Doll Parts

Host

I returned to the guest room, still curled up under the blankets. My doll had her face buried in the crook of my neck. I placed a hoof on her head saying, "Oh, Darcy, aren't you happy we found that nice couple?"
Wait, what the hell?
Darcy was suddenly cold. Somehow, this was a language I understood. It was a psychical language passed between ghosts, which had the ability to "haunt" certain things. In this case, Darcy was haunted, and the cold presence brought on by the ghost inside of her meant that she was scared. That made me concerned.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "The kidnappers are gone now. We're safe."
Darcy grew even colder. She was disagreeing with me.
"We're not safe?"
Like any stupid horror movie protagonist, I decided to investigate. How could such a friendly couple be evil? And then it hit me. Could they be the kidnappers? No, no, those men were the kidnappers. What is going on?
Added confusion hit me like a fallen coconut. I got out of bed, leaving Darcy next to the pillow. Making my way to the door, I noticed that the lights were off, and when I put an ear to the door, I heard white noise. Quietly, I turned the doorknob, trying not to make too much noise. The door creaked in silence, and I was relieved that it was as quiet as it was. Even outside of the room, there was only silence. The red glow of my eyes illuminated the darkness of the long hallway. As I scavenged to the left, I noticed a flight of stairs leading to the third floor. As I reached the first step, I suddenly heard voices.
I stealthily climbed the stairs. I recognized the voices of Dragonfish and Altyn. This can't be about them, right? I was desperate to decipher Darcy's fear. I couldn't see what it had to do with the couple, but just to be safe, I investigated anyway. I was not going to be a fool, especially not now. I eventually made it to the top of the staircase, and the voices were even clearer now.
"But don't you think this is wrong?" Altyn asked. "To be taking advantage of the kid, I mean?"
"I told you, he's a renewable material," Dragonfish answered. "Unlike our past hosts, he'll be able to grow more and more of the things we need. But remember, there is a limit to what we can use without putting him in grave danger."
Altyn replied, "True, like the organs under the tissue. He surely can't live without those."
"Nor can he without his narwhal talon." What Dragonfish said made me realize that they were talking about me. "He'd die in seconds if his horn were to be removed. Unicorns aren't like snakes. They need their most important tooth to survive because that's where their magic is mixed with their blood. Magic is basically their fuel for Life."
I was getting anxious again. Now I know why Darcy's scared. I hurried back down the stairs and into the guest room. Darcy was still laying on the pillow I left her on. I held her whispering, "Thanks for the warning, Darcy. I'll try to get us out of here." I left the room again, making sure Dragonfish and Altyn weren't coming downstairs. Sighing in relief, I turned right, hurrying down the stairs into the living room. To the front door I went with Darcy riding my shoulders. She was becoming even colder. I was just about to escape the manor when-
"Ah!" I was frightened by a high-frequency slam against the door. I looked up to see the wing of Dragonfish, who was standing right behind me. Altyn, too, was towering me. Nervous sweat dripped down my forehead, attempting to cool down my flaming paranoia. At this point, I knew I was about to enter UNO's Hadal Zone of the trance.
"Well, we were going to wait until tomorrow morning to start the harvest," Dragonfish said coldly, "but you've been a naughty boy."
Before I knew it, I was thrown back into the guest bed, Darcy fallen next to me. Altyn held me down with one of her wings. She ordered Dragonfish, "Hurry up with that kit, honey!"
"Keep holding the horse, okay?" Dragonfish yelled back.
Altyn looked back down at me, smiling happily. "Oh, what a close one," she sighed. "Funny how we were just talking about you upstairs. How much of our conversation did you hear, 39?"
"I heard enough," I replied, fear boiling in my blood. "And I know that those men you killed were not the wanted kidnappers."
"Well, technically, no. My husband and I hired those men to corner you, and we didn't tell them that they were sacrifices. But just like our hosts, we benefited from them."
"Let me guess." I was struggling to catch my breath, I was so scared. "These 'hosts' you speak of were the ones who went missing in this city, and you and Dragonfish have been making dolls out of them? And that's what you're planning to do to me next?"
"Yes," Altyn answered. "But this time, we have something different. Something that'll make our business rise even higher than it ever was. Now, we won't have to worry about going out anymore. We have all the materials we'll need right..." She placed a hoof on my chest. "...here. You should be grateful. You're the special host that we've had no idea we were looking for. And now each part that you regenerate will be used for every doll we make from now on."
I inhaled forcefully. "I heard you saying I'm a renewable material." A tear escaped from my showing eye as I said that. "Can I at least embrace something while you do whatever you're about to do, please?"
"No." Altyn opened a nearby drawer in the vanity, taking out an empty candlestick. "Open arms are required for the harvest to be done correctly." Shit, shit, shit!
I was basically restricted from doing anything, including moving my own body, during this "harvest" or whatever. I could only use my voice, which made sense because I knew I was going to need to scream. And I would say that "that made me feel a little better", but after using that for a while, I can honestly say it did not make me feel better! IT MADE ME FEEL WORSE!
Dragonfish finally came back with a wide container in his wings. He placed it on top of the vanity, examining whatever was in it. "Altyn, what did we use on a round last time?"
"The back saw, I believe?" Altyn answered. Dragonfish took out a rectangular blade in response to his wife's answer. It was drenched in dry crimson blood, and I knew it was used several times before. Altyn took Darcy away from me, placing her on the vanity next to the container. "Darcy!" I cried. Another tear, another crack in my voice.
"You'll get Darcy back after the harvest," Altyn informed me.
"How long will this take?" Breathing through my nostrils was impossible now.
"It depends on the tools used and how much blood is lost in the process. We'll stop before you begin to black out, and we'll send our medical maid to bandage you up. We'll also be doing the common harvest procedure on you tonight, which is how we get our base materials."
"Now," Dragonfish said as Altyn secured my limbs, "are you ready?"
I shook my head and gasped vibrantly. I hissed, "Just get this over with!"
Dragonfish said something, but I couldn't hear through my shaking breath. I didn't care that much about it, but I did care about the sharpness of that saw he was using on my left leg. Up and down it went, and I screamed like a crazed being. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! My body was telling me to run, but my brain demanded that I stayed. I listened to my brain because I knew there would be no point in trying to run, especially considering the fact that Dragonfish was currently amputating my leg. He spared nothing of it, hell, he took half of my hips with it too, including my theurgy mark. Eventually, he finished cutting, separating the leg from my body and placing it on the floor. I saw the blue glow of my blood stain the bed covers. The amount that was spilling out perfectly matched with the pain below my torso. "OH, MY GOD!" I screamed.
I noticed that neither Dragonfish nor Altyn were mentioning my screaming and crying, which I wasn't used to. My builder was always annoyed with my sobbing while UNO adored it. I was sure if UNO could hear the agony I was currently in, he would be overjoyed. He always wanted to pet me like a dog every time I was crying out of pain. Funny enough, this wasn't the first time I lost a leg. UNO tore the same leg off towards the end of my first nightmare. I was just thankful that Dragonfish wasn't sawing my stomach open too.
"As soon as the leg reaches rigor mortis, we can start carving it," Dragonfish said to Altyn.
"Take some spare blood out of his thigh too," Altyn replied, gesturing to my remaining hips. "Who knows if we'll need it in case the material gets dry before we carve it?" Dragonfish took the candlestick Altyn had taken out of the vanity drawer before and placed the opening against my luminous flesh. "Be careful not to push the bone out," Altyn reminded Dragonfish. These people are crazy!
Dragonfish put pressure on my other leg to force blood to pour out faster. Into the candlestick it flowed, and my wrinkled muzzle let out a sobbing growl. "Sheesh, for such a high viscosity, this blood comes out quick once you pressurize a wound," Dragonfish said.
"It doesn't matter the blood!" I spat. "What matters is the size of the wound!"
"He's right, Dragonfish," Altyn said, "and judging by this wound, blood will spill continuously unless treated."
"Then we better hurry," Dragonfish sighed. "Let me get the compass saw real quick."
Through freezing tears, I blurted, "What for?"
"We need to borrow an organ of yours."
Dragonfish took the mentioned compass saw out of the container after putting away the back saw. He poked my right shoulder with it, asking me, "Can you tell me where you feel pain the most?"
Frustratingly, I groaned, "Everything will hurt the same at this point; just start where you always start, I don't know!"
"Collarbone," Altyn spoke loudly. "Start at the collarbone."
Dragonfish followed that order, slicing into the inner end of my right shoulder with the saw. I wonder if this is what a sirloin feels when it's being cut. I felt like a raw whole turkey when the husband cut a deep line from my collarbone to the edge of my tum, making a turning point at the top of my hips. Screaming, hissing, and growling, I managed to get out, "DO YOU HAVE TO CUT ME OPEN LIKE THIS!"
"Don't question the harvest," Altyn said harshly. "This is a tradition that you newcomers wouldn't understand, you see."
"NO, I DO NOT SEE!"
To cease my argument, Dragonfish cut deeper into the left side of my tum. I felt like I had just swallowed a cup of volcanic magma, and the need to die raged in my throbbing brain. But I already knew that this couple didn't want to kill me. I was their "special host" because my flesh was a renewable material for their dolls. Instead of red-blooded Bai Ze, they would be using me, a Saturn-operated machine, the most intelligent of his robotic kind as well as the most blood-thirsty. Neither Dragonfish nor Altyn knew of my capabilities, but I figured that they felt they didn't need to because of what they had planned for me. My magic, too, was useless against them.
Dragonfish had carved a messy oval into me. After putting the saw away, he buried his feathers into my upper chest scar, grabbing a hold of the inside tissue. I cried, "STOP IT; STOP IT!" He didn't listen. He pulled back, revealing a teal valley of meat and fluid. I was burning in pain as I screamed with spraying saliva, pushing my head into the pillow. My consciousness was beginning to decrease as Dragonfish pulled farther and farther away from me with the veil of flesh in his careless grasp. The slice he made was finally taken from me, taking a series of strings with it. Blood dripped down his feathers, but he didn't seem to mind. He cared far less about my crying.
"We're almost done for tonight," Altyn said with a bright smile to which Dragonfish returned. The husband placed the flesh on top of the vanity next to the container before picking the leg up again. He handed the bloody candlestick to Altyn, who finally released my remaining limbs. I quickly brought my right leg closer to me and guarded my organs with my arms. The stinging was hot, and my breath was heavy. I asked the couple, "What organ do you need? I can get it out myself. I don't need your help."
"Give us your liver," Dragonfish commanded. "We only need it for a few minutes, so you don't have to worry about dying."
"I never worry about dying. It is my wish!"
"It's totally understandable to feel suicidal in times like this, but keep in mind that there are people out there who want you to live, like us."
"YOU PEOPLE JUST WANT ME FOR MY BODY!"
Altyn covered my mouth. "That's quite enough," she said. "Come close, Dragonfish. It's time we receive this organ."
"Okay," Dragonfish sighed. "And, 39, our medical maid will return with your liver. Be nice to her. She's witnessed events such as these before."
I nodded, breaking down immediately after. I stopped myself to focus on my liver, carefully releasing it from its place. Hearing the watery motion of flesh and blood almost made me gag as I took the organ out. Once I got it out of the guard of my other organs, I dropped it beside me where Dragonfish picked it up and placed it into the container. "T-there," I stuttered before breaking down again. Altyn held my head by my right side so my eyes were on hers. She gave me that warm smile again when she whispered to me, "You're doing so good. You really are like my child."
"Okay, I think we've spoken to him enough, honey," Dragonfish said to his wife. "Let's leave him alone."
Altyn caressed my face before leaving me behind. Her and Dragonfish shut the light off and closed the door. I could see a blue light sneaking through the curtains of the window. It traveled across the ceiling as did my saliva. Silence invaded once again. I just layed there on the bed, empty-minded and out of ideas. My face was stained with bright blue tears, and I ignored the drool escaping my mouth. The pain reaching from my shoulders to my hips was unbearable, and I continued crying and crying and crying because of it. I wanted to die so bad. I wanted to leave this trance. I wanted to scream at UNO for such a torturous game. But I couldn't. I couldn't do anything at all. I was stuck here.
I called, "HEY!"
I heard Altyn's steps approaching the door. She cracked it open, poking her head inside. She asked me, "Do you need something, kiddo?"
"Sustenance," I answered, putting an arm over my exposed stomach. "I'm starving. You don't want a starving material, do you?"
"That's not my nor my husband's problem," Altyn immediately told me. "If you want something, you can ask Rory for it."
"Please!" I bent forward, making a few of my organs shift.
"Goodnight." Altyn closed the door again, walking away. She completely ignored me. Good thing you can't have children, bitch. I usually never cared about eating, but I hadn't eaten in days before the trance. If I wanted something to eat so badly, I had to get it myself.