The young actor was great....
They didn't realize just how greatuntil the night of
THE
PREMIERE
By RICHARD SABIA
Clamped to the contourcouch, the young girl strainedagainst the padded steel gripsand screamed. Again she writhedand screamed as she felt thehideous touch of the monstersnatching at her. She struggledfrenziedly through the muck ofthe swamp but the thing withthe blood eyes scrabbled fasteron its rotten limbs. The thingseized her in its obscene embrace.Raw terror tore anotherscream from her throat. Behindher on the projector a needleslammed into the red zone. Beyondthe hundreds of long rowsof couches a warning lightflashed on the control console ofMezzanine F and its persistentbuzz snared the attention of oneof the ushers. He glanced at thelight's location number and ranalong one of the aisles till hecame to the girl. He saw that theprojector had shut off the featurefeelie and was running theemergency tranquil strip. Shehad stopped screaming but herbreathing was still agitated. Helooked around at the rows ofcouches, nearly all occupied butnone of the other patrons seemedmore frightened than theyshould be. Some of the otherushers had halted on theirrounds and were looking quizzicallyacross at him. He shruggedthe question back at them,removed the feelie permit fromits clip on the girl's couch andchecked the permitted intensitylevel against the setting of theprojector. They matched. Stillpuzzled, he examined the othersettings without discoveringany apparent cause for herfright-hysteria. The tranquilstrip ended and the machineshut itself off. The usher moveda switch that released the pressureof the electrodes againstthe girl's head and retractedthem into the headset. Her eyesopened as he removed the apparatusand folded back theclamps.
"Feel all right, miss?" he inquiredwith a solicitous smile.
She nodded, but her eyes stillheld echoes of alarm.
"Better come down to theclinic," he said gently, assistingher from the couch.
She said nothing but allowedhim to lead her along. They steppedinto a float shaft and driftedgently down past other floors ofthe theater occupied by themyriad rows of feelie couches.When they reached what was obviouslyan office level, the ushergrasped a tug bar which pulledthem into a corridor opening.He brought her to the clinic andleft her with the doctor after explainingwhat had happened.
The doctor seated her alongsidehis desk. "How do you feelnow?"
She smiled weakly. "All rightAh guess," she said with a softdrawl.
"Let's see," he said looking ather feelie permit, "you are Miss,ah, Loretta Meenan, and, well,you are from Hammond, Louisiana."He looked up at her andsmiled. "May I ask how old youare Miss Meenan?"
"Sixteen."
"A very charming sixteen, Imust say. Are you here withyour family?"
"Yes. Ma an' pa are at theconvention. They let us come tothe feelies."
"Us?"
"Mah older brother, Jason."
"Oh? How old is he?"
"Eighteen. But he's big, realman-lookin' an' folks who don'tknow mistake him for pasttwenty."
"What couch did he have?"
"Next to mine on the left."
The doctor consulted his notepad."Ah, that would make itnumber, ah, six thousand forty-two.We'll have one of the ushersbring him down."
"Please don't," she said hastily."Not 'till the feelie's overanyhow. He'll have the furieswith me if he misses the endin'on mah account."