Jeppeto's Story

Tobias leaned against the concealed door to the basement, aimlessly flicking a light switch. Nothing appeared to happen as the light switch clicked on, and nothing seemed to happen three seconds later when the light switch clicked off. Below, however, in the basement, the bare bulb in the ceiling blinked on and off, making electrical sighs every so often. The same happened in each of the four rooms. The rhythmic movement was calming. Though in the past few days he'd been in a terror of a mood, he was feeling much better today. He hadn't seen his four little friends in nearly a week. Nor had he fed them in that time. That meant they would certainly be glad to see him today. But he could keep them waiting a little bit, as he reflected on the past few months.

Marc was first. He'd cleaned out his basement at the turn of the year, lost interest in his games for a short time, but Marc had rejuvenated his love of the hunt. Of course he knew the lad's parents, he knew everyone in the town, but Marc was decidedly different than either of them. Toby had been floating around the local library, which he did often in his free time, because it kept him out and about, which he needed to be if he wanted to keep his hold over the town. The boy was with some of his peers, teaching them math. The quiet, slightly tentative, but obviously intelligent way he spoke was enchanting. What had happened to that poor boy to make him that way?

At first Tobias was content to merely watch, sate his curiosity with eavesdropping and analyzing, but he really couldn't help himself. And the little one was so gentle. Barely even put up a struggle. Marc Green had spent five months in the basement so far.

And then there was Lauren. Dear, sweet Lauren, who'd broken so easily. After he'd taken Marc, his greed had surged. As he had access to pretty much all the files in the town he kept under his thumb, her syndrome was a great curiosity to him. He read up on her afflictions before seeking her out and whisking her away. She'd been able to keep her hallucinations under control, but Tobias took great joy in fostering her bastard mix of Todd's syndrome and schizophrenia, forcing it to manifest. She broke so easily under his hands. He sometimes worried about her self harm, but it wasn't enough to make him do anything about it. So long as she didn't mortally injure one of the others, he wouldn't put her out of her misery. Lauren Sanchez had been under his care for three months and three weeks.

Lauren kept his hands full for a while, but it wasn't long before he was hungry again, searching for another flavour to add to his collection. Aodhán was exactly what he was looking for to counter act Marc's quietness and Lauren's growing insanity. Stealing had become so easy at this point he'd taken to boy before really considering what he was doing. That was roughly a month ago. And again, two weeks after that, he snatched up Dainty, a beautiful creature running tables at the bar.

And then he had a full set. The sweet motley crew he now entertained. Along with dear Jepetto--where had that boy gone off to-- he had quite a full life these days. Jepetto was an interesting creature, who'd been broken so thoroughly he was now husk-like in temperament. Cute boy. He was good, and did whatever he was told to. He was allowed to go where ever he pleased within the house, since Tobias was completely sure he'd never go anywhere else.

After a few moments full of flicking the light switch on and off, Tobias stopped, leaving the lights on, patted his interior pocket to make sure his key was there, and pushed his way into the stairwell. He was always careful to block the entrance with his body and make sure no one slipped past them. Though they knew that they faced severe punishment for going past the halfway point on the stairs, he couldn't be too careful. The rest of his home was secured against escapees, from locked doors and strong windows to the three hungry dogs that guarded the place,but one couldn't be too careful.

Once the door was securely shut behind him, he tepped down the stairs, his work boot clunking on the stone floor. "Good morning." He called pleasantly, swinging the half bag of Wonder Bread he toted. Feedings for the kids were sporadic and random. Typically he just looked in his pantry and refrigerator and pulled out whatever he fancied. Sometimes they got scraps or leftovers. Sometime they got nothing, or not enough for everyone to share. The water spigot in the corner would keep them hydrated, alive for a little longer, but it wasn't enough.

None of them were in the courtyard when he made it to the bottom of the stairs, likely afraid that he was going to hurt one of them, a wise caution, so he threw his gift in the middle of the room and sat down on the bottom stair. "Come on out, sweethearts." He cooed as if he was talking to an animal. "Time to eat, lovelies."

He wondered briefly again where Jepetto was. He hadn't seen his boy in a while. Maybe he was off entertaining himself. If he didn't wander down soon, Toby knew he'd have to go hunt the little dear down. A fun game. Unless he was down here and that was the reason no one was out. Pet didn't....play well with others.

At first sight the cell seemed to be empty. The toilet stood in the corner and on the opposite side of the cell you could see a cot. The cell door could not be locked, although it could be seen as both a good thing or a bad thing. Once in you wanted out, but now, after what seemed an eternity, the longing for the outside world seemed to become an idea more than a reality. Lights went on and off in the cell and the rooms around it, like a lightning storm without the sounds. A lone sheet lay on the floor against the wall, whenever the light came back on in short intervals the sheet would move. Below it lay the thin, emaciated body of Marc Green.

After all this time being mentally and physically tortured it looked like more and more of his mind slipped away from him. Had he tried to solve maths problems to keep himself busy in the first few weeks, now he tried to replicate the childish philosophy of If I can't see you, you can't see me. The Man Upstairs knows his good moods and his bad ones, Marc had figured out that the bad moods far outweigh the good. He would try to always stay hidden, especially if the Man Upstairs would be in the courtyard.

The light switching on and off could mean so many things. In this basement nothing meant everything and everything meant nothing. There was no continuity or pattern in the Man's behaviour. After a few minutes of the light switching on and off, Marc could hear the door knob turning. Escaping had not come into Marc's mind for months. After the harsh treatment, abuse and low supply of food he simply did not have the energy, agility, speed or strength to escape from this basement. Either one of the newer kids would get out and get help or Marc would die in this place. Honestly, Marc wouldn't mind either solution at this point. It didn't really seem that anyone was looking for him, he would have been found by this time. He had not expected any other youngsters to look for him, it wasn't like he had any friends. However, he was very disappointed in his parents, he had expected, hoped and even prayed for them to come to his rescue. After days, weeks and now even months the hope had faded.

From outside he could hear the Man speak. "Good morning." It sounded nice, like many times before. But to Marc it sounded treacherous, mean, sarcastic and demonic. The sound of the Man's voice almost made Marc's heart stop, even though he already knew the Man was there. It was definitely fear for him that Marc felt. His voice, his behaviour, his words, his giving and more especially his taking were scaring the living crap out of him. If there had been any food in his stomach he might actually have crapped his pants then and there. Marc would not go to him, he would stay where he was right now.

"Time to eat, lovelies." Normally you're not allowed to say you're starving. At least that's what his parents had always told him. Kids in Africa were starving, kids in America could at most be ready for their next meal. Marc knew now that he could not agree on that rule. He was starving, the Man Upstairs had made this abundantly clear. Not giving them food for a week would starve anyone. And he was, the hunger had gotten to him the past two days. He thought about scratching the wall and eat any crumbs that came from it, even thought about eating his blanket, just to have something in his stomach. And even though the hunger was this bad, he would not go out of his cell to meet the Man.

He would wait for him to leave. Even if the others had had their share, Marc would go for the crumbs. He would even rather starve himself further than go out of his cell right now. He had been waiting for 5 months for something good to happen, but it hadn't happened yet. He would wait longer or die, it wasn't like he had any other choice.

Jepetto remained with the corpses within the small room of his, deep into the attic.

Bodies were strung up with hooks entering the back of their necks, men to women ranging from ages of teens to adults. Jepetto stood in the middle of them, completely motionless. He did not say a word, he was waiting for the bell to ring. The bell that would signify Tobias' need for him as he looked amongst the corpses. He kept them only for spare parts: If he needed some more skin if it tore off of him, another bone transplant, any of that sort. Tobias would care for him, Tobias loved him. And Jepetto loved Tobias, he was his father after all. He raised him, showed him the only light in this world, his light. Outide of the house, darkness ruled, and he was the knight in shining armor to rid of it. As he remained still, he recalled a flashback
.


A man was yelling in horror as he limped away from Jepetto, a look of horror in his eyes as he sped away. But Jepetto remained stable and constant, walking leisurely as he dragged his sword. "St-stay back!" The man yelled, but it was too late. His eye entered the point of a hook, the man tripping into it and screaming a howling pain as Jepetto neared him. A simple opportune accident in the puppet's workshop, he thought to himself as he lifted the man into the air by his scalp, the man clawing at his eye with his right hand and the metal helmet Jepetto wore with his left. But no matter, Jepetto let go of the sword which balanced as it stood from the weight of the blade and the angle it was in. His free hand, his right, balled into a fist and sunk straight into the man's face, leaving nothing more but an indent in it as he tore out the flesh which would remove the skull. The body did not move anymore, it did not breathe, nor scream, nor walk. Just like Jepetto, at times he wanted to remain still. He lifted his sword and walked back into the attic, feeling Tobias' gaze upon him as it lit his spirit up.

Then, Jepetto's head snapped forward as the flashback ended and he looked straight once more, as if a simple tink in the gears of a clock. He decided that he would leave to the basement, hoping Tobias would not dislike such a choice. His feet landed with loud stomps, easily heard from the basement as he took slow steps down the stairs. When he finally reached the bottom, he was frozen. His sword in his right hand as he remained idle, then at an instant started walking. He finally made it to Tobias' vision, cooing in a metallic sound behind the large helmet affectionately as he looked down at Tobias. Although naturally they were the same height almost, the gear Jepetto wore would make him quite taller, but that did not stop Jepetto's fears from engulfing the loyalty to his father's words. He stood there, his sword on the ground as he looked straight into Tobias' eyes, although his father could not see his.

Abruptly Danity shot up out of her sleep when she heard the sound of hard and heavy thuds against the basement steps. That sound could only mean one of two things, bad news or relatively not so bad news.

In an almost sedated state Danity rolled off her cot, and like she did every morning amd searched in between the slats for her hearing aid that she hated to ever go without. However as she fitted it around her ear and adjusted the volume she could tell that she'd be without it fairly soon, her batteries were fading and with it would go hear sense of sound in her left ear. With a light huff she dispelled the worry and made her way out to the courtyard, where she watched with her back against the wall nearest to her section of their little make-shift prison. She could see that she was one of the last ones to arrive, she could only hope that that would go unpunished.

On the floor at Tobias' feet were slices of plain wonder bread that instantly kicked in Danity's predator instinct, she didn't waste a moment to swoop in on the food and grab as much of it as she possibly could. Unabashed, the girl gnawed away at a slice of bread and guardedly held two more slices in her hands. Proactively she squirreled one slice away into the pocket of the clothes she'd been wearing the day she was kidnapped; she'd just clocked out of work at the local sports bar where she worked as a waitress. She wore a cropped jersey that read Sports Shack on the front and her first name written on the back witha a pair of close fitting black shorts with two pockets on the back. The uniform was scanty but the tips she got were nothing to scoff at.

With only a few bites left Danity averted her eyes from the scraps of bread and locked her eyes on Tobias, Jepetto, despite his mask and lack of eye contact had their captor's attention fully on him. The boy was an absolutely freak of nature, and surely certifiably insane but Tobias' chose him as his favorite pet all the same. Maybe it was because of Jeppettos affliction why Tobias felt so fond of him. Never the less Danity was determined to change that. With sweetest voice she could muster up (and she was good at feigning sincerity) she spoke concisely saying,
"Thank you sir for your kindness."

And the nightmare begins again... Aodhán mused in his mind as he stared up at the ceiling. Well, more like staring at the flashing bulb above his head. When he came out of his moment's stupor, he blinked and looked away. Black spots covered his vision and he shook his head trying to clear it. It was hard enough to see in the darkness around him without self imposed blindness. He needed his wits about him after all. The monster was at the door and he needed to be wide awake and wary if he was going to find some clue; some small crumb of a hint that would indicate how he and the rest of the people here could get out. He may not like the others too much now, but he knew he was going to have to rely on them and them on him if they had a chance. Besides, they were what their jailor had made them; broken and weak. How could he condemn them for that when he felt his own strength wane at times?

Aodhán sighed and looked up with eyes of emerald fire. He refused to let his jailor win. He was going to get out and he'd see this monster pay. He wasn't going to play by the man's rules. He got out of his tiny little makeshift bed lazily. He let the tattered blanket fall from his shoulders as if nothing worldly mattered. Aodhán figured the man wanted him and the others to submit, to show that he had won, that he owned them. Aodhán wouldn't give him the satisfaction. He leaned against his door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. The door frame shadowed him; almost mocking him in his defiance. He had once made a striking figure; but now his body was losings its lean muscle in favor of the nutrients it needed to try and stay alive. His handsome face was starting to sink in and dark circles hooded his eyes. His dark silky hair now a matted mess that framed his pale cheeks. True, the only thing that hadn't changed was the fire in his eyes, but maybe soon, Tobias would own that to and have the pleasure of snuffing out the last flicker of defiance.

Aodhán scanned the room as if bored with the whole situation. In reality, he was calculating. Lauren was out of her room, watching and waiting; Marc was still in his room, but that wasn't new. Marc was so broken, so terrified of Tobias. He wouldn't dare come out if Tobias was in the basement. And there was Danity; trying so hard to suck up to the monster which meant he had been the last to arrive. He felt queasy at the sight of Danity ravaging the bread. Or maybe it was his own hunger that gnawed at his insides. Didn't Danity see that she wasn't going to escape by playing nice with the man? She wasn't going to get out this way. He was just going to break her that much easier. The only thing that Tobias allowed to wander out of the room was Jepetto. Whatever Jepetto was, it wasn't human anymore. There was no reasoning with it. And speak of the devil; Jepetto was here to. He didn't often see Jepetto and Tobias in the basement at the same time. This wasn't good news.

Well, he had a couple of options. He could stay quiet and just observe what was going happen now that all the players had arrived. He could play nice and do what Tobias wanted and fight Danity to get the bread from her so he could give some to Lauren and Marc. He could also simply fight Danity to get the bread and feed himself the way Danity did now. Or, he could be himself and get a rise out their puppet master. If he did the later, he might get some pain for his award. At least it mean the man's attention didn't fall on his other three house mates and he might get dragged out of the room where he had a better chance of escape. Hell, Tobias might eventually kill him if he got him angry enough and that would be a release in and of itself. Tobias would have lost him.

Aodhán turned his gaze back to Tobias then and his eyes narrowed on the man. His stomach growled, but he paid no mind to it for the moment. "Well, well, his lordship has arrived. What an honor, your grace. What could your humble servants have done to warrant your appearance?" he asked sarcastically and barely glanced at Jepetto. He was playing a bigger gamble with that creature here, but maybe he'd find a way to rip out the damn things heart and destroy it for good.

Little wraiths appeared in the corners of the room, their eyes too big for the bodies. One set of hungry eyes, then another, then a third. Ah, one was missing. He had grey, peeking furtively from the door, and sea-glass green darting forward to eat, and he hat his deeper green, that sparked and blazed from another doorway. He was missing his blue. Well, he'd just have to draw his fourth little wraith out, wouldn't he. Tobias observed his captives a moment more before he was distracted by a sound behind him. A cooing sound that echoed mechanically. He rose and turned towards Jepetto. He returned the sentiment, reaching out to pat the little dear's back. "Ah, Pet, I was just thinking of you. I'm glad you came down, good boy." He said, his voice gentle. He had to admit, though the boy could be a handful, he really did like him. And he was so terribly useful. And good. He barely ever caused trouble, at least, not intentionally. He toyed with the fingers of his dear monstrosity's free hand as one of his other pets spoke. Dainty. He recognized them all by voice.

He turned his head to her, she was at the foot of the stairs and half the package of bread was either down her throat or in her pockets. He smirked slightly. This girl was not a team player, was she. How did the others feel about that? Her voice was saccharine, and he knew exactly what game she thought she was playing. And he wouldn't stop her from playing it. He got all kinds down here, some who broke, some who bit, and some who flirted. It made things interesting.

Tobias released Pet's hand and stepped off the stairs, towards the girl. "You are very welcome." he said in a slow, deliberate voice. "But don't eat so quickly, sweetheart, you'll hurt your stomach." He reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He studied her face a moment more, his dark eyes flicking across the increasingly haggard planes her her cheeks. She was still pretty, in a tortured, almost helpless sort of way. He smiled at her. He often lauded himself with creating such works of art, so human and real that they didn't look human anymore.

He was drawn from his thoughts by his most vocal captive. Aodhán. His voice was just as sharp as Dainty's had been sweet. His mood was too light for the boy's words to sour him, so he just grinned at the venom. He took two half steps forward, towards the male and away from the female, and spread his hands slightly. "Does there always have to be a reason, my dear boy? Can't someone just enjoy the company of his guests one in a while?" He kept his tone light, but there was warning in his eyes. He was in a good mood, but that didn't mean he'd stay in a good mood if the boy continued to test him.

Before Aodhán could respond, if he wanted to, Tobias turned his attention to the girl standing in the doorway to her room. He sent a glance at Pet, telling him to stay put, because he didn't want to scare the girl off. He pocked up the bag of wonderbread as he passed it, and plunged his hand inside. He stopped about half a foot from her. Her arm was bleeding, and he could see the red under her nails. He said nothing about it, but mentally logged it. If one of her wounds became infected, she wouldn't last much longer.

"This is for you, dear." He said softly, holding out the bread to Lauren like one would feed a semi-feral animal. He wasn't sure just how lucid she was, and he wanted to draw her out into the group. It'd be nice to have everyone together in one place for once. Whether she took the bread or not, he had to move on to his other captive. Marc, who was still hidden away in his room.

He pushed open the door to the male's room and sent his eyes in a swift survey of the quarters. He wasn't on the cot, and at a first glance, Tobias couldn't locate the male. Then he spotted the small lump in the corner, covered by a sheet. It was almost a grim sight. He didn't know how long Marc had left, and apart from the slight movements of the sheet caused by his breathing, it almost looked like a cadaver lay curled beneath the sheet. "Marc?" He asked in a soft voice. "Do you want to come out and have something to eat? Everyone is waiting for you." His voice was soft, and his words were kind, but Marc had been around long enough to know that there was little choice in the matter. If Tobias wanted his household together, then he would have his household together. That was the way things worked here.

---

Lauren shivered in the darkness, watching as the others took the food and ate it hurriedly. She wished for some, as her stomach gnawed at itself, but she decidedly ignored it. She watched hungrily, and her breath caught in surprise as she heard Adohán call out. She bit her lip and stepped back a few steps, not wanting to be involved. She watched tentatively, though, not sure if the strange Jepetto was there or not, and if what was happening was real.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to steel her nerves. She was frightened, like always, but felt relatively like herself. She didn't feel helplessly out of control, like how she normally felt. She watched as her captor touched the other girl, whose name Lauren couldn't recall. She didn't really think her method of sucking up to their captor would work, it was just putting her in a place to get hurt or worse. She didn't approve, and let her eyes fall to the ground, ignoring the hungry growls of protest from her stomach.

She was glad she at least had the sense to realize she was hungry.

She ceased picking at her scab wounds when she realized that there was blood dribbling down her arm. She hastily wiped at it, and looked up to see her captor in front of her, about 2 feet away. It startled her slightly, but she calmed herself down quickly before she could have an attack.

"He won't feed you, you aren't worth it." Lauren ignored the whispers, as not true to their word, her captor offered her some food, as if she was almost an animal. She mustered up the courage to smile, and gently took the bread, her fingertips brushing against his palm. She hurriedly apologized and then thanked him for the bread. She picked at it gently, eating small bites at a time, picking it apart with dirty fingernails and trying to draw out the luxury of food.

She realized that the Man was heading to Marc's room, and, while she retained her sense of humanity, Lauren worried for him. She would at least wish to check that he was okay, at least while she could, because she knew it wouldn't last. She could feel herself slipping away now, and it wouldn't be long before she started screaming. She closed her eyes and followed the Man to Marc's room silently.