Strings

Chapter 8

"Wh-wha..."

 The doll's hands kept moving about on the floor and then slipping. It looked like it was trying to prop its arm up. A sigh, with a tone akin to frustration, erupted from the doll all the sudden. It grunted in effort, its' head slowly moving to face forward. Its' realistic eyes looked up at the still-terrified Jack, with a look of dejection.

"Can you please help me?"

 At this, the elevation of his eyebrows slowly came down, furrowing, as Jack stared in confusion at the doll. Did it just asked him to help it?

"What?" He managed to voice out quietly.

 If there weren't any questions of irrationality earlier, then there certainly were now. Jack could've already run away, having seen that what he saw (despite it being something so preposterous like a talking doll) was in fact real despite all laws of nature, and be back home, to stop being sober so that he could dismiss what he saw as another one of his hallucinations. But no. He just stayed where he was, suddenly baffled rather than terrified.

 "Please... Can you help me?" The doll asked again, its' eyes shimmering with expectancy.

 Still, Jack didn't move, and a long staring contest between blue eyes, and bluer, plastic ones commenced for a moment longer, before Jack finally spoke up.

"You.. You're not going to attack me?" He asked carefully.

 He wanted to ask if it was going to try and kill him, but from the looks of it, seeing that it was decent so far, he didn't want to risk it getting any ideas that would be a danger to him.

 As the doll, continued to look at him though, Jack could see that there was no hint of hostility in it.

"Why would I do that?" It said, looking as if what Jack had asked was the most ridiculous thing ever.

 It tried to prop its arms on the floor again, but they slipped and fell back down.

"I can't even get my arms up." It added.

Does that mean its' considering to attack me?, Jack though to himself.

"Besides... You said I was pretty. There's no way I'd attack anyone who complimented me." It finished with a little smile, baffling Jack to complete puzzlement.

 Its arms were moving about again, drawing them together, and succeeding to go so far as arching its back to get up. But then Jack saw the balance rattle, and due to the height its torso managed, it hit its head sharply on the floor when it slipped again.

"Ow!" It cried, lolling its head to the side weakly, whimpering in pain.

When it looked back at Jack, he saw that a small cut had formed on its brow. "Jesus.." He whispered to himself. His fear was receding, and very slowly, pity and sympathy was replacing it.

 Without even noticing it, Jack had detached himself from the desk, and was now kneeling very gently (since he still wasn't sure what may happen) down the floor next to the doll. When Jack's fingers floated nervously above the doll, contemplating whether to touch it or not, the doll visibly shivered.

"You won't hurt me, right?" It asked nervously.

It's with this sentence that Jack's guard falls away, and sees the harmless doll as it was.

"No.." Jack said firmly. "Let's try and get you up, okay?" He cajoled, his hands gently laying themselves on the doll's shoulders.

 Jack felt it jerk slightly when his hands came into contact with it.

"There." He breathed, hoisting the doll and standing up himself, in one swift motion.

 The doll's legs were positioned in an awkwardly bent way, dangling a few inches above the ground as Jack held it.

"Are you okay?" He asked, eyeing the blackening cut on its' forehead.

"It's fine." It said, its' head lolling on its shoulder, but its eyes still looking up at Jack. "Being locked away here for God-knows-how-long is worst than a small scratch." Came the reply.

The two of them stayed that way for a bit in the most awkward silence Jack had ever known. Until a voice echoing from above suddenly called out.

"Mr. Collingwood!!"

 "What was that?" The doll asked shakily.

 Jack cautiously held the doll tighter. Val must've returned from the junk shop. "xxxx!" Jack cursed quietly, feeling the need to be unoffensive, even if it was in front of a doll. All the sudden, Jack had no idea what to do. He looked around pointlessly, thinking dumbly that the storaged items could help him. But no. There was just him in that room, with a live, talking doll in his hands.

"Are you going to lock me up here?" The doll suddenly asked.

 Jack looked down at it seriously, its' eyes capturing his own with a silent plea. It was barely there, but he was almost positive that there was a hushed whisper of the word 'again' just about ready to slip out of its' red-painted lips, as he continued to look at the doll.

 He wasn't sure what he was doing anymore. For all he knew, his body was just moving on its own, while his mind and consciousness had flown a millions miles away. Jack was aware that he was moving, though, and that the doll was still in his arms, dangling in its weightless body.

"Don't move." He heard himself whisper to it, as he got to the door to the staircase and began the small climb up it.