“Welcome to the neighbourhood. I’m Doreen.” She smiled, a strangely perfect smile that didn’t reach her eyes. 

“Oh, thank you,” Susan smiled, and took the gift; a small basket of home-baked cookies, still piping hot and fresh from the oven. 

They made polite chit-chat for a while, Susan privately deciding her visitor clearly didn’t have the intellect to be an interesting conversationalist. Before long, she made her excuses and retreated inside. 

She’d had no intention of eating the cookies; you just didn’t refuse gifts when you’d just moved in, but Susan was watching her diet and had no idea what might be in them. She set them aside for the time being, unpacking, and trying to figure out how she could use the basket. It was quite nice. 

But the smell was so delicious that she tried one… and then another… and before she knew it, hours later, she rested in a chair, doped, docile, eyes glassy. 

Doreen and her fellow drones let themselves in with a spare key. 

It was time to truly welcome Susan to the neighbourhood. 

She would never leave the Community that Cares…