Hi guys, so sorry but i've made some editing to a few of the chapters, as I wasn't happy with them. It won't be noticable, exept for the italics at the start of some of the chapters. Yes, they are kinda important to the storyline.

I guess you could say they explain why some of the things happend. :)

Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think.

Oh and apolgies for the long delay. it's becuase of a nasty little thing called exams.

Chapter One


The game of Life

Fate wasn't happy. Not happy at all. She'd lost the last game, and look how that had turned out. She wasn't ready to lose again, they'd only just managed to eradicate the bubonic plague, and another dose of it surely couldn't be survived. Weak creatures, those mortals, but engaging. Maybe that's how they'd survived so long.

Fate carefully set the chess board in place. "Best of three?"

And death smiled.



"Careful," I warned Evie as she slowly pulled away the rotten boards from the broken window.

She turned and gave me a quick grin, "Don't worry, this will be great" she said in what I assumed was supposed to be a reassuring tone. It wasn't.

The very fact that we had sneaked out in the middle of the night was alone enough to set me on edge, add that to the fact that we were now attempting to break into an abandoned cinema; it was no wonder I was more than a little jittery.

It was all Evie's idea of course, and as usual I had been convinced to go along with it, just like the time we went swimming in the neighbour's pool at midnight, or slipped out the window and spent the night dancing on the beach, but this was our most daring escapade yet. I was broken from my thoughts as Evie managed to pull the last of the rotten boards from the window.

"I really don't think this is a good idea"

"Sure it is." Evie climbed through the window, her height making it easier for her. Not so for me.

Evie had to pull me through the window, the broken glass leaving a long scratch along my arm. It all went downhill from there.

We crept along a dilapidated corridor, the carpet crackled under my feet; it must have been at least ten years old, and thick with dust. As we wandered in the near darkness, I examined the walls by the rather pathetic light throw by Evie's pen torch. They were black and covered by peeling movie posters. It was obvious that the place had never been properly cleared out when it had closed down.

Evie stopped suddenly, causing me to almost walk into her.

"What is it?"

She looked around frowning, "Which door should we take?"

"I think we should go back. We've broken in, that's what we set out to achieve right?"

I knew I was whining but that's what I'm like, the careful one who always thinks of the ramifications of our actions, always thinks of what might go wrong. I guess Evie is more of a live-every-day-like-its-your-last kind of girl.

She sighed, "If you really want to we can go back but I mean, we came out all this way, it seems a bit pointless to just turn back, how about we go just a little further?"

She's good at that. Guilt tripping I mean. Leaving it up to me and making me feel bad enough to go along with what she says.

Predictably I agreed. "But only a little further."

She grinned, "Only a little."

If I had known how far that 'little further' would take me, I wonder if I would have been so quick to agree.

As it was we continued on, taking t

He left door which led us into one of the three movie theatres the cinema had once had in operation.

The chairs had been packed away in boxes which had never been removed; the big screen itself was covered by a large mildewed curtain. I stood cautiously in the doorway, unwilling to go any further, while Evie walked straight into the room and began examining everything in sight. Typical.

She suddenly let out a shout and I almost legged it right then I was so scared; my mind immediately presented me with a series of gruesome scenarios; she'd found a dead body, skeletons, a pool of blood.

In fact she was waving a small black box and calling me over excitedly.

Nervously I made my way towards her, "Idiot, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

She grinned bashfully, "Sorry. Look what I've found!" I examined the box in her hand, it looked rather ordinary.

"It's a box." I pointed out, rather unnecessarily.

She glared at me, "it's a film reel box. I think it might contain an old movie."

I restrained the urge to roll my eyes, only Evie could find a film reel exciting.

"Well open it then." I was vaguely curious as to what movie it held but the full blown excitement Evie was presenting me with was a little over the top and admittedly slightly amusing. Her excitement was catching however, and I found myself leaning closer as she carefully opened the box. A small note fell out and I bent to pick it up while Evie examined the reel with far too much professional interest for a seventeen year old girl.

The note was odd, it was handwritten and in the form of a kind of poem.

I've made the lives of countless men

And ruined those of many more

So stranger, pick either now or then

But be certain and be sure-

For this is a warning to those who choose

All may make their choice to squander or learn

This is a game of life, in which you win or lose.

Any can enter, but few may return

It seemed like some kind of ominous warning of some kind, a joke I guessed, or maybe the catchphrase from whatever movie the box held. It was really too dark to make out properly so I put it in my pocket to look at later.

It had made me even more nervous though, so I started making my way to the door. Evie looked up and stared at me as if I was mad. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving?"

"Oh come on, we have a reel, and I know enough about film to get it working, don't you want to try it on the screen?"

I didn't, but it's wasn't like I hard any real reason not to, so I tried for excuses instead. "It's late Evie, we need to head back, it's dangerous to be out like this, we shouldn't stay too long, and it's not like the film will work, this place has been closed for a decade."

"Stop being such a pessimist, there's no harm in trying is there?"

"I suppose not", I mumbled uncomfortably.

Evie grinned and ran out the door to find the projector room and get the reel working.

I stood nervously, shifting from foot to foot as I waited. I like adventure as much as the next person but this, this was different. This wasn't like our usual escapades, this was dangerous.

I jumped violently and almost shrieked as a loud muffled noise started coming from the screen.

"Pull the curtain away!" Evie shouted from somewhere behind me.

I cautiously approached the curtain and tried to pull it to one side, however it came to pieces in my hands and fell straight down, narrowly missing covering me in mouldy material. I jumped back and stared at the screen.

I was surprised, I honestly thought it wasn't going to work after all these years, and who had kept the electricity going to the dilapidated old place was a mystery to me. Curiously the lights of the actual cinema did not work, Evie having tried them when we first entered. The only thing which seemed to have power was this one screen. However the peculiarity of this escaped me at that point.

Evie's shriek of delight did nothing to comfort me, there was something wrong, and I knew it.

She came rushing through the door, my eyes pinpointing the prick of light her torch made in the darkness. She impulsively hugged me, "its working! It's working!" she crowed.

I rolled my eyes. "So what movie is it?"

She shrugged, "It didn't say."

We both turned to watch the screen.

Muffled sounds were coming from it, what sounded like birdsong and a methodical banging like an axe against wood, however the screen itself remained dark.

Evie watched it hopefully, biting her lip.

I shook my head, feeling the urge to say 'I told you so'. Instead I patted her on the arm, "Come on, it's obviously broken. I don't know about you but my nice warm bed is calling to me."

Evie swore, "It should have worked!" she hit the screen in frustration.

I gave her a bashful smile and turned to leave; Evie's voice stopped me.

"Uh, Niki?" her voice had an odd catch to it that made me stop and turn.

"What?"

"I think I'm…stuck."

I let out a disbelieving laugh, "What?" I strode closer to her.

And froze.

Her arm was half sunk into the screen, the darkness of what we had thought was the screen slowly dripping down her arm.

"What the f-"

She interrupted me with a shriek, "Something's pulling my hand!"

I latched onto her shoulder, I had no idea what was happening, I was scared out of my mind, but I wasn't about to lose my best friend to a rabid cinema screen.

However whatever it was on the other side had other ideas, Evie was being dragged into the screen and there was nothing I could do about it.

I dug my heels into the ground and gave a last-ditch massive pull to try and rescue Evie, for a second I had a burst of hope, feeling something give and Evie begin to fall towards me, but then the great screen finally came to life, the picture turning from black to pure white, everything was enveloped in a bright white light, and I felt myself falling into oblivion.