Puppet Boy

14.

TYLER'S EYES weakly opened to find that he was laying beneath an overwhelmingly bright light. If he hadn't felt his heart slowing, and his vision wasn't gradually darkening, he would've thought he had finally died.

He couldn't find the energy to form a single thought or to even feel curious as to where he was. He didn't feel the usual anxiety that bubbled up inside him when he would find himself in a new place and he wasn't shaking in fear while awaiting what new form of torture was about to come.

He was close to death and he didn't mind. In fact, he enjoyed the feeling before his demise.

Something inside of him was continuing to hold onto his life by a thread so frayed it could snap at any given moment. He couldn't seem to understand why.

"I knew you were actually alive, my sick little Puppet Boy. That's not funny," The Man deadpanned, chuckling to himself in a voice that was no longer frightening to Tyler. "I knew you would reveal your joke when I told you I would operate on you. Are you scared?"

Tyler's eyelids were only opened to slits when The Man held a sharp, glistening tool up to him. He wasn't scared of it.

His memory trailed back to when he was six and skimmed his knee on the cement while playing with one of his friends. He ran instantly to his mother, who had been in the kitchen making dinner at the time. His mother, with golden hair that resembled silk and sparkling blue eyes, happily took him in her arms and kissed his tear-filled cheek. She bandaged him with superhero bandages to distract him from his pain, and told him that he would be alright.

He could only imagine how she would react if she could have seen him in his current condition.

A single, isolated tear slipped down his cheek - a tear that he didn't even know he had left in him - and he began to laugh. He snickered feebly under his breath as The Man angrily cursed and rummaged through metal tools beside him.

"Stop it! Stop!" The Man bellowed, but Tyler ignored him. "I said stop!"

He continued to chuckle weakly, ignoring his arid throat and the pounding pressure behind his forehead.

"You'll regret this," The Man's gravelly voice reminded him, his tone filled with spite. Tyler kept his vision trained ahead, his eyes focusing in and out on the bright light that swung above him.

He didn't bother to struggle or protest. He let his eyes flutter shut and the weak smile on his face fade. The second the sharp blade perforated Tyler's flesh, he was gone.

The Man grinned, staring at the blade as it sliced into his thin leg and cut him open. Blood poured out, coating the table in dark crimson which he practically bathed in, taking it in his bare hands while chuckling maniacally.

He took his blood soaked hand and gently brought it to his puppet's peacefully departed face, dragging his fingertip down his overly-prominent jawline. His hand shook as he stared at the trail of blood.

"Oh, I am sorry. I ruined your makeup. I will have to cover that up." He smiled beneath his mask. "My beautiful Puppet Boy... you are going to be so beautiful for the audience. They're going to love you," he whispered, warm tears falling down his cheeks. "I know that they will. They always love my performances."

The man proceeded to use a bone chisel to cut into his puppet's knee.

Strange. Usually he would hear a scream of protest, which would normally motivate him to continue inflicting pain on his puppet.

When he noticed that his puppet still wasn't reacting, he sighed. "Puppet Boy, I know you are angry with me, but can you please just tell me how excited you are to perform?"

He looked at his puppet, the scent of his open flesh and the sight of his metallic blood coating the table and dripping onto the floor gave him a rush of excitement.

"Answer me!" he yelled to him.

He began to shake as his Puppet Boy continued to ignore him. Why wasn't he answering? He couldn't possibly be angry at The Man, for all The Man was doing was making him into a beautiful puppet, and Puppet Boy wanted that all along.

"Answer me! God damn it!" The Man screamed, but his puppet was silent. "Stop ignoring me!"

He grabbed his Puppet Boy by his shoulders and slammed him down on the metal table harder. He looked around the dark operation room frantically. "Why wont you talk to me?"

"Please!" he sobbed. He angrily grabbed the bruised throat of his puppet and squeezed, noticing it was a little colder than usual.

"What is wrong with you, my beautiful Puppet Boy? Are you just nervous before the big show? It's okay if you are... I am too. I'm sure Puppet Girl is also."

He shook his head, noticing that his puppet was still failing to answer him. He just continued to remove the bone of Puppet Boy's knee for a better, more fluid look to his limbs.

"You know, Puppet Boy," he said casually.  "When my creator made me a beautiful puppet many years ago, I was so respectful. I never disobeyed him like this, not once. I admired my creator, which is why I had to continue his legacy."

He pulled his mask off, setting it on the table beside him and pressing his lips to his puppet's pale forehead. "I still love you, Puppet Boy. And I know that you are still alive. And I know that you will feel the same that I do about my creator one day."

He brought his fingers down his puppet's thin chest, leaving bloody fingerprints along his flesh before stopping at his heart. He let his trembling palm press against it, feeling no heartbeat.

"Puppet Boy...?" he whispered.

"No... no..." he breathed frantically, shaking his head. "No, you're alive. You have to be alive! I thought that Puppet Girl fixed you!" he screamed, angrily smashing his fist on the small table with all the tools set on it. "Why do they always die?" he cried out.

The tools flew off the table, clinking to the hard floor obnoxiously. The Man angrily hit his fist against his head to try and stop the noise before grabbing his mask and sliding it over his face. He breathed in relief once the tools had finally stopped falling.

He glided the back of his hand against the dip of his puppet's cheek bone. "Don't worry, I am going to fetch Puppet Girl right away," he sniffled frantically. "I knew she was jealous of the attention I gave you. She won't get away with letting you die. She won't!" he bawled.

So he left Puppet Boy alone on the table, determined to find his beautiful Puppet Girl and bring her to the same fate.

_

rip :''(