the puppet

Chapter 1: The Garage Sale Josh and Steve were best friends, spending their summer break biking around town, exploring woods, and looking for adventure. One hot afternoon, they stumbled upon a quiet garage sale at the edge of the neighborhood. Most of the items were old furniture and dusty books, but sitting in a rocking chair was a ventriloquist dummy with glassy blue eyes and a crooked grin. A handwritten tag read: “Fin – $5”. The owner, a strange old woman with cloudy eyes, warned them, “He’s not a toy. He belonged to my husband. Strange things happened after he brought it home.” Steve laughed it off and bought it anyway, thinking it’d be fun to prank people with. They didn’t know it yet, but Fin was waiting. --- Chapter 2: The First Night Josh took the dummy home, deciding to keep it for a night before letting Steve take it next. That night, strange things started happening. The TV turned on by itself. Josh’s dog growled at the dummy. He thought it was just nerves. But around midnight, Josh heard whispering in his room—soft, cruel words. When he turned on the light, Fin was sitting up, staring directly at him. Josh blamed it on sleepwalking. The next morning, Fin had moved again—now perched on his desk, arms open like he was inviting a hug. --- Chapter 3: Steve’s Turn When Steve took Fin home, things got worse. He began having nightmares about a burning stage and laughter that wouldn’t stop. One night, he woke up to see Fin sitting on his chest, eyes glowing faintly. His sister said she heard someone walking in her room, muttering in a voice that sounded like a grown man. Steve threw Fin into the closet, but the next morning, he was sitting on the kitchen table—grinning. --- Chapter 4: The History of Fin Terrified, the boys returned to the woman’s house for answers. She was gone. The house was empty—abandoned for years, according to a neighbor. They researched Fin’s name and found an old newspaper article from the 1950s. A ventriloquist named Franklin "Fin" Masters was murdered on stage during a freak accident. People said his dummy had changed after his death—its mouth moved on its own, and it whispered in the dark. Fin, the dummy, hadn’t been seen in decades. --- Chapter 5: Possession Josh began to act strange. He spoke in voices that weren’t his, laughed at inappropriate times, and didn’t remember doing it. Steve noticed Fin was always nearby, like a shadow following Josh. One night, Steve recorded Josh while he was sleeping. In the footage, Josh sat up and whispered to Fin in a deep, gravelly voice: “We’re not done yet. The show must go on.” --- Chapter 6: The Puppet Master Josh started losing control. Fin was more than just a haunted object—he was a vessel. Steve realized Fin was slowly taking over Josh, turning him into a living puppet. Desperate, Steve reached out to a retired paranormal investigator who told them that Fin had once belonged to a traveling dark magic performer who sealed a part of his soul into the dummy. To break the curse, they’d have to destroy Fin in the place where his soul was bound—his old theater, now a burned-down ruin in the woods. --- Chapter 7: The Theater They found the ruins late at night. Josh was barely himself anymore, speaking like Fin and laughing with his head tilted unnaturally. Steve dragged him there, carrying the dummy. Inside the ashes of the theater, they found the stage, half-rotted but intact. Fin grew heavier in Steve’s arms, resisting, almost vibrating with hate. They placed Fin on the center of the stage and lit a fire—but the dummy screamed. The sound was human. The ground shook. Josh collapsed. --- Chapter 8: The Fire The flames grew uncontrollably, engulfing the theater. Visions swirled in the smoke—of Fin's past life, of rituals, of souls trapped in wood and cloth. Steve tried to pull Josh out, but something held him back. Josh opened his eyes and whispered, “He’s inside me.” In a moment of clarity, he shoved the dummy deeper into the fire and screamed, “I am not your puppet!” The fire roared—and then, silence. --- Chapter 9: Aftermath Josh was in a coma for three days. When he woke up, he remembered nothing about Fin. Steve told him bits and pieces, enough to explain why the dummy was gone, but not the horror of it all. The dummy’s remains were never found in the rubble. Paranormal experts claimed the fire had cleansed the spirit, but Steve wasn’t so sure. Sometimes, when the wind blew just right, he swore he could hear faint laughter. --- Chapter 10: The Curtain Rises Again Months passed. Josh moved on, focusing on school and sports. Steve, however, kept looking over his shoulder. One afternoon, he received a package with no return address. Inside: a ventriloquist dummy. Not Fin—different clothes, different face—but the same cold blue eyes… and the same grin. Taped to its hand was a note: “Encore?”