Smile

Danger

"How do you know me?" I whisper.

I can barely see him through the dusty two way mirror. But I can see enough of the strange expression on his face and the sheer excitement conveyed tells me this is...not right. All my danger senses are firing off. He looks so excited to see me. Only I don't know who he is.

Maybe I just don't recognize him because it's hard to see through the glass.

"Walk down to the door, where the old Orange Julius used to be. I can't, um, see it will be easier if you come back here."

"Back there?" I point at the glass. "I don't work for the mall. I can't go back there. And what do you want anyway?"

'Danger!' screams my pounding heart. 'Danger!' shouts the cold sweat breaking out along the back of my neck.

"It's important that I talk to you," he says. The eager expression leaves his eyes, replaced with an incredibly worried one. "Look, I..I don't know how to explain this. We're the same though. We have to talk."

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I nod and say, "Okay, I have some time to talk. You'll meet me at that door?" I point in the direction of the corner booth where, once upon a time, there was an Orange Julius.

Through the muck, I see him rub the back of his neck. "Go through that door and then take a left. There's another door a few paces down on the left side of the hall. Open that and I'll meet you there."

"This is all very strange. You're not gonna murder me are you?" I force a laugh, although the question is genuine.

He puts his hand on the glass and inexplicably I put my hand up too. I feel...odd. Connected to him, despite the fact that every nerve ending and synapse is still screaming at me about danger.

"You'll walk out of here today," he says. There's a sadness in his eyes that I know I ought to pay attention to. I've no idea what to make of it though. What to make of any of this.

"Alright," I murmur. "See you in a minute."

I turn from the glass and walk away from the mirrored wall. I am afraid and I know I should be, but I'm also excited. I'm aware this is some kind of sickness I have. I think of Isla Vista. I think of Oklahoma City. I think of San Ysidro. SPLATTER ME. The sudden thought is intrusive and terrible and more than any of that, genuine. Genuine and pleading. And I know that I'm actually hoping this man is dangerous.

The door is beige and blends into the beige wall. I've never noticed it before, but I don't think anyone would see it unless they were specifically looking for it. The door sticks. It's unlocked though. It takes one sharp shove of my shoulder and I'm in. The concrete hallway that I enter is incredibly dark. There's only one flickering fluorescent light working and it's several yards ahead, leaving me surrounded by shadows with only just enough light for my heightened nerves to fill in the blanks. My imagination makes demons from the twisting darkness, grotesque horrors from the slices of inky gloom.

Heart pounding, fear and anticipation waltzing, I shut the door. It instantly becomes so much darker. I squint in the direction of that lone flickering tube. All the way down the narrow hall. I can see doors lining the wall intermittently. What did that guy say? Take a left. I try to figure out why he specified. The only hallway is to the left. I turn to the right. It appears to just be a wall. I raise my hand and touch it. The surface is soft and flows under my hand. A curtain.

A bang explodes through the air. I start and look around. No sign of that weird man. I look back to the dusty red curtain. I lift a hand.

A roaring static fills the air. It makes me queasy and I put my hands over my ears. I step away from the curtain. The static noise doesn't stop. My stomach lurches.