Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Halfway Between a Shade of Dead

Kenneth places the bloody scalpel onto the table with a trembling hand and casts a fevered glance over to Cathy as she stands watching him with wide, terrified eyes.

“I-I-It, it’ll be over in a-a-a moment, m-m-my love,” he stammers through shaking lips, as he turns his attention back to the large incision he has just sliced across his stomach. “J-J-Jeffery dared m-me to be t-the weaker m-man, but I d-d-dare say he w-was wrong,” he scoffs, as he reaches into the opening with both hands and slowly begins to pull his intestines free, dropping them onto the floor before him. Cathy lets out a gasp of horror, and he looks up to her with a dim-witted smile upon his pasty face.

“H-H-H-Hush n-now, honey, I-I-I, I’m almost there,” he mumbles as he pulls his stomach further free from his flesh, along with more intestine, and laughs haphazardly as he gently sways from side to side, then casts a smug glance over to the broadly smiling Jeffery.

“I-I-I told y-y-you I was n-n-no c-c-coward.”

“NO, YOU ARE NOT!” Jeffery bellows proudly as he dances over to where Kenneth stands, stopping a few feet from him and holding a microphone to his mouth. “But can you say the words and complete the task before the hourglass runs out?” Jeffery says, quickly looking over to a large hourglass that sits proudly next to Cathy, then back to Kenneth, thrusting the microphone in his face.

“I-I-I,” Kenneth stammers, looking wearily over to the petrified Cathy. “I-I-I, I think I s-s-still c-c-can, J-Jeff. I-I-I, I think I can d-d-do it.”

“It’s Jeffery, Kenneth,” Jeffery corrects, taking a step back and looking sternly at him. “That mistake has just cost you valuable seconds.”

Kenneth looks up at Jeffery, his face wrought with confusion. “I-I-I, I’m s-s-sorry, I-I, I didn’t mean t-t-to call y-y-you J-Jeff…”

Jeffery takes another step back, and a frown now adorns his lips. “I’m afraid one more mistake, Kenneth, and the game will be lost. Play your next hand wisely, or there will be no hope for you—or your lovely bride,” Jeffery says, his brow furrowed deeply.

“I-I-I,” Kenneth stammers through trembling lips. He looks over to the inconsolable Cathy, as tears stream down her face, and awkwardly reaches out towards her with a twitching hand. “C-C-Cathy, I-I’m s-s-sorry,” he mumbles before dropping to the ground in a silent heap.

Jeffery’s head drops, and he clutches the microphone to his chest. “What a pity. Kenneth was so close to winning everything,” he says as all the lights go out, save for the one illuminating Jeffery. He then looks up into the camera with a broad grin upon his lips. “But greed, as always, shrouds the reality of the human condition. YES, he faced his fear of heights like a SUPERSTAR. YES, he swam with man-eating sharks and SURVIVED! And YES, he cracked codes that even Da Vinci himself would have trouble deciphering. But just like Kenneth, we can achieve what seems impossible at times. It’s only when our eyes are truly open that we face the true nature of what is impossible—and that truth is truly impossible. Tonight, Kenneth Orland found that out. In the end, what he couldn’t beat, what he couldn’t avoid, is that when you remove your stomach, about six metres of intestines, and four litres of blood, you will, unfortunately, not survive.”

The lights spring back to life, and Jeffery turns to the trembling Cathy, letting out a disheartened sigh.

“N-N-N-NO!” she yells. “P-P-P-PLEASE, NO! NO! L-L-LET ME G-G-GO! I-I-I-I’LL DO ANYTHING! P-P-PLEASE!”

He raises an eyebrow as he looks to the camera and smiles. “Sorry, Cathy, but rules are rules, and who am I to challenge them? Maybe next time… it could be YOU!” he says, pointing to the camera as a blade swings out from the wall and slices Cathy’s head from her shoulders.