Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays [9]

A/N: Happy holidays everyone! Sorry this is late, please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes, it's nearly midnight where I am, lol

The factory looked huge and abandoned from the outside. Jeff stood in front of it, threatened by the way it towered over him, making him feel small in comparison. It was the Toymaker's place, no doubt. Jeff's hands itched for his knife, feeling anxious and out of place with the whole situation. Instead, he stood up straighter, trying to get out of the slightly-crouched defensive pose he was in, and shook his shoulders to ease tension. Coming upon the door, he knocked against the gray metal and waited. He rocked on his heels for a minute, until there was the sound of multiple locks becoming unfastened, and the heavy door opened.

A girl stood in front of Jeff, who looked to be roughly 14, in a frilly, light pink dress that reached below her knees. She stared at him with wide expressionless eyes. Jeff stared back at her, just as wide eyed and twice as scary.

"Do I have the right place?" He asked. It was the only thing he could think to say. Who the hell was this kid? "Is, uh, Jason here? Jason the, uh, Toymaker." Jeff added. The girl stared at him for another moment, before stepping back, allowing Jeff to come inside.

"Is that a yes?" He said, as he walked in. The girl closed the door behind him, and Jeff felt the intense urge to escape. He smothered the feeling, but was still paranoid and antsy. He did a quick survey of his surroundings. One exit to his right, an entrance up ahead, the door outside just behind him. A window to his left. There didn't seem to be anything that could be used as a weapon, besides his own knife, and a lamp sitting on a table. Jeff noticed the room was rather cutesy looking. Stuffed toys and pastel colors decorated the place, which somehow did nothing to alleviate his nerves. A teddy bear's black button eyes seemed to stare into his soul.

"So are all the rooms in this place fuckin' creepy or what?" Jeff asked, turning to the girl. That's when he realized he was alone in the room. He spun around, trying to see where she had gone, but the room was empty. Jeff had begun wondering if he was going crazy until he heard footsteps heading down the corridor, heading towards him. He could hear two sets of footsteps, and a male voice talking.

The man sounded vaguely British, and seemed slightly annoyed from the tone of his voice. "This better be important, Lillian, I can't stand anymore unnecessary interruptions while I'm in the middle of a meeting-" the person cut off as they entered the room.

The red-haired man stared at Jeff with wide eyes. He was tall, though not nearly as tall as Laughing Jack. He wore period attire, and everything about him seemed polished and refined. He seemed incredibly disconcerted to find someone in his living room.

"Who...are you?" The redhead asked slowly, before looking at the girl beside him- the same girl who had let Jeff in. "Is this what you were talking about?" he asked her. She nodded. He looked back at Jeff, grimacing.

"I'm Jeff." Jeff said bluntly.

"Lovely to make your acquaintance," the man said unconvincingly, "I'm Jason, Jason the Toymaker."

"Yeah, sure," Jeff said back, trying to keep the bitter anger from sharpening his words. "Listen, I have to ask you about someone you know. Laughing Jack, you know him, right?"

Jason stared at Jeff for a moment, his expression unreadable. Jeff pressed on.

"I need to know where-" Jason held up his hand to silence Jeff.

"I'm so sorry," he interrupted in a fake cheery tone. "I'm actually going to have to ask you to leave."

"What?" Jeff asked, caught off guard. Jason smiled at him sweetly.