The Puppet. (Mandela Catalogue AU)

Chapter 3

Cesar looked around the hallway, looking carefully for any movement. His glowing red pupils bloomed like the menacing eyes of death in the darkness, trying to lock onto its target. Mark held his breath as Cesar looked around for a moment and walked away, his movements a bit stiff but still slightly human-like.

"God, why did I try to take him in?"

Mark let out a soft breath of relief, praying to God (if there was one out there) on saving his life from this hollow shell of his friend, quite literally. His mind wandered into earlier that week, Mark could remember it like yesterday...

~~~

"Cesar!? Cesar, come on, wake up buddy..." Mark choked behind his tears, shaking the lifeless puppet that was his friend. He tried to conceal the tears running down his cheeks, but they just wouldn't stop coming. Mark knew he had to be quiet, as they could still be lurking. The brunette would pick up Puppet Cesar and run out the back door of the "store," dodging the other human-stuffed puppets that were rotting in the back.

His eyes burned and he coughed at the putrid smell of rotting flesh, but Cesar didn't smell the same; he could still smell the perfume he put on beforehand. And the smell of burnt flesh, especially from his right hand and arm.

"Goodness, how much do I have to tell this man he shouldn't put on perfume in these "puppet ages?" Mark thought as he ran back to his house.

He burst through his front door and half set half threw Cesar down onto the couch as he grabbed a crowbar, bandages, glue, and a hacksaw. If he still had any life under there, he would have to salvage with stuff lying around the house and hope for the best. and if there wasn't...

Mark took a deep breath before taking the hacksaw and sawing up the wooden shell, bracing himself for what was inside.

He gagged at the sight, wheezing slightly.

Cesar's muscles could be seen in his right arm, almost melting away. The bone was in the same condition. The rest of his body was fine, thank god. Did they even burn him at the stake? He could smell fire, but it wasn't that bad.

Upon closer inspection, Mark could see he wasn't burned at the stake; he was crucified. He suddenly got confused, inspecting his hands and taking them gently. He shivered at the touch; he felt a bit cold (but somehow warm under that skin?). There were holes in them. Mark looked at his feet. Same holes. They even had the nail still in them, and he gagged at it, pulling it out.

While he was bandaging Cesar's feet, he noticed the arm. It would have to be amputated, but what would he put in its place? Mark shook his head. He couldn't save it, even with his prior medical knowledge from med school. He was way too squeamish at doing surgery, and looking at Cesar in this state was already making him queasy.

"We both used to work in Med school together, I miss his smile..." Somehow that thought wormed its way into Mark's head, and the tears were back and rolling down his cheeks. He sniffed, grabbing the superglue and beginning to close up his wooden body, but he took one last look at that face. Sure, some of it had slight burns on it, but he looked more peaceful. Mark smiled. 

Even if he wasn't alive, at least he's at peace. 

Once Mark had put everything up and had closed the puppet shell on Cesar, He propped him up. Mark sat down beside him, and the madness begun inside him. "Why did you take him? He's probably dead, so you're just taking care of a dead person." The voice would whisper in his ear. He shook it off, thinking back "At least he wasn't burned instead of having a proper burial. I can bury him tonight."

As he carried Cesar to the graveyard, He noticed how little graves were filled. Every person who was assumed to be alternates would of been buried here. But they're not. 

"They've been burning them and leaving their bodies without a trace, probably in some ditch far away." His thought whispered upon this dark realization.

He propped Cesar up, trying to hold back tears. He was only 18. So young. And he was his closest friend, as if he had other friends. Him and Cesar really clicked, so burying Cesar was obviously going to be hard for the brunette. But as he began to dig, he didn't notice Cesar twitching under his wooden shell...

Mark's soul nearly left his body at the sight of Cesar offering his hand to help him up. He took it gladly, and was surprised by how strong this puppet was. He did open him up and noticed his body was pretty weak by rotting, after all.

"Goodness Mark, it looks like you've seen a ghost!" Cesar laughed, Mark being unable to smile as he hugged his friend tightly. He cried into Cesar's shoulder, laughing along with Cesar. His friend wasn't dead after all! God really answered his prayers!

He only stopped when Cesar whimpered softly, along with Mark hearing the soft cracking of the wood that Cesar's shell was made of.

"Well, thank you, Mi Amigo!" Cesar grinned. He was always so cocky about knowing Spanish as well as English, which Mark couldn't understand the first language. He was raised in a family that only spoke English, after all. "So, you can stay with me if you'd like. I don't mind, it'll be nice to have company especially now." Mark said, smiling at the sentient puppet. 

Even though Cesar's eyes looked a bit glossy, they still were the ones Mark knew and could read like a book.

The duo would spend a week talking to each other, laughing and playing board games to pass the time. The week would slowly devolve into madness for Cesar, losing himself bit after bit until he was a monster to Mark, hunting him down for his own amusement.

Just like right now.

Mark didn't even realize Cesar had been standing over him before he removed himself from his memories and stared straight into his glowing red eyes. These weren't the ones he knew. These were the ones of a nightmare. Mark reached for the gun beside him.

"Oh please, Don't shoot yourself. Just work with me and... We'll work through something better for you." 

Cesar chuckled, but this new voice of his was drastically different. It scared Mark. His voice was more haunting, more uncanny. Not the warm and welcoming voice Cesar had before. He didn't even notice the angel beside him, and only caught a glimpse of it before descending into madness.

Mark groaned, sitting up and feeling himself. He couldn't remember much, but he did remember that he was fighting with Cesar in one way or another. He was so lost in his foggy thoughts that he didn't even realize he was turned into a puppet, too.

The moment he realized made him scream, alerting Cesar to rush in and calm him down.
"Hey hey, its gonna be okay... Calm down, breathe..." Cesar calmed down the young puppet, hugging him gently. Once Mark calmed down, he asked the first thing on his mind;

"Why am I a puppet? Why am I alive? How am I alive?"

"You were trying to shoot at your temples but I made it instead to shoot at your eye. I can't tell you why you're a puppet, but let's just say..."

"I made a deal with someone."

CHAPTERS NOT IN PARTICULAR ORDER.

Word count: 1250