The Man (Puppet Boy Prequel)

8.

ABOUT FOUR years later, Tommy woke to the sound of a girl screaming from upstairs. His heart dropped to his stomach and he began to choke on the heavy air as the basement door flew open and shadows of a girl beside his creator were revealed.

She was shoved down the stairs, hitting each step until she fell limp to the ground. Tommy watched, his chest heaving and his eyes wide as the girl cried, her sounds muffled by a thick piece of tape. She shook her head rapidly when his creator came rushing down the stairs after her. She tried to scramble away from him, but with her hands tied behind her back, it was nearly impossible.

His creator grabbed her by her shoulders and lifted her into his arms, carrying her towards Tommy. She kicked and struggled, using all of her strength to try and free herself from his creator's steady grip.

"The sooner you stop struggling, the sooner I'll let you go," his creator lied to the girl.

Her rapid movements subsided, and she seemed to relax a little bit, but her breath was still heavy. Tommy could not distinguish any facial features in the poorly lit room, but he could tell that her messy hair was blonde with twigs and leaves knotted in it.

"Here she is, Puppet Boy. I finally got you your beautiful Puppet Girl. She was a hard one to capture."

Tommy couldn't look at her. He kept his eyes trained on the ants that scurried along the ground.

"I have to go retrieve some wood, I will be back soon. Use her as much as you would like, but if I find out that she is pregnant, I will kill you," his creator threatened. "This is a gift for you. Use it wisely."

Tommy couldn't stop shaking. He didn't understand what he would possibly use her for, or how she would get pregnant, but he just prayed that she wouldn't so his life could be spared.

He kept his eyes locked on the floor until he heard his creator step up the stairs. The basement door creaked open before slamming shut, and the two of them were consumed by silence.

He looked up at the girl who was sprawled on the floor, her hair covering her face. She was mumbling into the tape, squirming and sniffling, and Tommy couldn't handle it. It had been so long since his creator had made any new puppets, he almost forgot how scary it was when the new ones arrived.

He moved towards the girl slowly, going to pull her thick and matted strands of hair out of her face so he could remove the tape from her mouth, but she flinched away from him. His heart dropped to his stomach before he realized that she was just afraid.

"I- I'm only taking the tape off your mouth," he told her timidly.

She closed her eyes while he wrapped his fingers around the edge of the tape and channeled all of his strength to rip it off. She screamed loudly for somebody to help her.

Tommy was frightened by her. He didn't want to be near her.

"Please, please let me go, please," she begged him, and that is when Tommy noticed something about her that made his stomach turn.

Because of their close proximity, Tommy noticed that her irises were the tannest shade of caramel and her cheeks were flushed. Her eyelashes resembled brushes of dark blonde that fanned over her high cheekbones with each blink of her eyes, and her lips were small and heart-shaped. She almost resembled...

"Tommy?" the girl asked, staring at him as well. She must have recognized the makeup.

Tommy couldn't breathe. His body began to tingle and his mind began to whirl with confusion and even anger. Why was she here? It couldn't possibly be her...

"Julie," he said to himself, his eyes never leaving her face.

"You, you're so skinny... Oh my God, I... I thought you moved away or.. I thought you died," she mumbled quietly, her eyes fixed on him.

"Julie..." Was he hallucinating?

"Tommy, it's me, it's Julie."

He didn't even listen. He couldn't get over how beautiful she was, even with her hair all knotted and dirt smudged across her cheek - she looked so different from when they were eight. Her eyes were still huge and her cheeks were still tinted a dim red colour but her body had grown taller, and curvier, and her voice was even softer and... why her? Why did his creator have to find her? She wasn't a puppet, she was a human. She wasn't like him.

She eyed the skeletons that were in rows behind Tommy, and she turned pale.

"Please, please get me out of here. Please, Tommy, I need you to get me out of here," she quickly begged, her pleading eyes melting into his. "Please."

"Julie, I can't get you... I can't get you out of here," he was still in utter shock.

"You have to, Tommy, please. I... I missed you so much when you were gone. I, I wondered every day where you were and," she took a hasty breath, her glittering eyes attaching to the ground. "Tommy, please," she begged. "We can get out of here."

"W-we?"

"Yes, you are coming with me and we are reporting that psychopath-"

He felt defensive. "He's not a psychopath," he told her.

Her eyes were so sad. "Please, Tommy. How can you not realize that he is not okay?"

He began to remember all the times she protected him against bullies, and he knew that it was his time to protect her. His creator wasn't a psychopath, he just wanted to make puppets, but sometimes he could be a little mean.

He jumped when he suddenly felt her lips press against his cheek. She pulled away with tear-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered shakily. He wanted to get her out so terribly. The anger he was gradually beginning to feel for his creator at that moment was unbelievable; the edges of his vision were practically tainted red and his fingers were curled into fists.

He moved behind her to untangle the rope from her wrists, his breath hitching each time she sniffled. When she was released, he stood up. His body was so physically deteriorated but he was determined to get her out of there - he knew what his creator was capable of and he couldn't watch her go through it.

He also knew he wouldn't be able to let her out from the front door upstairs, because the door was likely locked and his creator could be lurking around.

It didn't take long for him to notice that at the very top of the ceiling there was a hole in the corner from the mould eating away at the wall, something he had noticed before.

He looked around for something to stand on so he could see if he could possibly peel away at it.

"Did you find anything?" she whispered as he tried to push the large table towards the corner. He couldn't, and he hung his head with heavy breath as he tried to use all of the strength he didn't have to push it. She helped him out, pushing the table into the corner with ease.

He got on the table and heaved at the stench of the damp wall. He held his breath and reached his finger into the hole to tear away at it, easily flaking off a small, grimy piece of the paint.

There was still a little creak of sunlight where the basement was slightly overground, and he was so happy to see it. Escaping hadn't been a thought to him since the last time he attempted it - but now it just seemed so close and he was basking in the possibility of protecting Julie.

Suddenly, Tommy heard a loud scream from her. His heart dropped to his stomach when he turned around and found his creator standing there.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

_

A.N

sorry!!!!

thank you guys, and happy holidays :)