Monique

Cigarette and Pepsi Cola

2001.

Monique had been playing with her skipping rope that day at the park. She had just made friends with a little dog she called Dopey. Her mummy lay on the lawn with a cigarette in her mouth and a Pepsi-Cola beside her on the grass.

It didn't take long for Dopey to get bored. He soon began running towards the other side of the park, chasing birds and Monique followed him. They played for a while near the lake, looking around for small fish and playing fetch.

Soon, Monique began feeling tired and along with Dopey, began walking back to meet her mummy. On her way there, a woman with golden orange hair like crunchy Doritos, quickly made her way towards her. She told her, her mummy was in trouble. She was involved in a big accident and had to be taken to the hospital.

Monique began crying. She didn't want her mummy to die. The woman told her she had been sent to fetch her by the hospital and that they had to hurry. Dopey wasn't allowed to follow her because dogs were prohibited in hospitals. Monique patted his head and told him she'd come back for him as soon as she saw her mummy. The woman with orange hair then took her by the hand and led her into a blue car. Monique was anxious. She wanted to see her mummy. She wanted to hold her mummy's hand and tell her everything would be ok.

The woman led Monique into a big red four-wheel drive. In a back seat sat a little boy. His name was Jimmy. Jimmy Timms. He told her his mummy was involved in a car crash as well and he was going to see her in the hospital.

As they drove away, Monique saw her mummy, still lying on the grass with a cigarette in her mouth and a Pepsi-Cola beside her.

Monique began screaming and tried clawing her way out of the car.

It was too late. The monsters had got her. Man had found her.

She was to be his little toy.

Present.

Monique parks her car in the crowded car park outside the shopping mall. It makes it easier for her to blend in. People hardly pay attention to little details nowadays, and no one knows the license plate off by heart. Many people will walk past the car without giving it a second glance.

Monique hurriedly crosses the street and briskly walks on the grey footpath that will lead her straight home. She takes a left turn at the Frangipani tree and walks past three houses before she finds herself standing outside her home.

She takes a deep breath and unlocks the door, praying her parents aren't at home. The house still looks the same. Everything's neat and polished until they shine, and the floor smells of lavender disinfectant.

Monique turns towards the basement door and hesitantly reaches for the doorknob. It's cool against her fingers and sends delicious shivers across her arm. Monique gulps as she gently pushes the door open. This is it. It's now or never.

She enters the room and shuts the door behind her. Slowly and carefully, with the use of the railings, Monique makes her way inside the basement. The table still lies in the centre of the room with a large butcher's knife and chainsaw on the table.

Monique's heart lurches at the sound of something scraping the wall. She moves closer towards the other side of the room and finds a large cage with a boy in it.

It's Jimmy Timms.

Monique's mouth runs dry. "Jimmy," she whispers, "What are you doing here?"

"Look in the freezers," is his only reply. Monique looks at him, and then, the freezer.

"What's in the freezer?" She asks as she moves away from him.

"Man and Woman brought me here. They said they were taking me to my mummy. The Doctor gave me her Blood Reds and Man killed me," he replies in a soft voice. It chills Monique to the core.

With shaking hands, she opens the freezer. The foul smell hits her like a ton of bricks. Monique looks inside the fridge and begins screaming.

A large pile of rotting bodies lay there, caked in dry blood.

Monique shuts the freezer and turns to Jimmy. "What's the meaning of this?"

Jimmy walks through the cage and stands in front of her. "They brought us here together. You were at the park when Woman saw you. She said you were the one she was looking for. You were perfect. Absolutely perfect." Monique's knees quake as his voice morphs into a sea of blended voices. "But we were not perfect," they say. "Man killed us and placed us in the freezer."

"So they sent me to kill you." Monique turns around at the sound of John's voice. He looks the same, dressed in his flannel shirt and jeans. Monique wants to run towards him and gaze in his eyes. She wants him to tell her everything will be ok. She wants to believe the corpses in the freezer aren't real and neither is Jimmy Timms. John is back and that's all she's ever wanted. With him by her side, she can keep on living in the dollhouse, wrapped in lies.

But she knows it's not to happen.

"What are you talking about?"

"They took both of us Monique. They brought us here. You were the one Man and Woman wanted. Man killed us all, but let you live."

"But I met you when I was seven."

John shakes his head. "No. You met me when you were five, at the back of the red car. Man and Woman were to take you to the hospital to see your mum, but they never did. Instead, they brought us here."

Monique's head begins spinning. She can feel the bile rising in her throat. She breathes in deeply.

This is not happening. "Why did you want to kill me?"

John sighs and looks away. "You were perfect, Monique. You were the one they always wanted. We were just there as sport for Man and the Doctor. I was meant to kill you that day at the park, but I didn't. I couldn't."

"What's your name?" Monique asks as her memory slowly comes back.

"My name is Jimmy. Jimmy Timms."

A large lump rises in Monique's throat. "Why didn't you tell me?"

John shrugs. "I don't know?"

"Why did you leave me?"

John moves closer towards her and she flinches. "I had to keep you safe."

"Safe?" Monique asks bitterly. "You did a good job at that."

"You were never supposed to meet Rosalie or Carmen."

"But I did." Monique glares at him. "I want answers!"

"I left because the monsters wanted me. I hadn't killed you, so I had to take your place."

"Well, they nearly killed me!" Monique yells as she shows him her scars. John winces.

"I wanted you to find out the answers for yourself," he whispers.

"Damn right I did! Now I don't know what is real or not." Monique starts to cry as the pieces of the puzzle come together in her head. John –Jimmy stands there with a sorrowful expression on his face. "What do I do now?" Monique asks, looking at him with reddened eyes.

"I don't know," He replies. "Honestly I don't know."

Before Monique can sob once more, the sound of heavy footsteps fill the basement. Jimmy disappears and Monique whimpers as her Man's face comes to view. He grabs her by the hair and throws her to the cold ground. Monique screams as her head slams on the concrete floor.

"You bitch!" He roars as he wraps his hands around her neck. "I should have killed you when I had the chance! I knew it!"

Monique claws at his face in a bid to free herself from his grasp. Instead, he becomes angrier and his grip increases. She begins gagging and choking. Her eyes roll in her head as a cloud of white overwhelms her. As she's dragged further into darkness, the sound of Man's grunts and growls fill her ears.

The lyrics of Skyfall come to mind.

This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten.

Die, bitch.