the way was clear. As she got up, nobody was in sight. She couldnât go the back way again. She might run into the dead people, or whatever the hell they were. Moving forward, going deeper into the theatre, her eyes fell on the guts and blood in the rubber tubs. They could be slaughterhouse organs, she thought, but even if that were the case, the situation was still deranged. So wrong.
Forgoing anymore guesses or hypothesis about the unexplainable, Penny treaded down to the end of the backroom toward the hallway that lead to the main drag of theatres. Up from that stretch would be Julesâs office. Possible safety. She would call the police and put this harrowing scene behind her.
Before she made it very far, the door from both the back exit and the main door leading into the theatre area opened. Penny hid behind a huge cardboard display for the movie Casablanca . More of the dead people shambled in through the back exit. They were clutching onto plastic tubs and setting them separate from the boxes they had just brought in earlier. From the other door, a group of three women entered. They were naked from head to toe, shapely and buxom, smooth-skinned and waxen in the overhead lights. The trio walked in confident and with mischievous grins. Their eyes were smoldering embers, though they changed hue, as if every breath they took stoked the fires in their sockets. Blood trailed from their lips. Penny could see sharp teeth poking out from their mouths.
The women sorted through the cardboard boxes. They removed reel canister after reel canister and stacked them up high. Without a word between the vampires and the zombies, they went to work on an unknown task. Ten dead people were working. Half of them started taking down the reels of film that hung from the ceiling and placed them on a table, while the other half were digging out the film strips that had been soaking in the offal and hanging them up to dry. The vampires were working with scissors to snip the new film reels brought in and then steeping them into the tubs of blood. Once the work was done, the zombies filed out of the building and the vampires swiftly exited the room.
Penny blew a sigh of relief. Many thoughts were cycling through her head, all of them ending in ghastly question marks. She was beginning to think running out the exit might not be such a bad idea. If she crossed those dead peopleâs paths, she could bolt for the main road and call for help.
After running through her options for safety, Penny decided to escape through the theatre building instead. Other people were out there. She could scream, and someone would help her, and maybe, just maybe, it would all be over.
âH-help me, p-please. Donât leave me to d-die.â
The voice was coming from behind Penny. A womanâs. She wore a pink sweater and black jeans. Her long blonde hair was disheveled. A red handprint was slathered on her cheek. Along her middle, it looked like a sharp talon had slashed her. The wound was deep enough to bleed, but not deep enough that it couldnât easily be fixed in an emergency room. The woman was crying.
âYou see what theyâre doing to those reels?â the girl said as Penny helped her up off the ground. âTheyâre steeping them in the blood of their victims as another way to bring the movies back to life. Itâs the way theyâre waging their war against us. They wonât lose this time. The dead will kill the living. Everyone. Will. Die.â
Her laugh was dark and bloodcurdling. Suddenly the woman acted as if she didnât feel any pain. Only joy. âThere will be no one left on earth. They will have their way this time because thereâs no one to stop them. The evil is much too strong. THEY WILL NOT FAIL! THEY WILL TAKE US TO HELL! THE DEAD SHALL HAVE THEIR WAY WITH THE LIVING!â
âShut your mouth. Theyâll hear us!â Penny shook the woman and was a second away from slapping her
Anita Amirrezvani
J.B. Garner
Sydney Logan
Jeffrey Shapiro
Mary Alice Monroe
Charlotte Anne
K. P. Hilton
Scarlet Hyacinth
Philip K. Dick
SJD Peterson, S.A. McAuley