Faltering Fantasies (Wally Darling x Reader)

17. Behind the Veil

"What the hell..."

Once your eyes fell upon the strangely familiar sight, you half expected it to smell of water damage and old acrylic, but it didn't.

It was a room... a studio. Everything was dimly lit in yellow fluorescent lights. The wooden walls and warm windows were such a stark contrast from the bright colors you'd just lived alongside. It felt like your whole world was being seen through a sepia-toned filter. Rather than the saturated sky, the windows let in little light, it was nighttime. That was why everything was littered with shadows, wasn't it? You felt a bit disgusted by the fact that you had to reteach yourself the concept of "dark" after living beside puppets for so long.

The entire room was surrounded by filming equipment; different cameras, lights, and—

"Puppets," you muttered, brushing your fingertips gently along the line of characters. They sat side by side with large grins and cheeky faces. Each one was well kept, the tears and grime along their seams nowhere to be found. Wally looked just like the one at your apartment, except it was in much better condition. The Wally you'd found had faded felt and was covered in paint, this one looked as if it had been made the day before. But now, unlike the first time you'd set eyes on this place, the other puppets were seated beside him as well. Barnaby, Julie, Poppy, Eddie, Sally, and... "Where's... oh." Frank was on the floor, probably having been knocked down. You picked up the plush, dusting it off and setting it beside the others.

You trailed off to the center of the room, a small half-box representing the neighborhood. Inside the box-like backdrop was a miniature Home. The bright red house had a crank sticking out of its side window. You were inclined to turn it, but even the tiny dollhouse scared you. Just the thought of those sentient eyes opening to stare through your soul was enough to send chills down your spine.

And shivers did go up your spine when a voice behind you broke the silence, "Hey, y/n!" You jumped at the sound. "Wanna stick around while we film these few scenes?" The man had a grin to rival the puppets' on his face. He looked a hardly few years older than you but spoke as if you were some child. "You can sit there, lil' sunshine," he gestured to a stool. While you wished to question how he knew your name or who he was, your lips were sewn shut and you just followed his instructions.

Other people filed into the room, all of them vaguely familiar. They flicked on lights, or started cameras, or picked up strings, or pulled out puppets.

"Here, follow the script." The voice made you physically recoil, causing you to slip off the stool and crash painfully to the ground. Everyone continued as if nothing were amiss though, and your—the woman handed you a small booklet. It reminded you of the script Wally had given you to practice for Sally's past audition. Except, the title on the first page in bold dark lettering was a simple sentence: "Hide and Go 'EEK!"

You thumbed through the pages just to halt at the first one with writing on it. Beside the text was a damp stain. The shiny splotch of darkness was reminiscent of someone coughing up ink. Luckily, as if it mattered much, the text was still clearly legible.

The lights abruptly went out except for a few bright white bulbs illuminating the dollhouse. You heard the word, "Action!" and watched as a puppet seemed to stroll in on strings.

'Follow the script' you remembered, staring down. You could barely make out the words in the dim lighting, but what you read didn't seem to match what was said by the characters whatsoever.

"Hi, Julie, have you seen the rest of the neighbors?" the voice of Wally went monotonously as his strings pulled him into the frame. You glanced around the room for a moment in search of a voice actor or someone maneuvering the puppet, but the search was to no avail. It almost seemed as if the strings were dangling useless and the voice seeped out of the walls. After the bout of confusion, you looked down at the script, your eyes going wide with shock when you found your name in it.