The Abandoned Movie Theater

An unemployed man named Stephen walks around the city of Los Angeles looking for a job. Currently in debt and close to being evicted, Stephen desperately searches everywhere and would take just about any positions that was available. Most locations he visited either had enough employees or zero positions. He still decided to continue his search after every rejection. Stephen takes a ride on the train and manages to get in without paying. His cell phone begins to ring and he takes out the phone from his pocket. The screen displays the name Babe. It was his wife so he immediately Answered to hear her voice which he was so fond of. “Hey Hon.”, Stephen answered. “Hi darling. How’s it going so far?”, she asked. “Not so good. I’ve been searching high and low but haven’t found nothing. I just got on the train to hit the next area. Hopefully I find something for us soon.”, the man replied. “I’m worried. The landlord was just here and threatened to kick us out by tomorrow.”, she said with fear behind her voice. “It’s going to be OK. Don’t worry about her, she’s only worried about her income not our problems. As soon as I find something I know we’ll be back on our feet.”, he replied. While looking outside the train window, Stephen sees an elderly man struggling with heavy objects and then decides to walk over there after arriving at the next stop. As he walked towards the side of the building, he catches the same person he saw on the train exiting the building and acquiring more items to put inside. Walking towards this person gave him a cold feeling and his inner voice told him to be careful. The individual was a tall elderly man who looked like Frankenstein with a brain. “Excuse me sir. Do you need help moving these items?”, Stephen asked. The elderly man turned and looked at him with a sinister look. “Be my guest.”, he responded. The unemployed man tried to pick up a white statue made of stone but was totally out of shape that he couldn’t get it off the ground. “Wow, this thing is heavy.”, he said. After multiple attempts, he took a break and stood by catching his breathe. The elderly man walked towards the same object but picked it up like it was nothing. “I got it. You can grab what’s left and follow me inside.”, the man said. Stephen grabbed the light objects and was puzzled on how a man that age could have so much strength to lift that statue. Maybe he use to be a bodybuilder in his prime but he did not question him. When he walked inside, Stephen noticed that he was in fact entering a movie theater because there was popcorn and movie posters all over the floor. “Did you buy this place?”, he asked while following the old man. “No. It was my father’s. He owned a couple of movie theaters throughout the country but this is the last one remaining unfortunately. All the others were demolished.”, the elderly man said. “Why?”, Stephen asked. “He would show mostly independent movies from several up and coming artist. They may not have been hits but they certainly left their impact.”, the old man said. They reached their destination and stood by a flight of stairs that headed down into what appeared to be a basement. There was a door underneath at the bottom and various lights came out from it. Stephen saw a poster on the floor and picked it up. It was a movie called Party Like Hell. “I wish I could’ve seen one of those movies.”, Stephen said. The elderly man was amused by this remark and smiled. “Are you looking for work?”, the man asked him. “Yes sir. I need a job fast because I’m in a bad position right now.”, Stephen said. The man crossed his arms and put one hand under his chin to think. “Today is your lucky day. I’ll give you a place here on one condition.”, the man said. “Anything.”, Stephen responded. “Come with me.”, the man said as he picked up the statue and went down the flight of stairs. They went down and the lower they got, the quieter it became. The sound of the outside world was decreasing while they descended. Both men entered the room which turned out to be a hallway filled with different rooms. All of them had a different poster outside the door. Stephen realized that the theater was located underground which he had never imagined. “I’ve never thought movies could be played down here.”, he said. “It was my father’s idea to put it down here. All of the ones he owned were the same. I want you to watch one of these movies that he showed and if you stay till the end, you’re hired.”, the man said. It would be easy, Stephen thought. “Deal. Which one would you recommend?”, he asked. The man went through each door and looked at every poster displayed. Such titles included: The Waves, Road of The Dead, Burning Sun, etc. “They’re all good. Pick one and take a seat.”, the old man said. Stephen took a peak at every single one and pointed at Party of Hell. “Go in.” He walked through a small tunnel to get to the seats which were surprisingly in good condition. The screen was beautiful displayed like a portrait of a painting. As soon as he sat down, the movie came on and started showing a carnival filled with terrifying rides that were killing people left and right. Slowly the screen began to expand like water around him and Stephen saw that he was not only watching the movie but now he was entering it. He tried to get up and run for the exit but couldn’t. The last thing he saw before being consumed by the fictional world was the old man laughing at the end of the tunnel.