Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

3000 Days

The droplets run down the outside of the glass and into the puddle that has slowly grown around its base. Hugh lets out a long, exhausted sigh, blowing out all the air in his lungs as he sits, watching the liquid form into a large body of water, half expecting a fish to jump from within at any stage.

“W-Where does it come from?” he asks.

“Where does what come from?”

“The water. The water on the outside of my glass, where does it come from?” he says as he looks up into Luka’s confused face. His eyes quickly scan every ridge and every crevice of the wrinkles that adorn Luka’s face. With a shake of his head, he pulls himself back into the here and now, then turns back to his glass and its puddle of water. “I mean, nothing’s left the glass, my drink hasn’t climbed up its sides to escape, so, where has the water,” he says as he dips his fingers into the puddle. “THIS WATER, come from?”

Luka shrugs his shoulders and curls his lips into tightly wound balls. “I guess it’s got something to do with the inside of the glass being colder than the outside of the glass. Like, you’ve got your Jack and Coke on the inside that’s all cold and tight, and then you’ve got the room’s temperature playing the FUCK up with the outside of your glass and BAM! Condensation! Droplets of water pulled out of the MOTHER-FUCKING air and all that jazz!” he sings with the vibrancy of a tone-deaf rapper.

Hugh looks back up at Luka, staring at him for several long silent moments, before he smiles broadly. “LIKE FUCK IT DOES! You expect me to believe that the water is pulled out of the air! Sounds like some David Copperfield type SHIT to me!” he scoffs.

“I SHIT you not, man. It’s a fact of life. See, I don’t make the rules; I just learnt them from going to school.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you trying to say I’m stupid?” Hugh grunts sternly as he thrusts his head back and puffs his chest out arrogantly.

“I-I-I, I never said any s-such thing, I just a-a-answered your question. W-Whatever you think I s-said, you’ve g-g-gleaned that from m-m-my words a-a-all by yourself.”

Hugh digs a dirty fingernail deep into the back of his mouth and pries loose a piece of fatty tissue from between his teeth, then proceeded to chew on it proudly. “I KNOW what you said, and I also KNOW when I’m being spoken down to.” he sneers, as a vein protrudes from his forehead and throbs violently.

“I-I-I, I wasn’t s-s-sp…”

“DON’T FUCKING TREAT ME LIKE A FOOL!” he bellows as he picks up the table and thrusts it to the side, sending the glass into the wall, shattering into pieces, and coating the wall in the syrupy goods that were within.

“I-I-I,” Luka stammers as he swallows a mouthful of dry air, pulling a face of discomfort as he does. “I-I, I’m sorry, I-I, I never meant to a-anger you.”

“You didn’t anger me, for you would be dead if that was the case.” he scoffs, as he settles himself back down in his seat. “Now, replace my table, and get me another drink.”

Luka sucks in another nervous breath and quickly turns the table right side up, grabs another glass from the bar, pours a generous shot of Jack into it, and tops it up with a splash of Coke. As he places the glass before Hugh, he grabs his hand, and looks deep into his eyes.

“Are you still sure you want to go through with this?” he grunts.

“Y-Y-Yeah, I-I-I, I guess—”

“YOU DON’T GUESS THESE SORT OF THINGS, LUKA, YOU EITHER ARE, OR YOU ARE NOT, THERE IS NO IN-BETWEEN.”

“I-I-I, I’m in,” he says nervously.

Hugh smiles broadly and lets go of Luka’s arm. “Good to hear,” he says as he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a tattered piece of cloth and lays it out before him. “Three thousand days is all you have, then the rest of your days are mine, understood?”

“T-T-Three thousand days t-t-to d-do whatever I-I-I want?”

“Whatever you want, to whoever you want,” he says with a smile as he holds out his hand and slices the blade of a knife down his palm, then presses it against the cloth before handing Luka the knife. “All you have to do is kiss the cloth with your flesh and blood.”