That's where the idea for the following short story arrived.
Sara's Night Out
I settle into the second chair in the middle row, leaving my husband to take the aisle seat.
"Aren't you proud? I haven't mentioned Sammy once tonight," I say, referring to our son who is back home with the babysitter.
I wince, but Emmet only smiles. The house lights dim, and we turn our attention to the screen. Having forgotten my jacket, I squirm closer to my husband. The movie has already started, and he stares at the action onscreen.
Monsters have surrounded a secluded mountain resort, and stranded vacationers barricade themselves inside the main lodge.
"What are those things?" a young woman asks.
"I took the blood from the one we killed up to the microscope in the nature center. It's riddled with parasitic viruses!" a guy with thick glasses says.
I giggle. "Parasitic viruses," I say into my husband's ear.
He doesn't turn, but, even in the dark, I detect him rolling his eyes. I bite back my other comments and turn back to the story.
The camera sweeps through the forest to a tiny, dark cabin with its own monster fan club. The scene moves to the cabin's interior, and my stomach drops.
"Who left that kid all alone in the woods?" I ask.
Emmet pats my hand.
The little girl on screen cowers beneath a table as the creatures crash through the window. The biggest pushes past the others and licks his lips as he stalks toward the girl. My heart races until I can feel its pulsing even through my toes.
They'll cut away soon...Or someone will come to help her. Who wants to watch a little girl get ripped apart, right?
The monster has reached her now and drags her out from under the table by her leg. She shrieks and slaps him across the face. She kicks at him with her free leg, but he wrenches the other. He lifts her over his head and throws her at his waiting companions.
The blood within my veins has been replaced with fire. I grip the armrests of my seat until my knuckles turn white.
The monsters drag the screaming child outside and throw her down upon the ground. She scrambles to her feet. She sprints in the opposite direction, tears streaming down her face. She screams for help, but her fear renders her little voice into unintelligible warbles. The monsters descend, mouths open and ready for the easy meal. The girl howls, and something bursts within my chest.
The arm of my chair dislodges itself with a crack.
"Mama's coming, sweetie!" I say as I leap over the row of seats in front of me.
People scatter out of my way as I stalk down the aisles, chair arm raised above my head. I reach the edge of the floor lights and plunge into the blackness beyond. My foot catches something. I stumble and hit the ground hard. Pain pierces my right knee, but it may as well come from someone else's body. I rush back to my feet and whirl the chair arm at the nearest monster. My arm vibrates with the force of the connecting blow, but the monster continues its assault. I swing again and again, repeatedly bashing the monster over the back, but it only ripples and continues the assault.
The little girl's screams reach inside my body, a thousand needles piercing my brain and shredding my heart. I grit my teeth and turn away as my eyes begin to burn. A hundred eyes stare at me, but no one moves a muscle.
"Help me!" My voice cracks as warm liquid spreads down my cheeks.
The light from a room beyond ours catches my eye.
I'm attacking a reflection.
I race up the ramp toward where the real monsters wait. Someone reaches out and grabs my arm.
"Let's go home, Sara," a voice says in my ear.
The girl's cries weaken.
"Mama's coming, baby!"
I yank free and continue my upward climb. I burst through a door and stumble into a room filled with equipment. The source of the light and sounds sits to my right, encased inside a strange box. I raise the weapon one last time.
"Mama's here, baby...Mama's here."
