Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Technical Difficulties

His bloodshot eyes widen wildly as he brings his fist down upon the counter savagely. “I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M TELLING YOU!” he bellows, spraying a sea of spit across everything and everyone before him.

Gladys clenches her teeth tightly together while her eyes narrow sharply. With deliberate slowness, she reaches up, removes her glasses, places them on the counter, then pulls several wet wipes from a dispenser and begins to wipe her face clean. “I think you, Mister Almander, are the one who is not understanding what is being said,” she says sternly as she carefully wipes the thick spittle from her glasses before placing them back on. “There is no possible way that YOU, Mister Almander, are DEAD!”

“B-But…” he stammers nervously through trembling lips as his eyes dash around the room wildly, while a wad of saliva forms in the corners of his mouth and churns quickly into a thick froth. His eyes split open, and he slaps the counter. “WHAT ABOUT THE WATCH! WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKING WATCH!” he roars, thrusting his inactive asSmart sports watch into her face again.

She raises her eyebrows and rolls her eyes, while an exhausted sigh tumbles out of her chest. “Mister Almander, for the one hundredth time, just because your fancy arsed asSmart watch can’t read your pulse doesn’t mean that you’re dead. NOW, will you SIT DOWN so I can do my GOD DAMN job and help someone who needs IT!”

His eyes grow even wider than before, and a thin bead of sweat begins to form on his top lip. “T-Then why doesn’t i-it w-work? W-W-Why doesn’t i-it r-read my heartbeat? W-W-Why d-d-does it say I-I-I’m d-d-dead?” he stammers feverishly.

Her lips twist into a bemused smile, and she shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know why your watch is telling you you’re dead, Mister Almander. If it’s not obvious to you, I’m a nurse, not some damn fancy arsed asSmart service technician! So, why don’t you go bother them! There’s a hole-in-the-wall service shop right across the road!” she states matter-of-factly, pointing toward the doorway.

He squints his eyes, bares his teeth, and clenches them tightly together, letting out a low inhuman growl. “GOD DAMN IT, WOMAN!” he yells, grabbing her arm and wrestling with her for some chaotic moments before a sea of security guards tackles him to the ground and forces him to release his hold.

“W-Well I n-never,” she stammers as she clutches her bosom tightly.

“CHECK THE WATCH!” he bellows in desperation as he tries to wriggle himself free from the many hands that try to pin him to the floor. “CHECK THE WATCH!”

“I said it once, I said it a million times, I ain’t no asSmart serv…” But her words catch in her throat as she feels the warm rhythmic hum of something clutching her arm. She looks down with nervous anticipation to find Almander’s asSmart sports watch strapped to her wrist, glowing with a pulsating rhythm akin to that of her heart.

“S-SEE! S-SEE!” Almander screams as he is lifted to his feet. “I-I-I, I TOLD YOU! I-I-I, I TOLD YOU!” he cries as he wrestles his way out of the security guards’ grip, only to stumble forward and slam his skull against the countertop, sending a river of blood in all directions. Gladys, now bathed in red, stares with wide, petrified eyes at the watch as a message scrolls across the screen, letting her know that she will soon be dead.