By Gisele Anagnost, TIWP Student

After all of these years, it just couldn’t be. Oh the terrors that everyone went through ruining their own sanity in the process. And now She was coming back, turning everyone’s darkest nightmares into reality. Everyone thought that they had made sure that this would never happen again. They sacrificed many things to make sure that She wouldn’t, but we were all wrong. It is too late now, She has already begun…

***

“BRRIINGG!!!” Holly Parker bolted upwards and instinctively reached to her nightstand to shut her alarm off. But today it wasn’t on her nightstand, instead it was in the adorable paws of her pet cat, Katniss. Holly slowly crawled out of bed savoring every last moment in it, knowing that today could be the day that she would die. The whole entire world was in lockdown, every person wondering when it would be their time to die. Wondering if She would be the one to kill them, and when She would….

No known person had survived her attacks, blood all over the place when the authorities finally arrived at the gruesome crime scenes, but She’s never there. The person/s who were killed are completely shredded and bloodied until there are just bones and rotting flesh. It terrorized everyone to know that this might happen to them. After every attack the authorities got even more desperate, they needed information about Her but none was ever found. Except for today…

***

I bent down to pick up Katniss, slipped my warm slippers onto my very cold feet, and headed into the living room for boring old cornflakes. It was the only food we had to eat anymore, either that or lots of chewy cow tongue for breakfast. I poured the stale cereal into a rusty, dirty bowl and switched on the news. There had been another attack, but something was off, and the authorities looked almost happy when they went to inspect, so I turned up the volume on the TV. The reporter was saying that they had finally found something at the crime scene, but it was only a small parcel. They refused to open the package in public and moved to the nearest police station. By that point I was on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what was in the small parcel. But something felt off, like that parcel was set there for a reason, but what was that reason? But then it finally dawned on me. It was all set up, and it was a trap…

I quickly scrambled to my feet and grabbed Katniss, we needed to get somewhere safe and out of danger. Somewhere that She wouldn’t be able to find us. But first we had to get mom. My dad was attacked about a week ago by Her. We found his body right after She had left but he was already dead. My Mom still cried all of the time, wishing that she had been the one, but I have cried too much. It was time to be brave and just to survive. I ran to my mom’s room in the RV and barged inside. But when I got inside it was not what I was expecting at all. My mother was in her bed, but she was just a corpse, a bloody, shredded corpse of my mother. My mother didn’t deserve this, today was her birthday, but also the end of her. But I had another matter to attend to. She was just here, and She was still nearby. Tears stung in my eyes, threatening to spill over. I am now an orphan with nowhere to go or run. She was here for me…

Katniss, who had been meowing on the floor and looked almost as sad as me suddenly jumped upwards like something had startled her. I frantically looked around the room for anything that could’ve frightened her, but there was just blood, a complete mess of furniture and my whole life. I went towards Katniss, trying to figure out what was going on, but she hissed at me and arched her back. And that’s when I heard it. “Good Kitty, come to mama, that’s right.” I jumped backwards only to knock into a human-sized, knife-holding, bloody doll…

I screamed, terrified of the monster towering over me. “Don’t be afraid little girl, I just want to play with you. FOREVER!”

I scrambled to my feet and over to the doorway, but Katniss was already there hissing and scratching at me. “What is wrong with you Katniss? Move out of the way right now!”

“She won’t listen to you,” says the doll. She only listens to me because I am her mama.”

I looked at Katniss, feeling betrayed. Could this really be true? Was my beloved kitty actually working for this murderer? I felt tears streaking down my face. If we had never adopted this cat both of my parents would still be alive, and probably many more.

“Oh little girl, there is no need to be afraid, but your heart might be a very tasty meal for me. I assume that you have seen how I feed on my victims.”

By that point I was completely shaking. This doll was going to kill me and there was nothing that I could do about it. Before I even knew what I was doing, I jumped over Katniss and ran towards the door.

“You can run but you cannot hide little girl. My fellow dolls and I will find you and then your heart will be mine. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into your flesh.”

I screamed again, a loud shriek of terror, and I ran to the door of the RV with the doll hot on my tail. She was talking again, her porcelain jaw clicking open and closed, and the razor-sharp teeth making me shiver. “Soon my dolls will arrive and you will be a trapped little girl. Enjoy your life and freedom while you still have it.”

I ran even faster, but the doll was gaining on me and I knew that it wouldn’t be long before she completely got me in her ice-cold clutches. It really was my last morning in my bed that I would never see it again. I would die today. I started to open the door to the RV when it swung open and hit me in the face. Out swarmed a bunch of small dolls all crying “Mama.”

I was frozen in place by fear, the dolls coming even closer, and I felt distant to the world, like I was swimming in a sea of black and confusion. And I’m out. As I swam back to consciousness I started to remember everything that happened a few hours ago – my dead mother, the bloody doll, and the tiny razor-sharp knife-holding miniature dolls. That’s when I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I yelped and snapped my eyes open. Right in front of me was one of those miniature knife-holding dolls. I told myself that I shouldn’t be afraid but fear overcame me anyways. I could die right now, and there would be absolutely nothing that I could do about it.

“Come with me human. Mama wants to see you.” I trembled under the doll’s ice-cold gaze. She looked different than the other dolls that I saw earlier; she wore a black dress with lace on the bottom. That’s when I realized that I was not in my RV anymore; instead I was on the ground of a damp, moldy floor. I saw blood all over the place, and I wondered who had been here before me and if they were dead. I was tied to a metal post, with my hands and feet bound in chains, but the doll was using her knife to cut me free from the post. My hands and feet were still chained but at least I was free from the painful, cold post.

The doll yanked my chains roughly. “Get up! I’m going to take you to mama whether you like it or not. And if you even try to do anything else…,” she giggled. “Well, you’ll see….” I stumbled to my feet, slumping because of the heavy chains all over me, and that’s when I noticed that I had blood all over me. Tiny teeth wounds and marks. From the dolls, I think. They must’ve done that when I was out cold.

The doll yanked my chains again and I started walking across the floorboards. After what felt like walking for eternity, the small doll stopped at a metal door with many dolls with knives guarding it. “Go in there little girl, mama is waiting for you, and you better not do anything stupid.” She pushed me inside and I found myself in a stone cave-like room. In the center there was a stone chair with the doll itself on it. “Well well well, if it isn’t the famous Holly Parker. Are there any last words before I kill you?”

I shuddered. Was I really going to be killed right then? Couldn’t she have shown me at least some mercy? That’s when I noticed something in her lap. It was Katniss, she really did betray me, she never wanted to be my kitty, she was working for the doll this whole time. Tears stung my eyes once again, and I fought them back.

“Well, if there aren’t any last words, let’s get this over with.” The doll walked over to me and picked up a dagger from the hidden shelf in the cave wall. Before I even knew what was happening, she ran towards me and plunged the dagger into my thigh. Pain exploded through my leg and I collapsed to the stony ground. “I think that’s enough for today, don’t you agree? Take her away!” I felt small hands all over me, dragging me over the rough floor, and I blacked out once again, wondering what would happen to me next…

I woke up to the sound of soft footsteps, and when I opened my eyes I saw a figure in a cloak hovering over me. When I tried to squirm away from the figure a sharp pain exploded in my thigh. How long had I been out? Hours, maybe even days? I tried to move again but the pain was unbearable. “Stop! you’re going to hurt yourself,” cried the figure.

“Why should I listen to you? For all I know you’re here right now to escort me to my death!” I felt like screaming to the strange figure, and before I knew what I was doing, I jolted forward as far as my chains would allow and I stripped off their cloak. Pain clouded my vision but I fought it and stared at the figure in front of me and I could not believe it. It’s my Dad…

To be continued . . . .