Burning Puppets

NOT A PR0MPT

******

Brushing her teeth, Hero readied herself for bed. Her music was on, her tea was ready for sipping -despite the steam rising from just below the rim, and now it was time for lip balm.

She laid down in bed, grabbed the tube of lip balm, and twisted the bottom of it until the surface of the balm peeked from the top, all glossy and shiny from the lamp across the room. The buttery product slid easily across her lips, but putting it back on her nightstand was less swift. She dropped it, and, of course, it rolled.

No matter where Hero touched, no matter how far she reached, it was impossible to find the tube which fell to the floor. Eventually, miraculously- given the small space between her bedframe and her beside table, she bent over enough to see the tube rolled halfway across the floor beneath her bed.

With her hair acting a shield, and with a flashlight in front of her eyes, Hero didn't notice the light in her room going out until she sat up. The hairs on her arms stood and a chill ran down her spine.

Someone was here.

And it was Villain.