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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAEaOidpTYUs
633Please respect copyright.PENANAoh0IxOWvEJ
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANACdm46yDnnE
633Please respect copyright.PENANAbnguERlb8a
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAP3x3HxMfDH
633Please respect copyright.PENANAI9astVfrj4
Something that truly terrified me were her eyes.633Please respect copyright.PENANAlkbOTX805m
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The sockets were empty.633Please respect copyright.PENANAF4U6Anm7eK
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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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAvYAJ9gLfhQ
633Please respect copyright.PENANAfuoD4WjMzi
I heard the door open to my left and someone asked me a question.633Please respect copyright.PENANA1EDfsLuaWg
633Please respect copyright.PENANA97lSVkbG8u
"Are you ready to see the doctor? He's waiting for you."633Please respect copyright.PENANAfR1TufGvxZ
633Please respect copyright.PENANAxYsZi8OWgB
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAKBynqRDtW9
633Please respect copyright.PENANAxO6E8WJU5V
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAFqre1klSoa
633Please respect copyright.PENANA8eOGwedjTj
"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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAwXRAnGrw1b
633Please respect copyright.PENANAmW3hlwGJhL
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAXwXreRh2IB
633Please respect copyright.PENANAaQwrc0S7Wl
"You told me you were ready," the woman replied before I could say anything. "It will be all right. I promise."633Please respect copyright.PENANA87EaImhJvW
633Please respect copyright.PENANAXcP4AevbM4
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAtPUPJvri0P
633Please respect copyright.PENANAj4WqQvNB2Z
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is for your own good."633Please respect copyright.PENANAn92oBoFmaX
633Please respect copyright.PENANAoIs8F8X9EE
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady. My heart slammed against my chest at the sight of the needle she held.633Please respect copyright.PENANALJYd3OshAR
633Please respect copyright.PENANATeTDUt6HyM
"Please," she murmured soothingly. She lowered her hand. "It's the only way."633Please respect copyright.PENANAAjIC5YhRS8
633Please respect copyright.PENANAtq3vFNlKem
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAsHqWOYenEm
633Please respect copyright.PENANAcy7p122L7V
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAj5EhcYhNHG
633Please respect copyright.PENANAsWNwtLsodc
"Do you feel better since they're dead?"633Please respect copyright.PENANAUke8cCbPPT
633Please respect copyright.PENANAJpmVWgrABV
"Who?" I blinked, watching him carefully. Panic slipped into my body and I felt a way of nausea hit me.633Please respect copyright.PENANAMid66KxGN7
633Please respect copyright.PENANAZ9XZhbV1Ru
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside the bed. "Those people. All of them."633Please respect copyright.PENANA9fVf6LRzu5
633Please respect copyright.PENANARtAcOT8zn0
"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?"633Please respect copyright.PENANA4T33nRNuu5
633Please respect copyright.PENANAUUzws8LgH1
"I'll ask you to watch your language, Emily."633Please respect copyright.PENANA5yLde0y9WW
633Please respect copyright.PENANARQ4qPsd3F5
My head was spinning. "How do you know my name?"633Please respect copyright.PENANABgwGsPbJXt
633Please respect copyright.PENANAWYfS42bN86
"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."633Please respect copyright.PENANAetOeaOYE3J
633Please respect copyright.PENANAc40Hj2nzYx
"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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAbYxVkZBawH
633Please respect copyright.PENANAT1XeyEzWT6
"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."633Please respect copyright.PENANAnMgtPNfmYu
633Please respect copyright.PENANABHqTSw43ov
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAuB0DukLMSg
633Please respect copyright.PENANAdZ62X0OMMY
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAh6nsxZasDV
633Please respect copyright.PENANAHhQWqkcBvx
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAEuJQGvreVV
633Please respect copyright.PENANAA6O4OzwXRB
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAnBaiVWBwPV
633Please respect copyright.PENANAjA2oq7YOrM
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAGMNE0ihEkH
633Please respect copyright.PENANAPmBxY6GnFi
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAdIcHN1nH6G
633Please respect copyright.PENANAOXI3uBSOym
"God," I whispered into the blackness. "Fuck."633Please respect copyright.PENANAOARcHRUSWj
633Please respect copyright.PENANAgMOGJ1qVFl
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANACu3XaKDQtZ
633Please respect copyright.PENANA99Ix6b8dik
"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."633Please respect copyright.PENANAwm48Q2nPkZ
633Please respect copyright.PENANASp9dVExOQw
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANALQ1YwIKZJD
633Please respect copyright.PENANABrRFBBNE0u
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.633Please respect copyright.PENANAkuf74MUSDT
633Please respect copyright.PENANAaVoxXkBNPy
Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the discoloration and mark under my left eye.633Please respect copyright.PENANAxK54XwIfUA
633Please respect copyright.PENANAoJSMcVedrW
It looked like a thumbprint.