chapter 2; Closing Time

I got my first job when I was 17, working at the local theatre; a decent ten auditorium sized theatre that was only a few decades old. I loved it; the customers, the other employees, hell, even the butter smell that sticks to your clothes after they've been deep cleaned in bleach a solid four times. It was my first job, and I loved every stupid small detail about it, until I heard the stories about ghosts in the projection booth.

I never used to believe in ghosts. In fact, if I couldn't prove it logically, I didn't believe it, which is pretty ironic for a Christian, let alone a Mormon, but I questioned everything, and if there was no answer other then "faith", then I couldn't simple "believe". It was impossible in my sceptical, cynical mind to just go along with the thought that some magic man in the sky actual gave a crap about my life when a few of my friends had been killed in car accidents an suicides, and my parents were divorced when I was younger, leaving my brother, Jordan, and I, with mom, 4 half siblings, and a stepdad, who, despite his best efforts, was starting with no idea how to communicate with children.

So there I was, the eve of my 18th birthday, closing the theatre for the first time. A simple job, really. Count inventory, clean the popper, butter machine, and all the dishes, lock doors, check to make sure all emergency exits are locked, and turn all the lights out. Simple enough. I still remember the only three theatres I checked that night, in vivid detail.

I remember walking into the first auditorium, playing Shutter, and feeling cold. I thought maybe the air conditioning unit my be acting up, being that its an older building, and paid little to no attention to it. Slowly walking down to the emergency exit, I lean against the door. It doesn't budge. My job here finished, I begin to make my way out to the next auditorium.

I go through the motions as I did before in the house playing Drillbit Taylor, caring little for much anything but the thoughts of sleep after a 10 hour shift. Leaving the auditorium, I walk through a spot in the hall that is instantly cold, and then gone. I pause, confused by what just happened; cold spots are common in swimming pools and waterways, not hallways. I look around, trying to put some logic behind what happened, but nothing I saw would lead to a valid explanation. No cracks to outside, no nearby air vents, nothing. I slowly walk away, trying to ignore and avoid the situation that had just occurred.

What happened next changed my perspective and view on life entirely. I walked into theatre 3, showing Horton Hears a Who, and remembering the creak of the door. Higher pitched while opening, it made a slow, and dull creaking as it closed. I walk halfway down the aisle when I hear the high pitched squeal of the door opening, but no closing noise is heard. I turn, expecting to see my manager standing there, asking me if I'm done yet like she usually does, but the door was closed. No one stood in the doorway that I could see, and this unsettled me a little. Not enough to change my way of thinking though. I continued down to the emergency exit and leaned against it. It remained locked, so I started back up the aisle way to leave. About halfway back up, something I couldn't explain occurred. All of a sudden I feel someone, or something, shoved me full force at the shoulders, causing me to have to take a step back.

I stood there for a few seconds, dumbfounded and in shock at the thing that was happening. I saw nothing standing before me, yet I felt the aggressive shove like it was some drunk prick looking for a brawl. I started walking faster up the aisle when I felt the cold spot hit me again. That was when logic gave way enough to realize the truth; Some unseen force that science and ration couldn't explain was targeting me, for what reason I didn't know. I instinctively went to the religion side of me, since everything else was dissolved simply by this forces existence.

"God help me" I said quietly, trying to move quickly. I heard the being running to catch up with me as I said this, its feet thumping against the carpeted floor, only for it to catch up and put a very human choke hold around me, and even though I could still breathe, but I couldn't talk. No noise would escape my lips no matter how hard I try. I was panicked. At that moment, when I started to feel cold all over, I remembered something; a talk I hand with my mother not so long ago, of her telling me that "if the advirsary ever targets you, stand your ground, and command him to leave, in the name of Christ."

An odd tactic, but still the only one I had at the moment. Mustering all my strength, I shouted at the top of my lungs, the sound, only a faint whisper, but it was all I needed.

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave this place!" A slight shimmer in the light around me and the presence was gone, the lights seemed to go up, and I stood there in silence for a few seconds.

I left that night without checking the other theatres, later remembering the only other time I saw a shimmer in the air like that was when that firework curved away without explanation.

I guess I had one now. I just wasn't sure how far down the rabbit hole this would take me.