Tickle Monster

Chapter 3

Jade's POV

I can't help but groan aloud when I wake up. There's something about sleeping in a hard bathtub with only a towel to cover you that really takes a toll on your body.

To make good an excuse that I wasn't in my bed in the first place because I wanted to take a shower I slowly rise from the porcelain sleeping arrangement. My sore muscles twist and complain with each movement. I groan along with them.

Unlike what I've heard, I find showers a good time to not think.

To let the worries and fears of the past just melt away with the freezing water I use to take a shower in down the drain. For me it's a time to be selfish, not caring about anyone else and just enjoying the sound of water running down my skin.

The smell of traditional breakfast foods slaps me in the face. I quickly dress after closing the blinds tightly and tie my hair up into a messy bun. Going for a nice trip around town sounded like a good idea. Teegan apparently had the same idea and we both rush through the vegetable omelets my father cooked for the family.

My younger sister, Willow was sitting looking around the table with wide eyes, not touching her food. She is normally the type to inhale food to the point where you're worried. Willow twisted a strand of dark hair between her fingers and reminded me of a fish looking into the mouth of the thing about to eat it.

I shoved my worries about Willow away and rushed out the door with Teegan tailing me. I breathed in the fresh air of the outside world and felt the feeling of uneasiness slowly fade away as I hopped on my bike.

The outside of the house just looked like a boring, yellow house. It had a small driveway and a tiny shed with a bolt on it. The windows to the shed were blacked out. The house just stood alone, almost as if it were sad it only could show it's cheerfulness and welcoming interior to such a limited amount of people.

I heard Teegan mutter things under her breath as we just started to ride along a winding cement road surrounded by trees. It turns out we had been heading the correct way to the town square and we entered a small horseshoe-shaped street in which there were little restaurants and shops. I was a bit weirded out by the fact that no one was walking around and that there were no groups of people, having conversations and hanging out with friends. It was actually eerily quiet as the wind gently blowed twisted strands of my hair.

We set our bikes in a small bike rack and knocked on the window of the first shop we see. The door creeped open slowly, as if it were hesitant to let us inside.

I needed to look strong for Teegan so I arranged my face in a firm set with my back held straight.

Inside was a man pure skin and bones behind a rusted cash register. He had short pieces of hair around the sides of his head and was wearing glasses that sat at the end of his pointy nose. Wrinkles covered every piece of his face and his eyes were set deep into his head, peering out at us.

"Hello twins." He croaked loudly, startling Teegan and causing her to trip and fall into me. Fortunately, I caught her and she laughed nervously, bowing her head and moving away.

We chose to ignore him and look around the shop a little bit. The weirdest thing was that he seemed to only sell dolls and doll's clothes. I heard Teegan gulp beside me so I lead her behind a shelf, out of the view of the old man's watchful gaze.

The dolls came in all shapes, sizes, genders, colors, clothes and species. I pluck a small doll with white limbs and a little red dress off the crowded shelf and hold her in my palm.

She has little red circles hugging her chubby cheeks to represent blush and thick, red shiny lips. Two matted blond pigtails perch atop her cartoonish head.

A shiver goes down my spine but I'm intrigued. I check to make sure Teegan is preoccupied with checking things out. I brush up to the cashier, setting the doll and a ten dollar bill out on the counter.

He smiles a crooked smile. I can't tell whether he has dimples or not because of the multitude of wrinkles appearing beside his puckered lips.

I check behind my shoulder, hearing Teegan's absentminded whistling coming closer. I give the cashier a frantic look as he slowly, slowly takes the ten dollar bill. He then slides a single coin across the hard surface, the metal squeaking loudly. I grab it, not caring it's not all the change I should have received for a crappy thing like that. I shove it into my bag and straighten my back.

A smile plasters itself across my face as Teegan approaches, "Find anything good?" She asks.

"Nope." I respond. As we leave, I can feel his eyes burning into my back.

A small restaurant sits beside it and I was pleased when I peered in and saw people who appeared to be laughing and talking. We hurried inside and noticed not a single pair of eyes looked up at us unless you count the waitress.  The middle-aged woman immediately hurried toward us.

The walls were a pale, sickly green and the floor was a white that had faded into a tan over the years. All the tables were filled with people of varied ages sitting on rickety looking chairs.

The waitress had vibrant blue eyelids and hair that had been built up with enough hairspray to make it look like a very-fake looking red mountain on her head.

"So sorry there are no seats out here, sweets, but there are some in the back which I can take you too." She smiled at us with large, gleaming white teeth that made her look like a horse.

Crinkles sat at the edge of her eyes, ones similar to those of a comforting grandparent. Of course, they didn't give quite the same feeling as a rush tingled down my spine uncomfortably.

I swallowed down the weird vibe she gave out and nodded my head once. She started leading us through wooden doors in the back of the small restaurant and even when I bumped into someone's chair, they didn't look up. I shared a glance with Teegan and I saw what I was feeling showcased on her face.

The back where she lead was a small landing on cracked cement where there was a single table and two chairs. The entire setup was surrounded by a chain link fence. There was already silverware set up and Teegan and I sat down and waited for the waitress to leave.

"None of this place is natural." She said.

"Shhh, they might be able to hear us." I sent her a warning glance.

"You have to agree with me though! Not a single person walking around an entire square and an old man who looks like a mummy and owns a doll shop aren't things you'd see everyday." She whispered frantically.

I glanced to both sides and turned back to her and leaned closer to her face. "We need to get out of here before that waitress gets back. Listen I can help you up this chain fence and I'll be able to climb up after."

I felt insane for agreeing with her but she made a point. Nothing about this gave me a good feeling.

She nodded curtly and we thankfully made it out of there before that awful woman came back. As we were sprinting away through the empty town towards our bikes, I thought I heard a suspiciously-cheery voice say "See you soon!"

When we get home, Teegan starts to make dinner. I wander into our room and dump the contents of my bag out on my bed. The coin falling out bounces off the bedspread onto the floor.

I pick it up, the rusty metal leaving red marks on my fingers. A towel cleans most of the stuff off and I quickly realize he gave me no normal coin.

Imprinted on the side in bold, leering letters are the words, "CAVEAT EMPTOR".

A shiver trails down my spine of its own accord. I open up a drawer, toss the coin in and slam it closed.