WATCHDOLLS
by
Aaron Rayburn
“It is remarkable how stunning you look.”
Kelly smiled, then blushed, not knowing how to respond to such a statement.
“And your smile …”
“Stop it,” Kelly insisted. “You’re embarrassing me.”
Kelly gazed at Bryan Downing from across the dinner table and wondered
how she had gotten so lucky to land a date with him. Her initial thought was fate,
but since leaving an abusive husband, she no longer believed in fate. She had to be
careful now. She had to remind herself to hold back her emotions and save
something for herself. But the more she looked into Bryan’s eyes, his caring eyes,
the more she felt herself irresistibly opening up.
Kelly was a decent looking woman. She was tall at 5’ 10” with long flowing
auburn hair, a petite nose, slender shoulders to match her slender body. She was
well aware of the pooch below her navel, but she vowed she would get one of those
exercise machines on one of those late night infomercials.
After the divorce, she had spent the next several months alone in her
bedroom watching and reading sappy romances. She didn’t leave the house for
anything except the essentials and if it hadn’t been for her girlfriend telling her to
quit moping around and to get on with her life, she would still be on her bed,
mopping up her tears.
Kelly decided her friend was right. And once she was on her feet again, she
looked into the services of a professional dating service. What harm could it do?
She obviously couldn’t pick her mate herself. Luckily, the service set her up with
Bryan Downing, quite possibly the cutest man alive.
Bryan was blessed with long, black, wavy hair, a short trimmed goatee and
dark, daring, brown eyes. Devastatingly handsome.
“I’m embarrassing you?” Bryan asked, shaking his head. “I’m probably no
better at this than you are. I’m a first-timer as well.”
Kelly smiled, and then asked him what he did for a living.
Bryan hesitated before answering. “I’m actually a car salesman,” he said,
pausing, and then breaking into short laughter.
“Really?” said Kelly, smirking. “What’s so funny?”
Bryan waved his hands at her. “Nothing,” he said. “Go on. I’m just being
stupid.” He smiled, his teeth glistening.
Kelly was transfixed on his teeth. She could easily see herself licking those
pearly whites. “Don’t you like your job?” she asked.
Bryan fidgeted with his fork. “Yeah, I guess.” He looked into Kelly’s sea of
blue eyes. “But I don’t just sell cars,” he said. “I own the whole lot.”
Kelly didn’t quite understand, but smiled and nodded, nevertheless.
“My name is Bryan Downing,” he said, stressing his last name.
Then it registered. “Oh!” said Kelly, finally realizing Bryan was the owner
of the biggest auto mall in the state. “Holy shit,” she said, quickly covering her
mouth as if being caught doing something naughty.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “I’m busy all the time. So that pretty
much leaves me out of the dating pool.”
Wow, Kelly thought. Good looking AND rich. “So why me?” she asked. “Or
rather, why a dating service? You could get any woman you want.”
“Because I’m tired of the old ritual of the fix-up and the bar thing,” Bryan
said. “That’s just not my style, really.” He paused and looked intently into Kelly’s
eyes. “But enough about me. What’s up with you? You’re the most gorgeous thing
I’ve ever seen around here. Why are you here?” He smiled again, melting her.
“Pretty much the same thing,” she said. “I’m coming off a divorce and I just
wanted to try something different for a change.”
“Well,” said Bryan. “I’m certainly glad you did.” He reached across the
table and took hold of Kelly’s hand, his thumb caressing her palm.
Kelly’s smile brightened. “Me, too,” she said, staring deep into his eyes.
After a moment, she asked, “Would you excuse me, please?”
“Sure,” said Bryan, taking her hand and rising with her.
Kelly glided past the arrangement of couples and into the restroom. She
gazed at herself through the mirror as she adjusted her make-up. She was having
very bad thoughts right now, but she was a big girl and could take responsibility for
her actions. If she went home with him, she wondered if anyone, most notably her
girlfriend, would think any less of her.
Also, there was the scare of the serial killer, who was making his rounds
around the vicinity. She didn’t know much about him because she hated to watch
the news and read the paper. It was always filled with violence and negativity,
things she could use less of in her mind. Besides, if she went home with Bryan, he
would keep her safe, right?
Kelly returned to the table and finished her meal and drink. They talked
and laughed, and she realized she had more in common with him than she ever
thought possible.
She dropped her fork and when she bent over to pick it up, a wave of nausea
fell over her. Suddenly she felt like vomiting. Her head began to swim and she
found herself floating.
Probably too many drinks, she told herself. I said I wasn’t going to do that.
“What’s wrong?” Bryan asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “I’m just feeling a bit woozy, I think.”
“Should I take you home?”
Kelly smiled, looking at her date. He seemed to be rising from his chair, then
falling back into it. It was funny, but at the same time, it wasn’t.
“Let me take you home,” he said, signaling the waitress. “We can do this
another time. I promise.”
Kelly’s heart went out to him. He was so sweet. She couldn’t have found a
better man if they were lined up in front of her.
“Just tell me where you live and I’ll take you there,” said Bryan.
Kelly’s mind went to the stalking killer. Bryan would protect her. “Okay,”
she said. “Whatever you say.” She took hold of his hand and shoulder as he led her
out of the restaurant to his purple Jaguar. “Beautiful car,” she marveled, drunk,
her feet falling over themselves.
She fell into the passenger seat, rattled off her address and fell hard into
sleep.
Kelly awoke with that same sense of floating. She looked up and saw Bryan’s
smiling face. She realized he was carrying her up a flight of stairs.
But there were no stairs in her house.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Ssssshhhhhh … just relax,” came Bryan’s sweet, soothing voice.
Kelly’s eyes widened. She wanted to know where she was. The staircase was
of elegant stature, twisting along a wall full of portraits of strange people. She
began to wriggle in Bryan’s arms.
“This is my place,” he said. “It was closer and I thought you’d be more
comfortable here. And safer, I think.”
Kelly could have swore she had told him to take her to her house. There
could have been a sight mix up, but she didn’t think so.
You were drunk, she reminded herself. Don’t you feel that headache? You
wanted to go to his place and you told him so.
If she had, she was sorry. Right now she wanted to be tucked away in her
own bed. She didn’t feel like being manipulated.
Bryan climbed the stairs and glided across the hallway with Kelly in his
arms. He gazed into her eyes and embraced her with a long deep kiss.
The moment was magical. Fireworks exploded in Kelly’s head. He smelled
so good. His touch was so soft. Suddenly she felt he could do anything to her and
she wouldn’t mind.
Ravish me, she thought wickedly.
Bryan kicked open the double doors to his master suite and gently placed
Kelly on the huge spread of red satin sheets.
She was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the bedroom, though she had
little time to take in its beauty for Bryan was on top of her, smothering her with
passionate kisses.
She no longer cared what happened from here on out. She was living in the
moment and that was fine by her. She believed she had the greatest guy in the
world taking care of her, making sure she was safe. How much more comfort did
she need?
Kelly found herself ripping Bryan’s clothes off. As she slid his pants off, his
erect penis bobbled in front of her. She couldn’t deny the fact that she wanted this
just as much as Bryan, if not more. She slid him into her mouth.
Bryan’s head lolled back and forth. Kelly felt him quiver as she tried
wholeheartedly to swallow the head of his dick.
“You just don’t know how good that feels,” he said.
“Just shut up,” she said.
After a few moments, Bryan returned the favor, pinning her feet behind her
head, making her body favor that of a rocking chair.
Soon they were fucking so hard that Kelly’s screams seemed to fill the entire
universe. It was the best sex she could remember in her recent past. But then—
Bryan had begun to act strange. He was no longer concentrating on giving
her the “big bad bone” as he called it. His attention fell on the surroundings of the
room. His wild eyes circled around the room frantically as if he was experiencing a
deep paranoia. He began to murmur. His sweat became cold, his skin clammy.
Kelly could actually feel him shrink inside her. He came seconds later, then hurried
out of the room, hiding his face, apologizing as he went.
Later that night, the two of them were fading into sleep. Bryan was softly
snoring while Kelly snuggled up to his chest. She decided not to intervene and ask
him what the hell went wrong, why he all of a sudden disassociated himself from the
beautiful moment they were having. When he had retuned from his episode, he
seemed fine and acted as if nothing had happened.
Kelly thought she should leave well enough alone. If Bryan wanted to tell
her, then he would.
Then, from somewhere in the house, a door slammed.
Kelly snapped awake and looked nervously around the room. The bedroom
door was closed. Had it been closed the entire time? She didn’t know. She thought
the sound had come from out in the hallway.
Her mind flew to the latest news headlines, to the serial killer stalking the
neighborhood. She didn’t know precisely where she was in the city, but the
authorities hadn’t any leads. Kelly didn’t think the killer could get into a house
loaded with state of the art security equipment.
But a door slammed. Which meant someone was inside the house.
Maybe Bryan forgot to set the alarm. A good possibility knowing that he was
carrying her and probably had other things on his mind.
That put Kelly into another train of thought. What if Bryan had
intentionally brought her here to take advantage of her? The thought sickened her.
Suddenly she felt violated. And then another thought popped into her mind. Did
Bryan rape me?
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head. It was consensual. She willingly
sucked his dick because she wanted to, needed to. There was no rape involved. If
anyone raped anyone, it was her to him. Though she tried to convince herself of
this, she still felt desecrated. She needed to get out. She needed to go home. It
didn’t matter what sounds were coming from the hallway, there was just on thing
on her mind right now and that was to get home, to get underneath her covers and
never come out for a very long time.
Then a thought occurred to her. What if Bryan had a guest? Someone he
didn’t tell her about? Maybe she should wake him and ask him. But he looked so
peaceful. She didn’t want to bother him. If so, then that was pretty shitty of him
for not telling her. She could only imagine what they must have thought with her
screaming the way she was earlier.
Kelly eased herself out of bed as quietly as she could and padded across the
room to the door. She turned the knob slowly and pulled the door open just enough
to slide through. She threw Bryan a quick glance before disappearing into the
hallway.
The hallway was a few degrees cooler and much darker. The house itself was
still and quiet. She strode down the small corridor in search of the much needed
bathroom.
Kelly came to the first door on the left, turned the knob and found it locked.
She looked down the hall and could see four more doors. She tried them all; locked.
At the far end of the hallway was another door, construed in darkness. That
has to be it, she thought, wondering why it was so far from the bedroom, then
wondering why a bedroom the size of Bryan’s didn’t have its own bathroom.
Kelly stepped along the thick carpet and just before she reached the door, it
swung slightly ajar.
Her breath caught in her throat as goose bumps filtered across her skin.
“Hello?” she managed, her heart pumping madly
.
No answer.
She gathered her courage and sidled up to the small opening. She stared into
the darkness of the room, then pushed the door open the rest of the way.
Her hand fumbled for a light switch.
Kelly flipped it, and then bright light flooded the large room. She gasped,
her trembling hand moving up to cover her mouth.
Her vision was filled with the most repulsive images she had ever seen. She
had opened a door into a world she never would have imagined Bryan partaking in.
The room was about forty square feet of endless smut, each wall lined with
erotic posters. In one corner, there were shelves and tabletops of videos, incense,
candles, and blow up dolls standing upright. Alongside them was an assortment of
dildos. In another corner, there were colored locker boxes stacked upon each other.
She, in no way, wanted to know what was inside them.
She stood trembling at the disgusting sight before her. She tried to convince
herself that the Bryan Downing whom she met and wanted to care deeply for didn’t
really delve into these kinds of things. She thought herself absurd for being so
naïve. She knew she didn’t really know Bryan very well—just a couple hours, but
what was she to expect? The perfect guy? Or course not. She knew there was no
such thing, but it seemed to her that Bryan would have told her about this obsessive
perversion of his. Wouldn’t he?
Why would he? she thought. “My God.”
There were stacks of magazines, predominately Playboys, piled up on one of
the tables. From the massive amounts, she suspected Bryan had every one them
since the famous Monroe issue.
There, up on the side wall, to the left of the door as she came in, were three
centerfolds hanging gracefully, each with their own mounted candleholder on both
sides—a kind of shrine for each of them.
There on the same wall were newspaper clippings. Kelly stepped over to
them, her eyes scanning the headlines. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, her head
filling with a panicky horror.
The headlines read: 8 FEMALES STILL MISSING: 2 FOUND DEAD,
DECAPITATED!
ABDUCTOR STILL AT LARGE, NO LEADS!
KILLER IS ALPHABETICALLY KILLING HIS VICTIMS! NEXT IS
“K”!
Goose bumps spread across Kelly’s body as her eyes skimmed the data.
Simply put, she had to get out. And quick.
“See anything you like?” Bryan said behind her.
Kelly screamed, jumping back several feet at the sound of his voice.
Thinking quickly, she said, “I really ought to be going. It’s getting late and I have to
work tomorrow morning.”
But as she headed toward the door, Bryan stepped in front of her, cutting her
off. “No, please stay longer,” he insisted, closing the door behind him and sliding
the dead bolt firmly into its latch. He smiled and looked around the room as if
seeing it for the first time. “Well, what do you think? You like?”
Trying with all her mental might, not knowing what to say, Kelly decided to
try her first response again. “I told you, I have to leave. I have to get up early and
–“
“And I told you,” said Bryan, his deadly gaze fixed on her. “You’re not
going anywhere.”
Kelly could feel a wave of tears coming on. She looked at Bryan with deep
concern. Not for what he was, but for what he led her to believe. Finally, her tears
broke. “Please,” she begged. “Let me go.” She sat down and exhausted the rest of
her emotion into her hands, her body shaking as the realization of entrapment
settled within her.
“You know too much, Kelly!” he said, stressing her name. “You just had to
go snooping around, didn’t you, Kelly?”
Kelly looked up into Bryan’s diabolical eyes, those murderous eyes and
asked, “Why?”
Ignoring the question, he went over to the locker boxes. “I want to show you
something.” He took the top box down, unlatched it and swung the lid open.
Kelly dashed for the door. She got her hands on the dead bolt when
suddenly Bryan’s hands covered hers, pressing hard on them. She screamed when
she saw Bryan dangling a human head by the hair. Kelly ran back to the opposite
wall, sobbing uncontrollably.
“This was Amy, my first,” Bryan said maniacally, holding the head up like a
prized fish. “Boy! She sure was a scrapper!” He took out another one named
“Betty” and then the next he called “Christy”.
But Kelly was no longer paying attention. How could it have come to this?
How could she let herself get into these kinds of situations? She willingly went out
on a blind date knowing there was a killer on the loose. Could she be any more
ignorant?
She never thought it would happen to her. Women like her were strong and
could take care of themselves. It was all a part of that independence thing.
As Bryan unloaded his past victims one by one, telling his little stories about
each one of them, Kelly realized she was never going to see the outside world again.
She would never see her friends or family again.
Right this second her father was in the hospital at Cleveland and she had
promised him she would visit him this weekend because it could very likely be the
last weekend of his life. Another wave of tears overtook her.
She had to stay strong. She would not let her situation get her down. Escape
was a very real possibility. There was only a dead bolt standing between her and
freedom. Surely she could find a way to get there. If not, she would have to be like
Amy, a scrapper, and fight her way out. Surely there were things in this room she
could use as weapons.
When Bryan was not looking, she bolted for the door. She managed to get
her hand on the dead bolt when a bullet penetrated the wood beside her head. She
screamed, feeling as if she had already been shot and then slid down the locked
door, defeat feeling her mind. She continued to sob.
“I can see that I’m gonna have to call for my watchdolls,” said Bryan,
putting the gun into his front jeans pocket. He called out three names and, one by
one, they emerged from behind small pieces of furniture.
If Kelly were to survive, she didn’t think she would have been able to explain
what she saw.
From behind the chairs and end tables came three little, doll-like things.
Kelly stared in shock. She didn’t know what they were or whether or not
they were even real.
I’m hallucinating, she thought dismally, realizing what had happened—or
what she thought had happened. Bryan put a drug in my drink at the restaurant
while I was in the bathroom. That was the only explanation she could conjure up to
explain what she was now witnessing.
The doll-like women, standing two feet tall, walked toward her. They were
symmetrically perfect for their height in that they were beautiful. There was a
blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. They approached Kelly with sour looks painted
on their faces.
Though Kelly recognized these women from somewhere. She looked up at
the wall where the shrines were and saw three pictures, but no women. It was as if
the girls had jumped from the page.
That was the last thing Kelly remembered before blacking out.
Kelly came to and saw Bryan staring lackadaisically down at her. Her memory
came flooding back and she began to scream, but not before Bryan could smash his
hand down onto her mouth.
“Ssssshhhhh …” he hushed. “Screaming is futile at this point, my dear.”
Kelly struggled hysterically to no avail. She suddenly realized she was bound
by ropes and naked.
“Now you have to promise me you won’t scream,” said Bryan.
Kelly looked into his eyes and realized this was a completely different Bryan
from the one she knew—or thought she knew. She wondered if the mad man she
was looking at did, indeed, kill all those women. She found it absurd, but on the
other hand, after gazing into his maniacal eyes, she found it not hard to believe at
all.
The three little women from her dream were standing atop a chair, their
small white faces staring excitedly down at her naked body.
Kelly closed her eyes and willed them away, but when she opened them
again, the tiny women still remained. She began to scream.
“Stop fucking screaming!” Bryan yelled, putting his hand back on her
mouth.
Kelly did finally manage to stop.
Bryan lifted his sweaty hand from her mouth, waiting for her to scream
again. “That’s good,” he said. “Now. These lovely girls are my very special
playmates, my watchdolls as I have said.” He smiled cynically.
“What do you want?” Kelly asked, trying to keep her thoughts trained on
Bryan and not those evil-looking watchdolls.
Bryan cocked his eyebrows at his playmates. “Jeanie,” he said.
The redhead jumped down from the chair, then Bryan helped her up onto
the table in which Kelly was tied.
To Kelly, the sight was disgusting. It was as if the watchdolls were some sort
of freak medical experiment. They looked like lanky Barbie dolls that have
magically come to life.
Bryan helped the other two women to the space between Kelly’s bound legs.
Kelly wanted to kick them far across the room and smash their little faces in.
Only in my mind, she thought. They’re not real. They can’t be! This is absurd! My
God, when am I going to get out of here?
“She is pretty,” Jeanie admitted.
“Yeah, she’s not bad,” said Tina, the brunette. “She’s a brunette, like me.
But I’m still prettier.”
“Both of you, shut up!” said Manda, the blonde. She walked along Kelly’s
chest. “Listen to me, Kelly. I’m Manda. Bryan calls me ‘Amazing Manda’ because
I can suck his big, huge cock like no other.” She leaned forward smiling, looking
into Kelly’s eyes. “And I watched you do a good number on him, too.”
Kelly shuddered.
“I’m the brains of this operation,” said Manda. “And what I say goes.
Without question, understand?”
Bryan nodded in agreement. It seemed that Bryan was under some kind of
trance with the girls. It was like he was beside himself. He had no control. They
were using him as a puppet. They were most likely the ones responsible for the
deaths. Not Bryan.
“So you’d best listen to me and do everything I say,” said Manda, pointing
her tiny finger at Kelly.
“Okay,” Kelly agreed.
The three playmates smiled as did Bryan. “That’s good,” said Tina, looking
to her counterparts. “What shall we do to her first?”
“She’s our new toy,” said Jeanie. “We’d like to fuck her just like you did,
Bryan.”
“Yeah,” Tina agreed. “Like I said before, she isn’t as pretty as me, but she
sure does have a nice looking pussy.”
Kelly writhed under the binding ropes. She couldn’t believe what these
things were saying. She couldn’t help but bawl. She focused on Bryan. “Please
don’t let them do this,” she begged.
The little women laughed, then Bryan joined in.
“At least untie me!” Kelly shouted. “I can’t enjoy anything tied up like this!”
Already knowing she didn’t have much chance of survival, she was willing to do or
say anything that would give her a fighting chance. Even if it was playing a lesbian
for a period of time.
“Think we should?” Jeanie asked doubtfully.
The watchdolls huddled together while Bryan stood outside their small circle,
seemingly brain dead.
“Bryan,” Kelly whispered.
Bryan didn’t acknowledge her. His eyes were bloodshot and staring off into
space.
“Let’s untie her,” said Manda.
Kelly couldn’t believe her ears. Why were they doing this? Why were they
giving her a golden opportunity?
Witchcraft.
Kelly wondered if that was what was powering these dolls.
“Bryan,” said Jeanie.
Bryan’s attention sparked at the sound of her voice.
They’ve got him programmed, Kelly thought. My God.
“Keep your gun on her,” said the redhead. “We don’t want her to try
anything funny.”
The three playmates worked diligently at the ropes. Kelly felt the tightness begin to loosen.
Bryan was ten feet away, gun poised on her.
The ropes were finally pulled from Kelly and she stood on her weak legs.
She noticed the girls stood no higher than her thighs.
“We want you on the couch,” said Manda. She paused and looked toward
the other girls. “Spread eagled,” she said.
Kelly hesitated, not knowing what to do. She looked over at Bryan again.
His face was expressionless, his eyes vacant. “What have you done to Bryan?” she
asked, her tone on the edge of demanding.
Jeanie smiled. “Nothing.” Then: “We gave him what he wanted, what he
craved.”
Kelly waited impatiently for the answer.
“Sexual freedom,” said Jeanie, pushing Kelly backward onto the couch.
The watchdoll’s faces were marked with sheer perversion. It was a look that
crossed the faces of horny, drunken men when they had the chance to see the
forbidden pink of a beautiful young woman.
The playmates went to her, their tiny hands and fingers caressing Kelly’s
entire body. They felt like spiders walking along her skin and when she felt the
warm wetness of one of their tongues plunge inside her, she began to weep. She
cried as her privacy was being invaded by something she had never thought
imaginable.
Though, she held herself together, not with thoughts of escape, but by what
she was going to do once she escaped.
As her joyous thoughts freed her, she suddenly felt sensuous. And then
everything felt all right again … as if none of this was happening. Was her mind
playing tricks on her? Was this supposed to be a pleasant situation? In her heart,
she knew that what was taking place was wrong, but still, there was that
sensuousness. She had never had a woman go down on her before and there was
something quite pleasant about it. Was it wrong to feel this way?
She knew she couldn’t sit here and ponder her sexuality. She had to think
about getting out. She glanced over at the door, then at Bryan. He hadn’t moved.
He sat statuesquely, holding his gun.
Kelly knew the playmates were trying to reel her in as the next victim, but
she just couldn’t let that happen. At least not without a fight.
She was about to move when she felt an enormous pain at her crotch. She
bellowed out at the sudden stinging and slapped at the redhead who was down
there.
Jeanie rose up and smiled a bloody smile.
Hot liquid stung Kelly’s private parts. With a growing panic, she realized
she’d been bitten.
Then, without hesitation, the other two playmates started to bite her.
Kelly screamed in agony as she beat at their heads with her fists, but she
couldn’t get them away. All three girls were eating her, their small mouths ripping
at her flesh.
“Bryan!” Kelly called. “Get them off! Get them off! Please!”
The watchdolls laughed as Kelly finally managed to get away. She ran
toward the door, fumbled with the dead bolt, but it was somehow jammed.
Witchcraft.
She stared at it miserably and found that it was welded in place. She
frantically began to beat at the door. “Help! Someone please help me!”
“You silly, bitch!” said Manda. “No one is going to help you! You’re the
eleventh victim!”
The three little women advanced toward Kelly, who cowered against the
locked door. “Please,” she said. But as she watched them, she looked into their
small, slanted eyes. They were different. They were wilder and more menacing
than before. More demonic.
“What do you want?” Kelly shouted. “Why don’t you just leave me alone!”
Beside her there was a table with a small lamp on it. She yanked the cord from the
wall and threw the lamp at the women.
Her eyes must have deceived her because she thought she saw the lamp go
through them as if they were ghosts.
Witches. Witchcraft.
“This can’t be happening,” she muttered morosely. She fled to Bryan, jerked
the gun from his limp hand and leveled it toward the three little women.
The playmates laughed as they ambled toward Kelly.
Manda suddenly grabbed a poker from the fireplace and ran full speed
toward Kelly. It seemed as if Manda flew through the air. The poker stabbed Kelly
in the gut just before she had time to react.
Kelly’s gun flew from her hand as she tended to the obstruction in her
midsection.
They’re more than witches, Kelly thought shrewdly. They’re some sort of
demon.
Kelly wrenched the poker free, gasping for air. Was this it? Her head ached
and her vision swam in and out of focus. She looked toward the watchdolls and saw
that their bodies were changing.
My mind is playing tricks on me again, she thought. I’m dying.
But it wasn’t. Not at all. The playmates were changing. The soft light skin
they once had was now rough and scaly. Their soft, manicured nails grew into long
black talons. Their hair fell from their scalps in tangled wires. Silver spikes pushed
up from the back of their necks. Their noses grew spouts filled with spiny teeth.
Their eyes grew dark as tiny yellow slits opened in their centers.
“Oh my God,” Kelly whispered, her heart palpitating wildly inside her.
A low, guttural growl vented from the creatures’ throats.
Kelly turned to face Bryan as she clutched at the gaping wound in her
stomach. She saw that his eyes were rolled back into his head. She spotted the gun
lying on the floor and made a quick stab for it. She picked it up and pointed it at
the lizard things in front of her.
“Don’t even think about coming near me!” she stammered at the small
creatures.
The creatures did not heed her warning. They slowly advanced on her.
Kelly fired the gun, but to no avail. Like the lamp, the bullets seemed to have
gone through them.
“NO!” Kelly screamed. “NO! NO! NO!” She rang off round after round,
emptying the gun.
Bryan moaned beside her. His eyes shifted to the lizard things. “What have
I done?” he grumbled. He looked around and saw Kelly in a disheveled mess. “Oh
God. What happened?”
“Bryan,” said Kelly, looking into his eyes and seeing that whatever hold the
watchdolls had on him was now gone. “Please,” she said. “You have to do
something.”
Bryan faced the creatures.
The lizards immediately stopped.
“Get out of the way or we will kill you, too,” said one of the creatures in a
deep, demonic tone.
“Then you’ll have to do it,” said Bryan. “I won’t let you kill another one!”
None of the creatures moved. Their small tails and tongues lashed about
aimlessly.
Bryan turned toward Kelly. “Don’t worry, Kelly,” he said. “I won’t let them
hurt you anymore.” He smiled and that was the smile Kelly remembered at the
dinner table. That was the smile she had connected with. “They can’t survive if I
don’t want them to,” he said. He closed his eyes, held his hands in the air and began
to mumble something indecipherable.
The lizard creatures ranted and dashed toward him, their razor teeth bared.
“Bryan, watch out!” Kelly screamed.
The three creatures were in the air, their sharp talons exposed at Bryan. But
as soon as they were within inches of Bryan’s head, they disappeared.
Bryan lowered his head and opened his eyes.
Kelly laughed and put down the gun. She knelt on the couch and put her
hands to her stomach. The pain was incredible. She needed medial attention as
soon as possible. She looked up into Bryan’s forgiving eyes. “Could you take me to
a hospital? I need to go right now.”
Bryan crouched before Kelly, embracing her. “That’ll be no problem,” he
said. “I want you to know that I’m truly sorry for what went on here tonight. I just
hope that I can make it up to you somehow.”
Kelly looked at him, then at the spot where those ugly reptiles had been. Just
like that, they were gone. Bryan had, indeed, made it up to her. She gazed into his
deep brown eyes and found understanding. She understood that Bryan was a victim
of his own imagination. She couldn’t in a million years explain it, but she
understood it. And for whatever it was worth, she accepted it. Somehow, she and
Bryan would work out all their problems because she knew deep in her heart there
was a special place reserved just for him.
Bryan went to the door and unlocked it as if the welded bolt was never there.
The nightmare was finally over.
Kelly knew one day they would be able to forget any of this had ever
happened. And she longed greatly for that day. She buried her head into her
bloody hands and exerted a joyous wave of tears.
“Kelly,” said Bryan. “There is just one more thing.”
Kelly raised her head and saw Manda, Jeanie, and Tina dwelling around
Bryan’s knees. She saw a huge gun dangling from Bryan’s long, bony fingers. Her
gaze floated up to Bryan’s face that distorted into an ugly array of disfigurement
and deception.
It was the face of Satan.
“I guess bad guys do finish first,” he said, raising the gun and firing.
# # #