Children watched as a woman rushed through a fog laden wood. She was dressed in black hurrying away from the town that sits just on the outskirts. She carries a leather bound suit case that holds the only chance she has of escaping a terrible fate! A white veil hides what could be the undoing of her very existence. And she is running out of time. Will Janice make it before she is permanently this way? She can feel he limbs begin to tighten and harden in a way that is making it difficult to run and breathe. It’s happening…

It all began when she came upon a strange village just outside of her own town. She had never heard of the strange place…Quinn alley. That’s what the sign said as she rode on her bike and onto the Main Street of the village. Having a bit of money, she stopped at the quaint shops that lined each side of the curved street. It was a strange town indeed…. For there was no one in it…. No one but the mannequins set up on display!

After having eaten from the bakery, Janice started to feel stiff and strange. She didn’t think much of it as she walked into the old bookstore, until she noticed every book was about becoming human and how to be as human as possible. She was about to ask the shop keeper about all these strange books, but as she looked into his eyes, she realized he too was just a mannequin. She also realized she could no longer speak. The book on the counter had all the answers. There were 3 rules:

1. Don’t look eat the food or they’ll take over your body.

2. Don’t look into their eyes or they’ll take over your face.

3. Don’t let another person see you if you didn’t follow steps one and two.

P.s. if you didn’t follow steps one and two and you don’t want to be permanently like them, you better run and find the key that opens the shed in the woods. There you must gaze upon the mirror so that reality as you know it will remain firm and true.

It was by some chance or miracle…. Or perhaps some viscous cruel joke, that light reflected off something shiny and golden. Janice turned to look, and in the shop just beyond was a large golden key! But then she heard voices! Could there have been more people who stumbled upon this cursed place? She grabbed the dark coat and white cloth that were hanging up just beside the door before she ran out to the shop across the street. She could hear the voices scream as she ran towards the shop. At first the door wouldn’t open but as luck would have it, it gave just as she was about to smash the window. She grabbed the key and put it in her leather bound bag. She then made a run for the woods.

Which is where the young children who screamed in horror followed her and watched as she ran as though her life depended on it…. Because it did. They ran after her but couldn’t keep up.

But then Janice’s feet became too heavy. Her breath was slowly escaping her and not coming back. Her face became immovable. Finally… just as she caught sight of the shed, her vision and self began to fade.

The children stand still as the woman does. They keep watching, but she stands like a statue without even breathing. A wind picks up and blows the white veil from her face. One child looks into her lifeless mannequin eyes while the other child complains of the pastry he just got from the shop tasting funny. Little do they know that they too are running out of time…. But they’ll find out soon enough!