Chapter 6: Ambush

Toys and Electronics was one of the store's most prominent sections. Because the Buy and Sell allowed trading, we often had toys and tech circulating in and out from all over. We had so many vintage and collector's items the store had to install special showcases to hold them all. The exhibitions were taller than the average man and made of bulletproof glass. When I made it to Toys and Electronics, I found the entire section was blocked off by those cases. They were the perfect barricades, but there weren't enough to keep all the entryways blocked. There was one aisle acting as a bridge between Toys and Electronics and the rest of the store. It was left wide open.

It was the bike aisle.

I had no choice but to cross the bridge if I wanted to get into the area. It was suspicious and screamed "trap" if anything ever did. Regardless of the way it looked, I didn't feel scared enough to back away. Shawn warned me, but I couldn't believe Cinderella killed three people. She was too nice. Cindy wasn't cut out for the world of demons, monsters, and assholes. Just the thought of that poor girl having to run from Shawn ticked me off. Unfortunately, as I made my way down the aisle, I found remains that made it difficult to deny the truth. Maybe Cinderella wasn't so sweet after all. There was so much blood I struggled to walk across the floor without slipping and sliding. With bikes to the left of me and bikes to the right of me, I clung to their metal frames as I took stuttering step after step.

Nearly to the other side, I froze in place when I noticed the sound of something approaching ahead of me. I couldn't see it until it came around the corner. It was a little toy boll dressed in a pink dress. It was cute until three more stepped up behind it. And then six more, and 12 more. Eventually, I lost count. I felt the need to back away. Upon closer inspection, a number of them had limbs sharpened down into make-shift spears. As I stepped away, they came closer. The stiff jittered way they moved was intimidating, and their inability to change faces only made it worse.

Some were faster than others. There were different models. A few of them had better builds that came with realistic human mobility. It was easy enough to swat them away with my hammer, but there were so many. Before long, I found myself beating the sons of bitches down my legs.

It didn't matter how many I smashed or kicked away. They couldn't feel anything, and they couldn't be killed. If their heads popped off, they kept coming. If they lost a limb, they kept coming. If they fell apart wholly, they could put themselves back together with whatever was lying around. I didn't stand a chance. They stabbed at me, inflicting small wounds that steadily racked up until I fell to the floor from shock.

I blacked out. That should have been my last fight. It felt like my last fight. Of all the ways to go, who would have thought of killer toys doing me in? I woke up a few hours later. Those toys surrounded me. I immediately picked up what I thought was my hammer and tried to beat them away. What I had in my hand was one of the heavier set dolls with an oversized head. After using it to hit a few of its comrades, I quickly tossed it away. They weren't trying to kill me anymore. They were lifeless, as they should have been, but positioned around me in a way that spoke to their being sentient. I hesitated but eventually got back up to my feet.

I was in the Toys and Electronics section. They must have moved me from the bike aisle. With all of the toys up and moving around, there were a lot of empty shelves and floor space. The dolls weren't the only toys that seemed possessed. Toy cars roamed the floor like city streets. Building blocks were building themselves into human forms like heads and hands capable of tactile motion. I was just happy to see none of the electronics came to life. Whatever was happening seemed only to have affected the most basic of toys.

As I explored Toyland, I noticed all of the male action figures were posted along the wall of the barricade. In teams of 3 or more, they held what looked to be stun guns. It was adorable seeing them work to carry weapons effectively. Still, they were a clear obstacle. All of them were obstacles. All of them were threats which could have easily killed me the first time I was overpowered.

What made them change from hostile to docile?

My exploration came to a close when I finally found who I was looking for. Cindy Cinderella was in some sort of position of power. She was sitting on a throne made of all the boxes I assumed the toys came out of. In a blue dress and a crown made of doll arms, she was reading from a book to a small nation of subjects.

"Cindy?" I said, standing behind the seated.

She looked up from her storybook, and I could tell she was surprised to see me.

"Faith!" She exclaimed.