“I don’t want to play with you, Tom.” The doll said, its face contorting into expressions that were never within its design parameters. “I want to play with Gloria.”
“She will be back soon, until then it’s just you and me.”
The doll flexed its hands and blinked its plastic eyelids.
“Don’t you mean you and us?”
Johnson looked up through the window leading onto the shop floor, and although he wanted to run, he was unable to move. They were standing, all of them surrounding the office and looking at him. Tilly Greeneyes screwed up her plastic features and pointed at Johnson.
“You lied to us Tom, you said Gloria would come back to play with us.”
“She will be back soon.” He stammered, still struggling to make sense of what was happening.
“No, she won’t,” Tilly said as she hopped to her feet.
“Why not?” Johnson asked, already sure that he knew the answer.
“Gloria is dead.” The doll said, and he laughed because they were all saying it, a terrible, emotionless symphony of voices. He shoved himself back, the office chair rolling across the room where it bumped into the sofa, he covered his ears, but it did him no good, the volume was just too great, and he thought he understood now why Davies had suddenly quit.
Tilly Greeneyes hopped off the desk, and approached Johnson, behaving in a way that should be impossible.
“We just want to play. Why won’t you play with us?”
“This isn’t real.” He mumbled to himself.
“This is real Tom, we are real. We just want to play.”
He wasn’t certain if it was driven by panic or adrenaline, but he burst into action, sprinting for the door and almost tearing it from its hinges as he opened it. He could make the exit in fifteen seconds if he ran, and then he was home free.
They are just dolls
He told himself as he made for the exit, but they moved quickly and their sheer number swarmed him. He stumbled, almost stayed upright, and then fell, landing hard on the concrete floor. The latex covered skeletal hands clawed at him, and held him down, rolling him over so that he was staring at the ceiling. He didn’t shout or scream, as his body had reached the point where he was beyond terror. He lay still and waited, watching wide-eyed as Tilly Greeneyes approached. She hopped up onto Johnson’s chest, and she was holding a screwdriver from his tool bag, although it was now covered in blood and matted clumps of Gloria’s hair. He knew it was coming, and that he was about to join her.
“We want you to help us, Tom,” Tilly said as she paused inches from his face, screwdriver in hand.
“All we want to do is play.”
“Please, I’ll do anything.” He stammered, desperate to live, and unable to think about anything but his wife and the guilt at his infidelity that now overcame him in droves. He started to cry, blubbering in a way that he hadn’t done since he was a child.
“Don’t cry, Tom,” Tilly said as two of her fellow dolls neared.
“All you need to do is help us; we just want to go back to our masters and play.”
Johnson nodded. “Anything, I’ll do anything, just please, please don’t kill me.”
Tilly Greeneyes smiled and nodded.
“This is what we want you to do…”
Clipping from the Oakwell Herald, January 17th, 2013.
Tragedy struck Oakwell this past Monday night, when business executive, Tom Johnson (37) was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Mr. Johnson is said to have lured a local woman, Miss Gloria Spengler (23) to a warehouse on the outskirts of Oakwell, where it is thought he murdered her with a screwdriver.
Police sources claim that Mr. Johnson was found at the scene, and was reported to be catatonic, and unresponsive. It is understood that a weapon was recovered from the scene, and investigators confirmed that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder.
Detective Petrov, who is leading the investigation, confirmed that Mr. Johnson was the only suspect, and despite protesting his innocence, he is expected to be charged at Oakwell County Court next week.
In related news, rumors of manufacturing issues with the latest range of Tilly Dolls from Randall's Toys continue to circulate. The rumors relating to inconsistencies with the software used to make the dolls function were dispelled by company CEO James Crockett, Mr. Crockett said:
“I can confirm that following reports of a suspected fault with the Tilly range of dolls, an expert was dispatched to investigate, and reported in to say that the dolls were in perfect working order and fit for resale.”
Mr. Crockett declined to comment on the situation involving Mr. Johnson, saying that the company would support the police in their investigations.
The Tilly range of dolls are set to be the number one must have toy this year, with experts predicting that within twelve months, eighty percent of all family homes worldwide would own one of the lifelike dolls, which look set to be another smash hit success for the Randall Toy Company.
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