The Dead: Silent

The Puppeteer

As I sat there, trying to make sense of my chaotic memories, I heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. I turned to see a figure emerging from the darkness.

He was tall and lean, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to bore into my soul. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he approached me.

"You're quite the little rabbit, aren't you?" he said, his voice low and smooth. "Always darting around, always hiding. But you can't hide from me."

I felt a surge of anger and fear as I recognized him. He was the one who had been using me all along, manipulating me like a puppet on strings.

"I know what you're thinking," he said, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You think you're in control, that you're the one making the decisions. But you're wrong. You've been under my control since the beginning."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I remembered the young man I had killed. He was right - I had been manipulated into doing it.

"You killed that boy," I accused, my voice shaking with rage.

He chuckled. "Oh, yes. That was just a little test, wasn't it? A way to see how far you'd go. And you passed with flying colors."

I felt a wave of despair wash over me. I was nothing more than a pawn in his game, a tool to be used and discarded.

But as I looked at him, something inside me snapped. I realized that I didn't have to be a pawn anymore. I didn't have to play by his rules.

I stood up, my eyes locked on his. "No more," I said, my voice firm.

He smiled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Oh, but you will," he said. "You'll do whatever I tell you to do, because that's what you were made for."

I felt a surge of adrenaline as I realized the truth. I wasn't just a shade - I was a puppet on strings, controlled by this stranger's manipulations.

But I was done playing the game.

I felt my anger boiling over, my vision blurring with tears. I couldn't believe what he was saying, couldn't believe I had been manipulated for so long.

"Why?" I screamed, my voice shaking with rage. "Why did you do this to me? Why did you make me kill that boy?"

He smiled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You're asking the wrong questions," he said. "The question is, why did you let me do it?"

I felt a surge of horror as his words sunk in. I had been so caught up in my anger and confusion that I hadn't considered the possibility that I might have had a choice.

"You wanted to do it," he said, his voice cold and detached. "You wanted to be the one to pull the trigger. You wanted to be the one in control."

I felt my legs buckle beneath me as the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been so caught up in the manipulation that I hadn't realized I had been complicit.

"I didn't want to kill him," I protested, but my voice was barely above a whisper.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then why did you do it?"

I shook my head, feeling a wave of shame wash over me. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to process this information.

"I...I don't know," I stammered.

He chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You don't know because you don't want to know," he said. "You don't want to admit that you're responsible for your own actions."

I felt a fresh wave of tears prick at the corners of my eyes as the weight of his words settled upon me. He was right - I didn't want to admit it, but deep down, I knew it was true.

I had been complicit in my own manipulation. I had allowed him to control me, to use me for his own purposes.

And now, I was left with the weight of my own guilt and shame.