party. The beheading by scythe would be Carl’s favorite, but he’s not paying attention. Instead, he sips absently at his fizzy, mint-chocolatey root beer, and scans the area. He sees dozens of cars and trucks. He sees Scar-y Joe refilling the popcorn popper. It’s too dark to see the crater walls, but he can see where their black shadows meet the stars above, and he shivers. All might look normal, but he knows the parasites are here. Right here in this very crater. Their home world was destroyed, and a piece of it slammed into Earth and is still buried somewhere under Carl’s chair. A pink projectile lands by his feet. He jumps from his seat before realizing it’s a piece of paper folded into a tight wad. He picks it up and unfolds the note. Meet me in the bathroom in ten minutes. Something weird is going on. –B He looks at her and mouths why me? She rolls her eyes and jerks a thumb at Andy, who is trying to open a Bud bottle with his eye socket. All he succeeds at is opening the skin over his eyelid. He nods. Okay, ten minutes. Turning back to the screen, Carl decides he better start paying attention or he might miss the message the moviemaker is trying to convey to him. He wonders for a moment if he might be crazy, but immediately dismisses it. If the Beatles sent messages to Charlie Manson on The White Album, then why can’t Jasper Reid be sending messages to Carl? Another girl on the screen scratches at her ear before the whistle lets us know she’s been taken. The scene cuts to a drunk Stan, but the sound of a chainsaw sobers him. He’s in a tool shed, and the buzz of the chainsaw is coming from somewhere outside. He slips under a bench as the shed door slides open. From his hiding place, he sees long legs and white go-go boots. “What the fuck?” asks Andy. “That girl was wearing overalls a minute ago.” Idiot. Ever occur to him that the farm girl might have go-go boots under her overalls? Clearly, Andy isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate the art of a movie like this one. The chainsaw is visible, smoke drifting from its orange casing. Stan is shaking. He covers his mouth to keep from screaming. The go-go boots clop softly on the wood floor, little puffs of dust kicking up with each footfall. A gas can sits on the floor, and she tips it over. Gasoline puddles across the floor. “Convenient that the can wasn’t capped,” says Wade. Go-go chainsaw girl exits the shed and tosses a match before locking the door. The shed goes up quick, and Carl is riveted to find out how Stan will escape this one. Except he doesn’t escape. Not until the shed collapses. Only then does a figure run free, his entire body engulfed in flame. Carl looks at the concession stand. Scar-y Joe is there, but he’s covering his eyes so he can’t see the screen. Is that how it happened, Joe? Or should I say Stan? From the truck, Becca Cline is staring at him, her eyebrows raised as if to say, Are we meeting or what? Carl walks to the restroom, pushes open the door labeled Girls in Magic Marker. “Anybody in here?” he calls to make sure it’s vacant. He goes to the sink and opens the tap. He fills cupped hands with water and splashes his face. Becca Cline will be here any second, and he needs to be ready. He can’t believe she wants to talk to him. Of all people, she chose him. His heart should be soaring right now. Finally, after all these years, she can see Andy for the shallow, self-centered jerk he is. Her alarm bells are going off, and in this time of need, she is spurning the big, bad football player to run into the arms of the weird kid. But Carl knows deep down it’s all a ruse. A setup. He’s too weird for someone like her. It’s the way things are, and it’s never going to change. He hurries into one of the stalls and lifts the heavy porcelain lid from the toilet’s tank. Hugging the weighty ceramic slab, he posts himself alongside the bathroom door. His heart is chugging like a runaway train, and he’s sucking air like he’s just pedaled up the crater wall. The door cracks open. “Carl, are you in here?” His voice cracks, but he manages an affirmative. She pushes her way into the bathroom. Carl steps behind her. Her hair is pulled into a ponytail, and Andy’s cap sticks out from her back pocket. He wishes he didn’t have to do this, but he knows it has to be done. Alien parasites are serious business. Carl swings the porcelain lid as hard as he can. It thuds into her skull, and she drops. Her eyes are still open, but they’re lost. Swimming. “Sorry, Becca,” he says. “I know you’re one of them.” Blood pools on the floor. Becca’s mouth opens and closes soundlessly. Carl can’t tell if she understands what’s happening to her. Headlights peak through the cracked door, and Carl throws his body against it. The movie is over, and cars are leaving. Somebody might decide to stop at the restroom before departing. He watches Becca as he presses against the door. She’s trying but failing to sit up. He knows he has to finish the job, but he’s afraid to leave the door. He’s proven right when he feels somebody pushing from the other side. “Out of order!” he shouts. How long does he have before Andy and Wade come looking? He stays where he is. Becca is bleeding badly, and all he wants to do is hold her, tell her it will be okay. It’s not too late to race to a phone and call for help. But he doesn’t move. She’s been taken. She lured Carl in here so she could kill him. There’s no telling how many people she would’ve murdered next. Though nobody will Read the full behind-the-scenes interview with Multiplex co-founders Joshua Viola and Bret & Jeanni Smith at birdymagazine.com to learn more about the anthology, Colorado Festival of Horror and their love of all things terrifying. It Came From The Multiplex is available September 15 at hexpublishers.com, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Colorado Festival of Horror (COFOH) is an intimate fan experience and convention for all things horror featuring celebrity guests, artists, writers, vendors, performers and much more. Stay tuned for the fest kicking off September 2021 with Guests of Honor writer Steve Niles, actress Brinke Stevens and actor Brian Bonsall. In the meantime, tune into their online programming COFOH Presents, a series featuring panel discussions, script reads, demonstrations, workshops, and more, and the interview series COFOH: Live & Undead, hosted by Denver artist Daniel Crosier. For more information check out: cofohorror.com ever know it, he knows he’s a hero. He lets this fact buoy his spirit. He hears voices outside. It’s Andy and Wade, and they’re talking to somebody right outside the door. The third person tells them Becca left. He says she told him to tell them her Dad came to pick her up. Becca is lying flat now, her eyelids fluttering. A knock sounds behind him. “They’re gone,” says Joe. “You can open up.” Carl pulls open the door, and Scar-y Joe waits with an icepick in hand. Painted by red neon from the concession stand, his scars look fresh. “It went in her ear,” says Carl. “She thought it was a moth. It took control of her before she asked me to meet her here.” Joe adjusts his disconnected headphones. “That’s why I wear protection. Which ear did it go in?” “Not sure.” He drops on her quickly and stabs the icepick into her right ear. He jerks the handle around like it’s a gearshift before doing the other ear. “Fuckin’ parasites. They come out every ten years.” A tear comes to Carl’s eye as the last of her life drains onto the linoleum. “You get on home now,” says Joe. “I can take it from here.” Carl nabs Andy’s cap. He’s not sure why. “You done good, kid,” says Joe. “See you next week?” “What’s next week?” Joe washes the blade in the sink before going to the closet to roll out a mop bucket. “The sequel.”
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