Puppet Boy

4.

THE MAN brought them through a mysterious hallway. Tyler tried his best to evaluate his surroundings - the putrid stench of mold in the hall, the way the walls seemed way too narrow, the dirty brick and the flickering lights that occasionally hung from each section.

He glanced quickly over to Emily who was staring at the ground, her glittering tears visible even in the weak lighting.

"I'm so very excited," The Man told the two of them, leading them through the winding hallway that seemed as if it were going to nowhere.

Tyler tried to identify the hair colour of The Man that poked through the bottom of his mask; it seemed like it could have been brown or black. He observed the way The Man's heavy set body filled out the dark sweater vest he was clad in, and the short length of his black pant covered legs. He did anything he could to catch onto details of the abductor's appearance because, if they did escape, he wanted to make sure the correct guy was caught.

"I don't hear you guys telling me you're excited too," The Man said after a while.

Tyler truly thought that if he tried to speak, the foul scent of the hall would cause him to vomit. Luckily, The Man didn't push on the subject of their silence that time.

The Man stopped at a heavy, metal door that he used a key to unlock. Tyler looked over at Emily again who seemed very pale - her makeup was smudged all around her face and her body was slouched.

When The Man opened the door, the most horrifying scent of copper mixed with decaying flesh filled Tyler's senses, and Emily instantly vomited onto the floor beside her. Tyler had to tighten his lips to prevent himself from doing the same.

Their captor stopped in his tracks, turning to the both of them before staring at Emily.

"You are a filthy, disgusting whore," he told her, his voice filled with anger. "That is disgusting!" he suddenly belted out, grabbing her by her hair and throwing her into the room.

Tyler desperately looked down both ends of the halls, but strangely, they seemed to fade into a black nothing. There was no sign of any escape. Panic instantly set in, and his breath was short as The Man grabbed his tied wrists and walked him into the room.

The room was pitch black as well, but the feeling of it seemed a lot colder and more spacious. The Man guided Tyler a little farther into the room, pushing him into a chair beside Emily.

A light flicked on, and they realized they were seated in front of rows of chairs filled with terrifying, wooden puppets. It was like something out of a nightmare.

Tyler searched around for any sign of dead bodies that matched the stench of the environment, but there was nothing. He soon noticed splatters of blood on the slate grey walls which instantly filled his arms with goosebumps. The more he stared at it with horror, the more the copper scent of the blood filled his senses, and the more he worried that his might be next.

One of the dolls suddenly slumped out of the chair, a clown with beady eyes, and The Man worriedly rushed over to it.

"Oh my goodness, Sir, are you okay?" The Man asked, taking the clown puppet and placing it back in the chair. The Man breathed in relief. "Oh, good," he said, as if the clown had answered back to him.

Tyler was beyond confused. This guy was absolutely psychotic, capable of anything.

"This is your audience," The Man said to Emily and Tyler, gesturing towards the rows of ethnically coloured, beady-eyed puppets staring at them. The Man clapped a few times, jumping up and down like a child viewing presents beneath a Christmas tree, while Tyler just watched in utter shock.

"Listen to them applaud you, do you guys hear it?" he asked loudly, as if he were actually talking over an applause.

Tyler's heart lifted to his throat. This man couldn't be serious - did he actually think the dolls were alive?

"Our wonderful audience is going to watch as you both prepare for the show. Unfortunately," he turned his back to Emily and Tyler, talking to the audience of puppets. "Puppet Boy and Puppet Girl have embarrassed themselves and me by smudging their makeup. But do not fret, they will be fixed up for their performance."

Emily was staring at Tyler with wide, tear-filled eyes. He couldn't stand the scent of the room, and he could tell by the way she paled with each inhale that she felt the same.

"Now, my beautiful Puppet Boy and Puppet Girl, we have to make sure you really get into character." The Man laughed maniacally, walking behind the both of them. Tyler tried to crane his neck to see what the man was doing, but to no avail.

His heart pounded rapidly, a loud roar of anticipation filling his ears.

When The Man returned in front of them, he was holding up a tall syringe filled with a dark liquid. He squirted the liquid a little bit, stepping towards Tyler.

Tyler's heart practically stopped, and his breath was gone. He tried to move from the chair but he couldn't, he was in too much shock to do anything.

"Wait, wait, please," Tyler begged, his voice hoarse and pleading. "Please, I..."

The Man knelt in front of Tyler, grabbing Tyler's arm. "Oh, don't you know, Puppet Boy? Puppets do not control their limbs. I control their limbs. Me - the creator of you."

Tyler threw his head back, tears of anger and frustration filling his eyes. "Please, oh God, please," he begged, but his pleads were deemed useless as he soon felt the needle press into his flesh.

Emily sobbed loudly again.

"Shut up, you whore!" The Man yelled. "I am very angry with you today, Puppet Girl. You are so irritating!"

Tyler lost all feeling in his arm. He couldn't move it, it was too numb - he had to look down at it to make sure it was even still attached to him. He didn't even bother to ask what the mysterious dark liquid was.

"Puppet Boy, you are surprisingly behaved right now," The Man praised, pressing the needle into his other arm before moving to his legs. "That's what a little discipline will do. Right?"

Tyler bit his lip and screwed his eyes shut. It didn't feel real. Each second that passed felt more and more like a nightmare he couldn't wake up from.

The Man moved to Emily, who screamed and moved and cursed at The Man. Tyler didn't watch him angrily punish Emily for protesting, but he could hear him slap her.

Her cries silenced.

The Man's footsteps paced against the floor while he chuckled under his breath. "One step closer to a beautiful Puppet Show."

_

dedicated to @ShadyGrim because they really helped me improve in writing horror :)