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theories about her
condition, and had his thoughts about how she’d get on the road to recovery. By
taking away her toys, perhaps she would be forced to accept reality and leave
her fantasy world. Yet no one would take her dolls away; it was time someone
did.
    Olivia
stared at the wall, not looking toward him as he slowly picked up his foot. He
put the sole of his boot quietly on Beth’s white face, pushing down with the
weight of his leg slowly and carefully, keeping his eyes on Olivia as a soft
cracking sound began to touch his ears.
    She
heard it too, her eyes growing wider as she looked towards the floor.
    “Please
stop,” she asked him calmly, though her face was full of distress.
    Her
voice was firm, almost demanding. The emotion flowing from her eyes was not
able to take over her voice. She stared, glued to the innocent head under the
boot, slowly caving in slightly and unnaturally. He pressed harder.
    “Stop…”
    The
gentle face split from the forehead to the chin, following along the right
contour of the nose. The crack that had formed then began to grind outward
against itself until finally it caved in completely, cracking off in different
directions and breaking apart into pieces.
    Todd
did not try to hide his sadistic smile.
     
    3
     
    The
whole act happened in just a few short seconds, though for Olivia, the ages it
seemed to take as she took in every detail of the horror would always remain with
her. The sound was gradual and light at first, reminding Olivia of the eggs
that were cooked at breakfast time, yet this sound wasn’t pleasing. She knew no
good would come from it. The girl flinched as she watched the doll’s worried
face grow longer beneath his foot, but nothing could drive Olivia to move,
fearing her action would hurt Beth more.
    I
cannot save you. I’m so sorry…
    After
the final shattering and the horrible sound reached her ears, she turned her
face away from the sight, cringing, unable to look.
    “Olivia,”
Todd said, calling for her attention. The sound of his voice sickened her.
“It’s for the best.”
    She
raised her eyes to his, and to her surprise, he was at the wall again, tugging at
a shelf of dolls and puppets to pull them down to their doom. He was aiming to
commit further acts of murder.
    “Please,”
she begged, but her words were unheard over the sounds of the wood of the shelf
cracking. Olivia did not know what to do. All her concepts of going to war to
defend love were hypocritical now.
    Beneath
his firm insistence, the shelf gave way and fell, the dolls rolling off of it,
hitting their heads on a large chest before they collapsed on the floor, some
shattering. Olivia jumped up, surprised and shocked by the mass murder taking
place before her eyes. What was he trying to prove to her? What kind of devil
had possessed him?
    “Stop
this!” she screamed, finally gathering the strength to stand up. “ Stop !”
    “Why?”
he demanded. “So they can keep you in this state? Tell me: why do these dolls
have your love? What have they done for you?”
    The
girl could think of nothing to say. It wasn’t about what they had done for her,
it was what she could do for them. She was the only one who understood them. He
had no right to take their lives. They had done nothing to him.
    “Leave
them alone please,” she asked. “Just leave.”
    “Leave?”
he countered. “I’ll leave when you answer my question.”
    His
angry eyes searched the room over, finally falling on the bed. She didn’t know
what he was looking at, and by the time she had realized what he was doing, it
was too late for her to stop him. He snatched up the nutcracker from the quilt
where she’d left him unattended.
    No!
    She
grasped at Todd’s arm, but he threw her off easily. Felling helpless, she stood
back, hiding her face behind her clasped hands in worry.
    “Don’t
hurt him,” she pleaded, tears gathering at the edges of her vision.
    She
was like a lovesick maiden who wished to reach out and