Manky Madeline

 The bright summer sun reflected off the light grey pavement glaring into Samira and Eddie’s eyes,

“Are we nearly there?” Eddie rolled his eyes looking at Samira

She looked at him, annoyed, as the reject shop was clearly right around the corner. As they began to cross the rough, bumpy road a van caught Samira’s eye, that neon pink van had been following them since they left hospital. They began to pick up their pace and the large van slowed next to them; the overly tinted window rolled down revealing a tall wrinkly girl with long white hair streaming down her back

“Have you seen my floral-patterned vase?”  She asked stepping out her van onto road beside them

The lady slowly crept towards the two whilst Samira forced Eddie to step back,

“Oh, I’m so very sorry miss,” Samira apologized “I haven’t seen it anywhere.”

The lady look disappointed as a stern look filled her face, quickly she grabbed Samiras hand with her coarse hands and started scribbling something down she let go and Samira took a look; it was a phone number with her name it was smudged but you could still make it out ‘Manky Madeline’ Unsettled Samira thanked her, and Madeline turned away when all of a sudden she jumped backwards and spun around, grabbing Eddies ankle with her wooden pincers throwing him into the back of her pink van

“I have the Moana DVD!” Madeline chanted jumping in hexagons in front of Samira

Eddie rollicked swinging his legs whilst sitting in the van as it was his favorite movie, but a panic look filled Samira face, she stood frozen for a few seconds before rushing to the back of the van to grab Eddie out of it, she reached out her hands as far as she could when Madeline came up behind her and aggressively shoved her into the van.

 

After a long while in the bumpy van it came to a halt launching the two of them forwards, Eddie gave Samira a worried glance scared to get out of the van. The back door creaked open showing an aquarium but not just any it was the Oklahoma aquarium which was supposed to be closed for maintenance, but the place was filled with cheap temu decorations and dead fish, it smelt of rotten spam. Madoline led them over to a small staff room hidden in the corner, it had a kitchen with an old gas stove, a lounge room with compacted down carpets and off to the side two bedrooms and a bathroom for people who worked night shifts.

“Will you make us a nibble?” Madeline warbled kindly “Perhaps quesadillas” she said pronouncing the l’s in it

Samira rolled to the kitchen with her roller shoes and began making bean quesadillas on the rusted counter tops and blunt knives.

After the quesadillas were done, she plated them up on some fine china and brought them over to Eddie and Madeline who had been playing with plastic toy trucks and ancient maracas Madeline had savored from back in the day. Madeline snatched the plate from Samiras hand and inspected the golden crispy quesadillas, covertly she takes some arugula out of her fanny pack and slips it into Eddies quesadilla. Smugly she handed it to Eddie and then took a bite of her own,

“BAA! Oh, that’s yucky.”  She yelped scrunching her face

Samira looked at Madeline confused when Eddie fell over turning red and his cheeks puffy, he writhed on the floor in agony

“HELP HIM!” Madeline cried, skedaddling towards him fearfully

She grabbed her second aid kit which had a violet torniquet, she glided it around his neck and used a needle to inject him with egg whites whipped to stiff peaks and the light fluffy proteins immediately stopped his reaction,

“Are you okay darl?” Madeline exclaimed acting relieved “Why don’t you have a rest, I was bout’ to head to bed myself.”

Still frantic, they speed walked to their paper thin spring mattresses and laid down.

 

As Samira laid on her bed the springs stabbed her back, she was waiting until Manky Madeline was asleep so she could escape. After about three hours and twenty-one minutes Madeline began to wheeze heavily straight away Samira scrambled out of her bed and cartwheeled silently approaching Eddie,

“Wakey wakey.” She whispered joyfully

Eddies eyes crossed before focusing on Samira, he gulped loudly, and Samira beckoned at Eddie and they tip toed to the door that hadn’t been oiled in 20 years, together they grasped the door handle and turned it steadily making a few clicking noises, they then pulled it open and the hinges squealed and howled wakening Madeline.

 

Madeline stormed down the hallway and saw the door left wide open

“WHY ARE YOUS LEAVIN’ ME??” she roared in a thick Texan accent

Madeline started to run before galloping on all fours crashing into the walls when turning, Samira and Eddie raced through the aquarium past all the temu décor and fish and hundreds of glass tanks with greasy marks on them until they turned a corner where Manky Madeline stood at the end of

“Leaving so soon?” she shrieked with glee pulling out her electric hair clippers

Hurriedly they ran back the other way, but Madeline was to fast for Eddie she grabbed his head and vigorously shoved his it in an old fish tank that she previously filled with the leftover water from her canned fish, Eddie fought back when he felt something tear the back of his neck it was Manky Madeline’s electric clippers. Madeline was mangling the back of Eddies neck with hair clippers, the water turned red, blood spraying everywhere and once Eddie ran out of air, he fell unconscious and his body sagged into the fishy water.

 

Meanwhile Samira was desperately running through the dark misty halls when she heard a faint trilling in the distance behind her

“Samiraaa.” It sang

Her heart sunk to her stomach and she knew she had to get out of their before it was too late when suddenly she realized she was running in circles and she slipped on her brothers blood that had sprayed on the floor, she gasped in fear and Maky Madeline creeped up behind her while braiding her own hair as Samira tried to crawl away Madeline frolicked in her direction with a cheese wire and before Samira could stand up Madeline Sawed off her leg with the cheese wire in one big slice.

“GAHH!” she shrieked

Using the last of her energy she pulled herself at thirteen kilometers an hour towards the disabled bathroom and she wrapped her leg that was gushing with blood in toilet paper and pads to hold it still, she than used her arms to pull her self into the toilet bowl, it stunk like fifteen day old deviled eggs but she took a deep breath and dived into the toilet bowl she began to swim through the overly large pipes kicker her leg and waving her arms, she began to panic as she felt a burning in her chest, Samira had started to run out of air her head felt light until she saw a faint light in the distance, she swam over as her vision became blurry and quickly gasped for air as she emerged from Manky Madeline’s bathroom drain in her evil lair.

 

Samira looked around and sneakily crept out the water and pulled herself towards the center of the dimly lit room leaving a trail of water behind her. The room was large and cluttered it looked almost like a labyrinth, Samira felt whispers around her and she collapsed on the floor thinking that she was going to die but as she lost her hope she saw a small trash can in the corner with a little green cylinder, it was prescribed medications for paranoid schizophrenia and it had Madeline’s name, after seeing this Samira knew exactly what to do.

“Samiraa!” Madeline uttered

Samira smiled disturbingly as Madeline stumbled into the room, Madeline pirouetted across the room towards Samira when swiftly she pounced pushing off her one leg from the edge of the bath launching the meds into Madeline’s mouth and massaging her neck so she swallows, in a panic she grabbed her phone from Madeline’s lock box and made a TikTok about the situation and within minutes it blew up getting millions of views, she cashed in her money from tiktok and used the money to buy a phone plan and called the police and soon after they arrived taking everyone to where they should be from a psych ward to a morgue where Eddie was kept.