Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

A Thousand Words

“In the darkness of the night, he arose, seeking vengeance that only blood could quench. First, it would be the priest who opened the horrors of the world to him, then his parents, for they were the ones who turned a blind eye to the things done to him. All who had wronged him in life would pay with their blood, with their souls,” he reads aloud, his face firmly planted inside the book.

“Excuse me, Brian, but can I ask you to stop there for a moment,” an older man says as he pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against and walks to Brian’s side, turning to face the classroom. “The assignment that was asked of you was to complete an original piece of fiction that, once completed, would be read aloud to the class. Is that correct, Brian?” he asks.

“Y-Yes, Mister Hidgets,” Brian replies nervously.

“Yes, Mister Hidgets, sir,” Mister Hidgets says sternly.

“Y-Y-Yes, M-M-M, Mister Hidgets, s-s-si-sir.”

“Now, in my outline for this assignment, was there a subject matter listed that I did not want to be covered in any of the stories?”

“Y-Y-Yes, there was,” stammers Brian.

“Yes, there was, Mister Hidgets, SIR!” Mister Hidgets growls, his face glowing with anger.

“Y-Y-Yes, th-th-there wa-wa-was, Mister Hidgets, sir.”

“Good, good,” Mister Hidgets says as he walks behind Brian, grabbing him by the shoulders and squeezing them firmly. “Now Brian, can you, for everyone else’s benefit, tell me what the subject matter I did not want written about was?”

“I-I-It was horror, Mister Hidgets, sir,” Brian answers softly.

“LOUDER, BRIAN! So the rest of the class up the back can hear you!”

“HORROR, MISTER HIDGETS, SIR!” Brian yells out.

Mister Hidgets smiles. “Horror, yes, that was it. And now, please, pray tell, what is the subject matter of your piece of gutter trash?”

Brian clenches one of his hands into a fist and bites down on his bottom lip.

“Well, Brian, out with IT! What was the goddamn subject matter of the vile piece of garbage you just began to read out to the class?”

“IT IS A LOVE STORY, MISTER HIDGETS, SIR!” Brian yells out.

Mister Hidgets laughs as he squeezes down on Brian’s shoulders once more. “Come now, Brian, do you expect me to believe this trash is a love story?” he says, snatching the book from Brian’s hand. As he does, his face begins to pale. Horror seizes him, and with trembling hands, he looks up, only to meet Brian’s cold, smiling face.

“No, Mister Hidgets, SIR!” Brian says as he looks out towards the rest of the class, who stare on, captivated by the display. “But I’m sure you could let me get away with it, just this once?”

“I-I-I, ho-how, how could you?”

“Are you sure you really want me to go into that? I mean, honestly, I wanna ask questions myself. Like how flexible is Ma—”

“ENOUGH! My God, Brian! W-W-What, what do you want?” asks Mister Hidgets nervously, as Brian looks back at him, his eyes like hot daggers.

“Nothing yet—just thought I’d give you a preview. You know what they say about pictures painting a thousand words—well, I could write several books with the pictures I have,” he says as he snatches his book back from Mister Hidgets and strides to his seat. The rest of the class follows him with their eyes to his desk, then falls back onto Mister Hidgets, who nervously looks around at their faces, his bottom lip trembling, sweat pouring down his brow. His mouth opens and closes several times as if he were about to say something, but each time, nothing comes out.