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Karen Holt knew her youngest son was wandering the house at night. She knew he’d opened his Tattletail early, and she knew that he didn’t know she knew. He seemed to be okay, not making too much noise, and he was actually laughing, for the first time in a while.
She was content to ignore it the first night. The second and third nights too, though the odd grinding noise did concern her. She figured it was some pipes, and continued to ‘sleep through it’.
The fourth night, however, she couldn’t ignore it anymore.
--
It started small, with a high-pitched, mechanical voice repeating “Wake up!” over and over again. It said something about a ‘party for Mama’, and requested Mikey’s help. Karen sighed, about to go back to sleep, when that horrible grinding started up again.
She sat up, clicking on her lamp and rubbing her eyes. Sensing she wasn’t going to get any more sleep tonight, she decided to just stay up and read, in case Mikey needed her for anything while on his late-night party escapade. She ended up finishing another four chapters before something out of the ordinary happened.
At first, it was faint. A quiet rumbling, coupled with tiny voices chanting something. She frowned, marking her page and closing the book. She strained her ears, the chanting growing louder, now accompanied by the grinding and the sound of shattering ceramic. She slipped out of bed, pulled on her robe and slippers, and headed towards the basement door, trailing her hand along the bumps in the drywall along the way.
Now that she was near the basement, the chanting was clearer. It sounded like Mikey, along with his Tattletail. She frowned when she heard exactly what he was chanting, brows furrowing. Did they mean the Mama Tattletail she’d gotten for Kathy and Jonas when they were little?
She opened the door, just enough light spilling downstairs from the kitchen to illuminate Mikey. Her hands flew up to her mouth when she registered what was going on at this ‘party’ of his. He stood by a pentagram made of Christmas lights, a Tattletail at each corner, and a VHS tape gripped tightly in both hands. His face was scrunched up, teeth bared as he very nearly screamed the chant.
“NO MORE MAMA!” he yelled angrily, bringing the tape down and snapping it over his knee. The candles around the pentagram blew out, and the Tattletails fell silent. She bit her lip, clicking the basement light on.
“Mikey? What the heck are you doing this late? Don’t you know what time it is?” she asked, crossing her arms. He startled violently, dropping the two halves of the tape and glancing between her and the Tattletails in horror.
“U-Uhm.......no?” he said, wringing his hands in his shirt. She sighed, scratching the back of her head and yawning.
“Mikey, it’s three in the morning! You better have a really good explanation for all this....” she said, staring at him with the best stern expression she could muster. He flinched, looking away from her. “Couldn’t whatever you were doing down here wait until morning?”
His eyes snapped back to her, wide and terror-filled. “NO!” he yelled, before clapping his hands over his mouth. She blinked, startled. “I-I mean....” He started to get dangerously close to hyperventilating, hands twisting in his shirt so tightly his skin turned stark white at the knuckles. She was down the steps and at his side in a flash, hugging him close and petting his hair.
“Shh, honey, shh, it’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna,” she soothed, rocking him gently back and forth. He hiccuped, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her hair.
“I-It was Mama Tattletail, she tried to eat me n’ stuff and if I wasn’t quiet she showed up and she jumped at me and I was so sca-ared!” he sobbed, voice breaking towards the end of his sentence. She shushed him again, scooping him up in her arms and heading for the overstuffed living chair next to the pentagram, sitting down with him in her lap.
“Mama Tattletail? Is that why you and your friends were yelling about no more mama?” she asked softly, petting his hair and looking at him worriedly. He nodded, eyes squeezed shut and damp with unshed tears. “Well, did it work?” she asked, honestly curious. He shrugged, sniffling.
“I dunno if it did or not. I broke the tape and then the candles went out, but I try not to see her if I don’t have to.....” he muttered, sounding so desolate that Karen almost teared up as well. She rubbed his back, smiling softly when his shaking eased slightly. He peeked up at her through his hair, his big brown calf eyes glimmering with tears. “You’re not mad I opened my present early?” he asked cautiously, fists tightening in the fabric of her robe. She shook her head, kissing his cheek. “Baby, I’ve known since Sunday night. I figured that you needed a friend more than you needed a surprise, so I didn’t say anything. You’re not in trouble, Mikey. I just want to know you’re safe, okay?” she said softly, holding him closer when he started to tremble again.
“......’kay, Mama.....” he whispered, closing his eyes. She smiled softly, resting her chin on the top of his head. Suddenly, a new voice broke the silence.
“Ma.....ma......Mama......scary........I want.....Mikey’s mama.....” She blinked, looking down at the purple Tattletail sitting on the floor in front of the chair.
“Did you say something?” she asked quietly, astounded at how powerful its learning capabilities were if it did. It rocked back and forth in a jerky approximation of a nod, looking up at her with its big eyes.
“Can Tattletail......Can Tattletail have hug too....?” it asked, tilting its head to the side. She bit her lip, considering for a moment. It was just a toy, but...........she’d heard how it was with Mikey through all these nights, when he was alone and probably getting chased by Mama. She smiled, nodding her head. Faster than she could blink, it was nestled up between Mikey’s arms and her chest, the hard plastic inside pressing uncomfortable against her sternum, but she endured it. Mikey’s shaking had all but stopped completely now that he had Tattletail again, though he was still worryingly quiet. She wasn’t sure if he’d ever make a lot of unnecessary noise again, to be honest. Not after what he’d been through this past week.
She huffed through her nose, smiling and pressing a closed mouth kiss to the top of Mikey’s head. “Go to sleep, hun. I’ll be here when you wake up. Mama loves you.....” she murmured, more a hum than sound.
“.........I love you too, Mama.”