Into the Woods | Ticci Toby

.2.

It was not quite a restful sleep. For some reason, when Maura was carried by the mysterious people, she could not open her eyes no matter how hard she tried. It was almost like a force was forcing her to stay still, to allow these people to take her. At some point, they entered a house, and dropped Maura in a bed in a room. She eventually could move, an uncomfortably warm stiffness filling her joints. She looked around at the room, and she blinked in surprise. It was a room that she had always wanted for herself,, one with all the necessities. She stood up, warily exploring. She opened one door, finding an empty closet. The one to the left of it opened up to a bathroom with an adjacent door straight through.

Maura closed the door, turning to the one that she had entered through with the others. She crept up to it softly, hand reaching to the doorknob. However, a knock on the door jolted Maura, flinching from the surprise. "Maura? I need to speak with you." An odd voice drifted from the other side of the door, and Maura hesitated. The person on the other side sighed, and said, "You have to open the door eventually, so why not just do it now and leave the headache out of it?"

Maura opened the door gently to reveal a taller man, all facial features obscured by a feminine white mask. His brown hair shifted as he tilted his head slightly. "May I come in?"

Maura stepped back, allowing space for the masked man to walk in. He turned to her and said, "My name is Masky. I'm here to review your duties now that you are a resident of this household." Maura immediately raised her hand, and Masky abruptly stops speaking. He motions for her to speak. "I actually have two questions. First of all, what do you mean by duties? Also, Masky isn't a very original name." Masky looked in my direction. "That was one question. If you'll just let me finish, you will find out." Maura shut her mouth, and listened.

"Now that you live here, you'll have specific duties. You will have a meeting with Mr. S later today, but I will go over the main points." He gestured to both of them. "You are a proxy now, just like me. That means you must follow Mr. S's orders, and you have to carry them out properly. You will receive training, and you get to live in this house for free in return. Any questions?" Maura nodded.

"Who all lives in this house? Also, who is Mr. S? I haven't met anyone other than you yet. I'd also like to know what these 'duties' are, as well-" Masky stood up abruptly, shocked. "Holy hell, there's another one." Maura looked at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Masky stepped out of the room, and Maura rushed to follow him. It was one thing to keep up with this fast walking weirdo, but what truly got to Maura was the house. She hadn't noticed it when she came in, but there was this odd smell that emanated from somewhere that she couldn't quite realize. She looked at the floor, and there was a fresh pool of dark red liquid spattered on the baseboard of a wall. Maura clenched her fist, steeling herself, and continued following Masky.

"Hey! Can you please explain to me what I need to do?" She reached for his arm, and Masky side stepped her. He bumped into another guy, slightly shorter than him. This one had very messy brown hair, as if it had not been brushed in several days. He looked at Maura, brown eyes meeting her blue ones. Masky huffed, looking at the guy. "Toby, do you happen to have a kid sister?" Maura looked at Masky, 100% confused, while the Toby guy just laughed. "What, this little thing?" He reached towards me, messing up my hair. "I'm not even that short!" Maura stepped away from Toby, not appreciating the new hair look she was now sporting.

"Hey, Timmy! Since you seemed to hate this lovely lady here, why don't I take the rings from you?" Toby crossed his arms smiling like he had concocted the most brilliant plan ever. "Sure, Toby. You have fun with that. And it's reigns, not rings, you moron." Toby cheered, grabbing Maura's wrist. He pulled her down the rest of the hallway they had been traveling. "I'll show you the whole mansion!" Toby said, guiding her down a set of stairs. The stairs led them to a foyer, and Maura could slightly remember being lugged through the front door that appeared on the left. "This is the foyer! That's the front door, the one across the room is the dining room and kitchen, and the last one goes to the living room." Toby gestured for her to follow him into the living room, and they entered a large spacious space that Maura could only explain as grand. There was a wrap around couch with a large flatscreen opposite it, and a fireplace below it. Across from Maura and Toby was a large clear sliding door, and large windows on each side of it allowed light to softly filter into the room. Maura took a step forward, letting out a soft "wow!" Maura flopped on the couch, relishing the comfort.

"So, how do you like it in here? Are you glad you're staying here yet?" Maura turned to him. "I'm still slightly confused why I'm here but sure? Anything must be better than where I was before." Toby's smile faltered slightly, and he said, "Well, once Slender saves you, you owe him. You become his proxy, and quite frankly, it's not that bad." Toby walked over and sat beside Maura. He clasped his hands together, fidgeting. "What will he have me do?" Maura asked, a bit more confidently now.

Toby shrugged. "I dunno. It could literally be anything." That didn't soothe Maura's nerves, but she was determined. She wouldn't go back and live with her 'parents', if she could even really call them that. She would stay and make something here.

Anything.