Stuffed

Chapter 12

Heaving in he startled awake, his eyes wide and body shivering. It almost seemed like something is in the room with him, he shifted from side to side to hopefully catch a glimpse of anything. However as soon as he noticed the chilling air the dreamy presence was already gone. Rising from the silky covers he gazed outside to the open world, the sun peeked over the hills beginning the day. Maurice huffed a sigh of miserable contentedness at the coming of the morning sun. Swiftly he shifted over to his dresser pulling out some clean clothes from inside its drawers. In moments his regular routine took place, every tiny detail repeated as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Once he was finished with everything, and certain he had double checked, he trotted down the winding staircase that led to the doorway of his house. The stairs creaked with each step, each creak echoing all over the huge silent home. Wide across the hallway he stared to keep his senses sharp and attentive, and what he saw sent a shock through his body. A standing shadow in the direct middle of his kitchen, it was enough to cause a scream escape from his lips. That simple sound cause the tall shadow to peer back at him with bright glowing orange eyes, was that Patchi in his house? It darted into the living room, not a sound came from each speedy step it took.

Dropping his suitcase Maurice grew cold, his muscles frozen with complete fear. He thought by now he would be used to the strange things he had seen from Isabelle, but this somehow caused his heart to leap out of his chest. Walking slowly he approached the living room, the beating of his own heart causing his sanity to be thrown out of the window. By the side of the wall he flattened his body against it wondering if he should even look. Did he really want to know what creature was lurking in his house?

Taking a brave step forward he rejected his instinct to run away, but nothing was there. Tossing his head from right to left he couldn't see anything in sight but his furniture. Yet for some reason his spine chilled, and he could feel a freezing air surround his entire body. Assuming that perhaps his own mind was playing games with him he took a few steps back to turn around. Behind him, suddenly was the dark looming face of the creature, and its two huge orange eyes.

"Boo!" The shadow hissed out as Maurice White flew back with a scream.

Backing away from the beast Mr. White stuttered, "What are you?"

The creature lifted two pitch black arms in a joking way as if to mock him, "You invited me here Maurice..."

Releasing another screech of fright Maurice watched the ghost like creature push through him. The body of the shadow froze up his inside for a single moment, causing him to cough. Throwing himself up quickly Maurice attempted to find the shadow once more but it disappeared. This time however he could hear it cackling within the walls, its voice horrific and distorted. Unsure of what he was up against Mr. White grabbed his things and darted out the door.

He slammed the door behind him with haste, every bone in his body shaking. In a swift pace he leaped into his truck and started the engine to go. His mind blew by swiftly, each thought clustered with another as he panicked against his own sanity. Maurice wondered if he could even go home, whatever was stalking in his house had intentions to stay. There had to be someone he could consult, but his co-workers would never believe him, and frankly he just didn't know anybody else. Swerving into the parking lot he took a moment to sort through his thoughts.

A medium sized parking stall was enough for him as he hopped out of the rusted old truck. As he began to walk he could hear a whispering from behind him. It couldn't be what he just saw, he thought he'd left it at home. Sure enough, he turned around and again the same dark shadow loomed over him. Nearly taking his heart out Maurice raced forward to try and get away, but unfortunately there was nowhere to hide. It floated through the walls and seeped into every possible corner. The relentless monster would not leave him alone, and Maurice couldn't figure out why. As he entered the building the creature persisted to follow him with a eerie whispering, but no one else pointed out the obvious shadow creature behind him.

Standing in the middle of the facility Maurice examined how not a single soul bothered to recognize him. It was as if everything was going along like normal, like there wasn't a tall shadow creeping about the place. Rushing forward he proceeded to ignore this monster, perhaps it was his own imagination getting to him. He piled into his office without a word, the room lonesome and silent put Mr. White on edge. The shadow was still there standing in the corner of his office, watching him.

"Why can't anyone else see you!" Maurice whispered sharply to himself with agony.

"That's because I'm visible to only you, moron!" The beast hissed.

Maurice shivered and gazed up at it, "I need to relax, I'm seeing things, think logically..."

"You're an idiot, what you think you could leave me at the house? You're sadly mistaken" The shadow echoed creepily, "You owe me a favor, for taking on Isabelle. I am connected to her, and therefore you are connected to me!"

Maurice White whipped his head onto his desk, "Why does everything that goes wrong in my life involve Isabelle!"


"Perhaps I shouldn't be so rude as to base my existence to her, as that is not at all true" It spoke like an army of crawling spiders, "Here's a riddle dear friend... What is invisible to others but the host, dark like the lurking depths of Hell, and can't be easily left at home?"

"Schizophrenia?" Maurice White questioned awkwardly.

The beast flared into what seemed like black flames, "No you imbecile! I have many names, I am your worst nightmare!"

Mr. White went as white as his name, "A demon..."

"Close, more like a lost soul. See unlike ghosts who are lost and lurking this mortal plain, I am far worse" The ghostly body flew around the room, "I'm here because I was cheated, just like those stuffed animals I am here for revenge. The lady who took my life from me is in this very building and I have been waiting very patiently for you. Isabelle is not near strong enough to kill, but you, oh you are my ticket to freedom."

Maurice scoffed at the request, "I'm not going to be murdering anyone!"

"I suppose you don't realize the direness of the situation so let's put it this way instead" The ghost slammed down onto his desk, "I wouldn't have just picked some random guy for this, obviously you are far from what I wanted. However your circumstances with Isabelle, will make this perfect for me. That child of a woman is in the same situation I was, and if she doesn't escape she will die just like me."

"What does it have to do with her!" The man roared in defense of her, "You leave her alone or so help me!"

It chuckled deeply as it swayed in the air, "Slow down friend, it is not me you need to worry about. However you won't be convinced by me so I'll wait until the right moment."

"How does it not have to do with you, my parents were superstitious. They told me all about the likes of you, a wolf in sheep's clothing!" Maurice White denied him with rage flowing in his veins, he had a weird feeling about this creatures presence.

The ghost stopped dead and gave him a menacing glare, "Oh your parents huh?"

Staring deeply at the dark ghost he replied, "Yes!"

"What a strange thing coming from you, the child that nobody loved!" It screech at him like that of a banshee, "You think I don't know a damn thing about your freaky religious cult of a family! The way they abused you, the way they thought of you? How of all people have the nerve to believe in a faith after what they did to you?"

Maurice's heart dropped into the pits of his stomach, whatever this thing was it was correct. His eyes began to water like he never had felt
before, the memory of it haunting and distilling to his brain. How much he had tried to impress them and show them that he was good child, all of it in vain. Not a text, not a call, and the images implanted in his memory of the lashes he received as a child. Shivering Maurice began to bawl from each lash that replayed in his mind, how the others had not noticed the pain he was in. If this creature knew his darkest secrets, it was not something he wanted to get involved with.

"Well, well, well, so the cookie crumbles? You'll see me again, and perhaps you'll change your mind!" The ghostly black figure declared while fading away into the mist.

******

Maurice entered Isabelle's room with a shaken demeanor, his nose still red and eyes still wet. No matter how much he attempted to clean off the aftermath of the tears the redness continued to stain his face. Even though it was mostly faded by now, he feared that Isabelle would notice that he was in distress earlier in the day. The moment she saw him he flashed a smile at her, but she immediately noticed the pain on his face. She tilted her head in a worried fashion, it was obvious as if she expected him to explain himself.

"What happened, why were you crying?" Izzy questioned her eyes growing wide.

Maurice attempted to force out a lie, "I wasn't, I'm just tired."

Raina examined him with a fluffy tufts of fake hair brushing past her face, "Y0u were most certainly crying."

"Oh dear, what happened?" Betty whimpered in an empathetic way.

"Nothing happened, now come this is therapy not gossip session" Maurice claimed in utter annoyance.

By now the entire room laid eyes on Maurice, they knew he was lying through his teeth. Regardless of the fact that they could tell he told a lie, Mr. White would not admit to crying. Men weren't supposed to cry, they weren't supposed to be weak either and that's all he felt like. Almost like their emotions did a quick switch they began to appear more frightened. A cold air blew around them, and it was as if they were all suddenly sent into a panic.

"It was him wasn't it?" Isabelle mumbled with fearful eyes.

Maurice White tilted his head, "Him?"

Izzy huffed a deep breath of air, " I didn't think he would host on you too... The pitch black ghost with orange eyes, I don't like him."

"You saw him too?" Maurice questioned, "I thought I was going insane."

"Do not listen to him no matter what ideas he tries to plant into your head" Isabelle whispered in a harsh tone, "That creature has followed me since the day I got here, filling my head with horrible thoughts and ideas. He is a liar, I saw what he did to another one of his hosts..."

Mr. White shivered with fright, "What did he do?"

Isabelle gazed up at the camera and whispered quieter, "They don't like us talking about it, like they want us to forget what even happened. Mrs. Mort, the head, she came and said that anyone who spoke about it would be admitted to shock therapy as of severe schizophrenia. He hosted a man in this place when I was only nine, and he went crazy. He tried to kill so many people, and eventually shot to death by police because he just wouldn't stop."

"I never even heard of this" Maurice mumbled with a cold body.

"Of course you didn't" She sighed in misery, "No one ever hears about any of us."

Buster pushed his way into the conversation, "I made sure that he stayed away!"

Raum followed up on the statement quietly, "That thing makes me anxious, like it knows something that we don't."

"He knows something about all of us, and that's what scares me" Isabelle confirmed with a tinge of fear.

"I know he's still in this room, listening to us. That coward, can't you feel the cold air?" Floppy barked in anger.

Izzy grasped gently onto the arm of Maurice's shirt, "Promise me, you won't listen to him. Don't let him get in your head, I don't know if I can live without you..."

Maurice softened at her touch, "I promise, I won't let anything happen."

In that moment there was a long silence, as if they were comprehending what to do about the situation. Izzy released her grip on the arm of is shirt and wandered to relax at the table. Her icy blue eyes seemed glazed over and depressed, as if nothing could be of a worse situation. In the mean time though Mr. White kept an eye on the stuffed animals making sure they had good intentions. Something seemed off to him, the fact that they somehow are related to this all frightened him, he needed to know why the monstrous creature said that there was a relation. It almost stayed back into its mouth, but Maurice caught onto the fact that there was something strange about it.

Could it be that possibly her best friends were actually derived from something demonic? The idea even though ridiculous to him, it was still possible, but the fact that he saw something resembling of their souls as good made him doubt that thought. Another conclusion was that perhaps they weren't at all evil, but just pawns to a greater force of destruction. Maurice shuddered from each demented suggestion he could come up with, and eventually he decided to stop. There was no use in scaring himself until he received a heart attack.

"So what did he say to you?" Patchi spoke to Maurice in a cold manner.

Maurice White was hesitant to answer his question, "It was nothing important, the same things he told everyone."

Izzy gazed up at him curiously, "You were crying Maurice, you don't need to lie to us, to me."

With a heavy heart he sighed deeply, "He mocked me, and brought back some damaging memories."

"What memories?" Isabelle asked calmly, "Sit down next to me."

With great hesitance Maurice waddled over to the seat and sat down with his legs planted firmly on the ground. As always the awkward seating was not fit for an adult and he felt the urge to adjust constantly. Izzy laid her hands down onto the table, both gloved in the gloves that she had taken before. The black fingerless gloves must have meant a lot to her if she kept them, his heart warmed a little seeing it again.

"I grew up in a very abusive family, they were religious to a cult like extent. That creature brought up the wretched lashings that I received every day in my childhood. Regardless of that though I still love them, but they never return my calls" Maurice explained while holding back tears.

Isabelle threw him a sympathetic gaze, "We aren't all that different after all. Are the scars still there?"

In regret he nodded while gazing down with a painful stare. Getting up from the chair he lifted up the back of his shirt. His entire back was covered in long scars that lumped over newly grown skin. The main reason he hated to attend events, or do anything was all because of the scars. Eventually he just became anti-social and had a difficult time getting along with just about anyone. Everyone, but Izzy. Tucking his shirt back into his pants he attempt to sit down again. Instead however Isabelle latched onto him into a gentle hug.

Unknowingly for what seemed like the first time he genuinely embraced her back. He laid his chin on her shoulder, and what seemed like a simple hug turned into a loving comfort he hadn't understood in a long time. Without hesitance he sobbed quietly to himself.