Sadistic Warning

                                    

                                          
⚠️ TW: Distress, threat.

POV: Elena
Taking action wasn't so bad. Donna wasn't that terrifying, and we could even have a reasonably smooth conversation, though the shrill doll kept interrupting. She didn't scare me anymore; instead, she made me laugh. I told myself I had to fight against the absurd logic surrounding me, that what I was seeing couldn't be rational or real. I wanted to believe I was still sitting in the train carriage, trapped in an endless dream caused by my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But each time I pinched myself, the resulting pain and bruise reminded me I was wide awake, no matter how paradoxical the experience felt.
Lady Dimitrescu appeared, taking Donna away with her. I knew I wasn't invited because she ordered me to stay with Angie. The doll babbled incessantly, giving me no useful information. I came to believe that Angie was there to keep an eye on me. If I hadn't been so worried, I might have found it amusing.
If Lady Dimitrescu was busy with her sister Donna, I had to get rid of Angie so I could approach the now-free girls and release the boys. It would be the perfect moment. There was just one problem keeping me from relishing my plan: where was Bela?
In the dimly lit room, illuminated only by the flickering of a candle, I cautiously approached Angie, Donna Beneviento's doll, whose glass eyes seemed to gleam with an otherworldly light. She watched with a crooked smile, as if she enjoyed a twisted secret. Her stiff, unnatural posture was deeply unsettling.
"Angie, should we play a game?" I suggested, my voice trembling as I held the doll in my hands.
The candle sputtered, a chill buzzed through me, and the wind howled outside the house. But silence wrapped around us like an oppressive shroud. I hugged Angie close, feeling the cold wood of her body. Her laughter at my embrace made me realize what I was doing, and I felt embarrassed. I placed her before me, her hollow eyes fixed on my face as if penetrating my deepest thoughts.
"So, do you want to play?" I asked in a barely perceptible voice.
The creaking of furniture echoed in the empty room, and the candlelight flickered. For a moment, I thought I saw Angie's mouth corners widen even further as if she was savoring the situation.
"Let's play hide and seek," she said with a playful yet malevolent tone. "But this time, you hide... and I'll find you."
Angie had just made my plan easier, and a smile spread across my face as I nodded. I stood up and noticed her glass eyes following my every move as if the sinister doll had a purpose only she knew.
"No cheating," I pointed my finger at her, trying to sound confident, though the laughter that echoed back chilled my blood.
With bated breath, I opened the door handle, each hinge squeaking in the heavy air. Once I crossed the threshold, I sprinted down the hallway, the echo of my steps mixing with Angie's high-pitched voice counting from the other side. Her mocking tone filtered through the walls, filling the corridor with a sense of eerie anticipation.
"One... two... three..." the doll repeated, her rhythmic, relentless chant marking each second that I moved farther away.
All around me, shadows lengthened, and the dense air of the hallway seemed to close in on me. I hid behind a slightly open door, listening carefully as Angie's count advanced inexorably.
"Ten... eleven... twelve..." her coarse laughter accompanied each number, wrapping the house in an aura of impending danger.
I clenched my teeth and held my breath, waiting for her laughter to cease and the search to begin.