She stood there with Allen staring at the girl. Suddenly he reached over and gripped his large hand around her meager neck. He dragged her out of the room and threw her on the floor of the small padded room. He picked up the scalpel and slammed the door behind him, not saying a word, but he didn't have to.
For the past days after Lucy's injury, Allen fed Jane scraps. Her bones shone through her thin layer of skin and she grew weak. She began to hear Lucy talking to her father about what happened. Obviously he didn't believe her either. Jane could hear muffled arguments about what happened.
"The woman did this to you, didn't she?"
"No daddy, it was Annabelle."
"Stop lying to me! Annabelle isn't alive!"
"She used to be! She came back and she lives in my doll!"
"No she didn't! Your doll doesn't have a spirit living inside of it!"
"Yes she does!"
Jane pushed the voices farther away from her as she tried to sleep. She slept for days without food. Everyday Lucy said it was the doll, there was no food. Jane grew weaker and couldn't stand anymore. So she slept her days away, wishing she was with her family. Any government test was better than this.
She closed her eyes and slept through another day.
The next morning, she woke up to a light tapping on her nose. She opened her eyelids and saw Lucy standing there with a small plate. There were eggs, toast, and bacon sitting on it. Jane whispered, "What are you doing here?" Lucy smiled and replied, "I'm bringing you food. Daddy hasn't been very nice, not bringing you any, so I thought I'd bring you some." Jane sat up and gave Lucy a small hug and said thank you. She ate her food ravenously, trying not to choke.
Lucy sat on the bed and kept her company as she ate. Afterwards they talked about the doll and what was going on with it. "Annabelle was the name of my doll, but the girl who lives inside says her names Ethel. She liked Annabelle better so I call her that. She's never tried to hurt me before. We've always played, mostly games I didn't know. She was so nice before." Jane looked concerned at the thought of the possessed doll and asked, "Is she still in the cage?" Lucy nodded and pulled the key out from under her white flowered dress.
"I never took it off. I was afraid that if I let her out, she'd hurt me again." Jane looked down at the brittle carpet and asked quietly, "Can you show me?" Deep fear shown in Lucy's bright eyes and she started to fidget. "I can't show you." Jane looked back up. "Why not?" Lucy turned towards the door and said quietly, "Cause my room is full of evil. I don't want you to catch it."
Lucy's small voice was full of concern and fear. She was trying to help Jane. Trying to keep her away from the evil which lurked in her room. Jane stood up, wobbled, got her balance back and walked slowly into the hallway. She froze in mid-step as she saw red light glowing from the door. Lucy grasped the edge of Jane's long shirt and hid behind her legs.
Jane reached out slowly at the doorknob when Lucy yelled, "No!" The word echoed down the hallway. Allen turned away from his studies and progressed down the hallway. Lucy pushed Jane back into her room and relocked the door. She sat beside her door, her face buried in her knees, and cried. Allen reached the doorway and saw Lucy on the floor and asked what was wrong. "Annabelle was talking to me through her cage. She said she wanted me dead. She wants us all dead." She continued to cry.
What she was saying wasn't a lie. The night before she slept in her own room, instead of the one next to it. As she lay there she heard Annabelle laughing and whispering. I'm going to get you I'm going to get you hehehe. She covered her ears and plead for her to stop. Annabelle laughed and laughed. In your sleep that's where I'll find you. In your sleep that's where you'll die. Walking in happy dreams is where I will lie. Waiting for your joy to show hiding in the dark. Hiding in a tree or bush waiting to tear you apart hehehe.
Annabelle's chant echoed in her mind still as she thought about escape. Leaving this place and taking Jane with her. As she cried, Allen looked to the door. There was no red light. Nothing eerie about the flowered doorway where Lucy had played.
Allen reached for the doorknob and Lucy yelled again, "No!" and she started to cry again. "Lucy, for the last time there is nothing to be afraid of. You're just imagining things." He opened the door and peered inside. The room looked as it always had; clean and covered in Lucy's favorite colors. Blacks, blues, and purples covered the room in darkness. Her pillows covered in bats and spiders were her mothers. Oh, how he missed Amber.
He walked inside with Lucy squirming on his shoulder screaming no over and over. He looked over at the small cage with Annabelle in it and saw the lock. The lock was small but it was Masters. He had to retrieve the key from Lucy. He reached down to grab the key and she stopped squirming and grasped the key in her little hand and yelled, "No! You can't let her out! She'll kill us! Please, daddy, you have to believe me!"
Tears streamed down her face as her knuckles turned white. Allen closed the door and put Lucy down. She immediately ran to the door and started pounding on it. "Let me out! Let me out!" she screamed as Allen latched the door shut with his foot.
Lucy stopped banging suddenly. She stood there staring at the door. She was shaking heavily and all the color drained from her face. Lucy. Come play with me Lucy. Let's be friends again. I promise I won't hurt you anymore. Annabelle's voice teased and chanted in her head as she banged on the door.
Annabelle's voice echoed throughout the room and traveled across the hallway. Jane's eyelids shot open at the sound of the peculiar voice traveling through her mind. She shot up and started banging on the door. She could hear Lucy banging across the hall, screaming.
She clawed and beat against the middle of the door until it began to give out. She banged her shoulder against the door as hard as she could. She heard the wood creek and stretch with every hit. Again and again and again she smashed herself into the door. Finally the door smashed open and she rushed across the hall to find that the door was latched from the inside.
She grasped the doorknob, hoping that she could break off the latch and enter the small dark room. She flew backwards and hit the wall hard landing on pieces of the already broken door. Lucy's door began to glow red again.
Lucy banged on the door as hard as she could, but what strength she had would not disturb the door. She saw a red glow reflecting off of the carpet and looked back behind her. Annabelle was glowing. Her plaster smile had molded to a wicked grin and her big blue eyes turned red.
She stretched out a hand towards Lucy. Come play with me. I won't hurt you anymore. Hahaha. I won't hurt you child. Lucy stayed by the door and yanked on Allen's shirt. "Daddy! Daddy please help me!" Her eyes grew wide as he walked towards the open window.
Down below, Allen's eyes scanned the ground. There were stripped bones and ripped clothing in the small pond. The piranhas were waiting to be fed.
