I stood with my back to the wall and looked around at all of the people in those chairs. I remembered when we used to be called here to sit and listen to whatever announcement was being made. I never really paid attention anyway. Well, not until now.601Please respect copyright.PENANAACCk7kVrAu
601Please respect copyright.PENANAahvYrXHNEJ
In the far left corner of the auditorium, a man stood up. I watched him point at something but he didn't say a word. I followed his hand and my eyes widened. I felt my stomach twist unpleasantly as I looked up at the stage.601Please respect copyright.PENANAd2q0VezgIS
601Please respect copyright.PENANAkBlhjrc7Oo
Tied to the rafters was a woman: brunette, half-clothed, and dead. Blood dripped down from the present bullet wound in the middle of her forehead, her mouth open in a scream I'm sure she was never able to utter.601Please respect copyright.PENANAkacn8eRQY3
601Please respect copyright.PENANAIyqGEnMUSX
Something that truly terrified me were her eyes.601Please respect copyright.PENANAELngpxtA4e
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The sockets were empty.601Please respect copyright.PENANAIcOEzUEiPg
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My knees buckled and I fell, using my hands to brace myself so I didn't hit the cold ground. I gasped for air, my mind filled with the image of the woman, and I shut my eyes tightly.601Please respect copyright.PENANA1wr2jyahEl
601Please respect copyright.PENANArpCeePzM6l
I heard the door open to my left and someone asked me a question.601Please respect copyright.PENANAsuMEY3obm7
601Please respect copyright.PENANAfqe2S3DbTS
"Are you ready to see the doctor? He's waiting for you."601Please respect copyright.PENANARBoQcmxHU5
601Please respect copyright.PENANAlBVEmnqHab
I turned my head, my eyes on the woman who had spoken. She was dressed in a nurses uniform and holding a clipboard. I dared a glance back at the others in the room and felt the bile rise in my throat at what I saw.601Please respect copyright.PENANAuwKQx0LXvd
601Please respect copyright.PENANA0oR7rgPx4I
Some were lying in the middle of the aisle, some were draped off the backs of the chairs, and some were spread across the stage. But they all had one thing in common; each looked like the hanging ornament with hole above.601Please respect copyright.PENANAtzj8pGirS3
601Please respect copyright.PENANATvDKfvPW5o
"Emmy?" the nurse muttered. She crouched down and touched my shoulder. When I didn't reply, she hoisted me up and led me out into the lobby.601Please respect copyright.PENANAciYBUeqyd2
601Please respect copyright.PENANAHQmjJ7C8d4
Only it wasn't the lobby I had known when I was younger. It wasn't a lobby at all. It was a long, white hallway.601Please respect copyright.PENANAn7vBljHt4A
601Please respect copyright.PENANAztokRur6oA
"You told me you were ready," the woman replied before I could say anything. "It will be all right. I promise."601Please respect copyright.PENANAHcgO5VKXHx
601Please respect copyright.PENANAUXJaplrFzY
Not far down the hall there was a room, which she led me into without discussion. She instructed me to sit on the bed. As I laid my head back against the pillow, I watched her face turn grim.601Please respect copyright.PENANAI5pqhD6ocY
601Please respect copyright.PENANAioTikSBtFC
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is for your own good."601Please respect copyright.PENANAFEXujGbIkr
601Please respect copyright.PENANAkLpiurgdZG
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady. My heart slammed against my chest at the sight of the needle she held.601Please respect copyright.PENANAJRJTwieOUG
601Please respect copyright.PENANA8jnyiL0rXy
"Please," she murmured soothingly. She lowered her hand. "It's the only way."601Please respect copyright.PENANA4B4fGFBNCh
601Please respect copyright.PENANAsJ9jzZjM4S
Her free hand touched my face, then, cold fingers caressing, reassuring. When she turned away, I felt relief wash over me. But the feeling was short-lived as she went to the door and opened it, revealing another person beyond it.601Please respect copyright.PENANAag1i2Ubby4
601Please respect copyright.PENANA1kpJ7aOpH9
It was a man, the doctor I presumed. He came toward me and put a hand on my arm. He smiled down at me; his blue eyes cool as he spoke.601Please respect copyright.PENANAq3aP8AYCSq
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"Do you feel better since they're dead?"601Please respect copyright.PENANA1ZC3Wc6a7O
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"Who?" I blinked, watching him carefully. Panic slipped into my body and I felt a way of nausea hit me.601Please respect copyright.PENANAZmiNG3rTuH
601Please respect copyright.PENANA5NG3OCfnK9
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside the bed. "Those people. All of them."601Please respect copyright.PENANATHQgYdYtY8
601Please respect copyright.PENANA9zyFb4ucqv
"The people in the auditorium?" my throat tightened. "Why would I be happy that they're all mangled and bloody? What the fuck is going on?"601Please respect copyright.PENANANGsmzYMkAT
601Please respect copyright.PENANAB1uzCaPJR1
"I'll ask you to watch your language, Emily."601Please respect copyright.PENANAuCogyFTXsM
601Please respect copyright.PENANAE2eI6KWwQx
My head was spinning. "How do you know my name?"601Please respect copyright.PENANAWPwXsf2KXl
601Please respect copyright.PENANAzlpr4eU31A
"Oh, I know quite a bit about you," he said, flashing a smile. He ran a hand through his brown hair and shrugged. "You can't hide anything from me."601Please respect copyright.PENANAva1XvYGwPv
601Please respect copyright.PENANAN0RbtMo3U6
"Please." I sat up but he touched a hand to my face and slammed me down. As he spread his fingers so they were across my cheeks, but kept clear of my nose, his own facial features changed.601Please respect copyright.PENANA3YSza0UhQw
601Please respect copyright.PENANA6En8Pjws13
"No more," he hissed. I watched as he beckoned the nurse over and grabbed the needle from her hand. "I cannot allow this horror to continue."601Please respect copyright.PENANAdEtTxu2HWQ
601Please respect copyright.PENANApwsYsEf3Hg
I felt something slid around my wrists, binding them to the bars attached to the bed. It took me half a second to realize they had been there the whole time. I had been so frantic to figure things out that I didn't notice.601Please respect copyright.PENANAV8NxuEQda1
601Please respect copyright.PENANAYNxcueAXJP
As the nurse stepped away from my left side, she shook her head sadly. I looked at the doctor as he secured the second set of straps. Then he slid his other hand over my mouth and pressed down. I thought he was going to suffocate me. I shut my eyes.601Please respect copyright.PENANAlvluk0KJPE
601Please respect copyright.PENANAWyPNgVX82P
As I brought my legs up to fight, he climbed on top of me, his weight enough to hold me down. I continued to struggle, refusing to die like this. A muffled cry erupted from my throat but it died in his warm, sweaty palm.601Please respect copyright.PENANApxqPBFRtN0
601Please respect copyright.PENANANYDE86cshu
He brought his unoccupied hand up and the tip of the needle gleamed as it hovered over me. Another hand gripped my face, gripped my eye, forcing it open. Terrified, I cried into his hand again, the tears welling up as the tip of the instrument penetrated.601Please respect copyright.PENANA7PTrZV5CFV
601Please respect copyright.PENANAUIBtcBDPkc
The scream I heard was horrible. It echoed in the dark as I shot up and listened, my breathing ragged. It wasn't until I finally stopped shaking, sometime later, did I realize the sound had come from my own throat.601Please respect copyright.PENANAi9ZGA4K4WB
601Please respect copyright.PENANAm5aaNKFkKK
I was covered in sweat, drenched, my body aching as if I had run a long distance. Terrified but not willing to allow this nightmare to consume me, I slid out of bed and doubled over.601Please respect copyright.PENANAXviDQQMBbV
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"God," I whispered into the blackness. "Fuck."601Please respect copyright.PENANAZQVUORiO8R
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Trembling and nauseous, I was finally able to regain my balance. I trudged to the bathroom, flicked on the light and winced. I hesitated as I looked at the mirror above the sink. My heart hammered in my chest, so hard that I thought it would break through.601Please respect copyright.PENANASBudD0ZUfP
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"It was just a dream," I whispered. God, my voice sounded pathetic. "You're okay. Just go over there and look or you'll never go back to bed."601Please respect copyright.PENANAqNULa0jl3t
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I had to coax myself like this a lot. This nightmare wasn't the first. The very first was one I never liked to think about. This current one was tame compared to the others.601Please respect copyright.PENANA3z3SGR2TiG
601Please respect copyright.PENANAa0dzwPnjvT
Taking a breath, I stepped up to the mirror and looked in; my red hair was knotted and messy, my skin pale, and my lips cut from where I had obviously bit into them at some point during the night.601Please respect copyright.PENANAmYl8LetNGP
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Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the discoloration and mark under my left eye.601Please respect copyright.PENANAc6UG4V0yzf
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It looked like a thumbprint.