In Inkopolis there was lots of entertainment one could enjoy on a near daily basis. Of course the Turf Wars were a popular sport that many residents young and old alike participated in, and when there was a concert people would could from far and wide to be able to listen to the latest hits performed by the artists in person. But if you weren’t much for big crowds and pushing your body to the limit in competition there were still other options. Such as the Seven Seas Cinema.


During the matinee and the evening hours the most exciting blockbusters would play in the theaters for everyone to enjoy. Animated adventures, thrilling action movies, romance and horror. If it was new and noteworthy you could find it at the Seven Seas. Lesser known though was that in the later hours and during the weekdays when business was slower there would often be showings of various classic films at reduced prices. This brought in a small but dedicated group of movie fans that would otherwise have stayed at home. One of which being a short inkling girl with short yellow hair named Poppy.


Wearing a large T-shirt and baggy sweatpants, Poppy was ready to settle into a movie seat for the night and take in a film. Often times they were ones she’d already seen but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the experience the theater provided. Her friends and co-workers were all familiar with her hobby she loved so much and it had earned her a nickname.


“Hey, it’s Popcorn.” The usher running the concession stand said cheerfully. “Did you want the usual?”


“Yes please.” She said, taking her nickname in stride. After having come here so long and revealing to the employees that her name was Poppy, she got the nickname “Popcorn” due to her yellow hair and her favorite snack. The bag of buttered and salted popcorn was given to her and she paid for her food, saying her goodbyes to the nice man behind the counter as she made her way to the theater. There was no one else she saw in the hallway as she passed the various double doors, Poppy realizing that the place might be all hers tonight.


She was going to see a really old movie that was supposed to be pretty scary for the time it was made but she didn’t plan on it giving her any trouble sleeping. A monster flick about a creature that hides in the dark and preys on other people to survive with large shark like teeth. The monster make-up was freaky but she didn’t think a film that wasn’t even in color could scare her. Upon opening the doors to the theater and stepping inside she walked in to find an unfamiliar sight.


“I guess someone was already here.” She mumbled quietly, seeing a woman sitting nearly in the middle of all the seats.  That was normally where Poppy would sit herself and there was more than enough room for her to do so. It just felt odd to sit in the same row as somebody she didn’t know. Mustering up her courage she decided to be a little social and come in from the opposite side to take a seat of her own.


The other woman was interesting looking, Poppy had never seen her here before. While Poppy was practically in pajamas to enjoy her movie this woman was in a nice black dress that was more style than comfort. Her long red hair was very pretty too as it seemed to flow down her back. Noticing she was being watched the other woman waved at Poppy who gave an awkward smile and waved back, not wanting to be rude.


“Uh… hello.  You’re here to see the movie too?”  As the words left her lips she realized just how dumb a question that was.  Of course she was here to see the movie, why else would she be sitting in the theater?


“Yes, I didn’t think anyone would be joining me.  Did you want to sit with me?”  She invited, using her hand to lower down the theater seat next to her.  It was much more forward that Poppy had been expecting and she was completely caught off guard by the invitation as she stepped forward.  


“Sure?”  She said, sitting down next to the woman.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Poppy said, recovering her manners as quickly as she could.  


“The same to you.  My name is Annette.”  The red haired woman offered.  


“I’m Popcorn.  Uh!  I mean-”


“Popcorn?”  Annette said looking confused.  


“Poppy… my name is Poppy.” She said, wanting to sink into her seat out of embarrassment.  “Popcorn is a nickname I got.”  


“Is it because of your cute hair?”  Annette asked with a friendly smile.  


“Yeah, and cause I come to the movies like every other week.”  She said, suddenly realizing something.  “I noticed you didn’t get any food.  Did you want some popcorn?”  


“Well you do look delicious.”  Annette said with an expression that made Poppy’s heart skip a beat.  It wasn’t just her hair that was unusual but her eyes were a blue that seemed to shine even in the dark.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to tease.  I’d love some, thank you.”  Her slender fingers dipped into the bag and Annette took a single piece to eat, popping it into her mouth.  


“I’m going to warn you now, I’m going to be eating it by the handful so if you go that slow it might be gone.”  Poppy said.


“Oh, don’t mind me, that’s okay.”  Annette said, covering her mouth as she chewed.  “I’ve always had a habit of taking my time eating.  My sister is almost the complete opposite.  The moment she gets her teeth in something delicious she gobbles it down.”


“I guess I can relate a little.  But still if something is good you want to savor it a little.”  


“I know exactly what you mean.”  Annette said.  The lights began to dim in the theater as the two women quieted down, despite being the only two present.  Poppy continuing to eat her popcorn by the handful while Annette took the pieces bite by bite.  


“Have you seen this one before?”  Poppy whispered to her.  


“No, I haven’t.  I just picked the first movie I saw playing at this time.”  Annette admitted.  “I really wanted to go out and see something but didn’t know what.”  


“Oh, okay.  I haven’t seen it either but I know it’s a scary movie.  Will you be okay?”  Poppy asked.  


“I think so.”  Annette said, sounding unsure.  


“If you get scared you can hold my hand.”  Poppy offered.  


“Thank you, I’ll remember that if I can’t take it.”  


The advertisements ended and the movie began, a notable shift in music and film quality as the older movie introduced itself.  While the acting and dialogue was dated Poppy had to give the film credit.  They did a good job of setting the mood and she felt on edge when the monster made its first attack.  Chasing a poor inkling through the abandoned streets of an old village and out into the fields away from civilization.  It didn’t reveal the monster’s face right away but the sight of the woman being thrown to the ground, ink spilling from her body onto the dirt below her was vivid and made her pull her legs up into her chair.  


Events progressed like she would have expected, the victim’s fiancee trying to solve the murder while the police were baffled at what was happening.  Each time another victim was claimed there was a little more of the monster seen.  Long fingers with webbing between them, big glinting teeth that pulled victims helplessly to their doom.  Poppy wondered how Annette might be coping with the film but when she glanced over at her the woman seemed calm.  During a quieter moment she whispered in the dark.  “You’re not scared right?”  


“Of course not.”  Annette replied.  “You’re holding my hand.”  Poppy looked down their arms to see that she had been the one to grasp hold of Annette’s fingers first without even realizing it.  “You’re not scared are you?”  


“I-”  Poppy began but there was a musical sting she hadn’t expected as something lept out on the screen.  Yelling she jumped in her chair and grabbed hold of Annette’s arm with her other hand.  “I… I’m fine.”  


“Okay then.” Annette whispered back to her as the two kept enjoying the film together.  It was embarrassing that she was behaving this way with someone she just met but she was thankful Annette was here.  She might have left the theater had she been all alone.  When both the film and the bag of popcorn were finished the two women walked out of the theater together.  


“That was so much better than I thought it was going to be.”  Poppy confessed.  


“It really had me on the edge of my seat.  I didn’t see the twist coming either.”  


“That his best friend was the monster?  It caught me by surprise too.  The classics really know what they’re doing.”  Poppy said cheerfully, standing in the hallway with Annette awkwardly.  “So… I guess we’re headed home?”  


“I guess so.”  Annette said.  “Are you driving?”  


“No, I don’t have a car.  I just take the train.”  Poppy said, having never seen the need to spend money on something like a vehicle when public transport did so well.


“Would it  be alright if I walked with you?”  Annette asked.  


“Of course, I’d love to talk about the movie some more!  I don’t usually have a friend to compare it with.”  She said, the girls taking the back exit that lead directly outside as they went into the night.  Each of them discussing the parts they liked and disliked about the movie.  There was something refreshing about talking with Annette, like she was experiencing going to the movies completely for the first time.  No judgement or comparisons to movies that came before or after the film they saw.  


“You know, I felt sorry for the monster.”  Annette said as she walked next to Poppy.


“Sorry?  Why sorry for the monster?  Because he was changing into that thing against his will?”


“He was just following his instincts.  It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t control himself.”  


“I guess… but he was still a danger to everyone around him and he never said anything about it.”  Poppy replied, thinking the most sympathetic character had to be the main one that lost his friend and his lover.  It would take a real monster not to feel sorrowful for a person in that position.


“Well a hunter can’t be honest with their prey, or they’ll never catch it.”  Annette reasoned.


“I guess… have you ever wondered what it felt like to… no, sorry, never mind.”  


“What is it?”  Annette asked curiously.


“It’s dumb.”  


“Aww, please tell me.  I can’t stop wondering about it if you don’t.”


“It’s just… you ever wonder what it feels like to be… chase?”  Poppy said, feeling even dumber as she said it.


“Chased?  You mean hunted?”  


“Yeah… kind of.  Like seeing those girls getting chased by the monster it’s… kind of exciting.”  Poppy said, her cheeks flushing.  “Never mind!  I can’t believe I said that out loud!  We just met.”  


“It’s okay, maybe that’s not too uncommon.”  Annette said thinking about it out loud.  “That’s how we all lived before society right?  Hunting or being hunted.  If you think about it that’s basically all a Turf War is.  Hunting in a pack.”  


“Yeah… I guess so.”  Though she still felt a little weird about it, saying it to this woman she had just met.  Approaching the train station Poppy could see there wasn’t anyone else around.  “Jeez, is it really that late already?”  


“I tend to stay up most of the night, so for me this is normal.”  Annette said cheerfully.  While the two women waited for the train to arrive Annette nudged Poppy.  “Say… want to get hunted?”


“...what?”  Poppy said, truly confused about what she meant.  


“See that door?”  Annette said, pointing to a doorway on the far side of the train station.  “It goes under the train tracks in the maintenance spot.  That door over there connects to the same area.”  She pointed at another one on the opposite side of the tracks.  


“Okay… but what about it?”  


“You go in that door and I’ll go in that one.  And I’ll ‘hunt’ you down.”  Annette said, making a fake clawing motion with her hand.  “Wanna try it?”  


“Isn’t that kinda childish?”  Poppy asked, not wanting to be a stick in the mud but also not used to being so adventurous.  “Besides, we’d be trespassing.  What if we get caught?”  


“I promise you there’s no one down there this time of night.  My sister and I have done this before.  When you’ve got all night to kill you get bored.”  Annette explained, but it didn’t seem to make Poppy feel any less open to the idea.  “Tell you what, if you can sneak by me without me finding you, I’ll buy your next movie ticket.”  


“Hmm… well, I do love free movies.”  Poppy said thinking it over.  “What do you get if you catch me?”  


“Popcorn.” Annette said.  


“Okay, that’s a deal.”  The two shook on it, both looking out to make sure there was no one watching them before going to their designated doors.  Annette and Poppy opened their doors at the same time, waving to each other before heading in. 


The stairwell was dark, in fact it was nearly pitch black after the door closed behind her.  Poppy nearly thought of turning right around and heading back up, but she didn’t want to leave Annette all alone down here.  Not only would that be rude but she’d look like a coward in front of her new friend.  Taking a deep breath she found the hand rail and gripped it as she went down the stone steps.  


Underneath it wasn’t quite as bad, there was some light coming in from the grates of the station above her and her eyes were starting to adjust.  However that didn’t make the area less spooky.  There were lots of places someone would hide and move around underneath here.  She had thought it would be just one long hallway but instead it was more like an open storage area with large pieces of equipment and train seats and parts laying about.  Poppy took a step forward and heard her footsteps make an echoing noise against the poured concrete floor.  


“I hear you.”  A woman’s voice echoed back from the dark, Poppy swallowing a lump in her throat as she made it a point to step much quieter now.  There were spots for Annette to hide and pop out from to spook her but that meant she could hide too as she made her way to the other stair well.  


“It’s cheating to just wait at the stairs.”  Poppy said out loud in the echoing basement.  


“I won’t cheat, promise.”  Annette’s voice echoed back, the establishment of rules making Poppy feel a little less scared and more willing to enjoy the game.  Making sure to stay out of the light she started moving forward, taking careful steps and looking ahead to see if she could spot her opponent.  Every so often she heard the sound of steps in the dark or the tapping of a finger against metal.  With the echoing it was hard to place exactly where that was coming from but Poppy did her best to prevent it from scaring her.  


“Can’t psyche me out.”  Poppy whispered, keeping her head low as she made her way around some old seats that had been pulled out of a train car, looking ahead.  She thought she could make out movement ahead of her and dipped her head back down.  “I don’t think she saw.”  Popping her head out again she took soft steps forward, thinking she had to be about half way across the station by now even with how slow she was going.  If she could get Annette to pass by her she’d have an open run for the door.  


That was when the rumbling started.  Slow at first to where she almost didn’t notice it until the train was nearly over top of them.  When she realized the train had stopped over head she considered dashing out of the room to catch it.  But… why rush if she can enjoy this game a little longer.  Taking advantage of the loud noises, Poppy rose up to her feet and made a dash for the other stairwell.  Looking to win this game in one motion and have Annette treat her to a night at the movies.  


When she swung around from her hiding spot and took a step to run she felt a hand grab hold of her ankle and a deep moan from below her.  Poppy though she was fortunate that the train was roaring to life in that moment, otherwise everyone from a block away would have heard the scream she made feeling that hand grip her.  Falling backwards Poppy fell onto her butt and held her hands up in front of her face, still screaming in terror as the figure climbed forward on all fours over her.  


“Got you.”  A familiar voice said and Poppy looked up to see familiar blue eyes.  


“Ann… Ann… Ann…”  Poppy said through labored breaths.  


“Take a second.”  She said with a smile waiting for Poppy to catch her breath.  “There you go, feeling better?”  


“I… I guess.”  She said, shivering.  “You really scared me!  How did you get around me without me noticing?”  


“I waited till the train came so it would cover the sound of my foot steps when I ran.”  Annette explained.  Even in the dark Poppy could see the big smile on her face, she was clearly enjoying this.  


“That was my plan.  I guess I was too slow.”  


“Well, that’s how you became the hunted.”  Annette said, still on her hands and knees, practically over top of her as Poppy was still sitting on the ground.  “Was it as exciting as you thought?”  


“...yeah, actually it was.”  Poppy admitted.  “I didn’t think I’d like it… actually I kind of hated getting scared.  But… after it was over I felt like it was exciting.  Gosh I’m a weirdo.”  Poppy said and Annette laughed a little.  


“You’re not the only weirdo, I had fun hunting you you know.”  Annette confessed.  “So, looks like I win the game.”  


“Yeah… guess I owe you a bag of popcorn now.”  Poppy said, feeling annoyed she lost but still kind of happy.  If Annette wanted to collect her prize they’d need to go see another movie together.  She’d really like to do that with someone.  


“A bag?”  Annette asked.  “I never said a bag.”  


“Oh… uh… did you want a bucket?”  Poppy asked, but was caught off guard when Annette started to crawl closer.  She tried to back up and Annette reached out to grab hold of her wrist.


“I never said a bucket either.  I wanted Popcorn.”  Annette said, licking her lips.  


“Annette, I think you’re misreading the situation.  I’m not-”  Her words were cut off as the other woman pressed her lips to Poppy’s.  The inkling girl was still trying to pull away but Annette pulled her back.  Her grip was surprisingly strong and when she pulled her other arm up to push against her shoulder Annette just grabbed her other hand and pinned her down under her.  When her lips finally left her Poppy felt that fear rush back stronger than ever.  “Wait!  Wait don’t… don’t do this.  Please I just… I just wanted to be friends is all.”


“Popcorn, you don’t understand.”  Annette said, leaning down next to her ear.  “The game hasn’t ended yet.”  Poppy’s eyes grew wide as she felt sharp teeth bite into the flesh of her neck.  Her mouth opened to scream but Annette’s hand dropped down over it to keep her quiet.  


Panicking, Poppy tried using her limbs to beat at Annette, her legs kicking up to try and break free.  But the taller woman took advantage of her frantic state, pinning down her arms and keeping her kicking legs held between her own.  Poppy tried to wiggle free but the teeth in her neck didn’t let go and she could feel her sucking at her skin.  Letting out a sigh Annette pulled her lips away, Poppy horrified to see her own yellow ink on Annette’s lips.  


“Mmm, Popcorn is a good nickname for you.  Your ink is almost buttery in flavor, such a unique taste.  I’m just loving every drop of it.”  She said, looking down at the wide, terrified eyes below her.  “I know it’s scary now, beautiful.  But that’s what happens to the hunted in a horror movie.  When it catches you it’s all over.”  Leaning back down Poppy could feel her tongue licking at the wounds on her neck before the teeth sunk in sharply again, Poppy crying out in pain at the stinging sensation.  


Time passed in agony, Poppy stopped her thrashing as she couldn’t overpower the woman above her.  When Annette realized she wasn’t fighting back anymore she took her hand away from Poppy’s mouth and instead put it under her head.  Lifting her up to allow her to drink from her neck more easily.  


“Stop… please stop…”  Poppy whispered.  Annette moaned against her neck and then pulled her lips away from her skin.


“I can’t.”  She whispered back.  “I can’t stop now.  You’re too delicious.”  


“You’re going… to kill me.” Poppy pleaded, tears running down her face.  “Please don’t kill me.”  


“Don’t worry, my tasty little Popcorn.”  Annette said, kissing her cheek.  “Your ink will mix with mine.  We’ll watching so many movies together.  Just you wait.”  


“Annette, please stop… please st… ahhh…”  Her quiet cries were ignored as she felt her drinking of her ink again, Annette moaning in pleasure as she lapped up her life giving fluids.  Poppy watched the light above her go out as the next train pulled up, plunging her into a darkness she’d never wake from.  


Hours later the door to Annette’s apartment opened as she walked inside, licking her lips with a big smile on her face.  


“Enjoyed your movie?”  A voice called to her from the couch, Annette coming round to sit on her side of it next to her sister Allure.  


“It was really fun actually!  I’d never seen a black and white movie before.  And it was a horror film too.”  Annette explained excitedly, her sister not seeming to share in the same thrill of the experience.  


“It’s just not for me I guess.  I mean if you’re going out why do it at some place like a movie theater?  I always get sleepy sitting around.”  


“Well I’ll have you know I made a friend while I was at the theater.”  Annette said proudly.  “She was very cute and her name was Popcorn.”  


“Popcorn?”  Allure asked in disbelief.


“Yep, because she had buttery yellow hair on her head like a piece of popcorn.”  She explained.  


“Oh yeah?  Are you going to the movies with her again?”  Allure asked and Annette hugged herself cheerfully.  


“I’ll be taking her with me every time I go to the movies now.”  She said almost dreamily.  “Even her ink tasted like butter, it was a really great night.”  


“Guess you had a better dinner than me.  At least now I know why you were so late.”  Allure said, standing up and stretching her body.  “Sun’s coming up soon, want to go to bed?”  


“I’ll be just a minute, going to savor this taste before I brush my teeth.”  Annette answered, licking her thumb where a small yellow stain still rested on it.  


“You always get so attached.  I just don’t get it.”  Allure said, shrugging and walking to the bedroom.  “I’ll see you when you’re ready.  Night Anny.”  


“I won’t be long, Ally.”  Annette said, taking over the TV remote while her sister got ready to turn in.  Her chest was still warm from her meal tonight and she unzipped the front of her jacket to relax.  “I can’t wait to visit the movies again.  Maybe I can find another fan to watch with us.”  She put a hand over her heart.  “I hope you’d like that, Poppy.”