Marilyn quickly put the handset back onto the mount and rushed to place the dishes from breakfast into the kitchen sink, where they would be dealt with later. Hanging up her apron, she called for the young boys to come downstairs.
***
When Marilyn opened the door to her home once again, she removed her heels and collapsed onto the sofa.
"Finally!" She said, relishing in the quietness of the once bustling house. "Hopefully I'm not late for the show."
Picking up the remote, she flipped through the channels until finding the one she was looking for. It was a small television program that was not well known, but it had caught her attention a few months back and made her an avid watcher of the show, tuning in every week to see a new episode. Today, sadly, was the finale of the program.
Relaxing her muscles, she unstiffened and sank into the sofa. The television droned on and on, like an incoherent lullaby calling her to sleep. Her eyelids began to flutter, making the world go dark.
When Marilyn awoke not long after, her head felt like it had been split open in half. Her heart drummed into her mind— the pulsating feeling making her cry out in pain. She became nauseated and dizzy, her head spinning as her eyes darted around the room to find something for support. Stumbling forward off the couch towards the kitchen, Marilyn steadied herself against the countertop as she fumbled around for a bottle of pain relievers. Popping in two of the small white pills, Marilyn gasped for breath while clutching the counter to prop herself up.
"Goodness, what just happened?" She murmured. What was with that sudden agonizing feeling? Could she be sick?
Different thoughts raced through her mind to try and find a plausible explanation for what that could've been or was caused by. To lessen her worry, she decided to go to the local hospital for a checkup. Dusting herself off, Marilyn slipped on her favorite pair of patent black heels and unlatched the front door, quietly stepping through while locking it behind her.
There was hardly anybody outside despite it being the early afternoon, with the only company being the monitors around her. The beings, or monitors (as most people would call them), were clunky metal robots that seemingly guarded the wall along the outside of the domain. Nobody questioned these beings, for they have always been there.
As she enjoyed the pleasant scenery around her, she happened to glance at one of these metal creatures. Marilyn noticed something odd about it; something that she could not quite place. The being was almost...unsettling. It stared at her as she walked, its eyes following Marilyn's movements as if it was a conscious person. Her breathing hitched; why was it looking at her so abnormally? Has this always happened before to others? Beads of sweat began to drip down the back of her neck, glistening only a small bit in the sunlight. Marilyn rubbed her neck as she began to make haste, seeing that she didn't wish to be in the stares of the monitors much longer.
Her shoes clicked on the bumpy sidewalk beneath her, making a steady beat as she walked.
Click-clack. Click-clack.
A shadow began to loom above Marilyn in a rectangular shape, giving her a small bit of relief from the sun's unwavering heat. Just as she was about to knock on the glass doors of the hospital, a reflection of light bounced off a small object that laid near the cement pad in front of the doorway. Curious, Marilyn began to hesitantly step towards the mysterious item.