Don't Talk to Strangers

"Have fun, girls! And remember- we meet at the car by 3pm sharp. Oh, and don't talk to strangers!!!" My daughter and her friends didn't really need supervision; they were teenagers, old enough to go off on their own and not want parents around, anyway. But we lived a little bit out of the way, so she and her friends still needed a ride to the mall in the next town over until at least one of them graduated from their learner's permit. So I was still doing the old "drive them there, amuse myself for a few hours, drive them home" thing.

I had a few errands of my own to run at the mall, anyway. I renewed my license plate sticker at the kiosk in the middle, picked out a book and some candles for my mother's birthday next week, and headed to the department store for a few kitchen utensils. I took my time selecting a new spatula and whisk to replace the worn and broken ones I had at home, and my errands were complete.

Still having a few hours before my daughter and her friends would be finished, I paid for my whisk and spatula, then headed back into the department store, finding myself in the furniture section. There was a display that had recliners available to try out, and I sometimes killed time there while waiting for the kids. I settled into one of the recliners, pulled out my phone, and found my place in the thriller I'd been reading.

I was so absorbed in my book (the painfully naive protagonist was just accepting a ride from the person who I was pretty sure was the kidnapper) that I nearly fell out of the chair when I heard a smooth, melodic voice in my ear.

"Mmmm, yeah, this part is really good, isn't it?"

Once I got my bearings and made sure I didn't fall face first onto the floor, I was able to find the source of the voice. A woman was standing just to my left, having just been reading over my shoulder. She had silky smooth dark, wavy hair that came down just past her shoulders and framed her dark brown eyes. She wore a blue shirt with the department store's logo and a pin with the word "Manager" on it, but it was made of a different material than I had seen other store employees wear; her top seemed to almost shimmer and flowed as she moved. Her skintight shiny black pants disappeared into knee-high boots.

The woman was... well, everything about her was captivating. And I don't mean that she was attractive (though she was). It was that her very presence drew my attention in a way I had never experienced before. How long had she been reading over my shoulder? How could I possibly have missed her? She exuded an aura that drew me in instantly.

"Um... Hi," I stammered.

It suddenly occurred to me that this was the store manager, and I was clearly lounging in one of the display chairs without any intention of buying one. Someone must have complained about me. Full of slightly frantic energy, I started clumsily gathering my things, sputtering out apologies and explaining that I was waiting for my daughter.

"It's quite alright," the manager nearly purred. "It happens far more often than you'd think."

There was that smoothness in her voice again. It calmed me instantly, and I suddenly found myself stilled, frantic energy gone, gazing into her eyes. My bag and purchases had returned to the floor next to me.

"That's right. One of my employees pointed you out to me, but you were just reading. Not doing any harm at all, were you?"

"N-no, Ma'am."

"No, Miss," she corrected, still smiling.

"Right! No, Miss. Sorry, Miss."

"Very good. So, are you enjoying the book? I didn't mean to snoop, I just happened to notice the main character's name, and I read the same book a few months back."

We slipped into a more natural conversation. She was so easy to chat with! We talked about the book for a little while. She thought the protagonist played right into the villain's hand, being so easily manipulated that she was "practically offering herself up on a platter." I thought that she was a bit naive, sure, but deserved a little more credit than that. Every so often, I had the nagging feeling that the manager was testing me, somehow, but I couldn't ever put my finger on what exactly it was before I got sucked back into the easy banter.

I asked her about the store a bit, as I had read in the paper that the company was planning to close several locations. She laughed, saying that she obviously couldn't predict the future, but that her store was the best performing in the district, and she'd worked hard to make it so. I was surprised at this; it was, after all, one of several department stores in a small town surrounded by other small towns. I'd never seen it exactly busy. Either there was some secret to the store's success or the other locations were really doing terribly.

"You know, one of the perks of being the manager of the best performing store in the district is that we sometimes get some advance stock," said the manager. "And I have a little break room of sorts in the back with the newest model of that chair you're sitting in, if you'd like to wait for your daughter there and try it out. If you have time, that is."

"Oh! That's very kind of you. She'll be a couple hours yet, but I'm just fine right here, if that's okay." I didn't want to put her out or anything, and I certainly wasn't looking to buy a recliner today.

"Well... it's admittedly not the best look to have someone lounging in the display for hours on end. But I don't want you to have to sit for so long on those awful benches out in the mall, either. Please, use the break room, I insist. The chair in there is even better than this one. I promise!" The manager's eyes locked onto my own and held my gaze for a few moments.

I found myself nodding along, and before I even realized what was happening, I had gathered my things and was following the manager through some winding hallways through the back of the store. I idly wondered how I would find my way out, but didn't ask because the manager was walking so quickly I was having a hard time keeping up.

Finally, she stopped in front of a door that looked exactly the same as the few other doors we'd passed. She unlocked it with a key attached to her belt loop by a retractable keyring and opened it, ushering me inside.

The room was sparsely decorated, but the few items that were in there all exuded softness. The manager invited me to take my shoes off if I wanted, which I did, wanting to feel the plush carpet against my feet. She pulled out her phone and pressed a few buttons. The whole room seemed to be set up with smart lights, which started to exude a soft, pink light. The light slowly cycled through several colours, but with the gentle pace of the transitions, it was more relaxing than overstimulating. There was a screen on the far wall as well, which, with a few more button pushes on her phone, the woman programmed to exude a soft light in sync with the other lights in the room.

Then, in the middle of the room, was a recliner much like the one I'd been sitting in at the display. It was clearly a newer model, though; the back went up a little higher, and seemed to be a bit wider at the top. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to have speakers built into the headrest. Very cool!

"Go ahead, sit down! I'm just going to run back into the hall to grab you a glass of water."

I sat down in the chair almost automatically. I sighed in pleasure as I sat down and reclined in the chair. It was by far the most comfortable chair I had ever sat in. The back support was clearly improved since the previous model. I knew that I probably couldn't afford a chair like this, but I made a mental note to ask the manager when this new model would be available.

I heard the door open and shut as the manager returned to the room. She came up behind the chair and snapped a cupholder into place somewhere I couldn't see. Well, I couldn't really see anything with my eyes closed, wanting to enjoy the nice, relaxed feeling.

"It's comfortable, isn't it?" I could hear the grin in the manager's voice.

"Mmmm, yes, yes it is." I opened my eyes to locate the glass of water and picked it up, taking a sip. As I sipped at the water, I noticed that there were straps hanging from the sides of the chair; a set on the arm rests, one at about chest height at the back, and two sets along the seat and footrest.

"What are the straps for?" I asked, somewhat absently.

"Well, for clumsy folks like you who try to fall out of their chair at the slightest provocation," the manager responded, winking at me as I blushed. "It's a safety feature," she continued, shrugging. "You know, sometimes elderly folks or little kids need the extra support. Or you can use them to hold heating pads in place, that sort of thing. Apparently, the manufacturer received some reports that people became so relaxed they fell right out!" She waved her hand as though waving away my concern.

"But you don't need those, do you?" she said. "You're going to stay right there and be good, aren't you?"

"Y-yes Miss."

"It's so comfortable, why would you ever want to get up, anyway?"

"I don't know, Miss. At least until I have to meet my daughter..."

"That's right. Very good."

Her piercing eyes combined with her praise filled me with a warm glow that had me wanting to go along with whatever she said. At least until I had to go back into parent mode, anyway.

The manager pulled out her phone, and I heard a faint whispering coming from the headrest. I was right about the speakers. I couldn't exactly make out what was being said, but I could tell that there were several layers of whispers happening.

"There you go! A lot of people say that these kinds of whisper tracks can help you focus and relax. This is a much nicer place to go about reading your book, isn't it? You're getting to a really good part."

I had almost forgotten about the book. I pulled out my phone and opened up the e-reader app again.

"Yes, thank you again for offering to let me use your space! I promise, I'll only stay until three when I have to go meet my daughter-"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all! Please, stay as long as you need. When you're all ready to go, just hit the button on the intercom next to the door and ask for Allie. That's my name, by the way. I'll lock the door behind me to make sure you're not disturbed. Now, I've got to get back to work, but I think you should be very comfortable here. Enjoy!"

And with that, Allie left the room. I heard the click of the lock, but I was already too comfortable and relaxed to give it much thought or notice. I settled a little bit deeper into the chair, momentarily enjoying the soft lights and the whispers before finding my spot in the book and starting to read again.

Right... the protagonist was getting into the kidnapper's car...

Of course she was. He was so captivating.

...not sensing that anything could be wrong...

What could be wrong?

...completely ignoring all the warning signs...

What warning signs? It was so comfortable...

I was just so comfortable...so hard to focus...

So hard to hold my phone up...

I put my phone back in my pocket, slowly, not wanting to drop it on the floor. I'd have to get out of the chair to pick it up, and I definitely didn't want to leave the comfort of my current position. I laid back and listened to the whispers, which seemed a little bit louder than they had been at first. Maybe it was because I was paying more attention to them now? But the lights also seemed to be cycling through the colours a bit faster than they had at first, too.

I noticed the screen was behaving differently as well. It continued to cycle through colours along with the lights, but the colours were also starting to swirl together, creating fascinating patterns on the screen. There was occasionally something that looked like words that flashed on the screen, but they flashed too quickly for me to read. Besides, my eyes were feeling heavy and sluggish. Something at the back of my mind told me that I should resist, that I should try to keep them open, but it just felt so much nicer to let them close and rest. After all, I'd been busy with the kids all morning. I deserved some rest, didn't I?

Once my eyes fell shut and refused to open again, I felt myself sinking down into a blissful state of mind. The whispers and the hint of the coloured lights changing through my eyelids pulled me down, and I hadn't ever felt so calm, so relaxed, so blissfully blank.

Through the quiet of my mind and their ever-increasing volume, I was able to catch some of the whispers.

Obeying Miss Allie is the right thing to do.

Obeying Miss Allie feels so nice.

Miss Allie knows what's best for me.

Obedience is bliss.

Obeying Miss Allie is the right thing to do.

Obeying Miss Allie feels so nice.

Miss Allie knows what's best for me.

Obedience is bliss.

The mantras continued. At some point, I became aware that I was mumbling them along with the whispers. This made me smile, reinforcing how good it felt to be programmed, and only served to pull me deeper.

After some amount of time, the whispers quieted down and eventually turned off. The lights in the room stopped changing colour and slowly brightened to the normal white store lights. The screen turned off. I slowly came back to myself, finding the glass of water again as I realized I was parched. After several rounds of blinking, I realized that I had no idea how much time had passed. Maybe I had gotten so comfortable that I'd fallen asleep?

I checked my phone to find that I only had about twenty minutes before I needed to go meet my daughter. I once again gathered up my things, went over to the door, and panicked slightly when I found it locked. Remembering what Miss Allie had said, I found the intercom and pressed the button.

"Hello?"

"Ah, there you are. All finished with the break room?"

At the sound of Miss Allie's pleased voice, my mind felt fuzzy for a moment. Blinking a few times, I remembered what was going on and was able to respond.

"Um... yes, thank you Miss Allie. I need to go meet my daughter and her friends."

"Yes, of course, my dear. I'll be right there."

About thirty seconds later, I heard the lock on the door click as it opened. I stared at Miss Allie, once again captivated by every detail of her very being.

"Now, now, close your mouth, dear. Can't have you meeting your daughter all covered in drool, now, can we? Come along, let's get you on your way."

"No, Miss Allie. Yes, Miss Allie."

I stumbled along behind her once again, struck by the speed and grace with which she moved through the hallways. Soon enough, I found myself at the exit from the store into the parking lot, where I still had about 10 minutes before my daughter was due.

"Now, this is very important, dear. I only have the one break room, so please do keep it to yourself. That includes your daughter and anyone else in your home, including your partner if you have one. Don't mention our meeting or my little room to anyone- otherwise I might have a whole lineup of people wanting to try it out! Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Allie! I won't tell anyone!" It felt amazing to be able to promise her something.

"One more thing. Please come back! I'd love to see you again and talk about how you liked the rest of the book. And you can feel free to come back and use the break room any time you're waiting for your daughter, or need a rest at the mall, or just want some time for yourself. Maybe you'll even buy something else next time you're at the store?"

"Of course I will, Miss Allie!" I glowed even more at the pleasure of being able to do more for her.

"Very, very good. Now, make sure you take a few nice breaths of that fresh air before getting behind the wheel of your car. Wouldn't want you to get into a crash now, would we?"

"Of course not, Miss Allie!"

"Very good. I've got to get back to work now, but I'll see you next time!"

She most certainly would.