Chapter Ten
The present
Clayton
Running my fingers through her hair, it’s getting longer, but not as fast as Elsie’s.
“Alright, now arms.”
She follows my command as I grab the measuring tape and along it with her arms. The mirror in front of us reflects our silhouettes.
Wrinkles start to show a bit as I’m now 30.
I have been checking up on my doll once a month.
Her health is perfect and she develops fast. Her body is the age of 28.
Her brain processes all the info I worked on for the past few months.
“Am I moving too much?” Her voice raspy.
Her voice irritated me, while Elsie’s was soft and innocent, hers is robotic.
I look at her through the mirror as I stand behind her “No, Doll, you’re perfect.”
She smiles proudly as I take the rest of the measurements, writing down any notes.
I move towards my desk, the past measurements show that her hair is growing so slow.
Irritation spikes in my veins as I throw the papers.
I have moved my desk upstairs and locked the basement.
I can’t let her see the corpses and my equipment.
It feels wrong to call her Elsie so I have been saying ‘Doll’.
She looks the part. Her characteristics sometimes anger me, they’re way different than Elsie’s.
But I have to make her Elsie.
It’s the only version that I can control to be mine.
A soft hand presses on my shoulder “Clayton, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” I sigh.
Hearing her say my name never sparked the longing I felt before. But, it will do.
She has been wearing my shirts for the past months and I’m not complaining. But, she needs her own wardrobe and it would be the perfect time to see how she adapts in a social setting. Not that I plan on letting her out much.
She can walk,speak,hear,smell and everything so no one would suspect a thing.
Even if they did, no one questions me in this town anymore. She will walk beside me like a queen and they wouldn’t dare to look her way. If someone did, then clearly they have no idea who I am. There is always time to learn and I love taking my time to teach them.
I take her hand in mine. “Doll, how about we go outside and get you some clothes?” She looks out the window then back at me. “Outside? Is it safe?”
“You’re always safe with me, understood?” Raising her head up to me with my finger on her thumb. She nods smiling and I take her hand, walking towards the front door. I grab the extra coat from the hanger, helping her wear it.
“If anyone talks to you, don’t respond until I speak. People out there are monsters, they will use a pretty woman like you.”
Opening the door as she links her arm with mine. We walk to my car as I open the door for her, once she’s settled and looking at me through the mirror with that clueless gaze, I close the passenger door and head towards the driver seat.
I lean over and buckle her seatbelt. “Don’t take this off.
”I drive down the hill as trees pass by our car windows.
I have built the road leading through the woods me and Elsie met in.
It’s the only way to reach my house and no one can pass through it, only me who knows the way.
It’s divided into 6 roads, only one of them is the right road.
When someone wants an extra dose of the drug that I haven’t allowed and dares to come to my house will always get lost. Hopefully, killed by someone in the woods and buried.
Glancing beside me to find her glued to the window, taking in every tree as if she’s counting the last seconds she has in the land.
“It’s nothing special, trust me. This town is useless. Without my drug they will all kill themselves, but that would be boring. There won’t be any more toys to play with, right?”
She looks at me, hesitating. “It’s nice of you to help them survive and give them something to look forward to every morning.”
I will say, she does have that in common with Elsie.
Being naively kind.
I focus on the road ahead as we drive through the middle of the town. Stores line up, neon signs flickering. Some people lean against the walls in the alleyways, smoking or beating each other up.
I park the car in front of the only store that has more than a few options of clothes. I unbuckle her seatbelt as the neon lights illuminate her features.
“Doll, stay beside me and remember what I said, alright?” She nods frantically in excitement.
As I get out of the car, some are already sizing me and others recognize me, immediately turning their gaze elsewhere.
I open her door and she almost bolts to the store, I grab her arm.
“Patience.” I grit, scanning the area around us.
“First thing, you need to always be aware of your surroundings.” She looks around us but for a completely different reason.
She discovers the world asI link her arm with mine as I sigh.
“I wish I could have shown you the world in a better place” placing a kiss on her forehead as we get inside the store.
A Short pale woman appears from behind a beaded curtain. She pops her gum and my eyes twitch.
Obnoxious.
Her nails wrap around a cigarette and from the scent I can tell it’s weed. She looks at my coat then walks closer towards us.
Obnoxious, cheap, irrational and hungry. Got it.
“How can I help ya, love birds?” She chews the gum with her mouth wide open, blowing out a bubble till it pops.
“You have clothes?” Doll asks enthusiastically.
I definitely can’t control her enough in public. Which is understandable, she’s overstimulated by all this.
The woman looks around her store and arches a tattooed brow “Well, duh?”
Also insensitive. What a delight she is.
“Then you better own some that are worth standing in your presence.” my voice snaps her gaze back to me.
Recognition sparks in her eyes as she gasps “Mr.Clayton? I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to b-“ I raise my hand and she seals her mouth shut.
Finally.
I put a hand on Doll’s waist, urging her towards a rack of clothes. “Choose whatever you like.” she nods and touches the clothes hesitantly.
I scan the store, as usual no cameras and her drawer is busted. She has been stolen before.
I walk to the end of the store, no I pull the beaded curtains aside. The small storage room has a dark brown armchair and a table beside it. Cigarettes scatter around as the ashes mix with the dust. A moth wing glistens and I smirk.
I feel a presence behind me and I know it’s the woman.
“Do you need something from here?”
“No, I won’t ever need cheap ashes. But, it’s you who needs something.” I step on a burnt cigarette on the ground as I turn to face her.
“I-I do need another dose of Nocta.”
I narrow my eyes.
She grabs her purse, pulling out a few cash bills frantically as she holds them up to me. “I swear those are all the cash I have currently, will that be enough?”
I scoff, shaking my head “you think I need those pathetic bills? You’re the desperate one here.” I take out Nocta from my coat inner pocket, holding it up between us. Her eyes follow it, transfixed as her pupils dilate.
She nods slowly “is there any way I can pay you?” Her voice lowers seductively. As if her breath alone doesn’t bother me.
I fight my grimace as I look at her up and down “you’re delusional, I’m not looking for cheap meat.” taking the cash bills from her and start heading outside the storage room.
“Wait! Please, I would do anything.”
That was too easy.
I stop, my back facing her as I look at my Doll. How she is so focused on the fabric textures.
“Actually there is something I want you to do.” I speak over my shoulder
“Anything.”
I throw the Nocta on the ground beside my leg “Crawl. to. it.”
She lowers to the ground and starts crawling slowly, scared I would refuse if she reached too easily.
I let her keep crawling as I walk towards my Doll, taking the clothes she has been touching the longest then holding her hand in mine as she looks at the crawling woman confused.
“Animal?”
I chuckle, knowing that Doll is asking because the woman is walking on four limbs as the animals I showed her before.
“Yeah, my doll. Animal.”
The woman reaches with her hand barely grazing the Nocta. I step onto it as the glass breaks and the liquid spreads underneath my shoes.
“No!”
Letting Doll walk ahead as I follow her, ignoring the woman pleading.
She scoffed at Doll when she asked an obvious question, now who's pathetic?
I put the clothes at the backseat and help Doll get inside as we drive off.
“Did you have fun?” I ask as I have one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear stick. Checking the mirror to make sure no one is daring to follow us.
“Yes, I want to go outside again”
Yeah, that won’t happen for a long time.