As the lights in the movie theater dimmed, Kaydence couldn't bear containing her excitement. Here she was: six-fifty from her latest paycheck; a tote filled with toilet paper, rice, bells, glow sticks, newspaper, and confetti; and her best friend Erica. This was all she'd need to have a good time.
And how could you not have a good time on a Friday night out at the movies?
It's going to be a night out, Kaydence thought to herself, I'm going to remember for a very long time. She smiled at the pun she had made. Hours of YouTube and days spent gazing at her TV screen and tuning out the rest of the world to the soundtrack on her iPod have all lead up to what would become the next two hours of her life.
"Erica, thanks for taking me to pop my Rocky Horror cherry!" Kaydence quickly whispered to her friend as the reel started clicking in the booth.
"Shh! It's starting!" Erica rasped back. The familiar music and opening credits began to roll. The entire theater began to ring out with an AP line Kaydence picked up on a website. She joined in:
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, God said: 'Let There Be Lips!' And there were, and they were red, and they were good."
A large pair of blood-red lips filled the movie screen and began singing. Kaydence and Erica sang along. When it got closer to the end, Erica asked Kaydence in a low voice, "Is it just me, or is it really cold in here all of a sudden?"
"Maybe they just turned on the air conditioning or something," she replied. "There's nothing to worry about."
The song finished, "At the late night, double feature, picture…SHOW…"
The theater filled with a bright light on the last note. A blast of air seemingly from nowhere blew Kaydence and Erica in their faces. Kaydence covered hers with her arms, curled up into a fetal position on the chair, and screamed. She could hear Erica screaming, too. Within seconds it was all over. The area around Kaydence was once again black, and… wet. Slowly, she lifted her head and gasped at what she saw.
There, sitting on the cold, wet ground, her eyes followed up the pegs of a gate in front of her to find a weathered sign which proclaimed ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!! A crackle of thunder made her jump. Her legs sprawled out in front of her, hitting the bottom of the gate and making it rattle. Her arms flew back to keep her from falling flat on her back. She felt the gooey mud squish under her hands. She looked down at her plain black t-shirt and skinny-leg jeans, both now soaking wet and dirty. A chill went down her spine. Between her damp strawberry-blonde hair and the howling wind she couldn't help but feel a little bit chilly. She suddenly remembered Erica.
"Erica!" Kaydence called out into the night. "ERICA! Where are you?" There was no answer. "ERICA!" she screamed. This time, another boom of thunder accompanied by a flash of lightning replied. The rain pelted her face. Using her hand to try and keep it at bay, she slowly got up off the ground and peered through the gate. She spotted a dark brown castle-like mansion a few hundred yards away from where she was standing. She turned around, looking to see if anyone was behind her. Not a soul was to be found, but she did see her tote lying on the ground. Funny, she thought to herself, reaching over to it and digging around until she found the newspaper.
"Well," she asked herself aloud, "why not?" She opened up the sports section (she was never one for athletics, anyway), put on the straps of her bag on her shoulder, and held the paper over her head as she crept once more up to the gate. She found the opening and slipped into the yard. With cautious but quick steps, she began the journey towards the pale blue light glowing from a dome-like structure on the roof of the house. She stopped cold in her tracks. She finally recognized the building.
"The Frankenstein Place," she whispered to herself. "But… how did I get here?" She shivered and hurried toward the front door, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Who was she to know what was to come?