Amy's wide, green eyes stared at him as though he was crazy as she pulled her T-shirt down over her thighs.
He scanned the room, searching the black corners.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice low and thin, reedy. The thick stench of fear and anger wafted off her like waves.
"Amy, he was here. In your room," Slappy snarled, grabbing her shoulder again.
Her dark brows drew together again. Confusion melded over her anger. "What do you mean?" she demanded, ignoring where his fingers were digging into her shoulder.
"What do you think I mean?" he growled flatly. The animal he'd buried deep under the human facade rushed tot he surface, snarling and spitting, enraged at the idea that the pup would dare encroach in his territory so boldly.
Amy's face darkened with anger. "He wasn't here, you moron," she snapped, although the wavering in her voice spoke volumes that her jutting jaw and tightly-crossed arms didn't.
"Are you that stupid? Do you think that boy is human? He's not! He's from Horrorland, just like the rest of us," Slappy argued, keeping his eyes on the window for fear she'd see the incandescent red creeping into the blue of his eyes, not that he cared but he'd rather her not find out about his true form.
Amy stared uncomprehendingly back at him. "Are you jealous?" she sneered suddenly.
His rage spiked, and he could feel his wooden body creak and shift as he fought to keep his form together. "I'm not. He's messing with things outside of his knowledge." He scowled darkly.
She stared at him a little longer before she threw her head back and laughed uproariously. "You are jealous."
Grinding his teeth until it hurt, he tried hard to control the urge to make her scared. No matter how angry he was, he never wanted anyone to see his true form, but she was testing him. "Enough!" Even his voice was distorting, gravelly and warbled.
"You think because you can't have me, no one can? That's really unsettling. Like serial killer boyfriend." She placed a hand over her mouth while she laughed again.
He'd be damned if some little girl got the better of him. "You know I'm not human. There are things that go bump in the night, far worse than me. Scarier, worse things."
"The boogeyman?" she wheezed out between peals of laughter.
The anger rushed beneath his skin and he snarled to himself, swallowing the sound. His nostrils flared. "Yes, and much worse. Werewolves, vampires, genies, dragons, kitsunes. Things I don't know about, and you wouldn't want to."
Her laughter died away, replaced by a tense look. A lock of sweat-sodden hair fell across her shoulder, tickling his knuckles. "What is he? I was dreaming and—"
"Dreaming about what?" he pressed, his anger dissipating.
Her nostrils flared with anger as she shoved him hard, making him stumble. "Watch it, jerk. I'm human, in case you forgot. But.." —her voice lost its angry tone— "I woke up, and he was there, calling my name, and then he appeared. He wouldn't tell me where my family was, and then..."
Her cheeks darkened.
"A trace. Did he put you in a trance? You felt compelled to do whatever he asked," Slappy said gently.
Mute, she nodded. "Yes. And then he called me Amanda. Do you know who she is?" Hazy green eyes met his.
Any breath in his lungs rushed out at the name. "He said Amanda?" he repeated quietly, closing his eyes against the brewing headache that was suddenly pounding and prickling behind his eyes.
He debated on telling her but decided to do it; if Ray was using Amy to do what Slappy thought he was trying to do, she had to know what she was up against. Besides, there was no law against telling an uninformed human. "Amanda was...a girl he knew. In a place called Dark Falls, although that's not where he's originally from. He crawled from some dark abode in a place we call Horrorland."
"Horrorland?" she repeated, hesitating a bit before saying the word entirely. "Is it like an amusement park for you guys?"
"No. Everyone of us was created there. Some are turned, some are born and raised there," Slappy explained, unsure of what else to say.
Amy ran a hand through her hair. Drew a breath slowly. "And what about you?" she asked.
He turned his hands around to look at the long lines etched deep into his skin. "I don't know. I have little memory of what my life like before...I became a doll."
"And what about Ray?" She peeked at him curiously, but her face was white with dread.
"He's an incubus, Amy. He...feeds off the sexual dreams of those who targets."
She swallowed and met his stare. "What about Amanda?" There was an inkling of fear in her eyes.
"I believe she and her brother were the only ones who have ever escaped him. He's been trying to hunt them down ever since." He set his hands on his hips, thought better, and then crossed them.
"Why me?" she asked in a low, quaking voice.
He looked up to find her wide eyes wet and glassy. Her chest shook with every stiff breath she took.
"It could be me; it could be you. All I know is now that he has you in sights, well, he won't let you go. He's been going after Amanda for several years and hasn't let up at all," Slappy said.
"It could be you? Why you? You're just a dummy. Literally."
He considered telling her. That he wasn't just a dummy. That he was almost as strong as his creator. That he'd been alive for years, millenniums even.
Instead, he simply nodded along and said, "I don't know."