Collection

It was nearly time for the photo shoot but none of the models have arrived. We tried contacting their agent but he wasn't picking up the phone. Normally, I would chalk it up to modeling agencies feeling like the world revolved around them but these guys were a pleasure to work with and have been almost uncharacteristically nice to everyone. Worried both for them and our business, I gave a lame excuse to my boss and hurried to the hotel they were staying at.

I knocked on the door and got no response, increasing my worry. My heart almost skipped a beat when I tried to turn the knob and it opened, unlocked. I almost ran inside expecting the worst when I came across a scene that would be etched in my mind forever.

The models didn't bail out on us and neither did their agent. All six hot male models were sprawled on the bed shirtless, looking up at something in the ceiling. Their agent, who was also handsome in his own way, was sitting on the bed in his bathrobe, looking off to the side at something out the window.

The thing that freaked me out the most was that none of them were moving. No one was blinking and no one was even breathing. I almost panicked and dialed 911 but decided to first check for pulses. To my surprise, all of them were warm but absolutely had no pulse. Instead, I felt what I could only describe as soft vibrations coming from inside their chests.

I was about to call the set when I saw the computer on the desk, along with six small black boxes I couldn't identify. The palm-sized boxes looked nondescript and each had an LED that was slowly blinking orange. The laptop was what really caught my attention as it showed seven windows, each of which showed not just the profile of the seven men but also the schematics of their bodies. Yes, schematics, like blueprints. All of them also had a label reading "Status: Paused".

That was when everything clicked into place and explained how these men were so unnaturally hot and unnaturally nice. My above-average knowledge of computers (not to mention a programming hobby) allowed me to discover what happened to the robots. Apparently, they had a small live stream gig last night and a flaw in their programming got them stuck in "pause" after it ended. I quickly checked their other parameters and was relieved their batteries were at 60%, hopefully enough to get them through the shoot. It didn't take long for me to find a manual programming console and give me access to the robots' systems but I decided against experimenting since I was running out of time. Business before pleasure and boy will there be some pleasure tonight.