Chapter 7: Charlie

It's late afternoon when my brother Billie walks into my room carrying something behind his back.  He has a smirk on his face and says, "Guess what I have for you?" Shrugging my shoulders, I ask excitedly "What?" Pulling it from behind his back, he shows me the doll cradled in his arms.  Now this isn't just any doll, it's a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist doll.  If you don't know what that is, you need to get your head out of your butt and look it up. He hands it to me and right away I get this feeling that this doll isn't just a doll.  I examine it closer and strip it of its top hat, monocle, and tuxedo.  Underneath, the body is made up of cloth and a soft stuffing inside.  His arms and legs flop around very easily and yet it intrigues me even more when I look at the back of his head. There is a hole where the back of his skull should be, so I investigate by sticking my hand in.  The inside feels like it has mechanisms of some sort and when I turn him over to see what my hands are doing, I watch as his mouth moves with every little movement my fingers make.  Excited, I start to pretend that I am a famous ventriloquist, and that Charlie here is my partner in crime. After playing with him for a while, my mom yells, "Anna, it's bedtime.  You have to go to school tomorrow." Sad that I must put down my little friend, I put him on the big treasure box in the corner of my room before I put on my pajamas.  When I get in bed, I smile as I gaze at him and then lay down.  Closing my eyes, the last thing I think about before I fall asleep is that I am glad Billie gave him to me. Waking up, I get ready for school and brush my teeth.  When I go in my room to grab my jacket for school, I notice that Charlie has moved.  Last night, I had put him atop of my baby blanket and this morning, he is sitting down on the floor. At first, I dismiss it and figure that he must have fallen off in the middle of the night and I didn't notice it right away this morning.  But when I get home and he has moved, I begin to wonder.  Playing with him again till it's bedtime, I place him back up on the treasure chest when my mom says, "It's bedtime Anna." and I get ready for bed just like the night before. I hear someone whispering my name, "Anna."  It's so soft that I can barely hear it and I almost think that I imagined it, until I hear it again.  "Anna." Sitting up, I peer around the room to find out who is saying my name.  Seeing nothing except for the shadows looming, I hurry to put my head under the covers when I hear it again.  "Anna."  This time it's closer and a little louder. I don't know if I imagine it, but it sounds threatening, and I start to shake.  I cry out, "Mom." but before she could answer or come to my aid, someone yanks the covers from my head.  When I see it, I feel like I am going insane and watch in fear as Charlie with enormous sharp fangs and claws the size of bears, stands next to me. My body doesn't move, and I try to scream, but nothing works.  Instead, I must watch silently as Charlie comes nearer.  His face is bloody and his eyes stare into me, when I realize at this moment that this is how it must feel like when someone dies of sheer terror. Feeling my heart beat out of my chest, he is so close to my face now that his breath tickles my nose.  I try to close my eyes, but he says, "Anna wake up." I look up and my mother is staring at me from over the bed.  "You were screaming in your sleep, dear." She says before she shakes her head and asks, "Are you alright?" Not knowing if this is reality or still part of the nightmare, I don't say a word.  Instead, I just sit here and stare up at her as I wait for Charlie to pop back up and eat my face off or something.  When she asks me again, I finally answer, "Yes.  I was just having a really bad dream." "What about?" Sitting down on the bed and hugging me, she waits for my response. "It was nothing, mom.  I don't even remember it, honest."  I smile at her, not wanting to tell her." "Well, go back to sleep.  It's only 3 a.m. and you still have 4 hours of sleep to catch up on.  Now go back to bed."  She kisses me on the forehead and then tucks me in before shutting off the light.  When she goes to shut the door, I ask her to leave it open a little.  She smiles at me before walking back to her room. Once she leaves, I scan the room and can't seem to find Charlie anywhere.  So, I pull the covers over my head and try to sleep.  Somewhere between being awake and sleeping, I hear a sound again and this time I know exactly what it is.  The only problem is that I don't know if I am awake or having a nightmare again.