Page 35 of Dollface

“Blue,” he sighs as I look at him. “I’ve shared more with you than the very bugs in my basement. I’m tired and all fucking talked out. Shit, I’d willingly take on a Nightmare if it means getting out of here and taking you back home.” I huff out a laugh but take no offense to his words. I know what he just shared with me was something big, something painful and meaningful, something he planned to take with him to his death. Him opening up, telling me his past, truly makes me believe that maybe—just maybe—I’m not the only one falling here.

“Your ass stays here until I come back, or I’m tying you up.” He grins. “And not in a fun way.” He winks.

“Fine but hurry up. I don’t like being alone in the dark.” I carefully sit down, preparing for the darkness to take over in his absence. Firefly lifts one of the many hanging sheets, revealing a small cage with a green dragonfly inside. He opens the tiny cage, and it lands perfectly on his hand as he walks back, rotating my hands as he places it in my open palms. I smile at the glowing green dragonfly, watching as the color transforms from green to blue.

“Didn’t think I’d leave you all alone now, did you?” I grin like a child, watching the dragonfly flutter its wings in my hand. “I’ll be back, promise.” He kisses my forehead before leaving the cave. I continue to smile at the dragonfly as it rests in my hand, watching the glow trickle onto my skin, the color a faint blue.

“I really am in love with him,” I whisper to the bug in confidence.

Chapter 10

Firefly

The same dragonfly from the cave sits atop my hand. I stare at it, listening to its chittering, repeating Blue’s words to me. She has no idea the bugs can communicate with me. That they’re my little spies here in Nightmare, constantly watching her when I can’t.

“Boss needs to be careful,” Havoc hisses from behind, standing at the base of the staircase to the basement. “Dolly is a glass doll, shattering with the smallest crack.”

The dragonfly flies from my hand, joining the wall filled with my other insects as I turn and face her, her sharp teeth on full display, ready to bite. “Since when did it become wise for you to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do? You should be thankful she stood up for you before. Touch her again, Havoc, and not even Blue will save you from the hell I will unleash.”

The psychotic minion cackles, tossing her head back in a feverish expression of her insanity. “Boss couldn’t hurt Havoc if he wanted!” She snaps her teeth, taunting me.Oh, is that what she thinks?My hands ball into fists at my side as I begin to charge toward her.We’ll see about that.

“Careful.” A devil tail wraps around my arm, pulling me back. I whip my head around to see Sullen, arms crossed, as hestands and watches me. “Havoc’s right, boss. You’re playing a very dangerous game with that doll.” I pull his tail, yanking the demon close, gripping him by the throat. He smiles, seemingly unfazed by the threat of me, his tongue running over the front of his teeth as a knowing smirk pulls at his lips. “It’s been a long time since you’ve acted out. You hunger for it, don’t you?”

“For what?” I growl, gripping his throat tighter.

His demon tail taps my hand, holding my knife within its grasp. “For pain. You haven’t murdered any creations sinceherarrival, not like before. Not like our nightly hunts. Some would say you’re going soft.”Soft?I grip my knife and release the demon, watching as he falls to the ground, coughing. He grins up at me, his face painted with a sinister smile. “Quit playing these childish games. Kill the doll. End her life, pluck out those eyes and put them in the jar with the rest of them.”

“I’m not killing Blue!” I snarl.

“Blue?” Charisma steps from the shadows to Sullen’s side, helping him to his feet. “Since when are we referring to the dolls by their given names now?” They click their tongue, looking me up and down. “Have we been breaking the rules of the game, boss? Or are you playing a different game with that toy?”

I raise my knife, the tip kissing the underside of Charisma’s chin. “You better watch your fucking mouth.”

“Or what?” They raise a brow. “We fear the Boogeyman, not aFirefly.” My face drops as Blue’s name for me falls from their mouth.

“I am the Boogeyman!” I yell, pushing the blade against their skin, purple blood dripping down their neck as Sullen hisses at me.

Charisma slightly tilts their head, their lavender eyes flickering with eagerness as they lean close, pushing the blade deeper into their neck. “Not toher,you aren’t,” they slowly drawl, the words like a taunting whisper, before slowly backaway from my knife, their eyes glowing as they step into the shadow, laughing.

Sullen begins to back away, his laughter echoing Charisma’s as he fades away alongside them into the darkness, leaving only Havoc and myself.

“Pretty Charisma is right, boss.” I sigh, rolling my eyes as I turn to face her. Havoc begins to circle me with exaggerated steps. “Dolly doesn’t see you as you are. Only a light. Time to fix things.” She taps my knife.

“I’m not killing her, Havoc.” I grit out, the urge to set all three of these fuckers ablaze becoming almost too much to fight.

“Better than the truth flying free as a moth. Not all is as it seems.” She begins to tap her button eye, creating an odd rhythm with her finger. “Boss must do a bad thing.” She sings, her voice melting as something cold begins to wash over me. “You must kill the doll. Kill the doll.” Her vision morphs into another, commanding me as I stand still, entranced, hearing only the command given to me.

“Kill. The. Doll.”

I turn, placing my mask over my face, turning to look at Havoc over my shoulder as I raise my knife, staring back into my reflection—the reflection of the Boogeyman.

“Kill the doll,” I repeat.

I must’ve blackedout or something, I... I don’t know. I don’t recall traveling at all, but here I am, outside Blue’s window, perched in my spot on the old tree that scratches across the stained glass. I’m crouched, wearing my suit and holding myknife, my thoughts blurring and running into one another, creating a murky fog of confusion. My hand moves, pushing the glass window open as I effortlessly slide inside. Her room is unusually dark and empty, no sign of her within it.Where are you?

The sounds of my heavy breathing fill my ears as I stare through the scratchy eye holes of my mask, searching for her. I slowly and carefully open the bedroom door, waiting for her to make a sound. Nothing.

My feet carry me down the hall, checking every room as I silently open each of the doors, finding only darkness, dust, and silence.Where are you?I continue to search until the entire second story of the home is cleared. Something clatters down below, catching my attention.

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