Isabella moved to push off the wall, but then froze.
There were two people on the ground in front of her, right on the other side of the crates, across the alley against the other wall.
Isabella swallowed. “S-sorry,” she stuttered out first, thinking she was intruding – it looked like the two of them were spooning each other, maybe to keep warm. They were probably homeless, she thought. There was barely any light in the alley except what came from the lights of the streets at either end, and Isabella strained her eyes in the darkness – but what was strange was, they hadn’t responded or reacted in any way to what she’d said.
She took a small step towards them, wondering if they needed anything. If they had even heard her. If they were asleep, she should just keep walking and get out of there instead of disturbing them. But if you were sleeping in an alley, wouldn’t you be so alert you’d wake at any sound…?
Isabella stepped closer again, and then…
Oh, God!
She recoiled backwards, almost toppling the stack of crates again. Blood! She was sure of it! There was blood on the young woman’s face, and… she rooted around desperately in her purse for her cell phone, grabbing it and switching on the flashlight, and then –
Dead. She was dead.
The people Isabella had thought were sleeping were dead.
She moved the beam of light with a shaking hand onto the second person, the man as she’d thought, but – but, no, it wasn’t a man at all, and he wasn’t dead – he was –
He wasn’t even human. He was a mannequin, like the kind you saw in clothing stores.
The dead woman was being cradled by a mannequin.
Isabella stumbled backwards two more steps, screamed, and threw up against the wall.