A Mansion Groans XI

White and blue electricity crackled as it travelled along the wires towards Thomasina’s perm. Fingers could feel the static in the air around him.

Tomstein fizzed again with excitement; his hair reaching further upwards with the additional static.

The Honourable Tom and Tomelangelo both watched Tomstein closely, his actions more eccentric than usual.

Tomette also noticed the difference, and looked intently at Tummy. She used her ancient Egyptian telepathy, hoping her bandaged fellow aspect would receive her message clearly.

Tombie groaned and oddly started walking around the lab in a strange circular square motion. Suddenly, he walked into the chair that Thomasina was bound to, and flicked his right hand into the dish that Fingers was holding tightly on to. Tombie’s hand, Fingers’ two hands and the dish then hurled through the air, coming to a rest on Tomstein’s head. The three hands held the dish firmly in place as the electric current reached its destination.

Fingers and Tombie’s right hand leapt from the dish just at that moment. The lights in the lab flickered off, then on, then off again.

The only thing the inners could now see was the eerie glow of Tom Tootee’s ethereal body leave Tomstein and travel with the electric charge into the dish that was attached to the dummy’s head.

The lights in the lab flicked back on again, and everyone stood looking at each other open-mouthed (which wasn’t particularly pleasant in Tombie’s case as his tongue fell out).

Tummy released Thomasina from his bandages and she stood glaring at Tomstein. “You were going to send me into that monstrosity?!” She fumed with gusto.

Tomstein looked at the red hair, yellow shirt and apron and bit his tongue. He removed the dish from his head, and instead said, “Nein. It vas Tom Tootee who vanted to do zhat. I realised earlier zhat I had become possessed by his evil spirit, but couldn’t do anysing to shake him off. I knew zhat by dropping a few subtle hints, von of you vould vork out vhat vas going on. I vas surprised to see zhat it was Tombie who figured it out.”

“It was I who figured it out, dahling, actually.” Tomette huffed condescendingly.

“I think you’ll see that it was me.” The Honourable Tom argued.

“You’re both wrong,” Tomelangelo cut in, “I discovered what was really going on.”

Fingers tapped frantically on the tabletop, and pointed.

Thomasina gasped. “The dummy! It’s gone!”

The eerie laughter of Tom Tootee filled the laboratory a second before all of the lights went out, plunging the group into an uneasy darkness.

The laughter stopped as they all, somehow, heard the front door to the Mansion slam shut.

The dummy had fled, with the mind of an ancient spirit, out into the night… the slamming of the door indicating it wasn’t welcome back into the Mansion ever again.

The lights once again flicked on, and the gathered throng started bickering amongst themselves.

The Mansion let out one final exasperated groan, and left them all to it.