Doll-Maker Dreams

Chapter 2- Cross Necklace

August is unable to move. He can feel the adrenaline rush throughout his entire body, yet he still doesn't have the strength or courage to move a muscle. All he can do is stare intensely at the man in front of him. 

"Ah, children. Always so curious and naive," Mr. Vogel says with a wide grin, black liquid starting to ooze out of his mouth. His voice sounds so coarse and raspy. It's as if his lungs had been held underwater for longer than humanly possible. "Kids like you always go touching things that should never be touched. The sad truth of this world is that the adolescent is more impure than anything else." 

August can't seem to respond to anything he's saying. Everything feels as if it happened in the blink of an eye. One minute he and his sister were trying to contact mom and dad and the next, she's lying on the ground, drifting out of consciousness. Not only that, this centuries old man, presumed to be dead by many, is standing in front of him right now with a syringe with god-knows-what inside of it. 

"But don't fret. All of those imperfections haunting your feeble bodies shall vanish when I'm done with you. And after that, I shall find the perfect place for you both with the other dolls here," Mr. Vogel says with joy. 

'Other dolls?' August thinks to himself nervously.

It took August a while to process what he had just said, but then it hit him. The bleeding doll, their realistic human features and sizes. The dolls aren't truly dolls, at least originally they weren't. They were people...kids. August starts to feel nauseous at the thought. All this time, they were surrounded by once living and breathing people. 

The worst part about this realization is...he and Ebony are next. 

"W-Wh...y?" August finally spits out. It's all he can say really. All of this is too much for him: he feels as if he is going to pass out. Yet he doesn't. He's too scared to close his eyes, let alone pass out. 

"Please don't give me that look. Society was always the worst when it comes to handling kids. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a perfect child. You cannot birth one, nor mold one," Mr. Vogel claims. "But I'm here to give struggling children, like you, the opportunity to become what your parents would want you to be, maybe even more."

"B-By turning them into d-dolls?!" August cries. "Y-You...you've killed so many kids, and for what?!" 

"For perfection. For purity of the soul. No matter how well you raise a child, they'll always be impure. It's only fair that I fix that problem, whether it's agreed with or not," Mr. Vogel states as he steps a little closer towards August. "What's the matter, August? Do you not want you and your sister to be perfect?" 

August doesn't respond. A wave of confusion drowns his mind entirely because of the fact that Mr. Vogel knows his name and his relationship with Ebony. He snaps out of it, however, when he sees Mr. Vogel approaching him, syringe held high. 

He gasps and shuffles away from him, being forced to release Ebony from his grasp. This simply makes Mr. Vogel laugh. 

"Come now, child. Think of this as a simple trip to the doctors. It will be alright when it's all over," Mr. Vogel says reassuringly, yet terrifyingly. 

"No! Get away from me, you psycho!" August screams as he continues to shuffle away from him. Mr. Vogel is quicker, however, and grabs August by his leg and drags him closer to him.

"Don't you want to join your sister? Family should stay together, after all," Mr. Vogel laughs maniacally as he grabs August's arm, pinning it down so he can plant the syringe into it. 

"NO!!!" August shrieks, using his free arm to smack the syringe away. He then kicks Mr. Vogel away from him, forcing him to release his arm. Without a second thought, August gets up and runs down the corridor in hopes of finding a place to hide or another exit.