Janae chewed the inside of her cheek, glancing out the window at the city streets below.
"I don't know, Sez…" she murmured, twisting the strap of her backpack nervously. "It's just… something about that movie. I don't know if I'm in the mood."
Sezzle leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, her expression a mix of impatience and concern. "Mood? Janae, you've been cooped up all week. You need to get out, girl. Don't tell me you're scared of a little supernatural drama."
Janae flushed, more from being called out than anything else. "No! It's not that… I just… I've got a lot going on. New classes, new job… city life. It's a lot, you know?"
Sezzle pushed off the doorway, stepping closer. "Girl, that's exactly why you need this. And besides, don't you wanna see those insane characters in action? You love stuff like that."
Janae looked away, tugging her hoodie tighter. "Yeah, but… sometimes things get weird here. Like, I don't know who I can trust. And with… everything…" Her voice trailed off.
Sezzle softened, resting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, whatever it is, we'll figure it out. Together. But this movie? It's harmless fun. Come on, just one night to get out of your own head."
Janae hesitated, then gave a small shrug. "Alright… fine. One movie. But if some weird stuff happens, I'm blaming you."
Sezzle laughed, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the elevator. "Deal. But let's be real… with us? Weird stuff always happens."
The theater smelled like popcorn and soda, buzzing with the excitement of weekend crowds. Janae and Sezzle squeezed past rows of seats and plopped into the middle of the theater, the lights dimming as previews rolled across the big screen.
"Okay, okay," Sezzle whispered, nudging Janae. "This looks insane. Supernatural Slung, right? Heard it's got some wild characters."
Janae nodded, but her stomach twisted. The first scene flickered on, shadows moving unnaturally across the screen. And then she felt it—the vibration humming in her chest, low and insistent, like the energy in the room had gone rogue.
"Something's… off," she muttered.
Sezzle rolled her eyes but grabbed her popcorn anyway. "Girl, it's just a movie."
Then the first scream rang out.
A man in the back shouted, and a wave of panic rippled through the audience. People ran toward the exits, others scrambled over seats. Janae's heart pounded—not just from fear, but from the energy radiating off everyone around her. Every emotion, every high-pitched panic, reverberated inside her.
"Sez… we need to move," she hissed, tugging her friend under the seat in front of them.
The floor beneath their seats groaned. A crack split the wood, and suddenly the ground dropped. They fell, tumbling into darkness. Janae's scream was swallowed by the void, Sezzle's hand gripping hers as they hit the hard floor with a sickening thud.
Janae scrambled to pull out her phone. The weak flashlight flickered, illuminating jagged walls etched with glowing runes that pulsed faintly in rhythm with the vibration thrumming through her chest.
"Where… are we?" Sezzle whispered, voice shaking.
"I… don't know," Janae admitted, voice trembling. "But… I can feel it. Something's here. Something else. Watching."
A soft echo rolled through the tunnel—footsteps? Whispers? She couldn't tell. The vibration intensified, mingling with the unspoken terror of whoever—or whatever—was in the shadows with them.
"We need… we need to get out," Sezzle said, panic rising in her tone.
Janae swallowed hard, forcing herself to move. The flashlight trembled in her hand, casting long, twisted shadows on the walls. "We'll find a way… we just have to… keep moving."
The shadows seemed to shift. Faint, cold presence brushing the back of her mind. They didn't know it yet, but the chaos in the theater had followed them—hunting them in this dark, unfamiliar world.
Janae's pulse raced, not just from fear, but from awareness. She could feel the energy thrumming through her, reacting to the presence, to Sezzle's fear, to her own rising panic. This was bigger than anything she'd ever imagined.
And somewhere deep in the darkness, eyes watched.