Welcome To The Dollhouse ~Style fan fiction~ {Complete}

36

In silence, we walk into the room we'd originally planned to go into.
It's still just as dark as the day I woke up in there, but nobody bothers to look for a light switch.

Annie's body is heavy despite her small size. I know there's no need for me to carry her with us, but I feel like I have to for some weird reason. It's probably guilt; I feel as though I dragged her into this mess and therefore killed her, although I know that sounds stupid when I think about it.

Stan stands in the middle of the room and reaches up, his fingertips grazing the ceiling as he tries to find something.
I watch as he grabs onto a small latch and pulls down a trap door, followed by a ladder that clatters loudly as it hits the floor.

This explains how the figures came from the ceiling in the camera footage; they came down the ladder.

I can see light above the trap door, which gives me a strange feeling of hope for some reason.

"Who wants to go first?" Stan asks, looking around at everyone.

Nobody offers to go. I mean, why would you? Stan and Sharon know what it's like upstairs, but the rest of us have no idea what'll be up there.

"Kyle, you've got Annie so why don't you go first?" Stan suggests. His logic makes no sense, but I shrug and walk over, "I'll go behind you in case Annie falls."

The ladder looks old and overused. It doesn't give me a good feeling as it creaks under the weight of one of my feet.
I look back at Stan, feeling uneasy and nervous, but he gives me a comforting smile and I decide that it's okay. Stan will catch us if we fall, right?

Since I'm carrying Annie, I only have one hand to hold onto the ladder with, which is scary. I could fall at any moment.
My heart races as I continue climbing the rickety ladder.

As I get closer to the top, I realise I can hear something.
It's loud, loud enough to make the ladder vibrate. I don't know how I didn't notice it before.
It takes me a second to realise what it is; a car. A running car.

Hope fills me as I climb faster to the top, desperate to see the car. I gently place Annie's body on the floor when I can see it and climb out of the hole. Then I see it.

A beautiful shiny red car with tinted windows and not a single scratch. My beautiful purring ticket out of this place.

I pick Annie back up since the thought of leaving her on the floor like a discarded doll disgusts me, then go back to the car.
I run my fingers over the smooth metal, barely able to contain my excitement.

I hear someone climbing through the trap door and I turn to look.

"Holy shit, a car!" Heidi gasps, rushing over and throwing her arms around it, "we're saved! We're fucking saved!"

I look at Heidi, trying to see a baby bump or any sign that she's pregnant, but I don't really know what I'm looking for since she was already pregnant when I met her so she looks fine. She looks over to me and gives me a small wave.

"Hey," she smiles, "excited?"

"You bet," I smile back, "it's so good to see you."

Before she can say anything else, Wendy joins us. She doesn't say anything, but when she spots the car she looks impressed and excited.
It doesn't take long for Stan and his mother to come up too.

His mother appears to be back in that trance-like state, humming to herself and staring into space. It's quite creepy if I'm being honest.
The thought that we planned for her to drive us to the hospital sends a chill down my spine. She doesn't seem to be able to drive like this and I don't want her to.

"Is everyone ready?" Stan claps his hands together and opens the driver's seat of the car. For a second I think he's going to get in, but he says, "mom, get into this seat."

An uncomfortable feeling washes over me as Sharon walks over and gets into the car. She's so dazed that Stan has to do her seatbelt. He even has to put her hands on the steering wheel.

"Stan, I don't feel comfortable having her drive," I admit, "she doesn't look okay. Why doesn't Shelly drive us?"

It finally dawns on me that Shelly isn't here. Stan told me the plan was falling apart, but I didn't realise how bad it was falling apart. Is his sister hurt? Does she even know where we are?
Stan doesn't even seem to realise that his sister is missing which makes my uneasy feeling double.

"Shelly? Who's Shelly?" Stan frowns.

"C'mon, Kyle. Just get into the car, it'll be fine," Heidi says as she gets into the back of the car. She pats the seat next to her and smiles.

Wendy slides into the passenger's seat beside Sharon and slams the door shut. I've got no choice but to sit there, not that I'm complaining.

"What about Annie?" I really don't want to leave her here. It doesn't feel right.

"There's two seats left," Heidi points out, "I'm not big enough to take them both up."

I put Annie in the middle seat and buckle her in, luckily Heidi doesn't seem to mind, and then sit in the seat beside her. I close the door and clip my seatbelt in.

Annie slumps over slightly in her seat onto Heidi's shoulder. She flinches at the touch, but doesn't say anything.

"Wait," I sit up in my seat and look out the window at Stan, "why is Wendy coming? She has nothing to do with Heidi's pregnancy."

Stan walks over to the car window and holds up a small device in his hand.
For a second I think he's got the flip-phone Sharon gave me, but then I realise it's a small remote control.
Stan grins and presses one of the buttons.

All of the windows lock.
I try the door handle. The door is locked too.