Seven-year-old Yuki Collin giggled at her baby brother Keong Collin. Yuki sat in her chair while her brother was in his usual highchair, giggling uncontrollably and blowing saliva bubbles with his mouth. It has been a year since the day Yuki was kidnapped by Donbot and Francis blew up his house. When Donbot was arrested, he was put in the electromagnetic chair and died six months ago. His widow married Bender Bending Rodriguez, Sr. His daughter Bella moved in with Bender's second-born son, Ben, as a roommate.
Ally Collin, Yuki and Keong's mother, was drying the dishes on Saturday morning who worked as a nurse but needed someone to take care of her kids while she worked. Since Leela and Amy were off of work on the weekends, she trusted them. Today, Ally chuckled at her seven-year-old daughter and ten-month-old son who were making faces to each other and laughing. Ally, even though she was also goth, wore dark colored scrubs all the time and worked with babies and seniors. She worked in a hospital in the west side of New New York and was paid as much as a software engineer.
"Okay you two," Ally picked up her purse and kissed them both on the forehead. "Leela and Amy are on their way in two minutes. So be good."
"We will mommy." Yuki answered when her mother went out the door, Keong gurgled. Yuki got her brother off his highchair and fetched her mini duffel bag and camera from her room, she had posters of anime girls and female centaurs all over and stickers of cartoon animals on her bed frame. Next, she went to her brother's room that was next to her room and got his care bag.
She heard the sound of a car horn and looked out her window: Leela and Amy were inside their recently bought Toyota truck and Yuki saw Leela's hand wave. She waved back and headed out the door and locked it. She picked up her brother and her brother's car seat and headed towards the truck.
"Hi Leela! Hi Amy!" Yuki greeted them and settled Keong's car seat in the back of the truck along with her duffel bag on the truck's clean black floor and got inside.
"Hi Yuki, how's Keong been lately?" Amy asked as Leela backed out the driveway and into the road.
"He's a little fussy but with enough naps, he's good." Yuki patted her brother's stomach and did a squeal in response.
"So Yuki, I know you don't want to talk about what happened last year but we thought it might be best." Leela said, taking a right. "But you know your kidnapper's house?"
Yuki nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry, I'm not afraid anymore."
"Well, we went over there yesterday and found something...interesting."
Yuki raised an eyebrow. "What did you find? Garbage?" Amy giggled then cleared her throat.
"No actually," Amy responded. Leela parked in Francis' driveway. "It's something more. And we also found something in Francis' backyard also, pretty strange actually." Yuki, Leela, Amy, and Keong got out and went inside. Yuki was greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Pickles, who barked and jumped for joy at Yuki.
"Ha ha! Stop it! Ha! That tickles!"
"Hello Yuki," Beelzebot came out of the kitchen. With three cups of coffee for himself, Leela, and Amy. "Francis is in the backyard with Joey and Roberto, you can set your brother down with us."
"Okay, thanks Beelzy." She set her brother down and walked down the peach hallway to where a new door knob was there and opened it: Francis, Joey Mousepad, and Roberto, were holding shovels and looking at the ground. Yuki quietly tiptoed on the healthy green grass and snuck up on Francis with a hug. Francis exclaimed in panic then wrapped his arms around Yuki.
"Hey Yuki, no time no see. How are ya?" Francis asked, putting down his shovel.
"I'm doing fine thank you," She looked at the clumps of chucked-up dirt and grass that were in a pile and the two feet of hollow dirt that showed. "What are you guys doing?"
"We found something growing in his backyard and dug it up." Joey said, "It's in the shed, we were talking about this hollow grave we need to fill." I guess this is what Leela was talking about. Yuki thought.
"Can I see it?" Francis looked at Yuki with dismay.
"Ummm...I don't want you to get dirty, your momma might get mad at me." Yuki frowned, and Francis sighed. "Okay, how about this? I can go and gather up everyone in the house and come out here to open it?"
"Okay Francis." Yuki confirmed.
Later that morning, almost noon, Everyone was outside in the backyard sitting on a thin cotton old blanket under the apple tree. The apples were bright red as blood and the fruit bush was covered in blackberries. Yuki had herself a handful of blackberries and was popping them in her mouth like round candy. Francis was the shed, grunting as he pulled out something that made Yuki almost forget about the blackberries in her hand.
A metal box was chained and locked with a lock in the front of the box with clumps of dirt dropping to the green earth. Francis tugged on the box until it was in the middle of the backyard. Yuki got up and walked over to the metal box, it was the size of a toy chest in her room back at home. She kneeled to the ground to have a closer look. She quietly mouthed: "Wow.."
Francis looked at the girl's amazement, "You looked pretty amazed there." Yuki snapped back to reality and looked at Francis.
"What? No! I-I was just...only looking at it." Yuki lied. "Nothing interesting!" Francis crossed his arms and smirked.
"Yuki, look, you can have it." Yuki's eyes widen.
"Really?! I-I mean..."
"Yuki, you can have it. But if you're going to have it, I have to clean first." Yuki hugged the robot tightly. "Yeah yeah...I know."
Later that night, Heather and Ally were eating dinner with Yuki and Keong at the dining room table. They were having chicken and mashed potatoes with green beans for dinner. Keong was only having mashed peas and potatoes.
"So this kid had come in only because he put his older brother's praying mantis up his nose and then the thing scratched up his nostrils real good." Ally said, picking at her potatoes. "The bug didn't survive though because the head nurse stepped on it. The kid yelled at his brother later that day."
"Really? That's interesting." Heather said, she took a bite of chicken and looked at her daughter. "Sweetie, we have some news you might like…"
Yuki looked at her mother and swallowed a mouthful of green beans. "What is it?" Heather giggled and wiped her mouth.
"Well, Yuki, tomorrow your cousin Ying is visiting us for two weeks from Hong Kong. Isn't that exciting?" Cousin Ying was Ally's half-brother's fifteen-year-old daughter who was practically mean to Yuki since she was four. Yuki was dumbfounded.
"What?! She's coming? Tomorrow?!" Yuki exclaimed. Ally looked at her daughter, with concern and calmness.
"Now Yuki, your mother and I know that you and Ying never had a great friendship. But maybe Ying's mature enough now to know that she was never supposed to pick on you, what do you say? Give her another chance?"
In the late evening, Yuki couldn't sleep because she couldn't bear to see her on Sunday. She turned on her lamp and pulled out her doll Susan, the smiling doll was looking at Yuki and Yuki smiled at the doll.
"Susan, why does Ying have to ruin my life every time she's over?" Susan didn't respond. If only you were an actual talking person. She then remembered the metal chest that Francis offered to give to Yuki, but only if he cleaned it for her. Yuki smiled at the thought. "Hey Susan, guess what? Today, Francis and Joey and Roberto found a metal toy chest in the ground and Francis said I can have it! Isn't it cool? Do you wonder what's in it?" Susan just smiled.
"Yuki! Sweetheart? Can I come in?" Heather knocked on her door.
"Sure mommy!" Heather opened the door, and was in a tank top and pajama pants.
"Yuki…" Heather began, sitting on her daughter's bed. "Look, there is a reason why Ying is coming to New New York." Heather sniffled a little bit. "You know your uncle Jim?" Yuki nodded. "Well, you already know he is working as a security guard in a prison but...apparently, your uncle got stabbed in the stomach by an inmate and this inmate has a goddamn lawyer!"
Heather took a deep breath. "So me and your mom are traveling to Hong Kong 'cause your uncle need's a nurse and a good lawyer. But because Ying has no mother, she'll be staying with us for quite some time." Yuki pouted. "But don't worry, I'll promise to bring something back okay?" Yuki smiled a bit and Heather kissed her cheek. "Goodnight pumpkin, and get some rest." Yuki laid her head back and closed her eyes, thinking about the metal toy chest.
Yuki woke up to a small tap on the face and saw her brother Keong placing his hand on her face. Along with a voice she knew was going to be there. "Wake up, dumb-dumb! I made breakfast ya lazy girl." It was Ying. The Chinese-Korean American fifteen-year-old was holding up Keong so he would tap her face.
"Whatever Ying, I'm going to my babysitters anyway." Ying laughed.
"I'm also coming along dumb-dumb." Ying teased.
In Leela's Toyota, Ying was playing with her Chinese finger trap until Leela popped a question.
"So Ying, what brings you here in New New York?" Leela asked.
"My father got stabbed by an inmate and my cousins parents are taking care of him." Ying answered, not looking up from her finger trap until the truck stopped. The three girls got out and went inside Francis' house. Yuki already imaged her metal box being clean and shiny, waiting for her to bring it home.
"You must be Yuki's cousin Ying." Robot Devil greeted her. "I'm the Robot Devil." Ying looked at him and scoffed. Yuki nudged her shoulder.
"Ying! Be nice! I've known these people for a whole year!" Yuki scolded at her cousin who was too busy with her trap. Francis was walking downstairs, with Yuki's box in his clamps. Ying looked up at the clean box and stared at it.
"Oh wow...a present for me...how great…" Ying stated sarcastically, Francis chuckled and placed the metal box down.
"Actually, this is for Yuki, Ying. She called dibs on it first." He setted the box in front of Yuki's feet. "You can open it now if you want." Yuki wasted no time and was already on it. There were two latches in front of the box, she lifted both handles until it clicked and she opened the trunk. They watched as Yuki then pulled out a black wooden coffin, that was smaller than the trunk. There, a label in gold read out in cursive words said: Plushbun.
Is...Is this someone's pet that they dug up? Yuki was concerned, she put her hand in the back of the coffin and felt hollow lines at the bottom. She turned it over and saw a message engraved: To my dear sweetheart, who had a heart of solid gold, now descended to Heaven. Thanks to a cold-blooded freak. Yuki felt a tear well up and wiped her eyes. This is sad. She set the coffin down and pulled the cover of the coffin.
There, an anthro purple plush rabbit was lying on its back with it's arms crossed. It's tall ears stood straight out with pink insides. Stitching seams were all over its body and a couple of patches were a polka-dot purple: one on the arm, one on its back, and another on its thigh. There was a stitching seam in the shape of a heart. It's face was demonic, its eyes were black with large white pupils in the shape of a four-pointed star. The mouth and light purple muzzle was stuck in a creepy smile that showed a mouthful of sharp teeth. Its hands were light purple with sharp black nails that could cut was a bright red big bow tie on the rabbit's neck, like it was dunked in blood.
Yuki picked it up and held it out in her hands, its fur was soft and clean. As for Ying, she was disgusted at the features.
"Gross! It's looks like Frankenstien's pet!" Ying exclaimed, Yuki rolled her eyes.
"I love it…" She quietly said.
"You love that thing?!" Ying shouted, "It belongs in a graveyard for fuck's sake!"
"Hey! You watch that tone young lady!" Amy scolded Ying. "If she likes the rabbit then she keeps it!" Yuki putted the rabbit back in the back wooden coffin and put the cover back on top.
"Who would bury a toy rabbit?" Francis questioned, "It looks hand-made by the looks of the seams."
"Who knows? Maybe a toymaker who lost his wife to a murderer so he made the toy for her and buried it." Leela suggested.
"I love you…" said the voice in the coffin. Everybody backed up when the coffin spoke in a high voice. Francis opened up the coffin and pulled out the rabbit. The rabbit then spoke once more in a high voice again, its lips moved like a human.
"I love you…" Francis shuddered and immediately put Plushbun back in its coffin and shutted the lid to the coffin, there was no more voice.
"Let's just say the voice came from a voice box, okay?"
The next morning, Francis was still shook from what the rabbit, Plushbun, said to him. Those white eyes were looking at me when it said it loved me. The voice was so clear that it didn't even sound mechanical. He went down stairs and saw Officer Smitty in the living room, who was offered coffee from Beelzebot. Smitty saw Francis and looked over at him.
"Hello Francis, sorry if disturbed your morning but I want to talk to you about a case we just got this morning." Francis sat down.
"What's the problem Smitty? Robbery and murder? Clown homicide?" Smitty shook his head.
"I wish," Smitty pulled out a manilla folder and put it on the coffee table. "There were three murders last night, the bodies are...brutal. One of the officers threw up at the scene."
Francis opened the manilla folder and three pictures were stapled together. They were bodies of the victims: One was a middle-aged man named Harold. His neck was twisted and torn open, his eyes were nothing but empty bloody sockets and his chest was ripped open to reveal his ribcage split open with his heart showing, a puncture hole was shown. Francis noticed his vital organs missing.
"What happened to his organs?"
"Eaten." Francis saw Harold's legs bent in the wrong position and blood soak the knee part of his jeans. "We figured that the murderer had made his knees be bent backwards causing him to not be able to walk." The second victim was a twenty-year-old named Jake. His body was separated from the waist down with his arms and legs missing and splinters of bones sticking out. A chunk of his head along with his skull was missing showing his brain. Something took a bite of his brain.
The last victim was named Charles. Charles' back was showing with a fleshy line showing. "The perp took out his spine." The picture only showed his face, or a curved flesh and broken bone skull. The face of Charles was missing, teeth marks were shown on the outside of his face. The picture then showed a gloved blue hand holding up Charles' shirt to see a leaking hole full of blood.
"Was he shot in the chest?"
"No, when we did an autopsy, we could find his organs anywhere. It was like someone took a vacuum and sucked up the organs-" Smitty snapped his fingers. "-Like that." Francis put the pictures back in the folder and gave it back to Smitty.
"Wow, you were kidding, these are brutal." Francis agreed, Smitty tipped his helmet.
"I should get going now, duty calls." Francis leaned back in on the couch and began to have second thoughts about giving Plushbun to Yuki.