Chapter 4: FRIDAY. 7.
1208 Words
"Shadi?!" Jassem sat in front of Shadi. A million noises returned, the car drove by, its driver present. Jassem hugged his brother tightly. "Are you all right?! You collapsed suddenly."
Shadi frowned. "What? No… I… The man… The man…!"
"The man? Which man?"
Shadi glanced around and couldn't see the blue-haired man anywhere. His lips parted into a broad smile as he pressed a hand against his face, tilting his head backwards.
It's too soon for you to die. Unless you want it now.
He broke into hysterical laughter. "Right… Right! Of course…"
Jassem frowned. "B-Brother? Are you okay?"
"We can't leave… The movie still didn't start, probably." Shadi stood up and wiped the dust off his jacket. "Let's go back inside. The rain is too heavy for us to go anywhere. The streets are probably flooded."
"Right…"
They both returned inside and found the others standing in front of a black-haired man. They were asking him for directions. The man was dressed heavily, all in white, and the brothers counted seven chains hanging from his white pants. The man slowly rolled his head in their direction, and they noticed that his face was covered, leaving only his eyes, which were lifeless. He stared at them in silence before pointing further into the cinema and walking towards the gates. Jassem grabbed the man's arm. "Sir! It's too dangerous outside! Too much ra-ah!"
He instantly pulled his hand away, noticing that the man was inhumanly burning up with the heat, which contrasted the ice-cold weather of December. The man stopped next to them and pointed at the same direction he indicated earlier before walking past the gate and leaving.
The brothers joined the group, and they all walked towards the direction the man-in-white indicated. They found a small booth, and a young man sitting inside.
"Finally! I will get shivers!" Shahd shouted with excitement, running towards the booth first, followed by the rest of the group.
They stopped in front of the booth, and Ahlem saw a handsome man with bright blonde hair and piercing green eyes. She blushed and looked away. "G-Good night… I mean, good evening! I'm here for the tickets. One ticket, please!"
"What's wrong?" Shadi raised an eyebrow. "You have a complication or what?"
"No! The person selling tickets is so handsome… I'm sorry, Jassem, but…"
Shadi moved his gaze to the young man selling tickets, and a shiver ran up his spine, seeing dark black hair and the figure of a man, darker than space. He could not even see his face, and he swore it was worse than the first sleep paralysis he had. The white of his eyes were also pitch black.
"What are you talking about?! He's terrifying; I have never seen a more terrifying person in my whole life! He's darker than black; I don't think any black is blacker! His sight is worse than hellfire! You're hallucinating, Ahlem. Get yourself fixed." Shadi exclaimed.
"What?! No! He's so handsome! Something is wrong with your eyes!"
The young man selling tickets watched them with a smile on his face. He folded his hands on his desk and stared in silence. Jassem looked at him and frowned. "True, Shadi, he's good-looking. He looks like a foreigner, or maybe his hair is dyed yellow. It's too yellow to be natural."
"No, no, no," Fahd shook his head and slammed his hand against the glass of the booth. "He's definitely scary! His smell is poison! It goes beyond bad. I feel like dying just by looking at him." He glanced at the man. "No offence, bro. I'm just trying to get my point across here."
"For once, I agree with the anger-issues boy." Zain nodded. "This mysterious individual is terrifying! I don't know if it's a cosplay to put us in the mood or whatever, but it's working very well."
"But it's impossible!" Rahma shook her head. "He's the most handsome man I had ever seen!"
They continued fighting amongst each other, and the man watched them, clearly amused.
"Th-That being said, I need one ticket, please!" Ahlem demanded.
"No…" The man stood up and pointed at her belly. "Two tickets." He smiled, and she blushed and apologized. "Of course! I'm sorry. Here you go."
"How much is a ticket anyway?" Harun asked.
"Twenty dinars."
"Ah…" Harun turned away and started counting his money in secret. The man watched him in silence and glanced to the side as the crowd heard the sounds of footsteps approaching.
"Gentlemen." Two other men in uniforms stood next to them. "All of those who bought your tickets please follow us. We will guide you to the correct room."
The men had masks on, and the group assumed they were doing it to add more spice. They all followed one man, and only Harun remained behind. He lowered his head, his shoulders sinking.
"Not enough money?"
He gasped as the young man showed up in front of him out of nowhere, and his blonde hair was dazzling. Harun stared at him, confused. "Y-Yes… I'm afraid I can't join them. I can… come back another time."
The blonde-haired's gaze softened. "You can go in. Someone already paid for you."
"S-Someone… Who is it?!"
"Don't worry about it." The blonde-haired pointed with his head at the second man. "Follow him."
"All right… Thanks…"
Harun smiled weakly and followed the man, and the blonde-haired stayed behind. He took out the paper money.
"This is what they kill themselves and each other for." His smile slowly faded as he threw the money away, and it faded away before hitting the floor.
"Rubbish."
Everyone walked into the cinema hall, and the two men followed them inside. They closed the gates, which Jassem found suspicious. He was the only one who was following their every move. The two men eyed him to show that they had noticed him a long time ago, and Jassem saw nothing but their purple and pink irises flaring in the darkness. Shortly afterwards, one of them spoke. "Feel free to sit wherever you like. The room is smaller compared to other rooms, but we didn't expect a lot of viewers for tonight. The show will start momentarily."
They both disappeared in the back of a room behind a door. Jassem followed them and frowned, not finding anyone. He glanced behind at the small room. There were absolute silence and darkness, but he didn't feel scared. He was never a fan of dark places, but for some reason, that darkness didn't terrify him. He could barely see the others, and it was easy for him to spot his wife, who chose the front seats. The room was roughly enough for one hundred persons, and only small white lights barely lit its corners.
"This is MY spot!" he heard Fahd yelling and sighed.
"No, MY spot!" Zain yelled. "You are a true devil!"
"Oh, cut the crap." Fahd sat down in the backseat and rolled his eyes. His sister sat next to him, waiting impatiently. Zain glared at him and sat down next to them. "I shall not surrender to you!"
"Whatever."
Jassem finally made his way to the front seat and sat next to his wife and brother. When everyone chose their seats, all the lights died, and Jassem clicked his fingers. "I forgot! I need to text my boss about work tomorrow."
He grabbed his phone, and Shadi rolled his eyes. "Why so serious?"
Jassem's features gradually changed into confusion. "Why…"
On his phone screen, he read…
FRIDAY.
7.
- Writer
