The Centaur Theater

by Tekwolf

The town was so quaint. It was a typical small southern town. They had only one grocery store and no place in town to buy much of anything else. As you walked into the grocery store, you wondered how they even knew what they had. This was unlike any store a big city had ever seen. Along the front, there were plumbing and electrical supplies and miscellaneous other hardware. If you took the right isle, there were coolers for cold drinks. If you managed to stumble around the boxes piled in the middle of the floor, you eventually came to the meat counter. Billy had never been in a place like this before.

He had applied and been excepted into Daymoore College. He had never seen this college, as they didn't have a web site and only a small brochure. He wouldn't have even given this place a second thought, except that no one else had offered him a scholarship. It was supposed to be a Liberal Arts College and it was his plan to become a writer. He thought that an English degree might just get a publisher to take a look at him. He had traveled for hours to get here and even though he knew it was a small town, he had no idea of the reality of it all.

He had gotten into town about three in the afternoon and rode around , noticing all that it had to offer. It didn't take long. This reminded him of a joke that he had heard somewhere, about how the welcome to town and hurry back signs were on the same post. The main street was what one might expect. There were old brick buildings that were set side by side and were all interconnected. There was a lawyers office. What town, no matter how small, could do without one of those. There was the typical barber shop where all of the locals came to get a cut and gossip. The last building in the line was the doctor's office.

There was one building that was set off to itself and as he rode by, he saw the sign that read," The Centaur Theater." It was a long thin building that was sort of tall and Billy believed that it was a movie theater. He didn't know if he would have time to watch a movie, but he'd bet that there wouldn't be a selection. There was probably only one screen. He was hungry and stopped at the dinner. It was an old "Silver Bullet" styled mobile home that had been converted into a dinner and although he wondered what they would offer, it was the only place in town to get anything to eat. He hadn't checked in at school yet and didn't even know where the cafeteria was. Besides, there was enough times that he would have to eat cafeteria food over the next four years.

Billy walked in and sat at the counter. "What'll it be son," the burley lady behind the counter asked?

"What's the special," Billy asked?

"Meatloaf, but I wouldn't recommend it, unless you have a cast iron stomach," she said.

"Ok, I think that I'll just have a burger," Billy replied.

"Good choice," she said.

Billy ate his burger and paid the lady and went back to his car. He headed for the college and checked in. He got to the small dormitory and found his room. There was already someone there. He dropped his things and went over to the other guy and said," Hi, I'm Billy.

"I'm Randy, Randy Keith, he replied," Glad to meet you."

"Well Randy, how did you come to this out of the way place," Billy asked?

"My parents thought that I needed to go to college and sent out applications for me. This place was the least expensive and being eternally cheap, they enrolled me," Randy told him. "I can't believe that I'll be stuck here for four years. I'm going to do all I can to get out of here as quickly as I can." "How about you?"

"I really wanted to go to college, but didn't have the money. I would have spent all of my time working, or the rest of my life paying back student loans, and Daymoore offered me a scholarship," Billy told him.

"Well, I guess we're both stuck here for a while, so maybe we can make the best of it," Randy told him.

Both of the guys were soon into the doldrums of going to school and studying. Billy, who really wanted to learn had a hard time convincing Randy to study. He had to constantly remind his room mate, that the only way he was ever going to get out of here and make money, was to study and graduate. Sure, studying was a boring prospect and a means to an end, but it was also necessary. Finals were soon coming up and Billy was trying to study. All Randy seemed to want to do was play the stereo and read a book. Billy got frusterated and went for a walk.

When he got back, Randy began badgering him to go to the late movie with him. The late movie in this town, started at 9:00 p.m. After 11:00 p.m., the town rolled up the sidewalks, so to speak, and everything stopped until the next morning. Billy had been studying hard and needed a break anyway. Where are we going to find a movie anyway.

"The Centaur," Randy said.

"You mean that old theater over on Main," Billy asked? "What kind of movie are they playing at that smaller theater?" "Surely, they couldn't afford to bring in one of the latest. If everyone in town, went every night for a week, they still wouldn't make any money!"

"Well, its got to be better that driving 50 miles to the big town down south," Randy said.

"Ok, we'll try it I guess," Billy conceded.

They locked their room and walked to the theater. It was only a mile or so from the dorm and it was a nice night. Besides, the movie didn't start 'til 9:00 p.m. and it was only 8:30. They arrived there and were waiting for the ticket window to open, when they looked up to the marquee.

"ROBINHOOD, PRINCE OF THIEVES" was the movie that was playing. Billy had seen that one over a year ago. But, what the heck, he didn't really want disappoint Randy by complaining, so he went in. They bought the obligatory popcorn and soda and went into the theater. They sat down and Billy realized that he was in for a long night. The seats were the old kind, that he had sat on during grade school, and had no padding at all. What could he expect, in this two bit town? He bet that the sound would suck also. They probably only had one speaker!

The movie started and Billy looked around. There were several other people in the theater, all students, that were spread around the small room. There was the usual previews coming onto the screen. He wondered if they would ever see any of them in this town. He asked Randy," having fun yet?"

"Would you shut up and watch the movie," Randy whispered.

The previews seemed to be over and the matinee started. The opening to the movie that Billy expected never happened. This one started out in a scene of a heavy, dark forest. He didn't remember this. Could this be another version? He looked a question at Randy, but he seemed to be absorbed in the movie. Billy looked back to the screen, as the camera panned out of the forest onto a broad, rather flat, gently rolling plain. This was a beautiful place. The grass waved to and fro, gracefully in the wind and the scene was peaceful.

Billy came back to himself and realized that his back was hurting and that he had to go to the bathroom. He got up out of the seat, telling Randy where he was going and started up the isle. As he got to the exit doors the and opened them, he looked out onto the plain, that was even now showing on the screen. A cool breeze ruffled his hair. Billy shook his head, sure that he was hallucinating. Just a few minutes ago, he and Randy had walked through these very same doors. Something was screwy here.

He let go of the doors and started back down the isle to where Randy sat, when the back pain redoubled and he got nauseated. Billy grabbed his stomach and doubled over. He heard cloth rip and felt something strange. He also felt a draft and straightening a little and looking back, he saw a butt that wasn't his! This one was hairy and had a tail! He wasn't sure of what he was seeing in the dim light, but feeling was believing!

He heard a shriek from farther into the theater and saw a female student stumble out of her seat and fall into the isle. She appeared to be deformed in some way. Billy felt a burning sensation in his feet, then they went numb. He leaned over and felt, not feet, but hooves. He groaned in terror and stumbled down to where Randy was ands saw that he too, was changing.

Randy was stuck between the seats where he sat and as his lower body expanded, the seats creaked and broke, to make room for his bulk.

Two protrusions were pushing from where Billy's groin used to be and became his new legs. He groaned in pain as his spine grew longer and his rear moved farther and farther away from him. God, he felt huge! Randy hadn't made a sound and Billy realized that he had passed out during the change. He stood there looking back at his new body and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Where his waist ended, he now had the body of a horse. He couldn't see what color he was in the dim light, but the body was covered in hair.

Randy, who had revived somewhat, surged to his new feet and got up out of the tangled mass of seats and stepped toward Billy. At the same time, the others that had been in the theater panicked and bolted for the exits. Most headed out the way they had come in. As they slammed the doors open and bolted out, they didn't realize that the exit was different. Billy nudged a still stunned Randy and said," We've got to get out of here, follow me." Randy gathered his scattered wits enough to understand Billy and followed his down the isle.

Billy had already tried the way they had come in and knew that something was wrong there, so they made for the emergency exit. Their hooves echoed hollowly, as they trotted for the exit. Billy opened that door and found that it also led to the gently rolling plains, that the other doors all led to. Before he could stop him, Randy ran out of the door and into the place. Billy had no choice but to follow him. As they went through the doors, Billy looked back and saw them melt into nonexistence. Now, as he looked around, they were standing alone on a heretofore deserted plain. The others, that had exited other doors, were there also, but farther away.

Billy looked at his new body again and then at Randy and the others. Someone had played a trick on them. They were here, who knows where, and had been changed to fit. Now, Billy realized why it was called The Centaur Theater. All the customers became centaurs and were wisked into this world. He wondered if there were others here. Well, he didn't any longer have anything else to do, so he got the others together and started the search for others. Billy looked on the bright side. At least some of the people transformed with him were female and were good looking also. So what if they were the only ones. That likely wouldn't last forever. The theater still existed somewhere. Blue skies, all the grass you could care to eat and females of the species. What more could a centaur ask for!?

End

The Centaur Theater copyright 1997 by Tekwolf.