Chapter I - Aftermath

The clock ticked...

Every tick feeling like a hammer, savagely coming down on a nail in the coffin. She knew this wasn't good. But this was also the last thing that had been planned. She was supposed to be dead now. No more. Finished. A long time coming too by the sounds of it.

She stared, almost in a trance, through the table. Her eyes, glassed over. She was thinking, but all she could think were the same things over and over again.

'Am I losing my mind?' one second.

'What's wrong with me?' the next.

There were two coffee stains on the table top.

'No coasters here.' She mused to herself. 'Suppose it's the last thing on their minds.'

The stains crossed each other, making a crude figure '8' on the surface of the steel table. They were probably there this time last week. Most probably this time last month. They were definitely there when her life was still ticking over just fine. Somebody had made these stains when they were in here, pondering their past, their future, just like she was now. Only these stains, she couldn't stop looking at them, had been made while she was at home, enjoying simple, every day things. Like laundry. People moan about doing the laundry, but right now she'd do baskets full of the stuff. She could do it non-stop for a year and it would be luxury compared to what was round the corner now.

'Some people don't know how lucky they are' the thought rattling around her head.

She closed her eyes and tried to clear her head but it was no good. There he was. Laughing at her. How? What had she just encountered? It wasn't right. This didn't happen, not to her. Not to anyone in fact. Just the premise was completely absurd. She closed her eyes again and leaned back, inhaling deeply. There he was, staring her straight in the eye. The things he'd said were evil. She had no doubt when looking into his eyes that she was staring straight into a cruel, foul and malevolent place where only darkness and evil dwelled. This was far removed from the idyllic countryside home she knew and loved.

What was she supposed to say now? Who in their right mind would believe her? Nobody. She knew that. But at the same time she knew what she saw. The only rational explanation was that if she saw it, then it must be possible. And if that was the case then she must be able to explain it. But she just couldn't. Even the officer that had found her gave her a look she suspected to be reserved for the craziest of all looneys. She was screaming at him that she wasn't responsible, it wasn't her, why didn't he believe her? If he'd just give her one minute with that thing she'd show him what had happened. She'd prove it to him. Instead he looked at her like she was out of her mind and radioed for backup. He did glance over at Chucky, sat innocently in the rocking chair, but didn't even give him a second thought.

"YOU BASTARD!" She'd screamed at the doll, his red hair ruffled and messy from their encounter.

The response was a sickly "Hi... I'm Chucky... Wanna Play?" The little fucker even turned his head and threw in a couple of blinks too, just for good measure.

The officer had walked around a little, but not too much. She was grateful for that in a way. She may look guilty as hell, but she was safer than she'd been five minutes ago. The officer approached her and asked what had happened, why she had done it, but all she could do was plead with him to believe her. He gave her the crazy look again and continued to look around, taking care not to stray too far from Nica. Eventually medics showed up and were able to patch up her hand and leg then help her into a police car. No hospital, she didn't want that. She figured the police station would be the better option. But her head was a blur. A forensics team arrived on the scene and began the process of taking pictures, dusting items for prints and bagging certain things. She yelled at them all to check the doll, there was a camera on it, the laptop upstairs was still streaming from the camera. She yelled until her throat was hoarse, hoping, willing her voice to be heard from within the secure confines of the police car. But nobody heard her. If they did, not one of them flinched or paid her any attention as she screamed. Instead they stood taking swabs from blood, lifting various items with tweezers and delicately handling evidence. She was sat in the car, resigned to being ignored, when one of the team let out a scream from upstairs.

"We've got a live one here!" They yelled, lungs almost bursting.

Bodies rushed to the stairs as Nica pressed her face up against the glass of the car door. Who had they found? Was it Jill? Holy shit where was Alice? Was it Alice? Nica needed to know. She frantically rattled the handle of the car door, grunting with every push and pull.

"Woah there missy. Where d'you think you're going?" The officer asked from the front seat, not even bothering to look up from his paperwork.

"I need to see who it is! There was a girl, a child!" Her reply was short but she didn't have time to go into detail, "I need to know she's okay!"

"Well just settle down." He clicked his pen and spun around in his seat. "You worried you left a live one? Or do we draw the line at killing kids?"

"What?" Nica hissed, "How can you say that? She's my neice, I need to know she's okay. She was with Chucky this whole time and I never thought I just..."

"You just what?" He jumped in, "Figured there's somebody might rat you out? Somebody you 'forgot' about?"

"No! You're getting this all wrong. I just need to make sure she's okay. She'll tell you! She's been with him since she got here, she'll tell you he's alive!"

"Well to be honest, if it is your neice, then she could just about tell us anything. Kids say things when they're in shock, things they don't understand. And the way I see it, she's gonna be quite cut up about now. So why don't you just sit here and stay calm? You'll be able to tell us everything we need to know down at the precinct don't worry." With that he went back to his paper work and rolled down his window. "Hey Earl, what you say, can I get moving now?"

"Sure thing Officer Stanton. Just give me a minute to back my car out. Never seen so many damned cars sir." Came the reply from Earl, a younger, more rugged looking officer. The pockmarks stood out on his face like a badly burned marshmallow as he took one last puff on his cigarette before throwing it on the drive and stubbing it out with his boot.

"Take your time Earl, we're in no rush." Officer Stanton sighed. He looked in his rear view mirror at Nica. She was still pressing her face against the window, watching vigilantly for any sign of a survivor. "You know, you'll probably fry for what you've done tonight." He calmly muttered.

Nica turned and looked right back at him through the mirror. "Excuse me?" She gasped.

"The law tends to take a firm stance on things like this you know..." He glared straight back, "Mass murder? Frowned upon in quite a lot of places."

"Seriously?" Nica exclaimed in shock. "You think I really did all this? I'm handicapped! You think I'd be able to get the upper hand on three healthy, strong and fully mobile people? What the fuck do you think I am?"

"Let us ask the questions Miss Pirce. Okay?" He put the keys in the ignition and started up the squad car and took a look towards the house. "Oh look, here comes your friend now."

Nica slowly turned her head, afraid to look. What if it was Alice? What if she wasn't okay? What if Chucky had done something? She looked over at the house, expecting to see Alice, but she wasn't there. Members of the forensics team were busy, shipping things between the house and a police van. There were all sorts, all marked in clear plastic bags. Nica couldn't tell how the bags were marked, but she could make out what was in them. A knife, three laptops, a hatchet and Chucky...

Chucky. In an evidence bag. Hair all over. Smiling from ear to ear. Nica looked straight at him and Chucky suddenly spun his head in a quick jerking movement and winked at her.

She stared, palms flat against the glass of the squad car window, as he was led away.

"Hidey ho motherfucker..." spat Nica