"Hey, Ashley, do you have any doll clothes I could have?"
Ashley looked up, yelping in fright when she saw the brown, still doll in Selena's hand.
"Yeah, he does look scary without any clothes on," Selena agreed.
"You should keep him," Rosemary suggested, braiding Mary-Ellen's hair. Selena had let them borrow the huge doll, and Ashley insisted on Rosemary doing her hair. "Ashley's been scared by him. Seems to think he moved."
"He did!" Ashley insisted, bobbing her head from side to side.
"Maybe it was your imagination," Selena suggested softly. Rosemary and Ashley had entered her room to play dolls. Selena had teased Rosemary at first, but she was willing to play all of the dolls if Ashley wanted her to. It was cute, Selena thought. She had a soft spot for the little girl.
Ashley shook her head frantically, her straight black hair whipping from side to side.
"It's okay. I believe you," Rosemary assured, tying the ends of Mary-Ellen's frizzy locks with spare red bow ties Ashley had given her. It reminded Selena of how she had tried doing her sister's hair, but it was too curly and she didn't like it being messed with. "Still, you better keep the doll, Selena."
"Uh, sure," said Selena. "But I should put some clothes on him. Does Ashley have any?"
"Ashley, honey, do you have any clothes for Selena's doll?" Rosemary asked in a soft, gentle voice Selena didn't know she was capable of using.
Ashley nodded and, without looking up from the dolls, picked up little clothes and handed them to Rosemary. She handed them to Selena, who inspected them. They were shiny, flashy rock-n-roll clothes, complete with a mini guitar. She put that to the side while beginning to dress the doll.
"Ugh, how do I get this ring off?" Rosemary groaned, tugging at it. Her finger was red and swollen. "I've tried soap, scissors, cream, a screwdriver..."
"It'll come off eventually," Selena assured. "I bet overnight, falling off when you're sleeping. That happened to me once. I found it under my pillow."
"Yeah. It hurts too much to tug it," Rosemary agreed, going back to braiding Mary-Ellen's hair.
As Selena slipped the clothes onto the doll, she could've sworn she felt him wriggling slightly in her hand. She kept trying to force them on, and he moved his arm. It jolted to the side and he started wriggling. Selena let out a shriek and dropped the doll, backing away.
"What?" Rosemary looked up, while Ashley covered her ears.
"The... the doll moved!" Selena shrieked, still scuffling away and staring nervously at the doll.
Rosemary rolled her eyes. "Very funny."
"It did!" Selena insisted. "It moved its arm, and started struggling. Like it didn't want me to dress him."
"You and Ashley would get along," said Rosemary. "She's always pretending her dolls are alive."
"It really did move," Selena insisted, though she was less sure now. She stared at the doll on the floor, which was now completely still. Maybe it was her imagination.
But no... the expression on his face was different. While before, he held a blank, indifferent expression, he now looked uncomfortable and weirded out, his lips curled up slightly.
Selena tried to touch him, and he inched away instinctively. "He moved again!" she cried. "When I tried to touch him!"
"Very funny," Rosemary replied sarcastically. But Ashley was staring at her curiously.
"I'm not kidding," Selena insisted.
"He moved?" Ashley crawled over to her, staring intently at the doll. To Selena's shock, he moved his eyes around as he stared at both of them, and then blinked several times.
Ashley didn't seem scared. She smiled and reached out her hand, but he rolled away, looking terrified.
"I won't hurt you," Ashley assured in a soft voice. Rosemary looked up, looking annoyed.
Suddenly, they both yelled as the doll got to his feet. Then he noticed the clothes and had the sense to put them on. It took a while, and he got stuck in them. Selena stared in shock, while Ashley helped him into them. Then she handed him the guitar, but he shrugged it off.
"What's so interesting about that doll?" Rosemary quipped.
Selena just stared at it, while Ashley giggled. "Hi," she said.
Suddenly, Selena jumped. She heard a tiny, indignant voice squeaking up at her. At least, that was what it sounded like. The doll was jumping up and down now, waving his arms frantically.
"Rosie! Rosie!" Ashley crawled over to Rosemary and took her by the arm. She reluctantly let herself be carried over. Upon seeing the doll, she screamed as well.
"See? It really is moving," said Selena.
Ashley held out her hand and flattened it, smiling at the doll. He stared up at her, and then at her outstretched palm, before walking onto it. She giggled before lifting her hand.
"Oh, wow," Rosemary muttered.
"You have to help me!" he squeaked in an odd accent. Selena yelped, but Ashley didn't even jump.
"Woah! A talking doll," said Rosemary. "Where are the batteries?"
"I'm not a doll!" he screamed, waving his arms in the sleeves that were much too big for him. "You have to listen! I need your help!"
"Needs help," Ashley repeated.
"He said he needs help!" Selena exclaimed.
"Wow. Maybe it's not a doll," said Rosemary, squinting at him in confusion.
"I'm not!" he insisted indignantly. "I'm a boy. I got shrunk down."
"It's you!" Rosemary exclaimed suddenly. "Kiran!"
"Yes!" he agreed frantically, looking relieved. "You have to help me!"
"Your name is... what?" Selena asked.
"Kiran," he said. "I used to be a boy, but now I'm tiny. Can you help me?"
"Woah, woah," said Rosemary. "What are you talking about?"
The tiny Indian boy explained to them how he had eaten a delicious, but strange concoction that had caused him to feel light-headed and then shrink, along with his brother. Selena wrinkled her nose as she heard how they had ended up lying naked among their clothes.
"Eww," she muttered, while Rosemary agreed.
"And I can't wear my glasses now," he added. "Everything is so blurry."
"So Ashley was right!" Rosemary exclaimed. "She did see you jump and scream."
"She did," Kiran agreed. "But then she turned and ran, so I decided to be quiet and let someone pick me up."
"Good decision," Selena agreed. "Good thing I checked it out. I was about to add you to my collection!"
"Well, I'm glad you put some clothes on me," said Kiran, squirming in them. "Even if they're a bit big."
"Thank Ashley for that," said Rosemary. "Well, stranger things have happened in Horrorland. Like just yesterday."
"I know," Kiran shuddered. "That was when I put on that awful mask."
"And now you're tiny," noted Rosemary. "You can't catch a break."
"Uh, where's your brother?" added Selena.
"Still in our room," said Kiran. "I got scared off by a mouse. He used to tease me for being afraid of them. But he'd be, too, now. They're as big as us."
"Now you can ride on them," Rosemary pointed out. "Like a horse."
Kiran looked thoughtful. "Huh. I hadn't thought of it like that."
"Horsie?" Ashley asked.
"Don't worry, we'll help you!" assured Selena. "We'll get you back to normal."
"Like last time," added Rosemary.
"This time, you'll have to help my brother as well," said Kiran. "Our mom is asleep, and I couldn't reach her."
"Well, I will," said Selena, getting to her feet. "I'll get my mom as well, if that doesn't work."
"Uh, in the meantime, why don't you hang out in Ashley's dollhouse?" suggested Rosemary. She picked up the protesting boy, opened a window in the dollhouse in the center of the room, and inserted him inside a kitchen. He scowled at the other dolls perched on wooden chairs having tea, but picked up one of the teacups, surprised to find real tea inside. He took a sip and pushed one of the dolls off the chair and sat down.
"Pretty dolls," Ashley giggled.
"Seriously, how do I get this off?" Rosemary complained, yanking her finger. Then she hissed. It hurt to pull it.
"Rosie, don't pull," Ashley said, lightly touching her finger. "Does it hurt?"
"Kind of," Rosemary admitted.
She smiled as Ashley lightly kissed the tip of her finger. Then, she felt a sudden, indescribable urge. She didn't know where it came from. It seemed like her mind had darkened for a moment, and her face darkened, too. Ashley stumbled away from her, looking slightly afraid. Rosemary's face darkened more as she gave in to the urge.
Before she could stop herself, she swung back her arm right next to the dollhouse and toppled it over, making both Ashley and Kiran scream. Then she lifted the dollhouse, feeling stronger all of a sudden, and dropped it again, bashing it against the floor. She heard Kiran give a squeal.
"Rosie, stop!" Ashley grabbed her arm, tears in her eyes. "What are you doing?"
Rosemary ignored her, slapping her arm away. That made her cry more. She reached into the dollhouse and pulled out a plastic doll dressed like a princess. She took hold of her arm and twisted it off, causing Ashley to burst into tears. She smiled. The doll looked so much prettier without arms. Then she pulled off the arms of other dolls too, followed by their legs, ignoring Ashley's yells and pleas to stop. The ones she could pull off, which weren't many, but there were enough to make Ashley cry.
For a moment, Rosemary felt a twinge of conscience. She saw tears running down Ashley's cheeks and onto the doll she was squeezing, and felt a wave of guilt. What had she just done? She was a monster. She had acted like one. She didn't know what had came over her. She couldn't believe she had done that to the girl she considered a little sister.
She tried to reach forward and touch Ashley, but she backed away, crying louder. She started screaming as she wailed and went limp on the floor. Rosemary sighed. What a spoiled, whiny brat. Couldn't she shut up for one second?
Rosemary swung her arm back again and this time, snapped it across Ashley's tear stained face. Unpredictably, this didn't shut her up, and only made her cry even louder. Rosemary really did snap out of it then, and stood there frozen, horrified by her actions. She had never even hit her brother James — well, not that hard —let alone Ashley. She almost felt like crying as well, and she never cried.
Just then, the door burst open, and Rosemary really did feel like crying. Steve was standing there, a horrified look on her face. "Ashley, what's wrong, baby? What happened?" He crouched in front of her, but of course, she didn't like to be touched during a meltdown. "What happened, Rosemary?"
"I... I don't know," Rosemary lied. "She just started crying."
Steve sighed. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time." He glanced at the toppled over dollhouse. "Is it because of that?"
"Uh, yeah," said Rosemary. "I accidentally knocked it over."
"Well, that was a bit of bad— hey, wait." Rosemary's blood ran cold as Steve observed the broken dolls on the ground, their limbs scattered about. "What happened to the rest of her dolls?"
"Uh... I don't know," Rosemary lied.
Thankfully, Steve focused on Ashley, talking soothingly to her. Rosemary looked away, feeling incredibly guilty. She didn't know what had come over her. She felt like a monster, making Ashley cry like that. She threatened to beat up other people who made her cry. Her hand ached slightly, reminding her. She was shocked to feel tears come to her eyes. She never cried, not since her father left. She must've cared more about Ashley than she thought.
Suddenly, a horrifying thought struck her. She remembered how her mother had started acting like a monster after putting on the mask, how it had taken her over and made her do horrible things and be cruel to people. And how that boy had done the same earlier, and they had to keep an eye on him. Horrified, Rosemary glanced down at the ring on her finger. For the first time, she saw the shifting, flickering dark figure inside. It seemed excited and pleased. It shifted from top to bottom, grinning up at her in a satisfied way. A horrible shudder went through Rosemary as she tried tugging it off yet again. This time, she yelped as she drew her hand back, feeling like it had burned her. She stared at the ring in horror.
I guess Kiran is half Indian, but looks fully Indian. Next chapter, you'll meet another descendant, this time of a villain.