Dollmaker

Chapter 1

Running. Running. Running. Why am I running again? The hallway is too dark. I can barely see. All I hear is the sound of feet against floorboards and my own tired panting. I keep running only to find myself at a dead end. When I turn around, there is someone, a man maybe, standing above me. Who is he? Why was he chasing me? Where am I?

    Suddenly, I wake up. It was all just a- wait. Am I tied to a chair? Did I pass out? Where is that man who was chasing me? My vision finally adjusted to the dimly lit room and I see another woman across the room from me. She's also tied up to a chair, but she has a very frilly maid like costume on. I can't help, but find the formality of her apparel strange.

"Um Miss? Do you know where we are?" I ask. My throat feels very sore for some reason. The woman does not respond, she just remains with a blank stare murmuring the same phrase over and over again. I think she's saying something like "I'm no one" or "I'm nothing". Her mumbling is too quiet for me to hear it clearly.  I guess asking her anything else is just a waste of time. I look to my right only to see another girl who looks a bit younger than the first lady. This girl is dressed in ballerina like attire. She's looking straight at the ground.

"Hey, do you remember anything?" She looks up at me with empty eyes.

"Dollmaker" The young brunette says quietly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask curiously.

"He makes girls into dolls." Her words have no emotion. The girl seems mentally broken. Maybe that's what he does. He mentally destroys the victim to make them into an obdient doll.

"Is there anything else you know?" No reponse from the girl. I hear a hatch unlock and steps coming down the stairs. Is this a basement? Am I in the "Dollmaker's" house? Finally, I can see his face. A young man with pale skin and freckles. His scruffy brown hair covers one of his green eyes. He smiles.

"So you're already awake, huh? I was coming down here to play with Sidney for a bit, but since you're awake I might as well play with you. Would you like that, Vera?" He says this all in mocking tone. Wait. Who's Vera? Is that supposed to be me? Maybe it's a name he came up with for me, but more importantly, who is he?

"Wh-who are you?" I stutter.

"You can call me the Dollmaker. That's all you need to know." He responds, putting his hands on his hips and bending down to my eye level. " You know Vera, you are quite the calm one. You haven't kicked or screamed at all since you've gotten here. I like you." The boy smiles again and stands back up straight. "Most girls are very upset when they first wake up, but the longer they're here the quieter they become."

"Is that because you break thier mental state?" I ask. He looks a bit surprised before he chuckles and responds.

"Oh, so I see you're bright too. I think you might be the first victim here to actually understand what's going on around them. Would you like to see how I go about mentally breaking my girls?" I don't think I should answer that.  He might hurt one of the girls. He's walking over to a table in the back left cornor of the room, on top of which there is a case. When he opens the silver case, he pulls out a syringe and fills it with a clear substance. "I'll take your silence as a yes." He trots back over and flicks the syringe in front of me with a sadistic smile on his face. "Here we go!" All I feel is the sharp pain of the needle piercing into my neck before I slip into unconsciousness.