Twisted Roads – Twisted Horror Stories by Matthew Tonks

Through Books, Lessons Are Taught

The books tumble to the floor, piling on top of David’s limp frame. He groans, his face twisting in pain as he squeezes his eyes shut and scrunches his nose. He tries to push himself up, but the sheer weight of the books drives him back down.

He gasps for air, his chest pressed against the floor, panic painting his face pale. He swallows hard, struggling to pull in a breath, but the air catches in his throat like a lump of wet sand. Desperation claws at him as he drags himself to his hands and knees. After a few agonising attempts, he manages to create just enough space for his chest to puff out. He sucks in one jagged breath after another, his lungs burning from the strain.

The weight on his arms turns to fire, but he forces his eyes shut, gritting his teeth as he focuses. With effort, he shuffles his knees forward, his body trembling under the burden. He shifts his position enough to ease the pressure on his arms, granting a brief moment of relief—but it’s short-lived. The agony in his legs flares, spreading like molten lead.

He tries again to stand, grunting with the effort, but the weight above refuses to relent. His breaths come in stuttering gasps as tears slip down his cheeks, unnoticed.

“No one likes a sook, Davey boy,” a voice mocks from above, its tone sharp and dripping with disdain. “So why don’t you toughen the fuck up and get the hell outta dodge?”

“W-Who’s there?” David stammers, his voice barely audible. “C-c-can you help me? I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”

The voice chuckles, low and guttural, each sound cutting like a blade. “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up,” it mimics, the words drawn out like a cruel song. “Grow a pair, Davey. Deal with your problems like a real man.”

“W-W-Who are y-you? A-and how do you know my name?” David gasps, his voice trembling.

“I know plenty about you,” the voice purrs, growing closer. “I know how sick you are. How depraved. I know what you do when you think no one’s watching. And I know what you’ve been thinking about doing to that sweet girl in number sixteen.”

David freezes, his breath caught in his throat.

“The same as what you did to the girl in number twenty.”

The voice erupts into a cackling laugh, its sound ricocheting through his skull.

“I—I don’t know wh—” he stammers, but his words cut off as the weight on his back suddenly doubles.

David gasps for air, his lungs seizing. His body trembles as the books press harder.

“Don’t lie to me, David,” the voice hisses. “It won’t end well for you. Unless, of course, you enjoy an eternity of sodomising. You might even like it.”

The weight slightly lightens, and David draws in desperate gasp after desperate gasp. A sea of sweat covers him from head to toe as he frantically positions himself on all fours, braving the weight so he can breathe. The room falls into silence.

“W-What do you want from me!” he cries.

But the voice doesn’t answer. Only the silence of the room and his own desperate breaths remain. His arms wobble, his legs ache, and frustration boils over.

“F-Fucken answer me!” he screams.

Suddenly, beneath him, looking up from the floor, is the most unexplainable person he has ever seen. His eyes seem to speak without a mouth, their dull greys leeching into corners of yellow and red. His flesh is tarred the colour of a fire’s dying embers, and his smile—his smile makes David wet himself.

The smile broadens, and a firm hand gently cups David’s groin. “You shouldn’t have—not for me anyway,” the man purrs mockingly.

“W-Who are you, and how do you know the things you said?” David stutters.

The man’s smile widens, revealing several rows of impeccably beautiful teeth, pearly white and glowing with an unnatural aura of life. “I don’t think either of us need to go any further down the rabbit hole with explanations, do we?”

“W-What do you want?”

For a moment, David swears the man’s eyes are pits of fire. The wicked smile stretches impossibly wide as the man leans closer.

“I want you to stop fighting what you are, David. I want you to do what you desire to do. I want all that disgusting stuff in your head, and I want you to do every bit of it to that slut in number sixteen,” he says with a wicked cackle.