No Strings Attatched

Author's Note- hey all, I started whipping this out October 30, starting at 1:48pm Central Time. We'll see how long this takes…

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Chris couldn't sleep. Ever since that stupid interview with one of those teenybopper magazines, they had been dragging along those stupid puppets. Whose idea were they anyway? He hated them.

The bus was dark and the sounds of light snoring could be heard under the rumble of the bus. Every once in a while, the sound of Busta's tags broke up the monotony. They were driving all night to get to California for the next concert. Chris knew he needed to sleep, but he couldn't.

He looked at the marionettes. They sat on the floor, lined up along the wall. The moonlight reflected off the plastic on the front of their boxes. 'Too many horror stories, Kirkpatrick,' he told himself. Chris stared into the doll's small painted eyes. Expecting. Waiting.

Then it happened. The Justin doll blinked its clear blue eyes.

Chris froze. His heart watched with him, forgetting for a moment to pump.

The other dolls began to move.

Chris tensed, pulling the sheet tighter around him. He wanted to scream for help, but he didn't want to draw the doll's attention. Chris watched helplessly.

Quickly, the dolls untied themselves. Chris saw something glint in the moonlight, and then a long slice was made down the front of J.C.'s box. The miniature J.C. stepped out, moving mechanically and quietly. He moved down the line, releasing Joey, then Justin, Lance, then the mini-Chris.

The quintet gathered in front of the boxes, huddling together for a moment. Their tiny, helium-like voices could be heard as they mumbled to each other. After a few seconds, they split up.

Chris had never been so still in his life. His lungs were ready to explode from lack of fresh air. They longed for the deep breath Chris was too terrified to give them. 'Please wake up, please wake up,' he prayed, trying to rouse the others with his thoughts. 'Maybe I'm just dreaming things,' he thought. Chris was growing hot with fear. 'Maybe I'm still asleep. Wake up Chris, wake up!'

The dolls had passed through the kitchen. Their short bodies walked stiffly, and their eyes seemed to be glowing red. There was an evil look on their small faces. The marionettes had seemed so innocent a moment ago, now Chris found himself living a real-life 'Chucky'.

Each of the life-like dolls picked up a weapon. Chris watched as his puppet scaled the drawers and climbed on top of the counter. He grabbed a knife with his small hands and smiled evilly before climbing down again. Joey had found a Hard Rock Café glass and shattered it, arming himself with a big piece of glass. The Lance doll grabbed a pair of scissors and joined Justin, who had a lighter.

Chris clutched his pillow in fear. His heart, which had resumed beating, was now pounding in his chest so loud the sound rang in Chris's ears. The five marionettes made their way to the door. "Busta!" the Justin doll hissed. The other's stopped behind the blonde doll.

A jingle of Busta's collar announced that he was on his way. The marionette's eyes glowed brightly.

"BUSTA! NO!" Chris yelled, sitting up suddenly.

Five pairs of bright red eyes glared at him.

"Uh…hi," Chris squeaked.

"Take care of that one," J.C. hissed.

Chris shrank back as the other four marionettes approached, weapons in hand. The shadows of the dark bus enhanced their features, giving them and especially evil look. And those steady, cold eyes…

Why weren't the other's awake? He knew they all were heavy sleepers but damn…

Joey's doll branched off from the others and went to the bathroom. Justin, Lance and his own puppet climbed up the sheet that clung to Chris's terrified body. They stood poised on his chest. God they were heavy. It took Chris by surprise.

"You shouldn't have opened your mouth," Justin said, his voice raspy.

"Now you'll have to suffer," Chris added.

Their jaws moved straight up and down, and their once painted eyes were now glowing and hollow.

Chris's mouth hung slightly open as he stared at them in shock. "Wh- what are you doing?" he whispered.

A knife was suddenly at his throat as the Chris doll advanced quickly. "You'll find out," he hissed.

Chris closed his eyes and gulped.

The Joey marionette returned from the bathroom, dragging along two rolls of floss and a box of band-aids. With amazing strength, he tossed the supplies up on Chris's stomach. Then Joey joined his band mates.

'Damn these things are heavy,' Chris thought. The knife was pulled away from his throat and his hand was yanked backwards. Chris studied the small figures as they pinned each of his limbs to a corner of his bed. Panic taking over, he tried yanking one of his arms free.

A knife immediately slashed the side of his face. "Don't move!" Justin rasped. The Joey doll came into Chris's view and harshly slapped some band-aids over Chris's mouth until he could no longer open it.

Chris winced but obeyed. The marionettes were strong, almost too strong for him. They helped each other firmly and tightly tie both his hands and feet to the respectable corners of the bed. Chris fought back his tears of desperation. 'Please don't kill me,' he begged in his mind as his fear rose due to his helplessness.

Once Chris was rendered immobile, the puppets jumped down with an evil laugh. J.C. was holding Busta by his collar near the bus door. Chris watched silently, lying still except for the heaving of his chest. The dolls lined up and climbed on Busta's back. The Pug squirmed slightly, but a harsh word from mini-J.C. stilled him. J.C. was the last to mount their impromptu steed, and he stood on the dog's back and opened the bus door.

"Busta!" Chris cried through the band-aids, realizing that the dolls were planning to jump from the moving bus. He struggled against the thick floss binds, getting only pain in return.

With one last evil glare from the marionettes, they forced Busta to leap from the bus. All six figures disappeared into the night.

Chris felt his tears well up. Here he was, his mouth band aid-ed shut and stretched out on his bed. And when the others woke up and found him, he would have to admit that five, plastic puppets were responsible.

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"Chris!"

The others woke with a start at Joey's startled yell.

Chris lay fully exposed on his bunk, mouth still stuck shut. The others gathered around as Joey pulled the glob of band-aids off his friend's mouth. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked as they all began untying Chris.

"The dolls!" Chris exclaimed. "They're alive!"

"What?" J.C. asked.

Chris struggled and pulled his arms loose just as Lance and Justin undid the knots. He sat up and pointed to the empty boxes. "They're alive! They got out last night and they took Busta!"

"Chris, man, are you feeling okay?" Joey asked, feeling Chris's forehead.

J.C had finally gotten Chris's feet loose. "Are you serious?" he asked as Chris jumped up.

Chris gently felt the long cut on his cheek. "Why would I lie about this? They're gone, and they took my dog!" he yelled, grabbing a pair of tear-away pants.

"But Chris, the bus is moving," Lance said.

"I know!" he yelled, pointing to the door.

The others looked, and sure enough, the door was blowing in the wind. "Oh my God," Justin gasped.

"Where did they go?" Lance asked.

"I don't know," Chris replied, raising his hands. He went to turn on the TV before throwing on a shirt.

"Were they cool looking?" Justin asked.

"Did they grow fangs or anything?" Joey added.

"No, their eyes glow though," Chris said. "And they're strong. Really strong."

The bus suddenly slammed on the brakes, throwing all the guys into pile. "Hey Chris!" the driver yelled. "Is that your dog?"

Chris scrambled to get out from under Justin. He ran to a window and looked out, the others right behind him. "Oh my God," Chris whispered. Out in the surrounding wheat field, a tan Pug could be seen jumping through the new, short wheat. "Busta!" Chris yelled, then took off out the open door.

Joey and J.C. followed Chris outside while Lance and Justin watched through the window.

Chris called Busta as he ran full speed through the field. The dog stopped and faced the familiar voice. Without hesitation, Busta ran towards his daddy.

Chris scooped Busta up in his arms and cradled the dog the whole way back to the bus. "Oh Busta, I love you! You're such a good boy!" he cooed.

"Is he okay?" Joey asked.

Chris looked Busta over then continued hugging the dog. "Yeah, he's fine," Chris smiled.

"I wonder how he got out here," J.C. thought out loud.

"GUYS!" Justin yelled from inside the bus.

Joey, J.C. and Chris looked at each other than jumped on the bus. "What's wrong?" Joey asked, looking around.

Justin turned white and pointed at the TV.

"…Were found dead in their hotel rooms this morning. The Backstreet Boys have apparently been stabbed or burned to death, the cause of death being blood loss. This event will certainly shake the world, mostly the teenage girls that adored the Boys. Police are looking for the murderer or murderers now. They're only clue is the five abandoned Nsync marionettes; each splashed in the Backstreet Boy's blood. More on this story later." The camera panned across the hotel room on last time, and caught the five puppets lined up at the foot of a bed. Their eyes flashed evilly with a red glow.

Chris fainted.

Finish!

Happy Halloween 2000! Finish Time: 3:35pm

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