Chapter Four. The Strings Of Fate

Nell and Chiyo stood before the fifth door, hoping they had found the right room. Taking a deep breath Nell raised her arm and rapped softly on the wood before lowering it back to her side, waiting patiently for a reply. They could hear a snuffling noise, a scrape of a chair, yet still the door remained closed. Sighing, Nell knocked again, this time the door slowly opened, revealing a large sorrowful brown eye shining brightly with tears yet to be shed.

Seeing it was newcomers, Jimmy stepped back and opened the door a little wider, revealing a dirty smudge, almost like a bruise, on the end his nose, the only indication of his encounter with Suzy. The monkey saw what the girls were staring at and quickly turned, practically diving on the bed. He buried his head beneath the covers, sobbing as his tail lay limply over the edge of the bed, not even a twitch of its former self. Nell closed the door behind her and stood silently, not knowing what to say or do to comfort the broken soul before her.

“She...she...said next time, I would be for...for the Baruss!” Jimmy wailed to no one in particular. The wail broke Nell's indecision, approaching the bed she sat beside the monkey and gently laid a hand on Jimmy’s back, his body shuddering beneath her touch.

“Oh Jimmy, I am so sorry.”

“She...she will be...be really mad if she knew...knew you two were...were in here! This is her room...hers...Never mine...You...I...Oh!” The rest of his words were lost within great soul wrenching, body heaving, sobs.

As Nell stroked his back, he drew comfort from her silent presence and began to quieten, finally the hitches in his breathing abated. Consoled and feeling more himself, Jimmy slowly extracted his head from the blankets and turned red rimmed eyes on to the little rag doll. She continued to stroke the fur on his back, in rhythmic soothing strokes, a sad look of empathy on her face.

“Why are you so nice?” He asked, puzzled and a little suspicious as to her motives.

“I'm just being me,” Nell said, taken aback. “I am treating you no differently than I would anyone else. I'm no different than the next person.”

“No. No one is nice unless they want something here. But you...There is something about you.” He said quizzically, knowing something was different yet unable to place his paw on the reason. He sat up and wiped his eyes. “You make people feel better by just...just being there....just being you.” His eyes widened as he stared long and hard at Nell, making her feel uncomfortable with the intensity of his gaze.

Chiyo sat bemused, watching Jimmy watch Nell. It occurred to her that he had just seen something that he had never seen before. Something that he never expected to ever see, at least not in this place, this nightmare. She was about to ask what he had seen when all hell broke loose out in the corridor, the toll of numerous bells shattering the quiet afternoon. Jimmy bounded from the bed, a range of emotions playing across his features. Fear was first followed by sadness and finally a resolute look, resigning himself to the job that needed to be done. Swinging into action, he hurried from the room. Nell and Chiyo followed as he ran down the corridor, heading towards the ringing bells.

Even before they had turned the corner, they knew something awful was happening. Nell was not sure that she wanted to find out what it was, but the mournful crying, that could now be heard over the bells, tugged somewhere at her heart and she knew she needed to help that person.


By Little_Nell

Little William stood in the middle of the corridor beside two dolls, identical except for the colour of their clothes, one red, one green. He looked both sad and irate at the same time as only he could. He kept pressing his small stubby arms to his face; both came away a little damper each time. He noticed Nell and Chiyo and made his way over to them.

“Oh what a day! Poor Popit has been caught by Samantha and punished!” He offered by way of explanation.

“What is she being punished for?” Nell asked, genuine curiosity edging her voice.

“They were both doing their daily work, polishing the Ghost Globes. Topit startled Popit who then dropped the globe she was polishing. It rolled; hit a stack of globes and, long story short, they all shattered! Six Ghosts in all, six, escaped, and Samantha was mad as hell! Livid, even!” Little William's voice rising in volume with each word uttered.

“Ghost Globes? Escapee ghosts?” Chiyo scoffed, not believing what she was hearing, as she crawled to the floor, her silk strand ensuring her safe descent.

“You really know nothing of this awful place! What we have to do, what we need to remember, what we see every day! Poor Popit was given the harshest punishment!” William snapped, more harshly than he intended but too irate to care about hurting someone else's feelings. William stalked over and grabbed the green dolls arm and pointed to the wrist clasped in his hand. It was then that Chiyo noticed something hanging from the green dolls, Popit's, right arm. A small piece of red string was tied around her arm too tight to slip off but loose enough so as not to cut into the fabric beneath. “Open your eyes! Can you not see the string she has been given?!”

“What's the string for?” the spider asked, noticing Nell moving over towards the two crying dolls, hoping to offer comfort.

William sighed as he dropped Popit's wrist, wiped his little plastic face again. He walked a few paces from the dolls before continuing in a low voice. “It is one of the mark's of punishment. Three different coloured strings. Blue string for extra work duties. Yellow string means you're to be thrown into the pit. And red string.” His mouth quivered as he tried to continue. “Red string for the Walk of Shame.”

Chiyo stared at William. As far as she understood it, being thrown into the pit would be the worst punishment. Eternal darkness in a bottomless pit? How bad was a walk of shame? William could see the puzzled expression on her face, knowing what she was thinking.

“The Walk of Shame is not what you think it is. It involves being left out in the corridor at night after the candles are lit in the rooms. You see, the hall candles are only lit when a new resident enters the house. The corridors are normally kept dark to allow the Baruss to do its nightly duty. The Walk of Shame involves walking past every door in your corridor as each door is closed on you, forever. It involves being left to either the Baruss, or if you can escape him, the forest. What happens to you, no one really knows, as no one has ever come back.” William hung his head.

Chiyo was disgusted, alarmed, but most of all, angered. “Why doesn't anyone allow the person into their room? Try to take off the string? Do none of you even try and save each other?! Do none of you even care?!”

William looked more miserable than Chiyo thought a plastic face should show. “The strings are magic, they can not come off. If you wear the red string, you have until the sun sets to get your affairs in order. After that you cannot enter any room in the entire house. As for not helping? Well, I once had a room-mate, David. He tried to help someone on the Walk of Shame and was dragged from his room by the Baruss who appeared from nowhere. I never saw him again. Only time I have ever seen a candle die.”

It was as if William had only just noticed Jimmy, who until now had been doing a valiant job of trying to blend into the back ground. Not an easy task for a bright orange monkey. The dolls face morphed into a snarling face of hate. “You! You traitor! Have you come for a look at your next job, huh? Huh? Think you would try and make her feel worse before she walks? You.. You...Monster!” William threw himself at Jimmy, who jumped up to the rafters above and clung there, looking as if he wished he had never been born.

William landed on his knees, his rage leaving him as quickly as it came only to be replaced by fresh tears. Chiyo looked up at Jimmy, who stared back down at her, searching for some look of compassion from the spider. A sign that she understood. “We all do what we have to, to survive in this house. You have your duties and I have mine. I'm sorry.” He whispered sadly. Chiyo watched Jimmy for a moment, realising how genuine the apology was.

“She is my friend, Chiyo, my best friend. But Topit is her sister, her twin, she will feel it harder than me. It’s all so horrible.”


Topit, her chin rested on her sisters head, watched as the rag doll approached. She had heard of the newcomer but this was the first time she had seen her. Nell didn’t really know what to say, but she wanted with all her heart to help Popit, and it showed on her face.

“I know you helped put William back together again, but this is different. No one can help Popit now.” Another cry rose from Popit as her little wooden head buried deeper into her sisters coat.

“Nothing?” Nell asked, a sadness growing within her, knowing it to be true yet still wishing it wasn't. Topit shook her head before turning her attention back to her sister.

“Popit, look at me.” She took a hold of Popit's chin and tilted her head up. She was met with swollen red eyes and almost cracked when she saw the pain they held. “We will do this together.” Topit said, gently stroking Popit’s face, wiping the tears away as she had always done.

“No!” Wailed Popit, a fresh flood of tears replacing the ones before. “There is no reason for you to suffer too! I won't let you do it!”

Topit shook her head. “I gave you the fright that made you drop the Globe, it's as much my fault as yours. We have done everything together, everything. We came here together and we will leave here together.” Topit pulled her sister closer, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. “I cannot, and will not, live without you. In our lifetime we have shared everything, now we shall share the same fate too.” She whispered through her tears, her voice filled with love.

A soft touch on her cheek told Nell that Chiyo had found her perch again. The ragdoll closed her eyes briefly and leaned into the touch, taking the comfort being offered. The spider could see the pain on her friends face. She knew that Nell was never meant for a place as dark and terrible as this. Yet she didn’t know how to save her from it.

“Why don’t we go to my room?” William said. “My chores are finished; we have the rest of the day to...” He fell silent, his eyes downcast, searching and failing to find a way to end the sentence.

Say goodbye, Chiyo thought.

As they walked along the corridor, some of the Houses other occupants were returning from their chores. From the solemn looks and sympathetic expressions of some, the news had spread of poor Popit's punishment.

How many times have they seen this red string? Chiyo wondered sadly.

As the five entered William's room, three doors down from the turn in Nell and Chiyo's corridor, Nell gasped. She now realised what William had meant about her room being nice. The wallpaper of this room was falling from the walls. In some places the plaster had fallen off, exposing the red muscular fibre of the house. And everything was covered in years of grime that no amount of cleaning would remove.

“Like I said,” William said, looking towards Nell, “Your room is still nice.”

As Nell stared aghast at the room, Topit took the opportunity to actually look at Nell. She could see what William had tried to put into words. An innocence, a pure soul, untainted yet by the darkness here. It was that that made Topit want to tell the ragdoll any information that would help her help others, before they left this place. Before their walk of shame.

Topit began the tale of woe, of desperation, a life of servitude to the one called Teviel. The tasks that were to be performed each and every day. And as is the want with twins Popit joined in, finishing the sentences started by Topit and starting her own for her sister to finish.

“Everyone who enters the house is assigned a task.”

“It never changes.”

“We had to take care of the Ghost Globes, polishing them.”

“Caring for them. Every time they run out.”

“We put six new globes onto a mount in the centre of the room, and take the empty ones away.”

“Clean out the sludge, then stack them.”

“All the rest are polished and numbered. Every day.” Topit finished.

“But what are the globes?” Nell asked, confused, and getting a little dizzy from flicking her attention between the two sisters. “What do they do?”

“No one knows really.”

“They are clear with a milky white substance inside that constantly moves. Sometimes.”

“They glow real bright; sometimes they are dull and offer little light.”

“But every day we must do as the work is written on the wall.”

“And never ever break them.” Popit whispered with a fresh tear on her cheek.

“And what of other duties? What else is done here?” Chiyo asked, wondering what was in store for them tomorrow.

“Changing bed sheets, collecting rubbish. They are basic duties we must all perform. Then we are given the real task at hand, be it the Ghost Globe room or the keeping of the kitchen.” William joined in the conversation, adding a third direction into the dizzying spin of Nell's head.

“Kitchen?” Nell said, realising that she was not even hungry despite the fact she had not eaten in, well, she could not remember ever having eaten.

“Not food for us, none of us need it.” Popit said when she saw Nell's hand rub at her stomach.

“It is for the likes of Suzy and Samantha. And Beeble of course.” Topit spat out, the names leaving a bitter taste within her mouth.

“Why do they need to eat, when we don't?” Chiyo wondered.

“Did you not see the scales, the body under the cloth and porcelain? They are not like us. They need to eat.”

Nell thought about Beeble. He had not had any reptilian body; he was just a big friendly bear. No trace of scales or at least not that she could remember from their brief encounter. Her mind could not put him with the others.

“What are they fed?” Chiyo asked, her interest piqued.

“The sludge from the Globes.” Popit said, a sickened look on her face.

“There are many rooms and many duties that need to be done to keep this house in working order.” Topit said, trying to get the conversation back to explaining the things she thought would help the ragdoll. “The house is alive and therefore needs to be nourished and cared for.”

Even though Nell knew the house was alive, she never thought of it as an entity that required food or water. The thought of living inside a living being was now making her feel queasy, only adding to the unease within her.

William looked to Topit, and she nodded her head. Silently giving him the permission he was seeking.

“We think there is a way out of this place.” He said his voice almost inaudible.

“Well why don’t we all just leave!” Cried Chiyo.

William paled at the shout and looked to the door nervously crossing everything he could in the hope no one had heard the spiders comment. Topit motioned for the spider to keep her voice down.

“This house has more ears and treacherous mouths than even I know about. Be mindful of what you utter so close to nightfall.” Topit warned. Chiyo settled down on her legs a little red in the face but suitably chastised.

“The key to leaving is Bango.” Topit took up the story in a hushed tone. “He is the one who has left here and come back. Sometimes he manages to sneak another out with him, other times he leaves alone.”

“So where is this Bango we keep hearing about?” Chiyo asked.

“No one knows. He has not been seen in so long, he is no more than a fairy tale to most, a legend to tell the younger ones among us. If anyone would know anything about him, it would be Terriah.”

“But no one has seen Terriah for so long, we wonder if she has been killed.” William whispered.

“Who is Terriah?” Nell asked.

“Terriah is said to be the very first occupant of the house, only Beeble has been here as long. She is a patchwork doll, made from many different materials. She looks so old and ugly that most fear her at first glance, but she has one of the kindest souls here. So does Bango...and you.” William said looking at Nell in something akin to reverence.

Nell was shocked and only managed to gape at William after his revelation. William and the twins stared back with hope in their eyes. She wondered just how bad the other occupants of the house really were, if she could be considered one of the best things in it.

“Nell, you, you and Chiyo, we have not seen your likes in many years.” Popit said.

“Many years?” Nell asked, “How long have you been here?”

“Too long…Perhaps this is a good time to leave, before our souls are too tarnished.” She said, pulling Popit closer. “You have to seek out Terriah; I believe you could be the one who can free us all from this house.”

“I’ve been here less than a day! How can you possibly think that! You don’t know me!” Nell said, almost too loud for comfort.

“It is in your eyes Nell. Your eyes.”

Chiyo crawled down and looked at Nell, really looked at her closely, for the first time since they met. She stared at her eyes, knowing full well that Nell was becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. Then she saw it. A hypnotic quality to her eyes. The longer you looked the more you could see. Her brown button eyes had a milky quality to them, ebbing and flowing like the tide. It was a hint of something deeper, a depth that you could lose yourself in.


Nell stood up, breaking eye contact with the rest of the rooms occupants. She wandered to the window to give herself time to settle the churning feelings that were making her so uncomfortable.

I'm ordinary. I'm Nell, Little Nell. No more, no less. She repeated this litany over and over to herself, not sure who she was trying to convince.

“What makes you think I want to help anyone?” She sniped, her anxieties causing the anger. “I helped William, so what?”

“With eyes like those, so like what Terriah's and Bango's eyes are fabled to be like? The fact they are so like the Ghost Globes, the only things in this awful place that feels good? You know you would help if you could.” Popit said.

Nell knew Popit spoke the truth. If Nell could break everyone free from this place she would, and destroy it at the same time so no others would suffer this fate. Before anything else was said, a soft woosh of air came from behind Nell. The candle on the wall stood in its sconce now lit, shedding its eerie light about the room.

Popit muffled a gasp with her hand as she realised it was time. Her time.

“You must go back to your room. Nell, do not get caught outside of your room tonight, or any other. Once the candles light you have ten minutes before the hall candles are snuffed. That is when no one should walk the corridors.” Topit said, holding her shaking sister. “Go now, and do not worry of our fate. We go willingly and happily, knowing you are here to offer comfort to those we leave behind. Find Terriah, she has the answers you seek.”

Nell and Chiyo ran back to their room, never once looking back. They weren't the only ones running, the corridor was packed. Everyone trying to make the safety of their own room before candles out.

Once inside, they tried to close the door but no matter how hard the two pushed there was no movement. Nell's struggles increased as slowly the hall candles went out one by one. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes, knowing that she was going to be subjected to Popit's punishment whether she wanted it or not. Giving up her futile attempts to close the door she sat at the foot of her bed. Scooping Chiyo from the floor she holding her tight, fearing without that contact her friend might be taken from her.

The eerie candle light flickered into the corridor, making the scene more ominous. Then the bell's began to toll. A steady beat to it, a death march of sorts. The sound sent shivers through Nell's tiny frame. The pounding in Nell's heart and the bell's were still not loud enough to drown out the awful sound of the doors slamming.

The light in the corridor grew dimmer with each closing door, until finally Topit and Popit made their way to Nell's door, Jimmy following behind, his features set into an unreadable mask.

Jimmy did not look like he enjoyed his task, he was just doing his job to the best of his ability as he followed the twins on their final walk. As they passed Nell and Chiyos door, the Twins smiled at them, sadly. And then they were gone.

The door slammed. Three more doors were heard to slam before the house began to quake. The candle flickered. A roar so awful it made Nell run for the bed, tore through the corridors, echoing through the darkness.

The Baruss was loose.

Nell threw her head under the pillow, squeezing it as tight to her ears as she could, Chiyo still cupped in her hand. She did not want to hear this, she could not live with the memory.

Screaming into the pillow, she tried to block out the noise of the roaring and anything else that she might hear. The room shook so violently she was almost thrown from the bed.

Then silence. It was done.

Whether the twins had escaped to the forest or not, Nell would never know. She cried and sobbed into the pillow, angry, sad, scared and every emotion in between. Chiyo squirmed as her cupped hand became a fist, Nell reflexively opened her hand before she crushed her friend.

The spider ran to the window, scrabbling over the wall until she came to the dirty glass. Peering out, hoping to glimpse the two dolls as they escaped, knowing that the possibility of escape was remote. Her heart felt as heavy as the storm that raged outside the window.

A noise at the door drew her attention and she looked to see something being pushed under it. Crawling towards the door with the intent to look under it she almost jumped out of her skin when Nell stopped her. The big ragdoll scooped her up to her shoulder before lifting the object.

It was a scrap of folded paper. She opened it, hating the slimy, dirty, feel of it. Five words greeted her, written in russet brown ink.

“Globe Room, after Candles Out.”


.

Chapter Three. The Cold Light Of Day

It occurred to Nell that the house was an entirely different creature in daylight. The candles were now blown out, standing whole ready for the coming night. With their eerie glow gone, the hall seemed less ominous. The House itself lost its presence, its life, and appeared to be just what it was. It was not an entity, nor malevolent, just a normal everyday house.

With each step the new friends took Nell started to doubt the memory of her flight through the corridors. She even started to relax as she and Chiyo wandered the corridor, in search of Jimmy, they saw various creatures walking the wooden path. Although no one appeared intimidating, none seemed friendly either.

There was an overgrown baby doll toddling down the hall in front of them, a pacifier clenched between its lips, sucking as if it's very life depended on it. It waddled along lost and alone, it's eyes devoid of any life. A small toy car whizzed by, its driver tooting the horn angrily as it swerved to avoid the baby, his face reddened with rage as it hurtled out of sight. Both were too caught up in their own little worlds to talk to Nell. Others walked the halls too, but their reactions were the same, barely noticing the new inhabitants and passing on by whenever she tried to introduce herself.

One, two, three doors........Jimmy had said five doors along, didn’t he? Did he mean five along from her room, or fifth door along including hers? Nell thought absently, as she caught her foot on something and almost stumbled. A small yell came from the ground and she jumped back realising she had been paying more attention to the doors than where she was going.

“Oh yeah, great! Just great! You big bumbling idiot! You know, those eyes are in your head for a reason! Watch where you're putting your massive feet, eh? Jeez! A guy could get killed around here with you on the loose!” A tiny little bean doll with a purple body and a plastic face shouted. He was only about ten centimetres high, cursing and trying unsuccessfully to hold in beans falling from a newly burst hole in his seam.

“Oh, great! Just perfect! Now I need to go see Tom and get fixed! Do you even realise how much trouble I am going to be in? Did it not even register in that pea you call a brain? Of course it didn't! You don’t have a clue, not one. The new bumbling idiot, I presume? As if things aren't bad enough round here, they go and let newbies stomp around, stepping on the little folk. Man! Are you even listening to me?” The small doll screamed, it's face going through a multitude of colour changes before settling into a purple hue that matched its body perfectly.

“I...I am so sorry! I never saw you!” Stammered Nell by way of an apology. Too shocked to offer anything else.

“Of course you didn’t! It never occurred to you that there would be folk smaller than you. You...you....ninkompoop!”

Nell watched as the little guy wandered off, holding his seam shut while still muttering curses, a small trail of beans trickling onto the dirty wooden floor in his wake. Chiyo couldn't quite contain the chuckle that escaped her, finding the little doll highly amusing.

“Oh, laugh it up hairy! Oh yeah, you think you are bigger than me? Perched up there on that idiots shoulder? Come down and laugh at me, eh? Come on hairy!” He screamed.

Still chuckling Chiyo turned to her friend, wanting to share the mirth she felt. The laughter died on her lips though when she noticed the fresh tear falling from Nell’s button eye and merriment was replaced by anger.

“Oh no Nell, don’t you dare cry for him. How dare you talk to someone like that! Who do you think you are?” Chiyo shouted after the doll as she jumped down from Nell’s shoulder to land on the wooden floor. She scuttled after the purple doll, gathering a few of his fallen beans as she went, with the express intention of using them in defence of her friend.

“Don’t you ever stop to think, perhaps, that you should also be looking where you're going, you silly purple thing?” She said, lifting a long leg and hurling a bean along with the insult. A second and third followed in quick succession, but only one found its mark.

The doll clutched at the site of the impact with both hands, his split seam forgotten as soon as the bean made contact with his belly. The two friends braced themselves for an explosion but instead of a barrage of angry curses, a massive sob escaped the purple doll and he fell to his knees. Beans pooling around his hunched form, spreading at an alarming rate across the wooden boards. Chiyo was taken aback. She did not think that the doll would back down let alone cry.

“I’m sorry, I was rude, I know I was.” He sobbed. “It’s just....Suzy will kill me!”

“Now, now, I am sure Suzy will understand.” Chiyo said, looking back towards Nell with a sheepish look.

“No, you don’t understand. Suzy will kill me! Like really, harvest my parts, use my beans as spares and throw what's left in the pit, kill me! When...when a worker gets damaged, that's what she does and then gets a new one to take their place!” He cried.

Nell lowered herself to the floor, crossed her legs, and looked the little doll in the eye. “What's your name?” She asked, pushing her hair out of her face.

“William.” He offered between sobs.

“Well William. I'm Nell and this is Chiyo, and I am sure that we can help you.” Nell said soothingly.

William looked up, wide eyes showing more emotion than his plastic face could ever portray. Fear, shock and even hope emanated from them in equal proportions.

“You...you think you can fix me? Like, I wouldn’t need to tell Suzy?” He asked in a whisper, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer yet needing to.

By way of an answer Nell bent forward and picked William up, placing him in her hip pocket before gathering as many of his fallen beads as she could. Instead of taking up her normal perch, Chiyo decided to join William in the pocket instead. Before the spider had even settled into a comfortable position, Nell was on her feet and heading back to their room. Knowing, without a doubt, that if they tried to fix William in the hallway word would get back to Suzy, somehow, and she didn't want to contemplate what fate the three would share.

Once the door was closed she sat on the bed. Taking William from her pocket she placed him next to her, and smiled at Chiyo as she too emerged from the pocket. The spider took up her spot on the pillow, offering silent support to both dolls.

“Gee, your room is still nice.” William said with awe.

“What do you mean still nice?” Nell asked as she put the beans onto the bed.

“Well, after a while, the room becomes like the hallways, a little more scary like. I know the candles are lit to keep us safe, but this house likes to play with your mind. You know? It can still scare the crap out of you, even though it can’t get in your room.”

Nell looked at Chiyo who stared grimly back. So much for the safe room theory, she thought.

“Well, lets see if we can fix you.” Nell said, a little shaken but determined not to show any more signs of weakness, especially in her own room.

William stood up and leaned to his left, showing the big hole in his side. The stitch had obviously popped and the thread had unwound in both directions.

“I don’t know how you're going to fix it.” He said as he stared miserably at the size of the hole. “Once a thread pops like that the ends never meet up again. I'm done for.”

“Well, good job I'm here.” said Chiyo. “I am rather good at stitching, and weaving, and...well just about anything involving threads.”

Nell carefully tried to poke the beans she had managed to save back into Williams side, which was harder than it sounded. Mittened hands, small beans and little holes weren't a good combination. Chiyo could see Nell working herself into a state with each bean that she couldn't get back inside. Quietly she went to the pile of beans and started to help put them back where they belonged.

When the friends had finished, William pinched the hole shut between his two stubby arms as tight as he could. Chiyo then used her webbing to stitch the hole shut. She stitched the seam three times, just to be safe. It wasn't neat and it certainly wasn't perfect, but that didn't matter to William. He let out a whoop of joy and bounced off the bed.

“Wow! I can’t believe it! You guys...you guys are the best! And I was so rude.” He said, palming his face with his stubby hand as he realised just how he had reacted earlier. “So rude and yet you helped. Man, this place needs more like you here. I'm sorry and thank you so, so, so much!”

“Hey! Calm down or you will burst another seam!” Chiyo called out, smiling at the doll's enthusiasm.

“I...I need to go! I'm late. Suzy will notice I'm not where I'm supposed to be. But I promise, I will come by before Candles on, I swear!” He said, racing to the door.

“Wait! Can you tell us where Jimmy is?” Nell said, getting to her feet to open the door for William. This stopped the tiny doll dead in his tracks before he spun round to look up at Nell. His expression one of pure amazement and a dash of horror.

“Why would you want to see Jimmy? Jimmy is nothing but trouble. More so than all the other monkeys here put together.”

“He...well...I don’t know. Suzy hit him and we wanted to make sure he was alright, and he mentioned Bango...”

“Bango? He told you about Bango?” William asked, more sharply than he intended.

“Well, he mentioned Bango, said it was like a legend or a fairy tale. We just wanted to know more.”

“Bango is no fairytale Nell, Bango is as real as the beans in my body. I know, I met him, only once. But I search for him every moment I can.” Before anyone could assimilate that piece of information the silence was shattered by a gigantic boom that shook the door within it's frame and sent the dust on the floor soaring into the air.

“Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!” cried William, running in circles, his small stubby hands on his head. “This can’t be happening! Of all days! I’m dead, I am so dead!”

As another boom rattled the door William dived towards the bed looking for salvation beneath its wooden frame. He reappeared as soon as he had hidden himself, smacking the side of his head with his stubby hand. “Idiot! She will know where you hide!” His eyes still darting around, hoping beyond hope that there was an escape route.

“Who will know?” Nell whispered, her anxiety hitting a whole new level.

“Sa...Sa....Samantha!” William squeaked.

Seconds ticked by and all within the room held their breath, waiting for the next boom. When it finally came it sounded further away, and William took the opportunity to fly out the door and slam it behind him. Nell and Chiyo stared at the door for a long time, listening to the booming as it faded into the distance, becoming nothing more than a dull thud as the threat named Samantha got further away.

“Wow, he is more scared of Samantha than he was of Suzy.” Nell said.

“Perhaps she is bigger than Suzy.” Chiyo offered. “If they were her footsteps...”

“Yeah.” Nell answered automatically, her mind not on the conversation.

“Look Nell, I know this place seems to be getting scarier by the minute, but we have a day, or at least what's left of it, of freedom before we are given who knows what sort of job. I don't intend to waste this time cowering in here. We still need answers. So what do you say? Do you still want to find Jimmy?” The answering nod was all Chiyo needed, and before Nell could blink, the spider was on her perch, waiting for Nell to get the door.

“I wonder if Jimmy was lying to us, or if he really didn't know that Bango was real.”

“Maybe William's the one who's lying.” Chiyo replied as Nell reached for the doorknob.

As her hand pulled on the door it was pushed violently from the other side, flying open and knocking Nell to the floor, sending Chiyo into the far wall with a sickening thud. Looking first to the spider to make sure she was alright and seeing the expression on her face, Nell turned back to the door to find out what else had come to invade her room. She cringed in horror, her face a mirror image of Chiyo's.

A porcelain doll loomed in the doorway, almost filling the entire frame. Half of her face had obviously been shattered years ago but it appeared to have been pieced together again by a deranged madman, one who had failed to use the original parts. Whilst one eye was the picture of sky blue innocence, the other was a sickly orange surrounded by mottled blue scales. The twisted grin painted beneath just added to the visage, and not in a nice way.


By little_nell at 2009-03-18

“And so I find the new comers.” She said in a voice dripping with sarcastic venom. “Lucky me.”

“Hello,” the ragdoll said shakily as she got back to her feet. Chiyo scrambled for her shoulder not wanting Nell to face this new threat alone. “You must be Samantha.”

“Ha! You know my name! I wonder who told you that?” She said, looking around the room. “Someone else in here?” Her glass eye stayed in position as the reptilian eye scoured the room. Nell couldn't repress the shudder at the thought of how much that eye could possibly see.

“I...I just heard your name being mentioned as we.....” Her voice dropped to a whisper as Samantha squeezed herself into the room and stood towering over Nell.

“I highly doubt that anyone would mention my name in the hallways.” Samantha said. “who was in here?” She demanded.

“No...no one.” Stammered Nell.

“That’s okay. I will find out eventually.” Samantha smirked. “Be sure to report to Suzy in the morning as soon as the candle has regenerated.” She said. “Or...I will come looking for you.” She added in a sickly sweet voice.

Samantha squeezed back out of the room, looking up and down the corridor, sniffing the air as if she could catch the scent of her next victim.

“Oh and by the way.” She said, turning to face Nell once more. “Next time, make sure you get all the beans back inside a doll.”

With that, Samantha boomed her way back along the corridor, leaving Nell and Chiyo fearful for William.

.

Chapter Two. Tall Tails.

She was running through the forest. Her heart going a mile a minute within her chest. She knew what was chasing her but not it's true form. Branches reached for her, like gnarled hands, trying to snag her hair, her clothes, anything to hinder her flight. Each time she fell, she was up on the next beat. Not even noticing her stitches had been torn or that her stuffing was slowly spilling from her body.

Her fear gave only one instruction. Run. Her instinct kicked in and she obeyed. The noise, she now knew belonged to the Baruss, echoed through the trees. She stopped and spun the noise seeming to come from all directions, joined now by a new huffing sound like the panting of some great beast. Hot, fetid, air filled the clearing where Nell found herself. The smell it carried was enough to turn even the strongest of stomachs, making her eyes water and her hand clamp tightly over her mouth.

Panic filled her as the Baruss gained ground, her eyes darting in all directions looking for a safe haven. Through the twisted trunks she could make out the shape of the house and took off in that direction. If she had fingers or toes she would have crossed them and prayed that the Baruss wasn't between her and the door. The trees thinned around her but the grabbing roots and branches tried all the harder to prevent her departure. Three times she fell, each time harder than the last.

The House being her only goal. Her prize, safety. No matter how much she despised the building it offered salvation at this point in time. Only a few feet more and she'd be safe. A few feet more and she can stop running. A few feet more. The maw that was the houses mouth opened in a leering grin. All teeth and plenty of bite. A few feet more.

Then there was ten feet, twenty, thirty. A gray mottled hand with yellowing fingernails, had wrapped itself around Little Nell's waist and was now lifting her from the ground, carrying her away from the house. From safety. The shrieking of the Baruss rose to fever pitch as she saw glowing red eyes awaiting her return to the forest. She punched and kicked at the hand that gripped her, biting, clawing, anything to try and loosen the hold.

Then the hold did loosen, it disappeared completely and Nell found herself sailing through the air, straight towards those twisted eyes. Screwing her own eyes up in the hopes to change her fate she screamed out her fear.

Her rapid descent was ended harshly as she struck the floor. The scream cut short as the air was pushed from her lungs in one go. Her eyes flew open looking for a way to avoid the monster she had been running from only to settle on Chiyo. The spider bore a bemused and concerned look that appeared comical on her face.

Chiyo, who had been sleeping soundly before Nell had tumbled from the bed, slowly stretched, curled back in to a ball and rolled off the bed to join the little ragdoll on the floor.

“Morning Nell.” The spider mumbled around a yawn.

Nell stretched her arms and legs, checked that her stitching was still sound, then tried to forget the nightmare that was already starting to fade. Her only hope was that the bruises to her bottom and pride would fade just as quickly.

“Sorry for the rude awakening. Hope you slept better than I did.” Nell asked with a slight quirk to her mouth.

“Oh, you mean the screaming or the thud as you hit the floor? Or are you apologising for the snoring before that?” The spider couldn't help but turn serious again as Nell rubbed at her face in an attempt to rid her eyes of some unseen image. “Seriously, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just a bad dream.” Nell yawned and made her way to the window. Looking out she realised that it was in fact morning. No sun shone in the sky, just churning storm clouds that threatened to unleash their burden at any moment. The light that managed to get through was poor, yet it didn't prevent Nell from seeing the forest of her nightmare. The trees charred black even by day. The ground a seething, roiling blanket of motion that mimicked the sky above.

Chiyo watched silently whilst Nell became lost in thought, wondering whether to interrupt until she saw the small tremors that were running through her new friend. Quickly scampering across the dusty boards, she climbed to the ledge and blurted out the first thing she could think of.

“You hungry?”

Nell smiled, shaking her head before picking up the spider, placing her on her shoulder, and then turned away from the window. Her eyes took in the room in the cold light of day, and an involuntary tremor coursed her body again. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life in this room. The Bone window petrified her, the musty sheets made her itch. The room was so empty and unkempt that it brought a tear to her button eyes. Yet it was the candle that scared her the most.

Chiyo followed Nell's gaze to the flickering candle. “What's wrong, Nell?”

“Last night, Beeble said that nothing can enter the room as long as the candle is burning. Chiyo, that candle wont last much longer.” Her fear evident in her voice.

Chiyo looked at the candle. There was only an inch or so left, the melted wax solidifying around it as the eerie flame traveled down the wick.

“I think you need to tell me everything this Beeble character told you.” And with that Nell relayed the events of the previous night. “He said things only wander at night? And that the candle prevents those that walk the halls from entering the room? What he didn't say is it had to burn through the day.” Chiyo mused, more to herself than Nell, walking down Nell's arm and coming to rest on her hand. “But then, how do we light it again?”

“The candles in the corridor lit themselves last night. Maybe the room candles do it too.” Nell hoped she was right about this as she walked up to the candle, drew in a breath, and blew the flame out. Watching as a wisp of smoke rose from the now black wick. Otherwise, she thought, I have just blown out our safety. Literally.

“Nell! Look at the candle!” Chiyo gasped.

Nell watched, enthralled as the once solidified wax became liquid. Before their eyes the candle became whole again, even the wick looked untouched by flame. The candle stood there in its wall sconce, as if it had never been devoured by the eerie flame.

She looked to Chiyo, and slowly smiled. An honest heartfelt smile, which Chiyo gladly returned.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

“It’s probably Beeble.” Chiyo whispered, returning to the ragdolls shoulder.

“What if it’s not?”

“Go over to the door and I'll crawl under and see who it is. I am that small they probably wont see me.” Chiyo said, drawing her chelicerae into a small smile in the hopes of reassuring her friend.

Nell looked horrified at the prospect of Chiyo crawling into the hallway alone. Remembering how she had felt out there last night.

“I'll be alright. Tell you what, I will put a small web on your hand, and if I scream for help, you can draw me back into the room, okay?”

“Okay.” Nell agreed. “But, I don’t like it.”

After the web was securely fastened around Nell’s hand, Chiyo crawled under the door into the hallway outside. It was a tight squeeze but manageable at a push. After some huffing and puffing Chiyo emerged from under the door. She looked to her left then her right but the hallway was deserted.


She began to crawl back under the door when the door knocked again. Chiyo felt the web being pulled, and she was dragged clean under the door only to land with a plop at Little Nell's feet. She gathered her legs beneath her and stood to look at the girl.

“I am so sorry! I got a fright when the door was knocked again and I jumped!” Nell whispered as she picked up the spider.

“There was no one there.” Chiyo said, brushing a piece of lint from one of her eight legs.

“So who is chapping the door?” At the quirk of Chiyo's eyebrow, Nell explained. “You know, tapping, knocking, rapping, banging the door.”

Nell placed her hand on the doorknob, only to jump when the tapping came again. With a growl, more at herself than the tapper, she pulled the door open quickly to find the empty corridor staring back at her. Leaning out the door, she didn't even get the chance to turn her head before a big whirling orange ball collided with her. The force of the blow sent her crashing back into the room, almost squashing poor Chiyo in the process.

“Ah HA! I knew there was someone in here!” The whirling orange ball cried, jumping off Nell and bouncing onto the bed.

Nell got back to her feet and closed the door quietly, looking back toward what she could now see was a cuddly monkey. A very hyper, overactive, bouncing, orange monkey.

“Who are you?” She asked, a little annoyed at the way the monkey had hit her.

“I’m Jimmy, Jimmy Monkey.” he replied between bounces. “I knew someone was in this room! This room has been empty for as long as I have been here!”

“How long have you been here?” Chiyo asked, her eyes following Jimmy as he jumped off the bed and onto the window sill.

“I'm not sure how long exactly, but it has been a long time! I’m so happy to meet some new friends! I can call you friends, can't I? It can get...lonely here. Hey! I stay five doors along from you!”

“I'm Nell, and this little one is Chiyo.” Nell introduced herself, holding out her hand as she'd been taught once, when she did not know but manners were manners. Jimmy took the hand and jiggled it up and down before continuing his window bouncing. “Do you know what this place is? Where it is? Why we are here?” Nell asked. The questions tumbling from her mouth before she was even sat on the bed.

“Nope! And I'm not sure I want to either! No one here knows anything to be honest, except Bango.” Jimmy answered, as he vacated the sill and looped his tail through a rafter on the ceiling and began to swing upside down. “And Teviel, of course.” The last added as a whisper too quiet for either girl to hear.



By Little_Nell



“Bango?”

“Bango, yep. Apparently he has been here the longest, knows more than anyone about the place. It is said he has a warm room, with lots of things in it to play with and he's never lonely.”

“Where is Bango? We need to talk to him!” Chiyo said, glad to be getting somewhere.

“Bango is just a myth, a fairy tale. An idea that if you behave you will be rewarded. I've been a good boy, yet still I...Look Bango doesn’t exist. If he did then maybe...But nope.”

“So no one here knows anything about anything?” Nell said appalled.

“Nope! I know a few things. I know that we can not go out at night. We can not go into the forest. We can not sleep anywhere except the room we are given when we arrive here. We can never leave here. That's about all I know.” Jimmy said unfurling his tail and dropping to the floor below. “Look, I am not the best person to be asking, you need to ask someone like Beeble or Samantha about this place. It is too big to explore alone, and changes so often you never know if you are coming or going. Corridors move, doors disappear only to reappear elsewhere or to be lost for eternity. Well that's what I'm told anyways.”

Nell was having problems keeping up with Jimmy’s fast, confusing, talk. The answers he gave only created more questions, sending Nell's head into a spin, although from the words or his movements she wasn't sure.

“I've got to go. Places to do, things to see. You not got plans? Cruising the halls, beating your paws, it can be a perfectly fun way, to spend each and every day!” Jimmy sang as he leapt for the door. Throwing it back on it's hinges he stopped mid bounce. If he hadn't the blonde ragdoll on the other side would have had the stuffing knocked from her.

“Jimmy. What are you doing here?” The doll asked, ignoring both Nell and Chiyo.

“I was doing as you said, finding the newcomers. Guess what? Found them!”

The doll raised a hand and, before anyone realised her intentions, she cruelly slapped Jimmy on the nose. Nell gasped and Chiyo's jaw dropped, completely speechless.

“Go back to the room.” The doll said angrily, and watched as Jimmy bounded out of the room, tail between his legs. The doll looked around the room, her gaze finally settling on Chiyo. The black bead eyes staring with an intensity that made the spider nervous. “So we now allow pets in this place?”

“Who are you?” Nell asked in a tone so angry she scared herself.

The doll smirked and raised her eyes to look at Nell, sizing her up. She must not have liked what she saw as the contempt in her voice got thicker, if that was possible. “If you knew who I was you would not use that tone with me, girl.” She replied as she stepped further into the room, stopping inches from Nell. The ragdoll stood her ground refusing to flinch from this doll, knowing that if she showed weakness now, it would be the end of her.

“My name is Suzy, Jimmy is my roommate. I am the one in charge of this floor, and you will do well to remember that.” She turned to leave, giving Nell a view of a reptilian, blue tail, that stuck out from under the folds of her skirt. “I will be back tomorrow to give you your orders, the chores you will do in this house. If you go out of your room, remember, return before the candles light.”

Suzy left the room, her tail swishing down the hall. When the footsteps had faded into silence, Nell still hadn't moved. Chiyo unfolded her legs and crawled down Nell's arm so she could get a good look at her. Chiyo wondered what was going on until she saw a single tear leave the dolls eye only to be sucked into the cloth that formed her cheek. With a choked sob, the spell finally broke. Covering her face with her hand she dived on the bed. She would have crushed poor Chiyo had the spider not jumped at the last second and landed softly on the pillow.

“I hate this place! Why are we here? I want to go home!” She cried, her voice muffled by blankets and tears. Chiyo did not know what to say. She was just as miserable and could find no words to comfort Nell. So she sat in silent sympathy beside the only friend she could remember having.

When the tears subsided, and the sniffles settled into the soft rhythmic breathing of sleep, the little spider walked to the top of the pillow and made her way along the wall towards the window. Looking out, she sighed. This world was not her own, she knew that, but like Nell, she had no memory of what had come before waking here. But she did know this, if they were to stay here and live, not just survive but actually live, they would have to learn the ways of the house, and quickly.

Nell awoke feeling drained, only to deflate further when she realised this was not just some awful nightmare. Chiyo made her way back to the bed and brushed a long hairy leg across Nell's face, sweeping the dolls tousled hair away from her still wet face.

“I think we should go for a walk, see what else is in this house before we need to work tomorrow.” She said gently.

“Okay, but where should we go?” Nell answered, glad that she didn't have to explain herself or her actions to Chiyo.

“I think we should find Jimmy, see if he's alright. Maybe he can tell us some more about the Bango tale, it sounds interesting.”

“I don’t want to look for Jimmy. We might bump into Suzy.” Nell said, fear creeping back into her eyes.

“Well, if Suzy is in charge of this floor, as she says she is, she should be too busy to bother us. And Jimmy said he was only five doors down.”

Nell nodded her head. She got up from the bed, straightened her clothes and set Chiyo on her shoulder. “Five doors along, huh? That shouldn’t be too hard to find.” She said without much conviction.


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