User:Red Blizzard/Doll House
Doll House
Nobody knows how it began; there are few now who even know how it ended. A flash of light, a sound of thunder, and the next thing they knew they were being picked out of the rubble. These accounts are all that remain from the city, of which there is now no other record to speak of. All names were wiped from the directory, all buildings leveled to the ground. One cannot find so much as an address book of anyone there, and public records, even those posted online, have been tampered with. Of the perpetrator nothing is known; indeed, it isn’t even known if this was carried out by one or by many. No trace as to how it was done or why anyone did it cam be found. It is only known that it was done.
Here, presented below, are the accounts of the day.
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Security camera tape excavated from a shopping mall…
“Oh, my, gosh. Look at this dress!”
“Eh, it’s ok.”
“Ok!?!?!? Look at it! It’s gorgeous! I am so buy this one.”
“The mannequin kinda creeps me out…”
“Is that all you can think about? The mannequin? Forget that. Come on…”
A gasp.
“What is it?”
“Oh, nothing. I just thought I…OH MY GOSH!!!”
“What!?!?!?”
“Can’t you see it? It’s right in front of you! It’s moving…!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGHHH!!!”
Lights out.
Static.
End of recording.
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Account of Rose Miller, ten years old.
“Well…ummm…I was asleep, and…I had a nightmare, that all my dolls came alive. And they were scary. And then I woke up, and all my dolls really had come to life, and…I thought that maybe I was still dreaming. So I closed my eyes and turned away. But when I opened them again, they were still there. And they were getting closer. So then I started to get really scared, because I have a lot of dolls, and…they were all walking towards me. On their own feet. There was Twinkle, and she was smiling like she always did, only her smile was really scary…I think it was the eyes that made it scary. She actually looked at me, like really looked at me. And they were different eyes, and that scared me. So I jumped out of bed, and they all started running towards me. They grabbed my legs kinda, to slow me down, and started climbing up my legs, like spiders. I don’t like spiders. So that really scared me and I tried to run, but then I tripped and I fell…and then they were all on top of me. Twinkle came up to my neck and started squeezing me…right there. I was trying not to scream…well, ok, I screamed a tiny bit, but then Twinkle squeezed me really hard and I stopped screaming. I started feeling dizzy and all, and I was trying to get the dolls off me, but they were all so strong, and I was too scared…
Then Daddy was there. I think he heard me scream, and he came running to my room to see what was wrong…and when he saw what was going on, he grabbed a book and hit Twinkle, and that made her let go. But then all of the dolls went for Daddy, and he told me to run. So I ran into the hallway, and went downstairs, and I heard Mommy crying in the kitchen. I never heard Mommy cry before, so I went to see what was wrong and saw her standing there with blood on her arm. And on the kitchen counter were my other dolls, the ones I don’t sleep with, and they were holding Mommy’s kitchen knives and throwing them at her. When I went to help her, one of the dolls threw a knife at me, and it hit me…right there. That’s where I got stitches. Then, Mommy told me to run too, so I ran outside. It was dark, but it was already morning I guess…I couldn’t really tell…but I could hear screaming coming from the other houses…and it was so scary. I don’t remember what happened after that…Oh, a nice man came in a helicopter and woke me up…I think I fell asleep…and he carried me away. But not Mommy or Daddy. Do you know where they are?”
End of account.
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911 Call for help, 6:45 a.m.
“Hello, hello? Is there anyone there? Is there anyone who can help me? The dolls are coming alive, I repeat, the dolls are coming alive! This is no joke, this isn’t a prank or anything, my house is overrun with my two younger daughters’ stuffed animals holding anything, baseball bats, kitchen knives, flyswats…I need help! I can’t find my wife, I can’t find my kids, I’ve locked myself in my study, and I can still hear them banging on my door! I need help right now, do you hear me? Right now! Hello, hello? Is there anyone there? Is there anyone who can help me? Anyone at all?”
End of call.
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Account by Trevor Carter, Age 42.
“It was a dark day. There hadn’t been a good rain in months, and the city was parched, but the way the clouds looked that day, I thought for sure that we were finally getting some rain headed our way. Sure enough, we got rain.
“I was in town, in the library getting a book…I can’t remember what book it was now. Suddenly, there was this explosion, and I fell down. I remember trying to stand up, trying to make sense of everything, and then there was another explosion. I sort of staggered out between two bookshelves, just in time, since they fell over just as I got out of there. Then, I looked around. Man will I never forget the sight. There was this mannequin, one of those models they’ve got up in those department stores that they put the clothes on to show off. It was supposed to be faceless and all, but somebody got two eyes carved into it, the two scariest eyes I have ever seen. Man, they seem to look at you like you’ve done something wrong, and you just want to look away and deny everything even if you’ve been a good man all your life. It talked to us. I remember now, it had strapped a speaker of some sort to its chest. I remember it telling us ‘Justice shall be served’ and there was another explosion. It didn’t come from the mannequin though, it just sort of blew upwards through the floor and through the walls and from the ceiling and from everywhere. The whole building started to collapse, and I remember running to the window and jumping out just before we hit the ground.
“I didn’t faint the moment I landed, but kind of drifted back and forth on the edge of consciousness, not sure whether I was supposed to stay awake or not. And as I looked around, I remember seeing other mannequins in the streets, walking in and out of buildings. I think all of them had those same glaring eyes as the one that I saw earlier, and most of them had speakers. I remember some had weapons too, the ones with the hands that could hold them. They had those adjustable fingers, and were holding knives and stuff, running around in the streets going after people. Some were fighting back, with guns and such, but most were just trying to run away. I can still hear the screaming.
“When I looked up at the sky then, I saw the rain. No, not the rain you’d be thinking of. It was raining fire and metal. There were buildings coming down everywhere, explosions all over the place. I’m not exactly a religious person, but when I saw the world coming down around me like that, I said a prayer of some sort to myself. I said: If I could just get out of there alive, I would pray every day before each meal and every night before I go to bed. I was stupid. I should have prayed for my family, should have prayed to keep them alive. I knew that wherever my family was, I wasn’t going to see them again, not in this mess. Even now, I don’t know where they are…I don’t know…
“I pray now. I prayed from the moment I was woken up by that man in the helicopter who came down and found me, still alive. I bet there were other people out there that could’ve been saved, still are people out there to be saved. I’m going back in there. I’m taking the next helicopter and going in there to save whoever needs to be saved…
“No I won’t. Not with these injuries. I’ve got too many cuts all over my body. I’m still in the same clothes I was when I jumped out the building. You can see the cuts and the burn marks everywhere. I still feel a sharp pain in my back pocket. Hang on a moment…
“That’s it. That’s the book I was going to borrow. Fahrenheit 451. Huh. Of all the books I had to bring with me out of that fire…
“I don’t know what else to say. I abandoned my family. I abandoned everyone else out there that I shouldn’t have left behind. The moment I get better, I’m going back to save those people. I shouldn’t have left them, to those…those… I felt trapped, that’s how I felt. Trapped in a doll house, with someone toying with me from the outside, sending all these dolls after me, trying to get me and everyone else out there. It was a dark day. It was supposed to rain. It did rain…”
Sobbing.
End of account.
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Breaking news clip aired on TV…
“Investigators are still trying to find out just what exactly caused an entire city to be demolished without a single trace of who did it or why…”
Buildings coming down.
However, while excavating today in the financial district, investigators uncovered a mannequin from a department store two districts away…”
Justice shall be served.
“missing an arm…”
Still hear the screaming.
“filled with bullet holes…”
Some were fighting back.
“and with realistic eyes either carved into or implanted in its face. Around it were…”
Bodies.
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They had been near a police station when it happened. They had seen the police cars rushing out, none of them returning, and had reacted when the news hit, seeking to defend themselves. Inside, the one or two officers left supplied them with whatever they could dig up: pistols, riot shotguns, smoke grenades. Then, the dolls began crawling in, a wave of plastic and cloth meant to petrify all resistance. Only it didn’t work.
A few dozen shots were fired, shredding the front lines, but they kept coming, and rather than waste any more bullets, they wisely decided to flee, dashing out through a backdoor into the daylight. The dark clouds were brewing with the promise of rain, but most the light came from below, not above, as the first fires sprang up from collapsed buildings. Trouble was already springing up. They were a lawyer, a police officer, an ex-militant, and a young couple out for their second date. They were bonded together out of the sheer need for survival: the shortest bond, and the strongest. Only death could sever it.
They ran two blocks down, and there encountered the first of the full-sized dolls. A mannequin saw them dashing down the street, lifeless eyes giving them a steely glare. As if one, others raised their heads as well, rising to the challenge with lifelike movements formerly impossible for a shaped mass of plastic. And they all had eyes. Dead ones, but ones that could see nonetheless. As the group approached, one stepped forward, designer suit on, speaker strapped to its chest.
“Your struggle is pointless.” Bullets scored its body, hitting points that would have otherwise been critical. It remained standing. “There is nothing you people can do. Justice has descended upon the city with a vengeance. All who resist will meet the same fate as all who accept.” A bullet sang through the air, and the mannequin twitched to one side to avoid letting the bullet strike its speaker. It continued to talk as others charged them, a mass of flailing limbs and plastic smiles. “Lay down your weapons and accept your judgment…”
“Yeah right.” A young man, part of the couple, raised a handgun and put a bullet between the mannequin’s eyes. It merely turned its head to bear down on him with a stare as an army of dolls rushed forward. “Resistance is futile.”
“Not that cliché…” The police officer groaned and pointed his shotgun. The first blast sent dozens of mannequins flying backwards, their light bodies ripped to shreds by pellets. A few got up, wobbling on their feet, but others stayed down, unable to rise. “The damage you do to us is of no consequence. We are merely the executors and the adjudicators, not the legislators.” More mannequins rushed forward to replace those that fell. Not only was the entire shopping district emptied, but everything from life-sized cookie monsters down to teddy bears the size of a thumb had been mobilized against the city. In the distance, the sound of explosions could be heard as the dolls before them continued to charge forward en masse.
“You will die regardless of what you do. Do not resist.” A second wave of dolls was sent sprawling backwards.”
“Like I’m going to spend my last moments listening to your talk!” The police officer spat and fired one more time, the others supporting him with whatever they could. Slowly but surely, the army marched forward against them. A smoke grenade was thrown, blinding everyone. But sharp eyes saw through the murk, and a gurgling scream went up into the air. The young couple felt a hand on their shoulders, and they were hauled out of the street and into the alley. Another voice called out to them, “Get going, I’ll hold them off!” There was another shotgun bang, and then all sound was drowned out by marching feet. The couple and the hands holding them were steered out of the smoke and into a narrow network of alleyways behind the buildings. Turning, the two saw their savior: the ex-military. That meant the lawyer had screamed and the officer was dead.
“Don’t worry about the others, worry about staying alive for the moment.” The military man looked at them gruffly as he lead them on. A harsh clatter of footsteps behind them. Two mannequins in high-heels burst out of the smoke, fashionable dresses swishing lightly. Military man grunted and hefted his own shotgun, taking off the first one’s head. It fell over and stayed down. But the second one, instead of pulling out a knife or diving in with its hands, merely raised them and clapped once. For a moment, everyone raised their eyebrows. Then, taking the hint, they all ran. A moment later, the building on the left side of the alleyway exploded. Swearing, the military man dashed through the flames, dragging the other two to safety. They paused once safely out of the fire, breathing hard, heels scorched. Then, high-heels clacked, and the mannequin walked out of the inferno. The young man fired just as the mannequins raised its hands again. His bullet punctured one eye and kept traveling on through the back of its head, boring a hole that revealed plain old plastic, nothing more. But the mannequin seemed to stumble, reaching up to where its eye used to be. All movement on that side of the body seized up. The girl, taking the hint, took out the other eye, and the mannequin came crashing down, lifeless like before.
“Good work, both of you.” The ex-military heaved a sigh. “Looks like they can blow things up just by clapping, so don’t give them the chance. Go for the eyes it seems, those are the things controlling them.”
“How are they even coming to life in the first place?” The girl’s voice was exasperated, searching for reason among the madness.
“I don't know, but I have a feeling that someone's controlling these freaks. They can't all be just acting up on their own." The ex-military cautiously approached the downed mannequin, turning it over and removing various components. All ordinary plastic. Behind him, the girl looked on apprehensively.
"Well?"
"Like I said, don’t worry about that. Only worry about staying…” The ex-military paused as a tiny little doll landed on his shoulder and perched there. It was one of those baby dolls you would find in your average toy store, the one with the eyes that would open and shut. Only this one’s eyes stayed open. Its head turned all the way around, surveying its surroundings, as everyone else froze in shock. Then, it smiled sweetly at the military man, laughed through its own little speaker, and clapped its hands.
“Get out of…!” The couple scrambled for their lives as the building nearest to them erupted into a pillar of fire and molten concrete. Slipping and stumbling against each other, they somehow made it back to the main street…and found themselves surrounded. Mannequins and dolls of all shapes and sizes surrounded them in the shadow of a massive skyscraper. The alleyways had led them to the center of the financial district.
“Give up.” The mannequin with the speaker was there, designer suit slightly ruffled. Only this time, it was at the back of the army, not at the front, standing on the steps leading up to the building opposite them. “At this point, any further resistance, and your deaths will be slow and painful.”
“So much for justice, huh?” And with that, the girl was away and firing, wielding two pistols and firing into the crowd at eye-level. Most of her shots went wide, but several found their mark, knocking loose eyes and downing several mannequins. The young man followed her in, sweeping those on her other side as the two commenced fighting for their lives. But it could hardly be called a fight. The mannequins just stood there, fell, got up again, and fell down for good. But then, in the middle of reloading, the man was tackled to the ground by a mannequin wielding a butcher’s cleaver. They struggled for a moment on the ground, their feet flailing, kicking the guns away. Then, the man wrestled himself on top, tore off the mannequin’s arm, and beheaded it with its own cleaver. Nearby, a mannequin picked up his guns, pointed them at him, and squeezed both triggers. Nothing.
“Stupid, I didn’t reload them.” The mannequin’s head was lopped off as the man dove back into the fray, now hacking and hewing at anything he could reach. The mannequins moved fast, but couldn’t keep up with his energy, body crackling with life that they lacked. Behind him, the girl finished off the entire other side of the street, guns clicking empty just as the last mannequin fell.
“Sheesh, if the cops had actually tried, they might have been able to take care of this entire situation by themselves.” The girl looked around for anything that might be remotely harmful, all the while searching for extra clips. She found none. At the other end, the man finished up with the dismemberment of one final mannequin, then turned around. Other than a few minor cuts, he was fine. He looked over his shoulder at her, eyes meeting with hers.
Clap.
The skyscraper groaned as its entire base was rent apart by a massive blast, keeling over onto the street, shadow engulfing the couple. The girl looked up, eyes wide, dropping everything. The man seized her and sprinted full speed out of the way, hardly making it out before a cloud of dust sprang up, blocking out everything. For a moment, the two just lay where they had landed, coughing. But as the dust cleared, a dark figure in a designer suit appeared before them, arms raised.
“Oh no you don’t!” The man charged, cleaver in hand, and sliced off an arm. But his momentum carried him too far, within reach of a building. The mannequin nonchalantly raised its other arm, fingers moving together.
Snap.
Half the building exploded. The man was blown back, body smoldering. It seemed to crumple like a rag doll onto the pavement where it crashed, blackened and burned.
“NO!!!” The girl ran to him, brushing by the mannequin, reaching for him. He was still breathing, barely, but he was unconscious, and bleeding fast. He was going to die either way.
A shadow fell across the girl’s back. “Why do you linger?” The girl turned around and glared into the eyes of the mannequin in the designer suit, speaker dangling from its chest by a few wires. “You have a chance to escape, yet you stay by his side even though he will die for sure. Weren’t you going to resist me? Weren’t you going to live?”
The girl spat her words back at the doll, eyes glowing defiantly. “Whoever you are, whatever you are, you clearly have no idea what it means to be human, to appreciate the value of human life. What is your justice anyways? It’s just an excuse for you to kill people! I feel sorry for you, never knowing what it’s like to actually live and love."
The mannequin froze for a moment, standing absolutely still as if in contemplation.
“I don’t understand you humans.”
Snap.
