The Alt Four in: Toy Gory

by Bloody Simpson Chibi

Sally receives an unusual gift in the mail, a genuine mint-condition Good Guy Doll! Seems like the perfect gift for a quirky girl such as her. But then people start dying and her friends start suspecting she might be to blame. Can the Alt Four put aside their assumptions and stop the real killer or will they be put in permanent time out? Rated T for violence and language

The Alt Four in: Toy Gory

by Bloody Simpson Chibi

Disclaimer: I do not own the Child's Play series, just my OCs

(Hey everyone. I'm here with another Alt Four story. I know these aren't the most requested stories but I enjoy writing them so I'll keep at it regardless. That being said, I do have some news regarding the future of my schedule. In order to pick up the pace, these stories, Jigoku Files, and Lisa Simpson: Animal Avenger will be given extra attention and worked on twice as long in my daily writing sessions. Hopefully, that will mean I can pump them out to y'all faster. In any case, I've wasted enough time so let's get right into it, shall we?)

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon at Sally's house and she and her friends were thrown on the living room couch. Ginger was reading the latest Steven King book and Emily was disassociating, leaving Penny and Sally the only ones actually paying attention to the show on the television. And only one of them liked what they were watching.

"We now return to the Wholesome Adventures of Bobby Blue and Robby Yu! Only on the Tykes Channel!"

On the TV screen was a young boy and a sentient blue teddy bear who were standing before an erupting volcano.

"Gee, willikers!" The boy said. "How are we gonna get Mr. Volcano to not wipe out the Tikki village, Bobby Blue?"

"Don't worry, Robby!" The bear said. He put his paws together and as he separated them, a small rainbow formed. "We'll do it through the power of love!"

Penny groaned. "For fuck's sake, someone make a dirty joke or something!" She turned to Sally. "What the hell are we watching this baby crap for anyway? Last I checked, the youngest person here was 16!" She pointed to Emily who snapped back to reality with a confused "Huh? Where am I?"

"Oh, don't be like that Penny!" Sally answered. "Sometimes it's nice to take a break from adult life and let yourself enjoy some good old nostalgia!"

"This show came out last year," Penny said.

"I know! Ah, the memories!" Sally curled up into a ball, hugging her stuffed stegosaurus Jake close to her bosom. "Seriously, can you imagine how cool it would be if toys really were alive? If you could actually talk with them and go on exciting adventures!?"

Penny turned to Ginger whose nose was still in her book. "You let her watch Toy Story again, didn't you?"

"She's a big girl," the goth muttered. "She can make her own decisions."

"How about it, Jake!" Sally lifted the plush dinosaur to her face. "Will you talk to me?"

The mouthless lifeless stegosaurs said nothing.

Sally's excited smile slowly drooped to a frown as she realized Jake would not answer her. With a heavy sigh, she said. "I guess it's just a pipe dream after all."

"Welcome to reality, kid!" Penny patted Sally on the head in a half-assed attempt to comfort her. "Where adventure doesn't just come knocking at your front door."

Just then, there was a gentle knocking on the front door.

"Why does that always happen when I say things like that?" Penny moaned as Sally jumped up to answer it, being careful to place Jake on the couch first. "I'm coming!" She beamed as she rushed to the door. She opened it and stuck her head out with her most friendly "Hello!" but no one was there. No mailman in blue, no mail truck driving just out of sight. The only thing Sally found on her porch was an unmarked package. "Huh? What's this?" She picked it up and inspected it carefully, looking over every side and corner of the package. She even went as so far as to sniff it and lick it, causing some of the brown paper to come off on her tongue.

"Sally!" Penny shouted from inside. "Close the door already, you're letting in the damn bugs!"

Sally complied and closed the door as she made her way to the kitchen. "Check it out, guys! I got a package in the mail!"

Ginger, Emily, and Penny watched as the scene girl waltzed into the kitchen and placed the package on the table. They got up from the couch and surrounded their friend as she went about opening it.

"Who sent it to you?" Ginger asked.

"I dunno. There was no address on it," Sally said as she tore through the brown paper.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea to be opening an unmarked package like this?" Emily asked. "What if it's a bomb?"

"Ohhh! Free bomb!" Sally cooed. She started ripping through the paper faster.

"That's not what I meant!" The emo girl shouted in a panic.

"Get real, Emily." Penny butted in. It's probably just a prank from those shithead kids down the street. Maybe dog poop or something."

"In a package that big?" Ginger asked.

Penny shrugged. "You never know."

As the girls debated on the potential contents of the package, Sally had just about finished ripping through the bottom half of the paper. Underneath it was a smaller box yellow with red text reading. Good Guy! He's your friend till the end!"

"A Good guy?" Sally removed the last half of the paper, revealing the smiling face of a doll from within the package. It had wide blue eyes, dimples across its face, and messy red hair. He was clad in a shirt with a rainbow pattern covered by blue overalls with the Good Guy logo on them. Sally grew excited as she fully took in what she had unwrapped. "Look, guys! It's a doll!"

Ginger, Emily, and Penny all turned their attention to the unveiled toy. "A doll? Are you kidding me?" Penny asked.

"He looks...kinda cute...I guess.." Emily commented.

"Good Guys?" Ginger read the logo on the box. "Hmm..where have I heard that before?"

"Kinda cute? He's super cute!" Sally cried out happily as she removed the doll from the box and sat him on the table. "Hi, little guy! What's your name?"

To her surprise, the doll suddenly blinked, looked around in a mechanical way and once its gaze landed on her, it said. "Hi! I'm Chucky! And I'm your friend to the end. Hidey-Ho! Ha Ha Ha!"

Sally giggled as well! "He talks!"

"Big whoop!" Penny rolled her eyes. "Lots of dolls talk. It's not impressive." She let out a dry laugh. "Bet he also pisses and shits himself too."

Sally grabbed Chucky and defensibly held him away from Penny. "You're just jealous that someone sent me a mystery doll and not you!" She stuck her tongue out.

"Oh yeah! I'm super jealous." Penny remarked sarcastically. "Oh, woe is me!"

"Sally, I'm really glad that you enjoy that doll," Emily said. "But aren't you the least bit worried about the mystery of it all? I mean, what if some perv put spyware in that doll?"

"Emily's right," Ginger said. "We need to make sure this doll's on the up and up."

"Well, I got some disassembling tools back at my place," Penny said with a sneer. "Maybe they can help!"

Sally whimpered and held the doll even tighter. "No! He's my friend to the end!"

Ginger slightly slapped Penny over the head. "Knock it off, Penny!" She scolded. "We're not trying to destroy the doll. We just want to make sure no one's put anything weird in it." She turned to Sally. "We'll go get the tools, do a little searching and Chucky will be as good as new, ok?"

"You promise?" Sally sniffled.

"We promise." Ginger patted her scene friend's head. "Alright guys, let's go!"

"Finally," Penny muttered. "A break from Bobby Bullshit and Robby Fuckhead."

"Umm...Penny? It's actually Robb-

"I know what it's called Sally!" Penny screeched. "Ugh! Let's just go before I lose more brain cells!" Penny stomped toward the front door with Ginger walking calmly after her. "Are you coming, Sally?" Emily asked.

"Umm.." Sally looked over her new prize. "You know what?" You guys go ahead. "I'll stay here with Chucky. Get to know him better."

"Um, ok." Emily seemed uncomfortable leaving her friend alone with a doll that came from who knows where. Regardless, she gave up and followed her friends out the door, leaving Sally alone with her mysterious new playmate. "So, Chucky? Where are you from?"

The doll clicked a little before giving out another preprogrammed answer. "Hi! I'm Chucky! Wanna play?"

"Uh, sure. What do you want to play?"

"Hi! I'm Chucky. I liked to be hugged."

Sally stared at the doll for a few seconds before letting out a dry laugh of her own and hugging the doll tightly. "What am I thinking?" She asked herself. "Of course, he's not alive! These are just programmed sentences." She sighed as she took a seat at the table, cradling Chucky close. "What's wrong with me? Maybe Penny's right. Maybe I am too childish...still, I just can't but want to see magic in the world, you know?" She sighed again as she waited for her friends, zoning out as her friend Emily had done before. And because of that, she failed to hear the sound of muffled protest from against her chest until she felt tiny fists pound against her ribs. Looking down, she saw the doll moving frantically to get away and with a surprised squeak, let it drop to the floor. She watched in amazement as Chucky shook his head, picked himself up, and dusted himself off.

"Holy hell, kid!" He muttered in a voice far removed from the robotic tone he was speaking with earlier. "Do you suffocate all your toys like that?"

Sally sat there dumbfounded. She slowly moved the bangs away from her eyes to make absolutely sure what she was seeing was real. Once it really sunk in that her new doll was alive and standing before her, her agape mouth curved into an excited grin and, without warning, she leaped forward toward Chucky. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"Oh shit!" was all Chucky could cry before Sally landed on him. With delighted giggling, she got back to her feet, once again hugging Chucky close, ignoring his muffled screaming as she swung around the kitchen. "You're alive! You're alive!" She cried. "I don't believe it! My dream had come true! Dreams do come true!" Sally stopped her sudden dancing with a gasp. "I wonder if that means I can still be president of Iceland!"

"Gah!" Chucky pulled his head away from her. "What the fuck are you talking about, kid?"

Sally looked down quizzically. at her new living toy. "You know, you've gotta a big potty mouth for a cute little dolly."

"What can I say? Kids grow up fast these days." Chucky squeezed himself out of Sally's grasp and landed on the table. "Now, first things first. Who the fuck are you and where the fuck is this dump?"

Sally pouted, turned away, and crossed her arms. "In this house, we say please when we want something."

Chucky gave her an "Are-you-fucking-kidding-me? look and sighed. "Fine! Who the fuck are you and where the fuck is this dump, please?"

Sally brightened up at once. "My name is Sally Jones and this is Oakwood. We're famous for being from the same state as the Simpsons."

"Oakwood huh?" Chucky thought to himself. "This green-haired bitch's got a few screws loose but that just might be what I need."

"So," Sally pulled up a chair. "Tell me about yourself. Where do you come from? How are you alive!? Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi? Do you-

"Easy! Easy kid!" Chucky waved his hands. "One question at a time. Although, if we're gonna be transparent with each other then you should know my real name."

"Your real name?" Sally asked with the intrigue of a small child.

"Yep!" Chucky said. "You see, kid. My real name is Charles Lee Ray. And I-

Before Chucky could say more, there was another knock on the door, the rabid knocks brimming with impatience.

"Coming!" Sally called out. "Sorry Chucky but I gotta answer it. Just give me a minute, ok?" She expected her new doll to become annoyed but to her surprise, he smiled warmly and shook his hands again. "It's not a problem. Go answer the door. I'll be right here."

"Great!" Sally entered the living room with a spring in her step. Once she was out of the kitchen, Chucky snickered to himself. "What a moron." Carefully, he got up on the table and surveyed his new surroundings. "Let's see...before anything else, I'm gonna need the right tools for the job." He searched and searched until at last his eyes fell on the fully stocked knife block next to the fridge. "Jackpot!"

Meanwhile, Sally opened the door to find none other than Pam Seawell standing on her porch. The preppy girl was looking over her recently painted nails for about five seconds before acknowledging Sally. "There you are! You kept me waiting like, forever!"

"Pam! What a lovely surprise!" Sally beamed without a single hint of sarcasm in her voice. "What can I do for you?"

Pam scoffed. "Well, as you know, I was recently elected Class President by a total landslide and wouldn't you know it, the stupid job actually comes with *gasp* work!" Pam growled as she took out a clipboard and pen. "Anyway, I need you to sign on getting a new chalkboard for the classroom. The one we have right now makes the most awful squeaking noise."

"But don't chalkboards do that regardless?" Sally asked.

Pam's only response was a deadpan stare. "Just sign the paper!

"Oh wait!" Sally suddenly gasped. "I almost forgot! There's someone I want you to meet! Come inside!"

Pam scoffed again. "Inside your dirty little hovel? No, Thank yo-

Sally grabbed Pam's hand and pulled her inside, hardly giving her any time to realize what was happening or any time to fight it. "Hey! Let go!"

Sally pulled the preppy girl into the kitchen where Chucky sat, his face once again fixed into his default Good Guy smile. "Pam! I want you to meet Chucky!"

Pam, who had been trying in vain to sink her teeth through Sally's arm warmers in order to make her let go, stopped at once at the sight of the doll. "Like, ew! What is that thing?"

"It's Chucky!" Sally repeated. "He came in through the mail today and guess what! He's really alive!"

Pam's stare darkened with judgment. "And I'm the Queen of England."

"No really!" Sally grabbed Chucky and pulled her close to Pam who took a step back, quite uncomfortable with the doll. "Alright, Chucky! Say hi to Pam!"

Chucky blinked and moved his eyes toward Pam. "Hi! I'm Chucky! I liked to be hugged!"

"Whoopie-Doo." Pam said. "So he does talk."

"N-No!" A slightly flustered Sally protested. "He really is alive!" She shook Chucky a little, ignoring the strange elevation in his pocket. "Come on, Chucky! Say something!"

"Hi! I'm Chucky! Wanna play?"

Sally continued to shake Chucky. "Come on! Talk!"

Pam sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why are you even bothering with this stupid doll anyway? Aren't you a little old to be playing with dollys?" She asked in a teasing voice which, much to her surprise, made Sally blush.

"Umm...well...d-do we ever really outgrow toys?" Sally sheepishly defended. "I mean, come on Pam! Surely, you had some dolls when you were little."

"Not just any dolls!" Pam interjected. "Only the finest, most expensive Barbie dolls money could buy!" She let out a sinister chuckle. "And wouldn't you know it, when I grew up, they magically turned into cash which I used to buy my first phone." She sighed and shook her head. "Seriously, you should just sell that ugly thing, not that it'll fetch a good price."

"Maybe..." Sally muttered.

"Look, will you just sign the paper already! I have like, a million houses to get to!" She handed the paper over to Sally. As the scene girl attempted to add her name to the small list on the paper, however, she found that no ink would escape the point.

"Uh oh! This pen's out of ink!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Pam complained.

"Don't worry!" Sally declared. "I have extra pens in my room! I'll lend you one! Just wait right here!"

"Whoo-hoo!" Pam muttered in a deadpan voice as she watched Sally vanish down the hall. Not knowing what else to do, the preppy girl took a seat and stared at the doll. "Seriously, who the hell in their right mind would want a creepy doll like this in their house?"

Suddenly, the doll turned toward Pam, causing her to squeak in surprise. "Hi! I'm Chucky! Wanna play?"

Pam's shock and fear were replaced with embarrassment and anger. "Fuck off!" She shoved the doll off the table without any mercy and listened for the sound of its head cracking against the floor. When she only heard a thud, she checked under the table to see the doll was still intact. She sighed and picked herself back up. "Stupid thing! No one makes a fool out of Pam Sewall!" She took out her phone and began her usual routine of browsing social media, completely unaware of the doll picking himself back up underneath the table.

"Bitch!" He muttered, "That hurt me!" He felt his face up, felt a small piece of the silicone covering his face lifted up, and patted it back down. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife he had usurped from the knife block. "Oh, what the hell? I could use a little pick-me-up and you know what they say when opportunity knocks,"

Fighting the urge to let out a guttural scream of attack, Chucky ran up to Pam and plunged the knife into her exposed stomach. The preppy girl tried to scream but could only let out a hoarse gasp as the pain consumed her. She dropped her phone as Chucky wretched the knife downward, allowing her intestines to fall out. Summoning every bit of strength she could summon, Pam looked down at the killer doll, her eyes widening with horror as she realized what was happening.

Chucky looked up at her as well, sneering and chuckling to himself as he reached down and grabbed her guts. "Sorry Barbie but Ken's out of town. You'll have to play with me!" He howled in laughter before jumping onto Pam's lap, climbing up over her shoulder, and seating himself behind her head. He threw the intestines over her head and tightened them around her neck. Only now realizing what was happening next, Pam struggled to get away but by now, she was too weak from blood loss and pain. She could hardly muster the strength to even reach for her neck as Chucky choked the life out of her with her own guts. As Pam slipped into the Great Beyond, the murderous little doll had one more bout of laughter at her expense. "Ah! Just what the doctor ordered. A good old-fashioned strangulation. HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Sorry it took me so long!" Sally said as she walked back into the kitchen with a green crayon. "I couldn't find any pens but I did find this nifty..." She trailed off as her eyes fell off Pam's dead body sitting on the table, her eyes glazed and her own guts hung around her neck like a morbid necklace. On the other side of the table, Chucky sat in the exact same position Sally had last left him, that same soulless smile plastered on his face.

Sally uttered a blood-curdling scream and dropped the crayon which she then promptly tripped over trying to run to Pam. "Oh God! Pam!" Sally cried as she got back up and grabbed Pam's corpse. "What happened!? Why are you dead!? Answer me!" She shook the preppy girl's lifeless body, causing her head to fall back. "Oh right!" Sally sobbed as she hugged Pam's body close. "Oh, Pam! Who did this to you!?" She turned to Chucky, picked him up, and shook him hard. "Chucky! Did you see who did this? Answer me!"

"We're back!" Emily called out as she, Ginger, and Penny entered the house. "And we brought snacks!"

"You can have them after we check the doll out, ok Sall..." All three girls stopped in their tracks once they entered the kitchen, their blood running cold at the sight before them. Sally continued to beat on and beg Chucky to speak to her while Pam sat eviscerated on the table. "Come on, Chucky! Speak to me!" Sally cried.

"S-Sally?" Emily whispered.

Sally nearly caused her friend to jump out of her skin with how fast she turned toward them. "Guys!? Oh thank God you're here! You won't believe what just happened!? It's so awful!"

"You can say that again!" Penny walked up to Pam's body. "What's Pam doing here and why is she wearing her own guts like a chocker?"

Emily, already feeling sick from the display, couldn't take it anymore and retched in the trashcan while Ginger patted her back.

"I don't know!" Sally screamed. "Pam came in to ask me to sign something. I think it was about legalizing weed." Sally said thoughtfully before shaking her head. "But then, her pen was out of ink! So I went to get a crayon and the next thing I knew, I found her like this!"

"Did you see who did it?" Ginger asked.

Sally shook her head. "But Chucky did! Oh! That's right! I almost forgot! Chucky's alive you guys!"

"What?" Penny asked.

"He's alive! He came alive and told me his real name is Charles Lee Ray but he didn't say anything when Pam talked to him and he won't say anything now!" Sally continued to shake the doll. "Chucky! Come on! We need you to open your trap!"

"Hi! I'm Chucky! And I liked to be hugged!"

"This is no time for hugs!" Sally screamed. "Pam is dead and her murderer is still on the loose!"

As Sally continued to struggle with the doll, Ginger pulled Emily and Penny close to her. "Um...guys?" Anyone else getting a strange feeling about this whole thing?"

"That's putting it mildly," Penny snarked. "It's like the freakshow from Hell."

"I don't think that's what Ginger meant," Emily said. "I think she means more in the line of Sally talking to a doll while Pam is lying dead in her kitchen." She gulped. "Wait, Guys, you don't think..."

"That Sally snapped and butchered Pam?" Penny snickered. "Come on, guys! This is Sally we're talking about! She couldn't hurt a fly! Don't you remember when she tried that one time?"

Emily clicked as she shook her head. "Six long months in the hospital, all because she tried to play hero."

"I don't know guys," Ginger said. "Sally has been acting stranger than usual since that damn doll showed up. Plus." She glanced toward the doll in question. "I can't put my finger on it but I know I've heard that brand somewhere before. Good Guys!"

"Don't say that Ginger," Penny snickered. "Maybe he's a Nice Guy."

"Not funny." Ginger deadpanned.

"She is pretty convinced that it's alive," Emily squeezed her arm.

"Look, I know it looks suspicious," Penny said. "Given Pam dead on the table and all but we're Sally's friends. And as her friends, we owe it to her to give her the benefit of the doubt. So let's hide the body first and then we'll get this sorted out, alright?"

Ginger and Emily exchanged an uncomfortable glance but within their hearts, they knew Penny was right and so turned to her with a nod. "Alright." Ginger said. "I'll get the wet towels."

"I'll get the shovel." Emily offered as she and the goth girl left the kitchen. Penny nodded and approached Pam's corpse. "Would say it was nice knowing ya, Pam but that would be a lie." She left to grab a blanket to drape over Pam, leaving Sally alone with the doll.

Only then did he speak.

"Will you cut it out with the shaking!?" Chucky growled. "You're giving me a fucking headache kid!"

"Chucky!" Sally shouted. "I knew it! I knew you could talk! Why didn't you say anything in front of my friends?"

"Use your head, kid!" Chucky defended. "Haven't you ever seen movies with talking toys before? We ain't exactly supposed to advertise it, ya know! I could get into a lot of trouble just talking to you!"

"Oh!" Sally let Chucky go, feeling ashamed that she hadn't considered such things. Her mind was brimming with questions about toys and their legal procedures but she decided to can it for the time being so as to focus on the real issue, the dead blonde in her kitchen. "I understand, but can you at least tell me who killed Pam?"

"I...I don't know how to tell you this kid, but she did it to herself." Chucky said.

"What!?"

"Yeah! As soon as you left, she sat on the table, muttered something about life not meaning anything anymore, then grabbed one of your kitchen knives, cut herself open and strangled herself with her own guts for good measure. It was honestly pretty fucked up."

"I was wondering why one of my knives was missing from the block." Sally slammed her fist into her palm.

The sound of footsteps could be heard coming close and Chucky was the first to notice them.

"Looks like you're friends are back. Remember, as far as they know, I'm just a doll!" And with that, Chucky resumed the lifeless expression he held when he first arrived. "Hidey-Ho! Ha ha ha!"

"We're back!" Penny said as she brandished a white blanket. Ginger was holding wet wipes and Emily had a shovel.

"What are guys doing with all that stuff?" Sally asked.

"We're gonna help you get rid of the body so no one arrests your ass," Penny explained.

"And then we're gonna give that doll of yours a thorough examination" Ginger promised. "I left the tools in the living room."

Emily walked up to Sally and patted her shoulder. "It'll be okay, Sally." She reassured her friend. "We'll get this all sorted out."

Sally's lips trembled as she embraced Emily in a giant hug. "Oh Thank you guys!" She sniffed. "I just don't know what I'd do without you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Penny muttered as she threw the blanket over Pam's corpse. "Let's just get this over with."

The girls worked together to get as much of Pam inside the blanket as they could and carry it away to the backyard for burial. Sally went to grab Chucky but Emily stopped her. "Maybe just leave Chucky here." She suggested. "He's seen enough."

Sally looked back and forth between her old and new friends a few times before smiling at the former. "You're right." She followed Emily outside, leaving Chucky by himself in the kitchen. "Heh! Suckers!"

The girls were very careful about burying Pam's body, choosing a corner already without any plant life, and taking turns on lookout for any potential witnesses. It was during her turn that Penny noticed a giant woodchipper and she asked Sally about it.

"Oh! It's for my Dad's new side business. He gets rid of embarrassing or offensive wood carvings."

"Oh." Penny stared at it for a few moments. "Should we...you know..."

"No way!" Ginger protested as she scooped out some more dirt. "The blood and guts would gunk up the machine. Besides, we're almost finished here."

"I guess so," Penny said, muttering to herself how she always wanted to toss something in a wood chipper.

Once Pam was in the dirt, the girls stood together for a moment of silence before heading inside. By then, it was evening but Ginger, still not trusting the Chucky doll nearly as far as she could throw it, wanted to perform the examination. Upon arriving in the living room, however, she saw at once that they were missing.

"Huh?" She looked around for them to no avail. "That's weird," I could have sworn I put the tools here."

"Maybe you just misplaced them," Penny suggested as she and the others joined the search. The girls spent the next ten minutes searching for the tools, all while Chucky continued to watch from the kitchen table. After searching every nook and cranny and still turning up nothing, they gave up and collapsed on the couch.

"Well this is strange," Ginger said. "I know I brought them here!"

Emily tapped Ginger's hands. "It'll be alright. I'm sure they'll turn up."

"But until then, I guess we can't take that stupid doll apart." Penny sighed as she watched Sally get up, reclaim her new doll, and cradle it as she sat back down. The doll's lifeless eyes moved around until they landed on Penny who became somewhat unnerved, not that she would ever admit it.

"Hi, I'm Chucky! Wanna play?" The doll asked.

"No Thanks!" Penny got up. "I'm going to bed!"

"Yeah," Emily agreed as she and Ginger got up as well. "It is getting kinda late. Plus it's school tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay, Sally?" Ginger asked. "Sleeping here tonight, I mean. You could crash at my place if you'd feel safer."

"That's supposed to make her feel safer?" Penny asked, prompting a glare from Ginger.

Sally shook her head. "It's alright, Ginger." She held up Chucky. "As long as I have Chucky, I know I'll be safe. Besides, he says it was a suicide."

All three girls paled at those words. "Chucky...told you that?"

Sally nodded.

The three girls looked at each other and then slowly back to Sally. "Well...okay...G-Goodnight Sally!"

"Goodnight guys!" Sally giggled as she grabbed Chucky's arm and whipped it up and down. Ginger, Emily, and Penny backed slowly out of the house and didn't speak until they were quite far away.

"So...we all agree that was weird, right?" Emily asked.

"Which part?" Ginger asked.

"Yes," Emily responded.

"Ok, so Pam's dead, and Sally's insisting that her creepy ass doll is alive," Penny said. "And yeah, it's a little freaky but I'm sure there's nothing more to it!"

"But what about the tools?" Emily asked. "Why did they just go missing?"

"Stuff goes missing all the time!" Penny started counting her fingers. "Why, just last week I lost my keys, my wallet, and my zest for life."

As Emily and Penny continued to talk, Ginger couldn't help but ponder. "Good Guys...Good Guys...where have I heard that name before?"

---

Despite the Class President not reporting for class that day, the rest of the students in Mr. Tea's homeroom acted as if everything was normal. The only ones even close to being on edge were Ginger, Emily, and Penny who were, of course, still somewhat shaken by last night's events. The fact that Sally was late on this day didn't help matters and as the minutes drew close to the final bell, Emily began to fear her friend had suffered a fate similar to Pam's.

But as luck would have it, Sally walked into the classroom around this time and the three girls were relieved...

...at least until they noticed Chucky in her arms.

It didn't take long for the rest of the class to notice as well. One by one, the eyes landed on the green-haired girl and her red-headed accessory. There was whispering, laughing and before long, some of the students approached her.

"Good morning, Sally." Octavia greeted. "What's with the doll?"

"Good morning, Octavia." Sally chirped. "This is Chucky! He came in the mail yesterday and he's my new friend to the end!" She lifted the doll to Octiava's face, startling the young Otaku. "Say hi, Chucky!"

"Hi! I'm Chucky! Wanna play!"

"Ha! That's so cute!" Octavia's eyes darted toward the Made in Japan stamp on his left wrist. "Oh wow! He's from Japan! That's awesome!"

"He is?" Sally looked down and saw the stamp as well. "Huh? What do you know? Huh?" Suddenly, Sally held Chucky close to her ear and acted as if he was whispering something to him. "What's that?"

"What? Is Chucky saying something?" Octiava giggled, amused by the display Sally was putting on.

"Chucky says he's more Japanese than you'll ever be, you fucking Weeb." Sally said with the exact same friendly tone she usually spoke with. It was only after she finished that sentence that she had caught herself. "Chucky! That wasn't nice!"

Poor Octavia's smile faded as the class began to laugh. Blushing furiously, and fighting back tears, she muttered. "You think that's funny?"

"Wait, Octavia! I didn't say that! Chucky did."

"Sure he did and I'm a Gundam pilot!" Octavia screeched.

"Hey! Easy easy!" Gina walked up to her girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her. "Let it go, Octavia! She's not worth it!"

"But you know how I feel about that word!" Octavia cried.

"I know. I know!" Gina pulled her girlfriend into a hug, patting her back as her tears came out. She turned to walk her back to her seat but not before shooting a death glare at Sally and shaking her head. "Not cool, Sally. Not cool!"

"But...I didn't..." Sally trailed off as the two left and another girl approached her. She was Nelly Brown, the smartest student in school. "Using a doll to disguise insults as a form of black comedy eh?" She asked as she fixed her glasses into place. "The whispering bit was a nice touch."

"But I didn't say that!" Sally protested. "Chucky did! Huh?" Sally pressed her ear against Chucky's lips once again.

"Oh, let me guess. Now he's got an insult directed towards me now." Nelly deduced.

"Um...Chucky says...that all the brains in the world won't get you laid, pointdexter!" Sally blushed as she slapped her hand over her mouth. "Chucky, what is wrong with you!?"

Nelly chuckled. "Another dig at my lack of appeal to the male gender huh? While I'll concede in saying such things do bother me, it's hard to take such insults seriously when coming from a little doll who has to have even worse luck with the ladies." She looked down at Chucky. "After all, plastic's no substitute for wood when it comes to getting the job done."

The doll looked up at her and for the briefest of moments before her common sense kicked in, Nelly thought that Chucky might be glaring at her. She shrugged it off as an optical illusion and faced Sally. "Nice try." Nelly strutted back to her seat as the bell rang, some of the students staring at her with moves agape.

"That...was...disturbing..." Emily said.

"What? That Sally's still acting like Chucky's alive or that Betty Bookworm over there actually made a vicious sex joke?" Penny asked.

"Yes,"

Sally walked back to her seat with Chucky in her lap. Even though she was in her usual spot and her friends were in the same room, she felt utterly alone, as if she were inside a giant glass tube separating her from everyone else. All eyes turned away from her with full intent. Not even her friends gave her a glance as they were too disturbed by the experience. Sighing, Sally held Chucky close and waited for the teacher to arrive.

---

During lunch period, Nelly was often entrusted with extra tasks given to her by the teacher and staff. Today was especially busy due to Pam not showing up today, leaving the runner-up for Class President to take care of her work. Oh, the delicious irony was not lost on Nelly and as she made her way back to the homeroom with a giant roll of construction paper for the art project next week, she couldn't help but wonder if she stood a higher chance of getting elected now if Pam never came back...

"My my!" She thought to herself. "My dark side has had quite the streak today. I better reign it in. After all, it's not like Pam is dead. She's just absent." Nelly hummed the Star Wars theme as she opened the classroom door and turned on the light. No sooner did she do so that she was greeted by the dead plastic smile of Chucky as he sat on the teacher's desk directly in front of her.

"Aaahhhh!" She dropped the paper roll on her foot but ignored the pain as she dug through her pockets to find her inhaler. After a few puffs of the red nozzle, she was able to reclaim her breath and realize it was only Sally's doll. Embarrassed, she looked around to make sure that no one saw her outburst.

No one did but Chucky.

"Phew! It's only Sally's insulting attempt at a practical joke." She told herself. "She must have left it here in her haste for Swedish meatballs in the cafeteria." Nelly stepped over the roll toward the doll and picked it up.

"Hi! I'm Chucky! Wanna play?" The doll asked, once again momentarily spooking Nelly. Getting just a little tired of the doll's shenanigans, Nelly opted to place the doll on a desk in the front row. She stepped back, realized she didn't like the way it was looking at her, despite being certain it wasn't alive in any way, and turned it around. With a nod, she picked the giant roll back up, placed it next to the paper cutter on the teacher's desk, and went to work. "With all these extra assignments under my belt, the next Class President election is in the bag!"

So preoccupied with cutting the construction paper into sheets was the nerdy girl that she failed to notice a thud to her left nor the tiny, slow footsteps that followed. She did feel the vibrations when something climbed on top of the teacher's desk and couldn't help but turn around, thinking it must be the teacher or a fellow student. Instead, she was greeted with the sight of a smiling Chucky, standing on two feet without any help and holding a chalkboard eraser in his hands. Before her brain could form a rational explanation for what was happening, the doll chucked the eraser at her face as hard as he could. The hard side of the eraser slammed into her nose, knocking her glasses off as she fell under the paper cutter's blade.

"Ah! My glasses!" Nelly cried as she turned and reached out for her glasses. Without them, she couldn't see the snickering doll as she tip-toed toward the paper cutter and gripped the end of the blade. With a vicious battle cry, Chucky slammed the blade down on Nelly's neck over and over again, cutting deeper and deeper into her flesh until at last, with one final slice, he decapitated her. Chucky roared in laughter as he watched the nerdy girl's head roll off the table and toward the other side of the room

"Eggheads!" Chucky said once he was done laughing. "I just can't with these guys!

"Chucky!" Sally's voice called from out the hallway.

"Shit!" Chucky cursed. "Gotta get into Barbie mode!" Chucky took a seat on the other side of the desk and resumed his lifeless posture just as Sally came in.

"Chucky! Are you...there you are!" Sally scooped the doll up. "I've been looking all over for you!" She sighed. "Seriously, who eats a girl's meatballs and then just dips? You have a thing or two to learn about...manners..." Sally trailed off as she noticed Nelly's lifeless and headless body slumped next to the paper cutter, her head lying in a corner, her terrified face hardly visible through her bloody brown hair.

Sally was too terrified to scream. Hugging Chucky close, she slowly backed away until she was out of the classroom, her hand placed over her mouth. She was so caught up in the grip of fear that she hardly noticed her friends running up to her.

"Sally! There you are?" Ginger asked. Why'd you run out of the cafeteria like that?"

"Yeah! You scared us half to deaaaaAAAATTTTHHH!" Emily cried out as she and the others stopped in front of the classroom and made the same grisly discovery their friend had just made.

"Oh my Goddess, Nelly!" Ginger screamed.

Penny clicked her tongue. "And she was so close to getting that Class President gig too."

Emily grabbed Sally and shook her out of her funk. "Sally! Speak to us! What happened?"

"I...I don't know..." Sally whimpered. "I found her like this and Chucky..."

"Forget Chucky!" Emily screamed. "What happened here!?"

"Emily! Calm down!" Ginger grabbed the emo girl and held her back. "Giving into panic won't solve anything."

"She's right." Penny agreed. "We need to do some damage control." She snapped her fingers and pointed at Sally. "First off, you have to get out of dodge."

"Huh? But why?" Sally asked.

"Because the person that happened to stumble on the crime scene first is usually the one they suspect," Penny said. "And let's face it. They'll want a scapegoat far more than they'll want justice. In fact, we should all just stay away from the classroom and wait until lunch period's over. We can "discover" the body along with everyone else."

"It's...a little scary how much thought you're putting into this, Penny," Emily said.

"Oh! Quit being a baby!" Penny shouted as she turned back to Sally. "Go on, scram!"

"Thanks, Penny! Come on Chucky!" Sally ran down the hall, clutching the doll close to her. Once she was out of earshot, Penny whispered to Emily and Ginger.

"Ok, so we agree Sally is totally guilty right?"

"What!?" Ginger and Emily screamed in unison. "Why would you say that?"

"What do you mean why would I say that?" Penny asked. "Look in the classroom! Don't you think it's weird that in the past two days, two people have been killed and Sally's been the last one to see them alive? I think that damn doll screwed up her head or something.

"Well...she does keep saying it's alive." Ginger agreed. "And I still have a funny feeling about that company name."

"Oh come on guys!" Emily shouted. "I know it looks suspicious but this is Sally we're talking about! She's never hurt anyone, let alone kill them!"

Penny glared at the emo girl and started walking away. "Well, all I know is that until this shit gets settled, I'm keeping my distance from little Miss Scene Queen. Arrivederci"

"Penny! Wait!" Emily cried to no avail as Penny stormed off. Quickly, she turned to her goth friend and crush. "You don't think Sally actually committed those murders, do you Ginger?"

"Well," Ginger scratched the back of her head. "It's hard to say. Penny does have a point you know."

"But this is Sally! Our Sally! She doesn't have a mean bone in her body! I've checked!"

"Well..." Ginger gave it some thought and realized she still wanted to believe that Sally was innocent. She sighed and said, "Alright. But we better keep an eye on her."

Emily sighed as well but hers was a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Ginger!"

Ginger nodded. "But Penny's right about one thing. We better scram before someone tries to pin this mess on us!"

Just then, the bell rang. The two girls looked at each other, screamed, and ran off.

---

School was canceled early due to Nelly's gruesome demise and while Penny stayed true to her word and went home, Ginger and Emily decided to keep their potentially murderous friend close. They asked her where she wanted to hang out and she picked the arcade that had recently opened down the street from where the school was. As it turned out, there were a lot of students who had the same idea, all of whom were quick to cast judgemental looks upon Sally entering the establishment. It would seem Penny's gambit failed as Sally bringing in the strange doll was enough to warrant suspicion from her peers.

Nonetheless, no one confronted her with Ginger and Emily by her side and for the next two hours, the trio was able to enjoy themselves despite the murders or the creepy doll that Sally kept talking to. This small time of peace would end after a heavy session of Dance, Dance Revolution in which Sally came out victorious. Sweaty and out of breath, the scene girl sat down with Chucky on her lap and finished the last of her soda as she watched her friends go up next. It was a trainwreck as Ginger refused to move more than a leg or a foot at a time, clearly not wanting to make an ass of herself and Emily was too flustered being close to her crush to focus on the screen, resulting in a lot of painful slipping and falling.

Sally giggled at the display, the thoughts of Nelly and Pam's gory deaths miles behind her. It was around this time that another girl rolled up behind Sally. A pale skinny thing with spiky pink hair, black shirt, and ripped jeans. Slowly, she bent down to Sally's head and shouted "Boo!"

"Gahhh!" Sally jumped out of her seat and fell face-first into the floor, taking Chucky down with her. The pink-haired girl burst into laughter as the scene girl got up and rubbed her nose. "What the hell, Samantha?"

"Sorry Sals," Samantha said as she kicked her skateboard back into her arms. "I was just in the neighborhood and thought I say, "Boo!"

"Very funny," Sally grumbled, a slight blush creeping on her face.

"So what's the scoop? I heard you brought a doll to school today."

"Um...yeah..." Sally reluctantly picked up Chucky who, much to her surprise and disgust, now had a small trickle of blood leaking from his nose. Choosing not to give it too much thought, Sally opted to wipe the blood off before showing Samantha the doll. "Here he is. His name's-

"Hi!" The doll interrupted. "I'm Chucky! And I liked to be hugged."

"I bet you do." Samantha purred. "Especially by cute girls like Sally."

"S-Stop it!" Sally demanded, her entire face no bright red. She was mentally thankful that Emily was too preoccupied with her game to notice Samantha's arrival. The skater girl had a habit of making Sally flustered the same way Ginger did Emily. Only in her case, it was all a deliberate tease.

"But seriously, that thing's really creepy!" Samantha said. "Where'd you get it?"

"It came in the mail yesterday," Sally confessed. "We don't know who sent it."

"Maybe it's a prank or something," Samantha giggled. "Or maybe a pervert put a spy cam in it."

"That's not it!" Sally meant to protest more but before she could continue, Samantha suddenly grabbed the doll. "Hey!"

"Whoa! It's even uglier up close!" Samantha teased. "If any perverts are watching, I have only this to say." She put her arm to her mouth and made a farting sound.

Sally laughed a little, only to force her composure to return. "There are no perverts!" She shouted as she ripped the doll away from the skater girl's arms.

"What's with all the shouting?" Ginger asked as she and Emily walked up to the duo, their intense attempt at a dancing session having ended seconds ago. "Oh! Hey Samantha."

"Hi!" Emily greeted.

"Hi yourself guys," Samantha said. "You two look like you just went down a water slide."

"Don't remind me," Ginger said as she wrung the bottom of her shirt, surprised and disgusted with how much water was falling to the floor. "Anyway, what were you and Sally talking about?"

"Oh just the creepy doll that's totally not a spy cam, right Sally?"

Sally blushed again. "R-Right. Look, can we just change the subject? She placed Chucky on the seat she was sitting in. "Like uh...the new Scar Wars movie!

"Ugh!" Samantha gagged. "Don't remind me!"

As the girls became enraptured in their discussion concerning last week's box office bomb, Chucky took his opportunity and scooted off the couch. "Ugh! The last thing I wanted was to be reminded of that train wreck of a movie!" He muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small screwdriver he stole from woodshop class. "Time to let out some steam."

Placing the screwdriver between his teeth, Chucky crept behind the couch next to Samantha's skateboard. There was a grotesque image of a screaming skull covered with snot and blood on the bottom, its one bloodshot eye staring at Chucky. "Sick!" The doll whispered as he went to work loosening the screws on the skateboard's wheels. When he was finished, he looked up to make sure Samantha was still engaged in conversation before sneaking back to the front of the couch, climbing back on, hiding the screwdriver inside his pocket, and resuming his usual visage as a normal doll.

It was around this time that the girl's rather heated conversation about the bleakness of the Scar Wars franchise came to a close, mostly because Samantha's stomach growled. "Oh shit! Well, that's my dinner bell! Guess I better head home." She threw her skateboard down, completely unaware of the screw that came flying out as a result. "See you guys around!"

"Bye!" All three waved farewell as they watched the skater girl ride out of the arcade. She barely made it past the adjacent bookstore when she felt her skateboard began to wobble. "Huh? That's funny. I just got this thing oiled last week." She noticed some stairs up ahead and made up her mind to ride the railing down. "Allie-OOF!" Just as she was about to make the jump, however, the first pair of wheels gave out underneath the skateboard, causing the skater girl to fly up as she slammed on the front. She screamed as she fell down the stairs, the skateboard flying overhead and losing its remaining wheels. Samantha hit every step with enough force to bruise her skin and cracked her head on the sharp corner of the final step. Miraculously, she survived and tried to pick her head up from the corner. Unfortunately, the skateboard fell down right on her head, digging the final step of the stairs deeper into Samantha's brain and finally killing her.

Samantha's screams, brief as they were, were heard by some of the patrons standing close to the entrance of the arcade. They came out to investigate as did a few others who saw them running out of the building. Amongst this wave were Ginger, Emily, and Sally. She was, of course, carrying Chucky who, in the midst of all the chaos, dropped the screwdriver into Sally's pocket with a snicker.

A small crowd had gathered at the top of the stairs, the bottom of which, Samantha's lifeless body now lay. There were screams, tears, and shouts of horror and none was greater than that of the three girls Samantha was just talking to. "Another murder!" Ginger shouted.

"No! Not Samantha!" Emily cried.

"Who could have done this!?" Sally whined. She and Emily watched as Ginger walked slowly down the steps to investigate further. As she did so, she noticed some pressure underneath her boot and looking down, saw one of the discarded wheels belonging to the skateboard. She picked it up and brought it back to her friends to see. "Look! Someone unscrewed the bolts holding this thing to the skateboard! Someone sabotaged Samantha's board!"

"But who would do such a thing?" Sally asked just as a small plink invaded the girl's ears. All three of them looked down to see an orange screwdriver lying next to Sally's feet.

"Sally," Emily asked. "Please tell me that screwdriver didn't just fall out of your pocket."

"I don't...think so..." Sally picked it up and held it close. "It looks like it's from woodshop."

Ginger's eyes narrowed. "You mean the same woodshop you go to every third period?" She asked.

"Yeah...why?" Beneath her bangs, Sally gasped as she suddenly realized what Ginger was getting at. "Wait! Hold on! You're not thinking..."

"Sally, look!" Ginger said. "I'm your friend and I want to help you but you have to be straight with me! What is that screwdriver doing in your pocket?"

"I don't know!" Sally pleaded. "I swear I don't know!"

Emily heard whispering behind her and turned around to see the crowd talking amongst themselves, all eyes on the girls and none of them friendly. She gulped. "Umm..Ginger? Maybe now's not the best time."

"Oh really?" Ginger suddenly snapped. "Because I think it's the perfect time! What was that screwdriver doing in your pocket, Sally?"

"I don't know!" Sally cried as tears dripped from behind her bangs. "Maybe...Maybe it was.."

"Chucky?" Ginger finished. "Did Chucky put the screwdriver in your pocket? Did he unscrew the bolts on Samantha's skateboard? Is that what you're gonna tell me?"

"Ginger! Please stop!" Emily, on the verge of crying herself, got between the goth and the scene girl. "Sally couldn't have done this! She's not a killer!"

"I really want to believe that, Emily." Ginger said as she turned away. "I really do."

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

"I'm taking Penny's advice for once." She said. "I'm keeping my distance until this gets figured out!" As she turned away, she muttered to herself. "Or until at least I can figure out what's going on."

"Ginger! Wait!" Sally cried as she reached out for her friend to no avail. By now, the crowd was doing nothing to hide their disdain and Emily took this as her cue to take Sally out of here. "Come on Sally," She said as she gripped her friend's shoulders. "Let's go."

"I didn't do it!" Sally whimpered. "You've got to believe me!"

"I do," Emily replied, even as there was an inkling of doubt in her heart. "I do."

The two friends walked off, leaving the crowd to deal with the aftermath of Samantha's accident. Not a single soul noticed the sadistic grin on Chucky's face as Sally and Emily left the area.

---

"Whew! That was scary!" Sally said, feeling a little bit better now that she was far away from the hateful crowd. "I thought for sure they were gonna lynch me!"

"Let's just be glad that no one bothered to call the cops for some reason," Emily said. "Don't know how many more of those we're gonna get."

"Would you two keep it down?" Megan requested as she looked for the aux cord. "We're about to start band practice."

"Sorry!" Both girls said in unison. A few days beforehand, Ginger, Emily, Penny, and Sally had all agreed to watch Megan's band practice in her garage. With Penny and Ginger refusing to be anywhere near Sally, however, the scene and emo girl were the only ones left to actually come. Megan had heard about the strange deaths but didn't pay them too much mind as she was desensitized to such things at this point. Sally had, of course, brought Chucky with her but the doll only served to annoy Megan more than anything.

It was a different matter for her bandmates though.

"Hey Samara," Sarah said as she strummed her devil's head-shaped bass. "Are you sure we have to practice with that doll here?"

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're scared of a little doll." Megan teased.

Sarah's cheeks went pink. "That's not it! It...It's...It's scaring Ramhead is all!" The red-haired Satanist pointed to the sole male of the band. The shirtless drummer of Nightmare Fuel was cowering like a little kid while staring at the doll. Despite the fact that his entire head was concealed by a ram skull, it was still easy to tell he was afraid by the profuse shaking he was going through.

"Ah, stop being such a baby Ramhead," Martha, the band's electronic guitarist muttered from underneath her spiked mouth mask. "It's just a cute little doll."

"A doll that's probably been killing people!" Sarah brought up, causing Ramhead to tremble in terror.

Beneath her mask, Martha's face flushed. "Yes, a cute little murderous doll. He he he."

Sarah fought the urge to gag before turning to Megan. "Let's just get started before Martha makes me throw up!"

"Alright, alright!" Megan plugged in the aux cord and took her spot in front of the mic as her bandmates got their instruments ready.

Emily and Sally fixed themselves in place as the band did some tuning, Megan cleared her throat and the song began.

"You think you fucking know me? You don't know a rosebed from a rotting corpse! You think you fucking know me? You don't know! You don't know!"

"Wow! Megan's really good at making her voice deep," Emily whispered. "It's impressive!"

"Yeah." Sally agreed. "My throat's getting sore just listening to her! Huh?" Sally pressed Chucky against her ear and while she gave him an annoyed look, she sighed and tapped on Emily's shoulder. "Hey! Could you get Chucky some water? He says he's thirsty."

"What?" Emily asked in an annoyed tone. "Why can't you go get it?"

"Because I don't wanna miss the performance," Sally said.

Emily took a few seconds to process Sally's way of thinking, facepalmed, and sighed. "Alright fine!" She got up and muttered to herself as she headed for the fridge at the corner of the garage.

"Thanks besty!" Sally chirped.

Megan and her band continued to rock the rafters with their vibrations. "The time is now! Reap what you fucking sow! The time is now! Your soul now decomposed!"

"Could you get Chucky some water? He says he's thirsty." Emily grumbled as she opened the fridge and grabbed one of the water bottles on the bottom shelf. Despite the fridge's dilapidated appearance, the band kept it well-maintained and fully stocked at all times. Emily walked back to the couch and handed Sally the water. "Here you go."

"Thanks!" Sally handed the water to Chucky. "Here you go Chucky! Now what do we say when a friend gives you something?" She pressed the doll's lips close to her ear again and gasped. "Chucky! Don't you ever call Emily that again!"

"What'd he call me?" Emily said, only to change her mind and hold her hand up. "On second thought, I don't wanna know." The two girls relaxed as the band finished up their song. Once it was over, they took a five-minute break in which they grabbed snacks out of the fridge. It was around that time that Sarah approached the two guests. "So," she said through a bite of her chocolate bar. "Are the rumors true?"

"What rumors?" Sally asked.

"That your doll was at the scene of every murder today," Sarah said. "People have been talking all day. They're starting to suspect Pam might be dead too."

Sally gulped as Pam's name came up but Emily stepped in to defend her friend. "I don't know what you're trying to insinuate Sarah but Sally didn't do anything."

"So the doll did it then?"

"What!? Of course not! You've been listening to too many metal songs!" Emily defended. "There's no such thing as killer dolls."

As the two were having their conversation and the rest of the band enjoying their snacks, Chucky made his move. He grabbed the half-empty water bottle, much of its contents drunk by Sally, and tossed it to the other side of the room. As it flew, the remaining water spilled over Megan's mic and amp. The bottle crashed against the wall with a barely audible crunch and Chucky snickered to himself as he waited to reap the fruits of his labor.

"Alright! Break's over! Time for round two!" Megan shouted as she headed for her mic. Martha and Ramhead assumed their places in the band formation and before long, Sarah followed suit. "Just watch your asses guys! Because I am totally watching you!...I mean as I suspect you by the way, not that I'm watching your asses because that would be gay and I'm not-

"Uh, we get it," Emily muttered with annoyance.

Sarah growled, made a two-fingered gesture back and forth between her eye and them, and stormed off.

Sally sighed in relief. "Emily, thank you for defending me."

Emily smiled as she looked back at her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's no trouble, Sally." She said. "I know things have been rough today but we'll figure it out together."

Sally returned the smile. "Right!"

"Alright!" Megan shouted. "This next one is called "Fried by Lightning! Three, two, one! Hit it!"

Sarah, Martha, and Ramhead started the song with a minute-long riff, slowly building up to the moment when Megan would introduce her vocals. Once she felt her cue had come, she grabbed the wet mic with both hands and opened her mouth.

"SuffRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG! She cried as an electrical current invaded her body. Everyone in the room gasped in horror as Megan's body was developed in a light-blue light, her skin cooking and her screams waning to a little choked whine. Then, as soon as it had started, the gruesome event ended, leaving Megan's charred and blackened body still standing.

"M-Megan?" Sarah tip-toed toward the smoking remains of her band's vocalist. "You good?" She poked Megan's head, causing her body to fall to the side. "Well, shit."

"Oh my God!" Sally cried. "What happened!?"

"It would seem a freak accident has killed our vocalist," Martha said as Ramhead sat behind his drums shivering.

It was then that Emily noticed the water bottle crumpled up against the opposite wall as well as the trail of water droplets leading to the still-smoking mic and Megan's corpse. Swallowing, she looked down and noticed Sally's water bottle was nowhere near her now. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't deny it anymore. Her heart racing in terror, she got up and started backing away from the scene girl and her doll.

Sally was quick to notice. "Huh? Emily? Where are you going?"

Emily choked. "I-um...I...I just remembered I...uh...I have to go iron my cat!" She dashed out of the garage, leaving Sally to ponder her friend's strange words.

"Wait a minute, Emily doesn't even have a cat!" Sally got up and followed her friend out of the garage. "Emily wait!

The three remaining members of Nightmare Fuel watched as the two patrons for their little show left. "So...we totally agree that girl with the creepy doll did this right?"

"Sarah!" Martha scolded. "We have more important things to worry about...Who's gonna take Megan's place as leader?"

Sarah sighed. "We all know the only fair way to settle this." She made a fist. "Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

The three metalheads threw their hands together again and again, getting the same formations each time. Finally, with a stroke of luck, Ramhead defeated both his companions with rock as they had made scissors.

"Dammit!" They both shouted as Ramhead cheered beneath his mask.

Meanwhile, Sally chased Emily toward the end of the block, practically dragging Chucky in tow. "Emily! Wait!"

"Stop it!" Emily stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face Sally, tears coming out of her good eye. "Stop following me!"

"What? But why?" Despite how dumb she could be at times, even Sally couldn't help but realize what was going on. "Is this because of Megan? Y..You don't think..."

"I saw the water bottle!" Emily screamed. "I saw it tossed over the mic! It wasn't an accident!"

"But why would I do that to Megan!?" Sally challenged. "I loved her music!"

"Well if you didn't do it, who did? Chucky?" Emily asked.

"Emily, please." Sally took a step toward her friend, only for Emily to take a step back.

"Stay away from me!" Emily demanded. "Just...Just stay away!" Emily ran down the street, fighting back her tears.

"Emily!" Sally blubbered. "Not you too." Sally fell to her knees, dropping Chucky as she did so, and sobbed uncontrollably. "Why? Why is this happening? My...My friends..." She curled up into a ball, covering her crying face with her arms. She had never felt more alone, or more despised than she did at the moment, and all for something she had no part in.

"Oh, come on." A voice spoke out. "The fuck you crying for?" Sally sat up, wiped her face, and looked to her right where the voice had come from. Standing there was Chucky, his eyes betraying a glint of amusement with the poor girl's suffering and his lips curved in a sinister sneer. "Don't you think you're a little old to be crying like a little girl on the street?"

"B-But my friends," Sally sniffled. "T-They think I'm a monster! They left me!"

"Ah, screw them!" Chucky dismissed with a hand wave. "Friends are supposed to stick by you through thick and thin, right? If they can't even do that much, were they really your friends to begin with?"

"I...I don't know," Sally choked.

"Of course not!" Chucky shouted. "But who needs those bitches anyway?" The doll walked toward Sally and wiped the tears from her face. "I'm the only friend you need right now, Sally, and I know the perfect game to take your mind off those traitors."

Sally sniffled, too lost in her own misery and mental exhaustion to think clearly. Right now, she was just happy that someone was being nice to her, even if that someone was a talking children's toy. "Okay, what's it called?"

Chucky snickered. "Hide the Soul."

---

Emily wasn't sure what she was doing at the mall. She didn't want to go home where'd she be more vulnerable to an attack nor did she want to be around Sally, as much as she didn't want to admit to herself that her friend might be a killer. So she found herself wandering the local mall, browsing Hot Topic but otherwise simply wandering around. That's how she found Penny sitting by herself at the food court, gorging herself on churros. The emo girl took a seat without uttering a word and thus the the two sat eating in silence, neither of them possessing the strength or courage to say what needed to be said. Not that it mattered as soon enough, Ginger would arrive to say it for them.

"Guys!" The panicked goth girl shouted. It was evident by the sweat on her skin and her labored breathing that she had been running for a while. "Holy shit! You guys are not gonna believe this!"

"What's wrong, Ginger?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Penny followed up with a mouth full of churro. "You look like you've been running a marathon Your Aunt Gloria trying to change your wardrobe pink again?" She laughed.

"Very funny," Ginger deadpanned before shaking her head. "No! It's Sally's doll!"

"Oh no!" Emily muttered. "Don't tell me there's been another murder!"

"Oh there's been plenty of murders all right." Ginger slammed her phone down on the table so as to let her friends see the screen. On it, there was an article with a picture of a boy holding the same doll Sally now possessed. The headline above read: DISTURBED YOUNG BOY CLAIMS DOLL IS POSSESSED BY RECENTLY DECEASED SERIAL KILLER!

"That doll...it's Chucky." Emily whimpered.

"Yeah, it even says his name." Penny pointed to the top of the article where Chucky was mentioned as the nickname of one Charles Lee Ray. "And that's the name Sally said Chucky told her was his real name!" She groaned and rubbed her temples. "Oh my head!"

"Charles Lee Ray was a serial killer who operated in New Jersey," Ginger explained. "The official report is that he died in the late 80s after getting gunned down in a toy store."

"I'm going to guess there's more to it than that, right?" Emily whimpered.

Ginger nodded. "Soon after Charle's death, this boy, Andy Barclay claimed his doll was Charles. That he was trying to take over his body in order to be human again." Ginger started shifting through other reports, all talking about the supernatural doll. "It didn't end there. Every so often, there are sightings of Chucky all over the U.S.A. and apparently, they've increased in recent years."

"But why would Chucky target someone like Sally?" Emily asked."Why her?"

"I don't know but if these reports are anything to go by, then two things are certain. One is that Sally's not responsible for all the murders, Chucky is!"

Emily was caught between feeling relief that her friend wasn't a killer after all and sorrow that she had abandoned her with a killer doll. Penny felt the same.

"And two is that she's in terrible danger! We have to find her now!"

"Let's go!" Emily and Ginger ran off, leaving Penny alone with her churros.

"Oh come on! Can I at least finish my food?"

Apparently, the answer was no because as Penny took another bite of the sugary snack, Ginger's hand reached out, grabbed her by the scruff of her jacket, and pulled her away.

---

"Come on!" Emily shouted as she led the charge to Sally's house. "We have to hurry!"

"How do we even know Sally's home!?" Penny shouted.

"We don't but it's our best bet so pick up the pace!"

Penny groaned."This is stupid! Come on! Are we really trying to save Sally from a freaking killer doll?"

"I know how it sounds on paper," Ginger said. "But everything I've read from the reports matches up so far with what's going on."

"Oh get real!" Penny argued. "How the hell is a freaking doll going to kill people? Explain to me how that's supposed to work!"

"Maybe he's got mind powers or something! Who cares!?" Emily shouted. "We have to...hurry..." As the emo girl tried to hurry her friends along, she trailed off upon hearing the roar of thunder overhead. Looking up, the girls saw the skies darken as grey clouds rolled by. A fierce wind blew by, nearly knocking them off their feet as they ran.

"What's with this stupid weather!?" Penny cursed.

"I don't know but something tells me it's not natural," Ginger said as she shivered from the menacing aura the storm seemed to give off.

"Look!" Emily pointed up ahead toward Sally's house. The dark clouds seemed to be originating from above its roof. "The storm's coming from above Sally's place! Let's go!"

The three girls booked it toward the house through the wind and lightning. Penny prepared to kick the door open only for Ginger to swing it open just as she was about to make contact with her foot, causing her to fall inside. Putting her anger to the side for the moment, she joined her friends upstairs in searching for the missing scene girl.

"Sally! Sall-" Ginger suddenly clasped a hand over Emily's mouth. She pulled the blushing emo close and whispered. "Shh! You guys hear that?" All three girls waited quietly as from above them, a mysterious chanting could be heard. It was somewhat muffled but it was no doubt male and the words could be made out.

"Ade due Damballa, Give Me the Power I Beg of You!"

"Who the hell is that?" Penny asked in a hushed voice.

"We're about to find out." Ginger let go of Emily and grabbed the cord to the attic door. She opened it in one forceful pull and allowed her friends to climb up the stairs before ascending herself. No sooner had she entered the attic that she was suddenly greeted by a sight so utterly ridiculous yet horrifying that he felt tempted to pinch herself from what surely must be an absurd nightmare.

But no nightmare was this. Laying on the floor of the attic, bound to the floor by handfuls of duct tape around her wrists and ankles and uttering muffled cries through the sock in her mouth was Sally. Standing over her head, holding an amulet in his hand and staring at Ginger and the others with equal parts hate and confusion was Chucky.

"Oh." Ginger said.

"My." Emily continued.

"God!" Penny finished.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Chucky complained. "Just once I'd like to get through one of these things without being interrupted."

"Get away from her, you plastic fuck!" Penny roared as she dashed toward Chucky. The doll reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife which he then flung at the rapidly approaching punk girl.

"Penny look out!" is what Sally tried to say.

Penny curved to the right, barely getting nicked by the blade on the shoulder. It embedded itself a little way in front of Emily and Ginger, causing the former to yelp. With nothing to protect him now, all Chucky could do was scream as Penny kicked him in the face and sent him flying toward the back of the room. He hit the wall with a pained grunt and fell to the floor, remaining perfectly still.

Penny then turned her attention to Sally and pulled the sock out of her mouth. "Sally! You alright?"

Sally spit out the taste of the sweaty sock from her mouth before answering. "I'm fine! Back's just a little itchy from laying on the wood is all."

"How could this have happened?" Penny asked.

Sally frowned. "I...I trusted him because no one else wanted to be around me. I should have known better. I should have known this was his plan from the start."

"No. I mean how could you let your ass get kicked by a doll?" Penny chuckled. "You are never going to live this down."

"Hey! He knocked me out from behind alright!?" Sally groaned. "My head still hurts."

"Sally!" Emily shouted as she and Ginger rushed to their friend. They started pulling at the tape binding her legs while Penny went to work on the tape binding her left hand.

"Emily. Ginger." Sally said. "You guys came too?"

"We're sorry! Emily cried. "We should have never abandoned you like that!"

"In hindsight, someone probably should have gotten the police involved." Ginger pointed out.

"We're so sorry!" Emily whined. "Will you ever forgive us?"

"You guys.." Sally sniffled as her friends, the ones she thought had abandoned her, pulled her free from her sticky shackles. With all her might, she ripped away the tape from her right hand, freeing herself. Emily threw herself at her friend and the two cried on each other's shoulders. Penny gagged and turned away while Ginger simply smiled, happy to see that at least Sally seemed to forgive them

"How sweet. Everyone's kissing and making up now. How beautiful!" All eyes fell to the back of the attic and watched as the killer doll got back to his feet all on his own. To their horror, they saw they half of his skin was hanging off his face, revealing a deep red gash on his head. He noticed this himself and pulled the loose strip of silicone off, baring even more scars. Little by little, Chucky continued to peel away the silicone covering his face, revealing more and more of the stitches, staples, and scars decorating his face. He tore the very last piece from his right eye, revealing it to be surrounded by scar tissue. "Makes me wanna throw up."

"Y-You're really him!" Ginger finally worked out the nerve to say. "You're Chucky! No! I should say you're Charles Lee Ray! The Lakeshore Strangler!"

"Guilty as charged," Chucky confirmed with a dry chuckle.

"But why?" Emily asked. "What are you doing here in Oakwood? Who sent you?"

"That's a trade secret I'm afraid," Chucky said. "But as for me being here, it's quite simple really. You see, years ago I came across this nifty little spell that allows me to split my soul into multiple bodies. It's great for making more dolls and all," He snickered. "But it's much better with people. I figured why not pick a quiet little town such as yours and possess a couple of unsuspecting teenagers? I can definitely put their bodies to better use than they can." Chucky suddenly burst into laughter.

"You bastard!" Ginger shouted. "You're the one who killed Pam and the others!"

"And you made it look like Sally did it to isolate her!" Emily continued.

"All so you could make her copy number 1!" Penny finished.

"And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling bitches!" Chucky shouted.

"What do we do now?" Emily asked. I don't think the police will be willing to throw a doll in jail."

"I say we take him to the junkyard and see how long he can outrun the dogs!" Penny stomped toward Chucky who around this time noticed a stack of boxes to his left.

"Just try to catch me, bitch!" Chucky ran behind the stack and pushed the second box with all his might. The stack faltered and fell toward Penny who shielded herself as she was knocked down.

"Penny!" Sally screamed.

"Quick!" Ginger said. "Don't let Chucky escape!"

"It's too late, girls!" Chucky's voice rang through the room. "You can't catch me! I'll slip through your fingers and then, when you least suspect it, you're dead!" His mocking laughter faded as the girls rushed toward Penny.

"Penny, are you alright?" Emily asked.

The punk girl waved her emo friend away with an arm shake. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Stupid boxes are mostly empty anyway." She took her foot out from underneath one of them, kicking it away in anger. "I can't believe that stupid doll got away!"

"He couldn't have gotten far," Ginger said. "He's bound to be somewhere in this house! We have to find him before he hurts someone else."

"But first, we better arm ourselves," Penny suggested. "There's no telling what that little fucker is planning."

"Guys, I-I'm sorry," Sally uttered. "If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened."

"Sally! Don't blame yourself." Emily once again clasped her friend's shoulder. "You couldn't have known the doll was alive...or that he was a homicidal maniac."

"Emily's right!" Ginger agreed. "The important thing is that we end this here and now!"

Sally sniffled and wiped her tears. "Right!"

"Alright!" Penny declared. "Let's go doll hunting!"

---

After sifting through the attic for a few minutes, the girls managed to find themselves improvised weapons. Penny had a bat, Ginger a hammer, Emily a screwdriver, and Sally a monkey wrench. Now armed, they slowly descended the ladder one by one before huddling together and walking down the hallway. The evening had given way to night and all was dark and quiet.

"Remember guys," Ginger whispered. "Chucky might be a doll but he's been a doll for years. He knows his own weaknesses and his own strengths better than we do so we have to be careful!"

"Watch your feet," Emily added.

"This is stupid," Penny muttered. "Playing mouse hunt with a damn killer doll. What had my life become?"

"Cheer up, Penny!" Sally chirped. "At least you have us!" Her open-mouth smile inspired annoyance in Penny.

"Whoopie." She said sarcastically.

Suddenly, there was a crash downstairs.

"What the fuck was that?"

"It sounded like it came from the living room," Ginger said. "Let's go but watch your step!"

The four friends tiptoed down the stairs as silently as possible which wasn't much, considering how squeaky they were. Nonetheless, they made it to the living room and Ginger took out her phone and turned on the flashlight. "Alright, there doesn't appear to be any sign of him. Just a couch, a coffee table an army of broken dolls, and OH SHIT!"

Ginger nearly dropped her phone and had to scramble randomly to keep it from falling out of her hands. Once she secured it, she shined the light in front of her again, part of her hoping that the dolls she saw were just a figment of her imagination.

They were not. There were eight of them, only two of which were male. They looked ancient and dusty as if they had been left of rot somewhere for years and every single one of them, whether it was a missing eye or a torn limb or a cracked face, was broken in some way.

"Oh my god!" Sally whispered. "It's all my old dolls! The ones Mom said went up to the Doll Ranch upstate after I broke them."

Penny and Emily stared at their scene friend with slightly judgemental looks. "You need help," Emily said.

"You don't think Chucky got to them, do you?" Sally asked.

As if the answer, the dolls smiled, at least, the ones that could smile. Then they raised their knives, all commandeered from the kitchen

"I think he did!" Emily gulped.

"Gut them!" A familiar voice shouted. Whether it came from the original Chucky's lips or was spat out by one of his clones, the girls didn't know nor did they care. They made a break for it, only for Ginger to hit her knee against the coffee table, knocking herself down to the floor. She felt the phone fly out of her hand and watched as the light vanished beneath the couch.

"Shit!"

She heard an angry howl and small footsteps rapidly approaching. She turned to see one of the male dolls running at her with knife in hand. She screamed, flipped herself over, and kicked the doll away. She tried to get up, only for one of the female dolls to suddenly appear and stab her hand, pinning it to the floor. the goth screamed in pain as she tried to pull her hand free. The female doll snickered as she watched the display and removed a pair of scissors from her dress, hoping to cut out Ginger's eyes next. Before the doll could accomplish this task, however, Emily showed up and kicked the doll away. "Ginger! Are you ok?"

"Emily!" Ginger grabbed the knife and with a sharp cry of pain, ripped it out of her hand. She then lifted her injured hand to Emily who grabbed her by the wrist and helped her to her feet. "Thanks for the save."

Emily turned away with a blush. "It was nothing."

Suddenly, the lights turned on and all eyes fell on Penny who was next to the light switch and was currently being mobbed by two dolls, one slashing her back and the other trying to strangle her. Besides her, on the floor, Sally wrestled with a third doll.

"Guys!" Emily shouted.

"Seriously!?" Penny growled as she slid her bat between the doll trying to strangle her and herself. "Are we really gonna let a bunch of broken toys get the better of us? Come on! Play time's over!" She finally succeeded in ripping the doll off of her and knocking it to the floor. The cracked-faced doll only had time to hold his hands up in surrender and shout "Wait!" before Penny slammed the bat down on his head, breaking it apart. Blood and brain matter oozed from the empty neck stump, much to the girl's disgust.

"You bitch!" The doll on Penny's back shouted. "You'll pay for that!"

"Better back that up bitch!" Penny turned and ran backward toward the nearby wall. She threw herself against it, smashing the doll into bloody pieces. She let the body peel off the wall before going at it with the bat for good measure.

"You show 'em, Penny!" Sally shouted right as the third doll got its stubby little fingers around her and began to grip. Sally hastily reached into her pocket, desperately looking for her monkey wrench. "Come on! Come on!" Sally gasped as she finally grabbed it and pulled it out of her pocket. She slammed the wrench into the side of the doll's face, breaking it in two. The doll flew off and Sally was able to get back to her feet. She stomped toward the doll as it tried to crawl away, stepped on its leg, and slammed the wrench into its brain."

"They make it look so easy." Emily sighed.

"Emily, look out!" Ginger screamed.

"Huh?" Emily turned to see the doll she had kicked earlier running toward at full speed, her scissors snapping like the jaws of a hungry wolf. Emily hardly had time to react, save for falling backward as the doll approached. Remembering she had a weapon, she took out her screwdriver and used it to block the doll's attack in time.

"Emily!" Ginger took out her hammer, ready to help her friend when she suddenly felt something heavy latch onto her back. She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and saw that she had been stabbed. The same doll she had kicked away earlier was now ramming the knife into her bare shoulder. With a cry of pain, Ginger dropped the hammer and moved about the living room, trying to dislodge the doll.

"Ginger!" Emily shouted as she continued to struggle with her own doll. Summoning all of her strength, she slipped the screwdriver through the scissor blades and stabbed it into the doll's cheek. The doll screamed as a trickle of blood seeped from the wound and she tried in vain to cut the screwdriver with the scissors. Seeing her chance, Emily sat up, knocked the doll on its ass, and plunged the screwdriver into both of its eyes, glass shards and blood pooling into the empty sockets. "How do you like it?" Emily screamed as she plunged the screwdriver into the doll's chest, stabbing its heart and killing it instantly. She noticed the hammer her crush had lost, grabbed it, and tossed it to Ginger. "Here!"

"Thanks!" Ginger grabbed the hammer, turned it around, and smashed it against the doll's head. He fell with a thump and gave Ginger ample time to destroy him with the hammer.

"You bitches!" Two more dolls suddenly climbed up the couches and lunged at the girls. Already tired of this scene, Ginger and Emily turned toward their attackers, weapons in hand. Ginger slammed her hammer into her doll's stomach and knocked him to the floor. He opened his mouth to say something but she jammed the claw of the hammer into his mouth and with a single yank, pulled out most of the upper portion of his jaw. Emily, meanwhile, threw the screwdriver into the doll's stomach and stepped aside as she fell. She walked up to the doll as she was screaming in pain and stomped down on the screwdriver again and again until she had expired.

While this was all going on, Sally was confronted with the last remaining doll, this one armed with two knives. Somewhat nervous, Sally attempted to brandish her monkey wrench, only for it to slip out of her grasp due to her sweaty palms. She tried in vain to reclaim it as it slid away into the air. As gravity reclaimed it and it fell back down, it landed right on the doll's head, cracking it in two and killing it.

"Oh. That works." Sally said as she went to pick up the wrench.

"You see!" Penny shouted as the girls regrouped. "There's no reason to be afraid of a couple of dolls!"

No sooner had she said that, however, that she suddenly bellowed in pain. She kneeled, fell to the floor and to her friend's horror, a knife was sticking out of her back.

"Oh yeah!?" Chucky cried from behind. "Then I'll just give you a reason to be afraid." He cackled.

"Penny!" Sally rushed to her friend. "You'll pay for that!"

"Don't fuck with the Chuck!" The orange-haired doll screamed as he ran off into the darkness. Ginger and Emily wanted to go after them but instinct told them to go to Penny instead. She was still alive but in a lot of pain

"Shit! Someone get it out!" She begged.

"Not yet! We need first aid," Ginger grabbed Emily's arm and they both ran to the bathroom, leaving Sally to guard Penny alone. She didn't have to wait long for their return and only when they had the bandages ready did they rip the knife out of her back. Penny cried out but didn't protest as they removed her jacket, lifted her shirt up, and treated the wound.

"I can't believe I let my guard down, she said once it was all done.

"Don't beat yourself up, Penny." Ginger said. "Remember, Charles has had years to get used to being a doll. He's not gonna be that easy to beat."

"Yeah right." Penny retorted. "When I get my hands on the little shit, I'm gonna strangle him Homer Simpson style!" She started getting up.

"Whoa!" Emily said. "Are you sure you wanna do that?"

I'm fine!" Penny said as she pulled her shirt down. "Now let's find that Cabbage Patch Shithead and put him in time out!"

---

The next hour was a brutally silent game of hide and seek between Chucky and the girls. The doll's diminutive size and his ability to survive not breathing meant he could practically vanish into the shadows of the house. Even when the girls turned the lights on, Chucky could sneak into the attic or basement for cover, all thanks to the house's walls. The last few knives that were resting in the kitchen were in his pockets, more than enough to take out these dirty little bitches he found himself with.

Now if only he could find them.

About half an hour ago, it seemed like the girls had just vanished. Chucky crawled through the walls, looking for any sign of them but could find none. It was as if they had somehow learned to shrink themselves like him and hide in the shadows.

Okay now he was being stupid.

Regardless, he realized he needed to change tactics if he wanted to find them so against his better judgment, he came out of the walls and trekked through the hallways, knife in hand. "Where are you, you stupid little tramps?" He whispered to himself. "Where are you?" As he made it to the pantry, he noticed a small figure with long hair hiding behind the washing machine. Giggling to himself, Chucky tiptoed toward the object, climbed on top of the washing machine, and raised his knife.

"Sayonara, sucker!" He said as he slammed the blade into the figure's hair. Rather than feeling the satisfying slice of flesh and bone, however, Chucky felt a sickening crunch of plastic and plaster. The object fell and smashed into pieces against the floor and only then did Chucky realize it was but the head of a mannequin in a wig.

"I've been duped!" Chucky shouted before suddenly feeling his neck get grabbed. "What the?" The lights flickered to life, temporarily blinding him as the girls rushed in, Emily opened the lid on the machine, and Penny, the girl who grabbed Chucky, tossed him in. He hit his head against the paddles and thus was too dazed to stop the girls from pouring soap on him while giggling. "What...What the hell are you doing?"

"You stink, Chucky!" Sally laughed. "So we're gonna give you a little wash!"

"Wait!"

But Ginger had already slammed the lid shut and turned the machine on Growling, Chucky reached into his pocket, only to find he no longer had any knives left. They had fallen out when Penny grabbed him. "Clever little bitch! He thought as he slammed against the walls of his prison. Soon enough, the machine began to fill with water which served to panic Chucky even more. "Oh God no! Please! I'll do anything! Just let me out!"

But Chucky's cries went unheeded and the girls watched in silence as the machine started up. Chucky's muffled cries grew quieter and quieter as the machine grew louder. The four girls watched as the cries stopped completely and the machine went to work, a horrible thumping noise overpowering its usual turmoil.

"So...anyone see any good movies lately?" Penny asked.

"No but we hate-watched that Scar Wars movie that came out the other day," Emily said.

"Ugh! Please don't tell me about it!" Penny begged. "My folks dragged the entire family to see it last weekend. I ended up missing the last quarter on the world's longest bathroom break."

"Lucky," Ginger commented.

"I like Scar Wars." Sally calmly interjected.

The conversation continued at this pace until at least the machine beeped and the thumping stopped.

"Ok," Ginger whispered. "So who's gonna chec-

"Not it!" Emily, Penny and Sally declared as they placed their fingers against their noses. Well, Emily and Penny did. Sally slid her finger inside her nose.

"Not i- Dammit!" Ginger sighed and opened up the lid. At the bottom of the machine lay Chucky, soaked and still. Carefully, Ginger reached into the washer and pulled Chucky out by his foot. His eyes were closed and his tongue lolled. "I-I think he's dead." She said, earning a sigh of relief from everyone else.

It was at that moment, however, that Chucky suddenly sprung to life and tried to strangle Ginger. The other girls frantically rushed to their friend with Penny prying the doll's stubby fingers away from Ginger's throat.

"I'll kill you all, you fucking little bitches! You hear me? You're dead!"

"What's wrong, little man? You wet yourself?" Penny taunted. Squeezing the doll close to her with one arm, she turned on the dryer, opened it, and tossed him inside. Chucky hit his head on the wall and so was too to react to Penny throwing in a dryer sheet and slamming the door shut. The machine roared to life and Chucky screamed as the heat inside grew too intense for comfort. From outside the dryer, the girls could see smoke rising from the machine and Sally couldn't help but groan.

"I hope this doesn't break the dryer." She muttered. "My folks say you're not supposed to put toys in there."

"Ah!" Penny dismissed her friend with a hand wave. "What do they know? Besides, when this is over, he'll be nothing but a useless pile of ash."

"We can only hope," Emily gulped.

As with the washer, the girls decided on fine conversation to pass the time, all while Chucky continued to burn in the dryer. They had just gotten to the topic of whether or not the political opinion of a celebrity mattered when the dryer dinged. Having learned from last time, Ginger pressed her finger against her nose and cried "Not it!" along with Emily and Sally, leaving Penny to check on the doll.

"Ah! You guys are just a bunch of pussies." Penny said as she popped open the dryer. A blast of smoke lunged at her and she waved it away with her hands while coughing. Once it had dissipated, she saw that Chucky's had been practically scorched. His skin and clothes were blackened and his hair had been reduced to singed frays. With as much finesse as a football player on snow, she grabbed the doll and yanked it out of the dryer, presenting it to her friends. "Alright!" She shouted. "It's totally dead this tim-

Chucky suddenly started screaming in fury, shocking Penny into dropping him. He left an indent of soot on the floor as he got to his feet, spotted one of his knives underneath the dryer, and grabbed it. "Playtime's over!"

"Run for it!" Sally screamed as she and her friends dashed down the hall, Chucky chasing after them while screaming like a madman.

"Shit! We're really in for it now!" Emily cried. "We just can't kill this guy!"

"Don't give up!" Ginger said. "There's still one more thing we haven't tried, something that might just take that doll down for good."

"But first, we gotta lose him!"

"Split up!" Once the girls reached the stairs they scattered, Emily and Sally going up the stairs and Ginger and Penny running into different rooms on the first floor. Chucky reached the living room just after the split and had lost sight of them. Screaming in frustration, he ran up the stairs and started bursting into room after room after room. His skin was still smoldering and any pain he felt was overcome by his sheer rage. "I'll kill you for this, you little bitch! I'll gut you like a fish! I'll tear your face off and mount it on my wall! I'll-

"Chucky please!" Sally's voice spoke from behind. "Don't be angry." The smoking doll turned around to see Sally standing at the end of the hallway. "We were just playing."

"You..." Chucky turned around. "You really think this is still a game? Don't you see that I used you to get to them! To make you take the rap?"

"I know and I forgive you," Sally said. "Because that's what friends do!" She took a step forward and outstretched her arms. "Now how about a hug?"

Had Chucky been thinking straight, he could have seen through this trap or possibly even twisted things to his advantage. However, as he was still consumed with fury over the washer-dryer routine the girls forced him through, his only thought was that he wanted to kill Sally as slowly and as painfully as possible. "Hug this!" He roared as he charged toward and ultimately leaped toward the scene girl.

"Too bad!" She giggled before suddenly ducking out of the way. It was then while he was in mid-air that Chucky realized with horror that the window was open.

"Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttt!" He cried as he fell out of the window and into a metal compartment. Dropping his knife as he landed, he felt a sharp pain in his leg and pulled it up. There was a deep gash and Chucky wiped the blood from the wound to get a better look at it. "What the hell?" He looked down and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he finally realized that he was sitting on a bunch of still circular blades. "Oh no!" Chucky jumped up to the edge of the compartment and tried to climb out. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around the edges, however, his hands were clasped over by Penny's, whose sadistic smirk chilled the doll to the bone.

"Going somewhere? Besides Hell?"

"Hold on a second!" Chucky pleaded. "Come on! This was all just a huge misunderstanding! Trust me, I'm a nice guy once you get to know me!"

Penny chuckled. "That's what they all say." She turned to Ginger who happened to be standing by the ON button for the woodchipper Chucky was standing in. "Hit it!"

"Rodger that!" Ginger turned the machine on just as Penny threw Chucky back in.

"Oh no! Aahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Chucky screamed as he landed feet first into the spinning blades, his shoes, and feet getting reduced to red spray within a fraction of a second. The doll continued to scream in agony as his entire body was fed into the woodchipper. The discharge sprout trembled a little before vomiting forth a bloody spray of gore and doll parts. Emily and Sally rushed outside in time to see the last of the carnage and the former nearly gagged. At last, the dented-up metal casing making up Chucky's skull tumbled out of the spout and landed in the red mess below. Chucky was dead.

"That was everything I ever hoped it would be," Penny said longingly.

---

"We now return to the Wholesome Adventures of Bobby Blue and Robby Yu! Only on the Tykes Channel!"

"Ugh!" Penny groaned. "Why are we still watching this crap?" It was a week after Chucky's destruction and after a long night of burning the fleshy doll pieces and any other evidence of that night's events, the girls figured it would be best not to tell anyone what had transpired. It wasn't like anyone would believe them after all. By the time the weekend returned, the talk concerning the murders and Sally's new doll died down, and come Saturday, the girls were all once again at the scene girl's house, sitting in front of the TV while cartoons aimed at children played on screen.

"Ah! Don't be like that, Penny!" Sally said. "Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and escape into a fantasy world where toys come to life!"

"We literally had to deal with living toys last week, remember?" Penny asked. "It was horrible."

"Well yeah, but she shouldn't let one bad apple spoil the bunch!" Sally defended. "I'm sure there are good living toys out there! We just haven't met them yet!"

"Yeah, sure!" Penny remarked sarcastically.

"Look let's just forget all this talking about living toys," Emily suggested. "Besides, it's over now and we can put it all behind-

The doorbell rang and Sally jumped to her feet in excitement. "I'll get it!" She rushed to the door, ready to drag the unfortunate delivery person into unnecessarily long conversation but there was no one around. No mailman. No mail truck. Nothing. Just a large brown package roughly the same size that Chucky had come in. "Ooooh!" Sally was awed as she grabbed the package and brought it inside.

"Who was it?" Ginger asked with her eyes still glued to the screen.

"Another mystery package," Sally answered as she made her way to the kitchen to open her new prize.

"Oh. Another package. Cool." Ginger ate a single chip.

About three seconds would pass before the girls realized what was wrong with this picture. "Oh no!" They rushed inside the kitchen just as Sally had removed the last of the paper from the new toy she had received. It was a doll like Chucky but female with blonde hair, a white dress, and striking green eyes. She seemed to be showing a bit of cleavage and on the right boob, one could see a small tattoo of a heart with the word "Chucky" above it.

Sally gasped. "Guys, it's a new doll! And she's so cute!"

The others were not impressed. "I'll fire up the woodchipper." Penny moaned as she walked into the backyard.

From inside the box, the doll blinked.

(Yep. Just had to add that little cameo with Tiffany at the end. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next will be the Alien and Predator installments which will be important for my writing down the line. Why? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. But until then, this is BSC, wishing you guys a Happy 2024!)