The Strange Peculiar Bizarre Town The Doll Part Two

 Doll’s Game

“Who are you?”

The woman let out a child-like giggle.

“What? Don’t you recognise me? Oh, I’m disappointed! Especially with you Matty!”

“Alice!” Matilda screamed.

She let out another giggle.

“About time, Matty!”

Melinda looked at Matilda in confusion.

“What?”

Alice’s face dropped. 

“Please no! Don’t? Haven’t you had enough?”

“No. Not yet. Although I must admit I am really disappointed in you Melly! After all those times I watched over you in this past year. Yes! I followed you to the Magician, when Danté took you in, when you became Matty’s prisoner, when that doctor and nurse experimented on you, when you became the prisoner of the vampires, when you killed the clown, I saw all your nasty killings by your dark side even when they were putting you back together again and when you were plotting to kill that nasty, nasty Wendy Wonderlust, which I have to say congratulations!”

Her eyes widened.

“How!?”

“Oh? I thought that you were smarter than that!”

Melinda let out a huff. She was far too tired for this.

“Not what I meant. How are you-”

“Back human?”

She nodded.

“Oh! Well, you should have been more specific! Well I’m human ‘cause you won! Ding, dong the witch is dead! Ding, dong the witch is dead! The witch is dead! The witch is dead! Ding, dong the witch is dead! Ding, dong the witch is dead! Dead, dead, dead!” She sang clapping. “Oh, but Dorothy! You only killed one witch! For here in Oz there are two! There are two! One is killed, the other shows up! No ruby slippers or silver slippers, if you like the movie or book. Tell me, as it's been so long since I was human, have they adapted the other fourteen books yet?”

“‘Other forteen’? There are fifteen Oz books? I thought that there was only one!”

“Ohhh!”

That was when Jaden went to the doorknob. She went to pull it down but it would not budge! She pushed and pushed but it still did not budge a single inch! She looked at the gap in the door to see that it was locked! She went to pull the keys out only to notice that they were gone!

“Are you looking for something Jey, Jey?”

“Where are the keys?”

“What! These keys?” She sang, shaking them like a glass bell.

“How did you get those?”

She chuckled like a child.

“Silly Jey, Jey! I’m magic!” She sang, pulling a hair from her head and turning it in her fingertips. “See!”

“Let us out!” Snapped Melinda, with a warning and stern look in her eyes.

“Make me!”

“A, a, ahh! How about you play with me first? If you don’t I’ll magic them in a land far, far away! Then I’ll seal you all in here ‘n’ watch you starve. Unless you eat yourselves first!”

“No!”

“Ohh! It’s only hide ‘n’ seek? The one that I find last wins!”

“No! Mel, no! Please, no! That’s one of the ways she got me!”

“Shhh! Matty. Remember I have something that you do-ohn’t. Also I think that playing along is the only way out!”

“But-”

Melinda turned to Matilda with a warning look.

“Do you want to get out of here or not?”

“Yes, I do but-”

She turned to Alice.

“I accept.”

“Alright! Then I’ll count you hide!”

Knowing that they had no other option, they all got ready.

“Then get to the door. It’ll not be fair, where you are. After all, you are cutting off half of our hiding spots.” Melinda pointed out. 

“Alright! Good thinking. You know, you’re smarter than Matty, she thought that she could talk me out of it! And I must admit that I like that!”

She walked to the door and Melinda tried to use her fire against her, but suddenly the atmosphere became colder rather than hotter. She suddenly felt a pressure on her, blocking her powers like a plug.

“Oh! Silly Melly! You can’t use your powers yet! Not until this little game of ours is over!”

She, to cover her emotions, let out a sigh as she shrugged.

“Worth a try.”

“Alright. I’ll let it slide.” She said as she faced the door as Jaden ran to the kitchen to get a knife but she found the drawer was also sealed. She looked back to see that they were at this witch’s mercy.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!”

The three split and Jaden ran into the front room and hid under the table. Meanwhile Melinda and Matilda ran to Melinda’s room. They looked out of the window to see nothing but a black void.

“So we have to count Danté out.”

“Seems so.”

“Right, Mel, you hide in the attic. I have a hunch I want to check out.”

She looked at her, feeling worried.

“But-”

“Do it now!” She snapped, harsher than she wanted to. 

She looked at her scared. She grabbed her hands. 

“Don’t die Mel. Promise me that you will not do anything that will get you killed!”

“As long as you don’t!”

She nodded as she ran to the trap door. She opened it and the ladders came down and raced up them. She pulled them up and hid among the clothes stored there.

Meanwhile, Melinda pulled open the wardrobe and slipped into it and closed it behind her.

Right. If I’m right, regardless of how easy it is to find me, she will go for the others first and save me until last. After all, if this is about isolating me, this would be the easiest way. Honestly, it’s quite genius.

Yet despite all of this, she felt her heartbeat rapidly and became as loud as a drum in her ear. She felt herself shaking. Which, at first, she passed off as fear. However the smile on her face told her otherwise. No it was completely contrary. Yet she knew that this feeling that she was experiencing was something between fear and excitement.

Why am I excited? No, I’m just afraid, that’s all. Why would I be afraid? I have fighting skills! Then it must be nerves.

She heard a scream. She snapped out of it and tried to open the wardrobe but something was jamming the door. She felt around the edge to feel that the gap between the door and the frame had been sealed together! 

So I can’t get out of here. Which must mean that once we all have hidden we can’t leave or hide anywhere else. That is until Alice has found us.

She let out a deep breath to calm herself down. Knowing that she had to save as much air as she could.

I want her to find me next. I hope that I am wrong about my theory. Truly, I am. I want her to find me first. So that I can face her. I want to fight her.

Why? Since when did I want to fight people like this? Is this the Alex side of me coming out? Or Malice? Or both? Either way, this new sensation is far more frightening than that witch. 

That was when she heard the footsteps of the witch. She closed her eyes as heard them coming closer and closer and closer. Then she felt her smiling twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Please, come closer, come closer!

Then the footsteps passed her room. She heard the sound of the ladders. This was followed by the second scream.

Finally, my turn.

She did not have to wait long.

“Found you!” She sang a moment later.