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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAEfMf5TGiSt
590Please respect copyright.PENANA8xUWiyHbPo
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANA6rXiA4zD24
590Please respect copyright.PENANAffIJ2SW2rO
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAmEz5nMJuJW
590Please respect copyright.PENANAod1xbpRCPG
Something that truly terrified me were her eyes.590Please respect copyright.PENANAR7YlnzoKoA
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The sockets were empty.590Please respect copyright.PENANASkx4kD7u0N
590Please respect copyright.PENANAXkN4Wqkd8T
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANA1HsE3Q1dP7
590Please respect copyright.PENANA6LRzTOtHIk
I heard the door open to my left and someone asked me a question.590Please respect copyright.PENANAmk46PhaNMb
590Please respect copyright.PENANARCW0w1NK96
"Are you ready to see the doctor? He's waiting for you."590Please respect copyright.PENANABYDVAwdH3f
590Please respect copyright.PENANAnBO0nMyVVW
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAjG8txLa1Em
590Please respect copyright.PENANANpqANmNbRH
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAzizh0jXWbF
590Please respect copyright.PENANA3uFlyiF7zB
"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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAT6Rzqvt4fr
590Please respect copyright.PENANAoXIJXuArDj
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAWLtJIIGsYe
590Please respect copyright.PENANApbTnqUIBjW
"You told me you were ready," the woman replied before I could say anything. "It will be all right. I promise."590Please respect copyright.PENANAhXCv4JVlIV
590Please respect copyright.PENANAtDRyzIAzRL
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANA6t5pGG2z1X
590Please respect copyright.PENANAYgJh0FL5BX
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is for your own good."590Please respect copyright.PENANAhw1F8cv8Is
590Please respect copyright.PENANAbAjbLR12Ox
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady. My heart slammed against my chest at the sight of the needle she held.590Please respect copyright.PENANAcdnJZRP4x9
590Please respect copyright.PENANAib7tHYmcs0
"Please," she murmured soothingly. She lowered her hand. "It's the only way."590Please respect copyright.PENANAF8Cqd0TkRT
590Please respect copyright.PENANAg6it0TAu7e
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAiBAxy3JiZI
590Please respect copyright.PENANAZzC7v8Xn8T
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAXFxUU3TgU7
590Please respect copyright.PENANAByXJcaJKhf
"Do you feel better since they're dead?"590Please respect copyright.PENANALjqWs8bw2v
590Please respect copyright.PENANATgBhXOzmqz
"Who?" I blinked, watching him carefully. Panic slipped into my body and I felt a way of nausea hit me.590Please respect copyright.PENANACUJqMhtgYu
590Please respect copyright.PENANAhca94LcDP8
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside the bed. "Those people. All of them."590Please respect copyright.PENANApFK42QUt0D
590Please respect copyright.PENANAzlplQtpyoF
"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?"590Please respect copyright.PENANAmM5BhQvCQY
590Please respect copyright.PENANAUh8SDDYHsj
"I'll ask you to watch your language, Emily."590Please respect copyright.PENANAPZ5qf8TPJJ
590Please respect copyright.PENANAv9m9vBwKyo
My head was spinning. "How do you know my name?"590Please respect copyright.PENANA7e87aPDBuS
590Please respect copyright.PENANA1Ga79RQ0zr
"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."590Please respect copyright.PENANA6HXpCWPKOO
590Please respect copyright.PENANAZvDyDBAvFP
"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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAAbB5ffHLUN
590Please respect copyright.PENANAFR9rbpSBOB
"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."590Please respect copyright.PENANAflmXejM76t
590Please respect copyright.PENANAePSHGZ1nJp
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANA0lTgcuMLvU
590Please respect copyright.PENANAMszbG0AVVo
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAXbjpUgRfg3
590Please respect copyright.PENANAGh8SQDjx4R
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAjRkpK3X2Bf
590Please respect copyright.PENANAp89bLGiSbx
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAyCAs9TB8vS
590Please respect copyright.PENANAE1G12GcgYh
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAIlISDpYhIM
590Please respect copyright.PENANAuNGlLD1jw7
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAQ2LeTzDfno
590Please respect copyright.PENANAVhKQqlgZeH
"God," I whispered into the blackness. "Fuck."590Please respect copyright.PENANAsAeNuKxqga
590Please respect copyright.PENANAgpti62xWwb
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANAXOPn8IdjlF
590Please respect copyright.PENANAMOIaJEKGe4
"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."590Please respect copyright.PENANAPoiGacdvin
590Please respect copyright.PENANAdpI2tnpa6K
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANA83DN1ZSTT8
590Please respect copyright.PENANAYoC12LejVk
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.590Please respect copyright.PENANADXKZmQh7pz
590Please respect copyright.PENANAbyWeqKfI5N
Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the discoloration and mark under my left eye.590Please respect copyright.PENANAusZ5GK7UJa
590Please respect copyright.PENANAeBOGgZwgWg
It looked like a thumbprint.