‘HELP’ was spelt out across the floor in giant letters pulled off a cinemas signage. “I thought if anyone flew overhead…” sighed Copper.
Iron cleaned the dust off the letters. Copper gave her a thankful nod.
Above the entrance was a list of films and times. At the bottom of the sign was a sombre message. ‘The owner of the Hulley Cineplex has passed away. His funeral service will be held at 2:10, 4:20, 8:30.’
Iron smirked. “You like puns too, aye?” asked Copper.
In 2003, I went to the third Lord of the Rings preview. We were a couple of minutes late, but front row seats. The projector malfunctioned during the adverts. The manager came in and said the screening was cancelled. I heard a grown man/passionate orc scream “I’ve waited 10 years for this!”
As I laughed out loud, my mate grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the cinema. I realised on the way out, the whole cinema was filled with people dressed as orcs, elves, dwarves, goblins and whatever else is in Lord of the Rings. We were the only people dressed in jeans and shirts.
I don’t know if the cinema owner survived. We got a refund from the box office and were out of the cinema before anyone else emerged from the screen. Do orcs eat humans? RIP cinema manager guy.
I think that was the last time I went to the cinema… Yikes…
They left the school and returned to the main road. Buildings had sunk further than others into the ground here. The roofs of houses and odd chimneys were all that was left peeking out of the soil. In some places, there would be a dark and dusty patch where a house once stood.
One building was noticeably absent. The Spanish magic show house. Un Dos had vanished without a tres.
Today’s video took an hour for YouTube to process and I’m getting a ‘processing’ message on the creators studio page. Apologies if it’s a bit wonky for ya to watch.
Thirty minutes of Coppers tinkering passed. Computers deconstructed all over the room. She had a bag full of spares.
“That’ll keep us going,” said Copper. “This place looks like a tip though…”
Iron beeped and whirred an acknowledgement and looked about the wreckage. She wasn’t sure what sort of tip Copper meant, but she felt it was a good tip.
Copper made her way to the libraries second floor. Bookshelves had collapsed across a number of games tables.
Chess pieces were strewn across the floor. Decks of cards had been scattered in ways that would have made magicians weep. Scrabble boards had been snapped in half, throwing their letters into an alphabet soup over every surface.
Once past the Scrabble boards, she let out a sigh of relief. It was all fun and games until somebody lost an ‘I’.
As copper stripped any salvageable parts from the PC, Iron continued browsing the books.
She found her way into the automotive section. Books lined the
shelves with titles relating to cars, motorcycles, tractors and
engines. She pulled a book off the shelf titled “A beginners guide
to starting combustion engines.”
The boat capsized and her limp body plunged into the water.
The only thing she’d felt since the initial sting, aside from creeping paralysis, was a wriggle beneath her skin. Like worms were burrowing through her flesh.
Its tendrils took hold of her body, and she began a gradual descent towards the maw of the beast. She was almost grateful to the sea that filled her lungs. Taking her life before the creature had its meal.
Little Fears 