Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Lying Eyes

“I swear to whatever you hold dear, I’ll kill them all, every single fucking one of them, starting with this bitch. So just try me, you slack-jawed motherfucker! Now put the fucking gun down!” he yells as he digs the blade into her throat. She lets out a small groan of pain as a thin flow of blood runs from the knife’s edge. Quickly, he places the revolver on the ground, looking up into her eyes, and clenches his fists together in anger. “Slide it towards me and then step back, or I’ll slice her from ear to ear, hero!” he yells. He quickly obeys, and they lock eyes. He feels the hate well up in his stomach, burning through him like a hot poker.

“I’ve done what you asked, now let her go. This is about you and me; she doesn’t need to suffer, none of them do!”

He laughs as he digs the blade in again, harder this time. The elasticity of her skin begins to give way, and a heavier stream of blood runs from its edge. “You think you’re so fucking big, like this is all about you. But truth be told, I couldn’t give a good goddamn fuck about you and your precious little ego. This is about me. This is about what I want to show the world. So why don’t you stop trying to be a hero and accept the fact that you’re nothing, a side note on my list of kills, a zero, just like all the rest.”

“That’s bullshit, Stuart, and you know it! Why do all this? Why play with me if I’m not some big fish in your little pond? Let everyone go. This doesn’t need to be anything more than what it is. Just take me.”

“You think I was playing with you?” he says, laughing again, louder this time. “You, you are one funny son of a bitch. You’re nothing but a distraction, a magic trick, you’re my sleight of hand, while Sally here—well, I hate to drop the curtain and reveal how the trick was done—but she’s the main course, a bona fide target, who you just happened to be in the way of.”

“W-W-What?”

“What? You didn’t know about Sally and me? Didn’t you know she knew the answers you so longed for? Or did you simply not pay any attention to her when she tried to tell you?”

“But I-I-I…”

“But you did nothing, you stupid fuck. This was all about being here, getting what I wanted—not you. I couldn’t give a fuck if you found me or not. I just wanted Sally, and if it meant having to deal with superhero cop Harry Kellerman, then I would—and I have. Don’t you see? I played your ego so well that you didn’t even think she was in danger when all along that’s what I wa—” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence as three shots rip into his chest, and he slumps forward on top of her. The gun tumbles out of Sally’s hand as she gasps for air, his blood quickly beginning to form a thick, warm, sticky pool beneath her. Harry rushes to her side, quickly pulling Stuart’s body off of her, and tightly grips her in his arms. Tears run down his face. He pulls her back and nervously brushes her hair away as they stare into each other’s eyes.

“Is it over?” she asks.

“It’s over, thanks to you. Now rest up, you’ll be okay,” he says as he runs a hand through her blood-soaked hair. She laughs softly.

“You still haven’t got this lying thing down yet, your eyes give it away,” she says, closing her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve listened to you, I should’ve realised what was happening. It won’t happen again, it’ll never happen again, I swear. You’re all that matters; you’re everything,” he says as he hugs her.

“It’s okay, he always knew how to manipulate people’s perceptions, play to th—”

“In other words, I’m not that stupid,” Stuart says as he grabs Harry by the hair and pulls his head back, slicing the knife across his throat. Harry grabs at it, clutching for air, as blood sprays out through his hands like a busted water pipe. Sally screams as she stares into Harry’s eyes, his blood washing across her face. As always, she can see the truth hiding behind his lies, in his eyes.