We huddled together, trying to keep our laughter as quiet as possible, especially since the character on screen was being torn to shreds by some kind of undead creature. Bad timing, but I was feeling happier than I had in months.

Halfway through the movie, the door at the back of the theater opened and two more people came in. They were dressed in dark clothing and one of them wore a baseball hat, the bill covering his face. They sat directly in front of us.

“What’s the point?” Karter whispered. “Movie’s halfway over.”

One of the men in the back row cleared his throat. I turned to look at him, but he stared ahead, avoiding my eyes. The theater turned pitch-black as the characters on screen entered an underground crypt. As my eyes adjusted to the dark and Karter finished off the last of my popcorn—muttering things like “hell nah” and “stupid” under his breath—I noticed that one of the men in the front row wasn’t paying attention to what was happening on the screen. He had turned so that he was looking toward the side of the theater, his left ear tipped toward me.

The screen flickered, bathing the seats in bright light as the characters moved back outside. The man turned to the screen, pushing his hat low on his forehead. I gripped Karter’s arm. Something wasn’t right. Karter followed my gaze to the man in the front row. Concern spread over his face.

One of the men in the back row stood up and moved to the aisle, and another man in front of us cleared his throat.

Karter was suddenly on his feet, spilling my water across the floor. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the exit but the man in the aisle blocked our path.

“Wanna move?” Karter asked, annoyance ringing clear in his voice.

The man crossed his arms over his chest. Karter went to push past him, but the man grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Karter shoved his hands off him as I stepped back and bumped into someone else. One of the men in the front row was right behind me. My body tensed.

Fight or flight.

I lifted my knee and drove my foot back as hard as I could. I palmed my Mace, flipped off the safety, and spun around, spraying him directly in the face. He sank to his knees, coughing and gagging. The other man in the aisle rushed Karter, but he ducked out of the way and the dude crashed into the wall. I grabbed Karter’s arm and rushed to the exit.

“Get her!” someone yelled from behind us.