The Man (Puppet Boy Prequel)

7.

"STOP CRYING."

The loud voice boomed and knocked Tommy right back into consciousness. He groggily opened his eyes to find a dusty stream of light across the wall, as well as a tall and powerful shadow of his creator.

Tommy cautiously inched towards the doorway, as he heard his daily ration of food hit the ground. He tried to search for the scraps that were scattered across the floor while the light was still pouring in but it was too late. His creator slammed the door shut and left him in a thick and heavy darkness, searching blindly for his food.

There was a long period of time where his creator did not create any new puppets after the incident with his mother. Tommy was his only lasting creation, sitting in the corner of the basement every single day with his ribs protruding from his pale flesh and his face covered in humiliating makeup. He wondered constantly why he hadn't been killed yet.

He rarely saw his creator. He actually found himself missing the sting of the lashes across his back - he craved the attention he had gotten years before. His only way of getting affection was crying and screaming until his creator yelled for him to stop.

His creator still checked on him though. About once a week, he would come down to check if his beautiful Puppet Boy was still alive, clean out his area, and bathe him.

But other than those few times, Tommy had nobody. He had become so lonely, the retched skeletons that hung from the ceiling were his only company. He would talk to them, share stories and tell them about Julie. They even talked back to him just like everybody else - except they never hurt him like the others. They just hung, rocked back and forth with the small current that squeezed through the holes in the walls, and listened. They were wonderful friends.

He was intensely disoriented - he didn't know morning from night, June from July, reality from hallucinations. He had missed school for several years, and with each day that passed he could feel himself getting older and older.

He also noticed that things were beginning to feel especially... different, for him.

Tommy observed that his voice had dropped to a deep tone seemingly overnight, and he could not figure out why. When he touched his face, he felt slight stubble and bumps. And every time he thought of Julie, his emotions got extra strange. He had absolutely no idea what was happening to him, or why it was happening. He must have had the worst luck in the world!

His thoughts stopped when he heard the familiar sound of his creator stepping down the creaky, wooden stairs. Usually his heart would almost leap out of his chest, and his cheeks would flame with instant happiness, but this time, he was more than terrified.

Tommy watched as his creator grabbed the string attached to the ceiling and flicked the light on. His eyes locked on Tommy, who had been sitting weakly against the wall with burning eyes and a piece of food between his thin fingers.

"It smells disgusting down here," his creator said after several minutes of deafening silence.

He observed his creation with bemusement. Tommy had grown significantly taller, his shoulders were broader and his clothes were ripped from Tommy's growth forcing the seams apart. His creator was disgusted by his puppet's new aspects, and Tommy could tell by the way his creator's lip curled at the mere sight of him.

Tommy was no longer loved. He began to wonder if he ever actually was.

"I'm s-sorry."

His creator noticed the deepness of his tone, and his shaded eyes narrowed into angry slits.

"Why is your voice like that, Puppet Boy?"

Tommy didn't answer. He stared down at the floor where ants and other strange insects infested the area around him. He allowed a large one to crawl onto him absentmindedly, studying the way the long legs eerily scurried up the length of his arm.

"Why is your voice like that?" his creator asked again, his voice rough and overpowering.

"I don't know," Tommy answered fearfully while trying to make his voice a little less deep. He couldn't, and the furious look on his creator's face made his heartbeat accelerate. He felt hot tears slide down his cheeks. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I am so sorry."

He could barely breathe. The air was suffocating him.

His creator just laughed, shaking his head. He gripped the band of his belt, adjusting to pull it from the loop of his pants.

Tommy shook uncontrollably in response, turning away from his creator and closing his eyes tightly. "S-sir, I can't c-control it," he tried to explain, fumbling with his words.

"You are a puppet!" his creator bellowed suddenly, his voice heavy and laced with anger. "You are supposed to stay the same until I make you different!"

Before he knew it, his dirty shirt was ripped from his torso and his creator had already slammed the belt into his back.

He enjoyed the feeling of being so close to his creator, but at the same time, the pain was agonizing. He cried into the air with each lash, pressing his forehead against his folded arms and allowing tears to slide from his eyes onto the filth-coated ground.

"Count," his creator ordered, and Tommy trembled vigorously. "Count now, and not in that new voice of yours."

There was a pause before the belt met his skin again, and Tommy bit down on his lip. "F-five," his voice was shaky, purposely higher pitched than usual.

Once the punishment had ended, Tommy collapsed onto the ground and leaned his back against the cold wall in attempt to cool down his burning wounds. His creator slipped the belt around his pants again and walked over to his table, fumbling with the old paint brushes.

"You're almost at the age where you receive your beautiful Puppet Girl," he said casually.

Tommy tried desperately to take in the oxygen, each inhale flaming his lungs. "W-what is that?"

His creator focused on the paintbrushes that he was piling into a cardboard box. "Why, it is a girl. A beautiful Puppet Girl to love you whenever you need."

"W-Why?" his thoughts were muddled as he tried to figure out what his creator meant by this.

"You will see one day, my Puppet Boy. You will see."

_

A.N

this is probably all over the place but it's just sort of a transition into the later years of The Man. i couldn't keep him eight forever and i was kinda stuck on how to gradually transition from that without the story being 3985023985 chapters long so i hope you all understand.
thanks guys!