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thepuppeterproject · 1 year ago

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Part One- The Old Tales

CHAPTER TWO

“Hey, Mama!” Maria said when she walked through the door. “Someone’s in a good mood, what happened? See something cool on Pinterest?” Harlie asked. Maria shook her head, “Can I go to a sleepover later, Mama?” Maria asked

Shocked, Harlie nodded. “Of course, I’m glad you made friends dear.” She smiled, “What time are you supposed to be there?” “Like 8 ish, but you know me – fashionably late.” Maria said, laughing under her breath.

“So, like at 8:10?” Harlie joked. “Sounds great, Mama!” Maria said and hugged her mother. For the first time in so long, she had that smile. That smile – that actually real smile.

Oh, Maria darling. If I could change fate, I would. You don’t deserve where that smile will get you.

There she was, it was 08:15 that same day, standing in front of a random house on the other side of town. Knocking on the door, Jill answered. He had on a baggy shirt and some shorts, with a hoodie over his shirt, half zipped. That hoodie looked familiar . . . wasn't that Mark’s hoodie?

Maria shrugged it off when Jill pulled her into a hug. “Hey!” He said, “The others are already here, come on in!” Jill led her inside and upstairs, before opening the last door on the right.

Jill opened the door to reveal Mark and Caroline arguing about Uno. “Shut it!” Sara said, then had noticed the other two had walked in. “Hey,” Maria said, “You two good?”

“Maria!” Caroline said joyfully with a smile, “Hey!” “Hi!” Maria replied as she sat down; she couldn’t help but have a small smile cross over her cheeks.

“We were just finishing up,” Sara started, “You want us to deal you into a new game?” Maria nodded as she and Jill sat down. The five smiled at each other as Sara began to deal out a new game.

The five played an assortment of card games, board games, and video games for the next few hours. As of now, the lights are dim, and the five are sitting in a circle under a blanket fort. Going clockwise, they sat Maria, Maark, Jill, Sara, then Caroline.

Maria was spaced out thinking about who knows what – probably her father. That hunk of a man. Though, Maria’s head perked up when she heard something about an old cabin.

“What?” She asked. Jill fixed up his glasses and said, “Just a story passed around school. A while back, a house fire took place and the family was dead, but one was missing” “After that, creepy shit started to happen all around town!” Sara chirped in.

“Cabin? Was it surrounded by cherry trees?” Maria asked. Earning a slightly creeped out nod from Jill, he asked “How did you know?” “I see an old cabin when I pass through a shortcut in the forest on my way to school.”

“We should go!” Caroline said, “First thing in the morning!” “No way!” Jill said. Though. Mark’s shiny, hopeful eyes looked into his and asked, “Pleeeeasee~?” A not-so-subtle blush crossed over Jill’s cheeks. “Alright, alright-” he said under his breath. “You guys in?”

Sara nodded. “Yeah!” She spoke. “What about you, Maria?” Maria then smirked and said, “Hey, we don’t have school tomorrow. You only live once, right?”

Though she seemed fine, she was freaking out. If this is what it took to have friends – she didn’t want them.

Oh, Maria . . . if only you knew that this very conversation would be your downfall. Your friends won’t stitch you up, friends only rip you to shreds.

* * *

The next morning was dark and gloomy. It had stormed all night, now with thick clouds in the sky, the dirt soaked to slime, air thick and moist.

The five had told Jill’s parents they were going to the park. Yet they went the opposite way. As they approached the forest, Mark started to tell Maria all the rumors going on.

“Some say that the one who went missing still lives there! People have started calling him, ‘Mr. Puppet man’ or ‘The Puppeteer’ or something like that!” Mark said.

Maria laughed, “There is no way this is real.” She said, “Look, there’s a weird cabin in the woods. So what? Maybe there was just a lot of housefires going on?” Caroline looked at her, “Then explain why they couldn’t find the little boy’s body!” “It may have been burned,” Maria protested, “Or, he could have run away somewhere.”

Caroline hummed, “True, but then how do you explain the fact that rumors of paranormal crap started happening after that?” Maria shook her head, “One of three things; lies, people only just then started noticing, or it could also be just a coincidence.” She spoke.

Sara shook her head, “There is no way that could have just been a coincidence.” “There’s a possibility!” Maria protested with a smile.

Mark was starting to second-guess what they were doing. Mark liked hearing those internet ghost stories but being part of one; he’d rather not. Looking at Jill, he whispered, “You seem tense.”

Jill hummed gently, “Is it that obvious?” He whispered back. Mark nodded. “I’m just nervous,” Jill said in a hushed tone, “Going to possibly haunted cabins in the forest isn’t really my ideal Saturday.”

Mark laughed, and in a joking tone said, “I’ll be here to protect you, my prince!” A light shade of pink quickly flushed Jill’s cheeks, “Good to know, my knight.” Jill replied with a wink.

The two then looked away from each other, faces flushed, roses dancing on their cheeks.

Then, there it was. That old, charred cabin in all its . . glory. From the front, a small path of stones leading to it, yet the tall grass surrounding the cabin grew over it. The sides were barren and chipping away, the frame barley able to hold up the walls anymore.

Though the house looked burnt, charred, and peeling, the back was quite gorgeous. A cherry tree was in the center of a slightly overgrown garden. It was overgrown – but someone was definitely here within the past 20 years. This place clearly wasn’t abandoned.

Jill looked around as they approached the cabin, “Guys, I don’t know about this,” he said, “what if there actually is creepy shit going on here?”

“Nothing will happen!” Sara said. The group looked at each other with worry as they approached the opening of the old cabin. “It doesn’t look as beat-up as I thought it would be.”

“I'm going back – I'm not doing this,” Jill said, “Anyone coming with me?” Caroline glanced over at Jill. Not wanting to admit she was scared, she said, “I don’t want you to go alone, I’ll come with you.”

“Eh, why not?” Mark shrugged. “I’ll stick with you guys,” Mark tried to act all smug and chill. Though, he really was scared. He was scared about what may be over there; over in that cabin – was it really haunted? What if it was?

Sara said, “It would be stupid to go in alone.” The others all nodded – well, all besides Maria. “Maria,” Jill said, “come back with us, we can get ice cream on the way back, on me!”

Though, Maria had different ideas. Something about it was luring her in . . . the curiosity killed the child – that's what I always say!

Mark hummed gently, “Maria? You coming?” Looking back at the others, something spoke to her. It sounded like a voice, but she couldn’t place what voice.

Then she sped off for the house. “Maria, don’t you dare!” Jill said, “You’re going to get hurt!” Yet, before they could run and stop her, the four blacked out.

There, outside the cabin, Maria was getting nauseous. Little . . light sparks . . floated her head. “Don’t go in,” their little voices called, “Don’t go in!”

Maria couldn’t even figure out what shape these . . things were! They were there, weren’t they? No, these couldn’t be in her head! They were like triangles, with wings? They almost looked like children.

Gazing at these creatures, Maria began feeling lightheaded. “Don’t go in,” “Beware The Puppeteer,” they said; their voices echoed, as if in a large open room.

Not bothering with the warnings, Maria walked in. “Mr. Puppet Man?” Maria cooed, “Oh, Mr. Puppet man?” Calling out his name, Maria laughed. “I knew this was all a hoax.” She said under her breath and turned to leave.

Yet as she did, the door slammed shut. Maria jumped a bit – must have been the wind, right; at least that’s what Maria thought. That was until she heard a voice behind her, whispering in her ear,

“You called, my dear?”

#story to read #the puppeteer #original story #original charecter #work in progress

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thepuppeterproject · 2 years ago

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Part 1 - The old tales

CHAPTER ONE

For the longest time now, a house has been lying vacant, a white and blue FOR SALE sign plastered in the large front window. Nothing was wrong with this home, brand new plumbing, gorgeous interior, and unbelievably cheap compared to other house prices in the area.

It was the neiborhood that was the problem. Tales of spooks, monsters, and paranormal activity floated around the workspace, newspapers, and school gossip. Tales of werewolves in the forests, witches living in old cabins, and people claiming to have seen the dead moving on their own – much like a puppet.

So there the house lies on Fortcress Drive. However, one day when a group of high school students pass by the old house, there it is. A big, red, SOLD sign sitting in front of the torn old sign.

Who in their right mind would move here? The town of Roseview, Michigan has just been getting smaller and smaller sense the . . . incidents. The talk of paranormal activity only began 20 years ago, when a home burned down out of nowhere, and other house fires began unexpectedly.

Some say it’s all superstitions, old stories passed around for no other reason besides gossip to fill boredom. Others say they’re all nonsense, just fiction, as if anything hidden from the eye is not real. But others . . . others have been part of it.

* * *

“Maria, darling, get your nose out of that book and help us unload the car!” Harlie Malicent, Maria’s mom said. Ah Harlie, the living embodiment of ‘Live, Laugh, Love, Family’. Sometimes I wonder how she ever tricked a man into marriage. An attractive one too – not my cup of tea, but I can see how he’s fuckable.

“Mom, I-” Maria went to protest, but Harlie isn’t one to take no for an answer. “Nonono, no backtalk. Book down.” With a groan, Maria put down her book on the windowsill of the porch. Almost hitting her head on the hanging potted cherry tree. Vines sprawl out, pouring out of the sides. The way the vines are hanging . . . something is drawing Maria towards it - “Mama!” whined a little girl. Annoying as ever, she’ll probably grow up to be a pick-me cheerleader.

Liela Malicent. Just turned ten years of age – still as childish as a toddler. “Mama, where’s bubbles?” She asked. Ah, Bubbles. I almost forgot about him. The poor abused goldfish – well one of them at least. They have gone through seven in the past year, these stupid adults too stuck up to tell their daughter that her fish died.

“Oh, your father took him to the vet, he got sick.” Harlie said. Liela huffed and muttered, more like yelled, “I want to see him!” as she stormed inside. Just as the little brat went inside, Maria walked back out. “Bubbles?” She asked her mom and closed the door.

Harlie nodded, “Yeah sadly. I just can’t tell her that her fish died, you know how emotional she is!” Before Maria had a chance to answer, a car pulled up into the driveway. Liela ran back out squealing, “Papa’s home, Papa’s home!”

Then there he was, in all his glory! Jessie Malicent! Jessie is an attractive man with a fit shape. He’s what you’d think of as your typical attractive man. Fit body, great smile, and not bad on the eyes.

Jessie gets out of the car holding a pizza box, and a smaller box that sits up top with breadsticks. Liela doesn’t care that brat not caring if the pizza falls- and runs right up to Jessie and hugs him. “Hi, Papa!” She said happily.

“Hey there, Kiddo!” Jessie said and handed the pizza to Maria, “Can you set that inside dear?” He asked. Maria just nodded and grabbed the food, her book, and walked inside. She was close with her father, but after the day she had she wasn’t in the mood to chit-chat.

There was barely anywhere to set the pizza box. There were two folding chairs, both surrounded by boxes. Maria groaned under her breath and stumbled her way outside, and called out from the porch, “Hey Mama, Papa, could we eat outside?” It’s not like they had a choice – there was no room inside to even walk.

“Of course, dear, great idea!” Harlie agreed. Then before they knew it, the family was sitting on the stone porch and eating pizza, using gas station napkins as plates.

Maria had been mostly spaced-out reading, though when her mom said her name, it caught her attention quite well. “Oh, Maria! We know how you like reading and tend to be – antisocial – at times, but we signed you up to the school nearby!” Maria was shocked. She was social, but only with those she was close with. She had a tough time making friends but was rather enthusiastic when she had friends back at their old home.

“Mama-” Maria went to say but Harlie carried on. “And it is biking distance from here! Now listen, I know the school year has already started, but it was just a week or two! Just think, being a first-year high school student!” Jessie added, “New school, new home, new start!” “I think it’s-” Maria couldn’t get a single sentence in before her mom cut her off again. “This will be great, darling!”

Maria stood up, “I’m going to bed.” She said and walked inside without another word to her family. Maria shuffled around the boxes, grabbed her sleeping bag and went upstairs. Maria opened the vacant room which would soon be hers.

Laying out the sleeping bag, she spoke to herself. “I wanna go home...” Instead of laying down, she walked to the window. Maria was looking outside, her bedroom window having a full view of a forest. She could almost see what looked like the roof of a house . . . but there was no way that there would be a house all the way out there-right? It was darkening outside, so she wasn’t sure.

Sighing, Maria sat down on top of her sleeping bag. Despite trying, Maria suffered a restless night tossing and turning. And then before she knew it, it was Monday morning.

* * *

Ah, Autumn mornings in Michigan. It could be anywhere from 80°F to a literal blizzard. Though this morning was a special one, crisp air, leaves of orange and yellow dancing in the wind, absolutely gorgeous.

Maria hopped onto her bike and set off for school. Her mother texted her the address and she had Google Maps pulled up on her phone. Maria rode her bike through a quick shortcut. It looked like other people also used this, as there was a trail of tire marks from bikes indented in the ground of a forest. Though something caught her eye . . .

Looking to her left, Maria sees just what she thought she had seen yesterday. That old cabin . . . so it was there! Maria stared at it for a moment, gazing at little beams of light floating around it – she's just seeing things. Tiny light beams flying isn’t real.

Shaking her head, Maria put her hands back to her bike handles and continued back off towards school hell.

Maria stopped by the office and picked up her schedule. Looking at her electives, she wasn’t the happiest. Drama and Spanish. Maria knew Spanish before this, so why did she need to take classes on it?

Either way, it was better to get Drama than something crappy like ‘creative writing.’ Was Maria excited – no. Was she wanting to walk out of those doors and go home – yes. But she did the only thing people can do – suck it up and deal with it.

A few weeks went by, and Maria was slowly adjusting to her new life. She wasn’t happy about it, but she accepted it. Her life now was quite boring until one day she met some new friends – little did she know they would be the reason for her torture.

So, there she sat, bored as could be. Maria was in English, studying for math. Hey, gotta study sometime, right? Never mind, she was on her phone behind her textbook. Who really studies anymore?

“Hey there, new kid! Maria, right?” a boy asked suddenly. Maria was startled, jumping in her chair a little. Maria blankly stared at the boy for a moment before eventually saying, “Can I help you?”

The boy passed her a smile. He was . . . interesting . . . to say the least. He wore more casual clothing, with brightly colored pins flowing down his school lanyard. Pins of anime, music, and pride pins. Anymore and he would have sold out Hot Topic.

The boy said, “I’m Mark,” as he knelt beside her. “You don’t talk a lot, and I haven’t seen you hang around anyone, so I thought I'd come and say hello!”

Ah, the gay theatre kid – just the light of every classroom. Look – even if this kid didn’t look like a unicorn died on him, you could still tell he’s gay “What lunch period do you have?”

Maria shuffled through some papers and found her schedule, “I have A.” She spoke. “No way, so do I! I eat lunch with my friends, you should join us!”

Maria asked, “Why?” “Because, you look alone, and why not? I like to meet new people!” Mark answered. “So, is that a deal?” Maria let out a small sigh, “Alright.” She spoke. Aria now started to smile. No harm in making friends, right? Wrong.

Just a moment later, the bell had rung. Mark walked back over to his desk while Maria gathered her things and got her bag on. When Mark walked back over, he asked, “Ready?” With a nod from Maria, they were out.

The hallways were like your average high school hallway. A fight the next hall to their left, a straight couple about to fuck on the water fountain, and a teacher dress coding girls that look like they’re cosplaying clowns in lingerie.

Walking into the cafeteria was just as bad. The table of ‘straight’ guys jerking each other off under the table, the kids off to the side mixing chocolate milk with fruit cups, the ‘couple table’ - which the whole table is just the assortment of couples; you know – the ones that only last for a day? The ‘popular kids’ relationships!

Mark led Maria to a table of 3 others. Two girls and a guy – Maria recognized them from other classes she had. The girls were leaning against each other – clearly dating; no doubt. Though they didn’t over-do it like some people (AKA straight people).

The boy looked chilled out, casually reading. He was reading, ‘May the Best Man Win” by Zr Ellor. Maria recognized the book from the library in her old town but had never read it.

The boy looked up, his face had a small touch of pink as his eyes met Mark’s, “Oh, hey!” He spoke. “Hey! I brought someone, y’all mind if she hangs out?” “Go right ahead!” One of the girls said.

Taking a seat, Maria said, “I’m Maria.” With a slight smile. “I’m Jill!” The boy said, then looked to the girls, “That’s Caroline and Sara!” Caroline waved, followed by Sara. “It’s nice to meet you!” Caroline said. After a while of talking and eating, Jill said, “Hey, Maria! We planned on a sleepover tonight! What do you say? I can give you my address!”

Maria looked up from her food, “Sure!” she said, “That sounds great!”

#story to read #the puppeteer #original story #work in progress #original character

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