The Eldritch Files

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Headless Little Doll

A startled mouse scurried into a corner. Blinding sunlight streamed through the stained-glass window. Withered vines snaked in from outside, sprawling across the floor like hideous scars.

A boy in a little black suit sat on the floor. A large gash was torn in his neck, and blood hissed as it gushed out.

His vision was already blurring, but he struggled to keep his eyes open, his gaze fixed pleadingly on Han Su, who stood before him.

Han Su was the same age—only ten years old—but his face held a maturity and determination that set him apart from the others. This was probably why all the kidnapped children were willing to trust him, to follow him on this dangerous escape.

The room was deathly quiet. Nearby stood a slightly taller girl in a ponytail, wearing a birthday crown and a frilly dress. Behind them were Skinny, Tuxedo, and Pot Lid Head. None of them dared to make a sound. The sight of the little boy had terrified them, and their eyes welled with unshed tears.

From behind, they felt prying eyes. It was the rows upon rows of exquisite puppet girls in the glass cabinet. They remained in their display cases, looking docile and undisturbed.

Han Su looked at the little boy, who was down to his last breath. He slowly crouched down, took the boy’s hand, and pried open his fingers, taking the weapon he was still gripping for dear life.

It was a shard of steel, its handle wrapped in cloth strips, the tip ground to a razor-sharp point.

Seeing the despair that instantly filled the boy’s eyes, Han Su told him calmly, "You’re not going to make it out of here. This is useless to you now, so let me borrow it."

"But you did a great job. I won’t forget it."

"..."

’If it weren’t for this boy, they would have been caught back on the third floor by that freakishly fast, half-bodied woman.’

’Too bad he wasn’t going to make it. Saying anything more would be a waste of time.’

Getting to his feet, with no time to wait for the boy on the floor to close his eyes, Han Su turned to the others. "We stick to the plan," he said. "He’s gone, but the rest of us still need to escape."

"Start the fire."

"..."

The girl with the birthday crown immediately gave an obedient nod, though tears still stained her face. She pulled a small, folding toy from a delicate pocket in her frilly dress. When she unfolded it, a small magnifying glass appeared.

She aimed it at the sunlight outside the window, focusing a bright point of light onto her most cherished card.

It read, "Mom and Dad love you."

On the card, the bright spot turned black, then began to smoke. A tiny flame flickered to life.

Han Su stared intently. The moment the flame appeared, he suddenly looked at the girl with the ponytail and said, "Bar the cabinet. Don’t let them out."

"Them?"

The girl with the ponytail glanced back at the glass cabinet. All she saw was a row of tattered, bizarrely shaped toy dolls, their eyes fixed and staring.

But she didn’t ask questions. She rushed forward and grabbed the two handles of the glass cabinet.

Seeing that the flame had caught, Han Su carefully and nervously took the card from the girl’s hands. He then touched it to the heavy purple curtains without a moment’s hesitation.

He had done this many times before. His movements were practiced and fluid.

The fire erupted, slithering up the curtain like a greedy snake. Thick smoke quickly began to choke the room.

Inside the cabinet, the Puppet Dolls seemed to roast in the intense heat. Their lifelike materials and little dresses began to scorch and twist.

Their painted, smiling faces distorted strangely in the heat-warped air. Suddenly, vicious curses echoed from the display case. The Puppet Dolls dropped their pretense and began to struggle inside the cabinet.

Segmented plastic arms began to pound against the glass.

The girl with the ponytail was pale with fright. Her first instinct was to flee, but thinking of the others, she summoned her courage and held fast to the glass. Tuxedo and Pot Lid Head snapped to their senses and rushed forward to help her brace the violently shaking cabinet.

But the Puppet Dolls’ screams seemed to have alerted something else. A heavy, panting sound echoed from the corridor outside.

CHUFF... HUFF...

It was accompanied by the sound of groaning floorboards, as if some behemoth was dragging itself, inch by inch, toward their room.

Inside the room, all the children were so scared their legs were trembling, their minds gone blank with terror.

But Han Su barked, "Hold that cabinet! When I get the key, you run with me. We *will* get out of here!"

"..."

"..."

The children who had followed him this far had all been hand-picked. They were young and prone to panic, but they fought it down, squeezed their eyes shut, and focused everything on blocking the glass cabinet behind them.

The fire burning down from above made the Puppet Dolls in the cabinet writhe in even greater agony. They hammered at the glass with all their might. With a CRACK, a section of glass shattered. A plastic arm shot out and raked bloody scratches across the arm of the girl with the ponytail.

Tears of pain streamed down the girl’s face, but she forced herself not to let go.

The screams of the Puppet Dolls, the spreading fire, and the billowing black smoke terrified them. It felt as if an icy hand was squeezing their hearts, and their small faces were ghastly pale.

They could only look to their sole pillar of strength, Han Su, only to see that he had already reached the door and was crouching down, covering his mouth and nose.