"Devi, what is it?" Johnny asked. Devi didn't reply, but Johnny traced her
line of sight to a spot underneath her bed. Johnny looked under the bed
suspiciously, then lunged with a lightning-fast hand. He drew his hand out
slowly, producing a painted dolly with holes for eyes.
"Sickness..." gasped Devi. Johnny turned the doll over in his hands. It bore a resemblance to Devi, with two fuchsia pigtails sticking up. Then, suddenly, to Johnny's surprise, the doll became animated. It turned to Devi, flailing her hands and screaming.
"He's got me, Devi!! Don't let him hurt me!!" Devi reacted by snatching the doll out of Johnny's hand and cradled it in her arms, but looked at it with eyes still snapped open and unblinking. She almost looked like she was in a trance, but with none of the restfulness that is implied when speaking of the usual state of hypnosis.
"Oh, thank you! I was so scared! Can I please have my eyes back, Devi?" asked the doll sweetly. Devi's head jerked upwards in a nod, and her hand moved to her purse. Without fumbling for anything else, Devi's hands closed around two screws at the bottom and withdrew shakily, then opened to present them to the doll. Squealing in glee, the doll snatched one out, drove it into her empty sockets, and twisted it in. Hmmm, thought Johnny. So this one can move freely. Mr. Eff wanted to move, too.. I wonder how she accomplished it.
"Thank you, Devi. I'll forgive that... mutiny of yours..." said the doll, screwing in the other eye, "...if you're good and listen to me." Finished, the doll turned her head towards Johnny. She pointed an accusing finger at the young man, her eyes narrowed with anger, her mouth grinning with malice.
"Devi! That man wants to hurt you. He's lying to you. Tell him to go away! Make him leave! He has no love, no compassion, no pity for anyone, not even himself! He only wants to hurt you. Make him leave, Devi! And if he doesn't want to leave willingly..." said Sickness, hopping down off of Devi's lap and racing to the purse. She rummaged around with her hands, and a wide grin came to her face as her hands closed around something.
"...You can convince him with THIS!" she said, her voice dripping with evil ritcheousness as she withdrew a long, gleaming knife. The dolly ran back to Devi and placed it lovingly in her hand.
"...But I don't want to..." mumbled Devi pathetically, her voice barely audible.
"SILENCE!!" commanded Sickness, and Devi flinched, squeezing her eyes shut in fear. "Do as I tell you, Devi! It's for your own good, even if you can't see that for yourself. Strike, Devi! Kill him!" screamed the doll. Devi's arm raised, and her head turned towards Johnny. She opened her eyes, and they were smouldering unnaturally. The look in Devi's eyes would have been more than enough to paralyze any other person with fear, but Johnny understood this. It was the same look he got whenever his killer instinct was awoken, and Johnny knew that he must not try to run, lest he trigger a predatory response. Instead, as she lunged towards him, he stood his ground and faced her. The knife slammed to a stop just inches away from him, and Devi stared into his eyes, but drew nothing from the solid, fearless look in his eyes. They both stood there, Devi's chest and shoulders heaving up and down with heavy breath, Johnny still in firm control of every inch of his body. Devi's shoulders slumped, and her head hung. She looked at Johnny once, and her eyes held the slightest hint of recognition. Johnny's face softened, knowing he was safe. Then he grinned. Pushing the knife away from his chest with one finger, he turned towards Sickness.
"So, you think it would be that easy to get rid of me?" he asked. Sickness scowled at Johnny. "Well, you have neglected to mention a few things. I find it hard to believe you could have simply not known. First of all, Devi is in no danger whatsoever. The voices that drove me to attack her that first time are gone now." Johnny was smiling, enjoying the fuming doll's anger. "Second, even if Devi were still in any danger, she shouldn't attack me. I'm sure she weighs more than me, but there can be no doubt as to who is stronger. I would rather die than hurt her, but if it had been anyone else, they would die a quick death. You'd be pretty hard-pressed to find somebody with faster reflexes than me in this town. But you know that, of course, so why send Devi to her death?" Johnny finished his question, beaming a mischievous grin at Sickness. Then he scowled, his eyes became hardened, and he lost his good humour. "Gee, it must spoil everything that I'm wise to you. That's the third thing; I've dealt with your kind before, and I've conquered them. They almost won, they were so close, but in the end they lost. I've silenced them, and I'll help Devi do the same to you. But the last thing..." said Johnny, letting a superior grin grew on his face. He was about to go in for the kill mentally. "...the last thing you haven't taken into account is that I'm a waste lock! There's nothing you can do to break me. No matter what you do, I've endured worse, if not done worse. Also, something out there is watching me, taking care of me, and it won't let anything bad happen to me. I can't be caught, I can't be killed, I can't be conquered!" Johnny said, triumphantly. He felt that he had already won.
"No! Shut up!! Devi, look at me!!" screamed Sickness. For a moment Devi was glaring angrily at the doll; Johnny's words had penetrated her head meats, and she was almost in control again, but at Sickness' shrill command, Devi lost her tenuous grip. She turned to Johnny, and in her eyes, he could find no sign of recognition, or sanity, or indeed any thought for that matter. This was manipulation in its highest form. The doll lay limp now, and Johnny guessed that the spirit that the doll embodied had taken Devi. Now an icy shaft of fear raced through Johnny. There was nothing he could do, he couldn't attack Devi, even if she was being controlled by Sickness. This was much different than when Johnny had turned on Devi; even then, he was in control, a thinking, coherent, even eloquent person. But Devi didn't recognize him, she had mentally lost control of everything. Devi lunged at Johnny again, but Johnny had whipped a knife out of his boot and deflected the strike. For a few moments they fought, Devi trying to stab, Johnny trying to defend.
"Tell me, what do you have to gain by killing me?" snarled Johnny.
"Your guide still hovers near you. It must be killed, and the only way to kill it is through you," said Sickness from somewhere.
"Nail-bunny?" asked Johnny incredulously. "He's still around? Why haven't I heard him?" Johnny gasped. He was jarred by that news, and couldn't quite react to the next blow. He dodged the knife, but was caught by Devi's foot swinging up at his face. Spinning around, Johnny fell to the ground, landing in a prone position. He felt Devi's foot on his chest, and a knife at his throat.
"Give me a smile, Johnny," gloated Sickness, manipulating Devi's face to a cruel grimace. "Ear to ear..." she growled. She took the knife and pressed it to his jugular. She was going to sever the vein and bring the knife in an arc to his carotid artery on the other side, but just as the knife broke the skin, it dropped. Devi stood stock still, her eyes wide open, and though her mouth didn't move, Sickness screamed in agony. Devi fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
"Sickness..." gasped Devi. Johnny turned the doll over in his hands. It bore a resemblance to Devi, with two fuchsia pigtails sticking up. Then, suddenly, to Johnny's surprise, the doll became animated. It turned to Devi, flailing her hands and screaming.
"He's got me, Devi!! Don't let him hurt me!!" Devi reacted by snatching the doll out of Johnny's hand and cradled it in her arms, but looked at it with eyes still snapped open and unblinking. She almost looked like she was in a trance, but with none of the restfulness that is implied when speaking of the usual state of hypnosis.
"Oh, thank you! I was so scared! Can I please have my eyes back, Devi?" asked the doll sweetly. Devi's head jerked upwards in a nod, and her hand moved to her purse. Without fumbling for anything else, Devi's hands closed around two screws at the bottom and withdrew shakily, then opened to present them to the doll. Squealing in glee, the doll snatched one out, drove it into her empty sockets, and twisted it in. Hmmm, thought Johnny. So this one can move freely. Mr. Eff wanted to move, too.. I wonder how she accomplished it.
"Thank you, Devi. I'll forgive that... mutiny of yours..." said the doll, screwing in the other eye, "...if you're good and listen to me." Finished, the doll turned her head towards Johnny. She pointed an accusing finger at the young man, her eyes narrowed with anger, her mouth grinning with malice.
"Devi! That man wants to hurt you. He's lying to you. Tell him to go away! Make him leave! He has no love, no compassion, no pity for anyone, not even himself! He only wants to hurt you. Make him leave, Devi! And if he doesn't want to leave willingly..." said Sickness, hopping down off of Devi's lap and racing to the purse. She rummaged around with her hands, and a wide grin came to her face as her hands closed around something.
"...You can convince him with THIS!" she said, her voice dripping with evil ritcheousness as she withdrew a long, gleaming knife. The dolly ran back to Devi and placed it lovingly in her hand.
"...But I don't want to..." mumbled Devi pathetically, her voice barely audible.
"SILENCE!!" commanded Sickness, and Devi flinched, squeezing her eyes shut in fear. "Do as I tell you, Devi! It's for your own good, even if you can't see that for yourself. Strike, Devi! Kill him!" screamed the doll. Devi's arm raised, and her head turned towards Johnny. She opened her eyes, and they were smouldering unnaturally. The look in Devi's eyes would have been more than enough to paralyze any other person with fear, but Johnny understood this. It was the same look he got whenever his killer instinct was awoken, and Johnny knew that he must not try to run, lest he trigger a predatory response. Instead, as she lunged towards him, he stood his ground and faced her. The knife slammed to a stop just inches away from him, and Devi stared into his eyes, but drew nothing from the solid, fearless look in his eyes. They both stood there, Devi's chest and shoulders heaving up and down with heavy breath, Johnny still in firm control of every inch of his body. Devi's shoulders slumped, and her head hung. She looked at Johnny once, and her eyes held the slightest hint of recognition. Johnny's face softened, knowing he was safe. Then he grinned. Pushing the knife away from his chest with one finger, he turned towards Sickness.
"So, you think it would be that easy to get rid of me?" he asked. Sickness scowled at Johnny. "Well, you have neglected to mention a few things. I find it hard to believe you could have simply not known. First of all, Devi is in no danger whatsoever. The voices that drove me to attack her that first time are gone now." Johnny was smiling, enjoying the fuming doll's anger. "Second, even if Devi were still in any danger, she shouldn't attack me. I'm sure she weighs more than me, but there can be no doubt as to who is stronger. I would rather die than hurt her, but if it had been anyone else, they would die a quick death. You'd be pretty hard-pressed to find somebody with faster reflexes than me in this town. But you know that, of course, so why send Devi to her death?" Johnny finished his question, beaming a mischievous grin at Sickness. Then he scowled, his eyes became hardened, and he lost his good humour. "Gee, it must spoil everything that I'm wise to you. That's the third thing; I've dealt with your kind before, and I've conquered them. They almost won, they were so close, but in the end they lost. I've silenced them, and I'll help Devi do the same to you. But the last thing..." said Johnny, letting a superior grin grew on his face. He was about to go in for the kill mentally. "...the last thing you haven't taken into account is that I'm a waste lock! There's nothing you can do to break me. No matter what you do, I've endured worse, if not done worse. Also, something out there is watching me, taking care of me, and it won't let anything bad happen to me. I can't be caught, I can't be killed, I can't be conquered!" Johnny said, triumphantly. He felt that he had already won.
"No! Shut up!! Devi, look at me!!" screamed Sickness. For a moment Devi was glaring angrily at the doll; Johnny's words had penetrated her head meats, and she was almost in control again, but at Sickness' shrill command, Devi lost her tenuous grip. She turned to Johnny, and in her eyes, he could find no sign of recognition, or sanity, or indeed any thought for that matter. This was manipulation in its highest form. The doll lay limp now, and Johnny guessed that the spirit that the doll embodied had taken Devi. Now an icy shaft of fear raced through Johnny. There was nothing he could do, he couldn't attack Devi, even if she was being controlled by Sickness. This was much different than when Johnny had turned on Devi; even then, he was in control, a thinking, coherent, even eloquent person. But Devi didn't recognize him, she had mentally lost control of everything. Devi lunged at Johnny again, but Johnny had whipped a knife out of his boot and deflected the strike. For a few moments they fought, Devi trying to stab, Johnny trying to defend.
"Tell me, what do you have to gain by killing me?" snarled Johnny.
"Your guide still hovers near you. It must be killed, and the only way to kill it is through you," said Sickness from somewhere.
"Nail-bunny?" asked Johnny incredulously. "He's still around? Why haven't I heard him?" Johnny gasped. He was jarred by that news, and couldn't quite react to the next blow. He dodged the knife, but was caught by Devi's foot swinging up at his face. Spinning around, Johnny fell to the ground, landing in a prone position. He felt Devi's foot on his chest, and a knife at his throat.
"Give me a smile, Johnny," gloated Sickness, manipulating Devi's face to a cruel grimace. "Ear to ear..." she growled. She took the knife and pressed it to his jugular. She was going to sever the vein and bring the knife in an arc to his carotid artery on the other side, but just as the knife broke the skin, it dropped. Devi stood stock still, her eyes wide open, and though her mouth didn't move, Sickness screamed in agony. Devi fell to the floor, gasping for breath.