THE MAN woke Tyler up by shoving him to the ground in a new room. The room was isolated and empty, the sound of water dripping to the ground clear and echoing off the narrow walls.

Tyler's limbs were still bound but he no longer had duct tape over his mouth. He was free to scream, free to do anything he possibly could to get somebody to hear him. He had no idea where he was, but he held on to the little shred of hope buried within him.

"Help!" Tyler screamed. It was a desperate and raspy scream, which made the masked man swing his foot back and kick his rib cage with all the strength he had. Tyler inhaled sharply and doubled over, coughing as his face pressed against the cold floor.

"Fuck," Tyler groaned in pain.

"Excuse me, Puppet Boys do not swear," The Man said, pointing his finger at Tyler.

"My name isn't Puppet Boy!" Tyler yelled out, having to painfully force his voice out because of how much his ribs hurt. He could barely breathe, as each intake of breath was paired with a sharp, searing pain that spread throughout his upper body.

"Shut up, or I will put the tape back over your mouth. You're in the middle of nowhere," The Man reminded him, raising his voice. "Nobody will find you. Nobody will hear you. All you're doing is wasting your breath, and you need that breath to say your lines for the showcase coming up!"

The Man clapped his hands together excitedly.

Tyler lifted his head before putting it back on the floor and sighing heavily. "If..." he took a breath. "If you let me go... I, I won't tell anybody. I promise, just, please," he pleaded.

For a second, Tyler thought he was getting a positive reaction from his sick abductor. The Man tilted his head in thought, and Tyler's heart leaped at the possibility of being released. He was surely mistaken, though, because The Man only chuckled and kicked his stomach with an intense amount of force.

Tyler huffed, hunching over on the dirty and wet ground again.

"You know, it hurts my feelings that you want to leave me so much," The Man said, staring down at Tyler and watching him struggle in pain beneath his feet. "I created you, you should be grateful. I even found you a beautiful Puppet Girl to love you whenever you need."

Tyler continued to heave for air as he noticed The Man walking towards the doorway.

"Introducing, your wife, Puppet Girl!" The Man announced, and Tyler opened his eyes to find a terrified girl about his age standing there.

Her raven coloured hair was long and knotty and her white, knee-length dress was covered in smudges of dirt, as well as her thin arms. She was, of course, wearing the exact same ridiculous makeup as Tyler was, except hers was specially complete with extra long eyelashes painted onto her eyelids. She had strings glued to her hands and feet too, and she looked traumatized as she stared down at Tyler. Her hands were tied behind her back, her feet also tied together and her lips were covered with duct tape.

A few tears fell from her scared eyes.

"Puppet Girl, meet Puppet Boy. He will be your husband, and you will perform together," The Man said, clapping again. The sound was loud and echoed off the walls of the room. "This is going to be so much fun, my beautiful Puppets."

The Man's fat fingers stroked the side of the girl's jaw lovingly. She locked her gaze ahead, too scared to look elsewhere.

"What do you want from us?" Tyler asked, his voice shaking. He was in so much pain.

"What do I want from you?" The Man repeated slowly, staring down at him with a devious glitter in his eyes. "Well, I want you both to be the best puppets you can be for me. And I know you will be. You are both so beautiful... you're perfect."

"You're a fucking psycho," Tyler said, his voice hoarse.

The Man didn't hesitate to kick Tyler's ribs again, making Tyler nearly scream at the pain. He exhaled heavily, and Puppet Girl gasped audibly through her duct tape, tears pouring more rapidly from her widened eyes.

"Puppet Girl is so much more behaved than you," The Man observed in pure amusement. "I think she deserves for her tape to be removed. Do you think so as well, Puppet Boy?"

Tyler nodded weakly for the girl's sake. The sharp pains that moved through his body were unbearable.

He closed his eyes tightly, still whimpering under his breath while he listened to the tape being ripped off. The girl screamed, sobbing after.

"Please let me go, please!" she begged. "I'll do anything. I won't tell a soul, I promise!"

The Man slapped her hard across the face, and she continued to cry, while Tyler angrily tried to free himself from his restraints. "Don't hit her!" he yelled out.

But Puppet Girl wouldn't stop crying. "Shut up or I will kill you both right now!" The Man yelled suddenly, pulling a gun from the thick belt that held up his black dress pants and holding it up for the both of them to see. They instantly fell quiet, and The Man lowered the obsidian gun to his side. "Now, if either of you protest again, you will surely not live until tomorrow. Do you both want that?" he asked.

They glanced at each other, shaking their heads like young school children being punished.

"Good," he chuckled darkly. "I am your creator, what I say goes. Now, why don't the both of you lovebirds kiss a little bit?" he requested, strangely enticed.

He walked over to Tyler and grabbed his arm, lifting him to his feet.

Tyler stared at the petrified girl with sympathy in his eyes. Her chocolate eyes were wide and tears wouldn't stop falling from them. He wondered what her story was, how she was kidnapped, what she had expected to do in her life that was probably going to be obliterated because of the sick man.

"Go on now. You guys are married, you have chemistry. Kiss," The Man demanded, and he watched them with sick interest. All Tyler could see from his peripheral vision was the white mask. "Don't be shy."

But neither of them budged.

"Puppet Boy," The Man warned, stepping closer. "Kiss her, kiss your wife right now."

Tyler felt terrible - all that he could think about was his girlfriend. He couldn't kiss somebody else while she was back at home, probably worried sick about him. So he stared at the ground, trying to brace himself for what his refusal would entail.

"Puppet Girl, I have to kill you now, since your little husband is too afraid to give his wife some affection," The Man said, his tone threaded with spite.

Tyler worriedly watched The Man step towards the girl, while the girl screamed and shook her head.

"Please don't, please!" the girl sobbed under her breath, her gaze flicking to Tyler helplessly.

Tyler leaned over before The Man could get any closer to her, and forced himself to press his lips against hers.

They heard The Man begin to laugh with pride.

She was uncomfortable, completely still while he tried working his lips with hers to make it seem like they were at least doing something. He really just wanted The Man to leave them alone.

After a minute or two, their abductor told them to stop, and Tyler pulled away from her with rugged breath. The girl just gazed at him innocently, her body visibly shaking.

"Good puppets. I'll leave you guys in here alone while I go make a few props for your performance in a few days. Are you as excited as I am?" The Man asked happily. When neither of them answered, he raised his voice. "Are you guys as excited as I am?" He was angry.

Tyler nodded. "Yes, I'm excited," he forced, his voice hoarse from the pain that continued to pulse through him.

"And you, Puppet Girl?" The Man asked, turning to her.

She looked at Tyler who nodded subtly. "Yes," she whispered, her voice small. "I-I can't wait."

"Good!" he clapped loudly, making them both jump. "I'll be back soon. Don't have too much fun, my little lovers."

He stroked Puppet Girl's hair gently before walking out of the room. The door slammed shut, and the two of them were left in complete darkness.