The Theatre

 Steve yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He gave a small shiver, frowning at the feeling of the icy breeze leaking into the old theatre. Adam, his friend, sat sleepily next to him. “This movie has been brilliant,” Adam said sarcastically, as the end credits rolled down the screen, “but I’d be keen for it to be over”. The two friends were waiting for a rumoured end credit scene they had been told about, it was meant to be a teaser for the sequel.

‘Don’t be too harsh Ad, it was pretty entertaining, not much better to do on a Friday night in this junky town,” laughed Steve. Ad rolled his eyes and sank lower into his chair, laughing softly.

Steve wasn't surprised the theatre was empty. Their town in winter had a population of less than 5000 people. He was just happy that the town had a movie theatre he could go to sometimes, even if it was run down and freezing. 

Suddenly the credits finished, the screen went blank and the theatre was plunged into darkness.

“Faaaar out!” Adam laughed, “This place is a joke, can’t even turn back on the lights when the movie finishes.

“I’m just bummed the end credit scene was just a rumour,” said Steve.

“Ah well,” muttered Adam.

Steve took his phone out of his jeans pocket and pressed the home button. He squinted as the backlight of the phone shot glaringly into his eyes.

He turned on the torch and a small bean of light cut through the darkness of the theatre. Specks of dust floated eerily through the air, illuminated by the torch. Steve shivered, again, “ugh keen to get out of this place, common, let’s go,” he said.

The two friends got out of their seats and shuffled toward the theatre door, aided by the light emanating from Steve’s phone. As Steve reached the exit of the theatre into the lobby, he paused.

Strangely, the rest of the theatre was also in darkness. Steve felt a flash of fear, he shook it off though, there must be a rational reason for this, he thought.

“Do ya think the idiots working here forgot about us and went home?” laughed Adam.

“Man I’m cold and tired, let’s just go,” muttered Steve.

They left the theatre and walked into the corridor that joined the main lobby. There was not a single light on anywhere. Everything was dark, the showing time board, the popcorn machine, the arcade room… darkness.

“What the actual,” said Steve.

“Yeah, this is a bit weird, that bloody door better be unlocked,” said Adam.

They moved quickly toward the door. Adam reached it first and pushed with more force than necessary. The door swung open and Adam stepped out in to the moonless night, stopped suddenly.

The street was dark and empty. No streetlights, people or cars.

Steve actually felt a sense of  calm as he stood next to Adam. The fear he felt in the theatre was irrational. He now was faced with an actual problem, unknown but very real. Maybe the world had finally gone to crap he thought. There was no way it could have gone on like that, endless consumption, empty people, power hungry political leaders threatening nuclear war. Steve felt protected in this unknown and strange situation. He was deeply grounded in a personal practice that gave him a peaceful and calm heart.

Adam breathed heavily, he felt hot even in the cold winter evening.

“It’s going to be okay Ad, Steve said gently, “we’ll figure this out”.

A huge explosion lit up the night sky, maybe a kilometre away from them. Suddenly the cackle of gun fire was heard and screams rang out through the streets.

“We need to move,” Steve said urgently.

He grabbed Adam by the arm and they moved from out in front of the theatre into a back alley.

“We can go back to my house, only a couple of streets away,” said Steve, “we can contact our families and make a plan”.

They moved swiftly and quietly through the dark streets, scanning the darkness for unknown threats. Steve had always fared well in high pressure situations. He kicked into this mode where he could act urgently, but with a sense of detachment, not making silly emotional mistakes in a time of crisis.

They reached Steve’s home, a two bedroom house on a quiet street, tucked away from the main part of town. Steve’s cell phone suddenly lit up with a message, the emergency tone blaring out. He peered down to read the message.

NATIONAL EMERGNCY: Explosions and gunfire heard across the country, national blackout. Stay inside, lock your doors.

“We need to get out of here, let’s get out into the bush, we’ll be safest out there,” said Steve," we can take the back roads, you ring our families and I will pack the Ute”.

Steve ran into the house, he had emergency supplies in case of disasters. He loaded food, water, medicine, warm clothes and tents into the vehicle.

Adam entered the house, he felt a sense of dread but he focused on the plan. “Ok Stevo,” he said, I’ve contacted our families and we’ll convoy it out to the bush, well swing past their houses on the way out of town. Steve nodded, he had finished loading the truck and was ready to go. “Get in bro,” Steve said.

They clambered into the vehicle, Steve put the key into the ignition, turned the key and a small smile escaped his lip as he peered at the dashboard. The Ute had a full tank of gas. He put the Ute into reverse and backed out of the driveway. The Ute spluttered as Steve changed gears and then roared down the road, expelling a cloud of smoke from the exhaust. They had one main road to cross before they could take some back roads on their way out of town. As the Ute turned left onto the main road, he could see shapes, figures in the road in the distance, illuminated by some artificial lighting.

“Shit,” Adam shouted.

“Let me concentrate,” Steve muttered, “I’m going to put my fucking foot down, I don’t want any part of this shit”.

As the Ute got closer, the scene was revealed more. A dozen men stood barriers blocking off the road out of town. The men were dressed in all black, balaclavas covering their faces, assault rifles hanging from their chests.

The Ute was a few hundred metres away now, Steve gripped the steering wheel, a focused, steady expression across his face.

“Get your head down Ad, fucking get down,” Steve said.

Steve put his foot down and the Ute picked up speed. The unknown men fired warning shots at the vehicle and Steve swerved from left to right, trying to avoid bullets to the tires. The Ute was 50 metres away from the barricade when the soldiers realised they weren’t going to stop. Gun fire ripped across the front of the Ute. Steve grit his teeth and prayed as the vehicle burst through the barricade with a resounding bang and screech of steel. Steve didn’t look back, he focused dead ahead. He didn’t bother worrying if he had injured any of the men. They were attacking him and his friend, his duty was to protect Steve.

The tyres screeched as Steve turned the Ute quickly onto the unsealed dirt road, heading out toward the wilderness. Fortunately, both he and Steve’s  families were out these ways. With his local knowledge of the area, he was confident he could get everyone safely into the bush, without being followed by the unknown attackers.

Steve inhaled slowly in a controlled way, paused at the top and accentuated the exhale. He was confident they would be protected and guided. He wasn’t all powerful or in control of the situation. All he could was his best and carry out his duty of protecting others. He silently whispered a prayer of protection as the wheels of the Ute juddered across the gravel into the night.