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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAisyYc68jEY
693Please respect copyright.PENANArYmH5RV6Rj
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAm69nzPUUnd
693Please respect copyright.PENANAYPCMhr0EhJ
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANALfcdNjBL9U
693Please respect copyright.PENANAZ3m1EyEFD2
Something that truly terrified me were her eyes.693Please respect copyright.PENANAabuWHO0vVo
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The sockets were empty.693Please respect copyright.PENANA6FYzUYgZQz
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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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA16l8v6z8qy
693Please respect copyright.PENANAJFTj3LvnPe
I heard the door open to my left and someone asked me a question.693Please respect copyright.PENANA5KnRnXifiU
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"Are you ready to see the doctor? He's waiting for you."693Please respect copyright.PENANA6Sdm55Sj9v
693Please respect copyright.PENANA1JtWZLDYug
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA12aJzPnlo4
693Please respect copyright.PENANAgl1AZ0AUw2
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAZICkUmBGRG
693Please respect copyright.PENANAn2ObKnlpc7
"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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA2eEvIcN2pN
693Please respect copyright.PENANA2bQBPkzLQd
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA29FSyg4HSx
693Please respect copyright.PENANARG10uhvdIr
"You told me you were ready," the woman replied before I could say anything. "It will be all right. I promise."693Please respect copyright.PENANAnsqyr9oUJ1
693Please respect copyright.PENANA5b0Q8I9aZp
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA6LqxdvL7dT
693Please respect copyright.PENANAjWtXHBQn1F
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is for your own good."693Please respect copyright.PENANAXjTZkBfXQZ
693Please respect copyright.PENANApcDhnn4crZ
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady. My heart slammed against my chest at the sight of the needle she held.693Please respect copyright.PENANA8x8ahWtpBq
693Please respect copyright.PENANAeICED5bdUH
"Please," she murmured soothingly. She lowered her hand. "It's the only way."693Please respect copyright.PENANA9Mb7MYPepX
693Please respect copyright.PENANAFJqDVHZ9Dy
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA2ITpSFbckM
693Please respect copyright.PENANARNHolqSh6T
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANALqU01MZgd9
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"Do you feel better since they're dead?"693Please respect copyright.PENANAI4HGxuFa4N
693Please respect copyright.PENANAz6vKsBBe4Q
"Who?" I blinked, watching him carefully. Panic slipped into my body and I felt a way of nausea hit me.693Please respect copyright.PENANACCkMFZatLc
693Please respect copyright.PENANAaNuh4VdXAj
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside the bed. "Those people. All of them."693Please respect copyright.PENANApkMAwwM1m0
693Please respect copyright.PENANA4diAnxDOqD
"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?"693Please respect copyright.PENANAddrsJ8QfEY
693Please respect copyright.PENANADMZi7FYEoT
"I'll ask you to watch your language, Emily."693Please respect copyright.PENANAInrYJOSO94
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My head was spinning. "How do you know my name?"693Please respect copyright.PENANAPpU6SeEbel
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"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."693Please respect copyright.PENANAHYo4SMwrt6
693Please respect copyright.PENANAgrDQmBwqhF
"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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAMkjG7t2r9O
693Please respect copyright.PENANAJ7mBsjICZF
"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."693Please respect copyright.PENANAV4iKhGEHEY
693Please respect copyright.PENANAq8SPLcFEGC
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAnII5RyVM5c
693Please respect copyright.PENANAcyeFHQTSpY
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAs5hsJ7ubZz
693Please respect copyright.PENANAfA70nO5ILM
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANA10Q8KDIRSy
693Please respect copyright.PENANAHnOi9fLJif
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAGDsYWxBHo2
693Please respect copyright.PENANAD6UXgdH7WL
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAm0hsx2HgCt
693Please respect copyright.PENANAsHJL4HLs6j
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAWaAz8r47fX
693Please respect copyright.PENANAaDZmW0fwd0
"God," I whispered into the blackness. "Fuck."693Please respect copyright.PENANAZwZVfsRbX9
693Please respect copyright.PENANAPcGCBqIsid
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAkAm2zUmLcV
693Please respect copyright.PENANAl5ZIoCzMPo
"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."693Please respect copyright.PENANA2i6XwFMjQu
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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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAMUPCjPXDFo
693Please respect copyright.PENANA9jSmxbeZhK
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.693Please respect copyright.PENANAv5MMFpG0oE
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Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the discoloration and mark under my left eye.693Please respect copyright.PENANAUm2HpPQacK
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It looked like a thumbprint.