A beautiful day in the Neighbourhood...

The disquieting stillness of the air was shattered by the unmistakably sonorous deep hum of a lawnmower.

Zoe shrieked; unable to contain her own jarring alarm as her every fear of something being out here in the apparent emptiness was realised. It was like they had been floating in some vast, deep, dark endless ocean, waiting for a shark to swim into view – only for it to appear far closer and far faster than she’d even thought possible.

The deafening drone was close and drawing closer, its volume amplified by the stillness of the rest of the world around them. Zoe had no time to contemplate what she was hearing, or why, she didn’t care, all she cared about was getting away from it. She tried to take a step, her arms raising to cover her nakedness on instinct, dropping from her prescribed position even as the straps across her harness held her rigidly bound and on display at the front of the unmoving cart.

The vicious female voice at her throat barked into life, its words almost falling over each other as the collar went berserk,

“Bad girl! Good ponygirl’s don’t use their hands! Feet apart! Toes! Stay! Bad girl! Feet apart! Toes! Stay!”

Zoe was assaulted by the corrective crop, lashing at the soles of her feet, her wrists, her ass and thighs, smacking her hurriedly back into the cripplingly **** and humiliating position. She took it with a **** cry, her body trembling on edge, adrenaline blurring her vision.

“Katie!” Zoe cried, floundering, lips parted and eyes wide in petrified anticipation as she stared helplessly in the direction of the sound. It was hard to place, and yet, as she stared at their neighbours’ yard on the other side of the track railing, Zoe knew exactly where it was coming from.

The little red mower trundled around the side of the house and into view. Considering their current situation that in itself was already worrying, but what made Zoe’s blood run cold was the sight of what was pushing it.

At first she thought it was a man, his darkened silhouette masked by the shade of the side of the house, and yet, when he stepped out of the shadow and into the light, the shape grew no clearer. He remained a darkened shadow, a silhouette without features, like a single black hole in the world where a person should’ve been.

“K-K-Katie?!”

He had arms and legs, he moved just like a person would – he was in every way human except, Zoe felt like she couldn’t see him, no matter how hard she tried to focus through her panic.

Katie’s voice echoed in a pained shout over the dull sound, “Mr Peterson?!!”

Zoe whimpered, swallowing down her alarm as she stared at the thing that most definitely wasn’t Mr Peterson and yet… she tried to squint, to focus and take in the form a little clearer. It was wiry, had a slight hunch, and if Zoe concentrated very hard she thought she could just about see the little wisps of hair at his temples. How far down the street had they come? Two houses? Three? She dared not take her eyes off the figure and yet she realised with growing horror that they were very much stopped in front of Mr Peterson’s house – the retired postman Mr Peterson that so diligently mowed his lawn every day. So what was this? A copy? A shadow of his spirit?

Behind her Zoe felt the cart shift in weight as Katie stood, her hands raised into fists as she banged against the barrier at its side, calling out to the shadow over the din, “Mr Peterson?!!”

The naked girl whined, shaking her head in frantic pleading, “D-d-don’t!” she hissed, “Katie no, it’s not him!”

The shade continued its methodical path across the front of the lawn before it paused; interrupted by Katie’s cry and it raised its head in their direction. Zoe cringed, her heart hurting in its thunderous beating as she felt the thing’s eyeless gaze fall directly on her and the deafening roar of the mower cut out.

“Katie he’s a shadow!” Zoe pleaded helpless, a rush of super-heated embarrassment rushing up from her bare toes, sweeping over her legs and pussy, up her ass and back and breasts and cheeks knowing she was standing completely exposed to its gaze.

“I can see that” Katie mumbled back, before she straightened up again, her voice quivering between relief and concern, “Mr Peterson? Thank god! I thought it was just us! Is that you…? Are you ok?”

The shadow of their neighbour paused, leaning against the mower, “በእርግጥ እኔ ነኝ ሌላ ማን ይሆን”

It sounded like language and yet it didn’t, like she was listening to speech played on gigantic speakers from so far away that it had become unintelligibly muffled. It was a warbling; almost animalistic drone that was too impossibly deep for any human to make and Zoe trembled in place, fearful, the sound from the shadow making her dizzy.

“Katie!” Zoe hissed, begging to run, before she was cut off by the blonde calling out again.

“Sorry, It’s just… you… look different…” Katie took an almost imperceivable step back in the chariot as Zoe now dared whip her head around to look between the blonde and the shade in shock, did she understand that?

“ሁሌም የተለየ ነገር የለም።”

Oh my god.

“I’m sorry I…” Katie stumbled over her words, glancing down at Zoe with a look of her own bewildered fear, “… We thought we were alone? We’re, um, lost? Trapped? I called for help… we’re just trying to get home?”

Zoe could only watch as Mr Peterson’s silhouette raised an arm and pointed back down the street towards their house, “ቤትህ እንደዛ ነው።”

“Yes, um…” Katie paused again as she gestured at everything around them. The ringing in Zoe’s ears started to grow louder. Why could Katie understand him? Why can’t I?! What is going on?!

“… But our real home? We need help…”

Zoe cast an anxious glance around them again, her unease setting the world off-kilter. Mr Peterson's house looked normal at first glance and yet, it didn't make sense - the house was dark, the interior bathed in an absolute darkness that seemed almost impossible, the windows merely reflecting every purple flash of lightning from the spiralling cloud above. In the driveway the old man's car sat still with nowhere to go - it's connection to the street impossibly barred by the white railing of the track fence.

The figure’s pointing finger gestured again in the direction of their house, “ይህ የእርስዎ እውነተኛ ቤት ነው።”

“Ok – uh…” Katie called and then turned back to Zoe, her eyes wide and face white as she whispered, “I… think we should go…”

“What did he say?” Zoe hissed back, her own face pink as she glanced frantically between the shadow and Katie.

The blonde took a moment, her already pale face draining of even more colour as she stared at Zoe with her mouth agape, “Y-y-you can’t…?”

The naked girl reluctantly shook her head, blinking back another confused flood of glassy tears.

Glancing awkwardly back in the direction of the shade Katie offered hurriedly, “I don’t think he can help us… I don’t think he will…”

Zoe followed her gaze and sniffed, as she tried to find the right question, “Is he…”

… Real? …Him? …Ok? …Dead?

Katie slowly shook her head, answering all her unspoken questions at once, “I don’t think so…”

“Did I…?” Zoe croaked, swallowing with guilt and feeling the oppressive weight of her collar clinging possessively to her throat like a badge of shame. She couldn't even bring herself to finish the question - Did I do this?

“I… don’t think so…” Katie repeated, less surely than before.

Zoe dared stare at the darkened simulacrum of their neighbour; the sight set her every primal instinct into fight-or-flight at its wrongness. A shadow shouldn’t be solid, standing, talking or looking at me… Worse, she now felt the creeping realisation wick up her spine – What if there are more like him?

More ‘people’ I can’t understand… shadows I can’t see… words I can’t read… clothes I can’t wear… places I can’t go… I’m… an animal…

“I shouted for help for hours…” Katie choked, interrupting Zoe’s panicked thoughts, as the eerie stillness of the world enveloped them again in the absence of the mower’s drone, “No one came… and now, he’s just… it’s just…” her words trailed off before she took another seething breath and set her shoulders with a final glance of apology at Zoe, “I’m sorry… I have to ask him…”

The naked girl baulked, her cheeks burning hotter as she opened her mouth to protest – ask him what?!

But Katie had already drawn herself upright again, “Mr Peterson… you um… you don’t think there’s anything… strange? About… the street? The weather? Or… ” Zoe felt burning humiliation engulf her as the blonde held out an arm to gesture right at her, “… Or Zoe?”

The shadow shook its head before another stream of the bizarre sound echoed from where its mouth should’ve been, “እሷ እዚያ ቆመች። የፈረስ ሴት ልጅሽ ቆንጆ ነች ግን ዘገምተኛ እና ሰነፍ ነች። ጥሩ ፈረስ ሴት ልጆች ይሮጣሉ.”

Behind her, Katie let out a small gasp, then turned, her fingers trembling as she stared at Zoe, “OK! Um… thank you!”

“What did he say?” Zoe pleaded with a quiet whimper, her shame flooding across her entire body.

Katie shook her head, “It doesn’t matter… let’s go…”

“Katie?!”

The blonde grit her teeth uncomfortably as the shadowy figure started up the mower again, “I said let’s go… ready?”

“N-n-no… what did he...” Zoe was cut off again as Katie started counting down.

“Three… Two…”

“Katie?”

“…One…”

“Katie?!”

Zoe gasped, her whole body juddering as she felt both her nipples gently coaxed and the lick of the crop danced across both her ass cheeks at once. The naked girl obeyed, stepping begrudgingly as she’d been trained, anxious and confused, even as she continued to stare in fear at the shadowy nothing that was mowing the lawn of their neighbour.