"Charles...you...you killed her." Vincent stuttered as he stared down at the body in shock. Her blonde, curly locks were now dyed red with her own blood, and her once beautiful brown eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, the right one was popped out of its socket, oozing out its juices all over her pretty pale face. Her killer stood over her, not a trace of regret or sympathy on his face; in fact, he almost looked...happy. He stared at his younger brother and grinned.
"What's wrong, Vince? I thought this was what you wanted. She's not gonna bother you anymore." Charles chuckled.
Vincent ran his fingers through his hair as sweat began to roll from his forehead. He shook his head and began to hyperventilate.
"No...no, this isn't what I wanted!" The teen shouted as tears began to form in his eyes. Sure, the girl had gone a little too far by telling her boyfriend he was hitting on her- which was not true, and maybe he did think about how wonderful it would be if she had just went away, but not like this. Her face was bruised, her forehead had a huge gash in it, and there was a matching one on her neck. Charles had shown no mercy to the poor girl, just like how she showed no mercy to his beloved brother.
"Listen, Vince. I did you a favor." Charles said, placing a hand on his brother's trembling shoulders. Vincent dared not to look at him, or the victim. He squeezed his eyes shut and grounded his teeth, doing everything he could in his will power to not scream out for help. Him and Charles were close, but he knew if he did anything the older considered stupid, he'd end up just like the girl.
"You...killed...her..." Vincent whispered. "Why'd you do it, Chuck?"
"You wanted this." Charles growled, tightening his grip on the teen's shoulder. "You told me how bad this girl treated you. I only did what you asked me to do!"
"I didn't ask you to kill her, jackass!" Vincent yelled. "I didn't ask you to do anything! I just wanted someone to talk to!" He pushed away from his brother and balled his shaky hands into tight fists.
"I'm going to tell everyone what you did. You hear me?" Rage, fear, guilt, it all came crashing down on the boy. He talked to his brother, and that ended up getting someone killed. The man standing in front of him was not the brother he grew up with. The brother he grew up with had disappeared. Standing in front of him was a long-haired grinning maniac. Vincent knew he stood no chance against Charles, but if he was going to die, he'd go down fighting.
"How are you gonna tell them if you're dead?" Charles gripped his knife tighter in his hand and walked towards Vincent. Vincent took a step back, swallowing hard. Charles took another step forward, stomping carelessly on the victim's hand until a loud crunch was heard. Vincent fought the urge to throw up and took another step back.
Charles stepped forward, Vincent stepped backward.
Forward.
Backward.
Forward.
Backward, until suddenly, Vincent could no longer go backwards. His heart nearly stopped right then and there when his back hit the wall. Charles raised the knife, then let out a blood curdling yell and ran towards his brother. Vincent screamed out in horror, watching his life flash before his eyes. He put his arms up in an attempt to defend himself, though he knew he was doomed.

I opened my eyes to the muffled sound of my father screaming. My dog Ruby, who was also awakened by dad, jerked her head upwards and leapt off the edge of my bed. She ran to my door and began scratching at it, begging me to open it so she could go protect dad.
I groaned and pulled my blanket over my head. The sun was barely rising, and yet I had just fallen asleep. I had school in a couple hours, but I guess the perks of being homeschooled was that I could sleep in if I wanted to. Mom usually let me if she knew I was woken up because of one of dad's night terrors.

"God damnit..." I groaned. After having to wake up to hearing my dad screaming for 15 years, it got old. They didn't happen everyday, thank god, but they still happened and it was getting annoying. His 'night terrors' not only disturbed my mornings, but they had controlled my entire social life.
Dad was so paranoid something would happen to me, he pulled me out of school when I was in second grade because he thought something bad was gonna happen. He dragged me away from my friends, Willow, Jane and Grayson, but luckily they'd still visit my house. If I visited their house, however, I'd have to bring a taser or pepper spray and if I didn't, dad would rip me a new one, or fuck, he'd hit me. When my friends all moved, I practically begged them to take me with them. Of course, that didn't happen because here I was, still locked up in a tower waiting for some prince, princess, or literally anybody to climb up my hair and free me from this prison.

I guess the only good thing that came out of his extreme paranoia was Ruby, my dog. Dad wanted to get a German shepherd or a pit bull to protect our home, but when we went to the pound to get it, Ruby grabbed my attention. She was a crazy little ball of energy and a tiny bit stupid- but she still did her part at protecting her house...that was why she was scratching at my door, howling to her heart's desire. She looked back at me. When she noticed I was still in bed, her howling got louder, if that was even possible, and she started zooming around my room. Her nails clicked and clanked against the wooden floor, and at some point I heard a loud thud. I quickly sat up to see what it was, and there was Ruby, laying flat on her back a few inches away from my door. Her long tongue drooped from her mouth and her long, floppy ears were sprawled out on the floor.

I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
"Stupid dog..." I laughed while getting out of bed. I trudged over to the door and finally opened it. Ruby sprung to her feet and dashed out my room. I poked my head out and watched her slide on over to mom and dad's room. The door was already open, allowing her to run in without having to do an encore of her howling for the entire neighborhood to hear. I heard mom laugh, then I closed my door again and sighed.

I hated how paranoid dad was, but I understood the reason. Dad used to have a brother. They weren't really close- he never explained why, but after doing my own research, I understood why. Dad's brother- my uncle- was the notorious Lakeshore Strangler; aka, Charles Lee Ray.
Charles was a maniac. He killed his own parents when he was young, then went on to kill 22 more people- hell, probably even more. He was shot and killed in a toy store in 1988, but I guess that just wasn't enough closure for dad. It had been decades, and dad still acted as if one day, Charles would come back to life to finish him off.
I understood why dad was paranoid, but that shit wasn't an excuse.

I wanted to go back to my bed and maybe resume my dream from earlier, but I had been awake long enough and trying to go back to sleep would be impossible. I grumbled under my breath then walked towards my bookshelf that held my collection of dolls.
I had all sorts of dolls; porcelain, plastic, wooden, rag, new, old. There were dolls with beautiful curly blonde hair that I dared not to touch, and dolls with silky straight hair that were smooth to the touch. There were dolls with blue eyes, dolls with brown eyes, and some dolls had no eyes. There were girl dolls and boy dolls. All these dolls, they were all so different, but they all had one thing in common.
They were haunted.
Haunted dolls had always fascinated me. That was just another reason why people tended to stay away from me. They made life more exciting. Every morning, I would wake up to find somebody sitting in my desk chair, or someone would have moved their head or position. When my friends moved away, my dolls were the ones I talked to.
Okay. Maybe I was just a little on the strange side, but could you blame me? You'd go fucking nuts if you spent most of your life cooped up in your house! Granted, it wasn't a small house, but still. It didn't matter how big or how small, the rooms were still empty.

I looked up at my dolls. None of them seemed to have moved at all.
"You guys having a lazy day or something?" I asked. No response.
"You're just as bored as me, huh?"
No response.
I sighed then walked back to my bed and grabbed my phone. Once I had it, I went to my window then sat on the little bench next to it. By then the sun was just barely starting to rise. Willow and the others would barely be waking up by now- well Willow would. Grayson liked to sleep as much as he could before his mom or his sister Jane dragged him out of bed. I turned my phone on, then went to our group chat.
Last night we all played UNO. There were texts, mostly from Grayson, accusing me of cheating which was stupid because how the fuck was i supposed to cheat on a mobile game? Besides, I never needed to cheat. It wasn't my fault I was the queen of the game. I smirked to myself and pulled up my keyboard.

"Rise and shine, peasants." I texted. Not even a minute after I sent it, Grayson replied.
"Stfu"
"Someone's in a shitty mood." I replied.
"He's still butthurt about last night." Jane replied.
Grayson took a while to respond- a minute or two had gone by until finally he sent a picture of a donkey, his way of calling all of us asses.
I rolled my eyes. He might've been the oldest in our group, but he was the most immature out of all of us- even their younger sister was more mature than him. My phone vibrated, notifying me that Jane had texted me.
"Did your dad wake you up again?"
"Yup."
"Damn, that sucks."
"Yup."
"Hey, quick question."
"Yeah?"
"Have you noticed anything different?"
"What do you mean?"
"..."
"Jane?"
"Gtg."

I stared at my screen in confusion. The fuck was she talking about? I was gonna ask Grayson, but I knew if I did, that dumbass wouldn't help much. He'd probably tie his sister's behavior to some scary movie he watched, or convince himself for a whole ass day that his sister was possessed or something. He believed we were all living in a movie of some sort; each of us were in a different genre. He said our genres were all scary movies, but nothing about my life seemed scary- you know, aside from being the niece of a serial killer.

I was about to text Willow, when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. I turned my head towards my door and listened as Ruby barked, then tumbled down the stairs. I glanced out my window to see who was there, but when I looked, the person was already leaving. I got a glimpse of their car though- it was a delivery truck, which was odd. I didn't remember ordering anything, and if mom or dad did, the package wouldn't have gotten delivered until later today, or with our luck, it wouldn't get delivered at all.
I got up and walked out of my room, then went downstairs to see what had arrived. Mom and dad were still in their room; I could hear mom talking to him about something, but I didn't care enough to listen. When I got downstairs, Ruby was at the front door, whining and barking. I reached down and patted her head.
"Calm down, sweet girl." I whispered, giving her a small smile. She wagged her tail at her nickname and stepped to the side so that I could open the door. Before I opened it, I looked through the peephole. I couldn't see anybody hiding in the bushes, and I didn't see anybody waiting on the other side. I opened the door, just a tad and peeked outside. No one was in sight, except for the neighbor across the street who was getting ready to leave for work. They got a glimpse of me, then quickly looked away.
Prick.
I rolled my eyes and glanced down at the package waiting at the doorstep. It was a large, rectangular box. Too big to be a pair of shoes. Too small to be some sort of weapon dad might've ordered. I opened the door all the way and picked the box up, then took it inside. Ruby followed me to the couch where I set the box down. She leapt up on the couch and sniffed the box. While she sniffed, I read what it was and who it was for.
It didn't say what it was, but it said it was for me. Like I said, I didn't order anything. Maybe it was a gift or something. It didn't say who it was from either. Maybe Jane and Grayson sent it? Maybe the text she sent earlier had to do with the package. I reached in my sweatpants pocket to text her, but remembered I left it up in my room.
Curiosity had gotten the best of both me and Ruby, so I grabbed the box and took it to the kitchen. I set the box on the counter then grabbed one of the knives from the drawer. Carefully, I cut the tape as quietly as I could. If it was something sent by Jane or Grayson, I didn't want dad to see. He'd get pissed off that they had our address and would demand that they'd forget it. I didn't have the patience to put up with that shit, especially since he woke me up way too early to my likings.
When the tape was cut, I opened the box.
Laying inside was a large, red-headed 29 inch doll. He was wearing denim overalls with the word 'Good Guy' printed in red on the front pocket and underneath he wore a rainbow striped sweater. The doll had a large grin on his face, and as happy as he seemed, his eyes looked dull.
I knew what that doll was and I knew Grayson knew too. Shortly after my uncle died, a little boy claimed that his Good Guy Doll killed his aunt. There was a huge conspiracy that the doll was haunted by Charles Lee Ray because it seemed every couple of years or so, the same thing would happen. A bunch of murders would occur, and whoever had the doll would blame them on the doll, claiming he did it.
I could feel my blood boil. Grayson knew why my dad was paranoid. He knew more about Charles Lee Ray than I did. Dad for sure knew about the whole Good Guy conspiracy. If he found out Grayson sent the same doll tied to his brother, who knew what he'd do. I mean- the doll was really cool. It looked like it had came fresh out of the 80's and not a single scratch or spec of dust could be found. If my dad wasn't stuck in his past, I would've been geeking out like crazy.

"Maddie? What was that?" Mom asked from upstairs. I looked down at the doll, then quickly shut the box.

"Just another doll I ordered, mom." I lied. When you grow up with strict parents, lying and being sneaky are a couple skills you could pick up. They were pretty handy.
I couldn't see her, but I knew she rolled her eyes. Mom wasn't a huge fan of my doll collection, but she never chose to stop me. She had even bought me dolls too, so it was fine. I could hear her feet drag back towards the room, then the door closed. I quickly picked up the box and ran to my room.

Once I got to my room, I let Ruby in before closing the door. I dropped the box on my bed and stormed to the bench. I snatched my phone and immediately texted Grayson.

"What the fuck were you thinking? You realize how much shit I could be in if my dad finds the doll??" My hands were shaking with rage. Part of me wanted to thank him, but I knew he didn't send it out of generosity. He was lucky he lived so far, otherwise I would've stolen dad's car and drive over just to punch him in the face. No, I'd hit him where it really hurt. I'd kick him so hard in the balls, they'd fold inward.
When he didn't answer, I threw my phone back on the bench and grabbed at my hair. I wanted to scream and yell. I wanted to knock everything in my room over. Grayson was such a petty bitch, but I wasn't just mad at him. Dad was who I was really pissed at. It had been years and he hadn't done anything to get better. He refused to go to therapy because he didn't trust the doctors. Mom and I were miserable because of him, but he didn't care. He claimed he was trying to protect us, but living a life like this wasn't protection, it was a literal fucking hell. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to have more friends, to go to parties with them, to go to the movies without having to carry a fucking knife on me. I hated him. I hated him so fucking much.
Ruby whined and rubbed against my leg. I stared down at her for a moment, then sighed and crouched down to pat her head.
"It's okay Rubes...I was just...upset."

I sat on the floor and petted Ruby for some time. She laid in my lap and gently swayed her tail from side-to-side. As I sat there, I thought about what to do with the doll. I wanted to keep it more than anything, but I couldn't risk dad finding it. I could sell it, or hell, I could just send it back to Grayson. Pretty sure he'd love to add it to his collection. Once I moved out, I could have him give it back to me.
I stood up and walked over to my bed, then opened the box again. The doll was still laying there, happy as can be. I lifted him out and brushed off some of the packing peanuts that had gotten stuck to his clothes and hair.
He blinked a couple times. I nearly jumped out of my skin. He looked around, then stared back at me.

"Hi! I'm Chucky! And I'm your friend 'til the end! Hidey-ho! Hahaha!" He exclaimed. His voice box was in perfect condition as well. I could feel myself smiling like a dork. I felt just like a little kid holding him, but I didn't really care. Not like anybody was watching me, and even if they were, people already thought I was weird, so really who gave a shit at this point?

"Madison? What was that?" My dad's muffled voice asked. I could hear his footsteps coming towards my door. Fuck. Now I gave a shit. I dropped the doll back in the box.

"Nothing." I replied, tucking the box under my bed.

"It didn't sound like nothing." His footsteps got closer and his tone changed.

"Well it was nothing, dad. I don't know what you want me to tell you." I replied, rolling my eyes. The door swung open and dad came charging in. He glared down at me.

"Do not give me attitude." He said between gritted teeth, getting in my face. Ruby started to bark at him. She got in between us and glared up at him. I know damned well he wasn't trying to intimidate me like that. I wanted to laugh in his face, but I refrained myself. Instead, I stared at him, unmoved.
"I saw somebody came here on the cameras. Who was it?" He asked. "Was it a boy? Are you sneaking boys in here now?!" He screamed. He started to investigate my room as if he were a cop and I was harboring a fugitive. For a man that wanted to protect his family, he sure as fuck did a bad job at it. Safety was one thing. I had plenty of that from strangers, but dad's 'punishments' were what we really needed to be protected from. He ripped open my closet and began to look through it. I clenched my hands into tight fists.

"It was the delivery man." I replied, trying my hardest to keep my anger unclear. "I ordered a new doll. You wanna see it? Or are you just gonna hit me?" I crossed my arms. Ruby barked as if she was trying to agree with me.

Dad paused, then slowly closed my closet door. He had his back towards me for a moment. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, then shook his head. I heard him whisper a 'fuck' under his breath, then he turned towards me.
"I'm sorry, dear. I just..." His voice trailed off. It was like he wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. Instead he just shook his head again and left my room, closing the door on his way out. Ruby whimpered and looked down. I only rolled my eyes and patted her head.
"It's okay, girl. You did a good job."
She did. We got her so that I had a friend and protection. Guess dad failed to realize sometimes she'd have to protect me from him.

"What an asshole." A male's voice spoke behind me. My eyes widened a little and Ruby growled. I quickly turned around, but nobody was there. Was it Grayson? There was no way it was. Maybe he called me and I just accidentally answered or something. I ran towards the bench and grabbed my phone, but when I turned it on, it didn't say I was on a call. I looked around my room. Maybe someone did manage to get passed the cameras and they were somehow in my room. I stood in my spot and tried to keep my breathing at a steady pace. My heart began to race. I would've tried to just convince myself that I was hearing things, but I couldn't; not when Ruby was on edge as well.

Ruby jumped when something under my bed moved. My heart stopped for just a moment.
The doll said his name was Chucky. That was what Charles Lee Ray went by as a nickname. The little boy- what was his name? Andy. Andy said his doll's name was Chucky.
I never took those conspiracies seriously, but now I was considering it. I looked towards me collection of dolls. Nancy, my oldest doll, was pointing at the bed. Her perfect little porcelain face that usually looked calm and sweet was twisted in a horrified look. Her usually charming blue eyes stared daggers at my bed and her red lips were parted. The other dolls looked worried as well.

"Ruby. Come." I muttered, my voice a bit shaky. She wouldn't move away from my bed.
"Ruby!" I hissed. She crept closer to the bed. My eyes widened in disbelief when I heard the sound of a small blade cutting the air. I ran towards her and pushed her out of the way, then grabbed the box the doll was in and ripped it out from under my bed. I opened it, expecting it to be empty...but it wasn't.
Chucky was still laying there with the same big smile on his face. I felt my heart rate slow down a little and a wave of relief wash over me.
Maybe I was just hearing things. The lack of sleep was probably getting to me. I laughed a little to myself then stood up. Maybe a cup of coffee would chill me out. I turned towards Ruby, who still looked on edge.

"Hey...you hungry?" I asked. Her mood immediately changed the moment I said 'hungry'. Her ears perked up and she began to wag her tail in excitement, then barked. Ruby ran to my door and stared at me, waiting patiently. I smiled and stood up, then walked over and opened the door, letting Ruby leave first. Before I left, I looked back at my room. The dolls were still glaring daggers at Chucky.

"Damnit Grayson...what did you get me into?" I asked myself before closing the door.