I just moved to a small town and there's something wrong with the people living here

I?ve lived in a relatively big city all my life, so when my company asked me to relocate to a small town in the middle of nowhere, I wasn?t too happy about it. I argued that I could just work remotely with the team there, but my superior was adamant about having face-to-face meetings and building better team cohesion and collaboration.
They argued that I could stay in my current residing place, but would need to switch teams and my entire role, so eventually I picked the lesser evil ? to move out into the aforementioned small town.
Since I had to bite the bullet, I figured I?d try to make the best of the given situation. Maybe moving to a small town would be a good change of pace. The first thing I noticed when moving was that the rent was a lot cheaper, so I could afford a big house all to myself, which lifted my spirits a little. Another thing that was a big plus for me was the fact that traffic there was pretty much non-existent.
My new house was in the peaceful part of the town (the entire town was peaceful, but my area more so) and since my previous apartment was on an avenue with lots of noise, this tranquility was refreshing. As soon as I arrived and unpacked, my doorbell rang. When I opened the door, a man with a huge grin on his face stood in front of me. With his glasses, slick hair and tidy clothing, he looked like a typical suburban dad.
?Hi there! My name?s Jim.? ? he said perkily, the smile never leaving his face ? ?I live across the street. I?m guessing you?re Chris, right??
?Uh, yeah.? ? I was taken aback ? ?How do you know that??
He chuckled and said:
?Oh, sorry about that. This is a small town as you already know and news travel fast. I mean, when I got my letter from the court, my neighbors knew it before I did.?
I gave him a weak chuckle and shook his hand.
?Nice to meet you, Jim.? ? I said.
?So listen, my wife makes great cupcakes, so she?ll probably bring you some later as a welcome gift.?
?Oh, that?s really not-?
?Afternoon, Clara!? ? Jim waved to a young woman walking her dog down the street ? ?Taking Rex for an early walk today, huh??
?Yeah you know, he was really impatient today.? ? Clara smiled widely and then looked at me and said ? ?Oh hi there! You must be our new neighbor!?
I waved back and introduced myself.
?I?ll be sure to stop by later so we can say proper greetings.? ? she said before having the leash in her hand tugged by the dog.
She let the dog take the lead and shouted back:
?Would love to stay longer, but Rex is in a hurry. Bye for now!?
She waved and went down the street. Jim waved back and then turned back to me and said:
?That?s Clara. She lives down the street in that pink house over there. She runs a book club and has the ladies of the town join once a month for some wine and book discussion. But my wife Sarah says they mostly focus on the wine and gossiping.?
He chuckled and I smiled back out of courtesy.
?So uh, listen.? ? I said ? ?I gotta go unpack the rest of my things, so uh??
?Oh yeah yeah, I totally understand. Hey if you need any help, don?t hesitate to call me. I?ll be home all day long.?
?Thanks Jim. Have a good one.? ? I said, seeing Jim?s friendly and smiling face before I awkwardly closed the door.
He seemed like a nice guy, but I was tired and irritated from the long trip and just wanted to take a break. After taking a short nap, I decided I would go explore the town. I knew there wasn?t much to be seen, but I wanted to spend my time somehow, since I didn?t have any work for the day.
As soon as I got outside and locked my front door behind me, I heard a voice from the pavement:
?Hi, neighbor!? ? I turned around and saw an elderly lady standing in front with a wide smile.
She held a plastic food container in her hands.
?Hello, ma?am.? ? I smiled back ? ?My name?s Chris.?
?Oh, I already know, dear.? ? she said and approached me ? ?Here, I made you some home-made chocolate chip cookies.?
She handed the plastic container to me, still smiling widely.
?Wow, thank you, ma?am. That?s really kind of you.? ? I said.
?You can call me Marcy.? ? the lady said.
Maybe living here wouldn?t be so bad, I thought to myself. Marcy stared at me with her big smile in anticipation, so I took it as a cue that I should check her cookies out.
I removed the lid and was a little disappointed to find that the cookies were mint-flavored, but I tried one in front of her nonetheless and told her how great they tasted.
?Oh you should try my lasagna, that will blow you away, dear.? ? she gently put her hand on my wrist and chuckled ? ?Well I have to get going. My grumpy husband will be angry if he doesn?t get lunch in time. Have a good day, dear.?
?Thank you again, Marcy.?
?Oh and please be sure to return the plastic container when you are done. I?ve donated so many of those to other people and rarely ever got any of them back.?
?I?ll be sure to bring it back to you as soon as I can.? ? I smiled and went back inside to leave the cookies.
I got out again drove down the empty street. Immediately to my left in the distance on a hill I noticed a big tower of some sorts. It looked like a radio tower, since it had an antenna on the top, so I didn?t give it too much thought.
I went to my company?s office, which was only a few minutes drive away from my house. The office looked exactly like back in my city, so that made me feel homey. The coworkers welcomed me and we talked briefly before I headed out.
It was around 8 pm when I returned home and night had already fallen. I wanted to make some dinner, so I decided to walk down to a nearby store and buy something simple like frozen pizza or whatever. I waltzed down the street, spinning my car keys around my finger.
On my way there, I ran into Jim and his wife.
?Hey Chris. How was your first day here?? ? Jim grinned again ? ?This is my wife Sarah, by the way.?
I shook her hand and we talked a little bit.
?So I was just telling Sarah about you.? ? he said ? ?We haven?t seen a new face in? well, it must have been years!?
Just then, a young man in sportswear who was jogging ran past us, saying hi to us in passing.
?It?s true.? ? Sarah smiles as well ? ?But whoever comes here, usually never leaves. They just love the peacefulness of the town. I mean, who would want to live in a big city with so much pollution and traffic jams anyway, right??
I saw Clara come out the front door of her house behind Jim and Sarah, taking out the trash. She waved and I waved back.
?Now honey, it has its pluses as well.? ? Jim interjected.
Just then, I saw a red light blinking in the distance. It didn?t take me long to realize it was coming from the radio tower. I stared at the red light and asked:
?Hey Jim, what?s with that tower over there? Is that a radio station?? ? I pointed at the tower, squinting my eyes.
I got no response from Jim, so I repeated my question:
?Jim, that tower. What exactly-? ? I stopped my question halfway through when I looked at Jim.
He and Sarah were no longer smiling and were instead staring over my shoulder wide-eyed, with a blank facial expression.
?Jim?? ? I asked and looked behind to see what they were staring at.
What I saw only put my nerves on edge even more. The jogger from before stood motionless in the middle of the street, facing away from me, just like Jim and Sarah. I saw with my peripheral vision that an old man who was sitting on his porch was staring in the same direction as the other three residents.
I turned back to Jim and Sarah and saw Clara behind them still standing in front of her house, still holding the trash bag. She was blankly staring in the same direction over my shoulder. I felt my heart racing a million miles an hour, but I was frozen in place, afraid to make any sudden moves. Very slowly, I took a step back. And then in all that mess, my trembling hands managed to drop my car keys on the ground with a loud clatter.
The sound echoed in a painfully loud manner and instantly, all residents turned their gazes towards me. I froze in place again, not sure what would happen next. I wanted to run, but was rooted. Jim and Sarah were not blinking and the longer I stared at them, the more I realized they were entirely motionless like statues.
Slowly, I took a few more steps back and they followed me with their unblinking gazes, twisting their necks in my direction, but not moving their bodies. I couldn?t bear their penetrating stares, so I looked down at my shoes and slowly took step by step.
?For example, you can find all the big stores anywhere in a big city, unlike here.? ? Jim suddenly said.
When I looked back at them, they seemed to be back to normal all of a sudden, smiling again. I looked over their shoulders at Clara and saw that she was placing the trash bag in the can and heading back inside.
I frantically turned around and saw that the jogger continued running and the old man on the porch was gone.
?Hey Chris, you okay buddy?? ? Jim asked.
I turned back to him and stared, trying to figure what the hell just happened. I probably seemed like a lunatic staring at him and sweating bullets.
?Maybe you?re stressed from moving. You should go home and get some rest.? ? Sarah said with concern.
?We gotta go pick up the kids. You be good now, okay?? ? Jim patted me on the shoulder and the two of them left.
I looked at the radio tower and realized the red light had stopped blinking entirely.


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