Awake by Egan Yip Page B

“It’s decided then!”
    They left the car and tried to open the
front doors. It was locked. Everyone came to the same conclusion
and stared at Helios.
    Helios stared back at them.
“ What? ”
    Genesis said what everyone was thinking,
“Rats are good at sneaking in buildings. Go inside and open the
doors.”
    It was easier said than done, but because
everyone was looking at him, Helios couldn’t refuse. He proceeded
to find a way inside the building. Once inside, he took on the
arduous task of pulling a broom across the entrance hall. It took
him nearly an hour to bring the broom five feet over and prop it
against the door. It took him another half-hour to push the door
handle with enough force to open the door. After he finished the
ordeal, Helios passed out on the spot.
    Tom took the liberty of choosing a movie to
watch. He headed for the projection booth while Andrew and Kevin
handled the popcorn, drinks and hotdogs. Genesis, Luna and Terminus
decided to take turns patrolling the building. There was no telling
whether or not some wild animals might try to attack during the
night.
    After the two boys prepared the food, they
played a few arcade games with the quarters they found scattered
behind the ticket window. Tom did not return for a while, so Kevin
became worried.
    Kevin told Andrew, “I’m going to see what’s
up.”
    Kevin found Tom inside the projector booth.
The projector was on, but film was shooting all over the place. Tom
was running around, screaming his head off as he tried to turn off
the machine.
    “What are you doing?” Kevin shouted. “I
thought you said you knew how to work this thing!”
    “I don’t know,” Tom replied, sweating in a
panic. “I-I must’ve forgot a step, or maybe it’s a different
model.”
    “I hope you didn’t break anything. There
should be an office with a computer somewhere. We can look up the
directions.”
    Meanwhile, Andrew sat on the middle row of
the fully lit theatre, munching on some popcorn. He occasionally
shot a glance toward the projection booth behind, wondering what
was taking them so long. He bobbed back and forth in the chair,
causing it to bounce.
    Andrew yawned. The room was feeling rather
stuffy. He fanned himself with his hand. He wasn’t sure where the
controls for the air conditioning were, and it would be too
troublesome to look for them. Andrew got up from the chair, walked
down the side stairs and headed for the emergency exit beside the
white screen, thinking some cool, fresh air would help.
    He cracked open the door and a draft rushed
in, brushing past his face. It felt nice. The door led to the rear
parking lot. He took several deep breaths of the evening air. The
sky darkened. Feeling melancholic, he watched the streetlights
around the lot as they automatically turned on. When he thought he
heard a strange sound, he walked to the curb, listening for any odd
noises. The night was filled with sudden barks, howling and
caterwauls. Then, during a brief moment of quiet, he thought he
heard a whimper.
    He looked to his left. There was a green
dumpster by the wall. The exterior of the dumpster had been
vandalized with spray paint. Disregarding the legality of the act,
Andrew was impressed. He was always surprised to see graffiti,
especially in the city, because most of the graffiti was made
exceptionally well.
    The sound of a whimper hit his eardrum yet
again. It was close, and if he was right by his estimation, it was
coming from the dumpster. Andrew took a few steps toward the
dumpster, before having second thoughts. Then Andrew turned around,
returning back to the exit. The whimper was there again. He sighed.
Andrew did another about-face, unable to quell the curiosity.
    Peering over the dumpster, Andrew found a
girl huddled beside it, her face buried between her knees. She was
crying alone. The girl looked up and saw Andrew. It was Katie, yet
again, her face red, tears dripping down her cheeks.
    Wiping her tears, she said irritably,