Below is part 7 of the Curse of the Deadly Gym. You can read part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 here.
No one greets me. Instead they step to one spot or another on the floor, evenly spacing themselves out from each other. I look around and find an unoccupied space in the back. I watch as people begin stretching, and I imitate them, and realize as I do how long it’s been since I’ve really given myself a good stretch.
A couple minutes later the aerobics instructor steps in. He looks like he’s in his early thirties. He looks all of us over with a wide smile on his face, his green eyes gleaming as he surveys his students. His long hair is blond, but it seems to have a golden glow to it. He’s wearing a tank top and shorts. He claps his hands and everyone looks over at him.
“I see we’re already getting stretched out. Very good. Is everyone ready for an exercise session that will get your heart chugging for all its worth?”
Everyone stirs around me and I hear a chorus of tired yes’s. The instructor smiles and looks around again and then he sees me and his eyebrows go up.
“Woah! Looks like we have newbie here. Hey newcomer, why don’t you introduce yourself to us before we begin.”
“My name is Ash.”
No one responds and I feel like that awkward new kid at the first day of a new school.
“Well Ash it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Bob. I’m sure the rest will introduce themselves later, but we’ve got no time to socialize right now. We’re here to exercise!”
He has us do a few more stretches and before long I’m gasping and wheezing my way through cardio exercises. My lungs are burning, but nothing seems out of place. I don’t feel like my energy or anyone else’s is getting drawn away by the instructor. Bob is a bit too cheerful for my tastes, but I figure that’s because he has to motivate this group of people. I wonder if Ackerbee imagined the whole thing.
After an hour the workout ends. Everyone is thoroughly sweating. I watch as the vapor of the sweat goes into the air, drifting toward the lights, and that’s when I see what Ackerbee described to me. The sweat vapor travels to the lights and there’s a twinkling of energy that goes with it. I gasp as I suddenly feel a wave of nausea go through me and I feel a part of my own life energy drift upward. It doesn’t seem to matter that I’ve done my daily protection ritual rituals. I sneak a glance at the instructor and he’s glowing with the same light and has a look of pleasure on his face, his mouth open as if he’s drinking something. His eyes flash red and I feel a pressure build up as his true nature reveals itself. He no longer looks entirely human. Instead his arms and legs look scaly. The fingers have elongated and have suckers on the end of them. That must be his way of drawing in the life energy, and the lights must also be part of the setup. Maybe they help filter the energy.
I’m too weak to stop him. I stagger out of the room and go to the locker and change. Now I know why those people are so quiet. They’re just like Mrs. Ackerbee, with their life being drained out of them. I leave the gym and get to my car and take a few deep breaths and then turn it on and head back to my office. I’ve got to figure out how to stop this demonic instructor.