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The inn was going into its off season and that meant Rick’s seasonal caretaker job began. Despite their time living with the couple, the puppets found themselves missing the place. Suzie and Rick agreed it was fine to let them join with him during that time, since there were less people roaming about. Meanwhile, the late autumn wind brushed by the branches of the near-bear trees, the sun high in the sky with no clouds in sight, Torch and Six-Shooter were meandering through the woods.
Six-Shooter stretched all six of his arms, that permanent toothy grin seemingly chipper than usual. “Finally, I can get a good look around here!” Six exclaimed, taking in the scene around him.
Torch softly grunted as a response.
“Let me tell ya, I was almost beginning to believe everyone forgot about me,” lamented Six-Shooter. “Well, still, thank you finding me all those years ago, Torch.”
The metal puppet rubbed the back on his head. “Um, well, don’t mentioned it.”
It was an accident that he found Six-Shooter that day. It was back when André was a walking rotting corpse gathering ingredients for the serum. Torch was acting as his master’s eyes and ears when the investigators were in the hotel searching for paranormal activity. While he was making his rounds that’s where he discovered a puppet lodged in the tunnels; a cowboy covered in dust and cobwebs, and having signs that something was nibbling at him. He didn’t know how long he was stuck there, but he didn’t want to leave him to the animals roaming the walls, either. Torch went back to where the puppets were to get help.
Ever since the repairs, and the arrival of Rick and Suzie, the rest was history.
It didn’t take too long for Torch to notice that they wandered a little too far from the hotel. He was going to mention it to Six until he heard the cowboy asking myself.
“Is that a mulberry, or what is that?”
When he saw the shrub in question he froze.
The shrub was a messy bundle of thin branches and leaves, only about a few feet in height. The bark was silver in color and the leaves ranged to palm-like to a single leaf. All said leaves had rounded bumps on their edges. It was a good spot to perform lookout from there. But it can also be a nice place to hide and rest from life’s troubles.
And that was his first mistake.
Torch only watched Six examining it, his eyes glowing in fear. He found himself keeping his right arm down as echos of the past found him. The demands to act and the screams of pain from a young victim still etched into his psyche.
It was in self-defense.
It was in self-defense.
It was in self-de fe nse.
“Torch.”
He barely noticed Six-Shooter’s worried ‘hehs’. Six’s head was tilted to the side, looking at his metal friend standing there, shaking from something.
The cowboy carefully approached him. “What’s wrong, partner?”
A confession started to slip out of Torch. “I didn’t mean to kill him; I just wanted him to stop yelling at me.”
“Wait, him? Who’s him?” He stopped and looked back to that cluster of a shrub and back Torch.
Sorrowful rumbles reverberated in Torch’s throat, wishing he was able to shed some tears. It has been so long since the incident. Why did have come tumbling back to him now? It didn’t matter before, why now? And worst of all, it had to happen right in front of Six of all puppets; he didn’t need to know what happened here!
Six walked over to him, observing his friend trying to calm down. He calmly asked, “Torch, can you look at me?”
His eyes shot up to the cowboy, those yellow points of light shaking, staring. The serum still racing through him as if the pump within him was going to explode any moment now.
“Do you want to head back to the hotel?” asked Six.
Torch stuttered, “Not yet. But, I don’t want to stay here either.”
“Then, we’ll take the scenic route to beach,” comforted Six, extending a hand to Torch.
The panicked puppet quickly accepted it. Six held on to Torch as the puppet leaned against him. Torch couldn’t help quietly sobbing as they walked away from the shrub.
Back at the hotel, they sat in the sun-bleached gazebo watching the waves push and pull as gulls were calling over the crashing waters. Six-Shooter sat beside his curled up friend and said, “So basically, you burned a kid to death.”
The little hitman tightly hugged his knees and nodded.
“I didn’t want to tell anyone about happened,” Torch explained. “They were already stressed out about everything, so I only told them a half-truth. If that makes sense?”
“And that was?”
“I was scouting; just doing some lookout.”
Six nodded with a sigh. The puppet thought over what to say next; he hated to see Torch beating himself up over this. Sure, they killed people, but killing a child was crossing the line for them. But, was Torch suppose to do in that moment? Take it? Obviously, he didn’t and he has to live with that now.
The six-armed cowboy looked over to Torch. “Look, it’s not your fault. There wasn’t any other way to make him stop, so you only did what you could do,” explained Six.
“There’s some things I’m not proud of doing as a puppet or even when I was a human, and those choices do stick with you.” He continued, “Sure, they’ll find their way back to haunt you in the end but they don’t define you as a person, Torch.”
Torch looked up when he said that. “I know, but I wish it didn’t happen at all.”
His eyes were drawn to the flamethrower that was his right arm. He doesn’t like to admit it but the power that he held scared him. The amount of fire he can shoot out and maintain was incredible and deadly. The length of it made it almost impossible to run from as they succumb to the flames. Their final moment being in agony as they laid there as a charred mass of a human; unrecognizable to anyone who may find them later.
Seeing how Torch was looking at his arm, Six reassured, “Give yourself some time. Like I said, it’ll rear its ugly head but it’ll pass.”
Six added, “Besides you were only a few days old from the way you explained it. It’s tough enough being new to the world,” he ranted, “but to defend yourself and help gather brain matter on top of that! Shucks, I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
“You don’t have to be. I’m more glad you didn’t have to witness all of it,” said Torch. “I think you would have hated how André acted.”
The cowboy stretched his arms. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore; he’s one of us now.”
He looked up to the top of the cliff where the hotel resided. “Wanna head back? The others are probably worried where we are.”
Torch sighed and clumsily got back on his feet. As the pair made the trek back to the hotel, Six-Shooter reminisced when Blade had done the same thing.