Doll Parts

Scheme

I awoke in a daze. A bright white light shined above me, causing me trouble when I was opening my eyes. It suddenly switched off, and I could see the circular figure attached to the ceiling. I was lying on an operation table. I slowly lifted my right arm to see a green wristband wrapped around my wrist. On it was a number I could barely see. "You're finally awake," an unfamiliar voice spoke beside me. I turned to see a man wearing a golden badge. He was a police officer. I began to panic.
          "Are you one of the bad ones?" I asked.
          The officer raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
          "Did you expose me to devil's breath?"
          "What? No! That's illegal."
          The officer's response was sincere, and I sighed in relief. That relief soon turned to sadness when I remembered seeing Rory's corpse. Her bloody face and empty eyes were all I could picture in my mind. But no longer was I able to cry about her death. I was unable to cry about anything even though I could feel the sadness in my chest. I was empty of tears. All had been wasted during my torture.
          "I'm sorry about what you've been through," the officer told me. "But don't worry. Those kidnappers will be locked away for a long, long time. We're still deciding on whether or not we should give them the capital punishment though."
          "Do you want my opinion?" I asked.
          "Sure."
          I sat up, fixing my hair. "I'm sure all the deaths of those Bai Ze were unintentional, but what they did was a guaranteed murder. I think they should do the time behind bars. Since they'll be old and far weaker by the time they go home, I doubt that they'll even think to craft another flesh doll. But then again, they might find a way to make a doll out of their cell mates in jail, so... I don't know; that's just what I think."
          "No problem," the officer replied.
          "By the way, did you ever search their home?"
          "We did. Why?"
          "Did you find that work-in-progress doll in the master bedroom?"
          "It's in the evidence room, yes."
          "Whenever you're done with it, I want to take it with me when I leave this city."
          The officer grew confused. "What for?"
          I looked away from him for a few seconds. Right. What could I possibly want a doll made from my own flesh for? I looked back at the officer with a small grin. "Memories."
          To my surprise, I was permitted to take Ezra home. While I waited in the interrogation room for Dragonfish and Altyn, I examined the doll, deciding on whether to dress him in an executive uniform or overalls with a polo underneath. Eventually, the couple came in, restricted in cuffs trailing from their arms to their legs, and a separate pair kept their wings intact. Altyn looked down to the table, saddened and disappointed in herself. Dragonfish glared at me coldly. Why are you mad at me? You're the one who started all of this, you peanut.
          The officer said to the couple, "I'll be right outside this door. Don't think about doing anything sketchy, alright?" He left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Dragonfish and Altyn alone with me, their last victim. I gave them siren eyes above a frown, letting them know how unhappy I was with them. I also took out my two dolls, sitting them next to each other. I shot my eyes at the couple asking, "Darcy was one of your hosts, yes?"
          Dragonfish said nothing, but Altyn nodded.
          "And what was Darcy's favourite animal?"
          Altyn said nothing, but Dragonfish answered, "Sheep."
          I nodded.
          "But we didn't have time to ask you what your favorite animal was, 39," the husband added.
          "Want me to tell you so you can finish crafting Ezra?" I asked.
          "No. Altyn and I talked, and we both decided that we are out of the doll-making business completely. You can figure that doll out on your own."
          "But what is your favorite animal?" Altyn asked.
          Dragonfish spat, "Altyn!"
          "The bull elk," I answered.
          Sighing angrily, Dragonfish slumped into his seat. Altyn held her head up with her elbows on the tabletop. I, too, rested my head against my left hoof with my other arm folded atop of the table. I gave Dragonfish a smirk under rested eyes, my cheeks tingling with victory. I said to him, "You'd be going solo if Altyn hadn't given in to your games, Dragonfish."
          Altyn looked up at her husband, tears building up in her eyes. He did not look at her. He kept his eyes on me. My smirk grew wider as Altyn cried, "This is your fault! This is all your fault! If it wasn't for your sadistic thirst for money, this wouldn't have happened to either of us! And this wouldn't have happened to anyone else! Our maids! Our butlers! Rory!"
          "This is not about money, dear," Dragonfish replied, still glaring at me. Between my curved lips, I showed my teeth. I saw things going down that he had yet to experience.
          "Tell me what this is about then!" Altyn shouted.
          Dragonfish closed his eyes angrily saying, "You think there was a purpose for this Madness? You think there was a reason? No, Altyn. This was all just a scheme to get you out of my life."
          As Altyn gasped, my smile disappeared. "Excuse you?" I told Dragonfish.
          The wife asked through falling tears, "Are you telling me that all of this was just to get me into jail?"
          "I thought it'd be better than getting a divorce," Dragonfish replied, looking away from his "wife".
          "I... I thought you loved me!"
          "I did love you until you found out you couldn't get pregnant."
          Altyn began to sob hearing Dragonfish's words. My surprise turned into violent anger knowing how hurt the poor woman was. All the man cared about was the non-existent child, and he cared zero percent about his wife. His own damn wife. The woman he married allegedly because he loved her. But it was all a fantasy.
          "BASTARD!" I screamed at Dragonfish, slamming my hoofs on the table. "You wouldn't file a divorce, so you killed dozens of people to put your wife behind bars?"
          "I didn't want to break her heart, 39!" Dragonfish shouted back.
          "SO YOU INVITED HER INTO THE LIFE OF CRIME?"
          "Kid, if you had a significant other, you'd understand!"
          "BITCH, WHO DO YOU THINK I AM TO TREAT MY LOVER LIKE A GNAT!" I stood up from the chair, making myself look taller to intimidate the husband. "I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY, DRAGONFISH! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE AN ABUSIVE, MANIPULATIVE, NEGLECTFUL PIECE OF SHIT THAT I GUARANTEE MOTHER NATURE REGRETTED GIVING LIFE TO! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU VALUE LITTLE TO NO TRUTHFULNESS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A FUCKING DECIEVER!"
          Dragonfish's eyes widened angrily when I said that. He yelled back, "I AM NO SUCH THING, YOU LIAR!"
          My aggression ceased when he called me a liar. A wave of calmness flowed through my bloodstream, traveling in and out and around my heart. It had been forever since someone had called me a liar, and it entertained me considering the fact that I had never told a single lie in my life. I never lied. I could never lie. I couldn't bear the imaginable guilt after telling a lie. It just wasn't right to me, so I always either stuck to the truth or remained silent. Knowing that, I chuckled, sending another smirk to Dragonfish, who was breathing frustratingly from shouting.
          "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" I asked, still chuckling ominously. "You're talking to the one who endured over three years of nonstop torment; the little boy who ventured through a house of monsters; the lad who spent seven nights with a nightmarish entity in his house; the child who had to stitch his own tongue back into his mouth." My tongue traveled from my top lip to my bottom, showcasing the stitches the couple hadn't seen yet. "You're talking to the living robot who already knows how much certain things hurt and how long physical discomfort lasts. You think you have the right to feel victorious after what you've done to me? Try again, Dragonfish. Even though you put excessive amounts of pressure on me in that mansion, you still lost by many, many points."
          "What the hell are you talking about?" Dragonfish asked anxiously.
          I stood up from my seat, holding my grin. I walked aside Altyn to embrace my arms around her waist like a little kid. "You put to waste a wonderful life with this kind-hearted angel," I said. "My mother, if you will." I let go, walking over to Dragonfish. He leaned back as I leaned in. He knew how powerless he had become.
          "After everything you've committed, today will be the first day you pay the price. And I wouldn't call me a liar. I have seen everything." I placed a hoof on the top of his neck, pushing it in. He thought I was going to choke him to death, but he deserved pain more than death. It was merely a teaser. I continued, "Everyone knows who you are and what you've done. They will frown upon you and kick you around the streets. They will call you the most disgusting things you will ever hear. Know that all of this is, indeed, your fault. And this is the consequence that comes in the aftermath of your actions."
          I stepped back, allowing Dragonfish to breathe. Altyn wiped her tears and smiled as I was about to leave the room. She put on an angry face and turned to Dragonfish saying, "We're getting a divorce." The ex-husband widened his eyes at me. It was hilarious how surprised he was acting. I sent one last smirk at him before leaving. Recalling the terrible things he had done to me, I knew that I, SPRINTER 39, once again fixed a broken mirror, and I could see myself and my accomplishments properly again without anything getting in my way. I won.
          I talked to the officer for a while to make arrangements for the sentences of both Dragonfish and Altyn. Dragonfish would be sentenced to life in prison, but it wasn't easy deciding Altyn's fate, especially since she helped Dragonfish with his crimes.
          "Thirty days is the best we can do for her," the officer had told me. "We'll put her in an all-women's jail so she can be comfortable, hopefully. I'm not sure how happy she's going to be about this news though."
          "Let me be the one to tell her," I offered.
          The officer smiled. "Whatever floats your boat, kiddo."
          With that, I said my farewell to the officer, and I walked through the hallways looking for Altyn. Twelve minutes passed before I asked another officer where she was, and he told me that she was still waiting in the interrogation room. "Is her ex-husband still there?" The officer shook his head. I sighed happily, continuing my stroll until I returned to the room. Altyn laid her head down on the table with her arms crossed, bored. She immediately grew to joy when I entered the room, and I smiled at her. I sat down in the chair next to her, and she embraced me. She kissed my forehead before letting go.
          "So, what did the officer say?" she asked.
          "I was talking to him about your and Dragonfish's sentences," I said. "Your bitch-of-an-ex is never going to be allowed to leave the prison, so you won't have to worry about him again, thankfully. As for you, you've been sentenced to thirty days in the women's jail, which is just a short walk away from here."
          "Thirty days?" Altyn replied. "That's not so bad. It'll go by quickly, I imagine."
          "Welcome to your first day of happiness, Altyn."
          Altyn giggled as I stood up from the chair. "Well, it's been quite an experience," I said to her, "but I should probably be going home now."
          "Will you come back?" Altyn asked, tilting her head.
          "I... doubt it," I answered, sighing shortly after. I felt a little bad saying that.
          "Understandable," Altyn shrugged. "I would imagine how much trauma you'd recall if you came back to this city. I will miss you though."
          I smiled at her again knowing how kind she was to me. Although she was cold sometimes, she still managed to show her care for me. It saddened me knowing how she almost had to spend the rest of her life with a monster like Dragonfish, but now that he was out of her life for good, she could make up for the time lost to make herself happy. I was proud of her.
          "I'll miss you too," I returned. "Be good to yourself for me."
          "I promise I will," Altyn replied, leaving the last kiss on the left side of my face, right under my showing eye.
          One last phrase, and I was gone. "Farewell, Altyn."
          After a few more hours, I was brought back into CandyLand. I was laying in my own bed in my own house. UNO was asleep next to me in my gaming chair. Fast asleep. I tried to wake him up, but to no avail. So, I decided to just drag him into my truck and drive him back to his place. I was exhausted, and it was midnight in Gingerbread. The clock struck zero, and I yawned as I reentered my home. Every light in the house was turned off except for my bedroom light. UNO had left it on before he drifted off to sleep. I crawled back into my bed, clothing myself in the thin, soft covers. It was warm. The pressure from my body had trapped the heat under the sheets for a long time. I had been in that trance for three days.
          The next day, UNO contacted me through the phone. He told me that because of the little effect I had from the Hadal Zone of the Doll Parts game, I would no longer be the physical target. From that point forward, I would only be a witness.