Forlot: Welcome to the Dummy House - Book Forty-One

Chapter Thirteen

A cry escaped from my mouth as I felt hands grabbing my shoulders. They could not belong to Owen or Anita. They did not because my new friends were not close to me. Anita was a few inches away. Owen was still under the table. He was shaking. His teeth were chattering.

Owen shut his eyes and proclaimed, "It is him! It is the phantom!"

Anita's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "It is not some phantom," she announced as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. "It...it is a puppet."

Before I could answer, the hands tightened and pulled me. Pulled me to the floor. I cried out as my back made contact with the hard floor. Pain shot through my body as I groaned and glanced at the ceiling. I wanted to get up. I wanted to get off the stupid floor and scramble to the double doors. But I did not move. I was in so much pain. I just wanted to lie there. Rest and close my eyes.

But I could not because of the puppets. Yeah. Puppets. One was standing over me and had this empty bottle in his hand. Oh. My. Gosh. I could not believe my eyes. It was impossible. Puppets cannot move by themselves. I breathed heavily and kept my eyes on him. No dummy can walk or talk on his own. That is why there is such a thing as a ventriloquist. The only way that the puppets can walk and talk by themselves is by remote control. I have seen ventriloquists use remote controls. It is cool, but also creepy.

I thought that this dummy belonged to Owen or Anita. Maybe the school. I studied him and wanted to gag. He was not the cleanest dummy that I have seen. Wrinkles - wooden wrinkles? - were on his face. He loomed over me and raised the plastic bottle high above his wooden head. Those glassy eyes of his were trained on me, and his smile was upside down.

The doll's outfit reminded me of those characters from the mafia. I cannot recall which characters, but it does not matter. What matters is that I was in danger. I was in dummy danger.

Huh. Dummy danger. I do not believe that a character has ever used that phrase, but I like it! I was not just in any danger. I was in dummy danger! Ha!

His outfit suited him. Get it? He is wearing a suit. Fine. I will stop. Anyway, he wore a gray suit and gray slacks with dress shoes and this matching hat. Man. If he had a gun, his costume would be complete. It might be why he had an empty bottle. He was using it as his weapon. His eyebrows narrowed. Nothing to do but talk to him. I wanted to snatch the bottle from his grasp. I was just too weak. I felt paralyzed. Like that I was in a dream.

A dream. That is it. Why did I not think of it before? It makes perfect sense. I am dreaming. I am in a dream. I am actually in a nightmare, but it is still harmless. I do not know why I am dreaming of a disturbing doll, but I am known to have the weirdest dreams. Some are bad. Some are good. I took in a deep breath and let it out. I was relieved that I solved the mystery.

Until that doll brought his face close to mine and said, "I can tell by the look on your face that you believe that you are dreaming."

"I do not believe that I am dreaming. I know that I am. This is just a dream," I managed to choke out. "You are not real. Owen and Anita are not real. I am not even at school. Silly me." I sighed. "And I assumed that I made new friends."

He snorted. Then he snickered. "So...um...what makes you believe that you are in a dream? How do you know for sure that all this is a dream?"

I squinted at him. "You."

He straightened his back. "Me? Oh, I get it now. I see. I see what your game is."

The pain in my hands was gone. I still felt pain all over me, so I could not sit up or get up. Not yet. I placed my hands on my stomach and took another deep breath. I needed to wake up. And fast. But how?

The dummy lowered the bottle and tapped his wooden fingers on it. "You think that you are in some dream all because you believe that my kind cannot walk and talk. Have you read the Forlot series? Living puppets are all over the small town. Dummies and dolls can be alive. I cannot believe you humans." He balled a wooden hand into a fist. "There is no limit in the town. Anything that can happen in Forlot will happen. You have any clue as to what that means?"

"Hmm...are you trying to tell me that it is not a dream? I am not dreaming?"

"Ding, ding, ding! Give this idiot a prize!"

"Did you just call me an idiot?"

"Oh, I am sorry. Do you prefer moron or dummy?"

It was my turn to narrow my eyebrows. "I am not some dummy. You are."

He laid his foot on my chest and pinched my cheek. He pinched it so hard that I screamed. I did not want to. It just hurt so badly.

"Mmm. Looks like that we have an infant in the school. Tell me, baby. Is a being who has the ability to talk and walk a dummy? I will answer for you. No. Just because I resemble a dummy does not mean that I am one. Call me a dummy again, and I will..." His voice trailed off.

I looked at the ceiling. Then back at him.

Then another dummy showed up.

Wonderful.