Chapter 1

Don’t move to L.A. Everyone here is made out of plastic. I don’t mean the superficial or surgery type, although that is true. I mean that some of the people you see walking the streets are not human. I’m not sure if you can even consider them “alive”.

Look, I know this doesn’t sound right but take a leap of faith with me. I’m not a religious man. I mean, I grew up religious but I don’t practice. I think the universe is too big to just have one god but if you do, that’s ok. The idea that God, or gods, are able to bestow joy or blessings and miracles is a wonderful thought. But if you believe that then the opposite must also be recognized. Then beings that tempt you to sin or cause misery must exist. I think these things are vessels for that. I’ll go more into that later.

The amount of them I’ve seen and collected is insane. They look like mannequins with skin stretched over a brittle shell. The ones I find cracked open sometimes have weird writing on the inside, like runes or symbols. Other times there’s ones that have, I don’t know what to call it. Wet red stuff in them. It doesn’t look like any organs I’m familiar with but it kind of reminds of the inside of an orange. Stringy, tightly packed, but there’s also like membrane and pustules keeping it organized. At least they don’t smell bad. They almost smell like cheap wine and potpourri. Not horrible but there’s like some sticky musk to it.

I remember the first time I saw one was when I first started as a garbage truck driver. I told my boss, Tino, what I had found. He asked me where I saw it, I told him and he wrote it down. Said it was for later and to let him know if I find anymore. A couple weeks go by and I see more in the same spot. I called him up and he asked me, “ Are they still warm?” Confused and unthinking, I touched one of the three and it was. I couldn’t believe it because it felt like a normal human arm. I told him yes and I could hear a bit of excitement in his voice. “Great. Thank you Alex, we’ll send someone over.”

Later that day, my boss pulled me into his office. He asked me “So Alex, I know you're new but how’d you like to make a little extra cash on the side?” I’m not broke but I’m not going to turn down some extra cash either. I told him I was interested. He said it was 500 bucks per mannequin, I immediately agreed. He said he would pick me up later and go for a ride.

He came by at 10 p.m. and we went to the alley where I last saw the mannequins. He told me to throw them in the back of the truck and cover them up with the tarp. As I covered them up, I asked him “Why the tarp? Are we stealing?” He said “No, not stealing. The tarp just makes them act up less. Plus, I hate it when they stare at me.” Confused, I looked back at them and saw the eyes of one moved over to look at me. Glass blue empty eyes, with no light behind them. It felt like I was being looked at by some apex predator. Freaked out, I jumped back in the truck and we drove around the slums of L.A.

As the night went on we collected about 8 more mannequins. Some were laid out on the street like discarded furniture. Some we picked up at the back of some spiffy hotels. At the hotels, we were greeted by custodians or security who actually helped us load the truck. They made small talk with our boss while throwing the bodies in the back. Everything felt so casual, “How are the kids?” “Did Jenny graduate yet?” “She’s going to make a great doctor.” Seeing the attitude of the others, my fear of being caught in something illegal resolved a bit. We called it a night around 2 a.m. and with 15 manikins we drove to Beverly Hills. I’m not going to say where we dropped them off but I will say that it was at a house/talent agency.

The man that greeted us was more than pleasant. He had a couple of men come and unloaded the truck for us. He smiled and shook our hands enthusiastically. He introduced himself to me, we’ll just call him Lenny, and he paid us cash. As we were on our way out, he stopped us and asked us to turn around. When I did, I was hit in the face. Closing my eyes instinctively, I realized it didn't hurt. I was actually sprayed by something. I opened my eyes and saw my boss also getting sprayed by water from a little bottle. Lenny looked at me with a half a smile and shrug and said “You know, just in case.”

It's been two years now since that day. I ended up quitting that job, not the canvas repurposing job but the job as a garbage truck driver. I pretty much only work once, maybe twice a week, depending on the demand for canvases. That's what they call them, it feels wrong. In my time doing this I’ve been seeing more and more of these canvases.They're also getting more diverse with their designs too. I’ve started really looking at them and something has been nagging at me. I think I recognize these “people”. I’m not chronically online but I like to scroll from time to time.

I think these last couple of batches of canvases are people I’ve seen online. Like tiktok wannabe influencers, B listers, but also there's a mixture of regular looking people too. Normal clothes, some in uniform, or expensive suits. Some of the old ones kind of remind me of politicians. Some are really young. The kid ones always freak me out, they move around a lot in the truck and sometimes they whisper. I’m not stupid enough to get close enough to hear what they’re saying. I know it's just a trick to bite and beat the hell out of me. I learned that one the hard way.

Other than that, not much has changed. Porcelain white under shell, sticky overly-warm skin, and the smell of putrid roses and wine. They all still have that glassy look in their eye, like they’re deader than dead. Void of life seems to fit better. That's the part I came on here to talk about.

I’ve been noticing those dead eyes and smell more and more in public. Unless there's some perfume trend going around, I think these things are spreading. I finally asked Tino, “What’s up with these canvases and why do we keep finding more?” He looked at me and I could see his face turn pale. He looked around and waited for one of his employees to leave. He closed the door of his office, turned on his radio, and pulled me in close. I could smell the beer and peanuts on his breath. His eyes darted around as he told me “Look, you need to stop asking questions. I’ve been hearing whispers about you and your snooping. If I tell you what I know, you have to promise me that you either quit and never come back or shut the fuck up, keep your head forward, and accept the nature of this business.” He glared at me until I told him “Ok, ok. I- I promise.”

Releasing his grip a bit he continued “Ok. I don’t know who makes these things or why. We’re just the middleman but, after years of doing this I…” he stopped when he saw someone walking by. He spoke again in a lower voice “Remember their eyes. Real people don’t have eyes like that. There’s more of them everywhere. I don’t know if they’re replacing people, making new identities for them but it’s spreading. This city is like a factory for them.” He grabbed my arms tight. “More like a hive, people come here and don’t leave the same. This place cooks their fucking brains, hollows them out. Be careful of who you trust. They’re out there listening.”

He let go and I felt the rush of blood come back into my finger tips. As he sat down he grabbed a beer out of his mini fridge and when I met his gaze again it was like a switch had been flipped. He smiled at me and said loudly “ But if you’re really going to try to win that girl over you gotta go chocolate and roses! It’s a classic for a reason.” His smile feigning at the corners of his mouth, eyes full of panic. “Well good luck, have a good weekend and just remember what I told you. Be safe out there champ. Close the door on your way out.” I looked at him, heart in my throat and said “Yea thanks. I’ll see you next week to let you know how it went.” He closed his eyes and nodded and said “See you next week.”

I thought a lot about this interaction and started seeing what he meant. The eyes of the unalive seem to be everywhere. I think these things are like demons in disguise. It sounds stupid but everytime I recognize one they’re either selling you something or asking you to obey. Looking back, it did start off with influencers doing life hacks, hauls, life advice and other bullshit. Then it was people on the news. Reporters covering certain stories or bending them in questionable ways. Now I’m starting to really look at the news coverage on politicians.

They look impossibly old and have that plastic quality to them that makes them uncanny like the canvases. In the end, they all have that one thing in common, those eyes. Its like they're trying to take control of everything. The way we eat, they way we dress, and the stuff we buy. Sure that's fine, but then its the way we talk, the way we get news and information, and who to listen to. Now it's how we vote, who's in charge, and who gets to press the big red button to start a nuclear winter. I felt surrounded and joined a conspiracy theory messaging board. I put out a post to see if I was going crazy and got a direct message. In all caps it said that I needed to remove my post and that it was a mistake to post this on a public forum. They said it was not safe and that I need to hide out for the next couple of days.

Terrified, I deleted my post/account and went underground for a while. Now that I'm back, I’ve been good these last couple of weeks. I’m keeping my head down, doing my job as if nothing has happened but something tells me I’m not pretending well enough. I still feel those glass eyes burning holes in me. I think they’re watching me. I keep catching a random man or woman staring at me for what feels like a little too long. Yesterday, the barista knew my name without asking. Today, some young kids were staring at me in the grocery store. Tomorrow, I’m going to my brother's wedding and I swear there’s a dull sheen behind his bride's eye I never noticed before.

My message to you is this, do not move here. You won’t come out of this city the same. I don’t want to find you as a cracked husk on the side of the road full of broken dreams and something unnatural. And to the humans left in L.A., get out now before it's too late. After this post, my page will go dark and I’m deleting my profile. May god protect us all.