Chucky Business

Today is Chucky the Notorious Killer Doll Day.

I'm not kidding.

And neither is our favourite distorted doll.

So we give him some attention. Not too much.

Because some nightmares come with a replacement guarantee.

Twelve-year-old Ethan lived for garage sales. How else would one get video games on a tight budget?

So, when it was time for the neighbourhood's monthly charity sale, he followed his mother, Linda, to the organiser's home. For the first time, obediently.

One held used dolls in fairly good condition. His sister came to mind. And a prank. He browsed through its contents.

In fairly good condition...except for one with red hair, slanted eyes, and a crooked grin stretching from one cheek to the other. A face that would complete the perfect nightmare. And the perfect opportunity. The faded overalls made it look remarkably silly.

"Mum," he said, carrying it over to Linda. "Look at this."

Linda baulked. "Have you got a mind? Why would I spend good money on that?!"

But his whining was difficult to resist. Ethan named it...Charles. Charles the ranchhand.

The next day dawned. Ethan rose. He'd be the first for breakfast,

Or so he thought.

At the breakfast table were the silly blue overalls. The grin that stretched from ear to ear. The blazing, unkempt red hair.

"Join me." A knife brandished, like a rancher's scythe.

"Mum must have had a change of heart." Ethan thought to himself.

Mum's thoughts were on a different track. "That boy's keeping him to annoy me. " She dumped Chucky in their apartment complex's enormous trash bin.

But Chucky recycled himself...inside Ethan's schoolbag the following morning. And Linda's irritation grew. Some things refused to be disposed of. She locked the offensive doll inside the cupboard and slipped the key in her pocket.

That night, the television switched off...without assistance. Linda checked the DB Box in the kitchen and found one of its switches down. Power failure.

She pushed it up, and her favourite soap actress appeared as usual. The usual potatoes for dinner. She peeled expertly, keeping her eyes on the screen.

Meanwhile, Ethan tried to sleep, but it was elusive. Tossing and turning didn't find it either. Then, the cupboard rattled like an angry child with a tantrum.

A little nervously, he pulled the door open. There WAS a child. A doll child. Chucky. Stock still. With the missing knife.

Chucky continued his pranks over the next few days. Chucky stole a larger vegetable knife. Then a chopper. And turned up, as still as a still life painting, in the rattling cupboard.

Then, Ethan noticed something odd about its behaviour. It froze when his mum screamed at it. But it lunged at him when he laughed.

On a hunch, he experimented. He criticised its Raggedy Ann hairdo. Then praised its new suit. He laughed at the freckles on its face. Then left him a glowing Post-it comment about his new shoes.

Vanity made it angsty. Its ego was more fragile than the eggs in mum's refrigerator.

By a stroke of misfortune, Linda had organised a Halloween party that evening. "Mum, cancel it," Ethan begged. "The invitations have gone out, Ethan, "Linda stuck to her guns, ignoring Ethan's theory.

And added the whimsical doll as a Halloween decoration--aptly so.

Linda's guests arrived, appropriately Halloween -garbed.

"Wow, Linda, you really went all out." Thomas praised the vampire and the ghouls hanging from the ceiling fans.

"Check out the stuffed witches." Melissa hugged one. "Very cute."

"Check this out," John held Chucky up. "Looks like a distorted Raggedy Andy."

Ethan watched, helpless, as Chucky's fingers twitched.

Then, the lights froze. Limda's attempts to push the switches in the DB box failed.

Miserably.

When they did come on, Chucky had...excused himself.

Then, a kitchen knife whizzed across the room. Chucky emerged, red hair blazing, eyes furious. Everyone screamed and ducked under chairs. Food ran on the living room floor.

Ethan had another brainwave. Vanity. Chucky's possible downfall.

He grabbed the microphone from the karaoke set. "Everyone, we're having the most ridiculous costume competition, and we know who will win." His eyes pointed directly at Chucky. "Let's give him some encouragement."

The competition sent everyone--especially an irate Chucky--into a frenzy. Rage consumed its little plastic form. Red hair aflame, it bolted toward Ethan.

Who dodged...sending it careening into an empty box. Linda quickly sealed it shut. Ethan promptly secured its sides.

It shook violently. "F......you.....s..."

They started a garden bonfire with Chucky as fuel.

The sun rose over the house the following morning. Linda placed a pile of pancakes in front of her son. "Sorry I didn't listen." She was sheepish.

A package arrived that afternoon. It was another red-haired doll, with dirty blue overalls and a crooked grin.

It held a card. "Your AI agent arranged a replacement."

For Mikeydred's October Challenge

Some mirrors show your face. Others reveal the thoughts, fears, choices and contradictions hidden beneath the surface.

Mirrors of the Mind explores those reflections through stories that look at people, relationships and the unexpected turns that make us question what we thought we knew.

Sometimes, the most revealing thing in a mirror isn't the person looking back

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