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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAFdZSYgQvhZ
596Please respect copyright.PENANAq7GM9CBmVd
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAhL5msqaMll
596Please respect copyright.PENANAsKGhDroAQo
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAV0w8gFKmzf
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Something that truly terrified me were her eyes.596Please respect copyright.PENANAJ44TkKHHVF
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The sockets were empty.596Please respect copyright.PENANAG5bVDRdjkY
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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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAQ4yybQoZxX
596Please respect copyright.PENANAG1cXLW4AaZ
I heard the door open to my left and someone asked me a question.596Please respect copyright.PENANA122cK4aYbc
596Please respect copyright.PENANARrYgh8k8Oa
"Are you ready to see the doctor? He's waiting for you."596Please respect copyright.PENANAQWI2RcKMfu
596Please respect copyright.PENANASIFzFZ5X2q
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAFuNxCa1L6a
596Please respect copyright.PENANAVgAUsenIpy
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAUcbPoLKCYd
596Please respect copyright.PENANAdURwGHXkpE
"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.596Please respect copyright.PENANA1V76wTFm0Z
596Please respect copyright.PENANAOGrdnUeO1n
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAnNdSd1xBBg
596Please respect copyright.PENANArKeqtm4iDy
"You told me you were ready," the woman replied before I could say anything. "It will be all right. I promise."596Please respect copyright.PENANATL9BHxXQPL
596Please respect copyright.PENANAbDFf8zERoC
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAPRjKoZQ7Nd
596Please respect copyright.PENANAXgZGkhSldD
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is for your own good."596Please respect copyright.PENANAxnjPWiD7a6
596Please respect copyright.PENANAEXEhJVM2Xb
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady. My heart slammed against my chest at the sight of the needle she held.596Please respect copyright.PENANAyY0hSK3X4L
596Please respect copyright.PENANA0QrCB34JPS
"Please," she murmured soothingly. She lowered her hand. "It's the only way."596Please respect copyright.PENANA17n8W1Yk6K
596Please respect copyright.PENANANucUsgTjhC
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAVk0yhfWxix
596Please respect copyright.PENANArecdf1TslZ
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAvqnWgDJ4GN
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"Do you feel better since they're dead?"596Please respect copyright.PENANA78qXLYICMh
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"Who?" I blinked, watching him carefully. Panic slipped into my body and I felt a way of nausea hit me.596Please respect copyright.PENANAUOLEkaaZM3
596Please respect copyright.PENANAx655K7g9Wd
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside the bed. "Those people. All of them."596Please respect copyright.PENANAkZYLNsfo2T
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"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?"596Please respect copyright.PENANA7lM3w2a9D6
596Please respect copyright.PENANAfz2smNMNky
"I'll ask you to watch your language, Emily."596Please respect copyright.PENANAOeB67X3JBK
596Please respect copyright.PENANAwSTC9H5iSt
My head was spinning. "How do you know my name?"596Please respect copyright.PENANA6P2Seg0gR4
596Please respect copyright.PENANAt3f6gCxMjO
"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."596Please respect copyright.PENANAx9PZLRAngX
596Please respect copyright.PENANA5NY9MXg6Sc
"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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAa3JyoJvZ6Q
596Please respect copyright.PENANAQlg2apvXAx
"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."596Please respect copyright.PENANAC8XX6IFag0
596Please respect copyright.PENANAFC68ZLrAN5
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAQ8aLfaGZyU
596Please respect copyright.PENANAk1TbtzFhYd
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAGwOeCcOz6D
596Please respect copyright.PENANA52cuMZyXnc
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANA0fUirK1jiU
596Please respect copyright.PENANApG2O2mPFuI
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANACQKpEy7AUU
596Please respect copyright.PENANAkvyDeBNGlS
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAZstqIGMHTX
596Please respect copyright.PENANAnRNqim0ePm
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAlXSLlUvUgj
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"God," I whispered into the blackness. "Fuck."596Please respect copyright.PENANAcVhjGaaFo5
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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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAHul24J2Iw7
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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."596Please respect copyright.PENANAD2vCFRQqew
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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.596Please respect copyright.PENANA1SN14qlKsZ
596Please respect copyright.PENANAk4tUoKQfZz
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.596Please respect copyright.PENANAS8H0mmVO4o
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Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the discoloration and mark under my left eye.596Please respect copyright.PENANAdhz8fXAodz
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It looked like a thumbprint.