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.634Please respect copyright.PENANALhJvHXX2pq
634Please respect copyright.PENANAhafD495Rdw
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAGRY53gX2nj
634Please respect copyright.PENANAjXyuG1FWo0
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAWywv1XUROs
634Please respect copyright.PENANAoaOipefqIo
Something that truly terrified me were her eyes.634Please respect copyright.PENANACZsc79M81Z
634Please respect copyright.PENANAWpDcjjORRL
The sockets were empty.634Please respect copyright.PENANAqc8SG8lB6b
634Please respect copyright.PENANA0bvsfF1K2y
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAPghnb3F0Qo
634Please respect copyright.PENANAX0O9GvNhfZ
I heard the door open to my left and someone asked me a question.634Please respect copyright.PENANAlbBDFYKqPp
634Please respect copyright.PENANAm94DwSL6gU
"Are you ready to see the doctor? He's waiting for you."634Please respect copyright.PENANA35yKyXILa2
634Please respect copyright.PENANAIRzfowGdEp
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAtrcBYL7q5e
634Please respect copyright.PENANAREyDzS7wIo
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAX49rVc00FV
634Please respect copyright.PENANAdgAIRKAcs3
"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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAQkUXAjblhm
634Please respect copyright.PENANAYxdPxIXwt0
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAB19LKx0ixD
634Please respect copyright.PENANAOhYDODjXsr
"You told me you were ready," the woman replied before I could say anything. "It will be all right. I promise."634Please respect copyright.PENANAjq8Zxz4o1F
634Please respect copyright.PENANA2vAkaXCtnY
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAknmDOucici
634Please respect copyright.PENANAEGZ2NMTEBc
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is for your own good."634Please respect copyright.PENANA9MTgi5lozW
634Please respect copyright.PENANAItNA8ffpI7
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady. My heart slammed against my chest at the sight of the needle she held.634Please respect copyright.PENANAisahXMFwFF
634Please respect copyright.PENANAL0lp8FfCdd
"Please," she murmured soothingly. She lowered her hand. "It's the only way."634Please respect copyright.PENANAZINfybtDyG
634Please respect copyright.PENANAHrvt7gkGgU
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAqcjOHjIHTB
634Please respect copyright.PENANA23fQQ18iPO
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANA4FZfcdeD2d
634Please respect copyright.PENANAhebWaTCgO1
"Do you feel better since they're dead?"634Please respect copyright.PENANA3BMRcQtk57
634Please respect copyright.PENANAIajow0NmPk
"Who?" I blinked, watching him carefully. Panic slipped into my body and I felt a way of nausea hit me.634Please respect copyright.PENANAOggY6pCHiK
634Please respect copyright.PENANAFSbvaUFxjz
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside the bed. "Those people. All of them."634Please respect copyright.PENANAfh4su9jQYq
634Please respect copyright.PENANACap3eIYPo1
"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?"634Please respect copyright.PENANAWFLFF9YasQ
634Please respect copyright.PENANAXwLDXf50Cs
"I'll ask you to watch your language, Emily."634Please respect copyright.PENANApOSbVigPYt
634Please respect copyright.PENANA05Lpp51zXp
My head was spinning. "How do you know my name?"634Please respect copyright.PENANA78yOu7aFyY
634Please respect copyright.PENANAdTBAntd0GQ
"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."634Please respect copyright.PENANAnQRkxFoP1z
634Please respect copyright.PENANAepJPVhi5Ai
"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.634Please respect copyright.PENANA9z3R6RtFG8
634Please respect copyright.PENANAra0q8VdBi3
"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."634Please respect copyright.PENANALUWY2Hj504
634Please respect copyright.PENANAQfd27bKAsI
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAQf7fcmW1iM
634Please respect copyright.PENANAQ5tIjJfclU
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAW6FvAi93qh
634Please respect copyright.PENANAtktIPvpPH1
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANALyBeljratH
634Please respect copyright.PENANAiptIfGdGK3
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAgjsS8wHqhT
634Please respect copyright.PENANA64rkGNwMuv
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANArkKIAaiGcM
634Please respect copyright.PENANA5kZCakVhgb
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAgm2vwW16OL
634Please respect copyright.PENANAiIlbnkzZi8
"God," I whispered into the blackness. "Fuck."634Please respect copyright.PENANAVxrGFe4Wde
634Please respect copyright.PENANARhH6hR5Rmk
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANA9btHXngVNb
634Please respect copyright.PENANAxO3YBHYBDR
"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."634Please respect copyright.PENANAGxzhVpdUnW
634Please respect copyright.PENANAtlmNn08boY
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAzF3fL8Dixk
634Please respect copyright.PENANA7HRzhsFryT
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.634Please respect copyright.PENANAmLYafzXfFi
634Please respect copyright.PENANARcTbgishpu
Nothing seemed to be out of place except for the discoloration and mark under my left eye.634Please respect copyright.PENANAeM5fMdvS4U
634Please respect copyright.PENANAsn7kjNXnZ1
It looked like a thumbprint.