A/N: Ok guys, I feel I should answer some reviews. One constant assumptions made in reviews is that Woody is the evil dummy. A common theme of the Living Dummy series (six books in total) has the main character having a dummy that gets damaged some way and is replaced by the cursed dummy, Slappy. That's the path I'm taking. Don't worry, I still have plans for both him and the eye…
Sitch of the Living Dummy
Chapter 2
By MaceEcam
The sign on the door read NEEDFUL THINGS. It was an antiques store.
The exterior of the store was highly depressing. Cobwebs adorned the windows of the store, making seeing inside near impossible. Even for a Possible, try as Kim might.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Kim asked, calling Wade on the Kimmunicator. Looking around she saw the parking lot entirely empty in fact all of the building in this shopping center appeared to be empty. An old looking sign on a pole stood at the entrance of the lot, read:
COMING SOON: ELDERVIEW SHOPPING PLAZA
"That's the place Kim" Wade said nodding. He typed on his keyboard for a second. "It just opened up a few weeks ago."
"Thanks Wade" she signed off.
"Maybe it's new?" Ron suggested helpfully. "I mean, the sign does say coming soon, so maybe the center just opened and this is the only business that's gone in yet."
"Maybe," Kim said, but she didn't think so. Most of the buildings here were covered in dust, and the paint on the sign was faded. The style looked like something from the sixty's.
Clearing her mind Kim stepped forward and pushed the door open. A sour smell, like rotten eggs, met her nose as the air inside rushed out, causing her stomach to flip. The bell chimed as they stepped in.
It did indeed appear to be mostly antiques inside, but a few other thing could be scene as well. Against one wall stood a grandfather clock, and against the window was a display of Halloween masks.
"OOH! Fortune cookies!" Ron yelled in excitement, spotting a plate of them by the register. Next to the plate was a sign that said: PLEASE TAKE ONE.
"Don't mind if I do!" Ron spoke to no one in particular. Grabbing one, Ron popped it open and ate the cookie, then read his fortune.
THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK
"You know they really shouldn't call these fortune cookies, I mean honestly 'Think before you speak'? That's more of a piece of advice then a fortune. Kim you want one?"
Kim didn't answer him. She had been walking around the room looking at things when something on the far wall caught her attention. Across from the clock was what Kim assumed was a mirror, covered in a white sheet. She moved toward it too lift the veil.
"I would not touch that if I were you."
Ron screamed, and dropped the vase he had been looking at. It shattered at his feet.
Out of the shadow behind the counter a man stepped. He was not, as Ron imagined anyone working in a store this spooky, but was instead dressed rather normally. He appeared to be in his mid 20's, around 26 or 27. He was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt, which had kept him hidden in the shadows formed by the doorway to the back room. His long hair was brushed over his right eye.
"Sorry dude" Ron said apologetically, then nodding toward the shattered vase of the floor.
The man ignored him. Turning toward Kim, he spoke. "That mirror is said to be cursed. It will draw away the souls of whomsoever gazes upon it, trapping them inside the mirror." He smiled. "Or so he legend goes."
"Um…thanks. We're looking for the owner?"
"That would be me. Dillon Phi at your assistance." He said, bowing to her.
"I'm Kim Possible. You asked our help recovering this." Here Kim handed him the eye.
"My eye! Why thank you!" he took it from her. Then, in a scene that almost made Team Possible gag, lifted his eye patch to reveal a gapping hole where his eye should be. He then slid gem into the hole. It appeared to fit perfectly.
"Wait a moment." Ron started. The man turned and focused on him. When he did, the fake eye seemed to focus as well. "So the Eye of Delphi is really the eye of Dill Phi?"
The man nodded.
"But what about the whole see into the future thing?" Kim asked the man.
"I have never heard of such a thing before that man came and stole my eye." he replied with a shrug. Kim decided to change the topic. "You have an interesting store here. What's with the shopping center being so empty though?"
"This shopping center opened in 1963, but most of the stores in it moved or closed down by the 80's." he said nodding.
He led Kim to the counter, where he pointed out a piece of paper taped to the inside of the glass display case. Bending over, Kim saw it was a newspaper article. The article was dated 1863, and was old and faded. It was entitled "NEW STORE OPENS IN MIDDLEWOOD". Under the title was a picture, and in it Kim recognized the store. In front of the picture was a man who looked almost exactly like the shop keeper, save wearing the traditional shop-keep garb of the time.
"My family moved to Middleton in 1862, of course back then it was called Middlewood. In fact it was just two years after the story opened that the town changed it's name to Middleton."
He patted the counter. "This isn't the actual same building as the original Needful Things. The location of the first store is a few miles east of here, where the freeway that connects Middleton to Upperton runs, and was a General Store. But while the location, and merchandise of the store has changed, it has always stayed in Middleton and it has always had the name Needful Things."
"It must great to have so much history" Kim told the man in awe. "My family came to town around the same year I think…"
Ron was never one for history. Or math. Or, you know, any of the other scholarly subjects sides cooking. So when Kim and the man started chatting it up he started wondering around the store, picking up an odd item here, a ticket there. Rufus climbed out of his pocket and ran along the dusty self. The hairless rodent stopped at an antique doll house and went inside for a sec, he came out dancing with a doll. Ron snickered and moved on. Picking up an old cowboy hat, Ron was about to try it on when something caught his eye. Putting the hat down, he went over and picked it up.
It was a ventriloquist's dummy. It was of a male, dressed in a two piece suit and red tie. Its eyes were brown, and it's face was covered in freckles, with a wide grin that seemed…almost cruel. It was chipped in a number of places, and the brown paint on it's head could be seen through in places.
But it's appearance didn't matter. He reached into it's back and grasped the controls. Moving the handle forward, the jaw slowly creaked open, causing a wave of dust and smell to flow from the dummy's mouth. He turned a lever inside the dummy one direction, one of the arms lifted; turning it the other way moved the other arm. A third lever controlled the legs. Noticing something on the dummy's foot, Ron lifted the leg and peered at the bottom of it's black shoes. Scratched into the bottom of the right foot was the name SLAPPY.
Ron thought for a moment. Other than the faded paint Slappy (for Ron figured that that was the dummies name) was in pretty good shape, and he DID need a dummy for his project at school, what with Woody being out of commission. Ron just wasn't ready to write him off and get a replacement.
As he was compensating, Kim came over with the owner. "Ron, you ready to go? We need to get to school." She spotted the dummy in Ron's arms. "Ron this is great! You can buy him and use him to give your project at school!"
"I don't know Kim" Ron replied turning it over so Kim could see it's face. "It doesn't look very friendly."
"Uh huh uh huh. Creepy" Refus exclaimed from atop Ron's shoulder.
"And besides, I'm not sure if I'm ready to enter into a new relationship like that."
If Kim rolled her eyes anymore they'd fall out of the back of her head.
"Ron. It. Is. A. DUMMY. One you need to pass this assignment remember? How much does it cost anyway?"
Ron searched for a price tag; he found it attached the other foot, the one that had no name. It read 40. Scratching around in their pockets, Kim and Ron were only able to come up with just over 20.
"Ow man…" Ron whined.
"Sorry Ron" Kim said patting his shoulder. Just then the owner reached in between the two of them set a paper sign down. It read: ALL DUMMIES HALF OFF.
"We're having a sale" he said with a twinkle in his eyes- both of them- that is to say it seemed as if the false eye twinkled as well. "And thank you again for returning my eye."
While checking them out at the register, he nodded to the tray of fortune cookies. "Would you like one?"
"No thank you," Kim replied, while Ron shook his head no. "Already had one dude, but thanks"
"Well," He replied as he placed Slappy in a bag and handed it to Ron. "Make sure you listen to it, whatever it was."
Ron nodded, and then he and Kim were out the door, heading to school as fast as they could.
A/N: Tada! I got another chapter out! Sure I was a few days behind schedule, but what matters is I got it up at all! Right guys? Right? (Is meet with dozens of icy stares) Alright alright! I'll try to keep to a more even schedule…(fingers crossed behind his back).
Anyway, I was in such a rush to get this out that I didn't wait to get it beta'd. So if you see a bunch of mistakes, don't tell me because I have a very delicate ego…kidding! If there are too many mistakes say as much, so I can fix them.