Rule 9 - Tanis

TAKE A WALK TO CLEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.

" Y ou were going to murder me and take my body for your fiancé?" I screamed at Damon. His jaw fell slack as he stared from me to the dolls and back at me.

"Were you going to do the exact same thing?"

"Yes, but I'm not a total scumbag!"

He straightened his back and frowned. "Hey, that's a little harsh."

"You don't recycle," I reminded him.

He threw his hands up and then tugged on his unshaven face. "Again with this? So it's a few pizza boxes. Who cares?"

"The world cares, Damon!"

I looked toward the bed, where Delia and Craven sat with their little hands in their little laps, watching us fight. She was holding a washrag covered in red.

I blinked, still confused. "Is that... blood?"

"Yeah, because I'm just as alive as you are," Delia snapped. "Maybe even more so, considering you can't even have babies."

"What?" I shook my head.

Craven sighed. "Little Damon over here promised that once she took the first body he could get, he'd knock her up within the month."

My heart sank as Delia's tiny face crumpled. "Oh sweetie, no."

Losing my ability to reproduce hadn't bothered me any. Kids? In this economy? In this world? Where people like Damon existed. No thank you. But the look on Delia's face told me she didn't have the same ideas as me. I faced Damon and glared.

"Did you not read everything, or did you lie to her?"

"Well, I, uh—" Damon stammered and tugged on his hair. "A little bit of A, little bit of B."

Delia erupted into wails, and I jumped. For such a small thing, she was loud.

"Are you happy?" Damon demanded. "Now she's upset. This is all your fault," he accused.

"My fault? You're the one who made promises you knew you couldn't keep. What else did you promise her?"

The room grew quiet, and even Delia stopped sobbing to listen whatever Damon had to say.

"Are we going to buy a house?" Delia asked softly. "In the suburbs, filled with others just like us?"

"What exactly is like you?" Craven asked.

"God fearing folk." Her glass eyes grew wide with hope as she stared at Damon. Damon sighed deeply and looked at his shoes. Delia kept going. "You said you had money saved up. Lots of it. You were going to buy me a piano so I could teach the neighborhood kids. You have the money for the piano, right, Damon?" The more she spoke, the more shrill her voice became.

"Damon, please for the love of... whatever, just answer her."

"No!" He burst. "Happy? No, Delia, I have no money, and I don't give two shits about your god. I never believed in any of that. I just like that you do whatever I tell you to do. That's why I picked you."

"Picked me?" Delia collapsed. "What do you mean?"

"Your family used to come into the grocery store I worked at. You, your mom, your dad, and all ten of your siblings. Dressed in your handmade clothes and weird haircuts. I heard how your dad talked to your mom and I wanted that. I just wanted you a little more..."

"Dirty!" She leaped again and pointed at him. "You wanted me as your sex slave."

Damon swung his guilty eyes toward me and let out a nervous laugh. "I mean, kind of?"

We shook our heads. The more I got to know Damon, the less guilty I felt about taking his body for Craven soon. He was a piece of shit. If Craven hadn't wanted his skin so bad, I probably would have already offed him.

Like I had all the others.

"So, what now?" Craven stood and put his hands on his little bear hips. "We have two humans and two sentient toys that need bodies. Personally, I think since I've been waiting way longer for this, I should get Damon's body."

"Like hell you are," Damon snapped. "I'm putting Delia in Tanis."

"I don't think you could if you tried." Craven snickered. He looked at me. "He botched Delia's ritual, that's why she's in the doll. I don't think it's right to take the chance on a guy that can't even do it correctly."

He had a good point. Craven always had good points. That's why I loved him so much. I looked over at Damon and shrugged. He shot daggers at me.

"I'm not going down without a fight."

"Well then, I suppose Craven and I will be leaving then," I said, admitting defeat. Damon was twice my size, and if I stayed, I worried he'd end up slicing me up faster than I could him.

"Nice try." Damon grabbed my wrist and squeezed. "I've already decided. It's you I want."

"You mean, Delia in my body," I reminded him. He blinked, and he appeared to come too.

"Yes, of course. Delia is taking over your body. You can have hers."

"Uh, no?" I pulled my hand away and looked over at the tiny doll. She looked nothing like me. I certainly wasn't going to change races, and her taking mine felt little weird too, the more I thought about it.

"No, not happening. I'm not—" I stopped short as an idea came to me. I took a deep breath and swallowed. "I am going to take a walk and think about our options. There has to be something we can do that will benefit everyone." I reached for my purse and made eye contact with Craven. We'd been doing this for so long, I didn't need to speak. He knew what I was conveying.

Trust me. I have a plan.

"Actually, I'm going to get my own room."

"We are." Craven stood.

"Like hell," Damon guffawed. "You're not going anywhere." He snatched Craven and lifted him over his head. Fuming, I grabbed for Delia and ran to the door.

"Fine. I'm leaving, but I'm taking her with me. You do something to my boyfriend, and I'll toss yours in a fucking fire and watch the rubber melt." I hurried out before he could chase me. Delia fought against my hold until a door opened and another guest stepped out of their room. She froze, and I laughed.

"Not so tough now, are you?" I took the elevator, and when we reached the landing, I looked around, clicking my tongue. "Now, where should us girls go? I think we need to have a little talk."

"I'll murder you in your sleep," she hissed.

"Maybe we can catch a movie." I walked the block down to the theater I'd seen on the drive in. The building was a bit small, and the ticket agent looked at us oddly as we stepped up to his podium.

"One ticket, please." I smiled politely.

He stared at me until I repeated my request.

"What movie are you here for?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Whichever has the least number of patrons. I just want to relax, but her voice box is defective. She talks sometimes." I giggled.

The man swallowed and pursed his lips.

"Well, we've got Watersport Sluts 4 , Stepstuds 9 , or TITSOAK ."

I blinked. The ticket man and I stared at each other for a long moment before I took a step back and looked at the posters on the walls. I hadn't paid attention before. All the images were naked ladies with stars covering their nipples and whoo-has. Oh jeez. No wonder he was staring at me oddly.

"Are... there people in there?" I looked toward the black doors down the hall.

"No. We don't get real busy. If you're wanting to be alone, I'd go for TITSOAK . No one ever buys tickets to that except millennials."

" TITSOAK it is, I guess." I gave him my card, and he handed me my tickets and a handful of wet wipes.

"To clean before and after. We don't ask questions; we just ask that you leave the theater with your zipper up and discard your wipes in the trash."

I nearly gagged but still hurried down the hall. I paused at the door and then looked at the doll in my hands. I turned my head back to glance at the ticket guy. He waved.

"You two enjoy yourselves."