The Man (Puppet Boy Prequel)

4.

"WHY DO you wear that makeup on your face?"

Tommy stared at the beautiful girl in front of him. He observed the way the sun shimmered against her golden hair, and the way her tongue slipped between the gap in her missing teeth with each word she spoke.

Julie was eight years old, just like him, though with her maturity and beautiful floral dresses, she seemed a lot older. His heart swelled each time she ran across the grassy school yard at recess - he had never felt such a feeling towards anybody before.

Almost every day she asked him why he wore "clown" makeup. He would explain each time that it is puppet makeup, and it's because he is a puppet. She never seemed to understand, considering she asked constantly around the same time, but he didn't mind. He loved to hear her soft voice.

"It's because-" Tommy went to answer her question again, but was rudely interrupted when he was suddenly shoved from behind.

Tommy stumbled forward, furrowing his eyebrows in anger. He turned to find a few boys around his age standing before him. The one at the front of the group, Kevin, seemed to hate Tommy. Tommy never understood why, but he figured it was probably because he was jealous of his makeup.

Kevin had fire red hair, freckles coating his heavy set body, and a loud, unpleasant voice.

"Look everyone, it's the freak!" Kevin chuckled, his dark eyes laced with burning hatred. He shoved him again, and this time, Tommy fell to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Julie shouted over the laughter of the group while stepping in front of them. Tommy couldn't stop his heart from swelling again.

"Julie, come on! The kid's a freak, I don't even know why you talk to it," Kevin groaned.

Tommy frowned at his words, his fingers curling into the sun-baked pavement below him. He looked around desperately to find a teacher, but nobody was there, and he was far too embarrassed to call for help.

"Why is he a freak?" Julie asked, her small voice loud and angry. "You're the freak! Go away!"

Kevin turned to the group of small boys behind him and whispered something incoherent. A few of them inched over to Tommy, lifting him from the ground. Tommy struggled against their grips, but they all had hold of his shirt, pinning him against the brick building. He watched as the remaining few boys grabbed Julie's arms. Tommy struggled under the grip of the boys holding him down, desperately wanting to get to Julie.

"I'll get a teacher, Tommy!" Julie yelled as she was being pulled away.

Tommy stared in worry as she squealed at the boys, trying to punch and kick them away from her with all the strength her small body could muster.

Tommy was absolutely defenseless alone, and with Kevin closing in on him, he began to shake in the arms of the boys.

They all cackled, tightening their grips while Kevin planned his torture.

"You have something on your face. Let me get that," Kevin said, and began wiping the makeup off Tommy's face with his fingers. Tommy shook his head, trying to move away from him.

"Stop it, Kevin!" Tommy complained. "I'm going to get in trouble!" He didn't want his creator to be angry - the last time he went home without his makeup on, he got in big trouble. He had the marks from his punishment weeks later.

Kevin let out an obnoxious boom of laughter before he grabbed the front of Tommy's shirt and glanced at the boys holding onto him for approval.

"Should I do it?" he licked his lips, taunting Tommy.

They all let out tiny hollers of 'Go Kevin!' and 'Beat the shit out of the freak!' which, Tommy was in shock that people of such a young age were allowed to say that word.

Tommy felt sudden, hot tears roll down his cheeks, which only fueled Kevin. He heard a loud chorus of laughter just before his vision rocked and a dull pain filled his left eye.

As Kevin's chubby fist pulled back, he heard the pounding of the teachers' heels rushing over to them against the concrete. They scolded Kevin, pulling him off of Tommy. Tommy's vision was blurry, and the roar invading his ears disabled him from hearing any of the side conversations from the children lined up along the entrance of the school, watching as the teacher guided him back inside.

The second he stepped off the bus and wobbled up the driveway, he tried to anticipate what impending punishment he would be scolded with.

His face instantly heated and sweat beaded down his forehead, the hot spring sun only adding onto his stuffiness. His heart raced in his throat as he turned the doorknob and opened the door to the ramshackle house.

His father was standing right there when he opened it, startling Tommy. The second his father's eyes landed on the darkened flesh around Tommy's eye, he began to laugh at his son.

"I'm s-sorry, Dad," Tommy cried out, shaking his head as desperate tears fell from his eyes. His father instantly took his skinny arm between his fingers and dragged him towards the basement. "Dad!"

"Stop calling me that!" his father growled, pausing his mocking laughter. Tommy could hear the irritation laced through his rough tone. "I am not your father!"

Tommy couldn't stop sobbing. He tried to catch his breath, heavily sniveling as he grabbed onto the doorknob to stop his father from pulling him down the basement stairs.

"Let go of the door!" his father demanded, yanking his son's small body and detaching his fingers from the doorknob. Tommy begged and pleaded for mercy on the way down the stairs, crying so hard that he could barely catch his breath.

The woman that resembled his mother sat in the corner of the room, looking so frail and weak, staring at Tommy as he was shoved into the chair. The woman closed her eyes and shook her head, still mute from the duct tape that covered her lips.

She cried and screamed as she watched Tommy go through this torture, but that seemed to only motivate his father.

Tommy squeezed his eyes shut tight as he tried to picture something - anything that would make him forget about what was happening.

Julie.

And when his punishment finally ended, he did not feel deteriorated and wounded but instead, he felt a sensation of power and confidence. He stared at the puppets that dangled from the ceiling, their flesh grey and their eyes white, and after picturing Kevin as one of them, he felt a spark of happiness.

He had a plan.