at Tyler.

"My name isn't Puppet Boy!" Tyler yelled out, having to painfully force his voice out because of how much his ribs hurt. He could barely breathe, as each intake of breath was paired with a sharp, searing pain that spread throughout his upper body.

"Shut up, or I will put the tape back over your mouth. You're in the middle of nowhere," The Man reminded him, raising his voice. "Nobody will find you. Nobody will hear you. All you're doing is wasting your breath, and you need that breath to say your lines for the showcase coming up!"

The Man clapped his hands together excitedly.

Tyler lifted his head before putting it back on the floor and sighing heavily. "If..." he took a breath. "If you let me go... I, I won't tell anybody. I promise, just, please," he pleaded.

For a second, Tyler thought he was getting a positive reaction from his sick abductor. The Man tilted his head in thought, and Tyler's heart leaped at the possibility of being released. He was surely mistaken, though, because The Man only chuckled and kicked his stomach with an intense amount of force.

Tyler huffed, hunching over on the dirty and wet ground again.

"You know, it hurts my feelings that you want to leave me so much," The Man said, staring down at Tyler and watching him struggle in pain beneath his feet. "I created you, you should be grateful. I even found you a beautiful Puppet Girl to love you whenever you need."

Tyler continued to heave for air as he noticed The Man walking towards the doorway.

"Introducing, your wife, Puppet Girl!" The Man announced, and Tyler opened his eyes to find a terrified girl about his age standing there.

Her raven coloured hair was long and knotty and her white, knee-length dress was covered in smudges of dirt, as well as her thin arms. She was, of course, wearing the exact same ridiculous makeup as Tyler was, except hers was specially complete with extra long eyelashes painted onto her eyelids. She had strings glued to her hands and feet too, and she looked traumatized as she stared down at Tyler. Her hands were tied behind her back, her feet also tied together and her lips were covered with duct tape.

A few tears fell from her scared eyes.

"Puppet Girl, meet Puppet Boy. He will be your husband, and you will perform together," The Man said, clapping again. The sound was loud and echoed off the walls of the room. "This is going to be so much fun, my beautiful Puppets."