Frozen Assassins vs the High School Student
| Frozen Lady Assassins vs the High School Student 2018 just before the pandemic took firm hold on the world Sarah Kopsh had just returned from visiting her grandfather’s farm located near reservation property along the Arizona northern border. When she returned the little book store had closed, that had always existed across the street from the business where she worked as a waitress that had tables both in and outside. When things were slow she often sat at one of the tables outside and looked inside the window of the book store. Upon her return she saw the bookstore had become a clothing store which apparently liked to dress up their mannequins (looking of Asian genes) and place them outside the front door so it gave the appearance like there was one going in and one coming out. The one coming out held one of their fancy sacks with the company logo on it. It was an odd name if you were to ask Sarah. B-Thirsty was the name of the company which maybe wouldn’t have been quite so weird if the lettering for the company logo wasn’t in red and in a format which looked like it had been freshly painted using an aerosol can so that in places the paint had went on too thick and as such had begun to drip off the canvas. The store didn’t feature goth clothing or anything like that, which made the store logo all that much more of a curiosity. Perhaps the owner didn’t put the whole color scheme together with the dripping font look and of course the thing it spelled out. B-thirsty could have easily had a sexy undertone to it. Perhaps to some it still did even with the red dripping font. But to Sarah it was just odd. None of that was reason to even turn your head. What was reason was the dream she had while sitting at the table outside. And more frightening was the one she had at home later that night. Before settling down for the nap she had wondered into the clothing store. Stepping past the mannequins there was a distinct odor of mothballs. The old fashioned kind that really stink up an area. She recognized them from her stay at her grandfather’s farm. Her grandmother was partial to using them in their storage closets which was where she liked to spend time looking at stuff. So she recognized the odor quite clearly. She bumped into one of the frozen females, the one leaving the store, and knocked the sack from its frozen hand. Sarah bent down and picked up the sack and replaced the handle into the mannequin’s outstretched hand. She said, “I’m sorry.” Then, just as an after thought, and because she thought it funny, she added, “that perfume will keep more than just the moths away.” Then giggled and scooted past the two frozen models and into the store. A while later she exited without having purchased anything. The place was frankly over-priced and she didn’t hold out hope it would be there for an extended stay. After that was when she sat down at the outside table and fell asleep. In her dream she saw the two mannequins. They had knives in their hands and in her dream they kept getting closer but it was in pictures where they would be frozen in motion each time but with every passing scene they were getting a little bit closer with those knives. Then she was watching herself sleeping, with her head down on the table, as the two mannequins got closer to her in ever scene. In the last picture, right before she woke up, the closest mannequin, the one she had knocked the sack out of her hand, was in a frozen motion where she had obviously taken a slash at Sarah, which was what caused her to wake up. Once awake, she felt a sting on her neck. She pulled her hand away showing blood on it. Immediately she ran to the bathroom and saw that her neck had been slightly grazed by something which must have been sharp because it was a clean cut. She returned to the outside table to see the two mannequins where they had been before. The one entering and the other leaving, still holding that sack with the B-thirsty dripping red logo on it. Then she noticed something that almost slipped past her. The two women had changed places. The one going in was now the one coming out and vice-versa. She walked over to them very cautiously and touched the one coming out. She didn’t move, of course, just stood there stinking like mothballs. She hadn’t noticed the stench when it was attacking her in her dream, but the odor was most apparent now. She even thought she could remember vaguely smelling that odor when the mannequins were coming after her with knives. But that was crazy. Did things even have an odor in dreams? She didn’t remember ever experiencing it. Then again she never had a dream that actually cut her either. Did she manifest the wound? It wasn’t much of a cut. Barely more than a paper cut. Truth be told the odor of the mothballs bothered her more than the actual wound though she didn’t know why? Perhaps it was because she could have believed she manifested the wound. But she wasn’t so sure about the odor. Up until that nap, she had always believed that you couldn’t smell things in a dream. That meant if she did smell an odor it wasn’t likely something she had invented in her mind. Then again the whole scenario was probably a goof. People were starting to come in for the evening dining. Soon she was busy taking orders and bringing food, and by the end of the night she had actually forgotten all about the entire incident. When she left there that night it was impossible not to notice the two mannequins were nowhere to be seen. Sarah walked over and glanced in the window of the shop and saw them inside. While walking home she laughed at herself. What did she expect to see the mannequins doing? Sharpening the imaginary knives? Threatening the other mannequins? Perhaps catch them performing some satanic ritual? At home she fixed a frozen pizza and ate half of it. Then she let herself drift off to sleep. It was three a.m. when she was woke up drenched in sweat. The nightmare had featured the mannequins, just like before they were coming after her in a series of frozen pictures. In every frame they came closer, holding those knives. This time she was able to flee before they got close enough to cut her. She knew she couldn’t go back to sleep so she fished around looking for the remote to her television when she noticed that odor of mothballs. How could that be? Were they actually here? Checking the front door she found it unlocked. This was most unsettling and was cause to not fall back asleep the rest of the night. That next day at lunch time she arrived for her shift. This particular day the wind was blustery and when she was refilling the napkin holders a handful of napkins caught a round of wind blowing through and it caused the napkins to scatter into the breeze where they drifted across the sidewalk and into the mannequins standing outside the clothing store. Most the napkins found wings and blew on to some other location but there were a few that got caught in the mannequin’s clothing and there was one flapping from the shoe of the mannequin which was walking out of the store. Sarah didn’t give it much thought after it happened because the lunch crowd showed up and she got busy. Later in the day when the lunch crowd dwindled to just a couple of old ladies drinking coffee she took advantage of the situation and sat down at the table outside where she had napped the day before. Once again she drifted to sleep because she was exhausted from not sleeping the night before. In her dream she was watching herself sleep when the mannequins began to get closer to her sleeping body in that weird way they would appear frozen in a scene and then she would look again and they had moved closer. She came to the realization that they only moved toward her when she wasn’t watching them. She couldn’t help but allow herself to blink and when she opened her eyes again they were again closer and this time they had their knives out. She struggled to keep her eyes on them but she was so tired. Again she slipped and blinked and again they were closer. Sarah forced herself to get up and get moving. She walked into the building and looked out the window. The mannequins were back where they had started. A dizziness came over her that nearly took her off her feet. She quickly found a chair and before she knew what had happened she was again sleeping. Her boss came over and nudged her awake. Before she even acknowledged her boss the first thing she did was to look out the window at the mannequins. They were in different positions. They must have started to come for her when she fell asleep but her boss had saved her. She made an excuse to go home and her boss was agreeable. She was told to get some sleep and feel better. Sarah left and went straight home. She was exhausted but now she was afraid to go to sleep. Maybe she was tricking herself. This whole scenario was crazy as keeping goldfish in a mud puddle. Maybe the fact she was so exhausted had caused her to dream all this stuff was happening. She thought, after all, what has really been the result of all this? She had one scratch on her neck that could or could not have been caused by the mannequins. That odor. Well it is a very distinct smell which having been recently exposed to it there was logical cause that she would incorporate that odor into her dreams. She was willing to bet that the mannequins didn’t even smell like moth balls. It was probably something she had brought with her and she caught whiff of it when she was near the mannequins and there was the association. Sure that was it. She was being a nutcase. She had herself totally convinced. When she got home she went straight to bed and didn’t hesitate to shut her eyes and allow the sleep to blanket her body. She woke up refreshed and feeling like that obviously her fears had been for naught. In a wonderful mood she was practically dancing around the house. The evening came and she ate dinner with her parents. It was something she didn’t do as much these days due to her job needing her at the same time that her folks, like most people, sat down to eat. Feeling a hearty appetite and the mood to converse she ate while the family talked. Eventually her mom made mention of having seen something odd earlier in the afternoon outside their front door. This was very much of interest to Sarah as soon as she heard the mention of the word ‘odd’. She felt like she had all the odd she could stand for a while but apparently she was going to get more whether she liked it or not. Mom went on to say that when she arrived back from the drug store that there were two mannequins standing outside the front door. They had been placed so that it appeared like they were trying to force the front door to open. Sarah felt like she had been kicked in the stomach and karate chopped at the neck all at the same time. Her hungry attitude dissolved like sugar with hot water poured over it. She got up and caught her foot on the chair, causing her to fall and hit the floor with a solid thump. The foot was wrenched loose and she felt herself tear up as she struggled to get back to her feet. Her legs felt like over-cooked spaghetti and she couldn’t breathe. Her mother had been saying something to the effect that when she finished parking the car and went to the front door to see what this was all about that she had once again been surprised because the mannequins were not there any longer … then the next thing Sarah heard her mother saying had something to do with Sarah’s clumsiness. She came back into the conversation in mid sentence. “… and another thing is you look like hell the last couple of days. What is up with that?” Her mother asked. “I just haven’t been getting much sleep that’s all. I’ll be fine.” But she was far from fine. Sarah was going to have to face this situation. By herself. There was nothing she could say to someone that wouldn’t sound like she was absolutely bat-shit crazy. No, she had to deal with this by herself. Two in the morning was the last time on the clock that Sarah had seen before she fell to sleep. In her dreams they were back. Same as the times before, they would advance upon her in frozen scenes. She never saw their bodies actually move. Just that when she looked away and then back that they would be closer. When they got within a certain distance the knives would become visible. Perhaps because she had slept earlier, or perhaps she was just that terrified, but she woke up before they were able to reach her. She got up to go pee and while walking down the hallway she noticed a napkin laying on the floor of the hallway. Did she smell the slightest hint of mothballs? It couldn’t be. How could they have got in? She passed the bathroom and went straight to the front door. It was not only unlocked, but was also ajar. The door had not even been shut properly. She shut and locked the door in proper manner and then went to pee. The rest of the night she sat up thinking what to do? She decided to drive down to the cafe where she could look at the mannequins inside their store and was surprised to see the mannequins were outside, standing in their usual spots. The one coming out of the clothing store didn’t have her B-Thirsty sack in her hand like usual but other than that they were the same. That must be how they were able to be at my house tonight. They are not picking locks, they were already outside and free to go. But how did they get into her house earlier? Of course! Her father was notorious for leaving the front door, or all of them for that matter; unlocked. Her mom was constantly complaining to him to remember to lock the doors! That would explain why the mannequins were stuck outside the front door when his mom came home but later were able to get inside after dad had come home and forgot to lock the door. If all that was true then at least she could feel safe from the mannequins when behind locked doors. That was a lot when you considered the alternative. Even so, she was so tired and so scared but she knew she had to sleep so she made sure the doors were locked and then instead of climbing into bed she stuck her pillows to look like it was her sleeping under the covers and then she crawled into her closet with a bunch of her favorite stuffed animals and fell asleep. The next morning she woke up a little stiff from where she had slept but she was alive and she had another day to figure out what to do about the mannequins. Work came and went without incident. The mannequins stared with their dark, lifeless eyes, watching Sarah throughout the day. When she left to go home they were still outside which meant she might end up getting a visit that night. Back at home she went around the house making sure the doors and windows were all locked. Next she waited for her father to return for the night so she could make sure he didn’t forget to lock the doors he came through. Once she had everybody inside for the night there was another trip around to make sure everything was locked tight. That accomplished Sarah was finally able to allow herself to relax a little bit. This was becoming ridiculous. She had to figure out something long-term. Nobody could live on such short amount of sleep. When she was awake she felt like a walking zombie. At work, she chose a table inside this time for taking a nap. She slept without dreaming of the mannequins for the first time since first laying eyes on the things. She went home that night after work with an expectation of not having any more worries about the frozen women. She woke up disappointed and bleeding. In her dream they came after her still in that one frozen scene at a time approach that this time was more like they were there but there was a strobe light and she was only able to see their movements whenever the lights were on. She thought it was more like because her eyes were closed that they were able to move as freely as they wanted and this was perhaps their fastest pace. It was fast enough to allow them to get close enough so they could reach her with one of those knives. She saw them coming in the dream but was too slow reacting and it got her cut. The wound was not deep so she treated it as best as she knew how. It was across her wrist on the right hand. A defensive wound for certain. She tried to get some sleep but couldn’t bring herself to allow it. Instead she drove down to the cafe and saw the two mannequins outside the shop like they should be. Sarah walked over and tried to talk to them. She looked into the dark eyes on their pretty Asian faces and began to speak. “I don’t know why you have chosen me. It surely cannot be just because I bumped into you. I said I was sorry. And I am apologizing now for the remark about the moth balls. That was uncalled for. Though in my defense I didn’t realize I was offending anyone. It’s just that I recently had a lot of exposure to the same scent and it really was more of a statement towards my existence than about something I didn’t know existed. So I am truly sorry. Please, let it go. I’m not a bad person. I’m not rich, or pretty, or smart. There are a lot of people out there much more deserving of your attention than me.” She got back in her car and drove home. Sarah figured out the reason she slept so well earlier that day was because she had went to sleep in a place where there was someone watching over her. Yes it was her boss, probably looking on all pissed off she wasn’t working, which would have resulted in a close scrutiny. So she figured the mannequins would not attempt to come after her if her sleeping body was being watched. Back at home she made sure the doors were locked and then allowed herself to get a few hours sleep before having to get up and do it all again. Sarah set up a camera surveillance on the front and garage door entry locations which was set to get footage any time the motion detectors went off. There was one photo that showed the two plastic models and it looks like they are pulling on the front door trying to get inside. Obviously her pleas to the entity that was behind her persecution didn’t care about apologies, and perhaps it had chosen her for no reason other than because she was the one available and vulnerable at that moment in time. A month passed and according to the surveillance cameras the mannequins came every night trying to gain entry. Sometimes they would have the knives in their hands and sometimes they did not. She had seen them both ways and knew that they could produce the knives at any moment and that they were quick to use them if given opportunity. Sarah had not been cut again in the month that passed but her anxiety was as high as ever and who could blame her? Having something be so regular about wanting to hurt you is hard on the nerves. It wears on a person. Always double checking the locks. Make sure nobody went out and left a door open. Then one day Sarah got an idea. She waited until there was nobody left around the cafe, and that all the clothing store employees were gone. Then just in case there were security cameras on the mannequins, she wore a plastic bag over her head. She walked over to the mannequins produced a saw, and proceeded to tell the statues that if they valued their feet that she had better never see them anywhere near her again. And then she cut their hands off. She took them home and smashed them in a trash compactor. Sarah went to sleep that night and had no visits in her dreams. She continued to work at the cafe and napped where she pleased. Across from the cafe, two handless women crossed paths as one was coming, and one was going. | |