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Now I'll warn you, this chapter is rather graphic…sorry :)

CHAPTER 5

People began screaming, and they stood from their seats and rushed to the doors, only to find them locked.

"Hemophilia," Mary whispered.

Half of the people suddenly clutched their heads and collapsed to the floor. Blood poured from their mouths, and soon enough it even oozed out of their pores.

The screams became even louder.

"Endocarditis."

Another group gripped their chests over their hearts. They paused and crumpled to the floor, convulsed a few moments, then fell still.

Over half the audience now lay on the floor dead.

I stared in utter horror and shock. A little boy, no more than 8, appeared next to the people still attempting to escape.

He spoke a few words that I couldn't hear, and the still-alive audience members straightened and returned to their seats without hesitation.

What the hell?

Mary had left the stage and now there was a 50 or so year old man standing next to a cage.

"I am Dr. Payne. I will need a volunteer…" His eyes scanned over the crowd.

"Ah! You! Yes, dear boy, you!"

A blond man in the front row stood and walked up the steps and into the cage Dr. Payne was gesturing towards.

He shut and locked the door with a heavy padlock.

Dr. Payne pulled a syringe out of his jacket pocket, and I could see the tip of the 5 inch needle glinting under the stage-lights. A few members of the audience shifted uncomfortably at the sight of it.

"In here," the doctor said. "Are plasmids from a wild boar. A plasmid is a small ring of DNA."

He strode over to the cage and swiftly pressed the needle into the man's arm, squeezing every last drop into his blood stream. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then he dropped to the floor and lay still.

"Don't fret! It merely takes a few moments for the plasmids to make their way into his cells! But while we wait, allow me to explain what is happening…

"You see, the DNA from the wild boar will wriggle its way into the cells of this man, break his DNA, and fit itself in. And yes, you guessed it, giving him some characteristics of a hog."

By now the blond man had gotten to his knees, and was sniffing the ground suspiciously. A couple gasps escaped from the spectators.

Snorting, the man in the cage lunged himself at the bars repeatedly, and soon enough blood was dripping from gashes in his head.

"Unfortunately," Dr. Payne continued. "I haven't perfected it yet. They do change, yes, but before I can put them to good use they go insane and kill themselves."

I looked back to the blond man, and nearly gagged. A crack had appeared in his skull, and I could see something gray inside. Dr. Payne sighed as the man collapsed in a heap and lay still.

A small girl in a short white dress appeared on stage then and helped the doctor move the cage with the dead man inside back into the wings.

When she reappeared she had a soft smile on her face. She was rather pretty, with long black hair and creamy skin. Even from here, I could feel the ice in her eyes, though.

No one made any movements as she walked down the steps very slowly and approached a woman on the end of the aisle. Reaching up a tiny hand, she gently laid it on the woman's shoulder, almost reassuringly. Just as the woman relaxed, however, she froze. I mean literally, froze. First her skin turned an evil shade of blue. Then a thin layer of frost spread across her body. When the girl released her, the frozen body tipped onto the floor and shattered.

What happened when she thawed out, though?

My question was soon answered. She went up to another man and grabbed his hand with her own. He cowered away as his arm froze. His hand snapped off easily. But then, the girl grabbed his arm again and this time she seemed to be heating it. Soon, it was completely back to normal, and the blood gushed out of the open wound. He cried out in pain and fainted from the loss of blood.

Stepping over him, the girl sauntered to the back of the theatre, only a few seats from me. Before anyone could react, she gripped a young man's shoulders and her hands faintly glowed red. He screamed and tried to shake her loose, but she wouldn't let go. A tiny trail of smoke drifted up and I caught a whiff of burning flesh. It wasn't a pleasant aroma. I could even hear his blood boiling beneath his skin. With one final scream, he slumped in his chair.

With that, the girl skipped out of the theatre, her black hair flying out behind her.

What happened next surprised me. Lynne came out onto the stage in a simple t-shirt and jeans. "I am Lynne Downing," he said, his sea-green eyes glittering mischievously. "Now I'll need a volunteer…" He trailed off as his eyes settled on a young girl in one of the farther back rows. "Come here," he said, gesturing with his finger. She giggled girlishly and pranced up the steps next to him, standing a little closer than necessary. He winked at her and she giggled that annoying giggle of hers again. A familiar fog slinked up and around her body then propelled up her nose. She gasped and more fog filled her mouth and lungs. Opening her mouth wider, she began gasping for air, like a fish on dry land. Her eyes rolled back and she crumpled to the floor. But she wasn't dead yet. Suddenly her body jerked violently, over and over again. Her skin turned a light shade of blue, and she stopped.

Lynne grinned wickedly at her dead body, then turned to the audience.

"Did she just…drown?" I asked. It was completely involuntary, but I felt the need to say something. Lynne locked eyes with me and gave me a murderous glare. I knew I would be in trouble later.

"Yes," he answered simply. "And you'll be next." With that, he spun and stalked off-stage.

Next, a little boy (the same one from earlier) shyly came out from behind the curtain and stepped to the very edge of the stage. He didn't even look at the drowned girl. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a fairly large knife and tossed it to someone in the first row.

"I'm Tommy!" The little boy said with a quick wave. Suddenly everyone snapped to attention. Tommy giggled. "Oops!"

Waving his hand again, he said, "Kill them!"

The man who had caught the knife whipped to his left and stabbed the woman next to him. He did the same to the right.

With a wild cry, he went on a rampage throughout the seats, stabbing, slicing, and gutting everyone he passed. Before he reached me, I ducked into the shadows. Once everyone was either dead or dying, Tommy stopped him with a flick of his wrist.

"Now, kill yourself," he ordered. The man was still holding the blood-covered knife. Without hesitation, he brought it up to his neck and slice right through the skin.

I stood frozen to the spot. I couldn't even believe, make that comprehend, what had just happened. What had just happened? Approximately 40 or so people had just lost their lives in the most brutal of ways.