Alice and Her Doll

Chapter 1

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There it sat.

In the darkest, dirtiest corner of the attic.

It was the perfect place, of course, because no one had ventured up in the attic for years. It was filled with dust and dirt and spiders and cobwebs. Maybe even rats.

But the doll didn't care. Neither did its Infector.

The lifeless doll just sat. Its bright green eyes staring at the wall. Its flaming curly red hair that had collected dust, dirt, and grime over the years sat daintily on its shoulders. Its pretty emerald sparkly dress that was smothered by tiny spiders and other bugs.

Its Infector floated over to the window that was enveloped with frost.

"Soon my dear," it said as it stared out of the window into the cold, dark night. "Soon we will get what we deserve."

The Infector then "infected" the doll. Its cheerful green eyes were flooded with black; both of the doll's eyes were as black as death.

The doll said to itself as it blinked slowly, "Now we wait for the right time."

Its perfectly painted smile curved up into an evil grin as it quietly chuckled in its high pitched voice.

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"Alice! Where are you?" Carrie Fraser's voice rang out through the silent house. "Okay Alice, you win! You can come out now!"

Carrie jogged into every room downstairs-- the kitchen, living room, foyer, and built-in doghouse but still saw no sign of 4-year-old blond hair, blue-eyed Alice.

"Hide and Seek is supposed to be fun," mumbled Carrie as she ran up the squeaky wooden stairs in the Cooks' spacious two-story house.

The first room Carrie laid her eyes on was the master bedroom. She slowed her jog down to a quiet walk. As Carrie entered the pitch black bedroom, she flipped on the light switch.

"I never did like this room," Carrie said under her breath.

As Carrie approached the massive bathroom hidden in the master bedroom, she couldn't see anything, despite the light on in the bedroom.

Her heart thumped violently as she squeaked, "Alice? You in there?"

Something rustled in the shower, or at least what Carrie thought was the shower.

A small figure burst out of the bathroom into the master bedroom, knocking Carrie over.

"RAAAA!!!" shouted petite Alice. "Did I scare you?"

Carrie was still out of breath from getting the daylight's scared out of her.

"No......I......uh," Carrie managed to squeeze out. "Alice, just please come when I call you. You know if I lose you your mom and dad will fire me. You don't want that, do you?"

"No!!! Of course not, Carrie! I love you, you're like my big sister....." Alice trailed off as Carrie lifted her up and carried her down the stairs into the kitchen to eat lunch.

"Good. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. I love you."

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