Sally stopped near the stairs. "So how did it go?" Sally asked.
"It went fine," Darren said. He pushed past her and rushed into the kitchen.
Sally watched Darren. "You unstuck your hands but what about that thing's eyes?"
Darren emerged from the kitchen without the tissue. He rushed past Sally and left the house.
"Darren!" Sally shouted.
Her Mother entered the house carrying two large cellophane wrapped hams. "Get the soda Darren!"
"Okay Mom!" Darren yelled.
Her Mother entered the house.
Sally smiled at her and she left the house. She walked across the driveway. She saw Darren carrying two cases of soda on his left shoulder and a box of cookies in his right hand. His jaws were moving and the cookie box was open. He made a face at her as he walked by.
"Showoff," Sally said. She went to the car and grabbed some groceries. She rushed to the house.
Sally, Darren and their Mother worked quickly and after some time, the car was cleared of all of the purchased groceries.
"Good," their Mother said. She slammed the trunk down and closed the car doors before locking the vehicle with her remote.
Sally stood inside the doorway. "Is that all of the food Mom?"
Her Mother walked away from the car. "Yes." She stopped. "Wait. Ice cream on the floor of the backseat." She turned around and rushed back to the car.
Sally sighed and turned around. She saw Darren run from the kitchen carrying three cans of soda, a huge bag of chips and a box of cookies. He glanced at the door before he ran upstairs.
"Darren!" Sally shouted.
"Gotta run!" Darren yelled.
Her Mother entered the house carrying a large tub of strawberry swirl ice cream. She closed the door and locked it. "I need your help putting the groceries away Sally."
Sally looked at the stairs and said, "Alright Mom."
Sally and her Mother entered the kitchen.
"Where's your brother?" her Mother asked.
"Oh I think he's upstairs in his room. Where should I put the lettuce?"
2
After Sally finished helping her Mother put away all of the groceries, she grabbed a box of cookies and two bottles of water and rushed upstairs. She stopped in her room briefly and deposited the items onto her desk. She rushed from her room and entered the hall. She stopped in front of Darren's room.
Darren was sitting in his gaming chair, holding a controller and cursing at the images of shooting soldiers that flashed across the large screen of his television.
Sally moved closer to Darren. She folded her arms and tapped her foot.
Darren concentrated on the game and he shouted into his headset and laughed.
Sally looked around the room.
She didn't see the teddy bear.
A crumpled tube of Superglue was stuck to his cluttered desk. A tall nearly empty bottle of pink nail polish remover was on the desk beside the glue.
Sally looked at Darren.
"Darren," Sally said.
"What?" Darren asked.
"So where's the bear?" Sally asked.
"I put it back in the attic. I can't really sell it now anyways," Darren said.
"What about the thing's eyes? Did you fix it?" Sally asked.
"Yeah," Darren said. He stomped his foot and yelled into his mic.
"So will this be the last time you get stuff from the attic to sell?"
"Prolly not. You know the new Denizens of War comes out next month. And I need to get that paper to get it somehow."
"You could try working an actual job."
"What with lacrosse, track, all of my classes and gaming? I have no time sis. No time."
"Well you do get an allowance. You need to learn to save your money."
"I need to look suave for my ladies. And do other stuff. I get what I need when I need it. And besides, There's tons of other stuff up there I can sell if I need it."
"Just leave our heritage alone okay brother?"
"Yeah okay. Hey."
"What?"
"Did you bring me some cookies?"
Sally moved to Darren and she smacked the side of his head playfully.
"There. Them's your cookies!" Sally said.
"Ow! I'm telling Mom!" Darren cried.
Sally laughed and she left his room. She entered the hall and went into her bedroom. She closed her door and sat at her desk. "Now I can finish this paper."
Sally started typing.
Time passed and Sally finished her assignment.
The room had become colder and she rose from her chair and moved to the window. She closed it and went to her bed. She yawned and lay down. She grabbed her iPod and shoved the buds inside her ears. She closed her eyes and slept.
3
Sally awoke to the frantic shaking of her bed.
The lights in her room were dim and she opened her eyes.
She felt a light weight on her chest. She blinked and looked up.
The old teddy bear was sitting on her chest.
Its two black eyes had been hastily pasted in a neat vertical line in the middle of its face.
Thick globs of dried glue hung from the black discs.
Sally screamed and she grabbed the bear and flung it from her body as she sat up.
The bear hit the floor with a loud thump that was accompanied by a loud clattering noise.
Sally pulled the buds from her ears and she leaped from the bed and landed on the floor. She looked at the floor near the closed door of her room.
The teddy bear lay on the floor on its back.
Its black eyes were gone from his face and thick clumps of white glue hung from its fur.
The bear's two black eyes lay on the floor near its fallen form.
Sally looked at her bedroom door.
The partition was opened a small crack.
"Darren," Sally hissed. She moved to the bear and kneeled down. She snatched up the bear and its eyes and stood up. She stomped to the door, opened it and left the room. She went to Darren's room.
Darren's bedroom door was open and he was still sitting in his gaming chair.
Slow moving zombies and shooting soldiers moved across his TV screen.
Sally stomped to Darren and she threw the teddy bear at him.
The bear struck his chest and hit the floor.
"What?" Darren demanded. He pulled off his headset and looked at the bear. He looked up at Sally. "You went into the attic?"
"No you dope! You did! Or you never did!" Sally shouted.
Darren blinked and said, "I'm sorry. What?"
"You know I hate that thing! And you put it on my bed. On me! As a joke. And it's not freaking funny Darren! Not funny at all!" Sally said and she sneezed.
"Wait. I put the bear back in the attic and..." Darren looked at the bear. "What happened to his eyes. I totally glued them back on."
Sally moved closer to Darren. She opened her hand that held the eyes and shoved them at him. "Here! Here are his eyes that you didn't glue on good!"
"But I used superglue," Darren said.
"Darren! Just put the bear back!" Sally said.
Darren put down his controller and he grabbed the bear. He looked at it. "Not without his eyes."
Sally moved closer to Darren. "Here take his eyes."
Darren took the glass discs. He looked at them. "How will I put them back on? I mean. Superglue didn't work. And I don't think I can sew them on."
"You put those eyes on weird. That thing looked possessed!" Sally said.
"Why'd you get it down from the attic? And how did you find it? I mean. I hid it pretty good," Darren said.
"Ha! Ha! Not! The joke's over Darren and nobody's laughing!"
"What?"
"I know you put that bear in my bed Darren. It was one of your not funny jokes and I don't like it!"
"Sally I didn't put this bear in your bed. I've been here playing Metro Dead for the last two hours."
"Just put the bear ba
ck okay? And I won't tell Mom what you did."
"But I didn't do anything. Well. I didn't get the bear and put it in your room."
"Darren I'm not going to get into this with you. Just put it back and stay out of the attic. You know what Dad said."
"It's not dangerous up there. Just quiet and dusty. And Sally I really need your help. I really want to fix this little guy. So what can we do?"
"Why do you want to fix him? To sell him?"
"No. I just feel bad. I dunno. He looks all...pitiful without his eyes."
"You're being all weird."
"No. I'm being responsible. So what do you suggest?"
Sally looked at the bear. "He does need his eyes."
"Yeah," Darren said.
"We can use my old glue gun. You know the one I used during my Bedazzle days."
"I remember that phase. Junior High right?"
"More like third grade."
"Wait. Mom let you use a hot glue gun when you were nine?"
"I'm the responsible one."
"But I'm the oldest."
"Just give him to me."
"No."
"Why? I have the glue gun in my room."
"Cause. I want to be sure that you do a good job. So I'm coming with."
"Whatever. Just come on."
"Okay."
Sally and Darren left.
The two siblings entered Sally's room.
Darren sat in a chair and he moved it to the desk.
Sally cleared off her desk. She grabbed a surgical mask from a box that rested in a drawer of her desk and she put it on. She placed a large plastic garbage bag on top of her desk before she grabbed a hot glue gun and a glue stick cylinder. She loaded the stick inside of the gun and plugged the gun into the outlet.
Darren placed the teddy bear and the eyes on the desk. He looked at his sister and made a face. "Is that mask really necessary doctor?" Darren asked sarcastically.
Sally pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. She grabbed the glue gun. She held the glue gun. She looked at her brother over the blue mask. "This thing is filled with dust. And you know I'm allergic." She turned to the bear and grabbed its eyes. "Now let's do this."
Darren moved closer to Sally. He was quiet as he watched her work.
Sally placed the eyes carefully onto the bear's face after she had applied a liberal amount of hot glue onto the underside of each disc. She placed the eyes neatly atop the bear's face.
"And it's done," Sally said. She unplugged the glue gun and set it on her desk. She moved her chair away from the resting bear and pulled off her gloves and mask. She tossed them into the trash.
Darren reached for the bear.
Sally raised her hand in Darren's direction. "Wait. Let the eyes set," Sally said.
Darren ignored his sister. He pushed her hand away and moved closer to the desk. He grabbed the bear. He looked at it.
"You do great work sis," Darren said.
"Thank you," Sally said.
Darren poked at the bear's eyes. "And they're staying put. Awesome."
"Put it back in that attic. Now," Sally said.
"Alright," Darren said. He held the bear against his chest. He rushed from the room with a loud laugh.
"And no more foraging!" Sally shouted.
"Right!" Darren yelled.
Sally cleaned her desk with the wipes and soon the canister was empty. She threw the empty can in the garbage. She sat in her chair and worked on her computer.
Soon, her mother's voice floated through the house.
"Darren! Sally! Dinner!"
"Okay Mom!" Sally yelled. She rose from her desk and walked to the door. She stopped when she saw Darren running past her door.
"Food!" Darren shouted.
Sally shook her head. She left her room and went downstairs.
4
After dinner, Sally loaded the dishwasher and she left the kitchen.
Her mother was watching television in the living room. She was holding a computer tablet and tapping it.
Her mother was alone in the living room.
Sally's father had not come home from work yet.
"Sally did you do your homework?" her Mother asked. She was looking at her computer tablet and frowning at the screen.
"Yeah Mom," Sally said.
Her Mother looked up at her and smiled. "Good."
Sally smiled at her mother and she left the living room. She went upstairs and walked to her room.
Her bedroom door was shut.
"What? I thought I left this open," Sally said. She opened the door.
Her room was dark.
"What?" Sally asked.
Sally turned on the light.
The teddy bear was sitting on the floor in the middle of her room.
He was holding the glue gun.
Sally screamed and she ran from her room. She entered the hall and rushed to Darren's room.
Darren ran from his room. He stopped in the hall. He was looking at his sister with wide eyes.
"What happened? Did you see a spider?" Darren asked.
Sally moved closer to Darren. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to her room.
"You! You and your jokes!" Sally shouted.
"What jokes!" Darren said.
Sally stopped in front of the doorway to her room. She pointed to it. "You brought that bear back into my room!"
Darren looked in her room.
"What bear?" Darren asked.
Sally turned from Darren. She looked in her room.
The bedroom was empty.
The bear was gone.
"What? It was just here!" Sally cried.
"I put the bear in the attic sis," Darren said.
Sally looked at Darren. "I don't believe you."
"Fine. Put on your mask and I'll show you," Darren said.
5
Darren and Sally went up into the attic.
Darren turned on the light and the vast junk-filled area was filled with weak yellow illumination.
Darren held Sally's hand.
Sally breathed through her mask and she looked at the cobweb filled space with agony.
"Come on," Darren said. He moved forward. Sally walked at his side.
Darren and Sally walked through the attic. He ushered his sister to a small corner of the attic. He released her hand and moved to an old leather trunk. "I put it back where I found it. Inside here."
Darren opened the trunk. "See?"
Sally coughed and she moved closer to Darren. She looked inside the trunk.
The old teddy bear was inside of the trunk.
"But I don't understand," Sally said. "It was in my room. Just now."
Darren rose to his feet. He moved closer to his sister. "I don't know what to tell you sis. Maybe you imagined it?"
The sound of a loud slam rang out from the trunk.
Darren and Sally both jumped. They looked at the trunk.
The teddy bear was standing on the trunk's closed lid. It was holding the glue gun.
The bear's glass eyes were fixed on Sally and when it spoke, its voice was high pitched and resonant.
"She didn't imagine it," the bear said. "Please fix us."
Sally and Darren both looked at the bear.
Loud rustling and shuffling noises echoed behind them.
Sally and Darren both turned from the bear. They looked at each other before they turned around. They looked at the attic behind them.
Dozens of toys were sitting on the floor behind them.
There were antique glass dolls with cracked faces, wooden rocking horses without eyes, stuffed monkeys holding cymbals, stuffed animals holding limbs and a few mannequins clutching fallen arms.
The toys looked at Darren and Sally.
The stuffed bear jumped from the trunk and it landed on Darren's shoulder.
"Please fix us. Fix us all," the bear said.
Darren screamed and he shoved the bear from his shoulder.
The bear fell from his shoulder and i
t landed on the floor.
"Ow," the bear said.
Darren and Sally ran. They kicked at the toys that stood in their path.
Loud cries filled the attic as the toys flew from the floor.
"Ow!
"Hey that hurts!"
"How rude!"
"My eye!"
Darren and Sally ran through the attic. They reached the stairs that lead to the house's second floor.
Sally descended the stairs first and Darren followed.
The toy's cries followed them.
"Wait!"
"Please fix us!
"Don't leave us like this!"
Sally stumbled down the stairs and when she reached the second floor landing she screamed when she saw her father standing in front of her.
Darren fell against Sally and he looked up at his father with fear.
The attic became quiet.
Their father looked at his children. He folded his arms and spoke sternly.
"What have I told you about going into the attic?" He asked.
"Dad the toys!" Sally yelled.
"They came to life and they want us to fix them!" Darren shouted.
"Of course they do," Their Dad said. "And since the two of you disturbed their rest. That is what we are going to do."
A loud cheer rang out from the attic.
Their mother entered the hall. She was carrying a small sewing kit and three hot glue guns. She stopped beside her husband. "Here you are Edward."
Their father took the items. "Thank you Millie." Edward looked at his two children sternly. "Well let's go."
Sally and Darren looked at their father.
Edward pointed at the attic and he yelled, "March!"
Sally and Darren turned around.
Sally climbed the stairs. Darren followed her.
Sally and Darren entered the attic. They looked around.
The toys were all standing on the side of the attic.
Edward entered the attic. He pushed between his children and he went to a set of three old chairs. He sat down.
"Now then. Sally plug these in. Darren get out the sewing kit and let's get to work. It's going to be a long night," Edward said.
Sally and Darren looked at each other and they did as they were told.
The toys lined up in a straight line in front of the three chairs.
Sally and Darren sat down. They both held the glue guns.
Sally, Darren and their father glued fallen eyes, arms and legs onto dolls. They attached ears to stuffed animals. They glued fallen cymbals onto stuffed monkey's hands. They attached fallen wheels onto antique trucks.
Stalk You Later Page 6