The Ragdoll

The Ragdoll Killer

Emily woke up the next morning to something slamming against the front door of the theater. It hit the door so hard that the noise from the impact bounced off the walls of the lobby and into the dressing room where Emily dreamt about the good times she had the night before. Acting on reflex, Emily jumped up out of the futon with her switchblade already open in her hand. She carefully tiptoed down the long halls of the theater and stopped at the front door. She gripped the blade so hard that her knuckles turned white. She turned the doorknob and flung the door open, ready to attack whatever dare challenge her.

She looked left. No one. She looked right. No one. She looked down, A newspaper. She closed her switchblade, took a step out of the theater, and picked up the newspaper, looking further down the street to see a van with newspapers being thrown out the side speeding toward The Rusty Fork and Trashland. Emily walked back inside the theater with newspaper in hand, and sat down in one of the red theater chairs. She opened up the paper and began to read out of pure interest with her only light coming from the sun that was shining through the eaten away ceiling. Maybe some new information had come out on her father's killer

But that wasn't the case that morning. What Emily saw angered her to no extent.

THE RAGDOLL KILLER:

DEMON OF HEART CITY

By Rachel Blair

It's no secret that there has been tragedy in our beloved city for the past few days. As the body count continues to grow, the fear in the people's hearts have continued to do the same. The HCPD have not identified the monster behind the murders, but witnesses are here to tell their horrifying experience. Adam Wiggins, son of one of the victims (44 year old Helen Wiggins) claims to have been there when all hell broke loose. I caught up with 6 year old Adam to hear his side of things.

So Adam, can you tell me what happened last night?

"My mommy was killed by a monster."

What did this monster look like?

(A moment of silence.)

"She was tall, with dark hair."

Was there anything else about her that you might have seen?

"Yeah... She had boo-boos on her face. Like she got hurt and someone sewed her up."

She had stitches?

"Yeah."

How many? A lot?

"Yeah. A lot."

Can you tell me what the monster did to your mother?

"My mommy hugged her real hard, and the monster stabbed her in the chest with her knife."

Why do you think the monster left you alone, Adam?

"Because a superhero stopped her. His name was Shade."

Did the monster hurt Shade?
"I don't know. I ran away."

Thank you very much, Adam. We're all done.

"You're welcome."

HCPD officers are still searching for "The Ragdoll-

Emily crumpled up the newspaper in a fit of rage and threw it across the theater. She cradled her head in her hands, trying not to cry. They had turned her into a monster. Emily never wanted to be a monster. She just wanted to do what she loved, she just wanted to do what she was good at, she just wanted to do what she needed to do so the withdrawal wouldn't eat her alive. The name haunted her. The horrible, horrible name that they had given her.