Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Midnight Ain’t the Time for Walkies

Each step feels like a clumsy misstep, as though each move forward demands some impossible skill he doesn’t possess. A grimace stretches across his dry, cracked lips, pulling tighter with every step. He lets out a stuttering laugh, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow. A gasp, then a cry escapes him as he draws in a sharp breath, yanking the dog’s lead tight as she pulls him forward.

“Jess!” he hisses through taut lips. “Slow down!”

She ignores his call, digging in her paws with each thrusting step and forcing onward, refusing to yield.

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” he spits, yanking the lead again with all his might. Jess stumbles back, scrambling for footing as she lets out a low, rumbling growl. Her feet plant firmly, hackles raised, every hair standing on end. He takes a step back, his eyes wide with surprise.

“J-J-Jess!” he stammers nervously, holding his hands up in a defensive posture. “C-C-Calm down, girl!”

A sudden silence settles over them. No rustling of leaves, no distant hum of cars from the adjoining street—nothing but an unnatural quiet pressing in around them. Jess’s ears stand straight and tall, her muscles tense, and she lowers herself slightly, ready to strike.

A cold shiver crawls up his spine as his pulse beats like a hammer in his ears.

“J-Jess,” he whispers, barely daring to breathe. “What—what is it, g-girl?”

From somewhere in the shadows, a soft, wet clicking noise breaks the silence. His panicked gaze catches a faint shape—a dark, shifting mass just beyond the reach of the streetlight—but it’s not until its piercing red eyes meet his that he feels warmth spreading down his leg.

His grip tightens on Jess’s lead, and he pulls her firmly toward him.

“C-Come on, girl. L-Let’s just take it nice a-and easy, okay?”

Jess growls louder, her lips pulling back to reveal sharp teeth dripping with thick yellow foam, her eyes wild. She barks, and he flinches—just as the thing in the trees leaps toward them. Jess lunges to meet the attack, yanking him forward as she does, but the lead catches tight. Jess is thrust to the ground, and the creature lands, crouched on a fence post, watching them.

Its leathery wings rise high, clawed feet gripping the splintered wood as its mouth stretches wide, rows of razor-sharp teeth chattering with a sick, rhythmic click, glistening with grotesquely thick green saliva.

He takes breath after desperate breath, each one shorter than the last, a sea of sweat pouring down his twitching brow as blood drains from his pale cheeks. Jess launches back to her feet and stands between the creature and her master, her back arched high, teeth bared as a guttural growl escapes her.

The creature hisses, swiping mockingly toward them before dropping low, snarling, and coiling itself like a cat ready to pounce. It launches at Jess, who barks rabidly. He throws himself to his feet, dragging Jess out of its attack range. She barks wildly, pulling and twisting, leaping and turning, trying to break free of the lead.

He yanks her hard, pulling her behind him as the creature launches at him again. It lands on his chest, tearing into his throat viciously, a wall of red splashing over it. They tumble back and crash to the ground. The creature looks up, soaked in blood, as a razor-sharp tirade of teeth closes in on its head.