Sunless Cinema [COMPLETE]

Epilogue: Dusty Blood-Soaked Concrete

Hyacinthe Beitel knew that coming out here was a bad idea. She didn't have proof, but she had a feeling like an ice pop sliding down the back of her shirt. She wished that was enough for Danny to let her turn around and go to the gas station to hang out like normal teens. 

"Listen, Cin, you've got to climb the fence. There's no other way through." Danny swung her drawstring bag from side to side. The green fabric brushed her knees in the tall, overgrown grass. She got it at a Girl Scout camp years before. It was one of the few camps that they didn't attend together. 

Daniela Mold had always been taller and braver than Cin. The cousins had always made quite the pair. They were best friends and neighbors; they were joined at the hip. It was hard to believe they were related, though. Danny was tall; she had a nose piercing she didn't ask permission for; her hair was a choppy mid-length and dyed pink at the roots. 

Hyacinthe (or, as everyone referred to her, Cin) was the quieter one. She had always been more apprehensive. The nickname Danny's new friends had given her-- Cin the Sinner-- didn't fit her at all. There were so many things that felt weird and out of place lately and she didn't know what to do about it. 

Of course, none of that would help her get over the fence. 

Cin looked up at the chain links then back down at herself, at the excess pounds on her thighs and calves, the scratches up and down her legs, and her poor choice of footwear. 

"I'm not leaving you behind," Danny demanded. 

Cin knew that was her cue to begin climbing up. The fence was easily twelve feet tall. It was the getting up part that was hard for her. Cin had never been afraid to fall. She braced herself, jumped down, and landed in the tall grass. 

There was a smushed beetle under her foot. Cin grimaced and scraped the shiny black carapace and goo onto the loose dirt. "Gross." 

Danny hoisted her bag onto her back with one fluid motion. In her right hand, she held a flashlight. In her left, she held a camera. She immediately handed it to Cin, along with a second flashlight. Danny had other things attached to her belt loops for easy access. Her pocketknife, pepper spray, and a small container of hand sanitizer were just a few of them. 

The sun was setting on the abandoned studio as they approached it. The sky bled in purple and orange, dripping on a deep red sun over the lush green trees. The thick foliage surrounded the building like a mob keeping its distance from something suspicious but still wanting to watch the events unfolding. It was the same with the grass. About five to ten feet from the building on all sides, it stopped growing. The ground was barren. 

The two of them waded through the grass like they were treading water. Cin didn't turn on the camera until they were at the entrance, just like every other time they explored abandoned buildings together. Cin filmed; Danny narrated and edited; together, they made up a mildly-popular YouTube urban-legends-and-exploration duo. The shaky, found-footage style of their videos was a part of the appeal. 

Cin tended to think of herself of the staid nithing of the pair. She preferred the archaic and she was an anxious little coward. Danny was the opposite; she knew everything modern, she was always charging forward, and she had more passion that could be measured on a scale. As they approached the studio and she started filming, Cin tried not to dwell on the differences between them. It used to be charming. It used to be fun. Now it just made her feel left out and alone. 

The building was sprawling and underwhelming at the same time. Cin was awed by the sheer size of it; she knew that Danny's eyes were wide from its dilapidated state. Danny always liked the broken and dying things left behind on the earth.