Seven Chances In Another World

Chapter 5: Horror Movie

Jassem moved his gaze to his brother. "Why does it say that today is Friday? Is it 7 PM now? I thought it was nearly midnight!"

He was whispering, but Shadi could feel that his older brother was losing his mind. He nodded. "Let me check my phone, okay? Maybe yours is… It bugged or something."

He grabbed his phone and felt his heart dropping, seeing the same thing.

FRIDAY.

7.

He searched for the month and didn't find any specific indication. He moved his gaze to his brother and swallowed hard. "It must be a prank… We have to–"

"Shut up, both of you!" Ahlem scolded. "Let's watch the movie in peace!"

Shadi and Jassem exchanged nervous glances and forced themselves to focus on the movie.

After about an hour, Fahd, who had fallen asleep, woke up. He yawned and grabbed his phone to check the time. He raised his eyebrows.

FRIDAY.

7.

He glanced in front of him and saw the movie still going on. He glanced at Zain and found him eating the food that was given for free in the room. Only those in the front seats were concentrated on the movie. He stood up and decided to leave. "Bathroom," he informed his sister and walked to the door. He frowned, realizing that he couldn't open it. He swallowed hard and tried again, but the door wouldn't budge. He glanced to the side, looking for the two men in uniforms, but he couldn’t find anyone.

He took a few steps back and double-kicked the door, but it didn't work. His kicks alarmed everyone sitting as they stood up.

"Please… There's something I wanted to say for a while now!" Jassem stood up. "Please, everyone, check your phones!"

The movie was still going on.

The others hesitated for a while and checked their phones. Gasps filled the room as they all saw the same day and time without any specific date.

FRIDAY.

7.

"Impossible!" Dina shouted. "It's Tuesday! What's going on?"

They approached each other, leaving the movie behind. "We need to get out of here," they all agreed.

"I tried to open the door, but it's impossible." Fahd shook his head.

"Maybe if we try together," Harun suggested.

They went to the door and attempted to open it but in vain.

As soon as all of their hands touched the door, the ground started shaking. A few of them screamed and held onto the pillars. Others got to the ground. Others attempted to call their families, and others began praying. Jassem held his wife protectively, trying his best to keep himself together. Dust fell on them from the ceiling as they screamed. Jassem gritted his teeth, seeing cracks on the floor. He could no longer control himself and squeezed his wife tighter. "We will be okay," he whispered, "We will be okay."

They screamed as part of the ceiling fell on the front seats, and the movie stopped.

"We will die… We will die!"

They all cried out and screamed for help until their throats could no longer make a sound. One after the other, they collapsed onto the floor, exhausted and unconscious.

Much time passed, and the earthquake stopped.

Slow footsteps echoed in the silent locked hall, and the grey-eyed man stood on top of the ceiling that fell to the floor. He glanced up at the mob of people who had all lost consciousness. He sat down, watching them in silence.

"What now?" The pink-eyed man in uniform stood next to him and started removing his mask. He exhaled and folded his arms. "They are all still alive. What happens next?"

"Patience. We must watch as they grow." The grey-eyed narrowed his eyes and touched the stone with his fingertips as a green layer started covering it and spreading along the black rock. "Patience…"

The pink-eyed glanced up at the boring blue sky above their heads, and his white hair covered his face. "Here is where I begin, from this hole, their journey starts. Will they figure it out any time soon?"

"Time?" The grey-eyed smiled, amused.

The white-haired glanced at him. "Time… Yes…"

The grey-eyed stood up. "Our job is done here."

As soon as he finished his words, both of them disappeared from sight.

A few seconds later, Oussama sat up, scratching his back. "Are you guys daijobu? I'm alive!"

"No injuries here." Dina stood up and started stretching.

They rose up, one after another. Jassem hugged his wife gently. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

She nodded and smiled. "Yes. Thank you."

"Please, if you feel bad, let me know," Joud suggested. "I can help."

"Same here. If anyone feels ill, talk to us. We can help." Talal offered.

Harun smiled weakly and looked away.

"First of all, we need to figure out how to get out of here." Fahd shrugged. "We can't remain stuck here forever, and I want to pee."

"There's a hole in the roof over there!" Rahma pointed at the broken roof. "Maybe we can climb our way up?"

"Good thinking. Who's the tallest person here? Maybe they can reach up to the roof." Sonia interjected, "We need to act quickly. I don't want to die here." She seemed anxious.

"I'm the tallest!" Zain stood in front of everyone, slapping his hand on his chest. "Worry not, I will get you out of here."

"You crazy lunatic…" Fahd grabbed his collar and gritted his teeth. "I'm taller! STOP BEING NARCESSIC!"

"Well, let's solve this peacefully. How about both of you go up there and check?" Ahlem suggested.

They glared at each other. "We go in opposite directions."

They all walked down the stairs, careful not to step into any of the cracks and reached the big rock.

"What… There's green mousse on top of it. What happened?" Zain frowned and attempted to climb on top of the rock. His eyes widened as he slipped and fell backwards. "WHAT THE…"

"Noob," Fahd smirked and attempted to climb, only to fall as well. They stood up without injuries, and not even their clothes were torn. They turned to the others, who seemed slightly disappointed. "Well, we can always try another route."

"That would mean that we need to open that door!" Youssef frowned, clearly disturbed. "We couldn't do that with our forces combined! How will we make it now?"

"No." Ahlem gazed down at her palm and touched it with her free hand. "We didn't try. I didn't push. As soon as all of our palms touched the door, the earthquake happened. We didn't get to try."

"True. I didn't push either."

They all agreed.

"So, we must try again."

They walked up to the door and pushed together.

As expected, it opened, and they wished it never did. They gazed at the scenery before their eyes, shocked. The whole cinema was dark and ravaged. It looked different as well. All the exits were seemingly blocked, and they could hardly see anything aside from the flashing broken lights.

"What happened here?!" Feyruz was terrified.

"I don't know. An earthquake maybe?" Shadi rolled his eyes.

"What do we do now?"

"That's not even a question." Sonia shook her head. "We try to find an exit, of course."

She pushed her daughter ahead. "Come on. Go search for anything dangerous!"

"What on Earth are you doing?" Ahlem glared at her. "You're sending this tiny child out there in the darkness all by herself? You're the one who's supposed to protect her!"

"That is none of your business. Warda is my daughter, and I decide." Sonia raised an eyebrow and looked down on Ahlem. "Don't expect me to be gentle with your just because you're pregnant. Know your limits and don't interfere in my family business."

Ahlem gritted her teeth. "Listen here you little–"

"Enough, Ahlem." Jassem held his wife's hand. "She's right. Anyway, we must find an exit. That is, indeed, a priority. Do you prefer to split or go together?"

"I don't know. How many exits are there in here?" Rahma shrugged. "It's only my second time here; I don't know how many doors are there."

"There are five doors," Youssef informed. "Two in the front, and three in the back. I already have a detailed plan of the area, if you like." He started drawing on his phone. "I can share it with you."

"Oh! Do you draw maps for fun?" Feyruz asked, impressed.

"Yeah. You can say so."

They all received the map and formed five groups of four.

"The front doors are closer than the ones in the back, so the group with the pregnant woman in it go there," Joud instructed. "That's the group of Jassem, Ahlem, Warda and Sonia."

"Fine." Ahlem seemed dissatisfied but agreed anyway.

"The second group who will go to the front door will be that with the child in it. That's the group of Oubay, Menyar, Rahma and Feyruz," Joud continued.

"All right."

For the others, we will go check the back doors. Good luck, everyone. Watch out for yourselves. If anything happens, we already exchanged numbers, and let's stay in contact."

"I don't think that's possible." Dina shook her head. "No service here. We will have to scream. Good old ways."

"That's fine." Joud shrugged. "Let's hurry."

They split up and went different directions, following the map.

First Group

Jassem and Ahlem walked in the darkness, following the flashlights in their phones. Ahlem glared behind, hearing Sonia pushing her daughter in front of her, and the hooded daughter walked in silence.

"I will beat her up," Ahlem was about to act, but Jassem held her forearm and pulled her into a hug. "Shush. Focus on your steps. What they do is none of our business."

Second Group

Shadi walked ahead, annoyed. "Why do I have to go through this? I knew I shouldn't have accepted the invitation."

"What?!" Rania seemed surprised. "You're not enjoying this situation? This was obviously the work of demons!"

Shadi glanced at her without saying anything, and she continued. "Demons are everywhere!"

Shadi narrowed his eyes. "Right. Whatever."

"I strongly disagree." Youssef shook his head. "This is just another earthquake, a completely normal phenomenon. Maybe our government failed to inform us, but earthquakes happen all the time. We should stop explaining things we don't understand with ghosts and urban legends." He was shaking.

Shadi raised his eyebrows. "Fun."

"Earthquake is fine and all," Fahd seemed much less excited than his sister. "But where is everyone? Why is the cinema completely empty? The cinema had many people walking around. Where did they go?" He glanced around and shook his head. "Everyone was magically swallowed by the cracks, and only we were left? Seems fishy."

"That's why I said it's the work of demons!" Rania jumped with excitement, and Fahd moved his gaze to Shadi, not minding her comment. "You're the oldest here. What do you think?"

Shadi sighed and stopped walking. "We're all different here. You’re an emo boy. Your sister is fond of demons apparently. That teenager is a chicken. I'm a half-baked suicidal delinquent," he paused, "Do you think we can agree on something if we chat?"

Fahd gazed at Shadi in silence and nodded. "I still want to hear your point of view."

"We have no time for that." Shadi walked ahead. "The gate. There it is."

"Yes. We reached it." Youssef stopped walking, eyes not leaving his phone screen.

The group of four stood before the gate.

"Let's push…"

Their eyes widened as a blinding light shined through the gate.