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Chapter 2

As we got closer to the house, I could see that it was nearly falling apart. Shingles were missing from the roof, various knickknacks were laying in the yard, and I could smell the stench of farm animals. There were many sheds scattered around the yard that had boarded up windows and chained up doors, which started to worry me. Baby must have sensed my concern.

"Oh don't worry honey," she cooed, "we just keep our hunting gear in there. Y'know, we don't want no one stealing them."

That eased my discomfort slightly. I guessed, from all of the farm animals and hunting gear, that this family was self-sustaining with their food. That makes sense, I thought to myself. It must be a bother to get groceries when the closest store is 30 miles away.

We walked up the porch, which had a bunch of broken, colored on, and decaying dolls hanging from the wall.

"You like 'em?" I nodded. "These are all mine, I cut them up when I was younger."

"Well I like them. They're..." I tried to find the right words so I wouldn't offend her, "creepy. In a good way, though." That wasn't a lie; I had been interested in the macabre since I was about 13 or 14 years old. Besides, the dolls did look pretty cool. Baby went up to open the door, but it was locked.

"I'll have to go around back," she told me, "Just wait here, I'll be out in a minute."

She quickly ran off the porch and went to the back of the house. I was left alone on the porch, and the mutilated dolls seemed to stare into my soul. Or was someone else staring at me?

I didn't have time to think about it too deeply when I felt two hands grab my shoulders.

Baby yelled in my ear, trying to scare me (which worked), and she giggled hysterically after seeing the shocked expression on my face. My laughter quickly joined hers as I recovered from my fear. I assumed it was only her eyes I felt on me, which eased my nerves a bit.

"Jesus Christ! You scared the shit outta me!" I said, still laughing at myself.

"Aw, that ain't nothin'" Baby said. "Come on inside."

I followed her into the house, and I was surprised by its interior. In contrast to the decay on the outside, the inside had a very warm, comforting, and homely atmosphere. The foyer of the house had a large ceiling with some fancy lights hanging off of it. Baby led me through the foyer into what I assumed was the living room. She motioned for me to sit down on the couch and walked over to turn on the TV.

"I'm gonna go upstairs real quick and change my clothes," she told me. "Make yourself comfortable!"

I nodded and did as she said, easing into the couch and turning my attention to the TV, which was playing an old black and white movie that I didn't recognize. Once again, I felt a pair of eyes staring down my back. I ignored it further and tried concentrating harder on the movie.

"Who the fuck are you?" a gruff, angry sounding voice yelled from behind me.

I quickly stood up and turned around to come face to face with a tall, pale, lanky man with long, stringy, and dirty-white hair.

This dude was creepy. And I mean creepy creepy. Like the type of creepy where you cross the street late at night to avoid him. But there was something about him that was just so...captivating.

I stammered over my words, not knowing what to say. After all, I was a complete stranger in his house, and I'm not sure if Baby told her family that she was bringing over guests.

"I...uhm...I'm..." I stuttered.

"I-I-uhmm" he said in a mocking voice. "Well? Spit it out!" He moved closer towards me.