Lost and Found Raggedy Terrors Natalie took a step backwards, "Was it just me or did the forest just close up around us?" She asked nervously. She turned around to find she was entirely alone, "Hello?." Her mind reeled as she tried to piece together what exactly happened and how she was going to get back to her friends. She felt a cool breeze brush against the back of her legs causing her to spin around. Suddenly she was no longer surrounded by trees as four long white walls rose up around her, two long massive walls and two shorter ones creating a very thin rectangular room, the width of which could not have been over ten feet, while the length spanned five times that. A roof was the last thing to slide into place, blocking out the last of the sun. Natalie spun around as the room started to take on more personality. Windows began to open up here and there and a long patio window formed on the far wall as the walls themselves turned a stained yellow and a hallway, merely a few feet in width, opened up in the corner of one of the smaller walls. Then, slowly furniture started to appear, melting out of the ground. A sofa, night table, television first materialize in the centre of the room. A small kitchen formed next to the hallway behind her and lastly long curtains rolled out from the ceiling covering all the windows. Natalie stood in amazement as the room came to life; soon she realized that she was standing in the mobile home that she used to live in with her mother. She had forgotten all about the place and ran to the patio window to see a long wooden porch extended along the entire length of the home. A barbeque could be seen against the rail where Natalie remembered enjoying roasted hotdogs that her uncle used to make, her mouth watering at the thought of the taste. A small plastic jungle gym sat down in the yard with grass growing around it due to it never being moved. Other mobile homes could be seen lined up along a dirt road and she suddenly remembered that Kimberly used to live just down the street and they would spend time together every now and then. Natalie smiled at the sights and memories, Placing her hand upon the patio door's handle to step outside when the suddenly television snapped to life and the room filled with the distinct sounds of Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure. She remembered the songs so clearly for she and her cousins would watch it every time they came over to visit during the autumn season. Natalie crept around the living room to get a closer look and as she suspected there was that same old raggedy camel singing about how sad he was. Natalie watched for a moment when a sense of dread began to overflow her mind. She glanced around in search of what could have caused this uneasy feeling, however there was no one about. Not even the usual sounds could be heard, no neighbour's barking dog, cars driving by, or even children playing outside. Still she felt something was watching her. Then the volume on the TV started to rise until all she could hear were the sounds from the show. When she turned back to see what was happening Raggedy Ann and Andy were up against a giant sea of toffee. The sight of the monstrous blob made Natalie take a step away from the TV, almost as if the creature could see Natalie's movements it turned and watched her. Its big eyes stared out of the television gazing directly at Natalie, causing the girl to creep backwards even further away. She found she could not take her eyes off the TV as the blob moved closer and closer to the screen. Never did it once take its eyes off of the girl. It pressed up against the glass of the tub and Natalie was almost certain she could hear it tapping on the surface, trying to break out. Bits started to ooze out of the side of the tub and run down the screen as the creature pushed harder upon the glass. It let out a gurgled cry of frustration as it tried to break free of it’s confides. Further and further Natalie backed until she was up against the fridge in the corner of the kitchen. Her legs felt weak and she fumbled for the daggers she usually kept in her sleeves, trying desperately to find something to defend herself from that hideous abomination that was seeping from the television. "Naaatttalieeee..." The creature hissed, still watching her. Natalie tried to ignore the sound as she discovered that none of her throwing daggers where upon her person. She opened her jacket and searched the inner pockets; even her arm-mounted blade was missing. She could hear drops of the blob hitting the ground as she frantically searched her jacket. With a sigh of frustration she hit her head upon the fridge, feeling something warm and wet coat her hand and slowly turning around to find bloody handprints had appeared across the refrigerator. Her eyes moved to her feet where more blood had formed at her feet, pools of it seeping out of the floorboards in the shape of a human body. Abruptly her mind was filled with images of torn limbs and a shadow slowly creeping up upon her. Fear swelled inside of her heart as the memory of that dreadful night started to form inside her head, a night filled with murder and rape, her rape. She shook her head and screamed out as the nightmare took on a clearer form in her mind and then her eyes spotted something atop of the fridge, a set of kitchen knives. Hope rose in her heart at the gleam of those silver blades and she jumped to her feet and reached out for the knives, grabbing the one with the largest handle. Holding the blade in hand she felt confidence move through her fingertips as she scanned her surroundings once again, read to take on any adversary head on. That small ounce of hope and courage sunk to the pit of Natalie's stomach when her eyes set upon what was standing before her. "Hello again Cousin." A tall figure hissed. Natalie found it hard to not let the knife slip from her hand. The man before her was tall and wore a black cloak with hood pulled over his head leaving only half his face visible. The lower portion of the cloak seemed to become more shadow than solid and parts of it melded with the shadows around his feet. He tilted his head and smiled at the girl, "You remember me, little girl?" He said with a grin that sent Natalie's heart racing in terror. "G... get away from me!!!" Natalie screamed, waving the knife in an out stretched arm, "Leave me alone!" "When I first saw you the other day I didn't realize it was you." The man placed a hand upon his chin, "Strange coincidence, wouldn't you say?" "I killed you, Akaime!" Natalie snarled, "You are dead. How many times does it take for you to stay dead?" "I guess I'm like a bad penny that keeps cropping up." Akaime admitted with a sly grin, "This time I am not sure how I came back, maybe it was thanks to my new friends." He pulled off his hood revealing that a porcelain mask concealed the upper left side of his face, concealing his cheekbone to the top of his head. A glowing red eye could be seen from a narrow slit in the mask that was off centre on his face. When he turned his head it became apparent that the parts the mask only covered the front portion of his face and what was behind the mask was entirely missing. Natalie could see a large hole in the side of the man's head allowing Nat to peer deep inside of him, which seemed almost hollow. As if his flesh was nothing more then a shroud covering darkness. Then Natalie realized that the mask was not hiding the hole, his skin was concealing the mask and had been torn away leaving it hanging in places, revealing his true nature to be seen. Another smaller hole could be seen in the side of his neck. He tapped the mask with a finger, "I still need to repay you for this little pain you caused me." "No..." Natalie shook her head in disbelief, "This can't be happening, this can't-be-happening!!!" Suddenly Natalie realized that this was the same man that was chasing Kim and Jenn through the alleys. At a distance he appeared to be just another shadow and now that she knew who it was beneath that hood she was not sure she could have fought him off so easily again. "Oh trust me it is." Akaime said with a sinister smile, "And in this place I'm not the weakling I was before." He quickly knelt to the ground, placing a hand upon the floor. Flames burst from his fingertips creating a circle upon the carpet that filled in and began to grow in size. Natalie watched in fear as the flames begin to take on a new shape. The fire didn't seem to actually burn the floor as it grew in size; it more twisted and took on the likeness of a clear membrane that rose to the roof of the building. The blazes appeared as if it was being projected upon the surface of some kind of skin stretched over a writhing creature and something unexplainably vile began to move beneath its surface. Teeth could be seen shifting and snapping to free itself from its confines. Natalie pressed up against the wall to distance herself from the creature before her. A smell of something sickening burning filled the air that made Natalie want to throw up. The cocoon broke open to reveal a large set of jagged teeth; the rest of the membrane formed itself into a monolithic dog with flames leaping off its body like ragged fur. Natalie did not move as the dog leapt forward and charged at her. Suddenly she screamed and tossed the knife at the creature before breaking into a run down the hall. The creature was so big that its shoulder got stuck on the wall as it snapped viciously at the girl's heels. "You can't escape me!" Akaime called out after the girl, "You will be mine. Along with all your friends." His maniacal laughter could be heard throughout the house. Natalie burst out of the mobile home and jumped a fence, hoping that she could find her friends before that monster did. ***** To be Continued...
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