The Dark Doodles

Louis entered the cabin and passed by the dusty tables, chairs, and a television. While searching through shelves and cabinets, something caught his eye. There were photos of Paul marked with ink, and he had a drawn mustache, glasses, a top hat, and other insulting drawings. As he chuckled, he spotted a rubber hose style cartoon of a smiling wolf holding a marker on most of the pictures.

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Inside the cabin's living room and from the window, the sun sank toward the horizon. Louis sat down near an unlit fireplace, and his hand gripped his hair. All the furniture had been turned and moved, and the cabinets and doors were left open. Frowning, Louis lifted his head to the wall where a carved stick figure was drawn, which had a speech bubble that read: You shouldn't be here.

Louis stood up and said, "Shut up. Don't tell me what I can't do. Don't you convict me." He grabbed a screwdriver and scratched the image. "He's a dead rich man and no longer needs the money. It's mine. You hear. Mine!" He slammed the screwdriver on the floor and breathed intensely. The screwdriver rolled on a trap door, but as Louis walked toward it, he was unaware that the face of the scratched stick figure changed. Its mouth gaped, and its eyes were wide open.

Louis walked downstairs into a basement, and the room was dim and empty, but he noticed something leaning on the wall. It was three framed, rubber hose cartoon drawings, and Louis ran to it, grinning and examining them. The first image was of an upright lamb, who stood in the center near a group of farm animals, but on the far left was a wolf. The wolf's arms were crossed, and it glared at the lamb.

In the second drawing, the lamb stood in front of an audience while two strong bulldogs dragged the angry wolf away, but the third was different. The last artwork had the frighten lamb standing behind a prison as a monstrous shadow displayed on the wall.

Louis pulled a pencil from his pocket and erased Paul's signature. He then wrote his name on the artwork.

Paul's voice then shouted, "You fool. Why are you here, man? What have you done?"

The lights brightened, and lots of stick figures covered the wall as many groans engulfed the basement.

Other voices said, "Get out! Doodles will take your ghost to his world. Run. He's coming. Get out!"

Louis trembled as he stared at the stick figures terrified facial expressions. The hangman drawings, rack torture devices, and saw blades destroyed the stick figures. Some drawn bodies laid in a pile and limbs were scattered.

Louis' eyes then spotted a wolf cartoon frowning and smiling as he used the torture devices and chased the stick figures. In another image, the wolf flung the heads of the stick figures into bowling pins.

Suddenly, the lights flickered, and the door slammed. Doodles, a being who wore a mask with a drawn happy face and had on cartoon gloves, entered the room with a mallet. A knocked out stick figure's face displayed on the mallet's flat surfaces.

Louis' eyes bulged. He grabbed the drawings and sprinted away into a hallway. The walls showed images of stick figures running in the same direction as Louis. Doodles' cartoon voice echoed and said, "Oh boy, I've got another one."

Louis ran toward another exit, but Doodles appeared from a corner. Louis accidentally dropped the artworks on the floor. Doodles skipped toward him with his mallet. Its cartoon laughs echoed as Louis fumbled the artworks and sprinted back to the basement. Louis raced up the stairs toward the entrance and Doodles' cartoon wolf image covered the door and taunted him.

From the hallway, Doodles said, "I smell fresh meat."

Louis breathed hard as he pushed and hit the door. It didn't open.

"You won't escape," said Doodles. It appeared from the hallway and walked toward him with his mallet.

Louis slammed his fist into the door. The door flung open, and he shut it and ran away while Doodles banged on the door. The cartoon gloves then peaked from the doorway.

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Louis entered inside the art gallery with his backpack and headed toward the counter where Andy stood. Louis said, "Andy, this time I've got something surprising. Here take a look."

Andy sighed and shook his head.

Louis reached for a framed drawing and showed Andy.

Andy frowned as he looked at the blank artwork. He said, "Oh dear, Louis? Why don't you stop wasting my time?"

Louis examined the framed artwork and gasped. "I must've misplaced them. Wait. Just give me a second. I promise they're legit masterpieces." Louis searched his portfolio, and his drawings fell out.

Andy spotted the art on the paper, which was a scribbled cartoon drawing of Louis stomping on the ground, and on his face was a well-drawn happy face mask. Andy said, "This is remarkable. Wow, I'd say I think you've finally done it."

People walk toward Andy and starred in awe of Louis' drawings. A man spoke to Louis, " This is outstanding. I must have this and others. I'm willing to buy this beautiful work of art." More people came to buy the drawing and argued over it.

Louis scratched his head and grinned, but as he looked at the commotion, he squinted and noticed black ink on his arms. He turned them and saw a drawn cartoon lamb.

It was night at Louis' home, and he washed his arms in the sink in the bathroom, but the cartoon lamb didn't erase. Louis entered his den as his body shivered, and he grabbed a heavy winter coat. He sat on his torn couch and listened to a voice mail from an art collector who wanted to buy his drawings.

An empty food can smacked on the floor and rolled. Louis turned his head and saw a pencil and piece of paper on his table. Louis stepped toward it, and his eyes widen.

In the drawing, Doodles the wolf stood near an empty grave. It held a clock, and there was an image of Paul's shivering ghost trembling inside an ice cube that's was near Doodles.

Louis sweated and someone giggled in his home. He then spotted a cloth on the table covering his signature. Louis turned the cloth inside out, and it was Doodles' smiling drawn mask.

Louis dropped the masks, and he breathed quickly while his body shook. A monstrous shadow then displayed on his wall.