The smoke from the cigarette faded into the night, but for a moment Vanessa could see an outline in it, a twisted face that lasted only a moment in the vapor. Normally this wouldn't have bothered her. She would have thought: How weird is this shit? and continued on with her day. But this bothered her tonight, maybe because she saw this face every time she closed her eyes at night. And now, she'd just seen it while she was fully awake.
It was a human face, with sharp features. But it was always heavily shadowed, like the person was hiding in the darkness somewhere; waiting. And there was a feeling too, one that always came when she saw that face. It was a sudden sense of urgency, a sudden sense that something was terribly wrong. Vanessa swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat.
"I cannot believe I smoked that whole thing." Liliana said. "Shit's nasty." She looked thoughtfully at the stub in her hands before flicking it onto the ground and crushing it beneath one of her combat boots. She then looked at Vanessa with raised eyebrows, as if anticipating a tasteful comment in reply.
Vanessa hummed. "Must like something about them. Or maybe it's lung cancer that's appetizing to you."
"Something like that." Liliana said, laughing. She moved from where she was leaning against the wall and took a seat next to Vanessa. They were on the steps behind a rundown K-Mart, which was all but deserted. It was their go-to late night spot, for reasons neither of them knew.
Liliana sighed and gave Vanessa a weary smile. "So," She said, "I wasn't going to say anything, but as your BFF I feel like I need to."
"What?" Vanessa asked worriedly, tucking her thick black strands behind her ears.
"You've been looking awfully depressed all night. Anything you'd like to talk about?" Liliana asked, folding her manicured hands in her lap.
"I'm fine." Vanessa said dismissively. She mustered an exasperated chuckle.
Liliana frowned. "No you're not. Spill it, sister."
"It's only that I.." Only that I've been seeing things, Vanessa thought, cringing inwardly, "I've been having trouble sleeping." She said instead.
"Right. Huh, is that why you called me last night?"
"What? I didn't call you last night."
"I mean.." Liliana started haltingly, "Well, you didn't say anything. There was just like, crying, and then static. I hung up. Sorry."
"Lil, I lost my phone remember?" Vanessa asked, "So it couldn't have been me."
"Right, well, it was your caller ID. So your thief is an emotional idiot."
Vanessa chuckled. "That's so weird. They really called you crying?"
"Yes! And it was so creepy now that I think about it. I kept asking if they were okay."
Liliana's phone rang after a brief silence. They both jumped. Vanessa's eyes met Liliana's worried ones. Liliana reached into her bag after a moment of hesitation and checked the screen. She exhaled.
"Not our friend the thief." She said. "Even worse, my mother. I was supposed to be home hours ago."
"You'd better haul ass." Vanessa said.
"That's for sure. She's a nightmare. Even though I moved out for college last year she's still a nightmare. Can't get away for that woman."
Vanessa grinned. She reached into her own purse and pulled out a stick of gum.
"Here." She said. "Take a piece. Your ma would murder you if she smelled cigs on your breath." Liliana took it gratefully.
"Thanks. And sayonara." She said.
"Sayonara." Vanessa watched Liliana saunter off to her car and drive off. Vanessa sighed and checked the time. She should be heading back home by now. Her own mother would be worried too. Vanessa couldn't afford the living fees at the university, so she still lived at home with her mother. Luckily the college campus was only half an hour away; it could be worse.
The wind suddenly picked up and Vanessa shivered. She realized that she didn't want to be alone where she was, especially at night, so she stood and started towards her car. Suddenly she heard a distant singing voice, and laughter. She frowned and looked around, confused at who was around at this time.
She walked a short distance and saw a building beyond the fog on the other side of the road. She hadn't noticed it before, probably because it was partially hidden by trees. Walking closer, she could read the dimly lit sign hanging above the wooden doors. It read, SHOW TONIGHT.
Vanessa smiled. She always loved entertainment. When she began walking across the empty street, she noticed some other people walking towards the building as well. They walked stiffly and were dressed in old-fashioned clothing, but it was dark and foggy so Vanessa couldn't make out their faces. She got the same feeling again, the sense of urgency and, something's terribly wrong, she thought, but she kept walking anyway.
It was just a little off-putting to be going to an unknown 'show' alone, that was all. When she got closer, she could make out the lyrics to a slow song that was being sung from inside.
"Death is no dream, for in death I'm caressin' you."
Vanessa approached the doors and walked into the dimly lit building. It was more spacious than it appeared from outside. She noticed first that the building was actually a small auditorium. It was very dark except for a single spotlight on the stage, which was focused on a very large, ugly puppet on rusted strings. It appeared to be dancing on the stage. It was somewhat unsettling, but Vanessa looked forward anyway. The singing voice was coming from a record player on stage.
She looked around and saw the crowd of people sitting still in their seats, which were red velvet and spread all around the room. Vanessa saw a single empty seat near the front of the stage, so she walked towards it.
"With the last breath of my soul I'll be blessing you."
The puppet suddenly stopped and was angled towards Vanessa. She looked at the doll's face for a moment and almost shuddered. It was the face she'd seen in the fog earlier, the same face that haunted her dreams. The face was painted white with cherry red cheeks and lips. The eyes were wide open and black. The face's features were jagged and shadowed because the spotlight had turned off, and the lights were dim throughout the room.
It was creepy and Vanessa didn't want to be there anymore. She turned to leave and gasped. In place of people, each seat was filled with a life-sized puppet or doll. Each head was pointed towards Vanessa. How had she not noticed before, that these weren't people? She'd thought they just sat still.
Vanessa was now entirely disturbed. But there had to be someone there, who was pulling the puppet's strings on stage and playing the music.
"Hello?" She called out. Her voice echoed although the auditorium was small. She got no response, just the painted eyes of the dolls staring back at her. There was suddenly a putrid odor that smelled like death. She saw a grey fog creeping through the floor, moving towards her.
"Hello?" She shouted more desperately. "What is this? Oh my god!" The fog snaked around her ankles and she began to feel sharp pains shooting up her body. The fog rose and Vanessa's vision blurred. She screamed. Her body went numb and she collapsed, sinking onto the floor. She didn't feel anything when she hit the ground, but she still heard the distant sounds of the song that was still playing.
"Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart here.."
::
(( lovely graphic by @SevdimOldum ))
