The Puppet Shop

“We’re running out of gas.”

'''Felix and his sister Naomi were on a trip to Key West Florida for a vacation. It was, or it seemed like, a normal day. The sky was light blue, with spare bursts of white clouds. There looked like there wouldn’t be a town for miles, so their gas problem was rather unfortunate.'''

“Welp, I personally think we won't be able to make it anywhere, so we might need to get it towed,” Felix said.

“Well let’s just get as far as we can, I guess,” Naomi said.

'''Felix kept driving for a few more minutes until out in the middle of nowhere, there was this shop. The outside looked dusty and old as if it were abandoned. But there was a sign that said it was open.'''

“It’s best to go there than to travel farther and call for a tow truck,” Naomi said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Felix replied.

'''Felix parked their car at the side of the road and walked inside the shop. The inside was even dustier than the outside. It was full of old, creepy marionettes, like ones you would see in a horror movie. The floor was this old, uncomfortable-looking rug that was as stiff as a rock. And there seemed to be nobody else there. Felix slowly made his way to the front counter of the shop and rang the bell. There was silence for a bit before an old man walked out from behind a doorway. He wore a black suit with a red bow tie. He looked about 80 years old, and like he hasn’t left the shop since he was born.'''

'''“Hello! Hello! It’s always nice to meet new faces,” the old man said. He had this grin that sent shivers down Naomi’s spine.'''

'''“Hi, we were just passing by and we ran out of gas. Is it all right if we stay here for a while until the tow truck comes?” Felix asked.'''

“Of course, of course, I am always delighted by new faces,” he said.

“Thank you, sir. What is your name?”

“You can call me Mister Yates.”

“All right, a pleasure to meet you.”

'''Mr. Yates nodded and went to the back of the shop, leaving Felix and Naomi alone to roam. Naomi got on her phone to try and call the tow company.'''

'''“No service. Great,” she said.'''

'''“Well, we’ll go to a place with service tomorrow. It’s getting late. We might as well stay the night here,” said Felix.'''

'''As Felix walked more and more around the shop he couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship of the marionettes. They were detailed down to the different strands of hair. They were uncanny. As Felix looked around, Naomi decided to look in the back of the shop instead, thinking it couldn’t be more creepy than the marionettes in the front. When she walked through a door that led to the back of the shop, it seemed more unsettling than the front. It was filled to the brim with more marionettes, all with flaws in them. Some were disproportionate, with one leg that was smaller than the other or ahead that was too small. Some had some painting problems like the eyes were pitch black or the wrong color was used somewhere. But they all had one thing in common. Each one of them had red paint put across their eyes, making an x.'''

'''Naomi wanted to leave but for some reason, her body stumbled forward. She didn’t know what else was in the back, and she didn’t want to know. So how come her body kept moving? It was almost as if it were controlled by someone else entirely. She felt that the marionettes were watching her as the farther she walked down the corridor the eerier the marionettes looked. They went from having flaws to becoming devilish-looking puppets that would frighten anyone. The corridor seemed to stretch longer than the building as she kept walking. Soon enough though, she reached a door, the only door she had seen ever since she entered the corridor. She didn’t want to open the door, but she did. Inside was Mr. Yates, playing with two marionettes. '''

“I just finished these two today,” he said, chuckling.

'''Naomi couldn’t move. She just looked at the old man as he showed her the two marionettes. The first one looked exactly like Felix. he other looked exactly like Naomi. She wanted to say something but she couldn’t. It felt like something was revoking her ability to speak.'''

'''“Now...let’s see how well I did this time, shall we?” Mr. Yates asked. He moved the right arm of Naomi’s marionette up and at the same moment, Naomi’s right arm shot up. Mr. Yates grinned.'''

'''“Perfect. You will be perfect,” he said cheerfully. He moved over to a dollhouse that was an exact recreation of the puppet shop. He made Naomi’s marionette walk to a different room, which Naomi did as well. This room was dark, musty, and groggy. It reminded her of a cellar. Inside the room was a tube. Mr. Yates made Naomi’s marionette walk inside the tube and thus, Naomi did the same. The tube closed and red smoke surrounded her body. She struggled to move but ultimately couldn’t. The smoke made her lose her vision and suddenly, everything went black.'''

'''When her vision came back everything seemed so big. She could move only her eyes, but that was enough to tell her what was going on. She saw the shelves of the store, filled with marionettes. But all the marionettes seemed so big now. She looked next to her and there was Felix’s marionette, sitting beside her on a shelf. She was looking through the eyes of her marionette duplicate. Forced to sit here for all eternity. And that was when she noticed two more people, a boy, and a girl, enter the shop. And they were greeted by Mr. Yates. She was powerless as she saw the kids follow him to the back.'''