Nightmare in Niceville (8 page)

“I know,” Luke said.

“It's okay,” Max replied smoothing his shirt.

“We should call the police right now, but my phone is in my purse in the theater,” Emily said.

“My mom took my cell phone,” Jacob grumbled.

“I left mine at home,” Scott said.

I searched my pockets, knowing I would have mine and . . . felt nothing but the inside of my pockets. “Mine must have fallen out in the theater,” I said dazed.

“I left mine in the car,” Max said patting down his pockets.

“I don't have one,” Sarah said, wiping her cheek.

“Neither does Angela. And mine is dead, believe it or not. I forgot to charge it last night,” Luke said.

“Rachel?” Sarah bent down next to her. She shakily handed Sarah her purse while she stared into space not blinking. Sarah dug through it and pulled out a pink cell phone. She stood and held the phone up in many different spots.

“I can't get a signal!”

“There's a phone behind the counter,” Scott said. He made his way through the obstacles and picked up the phone. He held it up, showing us the phone with a little cord hanging from it. The cord had been cut. Of course. What were the odds of not having a single cell phone to call for help when you really needed it? Apparently pretty good.

“Let's go back to the movie and try our other phones for service,” I suggested.

“We don't know where the person is who did this,” Emily said.

“Well, let's just stick together, head into the theater, and grab our stuff,” Scott said.

Everyone silently agreed.

Sarah and Max were right behind us. Emily and Jacob followed next, still looking terrified. I looked back and told Emily it was okay with my eyes. She barely nodded back. Sarah helped Rachel up from the door and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her arm. Luke and Angela were the last to follow. She was leaning heavily on him and wiping her eyes.

“Who could do this?” she mumbled, shaking her head.

We made our way down the hallway, our eyes flickering in different directions. As we passed the first theater, we heard someone yell in an angry voice, “Where is she? LOOK at the PICTURE! Tell me!” His voice seemed familiar, but I was so drenched in fear that I couldn't concentrate.

We froze. Nobody made a sound. Scott quietly opened the door just a crack so we could hear what was happening inside.

“I–I don't know! I swear!” a woman's voice whimpered back.

“Why hasn't anybody seen her?” the man screamed.

“I—” she was cut short by her own scream. Scott pulled me away, and we started running down the hall. My heart was racing. I saw a flicker of someone's body running toward Theater Five.

“No! We stay together!” Scott whispered loudly. Max turned around and opened his mouth to argue, but Scott interrupted him.

“I'm not going to discuss it Max, stay with us,” he said in a serious, almost scary tone. Max just stared at him. Scott was like the Alpha Male in a wolf pack. And he was holding my hand. What did that make me? I felt myself suck in a breath, realizing that I had forgotten to breathe. His fingers weren't intertwined with mine, but he was still holding my hand. If the circumstances were different, I would have blushed and smiled and gotten huge butterflies.

Max spoke, “What do we do now?”

Scott quickly made a decision and took us back into our dark theater. We all raced up the steps and searched for our purses. I fell to the floor and brushed my hands along the sticky and crumb-filled ground. No one spoke, not even Rachel, which was very surprising.

Suddenly, there was a bang on the door and light poured into the dark room. Everyone froze. The light disappeared and everything was deathly silent. If someone was in here, I couldn't hear their footsteps. Even if they were loud, I couldn't hear anything over the pounding of my own heartbeat in my ears. A scuffling noise erupted through the awful silence, and I heard someone grunt. I felt my body lift into the air, and before I knew it, I was running. Scott was pulling me toward the exit of the theater. I didn't know where everyone else went, but as long as I was with Scott I felt safe.

Scott and I busted out of the theater and made an abrupt left turn into Theater Four. We ran halfway up the stairs, but he stopped. I looked past him and saw three more bodies sitting in their chairs as if they were still watching the movie. I gagged and my knees went weak. Scott grabbed me, helping me stand.

Scott half-carried me down an aisle away from the bodies. He pulled me to the floor and lay down. As I lay down next to him, my hand brushed something sticky. I jerked away quickly, feeling bile rise in my throat.

“Where is everybody?” I whimpered.

“I don't know,” Scott whispered. “The second I heard someone coming, I grabbed you and ran. I'm sure everyone did the same. I'm sure they're fine . . .” his voice trailed off.

He suddenly scooted closer, took my face gently in his hands, and kissed me. It was just a small peck on the lips, but it made my face hot. My heart was already pounding in my chest from fear and running, and I was too scared to get butterflies.

“Sorry. I just wanted to make my feelings clear, in case you hadn't noticed,” Scott whispered.

“Its fine. I feel the same way,” I whispered back.

He looked into my eyes, his forehead creased with worry. “I wanted to talk to you at school, but things just kept getting in the way. I was finally going to ask you out on a date tonight. So we could talk, ya know?” He was stuttering over his words. I giggled quietly, strange considering what was going on around us.

“But with what's happened I . . . I feel rushed. And I'm not letting this get in the way, not anything else. Lily?” My heart fluttered when he said my name.

“If . . . when we make it out of here, will you honor me with a date?” he smiled. I quietly gasped. His smile was gorgeous.

I thought back to Mrs. Earn's seventh-grade math class. I was sitting next to Mark Halloway. Mark had tapped me on the arm and tossed a note onto my desk. Confused, I'd looked over at him. Mark jerked his thumb to the right. I leaned forward and saw Scott looking at me with a tiny smile on his face. I blushed and scooted down in my seat to read the note:

Lily, do you want to get ice cream after school today?

Under the question were two boxes where I could check “yes” or “no.” I was stunned. I'd looked back at Scott, and my eyes must have been ten times their normal size. Why would he want to hang out with me? I mean, we had talked at lunch and in the hall, but I had never guessed that he wanted to spend time with me. Scott had the biggest smile on his face. His teeth were dazzling next to his tan skin. I remembered my face heating up. I checked “yes,” then slid the paper under my work. But Mrs. Earn had been quicker.

“Lily! Would you like to share with the class what your little note says?” she screeched.

“It's just a doodle,” I said and ripped up the paper.

“You're lucky I don't give you detention!” she said and turned back to the board. I scrunched into my seat, trying to be invisible. I didn't look at anyone, not even Scott. Maybe that was why we never got ice cream.

As I stared at him in the dark of the theater, I knew that we were going to make it out alive. We
had
to. And when we did, he would take me out to dinner, I'd decided.

“Nothing will happen to you. I promise I'll keep you safe,” he said. His smile had faded, but his eyes showed sincerity and concern. I knew he meant everything he said.

The movie playing was an action film—explosions of gunfire and yelling erupted from the speakers. It was very loud, but it got quieter as the movie went on. Scott was leaning in to kiss me again when we heard the door close. Someone was in here with us.

Scott whispered, “Pretend to be dead,” and put his head down on the floor. I looked through a spot between two seats and saw a silhouetted flash of long hair. I got to my knees and squinted at the figure. Scott pulled at my wrist.

“Hey!” I whisper-shouted. The girl froze and looked toward my voice. Scott tugged my shirt, pulling me to the side. I held the back of the chair to keep my balance.

“It's okay,” I said to him. “Up here!” I called quietly. She ran toward us. As she got closer, I recognized her. “Rachel?” I whispered.

“Oh, Lily!” she said quietly with relief and hugged me. This was a drastic change from her previous behavior. If the circumstances had been different, I might have been annoyed at her, throwing me jealous glares, but things had changed.

“I'm so scared.”

“I know. I am too,” I replied. It wasn't just to comfort her either. Even though Scott made me feel safer, I was still completely terrified.

I pulled her to the ground.

“Do you know where anyone else is?” Scott asked.

“No, I saw someone go into Theater Five. I was in the second theater, but I thought I was too close to the . . . whoever is doing this,” she answered.

“Maybe we should try to get out of here or call for help again.” I stated the obvious solution.

“I still don't have a signal!” Rachel huffed.

“Figures.” I let my head fall into my hands and raked my fingers back through my hair. A pained and worried expression crossed Scott's face. It didn't help to calm my nerves.

“Well . . .” he started slowly, “I don't think we can just walk around and look for cell phones any more. And I have no idea how to get out besides the door in the front, but it's locked from the outside.” Scott's eyebrows scrunched up.

“Let's try the fire exits!” I said.

“Stay here,” he told us. He made his way down to the far corner of the theater and pushed on the door. He didn't seem to be having much luck. He came back to us panting.

“It's no use. They won't budge. Something must be in front of them outside.”

“Crap! He thinks of everything . . .” I mumbled.

“He?” Scott looked at me.

“I, well I . . . we heard a man's screaming, and I'm assuming it's a man who's doing all the . . . killing . . .” I stuttered. I couldn't admit that I thought it was my father. Not yet. And it might not even be true.

9

Sarah

A
s I crouched between the seats, I tried to slow my breathing. I wondered how long I would be here. There was a loud thump, then light poured into the room. Everything was black again and eerily silent. I saw a darker shadow move within the darkness, something big and tall. And about halfway down, something glinted, just barely enough to see it. I couldn't risk staying here any longer. I counted to three, spun around, jumped up, and started running in one swift movement. I heard someone grunt like they were trying to grab at me. My legs carried me as fast as I could go before I hit the exit door and was through the door of another theater faster than you could say “popcorn.”

I slammed into the wall at the very front of the big room and slumped to the floor to catch my breath. I noticed the screen was blank, covering the room pitch black. Everyone was . . . dead. Finally getting the chance, I let a tear slide down my face, and my heart pounded. I wondered if Lily was okay. I wished we were still close like we were last year. I'd started having feelings for her, and I guess, well knew, that she would never feel the same way.

Just then, the door opened, and heavy footsteps padded on the carpet, and as they reached the hard cement, they echoed throughout the room. I put my hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing. Whoever it was must have seen me run in here! More tears poured down my cheeks.

“Where are you?” a deep, male voice called out in the quiet.

His footsteps were steady.

“I know you're in here, Lily.”

Lily? How did he know Lily?
I thought to myself. A flashlight clicked on and scanned the room. I heard the footsteps getting closer. I squeezed my eyes shut and more tears fell. I was about to stand up when a light hit my face, blinding me. I closed my eyes and saw pale red.

“Well, look what we have here. You look about Lily's age. What's your name?” he asked.

I clenched my jaw and remained silent. I should have hid better! I should have crawled between the seats! I should have stood behind the door, then snuck out behind him! I should have…

He smacked the side of my head. I gasped, outraged, and opened my eyes. His bright green eyes were the first thing I saw. I was mesmerized by their dark, emerald-green color, just like Lily's. His short, dark-brown hair stuck out in all different directions. His face was sweaty and his clothes were drenched in dark liquids—sweat, blood, and probably other peoples' tears. He had a longish face, like an oval. He was tall and lanky, but still had muscular arms. He had stubble on his dirty face, and his eyes were wild.

And, he was holding a long knife, dripping with red. My breath stopped for a few seconds.

“You're name.” He didn't say it like a question, but like an owner giving his misbehaving dog a command.

“Sarah,” I mumbled and looked down. I mentally slapped myself. Why did I say my real name? I was so scared, I couldn't think straight. I couldn't control my breathing any more. I might have started hyperventilating if I wasn't focusing so much on trying to think through my clouded mind.

“Well, Sarah, did you come here with anyone?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Who?”

“Friends from school,” I muttered.

He huffed out a breath. “What are their names!” He was having trouble controlling his anger.

“Max, Luke, and Angela,” I answered quietly, afraid of getting smacked again.

“Do you know my Lily? She has long, brown hair and green eyes.”

“No,” I lied.

“Have you seen a girl like that around here tonight?”

“No,” I lied again. His Lily? What did he mean? I didn't know what this man wanted with Lily. Was he an ex-boyfriend? No, he was too old, and Lily wouldn't go for an older guy. Was he a relative?