Every morning I take a small walk through the park as I head to work, and every morning there's music playing from somewhere, but there's no radio, no nothing. No one knows where it comes from. I know other people hear it, because they acknowledge it, but they don't question it. I think they've all assumed that it just has to be coming from...somewhere. This morning was different. Today there was no music. As I was walking through the park, to work, I was surprised to hear that there was no music playing.... 
As I look around, I see the same people I usually do, but this time they look... different. I go up to the woman feeding the ducks, Cassandra. She usually always shoots me a "Good morning sweetheart" with her rich British accent. Today she just stood, looking over the pond with a blank stare. It had seemed like she had been paused like a tv show. "Good morning" I say, expecting her to look over with a smile as warm as my grandmother's. But she doesn't turn. "Uh... Ms. Cassandra?...", I say, my words hanging onto my lips as a confused look starts to form on my face. She slowly starts to turn to face me. I notice an eerie smile on her face, like it had been modeled to be shaped that way. "Hello dear..." She says with that same english twang in her voice. Although it does sound like her, it sounds like it is coming from a speaker, like her voice is being played off of a voice recorder. Her lips move with each syllable, but not in the way humans do, in the way you'd move a puppet's mouth. Cassandra, her smile itching to stay perfect, just stares at me. It reminded me of when my grandma would let me play with her porcelain dolls. It looked as if she had no thoughts behind her eyes, just...empty. I give her a little wave so insinuate that our small interaction is over. 
Everything today just seems...off. I ignore the feeling of my gut telling me something is off, maybe she was just tired? As soon as I get to work, I see a man stopped at the streetlight in front of the grocery mart. It's... green? I turn to look at the man when he suddenly starts to drive. Why was he still waiting at the greenlight? Maybe I had just looked when the light barely turned green, but he seemed to have that same smile that Cassandra had. Weird. 
I check my watch as the minute hand is just barely past the 1. Shoot. I'm late, my boss always gets on me about being even a minute late. I quickly clock in and get my name tag on as I grab the cart of cereal I need to restock. That's weird, I don't see my manager anywhere. Maybe shes busy. I start to restock as I feel an airy cold breeze behind me. I swiftly turn around as I meet face to face with Melissa, my manager. She has that same freakish smile that Cassandra and that man had. Melissa and I just stare at each other for a second, her smile staying exactly how I had first seen it. She looked very nice, and cleaned up. Usually Melissa doesn't mind showing up in jeans, a baggy t-shirt, with her hair up in a messy ponytail. "I'm the manager, I can wear whatever I want" is what she usually says. But today, she has a fresh face of makeup, with what looks like new jeans that fit her just right and a nice button up shirt. "I need you to be at register 3 today", her mouth moves the same way Cassandra's does, like a puppet. "Yeah, you got it" I turn to finish the cereal when I can still feel her breathing on the back of my neck. I turned to ask her if she needed anything else, but when I turned, she's gone. No footsteps, nothing. She just was there one second, then she wasn't the next. 
I head over to register 3 and flip on the light to signify that I'm open. Immediately a woman comes into my line. She sets everything on the conveyor with a jolting robot like motion, like she can only move one joint at a time. I wait as her stuff starts to make its way over to me, then I start scanning. Once all her stuff is getting pulled over to me, she stands in front of me, just smiling. Ugh, what's with everyone and this creepy smile. It's not even like they're trying to be creepy. Their smile is wide with all teeth showing. The weird thing is that the bags under their eyes don't move. Actually, it doesn't look like she has any bags, or even any imperfections on her face, skin. 
"Your total is $83.54" I say, examining her smile even longer. The woman just pulls out a card from her purse without looking and swipes it on the card scanner. I give her the receipt and she takes it back while grabbing her grocery bags with a swift, but stiff motion. She is then on her way. The rest of my shift, all I can think about is her smile. I probably am seeing things, maybe I'm just tired. 
At the end of my shift, I close up and start to walk home. It's always extra creepy when I close. I start to get closer to the park when I hear a song playing. It's not the nice orchestral music that it usually is, it's the kind you hear in a horror movie that is added to make you feel like your skin is crawling. I don't have another way home unless I want to take an extra hour, so I just suck it up and continue on my way home. I approach the pond and see there are no ducks, even at this hour they're usually roaming the grass surrounding the pond. As I look up ahead on the path, there's a group of people. They look like they're standing in a circle with their backs to me. I can hear them humming something, it sounds like the tune of the creepy music. I just make a mental plan to walk around them. As I get closer I can hear whispers that start to integrate itself into the music. I start to step off the path when suddenly I feel a bag over my head and all I can see is black. 
I start to wake up as I feel my head throbbing. Where am I? It looks like I'm in some kind of hospital room? No, there looks like there are glass eyes in a jar, and, wigs? I start thinking of ways to get out when suddenly a man wearing doctor scrubs and a mask enters the room. Although I can't see his smile, I can see he has that look in his eyes, like he's not even real. I look at his right hand when I realize he's holding a needle. As he starts to approach me, I try to kick and move my hands when I realize that they are strapped to the chair. He sticks the needle in my arm, and suddenly falls asleep again. I can hear things like drills, brushes, and tools as I'm still asleep. I really hope this is a dream. 
Suddenly I realize that my eyes are open, but the only thing I can see is black. I hear the flick of a lightswitch as I hear footsteps approaching me. I feel a hand slightly graze my head when I realize someone is taking what seems like a pillow case off my head. My eyes start to adjust to the bright LED lights when I see that same doctor. He slowly pulls down his mask to reveal that smile. He puts a hand on my chair and starts to spin me as I realize there's a mirror behind me. "Now you can be like the rest of us.." he says, voice raspy, sounding like a recording on a stuffed bear. My heart drops as that same uncanny smile meets my eyes. I can still hear that spine-chilling music when I realize that there's not another person looking back at me, I'm looking at my own reflection.