The Soul Inside The Mannequin

"Chloe!! Come here‼ There's someone in that room!" Irish exclaimed in panic, shouting to her friend who was in the kitchen. "Chloe! There's a stranger!"

"What's wrong, Irish? Why are you screaming like that?" replied Chloe, who came in carrying two glasses of orange juice.

"There's someone in that room! I saw a pair of eyes," I explained, pointing to the dark room with its open door.

Chloe then entered the room, walking casually and turning on the room's light. "There's no one here, Irish. This is my mom's special mannequin collection room."

"Your mom collects mannequins?" asked Irish as she walked towards Chloe. In the large room, there were numerous mannequins, maybe around 20 dolls.

"My mom is opening a bridal boutique, so she needs a lot of mannequins," explained the beautiful woman. "Let's leave this place; let's go to my room."

Irish's brown eyes clashed with a mannequin standing near the door, and the display doll blinked at her. Immediately, Irish got scared and turned away, but Chloe quickly pushed her out of the room.

"Chloe, one of the mannequins blinked just now," Irish insisted.

"There's no way a mannequin can blink; it's an inanimate object, Irish," Chloe rejected her friend's opinion. "You're just tired. Let's just go to bed," she added, pulling Irish's hand to go up the stairs to the second floor.

Irish was shocked when she saw a mannequin standing near her friend's bed. "Do you also put mannequins in your room?" Irish asked directly.

Chloe shook her head, her facial expression changing. "No, my mom placed them here."

Hearing this, Irish widened her eyes, looking at the mannequin. The longer she stared at the display doll, the more convinced Irish became that something was different about it.

She was sure that the mannequin's eyes moved, and it seemed like it was breathing. Curious, she approached the display doll. "Irish!"

The woman was startled, accidentally bumping into the mannequin, causing it to fall onto her slender body. Irish was shocked; the doll felt surprisingly heavy for a display mannequin.

"Oh my, Irish, are you okay?" Chloe exclaimed as she lifted the mannequin.

"Chloe, this is very strange. The mannequin's body is so heavy," reported Irish, feeling burdened by the mannequin's weight.

"How strange? You're talking nonsense," Chloe quickly countered. "It's better for us to just go to sleep."

Irish didn't want to argue with her friend; the important thing was that she had expressed what she felt. As the woman was about to leave, her eyes met the blinking mannequin again, just like the one downstairs.

"Chloe!! This mannequin blinked," Irish shouted, panicking and afraid.

Once again, Chloe dismissed her friend's words. "What's wrong with you? You've said twice that mannequins blinked. Mannequins are lifeless objects, Irish!"

"For God's sake, I saw it earlier. I'm not hallucinating; I'm still very aware, and what I'm saying is true," Irish said, insisting on the truth.

"Okay, let's assume what you're saying is true. Then what?" Chloe asked critically.

"I don't want to sleep here!" Irish refused adamantly.

Finally, Chloe persuaded her friend to sleep in the guest room on the first floor. They agreed not to talk about the mannequin anymore. The night quickly turned into morning, and Irish panicked when she opened her eyes.

"Chloe!" she shouted when she realized Chloe wasn't beside her.

"What's wrong, Irish? I'm making breakfast," said the curly-haired woman, entering the room with a jar of chocolate spread.

"Why did you wake up early?" she protested.

The girl didn't answer; she left the room and walked to the kitchen, with Irish following behind. They sat in the dining room of Michael Roosevelt's family, and this was not the first time Irish stayed at their house to accompany Chloe when her parents went out of town.

But this time, she found something strange in the place-the mannequins. "Don't daydream, eat your toast!" Chloe said, making Irish jump. After finishing breakfast, they returned to Chloe's room to shower and change clothes. "Who will shower first, you or me?"

"I'll go first, but you have to sit here, don't leave me alone," Irish said, her beautiful face looking serious. Her friend responded by raising both of her thumbs. Irish went into the bathroom, cleaning herself from head to toe. After 15 minutes in the bathroom, she finally came out. "Chloe... Chloe..."

Irish panicked, continuously calling the room owner's name, but Chloe was nowhere to be found. Her panic increased when she realized the mannequin in the room had also disappeared.

"Chloe!" she screamed, running out of the room. Her feet moved quickly down the stairs to the first floor. "Chloe, the mannequin is gone."

"No, it's not-"

"The mannequin can move, the mannequin can walk on its own," Irish blurted out without giving Chloe a chance to explain something.

"Stop!! Listen to me first," Chloe interrupted. "The mannequin didn't disappear or walk on its own; I moved it to another room so that you wouldn't be scared to sleep in my room."

A smile immediately spread across Irish's beautiful face; her fear had not come true. She hugged Chloe as a sign of gratitude. "Thank you, Chloe!"

"You're welcome. Now wait here. I'll take a shower first," Chloe said, telling Irish to sit in the living room. Her friend nodded, now the brown-eyed woman waited while playing with her phone.

Irish had no suspicion that someone was slowly approaching her, step by step, and now the figure stood right beside her chair. As the target did not respond, the figure began to speak.

"Irish..." it said softly.

"Yes," Irish replied quickly, turning to the figure that called her.

The woman jumped from her chair, her eyes widened, and her voice suddenly choked. The mannequin from Chloe's room was now standing in front of her, and they locked eyes.

"Irish, please help me," it whispered.

The named woman could only shake her head as she walked away until she was cornered against the wall. It was well-utilized by the mannequin to press against Irish. It repeatedly pleaded for help.

Irish's body was less than a meter away; there was no choice but to ask the mannequin. "What? Wh-what do you want?"

"Take me away from here," it answered.

Irish shook her head again, flatly refusing the figure's request. "I can't."

"You have to take me away from here, Irish! I beg you," pleaded the figure.

"Why do you have to leave from here?" Irish asked, curious.

"Irish!"

"Chloe," the woman replied, surprised by her friend's arrival.

"Why is the mannequin with you?" the woman asked in shock, seeing the mannequin fall onto her friend. Panicked and frightened, Irish asked Chloe for help. Of course, the woman quickly descended and lifted the mannequin.

What Irish said yesterday was indeed true; the mannequin's body was heavy, like a human body. "Chloe, this mannequin is strange. It came to me, walked, and spoke like a human. And suddenly it became stiff like a statue," she explained.

"Are you not lying?"

"Do you not believe me?" Irish said, unable to believe that Chloe would ask her such a question. "Why would I lie to you?"

"It's not that, but it's really strange, isn't it? Mannequins can't walk on their own," the woman countered.

"Then what's this?" Irish pointed.

Without fear, Chloe took the mannequin back to its original room, making sure to lock the door. The atmosphere became uncomfortable for both of them, so the owner invited her regular customer to go to the shopping center. She needed a distraction.

"All right, let me grab my bag first," Irish replied, running to Chloe's room and quickly joining her good friend. They then went together to Chloe's mother's boutique, which was still under renovation.

Once there, Irish and Chloe examined each room separately. While the boutique owner went to the production room, Irish went to a room in the corner of the first floor. She was drawn to the room because she heard a sound.

Her slender hand grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open. Her eyes saw two mannequins ready to be displayed, conversing with each other. "Sorry to disturb," Irish said, intending to close the door again, but the two mannequins stopped her.

"You've seen us," said the mannequin wearing a crown on its head. "You must become like us."

"Sorry, I'll close the door."

"We'll chase you!!"

"Irish!" Chloe called from the second floor. "What are you doing there? Come up quickly; I want to show you something."

Irish forcibly pulled the door and immediately ran to the second floor, approaching her friend. Chloe handed her some newspapers she accidentally found in her mother's office.

"Isn't that ridiculous?" she said.

"Mannequins attacking humans, even causing death," Irish whispered while looking at her friend's face. "Now you believe, right? I'm not lying, Chloe."

"My mom hid this from me."

"Do you know that in the room earlier, there were two mannequins talking to each other? They threatened to turn me into a mannequin like them."

Chloe seemed to think for a moment and then said, "Show me where they are; I want to see it for myself."

Happily, Irish escorted her friend to meet the two menacing-looking mannequins. They quickly descended the stairs and walked towards the room that Irish had visited earlier.

"You're not allowed to enter that room," warned an employee. Irish and Chloe were shocked.

"Why not?" Chloe asked.

"There are many items inside, and we're afraid you might damage them, so it's better not to go in," the employee explained.

"My mom told me to get her shoes left inside," Chloe lied, curious as to why the employee prevented her from entering.

"Let me take them. You two wait outside," the male employee said firmly. Chloe refused adamantly, lying again, saying that she had to be the one to get them. "Then you'll be responsible for the consequences."

"Chloe, we should just abandon the idea of seeing those mannequins," Irish suggested, holding her friend's hand to prevent her from opening the door. Unfortunately, Chloe stuck to her decision, ignoring Irish's warning and the employee's prohibition.

The door was already ajar, revealing a 3x3-meter room filled with many mannequins. Chloe walked first, observing each mannequin without fear. They all looked the same as those at her home. "Which one is the mannequin, Irish?"

"That mannequin is not here," Irish said nervously.

"What do you mean it's not here?" Chloe asked, turning around, her forehead wrinkled.

Irish huddled closer to Chloe; she looked scared being in that room. "I've looked for the two mannequins, but they're not here. Not anymore."

"That means they've left this room, right?"

Irish shrugged, but her eyes suggested that Chloe's guess was correct. Both rushed out of the room, searching for the employee who had previously prevented them from entering the room.

"Sir, did you move the two wedding gown mannequins from that room?" Irish asked.

"No one moved the mannequins," the employee replied. "Why are you asking about mannequins? Didn't you go there to get shoes?"

"What about other employees? Did anyone see anything?" Chloe interrupted, eager to know the whereabouts of those mannequins.

"We were working, fixing this boutique. I can assure you that no one moved those display dolls," the man explained. Chloe and Irish exchanged glances, with no choice but to check every room.

"Where should we start?" Irish asked.

"Let's start from the left, how about that?"

"Are you going to look for those mannequins?" the employee asked, surprised when the two women intended to find the missing mannequins. Irish nodded in response to the question.

"Would you help us?" Chloe asked the employee.

"Sorry, I'm busy, and I don't want to end up like my friend," he replied bluntly.

"Like your friend?"

The employee pointed to a place, saying, "The mannequin attacked my friend there, in that room, two days ago. And now he's in the hospital, unfortunately, there hasn't been any serious action from your mother," he explained, looking upset.

Chloe and Irish exchanged glances; what they read was indeed true. It even happened to an employee working in the boutique. "I apologize on behalf of my mother for that, but currently, both of my parents are not here."

"If they were here, they would definitely take responsibility," added Irish.

"So, how is your friend doing?"

"He's still in the hospital, and the mannequin is missing; we don't know where it went," he replied. Chloe and Irish offered to visit the employee. She represented her family to take responsibility for the unfortunate incident.

Now they stood in front of the boutique, waiting for their online taxi order. It didn't take long for the taxi to arrive, and the two women quickly got in.

"Why are you standing in front of that store? Aren't you afraid of being attacked by mannequins?"

"Do you know about the mannequin attacks?" Irish asked.

"I'm the one who took the victim to Everest Hospital. It seems the mannequin stabbed the victim; the wound is quite severe," the driver explained.

Chloe instantly leaned on her shoulder, visibly shocked by this revelation. If she hadn't gone to the boutique, she wouldn't have known about the incident. Irish tried to comfort her friend. "Be strong, Chloe. There's always a way out."

The taxi stopped right in front of the entrance. After settling the fare, both got out of the car and walked towards the information center. It turned out the employee was being treated intensively in a VIP room. Chloe's mother had already taken responsibility by providing the best healthcare.

They quickly went to the room on the third floor using the elevator. "Do you need me to accompany you?" Irish asked, and Chloe shook her head. She wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with the victim.

Irish understood her friend's wish and waited outside. After talking for ten minutes with the victim, Chloe finally came out of the room.

"How's the employee, Chloe?" Irish asked, curious.

"The taxi driver was right; the injury is severe and needs intensive care," she replied to Irish's earlier question. Irish didn't ask further, understanding her friend's current state of mind. The chaos that happened in her mother's boutique had truly disturbed her.

"What's next? What if the authorities investigate this matter?"

Chloe's words made Irish stop in her tracks. She looked at her friend intently. "Everything will be fine. You'll get through this," she said, hugging Chloe.

"It's impossible. This problem will be remembered by everyone forever. The repercussions will be enormous, and the boutique hasn't even officially opened yet."

"Relax, Chloe, calm down. Don't panic like this," Irish said, trying to reassure her.

"If only you knew what the employee told me inside. I'm sure you wouldn't tell me to calm down," Chloe said earnestly.

"What did the employee say?"

"Something unbelievable, it's hard for me to explain it to you," she said, rubbing her face.

Irish was genuinely curious about what the employee had said to Chloe, but she didn't want to force her friend to tell the story. "So, what now? Are you going home, or...?"

"I don't want to go home. I'll stay at my aunt's house. You just go home," she said. "You go ahead; I'll ask them to pick me up here. Thank you for accompanying me, Irish. I hope you won't tell anyone about this."

"Of course, I promise you. I hope you find peace at your aunt's house," she said, hugging her friend. "I'll go home now."

Fortunately, it was still daytime, so Irish decided to take a public bus home since the bus stop was not far from the hospital, only about 50 meters away. Soon after, the bus she was waiting for appeared in the distance.

As soon as the bus doors opened, she got on and sat at the back. Throughout the journey home, Irish thought about the problems affecting Chloe's family. Perhaps this was the only criminal case caused by an inanimate object.

Unbeknownst to her, the 45-minute journey passed quickly, and she got off at her destination bus stop. She walked slowly towards her house at the end of the alley. There was a strange feeling when she stood in front of her house; she jumped in surprise when she saw the side door of her house open.

Her feet moved closer to her house's door. "Why is it open? I couldn't have left it unlocked," she muttered. Slowly, Irish entered her house; the corner of her eye caught a quick movement in the kitchen.

She quickly grabbed a broom to use as a weapon, thinking there might be a burglar in her house. The movement was again seen in her dining room, but Irish didn't chase it because she felt she knew the uninvited guest.

"Come out! I want to talk to you," she yelled. She wanted to show that she was fierce and not afraid of the figure. Unfortunately, the figure did not obey the homeowner's command and chose to hide in the guest room.

She chased the figure into the room; Irish arrived just in time to hold the door to prevent it from closing. Of course, this made the figure annoyed, and it stared sharply at the long-haired woman.

"How can you be in my house?" Irish shot.

"I didn't know this was your house," the mannequin replied. "Someone brought me here."

"Someone? Who is it?"

"I don't know," the mannequin replied. It insisted on closing the door, but Irish's strength was much stronger. The woman's courage increased; she kept moving forward towards the mannequin until it was cornered. "Don't hurt me."

"Why not? You dared to stab someone; it's not unthinkable for you to harm me too," Irish retorted, looking emotional.

"Of course, it wasn't me who did it," the living mannequin denied.

"Then why were you the one kept in Chloe's room?"

"I also don't know. The lady separated me from my friends," it said. "Besides, if I intended to do harm, I could have done it to your friend."

Irish fell silent for a moment; what the mannequin standing in front of her said was true. It could harm Chloe whenever it wanted, but it didn't. Instead, the strange mannequin asked for help.

"Help me, Irish," the mannequin pleaded with a pitiful face.

"Help with what? You're not in Chloe's house anymore," she muttered.

The mannequin nodded and smiled at Irish; instantly, she felt afraid that the mannequin might act otherwise. "Introduce me to my friends."

"Which friends? The ones in La Omelas boutique? The ones who attacked an employee there?" Irish blurted out. "Or are you the one who harmed that person?"

"No, we never did that. It's always humans who act cruelly, not us," it vehemently denied. "They can even turn creatures like us into what we are."

Irish swallowed her saliva because what the mannequin said was true. "I can't take you there."

"I need my friends' help to find the person who turned us into this," the mannequin continued.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by what you said earlier? They didn't make mannequins; they turned humans, right?"

The mannequin rolled its eyes lazily, turning its face away. "They killed us and turned us into mannequins."

"Killed you?"