The dining hall screams extravagance. Harmony, my boss, is having her thirtieth birthday party. Her family owns the company I work for.

Today is also my birthday, but no one here will know that. I just need to stay till Harmony sees me, then I can go home and eat ice cream with my roommate, Rose. Twenty minutes tops.

My hair is a wet, and now frizzy, mess since I couldn’t find my umbrella. It wasn’t supposed to rain today. I definitely stand out even more now. My black dress came from a thrift store, but it’s one of my favorites. Everything about me is the opposite of this place.

The room is filled with shiny silver balloons. There must be thousands of them. They cover the ceiling, are attatched to all chairs and tables, and some are even on the ground in areas. No matter where you look, you’ll see a balloon before you see a person.

There is an ice sculpture of a fairy behind some balloons in the center of the room. Harmony reads a lot of fantasy. She wouldn’t be working at the company if it weren’t for the fact she is her parent’s only child.

Everyone makes compromises. Harmony invited everyone important her family wanted, and Harmony got to pick the decorations. Hence all the shiny balloons.

The lights flicker, but no one in the room seems to notice. Most of everyone is deep in conversation with someone else. Except me. I’m watching everything and trying to figure out where I should be. I am definitely not in my comfort zone.

Finally, I find the bar and hold a glass of champagne. The room seems to have darkened. Maybe it’s getting time for things to begin.

Thunder shrieks beyond the quiet instrumental music. The lights go out for a brutal second. And when they flicker back on, the balloons seem to have made an impression on my eyelids. I blink the images of the lumanecent balloons away.

I rub my arm. It’s gotten cold in here. I should have brought a jacket or something. But nothing I had fit the look of the dress.

“Relax,” I tell myself as I sip from my glass flute. There is glitter in the champagne. Even though the room is dimmed, it looks like light is coming from the wine glasses, the balloons, the ice sculpture, and the chandeliers above us. It’s beautiful.

“It’s like stars.” A man says to my left. He’s tall, but there is something off about him.

He’s like a creature or character almost. His nose looks like a cartoon nose, too big and pointy. His eyes are dark, and there’s deep bags beneath them. His hair is a light blond. And he smells of eggs.

Normally, I would never judge a person based off their looks. That is just unkind, but this man seems weird. He smiles, and I notice his teeth are all rotten. It’s a bright yellow and black to his pale complexion. I give a polite smile and look away.

He’s dressed in an expensive suit, so he must belong here. Maybe he’s like me. Maybe he just doesn’t fit in.

“True stars live in darkness.” He whispers as he limps away. A shiver runs down my spine, but I just take another sip of my drink.

A crash sounds as thunder overwhelms my ears. It is as if the thunder is inside now. The lights stamp out. It’s dark with a light glowing from the fairy sculpture. It’s the only thing lighting the room, casting the room in shadows.

Shadows reflect here and there off the balloons. And then a balloon pops. It’s louder than the scream that follows it.

A woman holds the side of her face with her hand as she runs past me. Blood flows down her dress from where she is holding her face. She trips and falls. Someone nearby goes to help her.

But another balloon pops. And another scream follows it. And then there is chaos.

People push one another out of the way to find an exit. I stand still, holding my glass of champagne, and stare in shock at the scene before me. I don’t exactly understand what is happening.

Pop pop pop! More balloons from above sound before more screams do. Is it fear that I’m witnessing destroy these people? Or is it actual balloons harming everyone?

Pop! I feel a splatter against my leg. Pop! Screams are all I hear.

Ducking down, I drop my glass and hear it shatter next to me. It’s time to go too. Fear fills me as I don’t see the exit. My heart is beating in my ears as my breath comes out fast. I’m no longer cold, but I’m shaking.

Pop! Scream! They meld into one sound. Like the scream is inside the popping. It’s even more horrifying.

The lights flicker and go back to darkness. I see some people laying on the ground bleeding. A lady steps on a man’s face and stumbles as she tries to run. He screams out, but another balloon floats near him and pops. His screams cut off abruptly.

The room takes a reddish hue to the darkness. Strange. I look and see that the ice sculpture is splattered in blood. Bodies are littered around it.

There was a window by the front door. I remember walking in and thinking about the storm on the other side. I think about my location and how I basically just walked here from the door.

Passing a mirror, the lights flicker, and I see my reflection briefly. I am bathed in red. There are scratches on my legs that I don’t remember. My eyes are hollow and too large.

I am going to die today. Panic pushes me faster. I shriek with every pop-scream I hear. And I trip and fall several times before I reach the window. I never look down to see what I trip on.

The door next to the window won’t budge, so I stare into the window. The creepy man from before is off in the distance outside. It looks like his arms are lifted to the sky. He’s laughing.

Horrified, I decide out there is better than in here. My elbow bashes into the window. It hurts, I’m definitely bleeding, but I don’t care as I lift myself out the window. My hands get cut and my dress is torn in the process.

By the time I am racing down the steps towards my car, I remember my purse had my phone in it. Why didn’t I think of calling the police before? And where is it now?

I turn back to look at the extravagant house. It is oddly quiet now. The rain pours down harder, but the lights turn back on in the building. Hesitating, I decide to climb back up the stairs and peer into the window.

The bodies are all in one giant pile covering the ice sculpture in the center of the room. Bright red blood cover the floor and walls. Every surface is red. All the balloons are popped except one.

The shiny silver balloon floats towards me. Nope. Nope. Nope. I turn and run down the stairs to the podium where the valet left my keys. They are easy to spot with the giant pink dice attached to them.

Soon my car is started, and I’m racing alway. Don’t look back. I do anyways. The balloon is floating where I sped off. And the man is nowhere to be found.

“Wake up Chrissy!” My roommate shakes me as I snap my eyes open. “You’re going to be late to your boss’s party.” She reminds me as she walks out of my room.

My heartbeat is loud in my ears. I get up and look at myself in the mirror. It was all a dream.

There are scratches on my legs. I must have done that in my sleep. Everything is fine. It was a bad dream.

I decide to wear a blue dress instead of the black one. But I can’t find my purse anywhere. “You’re being silly.” I tell my reflection in the mirror.

“You’ll have to tell me all about it.” My roommate says as she plops herself on our couch with a bowl of popcorn. “I heard there was going to be thousands of balloons.”

“Actually, I’m not going.” I turn around and head back to my room. I shake my body and release some of the stress. I know I’m being silly, but I’m just too scared to go.

“Chrissy?” Rose calls.

I turn around and see her standing a few feet away, holding a shiny balloon towards me. Her smile is too large. And there is a hollowness to her eyes. “Doesn’t it look like stars?”

A cold chill runs down my spine while my stomach threatens to unload itself. “What?” I barely make it out as a whisper.

Her voice sounds like the creepy man’s. “Happy Birthday Chrissy.” And then the balloon pops.