Puppet

by Ed Kightlinger

  “Goodness,” is the only thing that Mister Cheaply can manage to say. He is frightened by what he has learned. Even so, he wants to behave as normal as possible as if nothing unusual has happened. He reaches out to shake Puppet and Mister Sorrie’s hands one by one.

  Mister Cheaply says, “I still cannot accept what you said as factual, but I must admit it was an interesting story.” He manages a submissive smile. “What the four of us are doing here today is a rebellion of sorts. Am I correct?”

  “Yes, you are correct,” Puppet says. You, as the lucky, fourth member of our rebellion, owe it all to me, Neville, and, of course, to Robert.” He gestures with a nod of his head in Robert’s direction. Mister Cheaply reluctantly saunters over to where Robert is sitting. He offers his hand for Robert to shake it.

  Robert is incredibly bored with the three men, especially with his father’s vanity. If there is one thing that Robert dislikes more than anything, it is being distracted when he is absorbing the words of a good book. He places his forefinger on the page, so he does not lose his place. He is fuming mad that his father told Mister Cheaply the Whiskey Rebellion story. He is even angrier that his father mentioned the current plot involving the presidency of the United States.

  Robert briefly glances up at Mister Cheaply. He does not accept Mister Cheaply’s gesture to shake hands. As he resumes glaring at his father, Robert spits out words in a whisper that are bursting with loathing.

  “Do not bother thanking me, Mister Cheaply, even though I am the one who was the catalyst, the leader and architect of everything of which my father boasts. You will discover soon enough who is who amongst the three of us, especially as it concerns the ongoing plot against the United States. When you do, you will be amazed.”

  Robert looks away from his father and peers up at Mister Cheaply. He seems to stare fixedly into Mister Cheaply’s eyes.

  Mister Cheaply is unresponsive as he stands dumbfounded in front of Robert. His hands are at his sides and trembling ever so slightly. He wants to look away. He cannot. Something is forcing him to stare blankly into Robert’s hypnotic eyes. He wants to turn around. He cannot. Something has glued his feet to the floor.

  As he stares into Robert’s alluring, mysterious, deep blue eyes, Mister Cheaply suddenly perceives the truth. Lurking deep within the interior of Robert’s deep eyes are the unseeing, uncaring, and unremorseful scornfulness of a shallow, dreadfully evil spirit.

  Robert’s unspoken, sinister judgments from his core suddenly invade Mister Cheaply’s mind. They are attacking his subconsciousness like a hoard of angry, ravenous locus feasting on its powerless prey.

  Yes, David Cheaply, husband to Susan and father to Claudia, owner of Cheaply’s Food Shop – now you know the truth of who I am and that of which I am capable! As I said, you can formulate your opinion on which road you wish to travel because you recognize that I am the one who can change the course of humankind’s destiny. Thus, I must ask you this, David Cheaply. Do you believe in me?

  Mister Cheaply’s captive thoughts obediently reply forthrightly, Yes, I believe in you.

  When Robert looks away and directs his attention to the book on his lap, Mister Cheaply shakes his head vigorously. He shrugs his shoulders and walks toward Puppet and Mister Sorrie. He is cheerfully smiling as if nothing unusual has happened. The entrancing episode has ended. His memory already is unable to remember every detail of what he has seen and heard.

  Puppet says, “Oh, don’t mind him, David. He is as weird as the day is long. Anyway, what you said is correct. What we are doing today is the beginning of a revolution, an upheaval if you will. It is an upheaval against humanity, to place humanity into servitude, that is, those that we allow to live.” He notices the sudden frown on Mister Cheaply’s face. He softly pats Mister Cheaply on the shoulder reassuringly.

  “With many exceptions naturally, David, with many exceptions. You, my friend, along with your charming wife and beloved daughter, will be a few of the many exceptions. I promise you.” He looks at his brother-in-law who is laughing.

  “In the end, we must allow some of the human race to survive!”

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE VENTRILOQUIST

  “The universe is full of strange things, including magic.”

  The Sextet is sitting at a table in Tony’s Pizzeria. James has ordered a large cheese and pepperoni pizza and a round of milkshakes. Tony’s, as regular customers refer to it, is a favorite hangout for both families and teenagers. As its name implies, Tony’s Pizzeria offers a complete variety of pizzas along with pasta entrées and delicious, buttery garlic sticks. Then again, unlike most pizza joints, Tony’s also specializes in varied breakfast menus as well as family favorites such as hamburgers, hotdogs, sandwiches, and fries.

  One of Tony’s best sellers is nicknamed “Tony’s Stacker.” The Stacker consists of three perfectly square, six-inch pizza crusts stacked on top of one another. Tony’s specialty pizza sauce and freshly grated mozzarella and parmesan cheeses cover the three crusts. Tony layers a generous helping of cooked pastrami and Canadian bacon on top of the bottom and middle crusts. Customers can customize their Stacker by adding extra cheese, mushrooms, peppers, and the like.

  Tony bakes the Stacker at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly twenty minutes. When the Stacker comes out of the oven, it is a piping hot, three-inch tall stack of mouthwatering scrumptiousness!

  Brenae is gripping Chloe’s hands tightly. Chloe is still trembling because of what happened at the mansion. Not surprisingly, James is holding both of Colette’s hands. Sophia and Diana Jane are holding hands as well.

  Brenae is relieved that the three other females are not shivering as much as they were a few minutes ago. Nonetheless, their washed out complexions make it appear as if they have seen ghosts. Brenae thoughtfully glances around the table at her friends. She silently contemplates everything that has happened in less than one-half hour.

  Perhaps in their minds, they have seen a ghost. In the beginning, I thought everything was too vivid to be fake. Even now I am not sure. Maybe what we experienced was real. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t real. I have to hope it was the latter. Otherwise, I know things are going to get worse. And fast!

  “Call her, Chloe,” Brenae whispers. “Go ahead and call her. She won’t mind. I’m certain of it.”

  Chloe glances around at the others.

  “Do you agree with Bre? Do you think I should?”

  “I would call her if I had her number, and I was the team leader,” James says. “I would call to make sure. It cannot hurt. Besides, she said for you to call in case of an emergency. In my opinion, what we experienced qualifies as an emergency. Certainly, I wouldn’t convey it to her in that manner, you know, like, ‘Were you the person we saw hanging from twine in the mansion?’ That would sound too kooky. She would probably think you were crazy.’” He glances around the table at the others. “What do all of you think? Should she call?” The others seem to agree.

  Chloe takes her phone out of her back pocket. She glances at her contacts list and dials her principal’s number.

  “Hello, Missus Davenhill? It’s me, Chloe. Good evening. I apologize for disturbing you, but I have a question. Is it okay if a few others join our team?” She pauses. “Yes, ma’am. One of them is the new student, Colette Campbell.” She laughs. She winks at Colette and says, “Yes, ma’am, I love her accent as well.”

  “The two others we are considering are James Lightlighter and Sophia Paige.” She smiles. “Really? That is great, ma’am. Thank you! Missus Davenhill, I have one more question. Are you doing okay? The reason I ask is you seemed pretty upset when I saw you last. It is no small wonder you looked upset given the ruckus in the cafeteria during the food fight and all of the craziness surrounding it.”

  After a few seconds, Chloe lets out a noticeable sigh of relief. She pauses for at least a half-minute as she listens to whatever Missus Davenhill is telling her.

  “I am happy to hear that. Yes, ma’am. I will
say hello to the others and tell them exactly what you said.” She pauses for a few seconds more, and then she says, “I will. Thanks again, ma’am. Have a good rest of today.”

  Sophia says, “Is everything okay?”

  Chloe takes a long swig of her peppermint-flavored milkshake.

  “Yes, everything is okay.” She gives a thumbs up. “You three are good to go.”

  “That is not what I meant,” Sophia says with a smile. “Is she okay? Did she sound normal? Was it her to whom you were speaking? Are you one hundred percent certain it was her?”

  Chloe replies, “Yes, thank God. She is fine, and yes, it was her. I am one hundred percent certain. She has been at a birthday party with her daughter for the past hour. Before that, she was shopping. She has been with others since school dismissed. There is no way that what we saw in the mansion was her.”

  Diana Jane says unemotionally, “Therefore, I guess we can assume what we think we saw wasn’t real.”

  “You could have fooled me,” Colette says. “I saw the woman’s face as clear as day when she became vertical. She looked exactly like our principal, Missus Davenhill. I felt her hands gripping forcefully on my wrists. I felt myself sliding into that hideous, spooky room! I heard all those horrible screams escaping from her bloody lips as well. I felt as if I would pass out with fright! Aye, everything I sensed seemed very real!”

  “I saw it as well,” Chloe says. She reaches across the table and squeezes Colette’s hands reassuringly. “I also heard the woman, or thing, or whatever in the world it was – scream!” She looks at Diana Jane. “You saw and heard the same things, am I correct?”

  Diana Jane is staring at the tablecloth. She doesn’t look up as she nods her head.

  Brenae says, “I didn’t hear a thing. I didn’t see anything else except the woman, or whatever it was, suspended from the ceiling in a strange, horizontal position.” She glances over at Diana Jane.

  “I was crawling on all fours near the edge of the porch. The next thing I knew Diana Jane had tripped over me. At that moment, I was face down in the grass.” She laughs. “With Diana Jane sprawled on top of me!”

  Chloe whispers, “You didn’t see Colette slowly disappearing into the mansion? You didn’t hear the screams?”

  Brenae removes the straw from her strawberry milkshake. She sucks the remaining milkshake out of the straw, and then she places it on her napkin. She notices the others are staring at her with amusement.

  “Sorry. I do not like drinking milk out of straws, especially when they are paper straws, even though I know paper straws are good for the environment. Nope, I did not hear screams, and I did not see Colette slowly disappearing into the mansion.

  “Yes, as I said, I saw the woman suspended by strands of twine from the ceiling. I moved away from the wooden boards. I fell onto the grass. The next thing I knew,” she points to Chloe, Colette, and Sophia one by one, “you three were covering your ears along with Diana Jane. I heard some of you yelling that the shrieks were horrible or something like that. However, the yells came from you. I didn’t hear any screams from inside the mansion.

  “I noticed that Jay started to cover his ears just like the four of you, but he did not do it. He just stared blankly. The puzzled expression on his face was like he had no clue why you were acting the way you were. The next thing I knew, Diana Jane was scampering onto the porch in reply to Colette’s screams and Chloe and Sophia’s shouts for us to help Colette.

  “I was lying face down on the grass. Perhaps I didn’t see everything. Maybe I was disoriented or something. However, you have to believe me. I did not hear anything except your shouts.” She pats Colette on her forearm. “Colette, when I looked up at you, you were on all fours just like you were when I had turned around to jump off the porch. I did not see any part of your body inside the mansion. I swear I didn’t see any of that.”

  James says, “Something weird definitely happened. I felt funny. Like Bre and the rest of you, I saw the woman suspended from the strands of twine. Then again, I did not see the woman come any closer to us. Also, I did not see her assume a vertical position. I feel foolish about what I am about to say. All the same, it must be said. I sensed something was screaming inside my head but not inside my ears. What I experienced was more mental than physical if that makes any sense.”

  Chloe says, “It is obvious to me that four of us can see, perhaps sense is a better word, whatever it is that Puppet wants us to experience. Four of us can sense whatever it is with both our eyes and ears and physically since we grabbed Colette by the ankles. Those are things that the two of you, Bre and Jay, for whatever reason, do not experience.” She glances around the table at her friends. “Am I correct?” The others nod their heads in agreement.

  The pizza has arrived. Each of the teenagers greedily grabs a slice. Brenae notices that Diana Jane and Colette’s hands are still shaking. Sophia and Chloe appear more relaxed now that they can focus their attention on the piping hot pizza.

  “Gosh, am I hungry,” Brenae says. “Thanks, Jay, for buying this and the shakes. How much do each of us owe you?”

  “You don’t owe me anything,” James says. “I treat this time.” He beams a delightful smile. “Hot wings, eight for each of us, are coming right up. I hope you like Ranch dressing.” He gestures with a nod of his head to the counter. “If not, I think there are packets of barbeque and other kinds of dressing over there.”

  The others smile and nod their approval.

  Diana Jane says, “I still have to eat when I get home.” She pulls her phone from her back pocket to check the time. “It’s all good. I have an hour to go before dinner.”

  “What are you having?” Brenae asks. “Something good?”

  “Lasagna,” Diana Jane replies.

  “Lucky you,” Brenae says. “I love lasagna, especially the way your mother cooks it.” She stuffs the end of the slice of pizza into her mouth. She mumbles as she chews, “I think I like pizza more.” She glances at James. “Especially when it is free. Thanks again, our handsome Skater and single male of the Sextet!”

  Chloe says, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think we are in a predicament.”

  “What do you mean?” Diana Jane asks.

  Chloe says, “What I mean is this. Some of us, four to be exact, assumed we saw and heard things that two others did not. Colette, Diana Jane, and I also have envisioned things that appear so implausible they definitely cannot be real.”

  “They certainly felt like they were real to me,” Diana Jane says.

  Colette shivers as she says, “Aye, too crazy to be real but vivid just like I am sitting here with the five of you.”

  “Exactly,” Chloe says.

  James says, “I have had fleeting images as well. They aren’t as perceptible or as strong as some of yours, but I have had them. I saw the woman, our principal lookalike. I sensed something in my mind when, as you say, the woman screamed.” He looks at Brenae.

  “Also, Bre, as you know, I had weird visions when I was rolling up the ball of twine that dangled out of your back pocket the first time we met. Somehow, thankfully, I was able to dispel those visions. They were just fleeting things, nothing tangible that I would even consider a daydream.”

  “How about you?” Chloe asks Sophia. “Have you had any nightmares or visions?”

  Sophia replies, “Up until an hour or so ago, no. I have had no nightmares and no visions, thank God. I did hear that woman scream, and I did watch in horror as Colette slowly slipped into the mansion. Other than those two occurrences, no.” She narrows her eyes until they look like daggers. She says, “Nor do I want to.”

  Brenae grabs a second slice of pizza from the tray. She places it on her napkin alongside the straw. She says, “Hold on a second. I need to demonstrate something. It may appear a bit corny, but it will have a purpose as you will see.”

  The others watch as Brenae slowly peels the six pieces of pepperoni off the slice of pizza. She places two pieces of pepperoni
onto her napkin on top of one another. She does the same with two other pieces. After that, she sets two pieces side by side on her plate. She takes one of the two pieces off her plate and pops it into her mouth.

  She says, “As you can see, I just ate a piece of pepperoni.” She glances at Sophia. “That would be you, Accountant. Say goodbye.”

  “Yuck, thanks,” Sophia says jokingly. “Now, I am a piece of dead, chewed up, destined for the gullet pepperoni. Am I correct?”

  “No, listen,” Brenae says. “You are the newest member of our group. Therefore, and do not take this too seriously, but for now, you do not count. You no longer are in my pepperoni equation. Sorry. Now, all that remains are five pieces of pepperoni as you can see.”

  Sophia is about to protest, but Brenae shakes her finger at her.

  “Bear with me. Unless I am incorrect, my lovely Accountant, you do not have a coil of twine in your possession. You have never had one, right?”

  Sophia says, “No, I do not have a coil of twine, thank God.” She glances around the table and gives everyone a pretend dirty look. “If any of you so much as shows me a coil of twine, I will knock you senseless!”

  Brenae takes one of the pairs of pepperonis from the napkin and plops them into her mouth. In between chews, she mumbles, “Those two represent Colette and Jay. Both of you are seniors. Neither one of you has a coil of twine.” She glances at Colette and Jay one after the other. “Am I correct?”

  They say in unison, “Correct.”

  Colette suddenly states, “Bre, how could you know, possibly? How could you know that I no longer have my coil of twine? As you know from the article in the Gazette, I had a coil of twine. Puppet handed it to me on my way into the school. After that nice lady from the Gazette interviewed me after school, I felt sort of peculiar. It was like the coil of twine had possessed me, especially after I nearly threw a fit when she asked me if she could hold it in her hand. I still can recall my exact words.