One

“I’m here to suck your blood!” Violins violently played through a crashing crescendo, and the roiling thunder exploded. A flash of lightning exposed a monstrous face and a mouth filled with fangs.

Screams erupted from countless cars strewn throughout the drive-in.

“Come on, this is so boring. How about we make tonight a little more interesting?” The slick, young man’s hair was greased back and raised at the front. His face had begun to grow rough with stubble and he had a half-used cigarette tucked behind his ear. He wore an old leather jacket over a plain white t-shirt.

He leaned in halfway and waited for a kiss.

The young woman opposite him had strong, red hair that rolled back at the top and flowed down to her shoulders at the back, parted with a black scarf. She wore a denim jacket and a red dress with white polka-dots.

She leaned in and met the man’s kiss.

“Adelina,” said one voice.

“Dylan, gross!” said another. “Don’t forget there are two kids in the backseat, and we don’t want to see this sort of stuff.”

“You wouldn’t have to see this stuff if you little cretins didn’t come along.” Dylan corkscrewed his body and pointed at the two kids in the back.

The two young teens in the back were covered in food wrappers and looked as though their eyes were about to fall out of their heads.

One was lanky with a thick mop of black hair. Though he was younger by four years, he was taller than his brother. Other than sharing the same crystal-blue eyes, nobody would think they were related.

Sitting next to him was Frankie Costa, Michael’s best friend and younger brother to Adelina. A short kid with a stocky build, he excelled at sport.

“You can’t come to the drive-ins on a Friday night, for a double-feature of sci-fi and horror, and not expect us to come. Mum said you had to bring us.”

“Only because you kept bitching and moaning. Man, you just don’t leave me alone. Ever since dad died, you’re always around me. I’ve got my own life too, live you know.”

“Yeah, well. Fuck you.” Michael got out of the car and slammed the door as hard as he could.

“If you break my car, you’ll pay for it, you little shit! Sorry Frankie.”

“Why do you two dress like it’s the fifties? That was almost twenty years ago, get with the times. Ass.” Frankie stuck his tongue out and chased after Michael, though he made a point of slowly closing the door.

Dylan looked at Adelina, then averted his eyes from her disapproving look.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“What? He’s annoying. He needs to give me space.”

“Really, Dylan? You’re annoyed at him for seeking you as a fatherly figure. You’re his older brother, that’s what you need to step up to be.” Adelina grabbed and patted Dylan's hand.

“I didn’t sign up for being a parent. I’m his brother. And he has mum.”

“We adapt when dynamics change. You can go and apologise to him.”

“I’ll give him a few minutes to blow off some steam first.”

Michael stormed through the rows of cars, and after a few complaints, bent over. He made his way to a little hill at the back and sat down.

He’d seen the movie over twenty times now. He and his dad had watched it at this very drive-in close to that amount. The love of movies was something he and his dad had shared. It was a gap Michael hadn’t been able to fill since his dad had died. Nobody he knew liked movies as much as he did.

“You alright?” Frankie sat next to him.

“Yeah. He’s such a selfish prick.”

“Yeah, stupid greaser wannabe.” The two laughed and sat in silence as they watched the movie.

“Hey, what happened to the screen?” asked Frankie.

“It looks like something has torn through. Must be some kind of new immersion thing they’re trying to do. Boost sales and that.”

The two boys watched as the tear grew larger and balked in disbelief as they saw a tall, muscle-bound man wearing furs jump through. He looked to be about eight feet tall, and his face was covered with long black hair and a large, bushy beard. The crazed man growled and waved an axe above his head. Nobody reacted.

“If its immersion, he doesn’t look like he matches the movie,” said Frankie. The man jumped down and ran through the rows of parked cars as he growled.

A dashing man with greying hair and a comb-like moustache got out of his car and held his hand out to the hulking figure.

“We’re all trying to enjoy the movie. Please be quiet and leave.” The crazed man pushed him into the side of his car with such force, the man was knocked out cold.

The woman and two kids in the car screamed and the man yelled back. He jumped onto the bonnet and crushed the metal underneath. He screamed again and leapt onto the boot of another car.

Two young, angry, looking men got out of the car.

“Get the fuck off my car!” screamed one.

The large man hopped down and the two glared at each other. The younger man, like a jackhammer, punched the hulking figure in the chest. He yelled in frustration as pain exploded from his now fractured wrist.

“What the fu?”

Bones snapped loudly as the giant stone axe sunk deep into the man’s chest. Blood sprayed as the weapon was ripped back out. The other man fell over backward as he tried to run away. He met the same fate with the axe. The two women in the car screamed at the display of violence.

Shrills of terror erupted through the drive in. Crashes exploded through the night as everyone drove everywhere to escape.

“Joe, do something.” An elderly woman with curly hair like a white cloud and thick reading glasses stuck her head into the security office.

“What’s wrong?” Joe, a rake of a man, had his legs up on his desk and his hat over his face. The young man found the job boring, but it paid the bills.

“There’s some maniac out there with an axe. I think he’s killed some people. I’ll call the cops, but you need to do something.”

Joe sprung to his feet and closed his knuckles around his gun, just to feel safe. He ran out into the explosive chaos and rolled to the side to dodge a car.

Joe slowly stood up and found himself standing in front of the hulking brute. Joe managed to fire a single round before the axe split his skull and crumpled his body like an accordion.

The giant man yelled at the top of his lungs and ran into the darkness.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. I can’t see Michael or Frankie anywhere.” Dylan jumped back into his car. “Any luck?” Adelina had driven and did her best to avoid being hit.

“No, nothing,” replied Adelina.

“Michael!” Dylan stuck out his head back out as he screamed.

“Over here.” Michael and Frankie had stayed on the hill and watched on as terror played out all around them.

“Get in. Let’s get outta here.” Adelina slammed the accelerator and the car smashed through the one surviving chain-link fence.

“My car!” Dylan's voice echoed into the night.