Stuffed

Chapter 11

Biting down onto his lip he closed his eyes tightly, how much he wished he hadn't said anything. However instead of dying from those words it simply just hit him like a grenade. Isabelle latched onto his side endearingly, not saying anything. This did not put Maurice at ease though, his entire body froze on spot as he shot a worried gaze over to the waiting stuffed animals. In the back of his mind he repeated 'don't kill me' over and over, as if it were some kind of assurance.

Squinting he watched Raina's stitched mouth twist with blissful glee. Instead of hating him she simply was ecstatic, had they known the entire time? Even though it seemed to have entertained the most of them Patchi's eyes began to glow with an intense envy. He did not intend to infuriate the rabbit, and it appeared that now more than ever the creature's jealousy was showing through. Breaking away from Maurice, Isabelle hopped idly onto her bed with a shy grin. Almost as if like a light switch Patchi put on a false smile for his beloved friend. She scooped up the patched rabbit into her arms and pet his ears.

Maurice wrapped his arms around his torso nervously, an obvious blush of anxiety was plain on his face. Attempting to ignore what just happened he flopped down directly into a chair while throwing a clipboard into his hands. Forcing out a cough he glanced back and forth between the paper and Isabelle, he couldn't take his eyes off her for a second now. Trying not to show too much of his nervousness he began to tap his pen against the board. Not soon after though he realized that he was being more weird than usual, so instead he thought of something to say.

"So, it's about time we get onto the... Thing..." He babbled about anxiously.

Izzy leaped up and tapped her pale chin, "I suppose you should know, you weren't the only one who recognized that weird things were happening around my home..."

******

A cold breeze hit me as I pushed my way into the school I had hated more than the world itself. The walls were plain and grey, the windows cheaply covered up so children wouldn't daydream, and any sense of creativity was punished as out of conduct. My pink backpack dangled lightly from my shoulders, but it wasn't filled with books. Each of my special friends had came with me wherever I went even to school, and I was lucky nobody really cared or knew yet. Passing through each hallway the fluorescent lights flashed my eyes into a painful depression, I wanted to play, I wanted to be somewhere else. On the last left I pushed into my classroom where the children were all just barely arriving, the walls decorated with letters and paper apples.

Even when they tried their best to be creative and inspiring it barely reach sub-par to what it could be. The walls were a pale white with no art, and no paintings that I could imagine in my head what it could be like. The letters were bold and boring, not having a shade off of black. Despite the bright red paper apples, there was barely any color; sometimes the teacher would use blue, and red markers instead of black but that still sucked. Covering my eyes from the horrid bright lights I sat in my seat and pulled out the only book inside my backpack, a notebook. I was supposed to be using it for study, and notes, but most of the time I drew animals and flowers on the pages.

Glancing up at the plain whiteboard I observed the teacher glare at me from across the room. Gulping inwards I wondered if I had done something wrong. Every tiny idea of what I might be in trouble for entered my mind, and every possible lie I could muster came as well. I was usually late because of my mother in the morning, and her abusive boyfriend. My hatred for them grew each day, every problem spawned off of them but I tried so much to be the loving girl everyone desired me to be. The hag of a teacher finally began to walk my way with her dark brown eyes locked in my direction.

Her wrinkled skin sagged from her sickly face, and I felt the urge to run. With each step I could hear the click of her sharp black heels, stepping closer to me. My entire body began to shake in fear, but instead of looking away I gazed back at her like a lamb waiting for the slaughter. At the end of my desk she leaned down to meet me face to face, and I prepared for the very worst.

Her lips cracked open as I shrunk below her, "The principle wants to see you in his office."

My entire frame deflated like a balloon, I wondered what he wanted from me. Nodding nervously at her I scampered out of the room as quickly as possible to avoid suspicion. I did not forget the most important thing to me either, the backpack with my friends inside. I sped through the silent hallways with haste, hoping that if I were speedy I wouldn't be in so much trouble. When I arrived at the office door I heaved inwards from racing so fast, the desk lady gazed at me awkwardly but then nodded sending me into the room of my doom.

Behind the doorway I saw a frazzled old man and another boy who stood there in a cast. I knew however that this boy was not any regular kid, it was the one Floppy had attacked when he tried to bully me. It was at that moment my heart sank into the pits of my stomach, I knew for certain that I was indeed in huge trouble. The man signaled me to take a seat and in my mourning strides I sat against his court like desk with my head hanging low.

"It has been put to my attention that you had assaulted this boy, is this correct?" The principle spoke in smooth tone.

I hesitated and raised my head to him, "No sir, I didn't do anything..."

The boy scrunched his nose with fury and slung his hand to point at me, "She's a liar! Her creepy dog creature it attacked me!"

"Calm down son, it doesn't appear that such a little girl could even stand up to you!" The man spoke in a powerful tone, "However if you had a dog on campus, that is another story. My dear, did you break the rule of having pets at school?"

I shook my head furiously, "No sir, honest I don't have any pets!"

"You have the thing in your bag!" The boy screeched with terror while snatching my bag from me.

Screaming out I tried to take it bag and the principle yelled an empowering roar to try and stop the both of us. However his cry was too late and the child had already dumped out the contents of my bag onto the floor. Sure enough all of my friends laid on the group, including Floppy, the one who had attacked the boy. As if to prove something he pointed and shook the dog like stuffed animal, and I screeched out in utter horror. As soon as Floppy's maroon eyes began to glow it was stopped by the man in power, he took the toy from him with an enraged face as red as a cherry.

"It is clear to me that you are making a fuss over a toy!" The man hissed at the kid.

The injured boy begged, "I'm not lying, the thing can turn into a huge dog! It nearly tore my arm off!"

The principle raised his voice with fury, "That's enough! Out of my office!"

The scampered off with rage filled tears flowing for his eyes, it was unfortunate since he really was telling the truth. A sudden relief flew through me, he didn't believe him and that meant I was safe. Even though I felt extremely guilty for the boy, I was happy to not be caught. Before I could celebrate my victory however the ruffled older male gazed down at me with disappointment. I wasn't in the clear yet, I sighed in annoyance hoping nothing more would happen today.

"Unfortunately for you Ms. Johnson, you aren't allowed to have toys in school" The principle explained in a stressed voice, "You won't get these back until your parents come and claim them."

I leaped out of my chair with pleading arms, "No, you can't! My parents will never come for them! They never come for anything, please!"

The man sighed out an annoyed anger, "You know the rules, I'm sorry."

Tears burned through my cheeks as I observed him packing away my beloved friends, but something caught my attention. Squeaker's blue button eyes glowed intensely and then I knew something was going to happen. As soon as I had realized it had already been in action, the squirrel creature turned into a huge rodent with sharp teeth and crooked whiskers. The twitching of its nose was enough to make the man squeal like a baby, but before he knew it, Squeaker had already started. The giant squirrel tore out his eyes in a quick tear of her hands, and scratched up his face with each swiping claw.

I closed my eyes for it to be over, the blood was enough to make me queasy. This was too much, he hadn't done anything wrong. This poor man didn't deserve it, I cried in fear of what was happening my own confusion blinded me. As quickly as I had blacked out the world came back and I was approached by a frantic secretary who had not the slightest clue what had happened. Blood was splattered across the room, but all the stuffed animals had placed themselves away from sight zipped back up into my little bag. I took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating scent.

"What happened here, what did you see?" The woman shook me as I spaced out.

I gazed up at her with glazed eyes, "I don't know."

******

"I don't like that one, I didn't mean to hurt you Izzy..." Squeaker interrupted sounding extremely upset.

Isabelle gazed deeply into the floor with glazed eyes, "I'm sorry, I don't like it either. I just feel Maurice had the right to know."

Maurice shook with fright from the thought of it, "I see..."

"We found out later he committed a few crimes but... Still..." Isabelle explained with shaking hands.

Mr. White got up from his chair to console her, every time she had that expression he worried that she might cry. Unknowingly he embraced her tightly while patting her on the back. In seconds she began to sob into his chest, he hoped at least he could make her feel better. The wetness of her tears soaked his shirt and he immediately began to feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't like her, it was just that he hated it when she was upset, and now he learned something terrible about those stuffed things. The idea of them attacking on such an impulse made him want to puke, he wondered to himself what he was doing; did he really know what was right for Isabelle?

As the girl broke away from his embrace she rubbed out her eyes with a few short sniffles. It appeared she had cried out whatever was bothering her, and he hoped it wouldn't come back again for a long while because he loved her smile. Regardless of this however it was time for him to leave again and he hoped deeply that the cameras weren't watched frequently, because then they'd find it suspicious. Trying to clear his thoughts he let out a sigh and headed for the door, but before he could leave Izzy hopped up next to him once more. She planted a gentle kiss onto his cheek and he once again could feel himself melt, even though he so badly wished he didn't.

Hours passed like minutes as his brain ticked away at work. It wasn't often he'd been so full of thought but these days it seemed to be common. Once his time to leave arrived he yawned stretching out his arms in a long length from such a busy day. His entire structure felt like it collapse at any moment, even his head was exhausted. Maurice White would not do one more second of work, he was completely done with today and nobody was going to tell him otherwise.

With a swift slam of the door, and a boring travel through the shadowed halls he made his way home. The usual route was locked into his mind, the memory so clear he could probably drive with his eyes closed. When he finally arrived at his house he barely even thought to eat or shower, his first thought was sleep and that's exactly what he decided to do. Plopping down into his comfortable bed he roared a complacent yawn and drifted off into a deep slumber.

******

He awoke to the sharp pain of howls ringing in his ears, his entire body leaped into the air. Around him he was no longer in his soft bed, instead the world seemed oddly dark in a shaded forest. The trees were painted shades of dark greens and browns, while the soil remained its cool but soft self. A thick fog hung over the trees and it clouded Maurice's vision, everything seemed so blurry. Stepping forward carefully he went up a slope. Somewhere in the trees he could here the rushing of what sounded like a river. Assuming water was the source of life and a good thing he continued down that path as the noise grew louder.

After so much searching his legs began to pull him down into the mud, the moss and muck disgusted him greatly. Attempting to pull out of the sludge he could hear howls and barks of wolves in the distance. In curiosity he whipped his head back and forth to see where it was coming from and much to his doom he saw a cluster of piercing yellow eyes within the fog. It was a pack of wolves that had been stalking him, each one about the size of a mountain lion themselves. A great pounding fear rushed through him and he did the stupidest thing he could have done, he ran.

As soon as he burst into a full speed race the wolves knew it was a sign to begin chasing their prey, the hunt was on. His heart pushing out of his chest he stretched his legs as far as the could take him until the rushing noise of water came so close it sounded like a water fall. Not paying attention to his surroundings he fell into the thick fog that blinded him. The plummeting wind pelted him as he landed into the river below, sharp rocks split into his body ripping him apart. Each and every bone felt shattered as he let out a cry for mercy. When it seemed like all was over he washed up against a damp soil ridge where the water ran smoother.

Gazing up he saw a dangling red collar and what appeared to be a golden tag. Attached to this was actually a tiny puppy, one that had huge floppy ears and hung low to the ground. It was a basset hound, each of its four legs were stubby and its tail was tipped a lovely white. In its tiny jaws was a red ball that the puppy dropped before him, its giant brown eyes gazed down at him pathetically. Maurice feeling no longer in pain lifted himself into a sitting position, the dog was now very clear to him.

"Hello!" The puppy barked in an adorable tone.

Maurice widened his eyes not knowing that it could speak, "You can talk?"

It began to wag its tail happily, "In my realm I can do whatever I please, I can talk to!"

"What am I doing here then?" Mr. White wondered with confusion.

"My name is Cody, I am one of Isabelle's guardians!" The pup flopped onto its side, its tongue lolling, "My gift to Izzy was loyal like me, the one who is sweet and fun. I wanted her to never feel alone."

Maurice cocked his head, "I thought, you were all human?"

Cody shook his head with flopping ears, "People aren't the only ones who love, and feel you know!"

"What happened to you?" Maurice asked hoping the dog was alright.

Stretching out his tiny paws he began to explain, "I was born to a litter in a puppy mill, my mommy was hurt and they took me away from her..."

"Oh no..." Maurice White replied embracing for the worst, for he had a dog he loved once too.

"I went from family to family, I gave all my loyalty and love to them but I guess I was never enough" Cody whimpered flopping his paws out, "Eventually one of my owners I came too kept me, but he hit me and made me bleed every day. Eventually he drowned me in this river, holding my head underwater. No one ever cared for me, and no one ever found me after."

Maurice rubbed his eye trying not to get upset, "You should have had a better home."

"Sometimes you're born into a situation you can't control, and so were you Maurice. You decided to make the best of it though like I did, I just wasn't so lucky and neither was Isabelle" The basset puppy stood up once more, "Izzy is loyal to the ones she loves just like I was. All I ask of you is to love her the same like I never was."

Mr. White nodded as the little pup began to fade away into the fog. It saddened him to see such things, but he held back his emotions as he always did. The world in front of him grew foggier, until the entire forest was completely white. His body felt like it was floating amongst clouds, until he finally woke up.