6. The BOOGEYMAN

Chapter 6

The BOOGEYMAN

I 've lost my motherfucking mind. I mean, in all honesty, I can't tell you if I really had any semblance of a grasp on my sanity to begin with, but after the other night, after that dangerous game I played with that innocent little doll... Well, not so innocent.

A groan pushes through my clenched teeth as I absently tug on my hardening cock while staring up at my fluorescent ceiling. The only thing I can think about is the noises she made and the way her body felt. I can't get them out of my mind. She's so shy and inexperienced yet yearning to feel and please. The way she put her trust into my hand... Oh if she only knew just how bad of an idea that really is.

"Fuck," I growl, staring at my painful erection. My cock, like the rest of me, is inked and glowing. A glowing green cock, how fucking marvelous. My entire body is covered in a multitude of fluorescent colors, but my cock just had to be green—not that anyone has complained about the color. I'm large enough and skilled enough to turn potential giggles into gasps and moans relatively quickly.

Would she laugh? I can't help but wonder how Blue would react if she saw my cock, the glowing green reflecting in her shiny button eyes as it neared her face. I run my fingers over the sharp, tattooed lines that cause the glow while imagining they're her fingers instead. I release a hiss before gripping my shaft and running my hand up and down. Spitting into my palm, I imagine it's her fluorescent wetness as I return to my cock, thinking of her perfect tits, that sweet, plump set of lips, and fuck, that other set between her thick thighs where that swollen clit I ache to suck on awaits me.

Her arousal has become a dangerous addiction, taunting me long after I left that night. Fuck, even now, all I want is to destroy that innocent doll. I want to soil her, pull out her deepest, darkest, most depraved desires. I want to see what she's hiding behind that blush and that virgin shield, and I want to make her mine.

"Fuck, Blue!" I growl out her name, shocking myself as I come harder than I have in a long time. My body shakes with aftershocks as my warm, glowing green cum rolls from my cock and down across my hand. Imagine the color our come could create if mixed; her glowing blue and my neon green, swirling together as it flows from our bodies drenching our skin.

Sighing, I feel the same feeling return that always does since the night I came to the sight of her sleeping, naked and innocent. I need to stop this. I need to stop her. She isn't just a virgin, but a creation, one that will destroy me if I deviate from the plan, which is precisely what I'm doing, sitting here with my wet cock in hand, obsessing over that doll.

I still clean up and prepare to go out and check on her, to sit outside her window and make sure she's okay. Because despite me trying my damndest to get her to fall under my spell, I fear I might be falling under hers too.

Pulling my blade out of one of Stingy Jack's henchmen, I let them drop to the ground beside the sign to the taxidermy house Blue resides in. I knew it would only be a matter of time before that skeletal fucker figured out not only that Blue had survived out here in Nightmare, but where she was hiding out.

I leave the henchmen's body to head toward my tree, making a mental note to have Havoc dispose of it later. Last thing any of us need is Stingy Jack finding it just outside Blue's home.

I jump up the branches and nearly stumble off when I reach Blue's window, taken back by what I see. The window is open, which it never is, and her usually somewhat -clean room is now a disaster. Furs, blankets, and papers are thrown everywhere, the smaller furniture tossed upside down, as if someone rummaged through the place. My heart pounds in my chest as I climb in and look for any sign of her. My thoughts are scrambled, and I feel anxiety and a sense of dread wash over me as I try to piece together what happened. I try to slow my breathing so I can hear better. Even though my mask slightly muffles everything, I can hear her soft cries. The sound grabs my attention as I race out of the room and into the dark, musty hallway.

"Blue?" I call out, doing a piss-poor job hiding the anxiety I feel. What happened? Was that fucker I killed a lookout? Does someone have her? Are they hurting her? Where is she? Spiderwebs kiss the eyes of my mask causing me to swat them aside as I frantically search for her. I need her alive. Rage fills me as I start kicking doors, looking for her. "Doll face! Talk to me!" I roar through the house, desperately trying to locate her.

"In here," her muffled voice breaks from the opposite end of the hall. I turn around and rush to the other side of the hall, forcing open door after door until I come to the last. I whip open the door to what appears to be a small office. The room is dusty, torn apart, and filled with silence—minus a faint sniffling. My eyes desperately search the room as something moving catches my attention. I look to see her tiny blue fingers wiggling from under the desk. There you are. I run over, dropping to my knees as I reach her.

"What happened?" I pant out, stunned by the amount of relief flooding me when I see her look up at me. She's safe and appears not to be injured.

"Firefly! Someone stole him!" she wails, falling into my chest, her body leaning against me as her fresh tears seep through the burlap. What should I do? She buries herself deeper into my itchy suit, her cheeks reddening from the rough material as I sit, stunned and slightly aroused by her touching me. The smell of her sweet scent chokes me as I freeze, unsure of what to do. Do I... do I pat her?

"Stole who?" I ask, hesitating before smacking her back repeatedly. This can't be right . There is no way this is comforting her. I feel so out of my element, and I suddenly find myself wishing there were someone here I needed to handle. Handling is something I'm good at—great at. But patting a sobbing woman's back? Yeah, I'd rather have a knife set on fire and rammed up into my dickhole than deal with this.

"Ow." She winces, pushing my hand off her before burrowing herself further into my chest. Okay, back pats are out, but it did get her to move closer to me. My dick is definitely calling that a win . "Mr. Whiskers. Someone came in here and stole my journal and Mr. Whiskers." She starts sobbing again, and I feel my skin crawl with an immensely uncomfortable feeling. Seriously, there are men out there who can wrap their arms around a distressed woman and say all the right things. I currently want to put my palm in her face and shove her away.

"You gotta stop doing that," I almost plead with her as she continues to press into me, almost knocking me over.

"Doing what?" she says between her sniffles.

"That." I point to her pouty face. "I'm about to break something in half if I have to keep listening to it, and I can't explain why." Her upper lip curls downward as she glares at me.

"I didn't ask you to come here. This is my home. I can mourn the loss of my friend in my home if I want. I don't go to the rock you live under and tell you to stop being all dark and broody." Her sharp tongue is enough to cause a feeling I'm far too familiar with to stir in my pants. Feisty .

"Okay," I sigh, trying to remain in control of my dick. "Who is Mr. Whiskers ?" Her full bottom lip begins to quiver, and fucking God I'm going to jump out of the window behind me if she doesn't stop.

"He's... my only friend, besides Havoc, and now," she sniffles. "He's gone. My little mouse!" She sobs, and it hits me. Little mouse? Wait... is she crying over the fucking rat?

"The dead rat?" I question, and she rears back as if I hit her.

"Rat? God, you're such an insensitive asshole!" She shoves my chest with a large huff. I move back, pretending as though she moved me but only to give her some satisfaction. I can tell she put her all into that shove. She stands up and marches out of the office, fuming and a complete mess. "I'm so glad you lack every emotion possible! Must be so nice not to care! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go mourn the loss of the closest thing I've ever had to family!" God, are all dolls this sensitive?

As she leaves, I sit on the floor and think about what she said. That nasty dead thing is all she has? Fuck, I don't want them, but I at least have those three fucks at the treehouse. She won't stop crying...

"Goddamn it," I huff, realizing what I have to do as I quickly stand, walking out of the room and running down the steps to the front door, slamming it shut. I should've never saved her to begin with. Had I not, I wouldn't now be on a fucking search and rescue mission for a half decayed fucking rodent. What the hell kind of magic is this doll using on me?

"Please!" The grotesque man's screams are nothing but blurred noise at this point as I slam his face into the fence post, the wood splintering into his flesh as blood stains the air. Gripping the man between my hands, I twist his neck, breaking it and silencing him, breathing heavily from the use of my strength. I'm going to die of heatstroke in this fucking suit!

I stare at the sign at the town's edge: Welcome Home. The phrase is crudely hand carved into the wooden planks, aged by the countless years of its presence haunting this world. Despite the endless cold night, I'm overheating in my suit, taking off the mask as I try to bring down the anxiety I feel with the feel of the crisp air. As I discard my suit, I feel naked, especially when the ever-present moon shines over me, causing my skin to come alive. The nearby townspeople take notice of my presence, as I knew they would. I'm not known to show myself like this, preferring to sneak along the dark shadows of the world. After all, there's only one of me, and despite my size and my strength, I'm not a fool to believe I can take on the entire town alone. Especially when I know I'm a beacon for whoever the Spinster is hiding, watching for any sign of me.

And yet, here I am, stepping into the lion's den fully exposed. What choice do I have, though? I can't have Blue this upset, I just fucking can't. I'm pissed off over the fact that I'm this upset, but that doesn't change the fact that I now have to venture through the town of ghostly, demonic souls and lost creations and find that fucking rat myself. I know Stingy Jack stole it. I know the man I killed earlier at Blue's home was sent there to tell her where to find that rat, forcing her to travel here, which confuses me. How does Stingy Jack know that rat mattered to her? Blue never took that stupid thing out with her, meaning someone must've been watching her in her home. My stomach drops. Us . They must be watching us. I have been so distracted, so consumed with her, that I left us exposed and vulnerable and hadn't seen them. This realization fills me with a new rush of protective anger that again I'm beyond pissed off about.

"I know you're out here!" I yell into the growing crowd. I hear the murmurs they whisper to themselves, spitting as I step by. Monster, freak, Dreadmoor's bitch. I ignore them as Stingy Jack walks through the parting crowd, his grin exaggerated by the skeletal ink staining his face.

"Well, if it isn't the big bad Boogeyman himself, coming to our little town," he drawls as he looks past me to see the dead man behind me.

"Always were one for the theatrics, weren't you?" He places his hands on his narrow hips, delighted by my unexpected visit.

"You're one to talk," I huff out while squaring up. He may have the height advantage, the man standing at almost seven feet, but I'm faster and stronger. "Give it to me, and I'll go." A smirk graces his mouth as he gives me an amused stare.

"Why, give you what?" He cocks his head to one side.

"You know what I'm here for," I hiss out. "You stole something. A... pet, from the doll. Give it to me."

Stingy Jack snorts as he snaps his long fingers, and a short, pudgy man rushes over with a satchel. "Well I must say, I didn't expect a toy to go enlisting the Boogeyman's help to get this back," he muses while reaching into the bag and pulling out the dead thing. "What an odd task for such a big man," he mocks.

"She didn't. I'm here on my own." There's a loud howl off in the distance, and the amused look on his face drops. My own stomach twists as we all stop and listen. Nightmares . Nightmares are dangerous, haunting creatures that take no specific form but hunt every soul present all the same. They're loyal only to themselves, killing any and all in their path with no care other than to soak this wretched world in their evil darkness. Even the Spinster herself struggles to control their endless killing, thus casting them here for the rest of us to suffer the evolution of her mistake while she pulls their strings from the safety of Dreadmoor. There are many nightmares plaguing this world, but there's one in particular I strive to avoid, the largest and most dangerous nightmare of them all: The Widow.

"You and your stupid glowing marks are bringing them here! Fucking monster!" he roars, throwing the bag and rat at me while he and the rest of the town panic, running to hide. They snuff out their fires, bar their windows, and lock their doors, leaving me, the only source of light, out in the open. Fucking perfect.

I grab the satchel and look at the rat. "Fucking gross," I shiver as the flimsy, rotting thing flops over when I pick it up. Never again. After this doll is gone, I will never help another woman again. New rule: everyone dies. I'm not saving men, women, children, or floppy rodents anymore. Stuffing it into the satchel, I strap the bag across my body and run to the entrance to put on my suit, but it's too late.

A sudden, heavy force slams into me as I feel a clawing slash across my chest, so quickly that I can't react. I step back, groaning as I face a shadow nightmare in the form of a giant wolf staring back at me. The creature snaps its sharpened jaws, drool dripping from its mouth as it falls to the ground like smoke, its black button eyes locking onto me. The wolf-like nightmare raises its head and howls loudly, the sound hurting my ears at the high pitched screech. I know exactly what it's doing—it's alerting the others.

"That doll is going to owe me after this," I grumble to myself, bracing for what I'm about to do.

I dive onto the large, shadowy creature, grappling its back as it snaps at my face. We wrestle for a minute, both of us straining before I'm finally able to use my strength and body weight to twist its large body around as we roll down the hill and land with myself on top. The nightmare tries to claw at my face, continuing to bite in my direction as my fingers curl along its slimy jaws, forcing them open wide. It begins to whimper, desperately trying to break free as I strain, groaning as my muscles burn and I use every ounce of my strength to rip its jaw open as it releases the most unnatural cry, calling the others near. I need to kill it now. I lift the nightmare's head and slam its skull into the hard earth as I begin to slam it against the rocky surface, over and over again, watching as bloody bits of its brain begin to drip out from its ears and eyes, its muffled cries choking on its own blood as the sound of its bones crunch and crumble beneath my strength. I ram the nightmare's shadow-like face into the rock one last time as it shatters within its smokey skin, its life quickly fading away.

Fucking finally .

Sitting back, I take a breath before grabbing its lifeless throat and looking into the black button eyes.

"You lose, bitch," I pant before ripping the eyes out with my bare hands. The eyes allow the Spinster to see into this world, to see what her creations see, which is why I always take them. Once they are removed from the body, they're useless. Call it sick and twisted, but I prefer to keep them like little trophies, in jars tucked away in my treehouse. On various occasions, I like to pull the glass containers out and line them up, all eyes on me as I jerk off, imagining that the old Spinster can somehow still see me through the lifeless buttons, taunting her with how alive I am and enjoying my time in the world she cast me into, coming all on my own. Without her. Because I never needed her.

I stumble over to my suit, hissing at the burning sensation as I look down at the gash across my chest. It's superficial but still fucking hurts. I slip into my suit, the material irritating my chest, and throw my mask on before getting ready to take off when I see the fucking rat has fallen out of the bag now under my suit, laying on the ground, fucking taunting me. Goddamn it. It must've fallen out of my bag while I fought the nightmare. Exhaling, I raise my head and groan. All this work for a fucking doll. I snatch the rat from the ground, my chest aching as I do so. It flops as I stand, causing me to shudder. I get it; I live with and eat bugs. I just slammed a creature's brains out without batting an eye. This shouldn't bother me, but we all have our limits, and this limp dick, stinky-ass, partially decayed vermin is the thing I can't handle.

"I'm so glad you lack every emotion possible! Must be so nice not to care!" I mock while shaking the semi-stuffed rat. When I get back, I'm literally rubbing this rodent in her pretty blue face. Don't care? Ha! I don't see anyone else out here risking fucking death just so she doesn't feel sa?—

I stop running as my thoughts hit me. Do I... actually care? No, no, I don't care. I just... She's pleasant to see naked, and I feel like I'm going to see less of that if she's sad. Yeah, that has to be it. I don't care . I am not made to care, to love. I feel nothing but anger, and all I want is to win the Spinster's game.

With that decided, I begin to walk through the woods. I need to drop this dead thing in my hand off to her without her knowing I did it, and then go home. The last thing I need right now is her thinking I care, especially being a needy little virgin. However, Blue thinking such a thing might actually be beneficial. This would get me closer to her, enough so that she may even start to fall faster, and then, I can find out what she knows.

Despite the logic behind it, something in my gut twists and tells me this isn't the way to go about it.

As I approach the door of her bedroom, I hear another voice, stopping me in my tracks as I lean against the wooden barrier and listen.

"Please, Havoc," Blue's voice is urgent and desperate. "I need to learn. I'll do anything you ask, just please, have sex with me." My body immediately jolts and stiffens at her words. What the fuck? Blue's asking Havoc to sleep with her? Why?

My fists ball at my sides as my muscles flex with anger, the stupid rotting rat still in my grasp. I had gone all the way to Stingy Jack's and rescued her precious fucking vermin, and she's here, playing with Havoc—playing me!

"Hush, Dolly," Havoc hisses. "You speak in nonsense. Havoc will do no such thing. Havoc does not share toys, and you are not my toy." Damn straight she's not yours . "Silly Dolly, boss said no more orgies." She cackles as I growl quietly to myself.

"What's an orgy ?" Blue struggles to say the word, her innocence obvious and oddly soothing. Havoc booms with laughter, taunting Blue. It upsets me, knowing Blue must feel embarrassed by the whole conversation. Enough of this bullshit.

I swing the bedroom door open, startling both women as they stare at me. Havoc's grinning, her sharpened teeth fully visible as Blue gawks at me, her cheeks burning a bright red as she sits on her bed, her dress unzipped and her shoulders bare. I quietly approach her, reaching my hand out as I offer her the stuffed rat. She gasps, quickly fixing her dress as her hands snatch the ridiculous dead rodent up. Squeezing it tight, beaming with joy. I can't help but grin at the pure joy and happiness washing over her face.

"Oh! Mr. Whiskers!" She hugs the gross dead thing tight, stroking its sunken face. "You seem to have a little split here," she states. Blue pulls a needle from her bun and a spool of thread from a pocket in her dress, intending to mend the dead rodent.

"You just... keep a needle and thread on you at all times?" I question as she threads her needle with ease while crossing her right leg over her left, causing the hem of her dress to slide up.

"Of course," she hums and taps her stitches on her thigh. "Never know when you might need to be stitched up." She beams up at me before biting the thread off the rat. I want to fucking retch, but fuck, she looks so cute...

Cute? Goddammit it, that's it. I'm driving my fist into something and then having Havoc kick my ass.

"Big boss bug glows!" Havoc shoots from the floor, rushing to the foot of the bed as she points at my mask, laughing out loud. Blue is too consumed by the rodent to even notice.

"I always glow," I growl, pulling my mask down further.

Havoc snickers, lowering her hand. "Not like this." I tilt my head, a low rumble vibrating in my chest as I silently warn her to back away. She continues to grin her sinister smile, backing up to the window as she watches us.

"Thank you!" Blue cries out gleefully.

I shrug, crossing my arms. "Well, the sound of you crying wasn't something I wanted to hear. Besides, it's not every day a doll calls me an insensitive asshole."

"I'm sorry!" she blurts out, covering her mouth. "I didn't mean it. I-I just?—"

I raise a hand, silencing her. Her apology is almost as uncomfortable as her crying. "Don't do that."

She nods, "I can't believe you rescued him." Her eyes fall to the rodent, tracing its button eye. "For me."

We both sit in silence as I wonder if I've done the right thing. Surely now, she feels special, knowing I did such a stupid thing, like rescuing a dead fucking rodent and returning it to her. Part of me wishes she'd throw herself at me, surrender that amazing fucking body of hers to me for such a heroic display. I mean, I wouldn't be so opposed to that, but for some reason, seeing her happy warms me. It's almost enough to forget about fucking her... Oh, what the fuck ? I shake my head. Get your shit together!

"I think Havoc and I should go." I stumble back, confused by my own feelings as Blue nods. I need to get out of here, now.

"Boss seems tangled in his own web," Havoc whispers as I near the window. I ignore her words, quickly pushing the thick glass aside as I slither through and out onto the thick branch. Havoc shadows me, climbing like a spider down the tree as we both stand outside on the dry ground beneath the tree.

"What the hell was that?" I demand, pointing back up to Blue's window.

"What?" she asks, cocking her head as her face shows nothing but a confused, innocent soul. She's good at playing, but I'm better.

I groan loudly, gripping the edges of my mask. "Were you about to fuck Blue when I walked in?" I yell, waving my arms around. Havoc bursts out in laughter as I stand there fuming. Okay, so usually I'm better.

"Silly boss man," she teases, pissing me off more. Havoc grabs her stomach as she bellows over. "Poor Dolly," she hesitates between her sick laughter. "Wanted to be deflowered. Nothing more." She continues to laugh uncontrollably. "Boss should watch his words. Dolly thinks he hates virgins and wants to be one no more. So she asks Havoc to fix it." Havoc falls onto her back, kicking her legs in the air as she continues to cackle.

Blue asked Havoc to sleep with her because I said I didn't fuck with virgins. God damnit.

"Boss, better be quick." Havoc wipes a tear from her human eye. "Dolly may become someone's else's toy if boss takes too long." She stands, wiping the dirt from her body. "Would hate to see boss lose yet another game."

"I'm not going to lose," I growl, glancing up at Blue's window. "I just—" I stop, thinking about what I need to do. I retrieve the glowing set of green dice from my suit, staring at their faded surface in my hand. Odd, I let her fuck someone else and get it over with. Even...

I hesitate.

I do it myself.

Havoc slithers to my side, her eyes peeking above my hand as she eyes the dice. "Ooooh, boss is gambling the doll's innocence, I see," she hisses. I throw the dice, unsure of which way I want them to land. They roll, bouncing against the dry soil before slowly stopping just a few feet away. Havoc falls to her hands and knees, scuttering to the dice as she eyes the numbers on top, squealing a high-pitched squeal that makes me jolt. "Snake eyes," she taunts the words as she turns to look at me with a grin.

Fuck .