Robyn

Robyn had found the ad in the model’s gazette, and applied, even though she didn’t really rate her chances.

Ata eighteen years old, she had been modelling for a little over three months. Maybe that was a bit rich really, as she had actually only had one previous job, and that had lasted only a day.

Whether they actually used her photos she didn’t know, as it was for a foreign magazine.

But still, Robyn could call herself a model, and no-one was ever going to say different.

Standing five six, she had perfected what she believed to be the model stance. Head held high, shoulders pulled back to emphasise her breasts, over which she only ever wore a half cup bra. She wanted people to know that they were real, the movement in the upper half of the bra noticeable with every step.

When sitting, she always held her knees together, hiding what the short dresses covered, but intimating that there was more to be seen.

She had sent four pictures with her application. One was in her ball gown, one in jeans and shirt, one in a suit, and one taken on her holiday, wearing a very small bikini. The bikini didn’t really hide much, but it was the only swimsuit picture she had. Two formal, one casual, and one swimsuit picture were the requirements. And as it was now mid winter, she didn’t really feel she could go out in a swimsuit and get someone to take her picture. The bikini one would have to do. She hoped

To her surprise, she had been invited for an audition.

Robyn was so excited, and spent three days shopping for clothes. She had no idea what to wear, or even what the shoot would be for. But it didn’t matter. It was work, and that had been conspicuous by it’s absence recently.

She would have to travel over a hundred miles, but they had sent her return tickets for the journey, so the distance wasn’t a problem. She knew she could sleep on the train if she needed, as it would be an overnight journey. There was no chance of her missing her stop, as the train would terminate there.

She spent hours deciding on her makeup and hair. Normally, her hair hung straight, with a light curl where it reached her shoulders. But she wanted something different. Lack of money meant she could not afford the hair dressers, so it would have to be done at home.

After two hours of trying one effect, then changing her mind, she had returned to her natural look. Nothing else had felt right for her.

Blue eye shadow and waterproof mascara, a light pink lipstick, and Robyn was satisfied that she looked as good as she could.

The dress she would be travelling in would tightly around her slim waist, making her legs appear longer than they actually were. Though not low cut, the top did little to hide the swell of her breasts, but it was never meant to do.

Robyn knew that you never got a second chance to make a good first impression, and she wanted this job more than anything in the world. Her appearance had to be perfect. Anything less, and the job may go to someone else.

She still hadn’t told anyone about the audition. Her parents were against her doing modelling, telling her that only a few get the good jobs, and that there were a lot of people out in the world who would simply exploit girls for their own ends.

If she got the job, then she would tell them. Until then, Robyn decided it would be best not to say anything. After all, they would be pleased with the money if she got it.

She slept a little on the train, but spent most of it awake, wondering if she had done all she could with her looks to give herself a chance. There was nothing else she could do now, other than touch up her makeup.

She had no overnight bag, no change of clothing. She had committed herself, and the looks she got from some of the male passengers, made sure she knew she had got their attention.

If she could get a similar reaction at the audition, she would stand a good chance.

She was met at the station by a woman in her late forties, who introduced herself as Mrs Watson.

“I will be responsible for you until you go home, dear”

The accent was unplaceable. Robyn thought of it as English with a touch of foreign, but could not say exactly where from.

She wore a long dark coat, and heels. What lay under the coat was hidden from view, but the woman walked erect, as if she herself was a model. There was always a trace of a smile on the woman’s lips, but Robyn could not see it transfer to the woman’s eyes.

Models, she knew, had to smile even when they were tired, in a bad mood, or even if their pet dog had died on the way to the shoot. Personal feeling had to be masked, and perhaps the woman was masking the fact that she didn’t really want to be out in the cold at four-fifteen in the morning, meeting yet one more girl who really shouldn’t have bothered.

Robyn shivered as they walked to where Mrs Watson had parked the car. Right then, she wished she had worn the heavy coat she had considered, but instead had gone for the flimsy coat that didn’t hide much, but nor did it supply warmth.

“You will soon warm up” the woman said, seeing Robyn shiver. “The heater in the car is good, and we will be there in less than an hour.”

An hour?  Robyn looked at the woman as if to ask where the audition was being held, but by then they had reached the car, and she was busy unlocking the doors.

Inside the car Mrs Watson soon had it started, and had turned the heater up full.  Pulling out of the car park Robyn saw the first sprinklings of snow, and knew she should have brought the heavier coat.

Mrs Watson was concentrating on the road, as the snow started to get a little heavier. The heater was as good as she had been told, and Robyn soon felt herself warming up.

“There is a flask on tea in the glove compartment for you” the driver said. “We guessed you would be a little chilled by the night air”.

Robyn smiled a thank you to the woman, and opened the glove box. True the her word, there was a small stainless steel flask, and a cup. Waiting until the car had turned a corner, Robyn poured herself a cup of tea, and cupped her hands around it for the extra warmth. The tea was a little sweet, but delicious. Robyn though, at first, it may have been herbal, from the taste, but it had milk in, so it couldn’t have been. Still. It was very nice, and she had soon drained her cup, placing it, and the flask, back in the compartment she had got it from.

“Try to get some sleep” Mrs Watson said, her voice sounding a little distant now.

Robyn didn’t realise she was so tired, but her eyes were already feeling heavy. She felt bad about falling asleep, leaving Mrs Watson to drive in the snow without company, but she simply couldn’t hold her eyes open any longer.

As she slumped in the seat, Mrs Watson looked over at her, and smiled. She would do perfectly.

Robyn awoke and stretched her arms. As she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find she was no longer in the car, but in a warm bed. Mrs Watson had obviously arrived back safe and sound, and had helped her to bed. But she couldn’t remember anything after drinking that tea in the car. She would make a point of thanking the woman later.

Moments later and the door to the room opened, and a younger woman walked in, carrying Robyn’s clothes. It wasn’t until then that she realised someone had undressed her..

Pulling the sheets up around her body, Robyn sat up, watching the woman as she walked over to the bed.

“Your dress got a little dirty, Robyn, so we had it cleaned for you. Sorry if I disturbed you.”

“No, thank you” replied Robyn. Her voice sounded a little strange, but she had only just woken up. ”I had just woken before you came in”.

“I hope you slept well”.

Without waiting for an answer, the woman placed Robyn’s clothes on a chair by the bed, and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Once alone. Robyn climbed out of bed and reached for her clothes. She felt a little dizzy, but put that down to having slept so long. Her watch said three in the afternoon, so she had slept for almost eleven hours. Much more than she normally slept for.

Maybe it was her imagination, but her movements seemed slower than normal, as she pulled the lace thing up her legs. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror, wondering if she would be able to pull off the audition, and get the job.

It took her several minutes to get dressed. For some reason, fastening buttons seemed harder than normal for her. She wondered if she were coming down with the flu or something. That would be the last straw. After the effort she had put in, the last thing she needed now was the flu.

Just as she finished dressing Mrs Watson entered, carrying a tray with cereal and a steaming mug of tea.

“Hello, dear. Breakfast first, then we will bring you down for your audition. We are currently looking at another girl, then one more before your turn. Janice will come and get you when we are ready for you”

Robyn was taken aback. It had not occurred to her that there would e other girls trying for the same job. She knew she would not be the only applicant, but she didn’t expect them all to be there on the same day.

It did make sense to see everyone on one day, but it simply hadn’t occurred to her.

Before Robyn could ask any questions, Mrs Watson had placed the tray on a small table. And had left the room.

The cereal was nothing to right home about, but the tea was the same as she had tasted the night before. Robyn didn’t know what tea it was, but she knew she would have to find out before she returned home. Whatever it was, it was beautiful. She still couldn’t put a name to the taste, but it was certainly better than the Tesco tea bags her mother always bought. She would buy whatever this tea was, and let her mother keep the Tesco ojne for herself and Robyn’s father.

Still feeling a little dizzy, Robyn sat on the edge of the bed and sipped her tea. She was no longer cold, but still she felt herself shiver.

“Damn it. I don’t want flu. Not now”

had the room started to get warmer? Robyn was sure that it had, and looked at the windows to see if she could open them. But, probably for security reason, the window locks needed a key to open them, and Robyn didn’t have one.

Once again she sat on the bed. She needed this dizzy feeling to go, before her audition. This could stop her being successful. Why hadn’t she seen the advert in summer, instead of having to travel a hundred miles in winter.

She heard the door open and Janice, the girl who had brought her clothes back earlier came in.

“We are ready for you now, Robyn. Please, follow me”

Robyn rose to her feet and walked slowly across the room. Once again the dizziness washed over her, and she felt herself sliding to the floor, unable to hold herself up any longer.

She felt, rather than saw, Janice come to her aid, and lift her up in her arms. And carry her back to the bed.

Moments later Robyn heard voices in the room, but her eyes refused to open. She recognised the voices of Janice, and Mrs Watson, but the words were slurred, and she could not make out what they were saying.

Robyn knew she had blown her chance of the job. Whatever was wrong with her, would not disappear in the short time she had before her audition. She tried to lift her arms, to climb out of bed, but the felt heavy, and resisted her attempts to move them.

“What is wrong with me?” she questioned herself. But no answer came her way.

She could still hear Janice and Mrs Watson, but could still not hear what was being said. It was as if they were talking whilst Robyn slept. Their voices taking a dream like quality. Not a whisper, but too slurred to understand what they were saying.

Even as she tried to get out of bed another time, Robyn could feel the darkness starting to wash over her. Her whole body felt too weak to move. Her eyes refused to open, and she felt someone touching her forehead, as if checking a sick person’s temperature.

Then all went black.

Robyn felt strange and disoriented when she awoke. She knew she was standing up, but that couldn’t be possible. She had been on the bed, she knew that. But now, now only was she not on the bed, but she was standing, and from what she could see, no longer in the bedroom at all.

She tried to turn her head, but it refused to move. Her arms, they wouldn’t answer to her call when she tried to lift them up.

She couldn’t feel anything holding her arms, or even herself, but nothing was moving when she tried, except her eyes. They could move from side to side, and up and down, but not her head.

Her mouth fell full, and yet, she cold tell it was wide open. She tried to push whatever was filling her mouth out, with her tongue, but it could find nothing blocking her mouth. There was something strange about the roof and bottom of her mouth, it felt hard, very hard. Almost metallic. But it wouldn’t move when she tried to move it.

Mrs Watson suddenly appeared in her line if vision. Robyn tried to ask what was going on, what was happening, but nothing came from her. She knew she was trying to talk, but there was no reaction at all to it.

Mrs Watson stopped and smiled.

“You’re  awake then dear” the smile still filled her lips, but never reached her eyes. “ You will be wondering what is going on I guess, dear, well, let me tell you and put you out of your misery. The tea you drank in the car, and earlier was special tea, imported from South America. It contains a drug that immobilises people, without them realising it is happening. Just as it did with you dear. We need you to have that, so we could start work on the rest of you.” She paused and lifted a spray can into Robyn’s view.

“This can contains a resin that also comes from South America. We spray your body with enough coats of it, and when it hardens, it stops you from moving. The first three coats were administered just after you arrived, and fell asleep. That was perhaps why you felt dizzy when you awoke. Your natural sense of balance had been disrupted. The first three coats don’t harden at once, they take time. When you drank the second cup of tea, that gave us the time to add the last dozen coats. Then, by standing you here in front of the fire, as we have done, the resin starts to harden. We no longer need you to drink the tea dear, as we no longer need to worry about you moving, you simply cant. Nor will you ever again.

“You wanted to be a model, dear, and that is exactly what you are going to be for as long as you live, that is. Once we have finished, you will be sold as a manikin, to a well known high street shop, maybe even where you come from, so, for a while, you can see people you know. We do try to do that for our models.

“No-one is actually sure how long you will live. I do know that it can take up to forty two days to die from starvation, but perhaps you will go crazy before that time. Who knows. We never follow up on our models. Once we sell them on, that’s it. We never keep track of them.

Your voice, by th way, wont work, as the inside of your mouth, and your vocal cords, are also sprayed with resin, so that they will no longer function. The casing will hold any water your body excretes, without leaving a trace. And as you were given an enema earlier, and have not eaten since, you don’t have to worry about starting to smell.

“You see, dear, you wildest dreams have come true. You wanted to become a model, and we are pleased to say, you passed the audition.”

Robyn couldn’t believe her ears. How could they hope to get away with this? Surely, when her voice returned she only had to explain what had happened, and the police would arrest Mrs Watson. And there, Robyn realised, she had another problem. She had drunk the tea almost as soon as she got in the car, and fallen asleep shortly after and actually had no idea where she now was. Or how far it was from where she had been picked up.

Mrs Watson had said about an hour, but that may or may not have been the truth, and in which direction? There had been no-one else on the station when Robyn had arrived, so no-one would have seen her and Mrs Watson together.

Robyn felt as if she were crying, but no tears fell. As far as she could tell, she was dead from the eyes down. Nothing would respond to her mental demands. She tried frantically to get her arms to move, or her legs, but they remained statuesque, unmoving.

Surely, if they did as Mrs Watson had said, and sold her to someone close to where Robyn lived, one of her friends would recognise her, and call someone. But even as she had that thought, Robyn knew that was never going to happen. No-one looked at the manikins in shop windows, only what the manikin wore

The latest dress, the new line of lingerie, next summer’s beach wear. But not the manikin.

No-one would recognise her. No-one would alert the authorities that there was a living person inside that dress shop doll.

Robyn knew everything was useless to her. There would be no escape. No rescue. For as long as he remained alive, she would be trapped inside the hard skin that she now wore.

How long did Mrs Watson sat? up to forty two days. That was seven weeks. Seven weeks trapped inside the model, nothing to eat or drink. Nothing to stimulate her mind, other than the fact that each day was one closer to the last.

The silent scream that filled her head was unheard by Mrs Watson as she put the finishing touches to the last coat of resin.

One more model, another hundred pounds in the bank, and the new advert had already generated a few responses.

Robyn felt herself being lifted up, and carried across the room. She tried to follow what was happening with her eyes, but she was moving too fast for them to focus on anything. Only when they came to a halt, was she able to focus again, and then, she didn’t want to do.

She had been placed in a room ready for delivery. But she was not alone. Her eyes had already caught at least another six models. She knew, instinctively, that these were the other girls Janice had mentioned had also come for auditions.

The ;light was turned out as Janice left the room, leaving Robyn and the other girls to their thoughts, and the knowledge that they had succeeded in becoming models.