"So, he just came in here and bought those dolls. That's it? He had no hesitation. Like he legit came in here with the intention of buying them?" Janina asked. She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.

Margie nodded, "Yep. He came in, grabbed a cart, and headed straight for them. He picked each one up...carefully, I might add, and put all three in the cart, then came up and bought them."

Janina's mouth fell agape as she leaned against the cash register, "Those things have been here for decades. I think they've been here since before you were born. I've been telling dad to get rid of them for years."

"Ummhmm. And I sold them." Said Margie with a grin from ear to ear.

Janina rolled her eyes, "Okay, pump the breaks. You didn't sell anything, the guy came in here and just bought them you didn't do any sales."

"Don't take this away from me," Margie snapped, as she returned her attention to organizing the candy and gum display.

"What did he look like?" Janina asked.

Margie shrugged, "Like a normal man? Why does that matter?"

"Well, I don't know. Was he young? Was he old? Did he look normal? Did he come off like a crazy person?"

Margie scoffed, "He was just a man. Why would that matter?"

"It doesn't. I'm not saying that it does. I'm just saying that those dolls were creepy as hell. Seriously, people would either walk by them and ignore them on purpose, or they'd glance down at them and give them that weird look of disgust where their lips curl upward."

That made Margie chuckle to the point where she almost dropped a packet of gum, "I don't know. Maybe he's some weird collector. Or maybe he's one of those guys who has a YouTube channel where he makes ugly things pretty again."

Janina made her way around the counter and began organizing the racks of used clothing, "Well, that's why I asked what he looked like. If he's mom or dad's age I doubt he's running a YouTube channel."

"I don't know, he was just an older guy. He was probably a few years younger than dad if anything. Just some normal-looking middle-aged man who bought those dolls." Margie said as she joined Janina at the clothes rack.

Janina shrugged and shook her head, "That's still so weird though. Those things were so ugly, they creeped me out for as long as I can remember."

Margie nodded, "Same. I avoided that corner of the store for the longest time. The thing that creeped me out the most was the fact that they were child-sized."

Janina laughed, "Yep, I always thought they'd come to life and just chase us around the store when it came to closing. I still do...or did."

"Yeah, it also didn't help that all three of them had those creepy, lifeless eyes and that their hair was all patchy and dry, the paint was chipped on every single one of them," Margie said.

Janina smiled, "Well I'm glad they're gone. Good job on your sale." Her fingers did the air quotes gesture with "sale."

"Whatever," said Margie with an eye roll. "You want to close down early? We haven't had someone come in here since that weirdo who bought the dolls and that was hours ago."

Janina hesitated, it was an idea that had been on her mind the entire night. They had an hour until their official closing time...would they get another customer on a random Wednesday night?

Probably not.

"Come on Janina, it's not like mom and dad are going to know or care, they're on vacation. Let's close shop, get some Jack in the Box, and rent a movie...what do you say?" Margie pleaded.

Janina thought it over for a split second and nodded her head. Fattening food and a crappy horror movie for the night sounded incredible. "Alright, clear the register and I'll start locking up."

----------

Janina was making her way to the far right corner of their parent's antique store when she noticed the person sitting on the shelf. On the same shelf where the three dolls were earlier that morning, the ones that Margie had allegedly sold. She knew that it wasn't a doll, because its feet were moving back and forth along the store's tiles, going from left to right on its heels.

She'd just turned out all the lights and at that moment she'd wished she kept them on, someone had made it into their store after she'd locked up, Janina was sure of it. Her mouth ran dry as she struggled to find the words to say.

And then the person stood up.

He stood but a few feet from her, shrouded in the darkness of the store, and at that moment Janina knew that it was one of the dolls that Margie had sold. She recognized the aged overalls, and the filthy little sneakers on its feet. Janina could feel its eyes on her as it took a single step forward. Janina struggled to move but she was paralyzed by fear, her brain was screaming for her to run in the other direction but her legs wouldn't budge.

And then he took a few more steps toward her and all Janina wanted to do was scream.

It was one of the dolls that Margie had sold, only it wasn't. He didn't look much like a doll at all, it was the human skin that sent Janina's brain into a frenzy. He looked like a little human boy, but he still had the glossy and lifeless eyes of a doll. His skin was void of any imperfections, no pimples, no scars or birthmarks, nothing...and that's what scared her the most.

Janina screamed, it was all she could do as the paralysis that consumed her body lifted. She spun around on the heels of her feet and ran in the opposite direction. She could hear the doll's sneakers on the tiles, and then she felt a force drive her to the floor. Janina collapsed forward, her mouth slamming into the tiles, blood shooting out onto the antique furniture to her right. She screamed and struggled, throwing her elbows behind her as the doll climbed up her back, wrapping its tiny hands around her throat. She gagged and coughed, spraying her blood onto the tiles, her world threatening to cut to black.

She was screaming so loud that her lungs burned, and she didn't even hear Margie running up to her. Margie screamed with all her might as she swung her right foot into the doll's face, sending him pinwheeling across the store before crashlanding onto the tiles.

"Oh my god! What was that thing?!" Howled Janina as Margie helped her to her feet.

Margie frantically shook her head, "I have no fucking idea. But I think the other two are in the store as well. I saw them from the corner of my eyes as I was coming to help you."

Janina watched in horror as the doll that attacked her got to its feet. It stood there for a split second and ran toward them. Janina wrapped her hand around Margie's wrist and the two sisters darted toward the store's entrance. She could see the girl doll to their left, running in their direction, heels clicking on the tiles as she cut through the aisles with a haunting finesse, her prosthetic hair creating a wavy trail behind her.

Margie screamed, and Janina turned to her right to see the other boy doll, the one dressed like a 1900s paper boy. He was charging toward them, his lifeless eyes locked onto Margie. Janina shot a blind hand to her left, reaching for something...anything that could be used as a weapon. Her hand wrapped around a metal lamp, she snatched it from the table it was on and swung it over Margie's head as the paper boy soared through the sky in their direction. The lamp connected, and she could hear a sickening pop as the doll soared through the sky and into a dresser.

"We have to go!" Screamed Margie.

Janina grabbed Margie's wrist and the two girls sprang for the front doors as the boy in overalls and the girl continued to run toward them. Janina drove her shoulder into the front door with such force that it sent a ripple of pain through her left arm, a pain she had to ignore. The two girls ran for her car, she unlocked it with the fob and the two girls threw themselves into their seats.

"Hurry!" Screamed Margie as Janina fumbled with getting the key into the ignition. Why was it so difficult? What was going on? How was any of this possible?

She slid the key into the ignition and fired up the engine and then she heard the glass shatter to her left. Janina turned and watched with sheer horror as the girl doll shoved her face through the glass, the sharp blades cutting across her bizarre skin. There was no blood, but her eyes blinked rapidly as if registering some form of pain. She continued to press her face through the window as the glass turned her cheeks into ribbons.

"Drive Janina! Drive!!" Screamed Margie.

Janina put the car in drive and slammed her foot on the gas as the girl doll continued to push herself through the glass toward her. Her car crashed over a planter, as Janina cut through the parking lot. Margie lunged forward, ejecting the cigarette lighter from its holster, she threw herself over Janina, thrusting the lighter into the doll's right eye. They didn't hear a scream, but she knew she'd inflicted some kind of damage because it released its grip on the car and crashed onto the asphalt.

Janina cut onto the main road on screeching tires as engine smoke flurried around them and burnt rubber consumed their senses. Leaving the three Human Dolls in their rearview mirror as they sped off into the night.