Different | ✔️

16 | The Creepy Doll

There was a company that manufactured creepy porcelain dolls with their hands at the two ends of a note, reading, 'I love you.' I came across an odd one with a crevice on its face and glittering dark eyes once in the orphanage, a little girl was playing with it and the weirdest thing happened. It was time for dinner, all the little children scrambled off leaving me alone in the slightly illuminated room. I sluggishly walked towards the door, my gaze fell upon the doll laying on the gravelled floor, so I picked it up and positioned it beside the little girls' table. As I was about to leave, the head of the doll tilted as it stared at me with its glistening dark eyes. Huhn? I refused to believe what I had seen so I concluded it was the effect of hunger.

Days later, I began noticing, that everywhere I went, I always came across that same doll either in the hands of a little girl or dumped on the sidewalk.

"Could I have been monitored all this while?" Months later, the company producing the doll evaporated into thin air, never to be seen or heard of again.

Mom probably knew about this! Could it have something to do with the organisation that conducted the experiment?

•

Sebastian left earlier on, he claimed he had somewhere to be, I tried probing further but he gave out nothing more, leaving me strolling back to the hostel.

Jerk! I didn't even get to hear the update from Adira.

I ambled into the hotel room and found it oddly empty. A quirky feeling crawled beneath my skin.

"Ruby?" I called out but got no response. An alarm in my head immediately went off, I took a step to the bed and was about to lay on it until I saw that!... the creepy doll with a cracked face, I noticed some weird patterns etched on its body.

"Ahh!" I shrieked as my eyes darted around the room for any sign of an intruder that must have sneaked in to slip the doll on my bed. "How the hell did this get here? If this is all a sick prank of yours Ruby, you're so dead!" The hair on my skin rose as I caught sight of something.

Wait a minute... there's something not quite right with this doll. I cringed internally. The note on its hand always read-'I love you.' But it was different this time around, the letters were smeared in red with the words boldly written, 'I kill you.'

It's just a doll Aurora, it's just a doll. I berated myself as I drew closer to it.

A soft knock echoed from the door startling me, "ahh!" I yelped.

It's just the door, dummy. All this is starting to spook me out.

I heaved a sigh as I strode towards the door. "Ruby? Is that you?" I was still frightened out of my wits. I silently hoped it was her.

No response from the other end.

"Sebastian?" Beads of sweat formed on my face.

Another knock.

Is that room service? It wouldn't kill them to respond! Maybe I'm just overreacting about this whole thing. A strange doll shows up on my bed followed by knocks on my door... it might all be a coincidence... right?

"Right," I answered myself.

I shoved my fear aside and opened the door.

In the next second, I was thrown back with full force, crashing my back against the tempered glass table causing a slight fissure in it.