Cheesman Chronicles

The trip to Ex-Star was surprisingly easy. An hours drive from a fairly popular city, along a mostly well lit road, past a few farms, and finally into the town. Taylor and Brent stopped the car a couples minute walk from the town square, checking their paper map.
“You sure this is the right place?” Taylor asked. “Looks really… clean. The lights are on, the stores look stocked. What was the big deal about all this?”
“I don’t know,” Brent sighed. “The locals back there seemed pretty spooked about this place thought, didn’t they? No one was willing to go along with us.”
“I guess. But they did give us this map. So maybe it’s not all that bad? I mean if they’re telling us about it then it’s not dangerous.”
“No, obviously not. Just… a bit strange. Come on, let’s see if we can find anyone around.”
They got out of the car and headed into the town. Ex-Star remained still and lifeless as they walked up through the main square. No one came out to greet them, no one walked the streets, they didn’t even see anyone eating or just sitting.
Yet the town was in perfect condition.
The two of them weren’t sure what they were expecting. They’d been trying to find a new place to live after they weren’t able to afford their last spot. All the real estate agents they talked to advised them against this place, but they couldn’t beat the prices anywhere else. Besides, it had free internet, running water, and an hours drive for commuting. Not too bad in any regards.
For a town of this size though it was weirdly quiet. They heard a few whining motors here and there like an old metal wheel, sandy dust flew by their faces in the light breeze. No cars went by and no radio played out.
It felt like a weird dead zone.
Brent and Taylor made it around a corner and found their first person. A man stood looking the opposite way from them, wearing a flashy suit which hinted at an attractive physique.
Taylor walked up beside him and tapped his shoulder, but he didn’t respond.
“Hey man, you alright there?” she asked.
The man turned around suddenly, flashing a bright artificial smile. Taylor stood back, horrified. He was a mannequin. His skin was pale white, his eyes flat and painted on, his body moving in a creepily natural way.
The mannequin waved to her as if she were a long lost friend.
“Tired of not being able to find the right gym for you?” it said. “Try Arnold’s Fitness Palace – the all in one place that’s bound to give you the right pump of iron!”
Taylor stepped back against the wall of the building and looked up. She saw the logo for that gym just above her, with many mannequins inside it performing and ‘working out’.
She ran back out onto the street and away from them as fast as she could. Brent followed up to her.
“You alright?” he asked. “Those things are pretty creepy, aren’t they?”
“What… what are they?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Some kind of robot I guess. Weird that they’re still making adverts and stuff.”
“You’re telling me,” she said, still shivering a bit but managing to keep control of herself. “Do you know much of what happened here?”
“I had a look around online,” he nodded. “Apparently it used to be a company town of some kind. You know, the ones where people would live where they worked. That’s why the Wi-Fi’s so good. They were a sort of tech company. But it sold itself out to some rich guy who ended up bankrupting the company. No more work, so no one stayed.”
“And the robots?”
“Some kind of advertisement thing that rich guy installed. The old place had more conventional ads but he drove it up to eleven. Apparently these robots were the only things that would sponsor this place. I just assumed that they were decommissioned when they sold this place off.”
“I guess…” she muttered. “Let’s just… let’s just try and find our new house. Must be somewhere around here, right?”
Brent nodded and lead them both down the street once more. A few houses were beginning to appear. They weren’t anything magnificent: all old and slightly decayed. Graffiti lined the bigger ones and smashed windows marked the others.
Taylor couldn’t help but notice that the windows were smashed from the inside out.
After another fifteen minutes of walking they came up to their house. Surprisingly, this one was actually quite clean. The paint was new, the windows repaired, wood cleaned and polished to a shine. If they were in any other town it would easily be going for a few million.
“This the place?” Taylor asked.
“Believe it is,” Brent nodded. “Where’s the real estate agent? The ad said they should be-“
“Welcome!” a voice ran out from the door.
The two grabbed each other as a mannequin opened the front door to them, it’s empty smile flashing bright white teeth at them. It wore a fancy suit and held a notepad in hand, a pen in the other.
“Please come in!” it continued to say. “We welcome you to your new home!”
Taylor and Brent looked to each other in confusion. What was a mannequin doing here? Was it seriously their agent? Shouldn’t there be a human?
Taylor made the first move.
“Um,” she began. “Who are you?”
“I am your real estate agent!” it proudly proclaimed. “Please come in!”
Taylor glanced to Brent, who gave a shrug. They went inside, refusing to take their eyes of the ‘real estate agent’. It’s head turned to follow them but did not take any more steps. Clearly it was built into the house itself.
The insides were similarly staffed by these mannequins. All dressed up like servants of some kind, tidying up the spot they had been given and nowhere else. Everything out of arms reach of them was dirty and mouldy with grime and age. Yet these mannequins seemed to be in strangely perfect condition.
“Um,” Brent said, turning back to the smiling real estate agent. “What are they all doing here?”
“Could you please clarify?” it said, it’s smile just as potent as ever.
“These mannequins,” he said. “What are they doing?”
“Those are your guests!” it said proudly. “They are here to keep this house feeling alive.”
“Yes, but,” Taylor said. “Can we remove them?”
“I’m sorry, but unfortunately not,” it said. “These guests provide a substantial amount of wealth to this area. Removing them would lower our profit margins by a substantial amount.”
“Why did you repeat ‘substantial amount’?” Brent asked quietly.
“But what about real people?” Taylor interrupted him. “Surely if more real people came back then it would feel more ‘alive’, right?”
“I’m sorry, but unfortunately not,” it said. “Humans don’t provide enough monetary gain to be worth while in this area. You are the first ones here in three years. At that rate it would take five thousand years for the mannequins to no longer be prosperous. A rate that we cannot allow.”
“Then why let us live here?”
“You are paying the rent!” it said once more. “We will always accept money from your kind.”
Taylor turned to Brent, who gave a curt nod. She looked back to the mannequin.
“Could we please step outside for a moment?”
“Of course! Take as long as you wish!”
They quickly made it outside and out of range of it’s hearing. Out on the road where no cars or people went by, they felt like they could be themselves again.
“This place is a dead zone,” Taylor said. “I don’t care how cheap it is.”
“Agreed,” Brent said. “Let’s get out of here.”
They ran down the street and back to their car. The mannequins around them continued to stare at them, but simply continued spouting off their advertisements instead of going after them or trying to stop them. If anything that made it even creepier for them. They had no malice, no threat. They simply were blank avatars for money.

Image credit: George Hodan, PublicDomainPictures