The evening of the same day. All light disappears as full night takes hold.
Staslek walked calmly down the main aisle of the theater.
The confused group of teenagers continued to follow him. The ghostly voice caressed their ears, filling their senses with every possible thing they wanted, lacked, or thought should be theirs.
Staslek turned to the right and walked through a cavernous that at one time was the entrance to the main screen of the theater.
A massive gash ran the length of the vinyl projector screen from right to left.
The room smelled like mildew and must. On either side of the aisle, chairs had fallen over or tipped to the side to lean haphazardly against their undamaged counterparts.
A fat gray rat wandered lazily on the small raised stage in front of the screen, sniffing the air as it looked for any number of disgusting things to eat.
Patches of night sky peeked in from several spots where parts of the ceiling collapsed.
Staslek walked up to the small stage and leaped up onto it. He kicked the rat contemptuously, sending it flying into the unseen darkness of the screening room.
“WELCOME!” Staslek yelled, his voice keening unnaturally high.
The motley group of teenagers stopped in front of the stage, forming a rough half-circle around the dark-haired, dark-eyed creature in front of them.
Two of the teenagers who initially ventured into the theater failed to appear. They’d changed their minds.
“You each have your reasons for coming here, yes? Your desires, obsessions, and ambitions.
“You came here thinking I would provide what you most desire, and I shall, but not on my own.
“Starting tonight, we take what we want, who we want, when we want. I will give you powers and abilities beyond your darkest imaginations, and with them, you will crush all opposition to your aims.
“All I ask is that you pledge to fight with me and do whatever I say, whatever it takes to get everything you’ve ever wanted. So, what do you say, my children?”
It was an unfair bargain based on impure desires presented to miscreants and natural-born bullies. Their responses were almost inevitable.
“Hell, yeah, little man,” Reese growled, “I’m gonna punish every little twit that ever got in my way. I’m gonna make them suffer!”
“We’re in,” Lee and Roy called out almost in unison. “It’s our turn to do whatever we want.” They exchanged lopsided grins as they eyed Reese hungrily.
“It’s done, then!” Staslek grimaced, doubled over, and then shot up again with a growl and a hideous smile.
He thrust a finger at Reese, and an aura of power surged forth towards the hulking bully.
The aura was the sickly dark purple of a deep, throbbing wound. It grabbed Reese with limb-like tendrils that lifted him off his feet and poured into his nose and down his throat.
Reese gagged, gurgled, and then growled like an angry, caged beast. His eyes flashed a livid purple and then seethed like glowing embers. His skin darkened to a pulsating blood-red hue lit from within by roiling, undulating energy.
“Your name is Torment now, my son,” Staslek called out. “And torment is precisely what you will inflict upon this world.”
Staslek turned to his right and thrust another finger towards Lee and Roy.
“You will cause pain, death, and suffering that lingers long after you,” Staslek said. “Through you, I will create panic and chaos.
“Come forth, Skewer, rise, Sorrow! Your time is now.”
The purple light engulfed the brothers, swarming down their throats and covering them so completely that for a moment they could not be seen.
Where Lee previously stood, a twisted, black foot smashed into the ground, sending a shudder through the entire structure.
The creature now known as Skewer stepped forward. Every inch of his body bristled with jagged, oozing razor-sharp spikes that crackled and clashed with each step he took.
Beside him, slowly but surely, all the surrounding murk, darkness, and shadow began to rush together, coalescing into a shifting, sliding humanoid form of pure darkness. Its fingers and toe ebbed and flowed out of sight as it moved, hovering just above the floor.
The creature called Sorrow began to moan. The moan was impossibly deep and achingly hollow. It reverberated off the walls and doubled back on itself, rising and fading yet never truly ceasing. The effect was disquieting and disturbing.
Staslek looked down at his creations with grim satisfaction.
“Tonight we hide from the unsuspecting world. Let them have their last pathetic moments of rest, catharsis, or pleasure,” Staslek said. “Tomorrow, we unleash hell.”