The Hidden Mall part X: Plastic Bullies

[aldersprig]

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
🏬🛍️

It turned out that plastic versions of their high school crushes did not run all that fast. That was quite a relief, because the real Greg was on the track team and the real Kevin was on swim team.

The problem, however, was that there were other people in the mall - other plastic people, smiling and fake and too-well-dressed - and they didn’t seem to like the idea of a disturbance.

Say, the sort of disturbance caused by two mussed-up, not-plastic girls running through the mall.

Soon they were being chased by fifteen of the things - Abigail refused to think of them as people - their feet moving almost-silently and none of them making a sound. Nobody grunted or panted or, well, anything.
“Did we land in the Stepford Mall?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Less talking more running - here!” Liv dragged Abigail towards the escalators.

“This is no time for being lazy, Liv!”

“No, I have an idea. Remember that time when the mall was almost empty? Here, run. Faster.”
Liv aimed them at the down escalator, and up they ran, skipping steps. Behind them, the plastic people lined up to take the up escalator, like good plastic citizens of the mall.

“Brilliant, Liv.” There would be more people up above, probably, but maybe they could act sufficiently plastic to pass muster.

They stiffened up at the top of the escalator and put on blank, plastic smiles. Abigail thought of her most critical great-uncle and the smile she gave him when he wouldn’t shut up. Together, they made it past three groups of plastic people.

Then, suddenly, someone was grabbing at Abigail’s wrist and at her shirt. She stiffened. It was - oh, no, it was Rick Fancy, the biggest, most obnoxious jock in school.

His stiff smile moved, just a little. “Help…” The word was a wheeze, like he could barely talk. “..me.”

Abigail stared at him. Next to her, Liv was tugging on her arm.

“How?” Abigail asked softly. There was another set of plastics coming down the hallway.

He fumbled at his neck, but couldn’t seem to reach whatever it was he was going for. Some sort of controller? Then the other plastics were up to them.

Abigail managed the biggest, fakest laugh she had ever pulled up and patted Rick on the arm. “That’s funny. Funny Rick.”

None of the other plastics had talked, but it was so … well, Barbie-like that it seemed to be close enough. The plastics turned and walked away stiffly.
🎒🏦

Next: http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/1356953.html

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Comments

[thnidu]

Helluva situation, yes. And of course, we can't tell whether that is really just a plastic Rick with sound added, or the real Rick somehow transformed and trapped, or something else.


• Liv aimed them at the down escalator, and up they ran, skipping steps.
> This is confusing. Normally when somebody heads to the down escalator, it's the one GOING DOWN FROM their floor to the one below, not the one COMING DOWN TO their floor from the floor above.

[aldersprig]

But what else would I call it? I mean, they are intentionally going up the down escalator?

[kelkyag]

It's a odd situation to describe clearly. You could say something like "Liv aimed them at the bottom of the down escalator", or "and they ran up against the traffic" (but if there were downward traffic of plastic people presumably they'd join the chase?), but I'm not sure that helps enough. (I keep wanting to say "arriving" or "incoming" down escalator, but those really aren't the right words.)

"Liv aimed them at the escalators, and they ran up the down escalator, skipping steps"?

[thnidu]

Oh heck! I started this reply to three days ago and never sent it. Sorry!

Liv aimed them at the escalator coming down from the floor above and up they ran, skipping steps.

Um… Wouldn't they be colliding with people coming down that escalator? Or weren't there any?

[clare_dragonfly]

It was perfectly clear to me. I guess I'm used to two-story malls, where there is a single set of escalators. If you are on the first story, the elevator on the right is going up to the second story, and the elevator on the left is coming down to the first story, where you are. The image came immediately to my mind!

[thnidu]

(Oh, I LIKE your icon!)

Mm, I've mostly experienced multistory buildings. Including lots of *big* department stores: I grew up in New York. And the relation between the up-from-below, the up-to-above, the down-from-above, and the down-to-below isn't that easy, because for obvious reasons up-from-below is right next to up-to-above, while the down escalators are elsewhere: maybe just opposite, maybe next to, maybe elsewhere.

[clare_dragonfly]

(Thank you! Ozy and Millie was great!)

Hmm, I suppose so. I'm trying to think of whether I've even been in a mall with more than two stories. I don't think so! I've been in plenty of single-story ones and a few two-story ones. Now that I think about it, I can picture a Target that had three stories, where the escalators are more like you describe. It just isn't my default.

[clare_dragonfly]

Oh dear...

[sauergeek]

Hm, so the plastic people look like they're real people under remote control. Which seems to have played out, as the remote controller lost track of them while driving fifteen controllees after them. And sufficiently lost control of one to allow him to ask for help. I have to wonder what happens if they manage to free one or two, or track down the controller and turn it off.

Now for the voiceover:
Is this their world horribly changed, or an alternate universe? Will they meet themselves? Can they free their friends? Will they get stuck here? Tune in next chapter, in...

[aldersprig]

Nice voiceover! :-D :-D