AUSTRALIAN HORROR AUTHOR
It’s Friday again, and once more I thought I’d share ten blogs that, if you’re not already following, you should at least take a look at, because, they might be something you’re looking for.
No two blogs are the same, they’re all a little different, but, they’re all interesting.
WELCOME TO, READ SOMEONE NEW FOR FRIDAY
Until next time, share, read, write, enjoy.
Matt
He drops to his knees and screams out in anger, clenching his hands into fists, and slamming them into the ground.
“I’ll fucking kill you Drake!” He yells, as tears run down his face, he looks up, into Drake’s eyes, anger burns within him, and Drake smiles.
“No you won’t,” Drake says as he steps towards the bar of the cell. “You won’t be doing a lot of things, not anymore. I beat you, I’ve won, now you can rot here in hell, like you deserve to, you piece of shit!”
“I swear to whatever I have to, I’ll get out and I’ll make everyone you love pay and then, I’ll make you suffer for a long time before I slice you from ear to ear, like I did Jefferson,” he says, spit dripping from his mouth, blood, seeping from the grazes on his knuckles.
“Good luck, but you better move fast, or haven’t they told you yet,”
“Told me what?”
“I guess they haven’t then, well,” Drake says, his smile broadens. “You’re being moved to F block in a few hours, and next Monday, you’ll face the chair.”
“Bullshit, that’s not going to happen, not while I’ve got plenty of fucking things to do, not while you’re still breathing, you slimy piece of shit.”
“Please, Lucas, lets not get stuck in muddy stupidity, you butchered forty eight women, acting out demented fantasises from your favourite films with their bodies, video taping it and then after all that, you put it live on YouTube for the whole world to see. So, really, what the hell did you think was going to happen once I caught you? Did you think you were going to be allowed to keep breathing? Did you think Hollywood was going to come calling? Fuck, If I had it my way I would’ve placed a bullet in your brain, but Martinez was with me and it would’ve been more trouble than it was worth. So, you’re going to die the right way, and I’m going to watch, and then, I’m going to go home and fuck my wife until she comes on my cock.”
Lucas hangs his head and slowly beings to laugh.
“What the fuck is so funny?”
“Too many things pig, but you ain’t been home in days have you?”
“What?”
He looks up at Drake, smiling dementedly, “I said, you ain’t be home in days, have you pig!” he yells.
“What the fuck are you talking about? what have you done!” Drake yells as he grabs at him through the bars, Lucas latches on to Drake’s arm and snaps it, he screams out in agony, grabbing a handful of Drake’s hair, Lucas pulls him to the bars and licks his face, as guards run towards the cell.
“Booo!” Lucas yells as he bites down, onto Drake’s nose, severing cartilage and flesh as the guards force him away and Drake goes stumbling backwards, clutching his face, as his other arm hand limp.
Lucas spits the severed piece of Drake’s nose at him from within his cell and laughs, “Run home pig, run home and see what I left you!”
END
You can read the original 50 Word Story HERE.
He drops to his knees and screams out in anger, clenching his hands into fists, and slamming them into the ground.
“I’ll fucking kill you Drake!” He yells, as tears run down his face, he looks up, into Drake’s eyes, anger burns within him, and Drake smiles.
“No you won’t.”
You can read the Expanded version HERE.
He stares at the dried blood, splattered against the wall, his eyes slowly follow the trail left behind, up and down, along and around, following the curves of each letter, until he reaches the end. He swallows a dry, coarse mouthful of air, it tears at his throat like a ball of barbed wire, as it slides down, exploding into his lungs. Beads of sweat begins to seep from his forehead run down his face, he places a hand against his chest, feeling each powerful beat of his heart, lost in his own world, desperately, trying to find answers, to solve the riddle before him, a voice breaks the silence and pulls him into the world.
“Seventeenth victim in the last half an hour, three blocks apart, and not one son of a bitch saw anything, the security cameras don’t pick up anyone except the John entering and we’ve got nothing…. Are you even fucking listening to me Mackenzie?” A balding suited detective says to him, he slowly turns and nods.
“Keep going, what about the cameras?” He says softly.
He clears his throat before he continues, “Security camera’s are useless, there’s no footage to show anyone else entering the apartment.”
“That’s a shame, this was the only one with something going for it, the chance, for us to catch a break,” Mackenzie mutters.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look the best.”
“We’re face some crazed maniac, there’s nowhere else I should be but here.”
The door to the apartment crashes open and a large man burst into the room, “You gotta fucking help me! You gotta save me!” he screams.
“What the fuc….” He stops, his mouth drops open, they all turn, as it’s huge, clawed hands, grip the door frame, and it’s monstrous form, steps through, ripping, tearing, destroying the doorway, like a wrecking ball. It looks around the room, it’s eyes, it’s pools of nothingness, searches each of them, looking into their very soul, until, it comes to a rest on Mackenzie.
“This is my story, I will not be played, I create, you, obey,” it growls, in a low, gravely voice, flickering in and out of focus, like a poorly tuned radio.
“W-W-What?” Mackenzie says, the beast lunches forward, grabbing him by the throat and slams him against the wall. It’s stench wafts at him, tearing at his eyes, stinging, his nose runs, his face feels as if it’s been splashes with acid, it leans in closer, until, shots ring out as the other detective opens fire. The beast, it turns, throwing Mackenzie to the ground, it grabs the detective by his outstretched arms, crushing both his hands, and then rips them from their sockets, he screams, as blood pumps from his torn flesh, but the beast, it grabs his head and twists and he is silent. More shots tear into it’s side, the beast lets out a cry, a scream, a growl of aggression, dominance, power and moves through the room swiftly, until, only it stands, and the room, is bathed in blood. It turns back to find Mackenzie is gone, and looks towards you, as you read these lines, the sudden smell of rotting meat fills your nostrils, your stomach churns, the, you feel it’s breath on the back of your neck, followed by it’s words, “His distractions won’t stop me, for soon you will see, there’s nothing he can do, to stop me from getting to you!”
PREPARE FOR YOUR END.
FIND PRELUDE ONE HERE, TWO HERE, THREE HERE, FOUR HERE, FIVE HERE, SIX HERE, SEVEN HERE, EIGHT HERE AND NINE HERE.
JOIN US BACK HERE ON THE 11TH OF OCTOBER FOR MORE
All artwork by Yazgar, check his stuff out when you can!
“It was December, I’m pretty sure it still was anyway, mainly because when I remember any of it, there’s always Christmas decorations up everywhere still, and crazy children always seem to be out, running around, screaming about the big man with the beard, waiting for him to turn up. Santa Claus, the man who once a year spent a whole day delivering presents to all the children of the world. Seriously, what a shit job, it’s not something I would gladly take up in a fit of insanity even, but, what if you didn’t have a choice for something like that, what if you fucked up so hard, the only way to fix anything, was to become something, someone that just could not exist. I know where you think this is going, some weird story about how I found my Christmas spirit, delivered all the presents to all the children across the world, and in the end, learned the true value of Christmas, right? Well that’s where you’re way off the fucking mark, you see, it’s all a lie, ever single word of it, there is no jolly old man who spreads happiness and cheers around the world one night a year, the real Santa Claus, the actual thing that we all worship every year for a month, is something more dark and deceitful. Sure, you’ve heard the stories before, you’ve seen the movies, you know all the bad things that anyone can decide, but what if you hadn’t, what if you just thought you did?”
“Get on with the fucking story Kevin!” A man says from across the other side of the camp fire.
“I am, haven’t you ever heard of someone building up the suspense, giving the reader a nice, slow lead up into the crescendo of the story.”
“All I hear is you sitting there strumming one out, just get on with the fucking story, so someone else can have a go.”
“Leave him alone Leroy, you might not have been enjoying it, but I was,” one of the girls says.
“That’s because you have a massive moist spot for fat boy over there,” Kevin says with a cheeky smile, the girl next to him quickly sends a fist into his arm.
“Leroy!”
“What?” He holds his hands up in the air and puts on an innocent look.
“Is everyone finished interrupting?” Kevin asks.
“Of course Sir Boredom, you may continue,” Leroy says.
“Okay, so, anyway, all the stories you’ve heard about Santa being all jolly and shit is a lie, really, the true story behind Santa, or Santoscalwes, as its really called, is this. Some seven or eight thousand years ago a man by the name of Frederick Illingworth found himself lost and alone somewhere near the foot of Piz Bernina. It’s there that his caravan was attacked and his guides killed by the demon of the lands, know to the local tribes as The Santoscalwes. Instead of killing Illingworth, it toyed with him, as it hadn’t seen a white man before that time and found him fascinating, so for ninety days it subjected him to many manner of torture, and that’s when Illingworth challenged the demon to a….
“We’ve heard this before, he challenged it to a game of something, depends on the version you’re told, in mine it was chess. Anyway, regardless of the game, the deal was, if it lost Frederick went free and if it won he’d give himself gladly too it, as it turns out, the demon couldn’t resist the challenge, and lost. But it wasn’t once, the demon couldn’t accept that it had lost so easily and challenged him again, and again, until it had somehow, agreed to be an emissary of good, spreading joy to the world once a year, blah, blah. Is that how it goes?”
“You missed out the most important part of the whole story.”
“I haven’t missed any part of it, my grandfather used to tell me that story all the time, even claimed we were descended of Illingworth, crazy old fucker.”
Kevin leans over the flames of the camp fire, and looks around into the eyes of all who sit around it, “You see, the part you’re missing, the part that your demented old grandfather never told you about, was how the deal only lasted for so long. How one day, he would be free from his curse, and then, he would bring his vengeance on the kin of Illingworth,” he says, smiling, a broad, almost evil smile, and begins to laugh, a deep, demonic laugh, that is soon drowned out by screams.
END
I had the fortune of being presented with the opportunity to take part in a bit of fun during the October season over at SlasherMonster Magazine, the idea was to take a short, 50 word story, expand it, and SlasherMonster would post it during the month.
Okay, sounds like something I’ve been doing here every week, so what’s the catch? You have to expand a 50 word story that wasn’t yours! Bang, mind blown. To say I had fun, would be putting it mildly, in fact, I enjoyed it thoroughly, almost writing more than just the two I needed. But, with this blog, and it’s unique rules and regulations, time, told me differently. So, without going on anymore, the first short is up, and waiting for your eyes, just follow the below links.
If you want to go and read the original version posted on Karina’s blog HERE.
Then, if you’re so inclined, you can go to SlasherMonster and read my expanded version HERE.
Cheers,
Matt
Another day, and more inspiration, Yazgar posted another awesome image last night for Inktober and Drawlloween, and, while I was sitting down to write tonight’s YouChallenge story, this happened. So you can pop over to HERE to view the picture, that inspired the following story. And I should also add, congratulations as well, as its his hundredth Daily Doodle since he started his blog a little of three months ago!
“It’s a brilliant idea, and it’ll revolutionise the industry,” he says as he tucks his hands behind his head and leans back in his seat.
“Seriously, I know, you’re mad, but this is like insane. It’s got nothing, absolutely nothing to do with what we’re working towards, we’re scientist Glenn, playing with the very tools that make us who we are, who we could be, not building sideshow freaks, not this. I-I, I can’t let you do it, I won’t!” He says as he launches himself off his seat, and thrusts his tightly clenched fists into the table.
“But we’re not going anywhere Clive, there’s no money coming in, our funding has been ripped away, and those fucks, back in the city are laughing at us, calling us a joke. This, this will show them, it will be magnificent, and from the money we bring in, we’ll fund our work ourselves. Don’t you see, we could become self-sufficient, our own bosses, like we’ve always dreamed about, can’t you see that?”
He stares at his fists, squeezing them tightly, before he looks back at Glenn, his face, not as tense, the scowl, less, his eyes, show no anger, only, contemplation. “I don’t know, it just, well, it just feels, like were selling out, giving them a greater reason to laugh at us. What if, what if it doesn’t work? What if we just end up wasting more valuable time?”
“Look at it, people will come from miles around to see them, they’ll pay what we ask, then, those pieces of shit will beg for us to come back, only because they’ll want to steal what we’ve created. But we won’t, because, we, will be kings!” He says proudly, with a broad grin on his face.
“It’s going to take a lot of work, were going to have to teach them everything.”
“Bah, we’ll code the knowledge into their DNA, we won’t need to teach them a thing, they’ll be as good, no, they’ll be better, than those schmucks in their multi-million dollar shit holes.”
“I-I, I’m still not a hundred percent on board,” he says as he sits back down.
“But, you’re warming to it?”
“What are we going to call it?”
“I’ve got a couple of ideas,” Glenn says as he pulls a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to Clive, who, gently unfolds it and pulls a pair of glasses from his shirt pocket. For a few moments he sits there, his face slowly turning redder, and redder with each new line, until, finally, He looks up at Glenn, clearing his throat.
“You can’t be serious, are these really your suggestions?”
“What? You’re kidding me? I thought they were brilliant.”
“Honestly, I think we need something that has presence, strength, marketability, none of these fit that category, in fact, most of them are childish.”
“Steady on there, I’ll have you know, I showed them around the lab and everyone thought they were perfect, hell, the last two, were Sevens suggestions.”
“You know, I can believe that,” he says looking back at the piece of paper, slowly, he begins to laugh, getting louder and more animated as the seconds tick by, until, he has tears streaming from his eyes.
“What’s so fucking funny?”
“C-C-Catch Of The Day, was S-Seven’s, and s-she’s half o-o-octopus!” He manages to get out, and soon, both men, are crying with laughter, while beyond the glass, three figures stand watching.
“Do you think he likes it?” Seven asks the other two.
END
You can read the original 50 Word Story HERE.
“It really is beautiful,” she says as she lays next to him on the grass, tightly holding his hand.
“I know, it’s a shame it will eventually kill us,” he says as they look up into the violent, red sky.
“Still at least we’ve got two years to enjoy it.”
He laughs and grips her hand tighter, “Well be crispy pieces of bacon well before that, the report Ferguson placed on Lewis’ desk yesterday predicts nine months before it will be too hot for anyone to actually go outside, and a week after that it will be hot enough that there will be no vegetation, anywhere on earth as they’ll be so dry they’ll just ignite because of the heat.”
“I guess we shouldn’t plan for Christmas then,” she says as she shifts closer to him, snuggling against him.
He laughs, “We should celebrate it early, like next week, and we’ll do your birthday two days after that and mine after that, or, we could just roll them into one day and save time.”
“That would be nice, I’d enjoy that,” she says softly as she closes her eyes. “You think they’ll find some way out?”
“What, from this?”
“Yeah, some way to survive?”
“I think if they had more time maybe, but, were way too late in the game to do anything but count down the days,” he says, suddenly from down in the village below a huge explosion rips through half of it, with screams and cries following soon after and then the sound of gunfire, he squeezes her close and kisses her on the forehead.
“Do you think this is how it’s going to end? Fighting among ourselves?”
“More than likely, they still think the government have secret rockets ready to escape, but it’s not the movies, it’s not going to happen like that, we’re all going to fry, that’s just the plain facts.”
“People have got to believe there’s hope, don’t they?”
“This isn’t hope, it’s fear, they’re afraid to die, they don’t want to give in to it, but they’re going to have no other choice when it happens, none of us will.”
A tear runs down her face and she wipes it away, “Listen to you being all brave, who would have thought you would be the one being all calm and accepting, you’ve come a long way from when we first met, grown up so quickly,” she says as she kisses his chest.
He laughs, “We’re lying here naked in the grass after making awesome love, while the rest of the world tries to kill each other in the hope of finding a way off this rock before what was once our sun tears this planet into small pieces, I think it’s the rest of the world that’s changed, not me,” he says as she lifts her head and stares into his eyes.
“Is that code for your ready for round two?”
He looks down towards his erect member and looks back at her and laughs, “I’m not going to lie…..”
END
The challenge was, ‘why isn’t the sky blue anymore?’
He looks up at Glenn, clearing his throat.
“You can’t be serious, are these really your suggestions?”
“What? You’re kidding me? I thought they were brilliant.”
“Honestly, I think we need something that has presence, strength, marketability, none of these fit that category, in fact, most of them are childish.”
You can read the Expanded version HERE.
“You’re kidding me?” He says as he rolls around on the bed, the phone pressed firmly to his ear.
“Why would I kid you? It’s true, it’s everywhere. God I can’t believe you haven’t heard, it’s like all over the news and social media, haven’t you seen any of it?” She says with a giggle.
“Nah, I’ve been on a Netflix binge for the last twelve hours.”
“What the hell could you be watching for that long?..
If you want to read the final version of this short story, and thirty others, follow the link below, or join the mailing list and get a copy for free!
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Inspiration again from another of Yazgar’s drawings for Inktober and Drawlloween, you can go HERE to see the awesome picture, and then, read the story. I promise, no clown’s this time.
“So what, you think it’s him?”
“We’ll know more once we get the fabric carbon tested, but, I think we’ve found him,” he says with a beaming smile. “Point the flashlight over here Mortimer, there seems to be an entrance to another room, obstructed by some of the artifacts.”
“Another room, are you sure?”
“Yes, yes, I’m almost certain, and I bet you’re thinking the same thing I am, aren’t you?..
If you want to read the final version of this short story, and thirty others, follow the link below, or join the mailing list and get a copy for free!
Free To All Mailing List Subscribers
Sign up to The Twisted Roads of Matthew Tonks to stay up to date with all the latest news and to get free books as they become available.
“They say he can’t be killed,” she says as she opens the box, light reflects off the blade and shines onto her face, her eyes glisten in the light, she smiles wickedly as she grips the handle and lifts it out.
“But you’re going to tell me that’s untrue, right?”
“I’m going to tell you a lot of things, many of them you’ll not understand, but the important parts you will, because, if you don’t, you will easily die at his hands.”
“Way to put pressure on me like that, it’s not like he hasn’t killed half the city in the last twenty-four hours or anything.”
“Don’t be childish, that is the first important piece of information you must understand. The second is this blade, it’s the only thing that can kill the beast, and it must be plunged into its heart.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard to do, it’s not like he’s sixty feet tall and as wide as a house. How the fuck am I supposed to get that stupid little blade into it’s heart? it must be ten times the size of this room.”
“No, his heart is as big as mine, and yours, and it is not within his chest. He keeps hidden away, to protect himself, and I know where he keeps it, for I have seen it in a vision.”
“Wait? Are you trying to tell me, he keeps his heart, hidden, somewhere else other than in his chest?”
“Yes, did I not just say exactly that?”
“Yeah, you did, it’s just, I mean. How is that possible?”
“You ask the question as if it is unbelievable, but yet you see what he is, a giant, an impossibility in this world. Yet you question something so simple as he keeps his heart hidden away in a box as a way to protect himself against attack, do you not think that is strange?”
He smiles, letting out a little chuckle, “I know, it sounds crazy right? But hey, up until three weeks ago giants were just a thing of stories, myths. So, yeah, I’m still getting my head around the fact that he exists, so the whole, he doesn’t have his heart in his chest thing is a sort of fuck me moment.”
“You are not the one,” she says, placing the blade back in the box.
“Whoa honey chops, I’m the man, I’m the one, trust me, I’ll slay that fuckers heart like it’s a forty dollar hooker, I’m just saying, shits gotta sink in is all.”
She stares at him through weary eyes and lets out a long, exhausted breath, “You must accept the truth, if not you do not, it will be useless to this world, accept everything I tell you, do what must be done.”
“Okay, not to be picky, but, you said no more than five minutes ago, somethings I won’t believe, and now your telling me to believe everything you tell me. So, which is it? believe or don’t?”
“Do not mix my words, I said you would not understand some things, I did not say for you not to believe.”
“Okay, my mistake,” he says rolling his eyes. “So, where is this heart that I’m supposed to spit fry?”
“It’s in a box, that sits within a room, that’s buried inside a mountain.”
“Okay… And the mountain is where exactly?”
“That, I do not know.”
“So, how am I supposed to find it?”
“I-I-I-I, do not have that answer.”
“Right, so, do you want me to wait while you find it?”
“I, do not have that answer either,” she says, they stare at each other for a few awkward moments.
“So, this is kinda useless, isn’t it?”
“It would seem that way.”
END
You can read the original 50 Word Story HERE, I’d be interested in what you think of the full story that came from the short.
Inspiration, where does it come from? For the following story, the inspiration came from a drawing created for Inktober and Drawlloween by my good friend Yazgar, you can go HERE to check it out, it’s cool, you might see more extras pop up if I get inspired again.
“Sometimes, its not the mark on life you leave, it’s the mark on their faces,” he says as he stares at his reflection in the mirror, he studies his tired, old face, the bags under his eyes, dark and droopy.
“I don’t understand,” a girl’s voice says.
He laughs, as he starts dabbing on the white makeup, “Have I told you the story of when you were born? Your dear departed mother said, one day, you would do things we only dreamed of, you would make your mark not only on the world, but on them, out there, as well,” he says as he looks over at his daughter, she sits on an old wooden chair. A chair she has sat on a thousand times before or more, watching, as her father applies his make-up, preparing for a show. “She said, you would be the one, that would break the cycle, to be remembered. At first, I never understood what she meant, not until years later, when she came to me after we found you with Pebbles.”
“Pebbles,” she says softly, looking at the ground.
He places a hand on her head, “She said, you were becoming something, something wonderful, I-I, I was hesitant, worried, that you weren’t ready, but….”
“But what?” She says, looking back up at him as he places the final touches to his makeup.
“But, when I saw you cut that boys throat, I realised she was right, she was right about everything,” he says as he gets to his feet and holds his hand out towards her. “Are you ready, to spread some Halloween cheer?”
She smiles and places her tiny hand in his, gripping it tightly, “But Daddy, it’s not Halloween for another three weeks?”
He laughs again, as he picks up a large kitchen knife from the table and passes it to her, “In our family, everyday, is Halloween,” he says, and, underneath the frown of his clown’s make-up, she can make out his demented smile.
END
“They say he can’t be killed,” she says as she opens the box, light reflects off the blade and shines onto her face, her eyes glisten in the light, she smiles wickedly as she grips the handle and lifts it out.
“But you’re going to tell me that’s untrue, right?”
Go HERE for the 50 Word Story Expanded version of this story, or, if you’re feeling game, try to extend it yourself….
“Now, can you tell the detective what you told me ma’am,” the officer says.
She looks over to the detective, and clears her throat, “Like I said, it was about fifteen minutes before I heard her scream, and there was this guy, dancing on her balcony, all graceful and shit.”
“Dancing?”
“Yeah, like he was on one of those TV shows. You know the dancing one, with all those washed up wanna be stars who need to be relevant again so they go on that show and hope everyone will remember who they were and they’ll be back in the limelight.”
“Okay, you’ve lost me, what?” The detective says.
“It’s okay sir, I know what she’s talking about, ballroom dancing.”
“Yeah, like I said, graceful and shit.”
“Do you think if I had a profiler sit with you, you’d be able to help get a composite sketch of the dancer made?”
“No way, dude was dancing up a storm. I was too busy watching his feet, than his face, I love those shows, but he was old, like in his fifties, maybe older. That I’m sure of,” she says with a beaming smile.
“Okay, thanks for your help Samantha, if we need any more information someone will be in contact,” the detective says before he heads back to the crime scene, the officer following closely behind.
“So, you think it’s the same guy?”
“Everything else fits, accept the dancing and that a victim isn’t missing their kidney, but I’d say being interrupted caused that slip up.”
“Maybe the dancing has always been a part of his routine, we’ve never had an eyewitness before.”
“Maybe, we’ll know more when forensics gets here, maybe he left a clue, it’s not as pristine as the other scenes, this could be the one. We should also cross reference all the victims and see if any of them had some sort of connection to ballroom dancing, actually make it any sort of dancing, just to be safe.” The detective says.
Samantha closes the door of her apartment behind her and smiles, “They won’t bother us, I’ve made sure of it,” she says.
“I don’t know how to show my appreciation, if they’d found me there tonight, I would’ve certainly been blamed for her murder. What did you tell them?”
“Told them I saw some old dude dancing on her balcony a few minutes before I heard her scream, they ate it up.”
He smiles, “Dancing? Really? And they brought it, amazing,” he says as he walks over to the window and peers out, across the court yard, at the flashing lights and laughs. “Truly, I don’t know how to thank you, it will be of course, such a shame.”
“Sorry? I don’t follow.”
“Of course you don’t,” he says as he backhands her to the ground, her eyes widen in horror as she realises her mistake, as his pretty smile, is soon replaced by a twisted, evil snarl and he soon has his hands around her throat.
“You don’t fit my profile, but I have to eat, and sometimes the closest meal is the best!” He says as her cold, dead eyes stare back at him.
Graceful is today’s Daily Prompt
You can read the original 50 Word Story HERE, I’d be interested in what you think of the full story that came from the short.
“On the darkest night, spirits take to flight, coming for your soul, so watch out kids, young an old, because the beast will smell your sin,” he says proudly, she sits across from him, blinking a couple of times and stares at him. “Well, don’t just sit there saying nothing, what did you think?”
“Ummm, well…. It’s just…. I mean it’s…. It can’t… I think you need help,” she says, smiling awkwardly, as she twists and squeezes her fingers together.
“Besides that, did you think it was any good?”
“It’s not my sort of thing Kyle, I’m not into the weird stuff, you should ask Terry.”
“Fuck Terry, I’m asking you, was it any good or not?”
“Yeah, I guess so, I mean it seemed scary, and you told it really well. But, like I said, I just don’t really care for scary stuff.”
“Seriously, your just avoiding telling me it’s shit aren’t you?” he says as he throws himself onto the floor in a heap, and lets out a loud, and long sigh of frustration.
“No, honestly Kyle, it was good, really, but I’m just not into that stuff, honest to god, or whatever else you want me to swear to, it was good, really!” She says as she flops onto the floor beside him, grabbing him by his wrist and shaking them.
“You’re just saying that now, because you feel bad.”
“Of course I feel bad, I didn’t mean for you to take it the way you have and I feel terrible, it wasn’t the way I wanted you to take it, even though I knew you would. It was good, really it was, it’s just not my sort of thing, you know that. I mean, how long have you know me and how many times have I bailed on movie night because you pick some shitty horror?”
“Yeah I guess your right, maybe I should ask Terry, he’s into the same sort of style, it’s just, I don’t trust him as much as I trust you, I know you’d be honest with me, tell me if I was making a huge mistake. Terry, he’ll encourage you, even if he thinks it stupid, just so he can laugh at you later.”
“Well, ask someone else, ask that guy from the comic book store, the one who’s always wearing those death metal t-shirts, Thraxton, or whatever his name is.”
“You men Jaxon?”
“Yeah, that’s his name, Jaxon, ask him, he’s into this stuff, why not ask him?”
“Because he’s nuts, I only talk to him at the book store because if I didn’t he probably wait for me after work and beat the fuck out of me and then fuck my skull.”
“Come on, he not that crazy, he seemed perfectly normal to me when I met him.”
“You met him at an all-night rave, while you were half spaced on Xanax and PHP, of course he seemed normal. That’s probably why you sucked his cock that night as well.”
“I though you weren’t going to bring that up again?”
“You were the one who opened that can of worms, not me, I just pointed out why you would’ve though he was normal. Besides, I didn’t see you two hooking up after that night again, so there must be something wrong with him.”
“Well, the fact he’s old enough to be my father was the first thing I noticed, and anyway, we were talking about your story, not my dating habits.”
“You were the one who brought him up,” he says as he flashes her a wry smile.
“I know, and I regret it,” she replies, punching him in the arm. “Can’t we talk about something else, something interesting?”
“What else interesting is there? We’ve talked about everything else we ever could over the last few weeks, and, well, the longer we wait, the less time we have, so, if you don’t want to talk about my obituary what else can we talk about?”
END
“Now, can you tell the detective what you told me ma’am,” the officer says.
She looks over to the detective, and clears her throat, “Like I said, it was about fifteen minutes before I heard her scream, and there was this guy, dancing on her balcony, all graceful and shit.”
Graceful is today’s Daily Prompt
Go HERE for the 50 Word Story Expanded version of this story, or, if you’re feeling game, try to extend it yourself….
“I don’t know, should we really be down here?”
“Don’t tell me your scared?”
“What? Who, me? No way, I’m just saying, do we really need to be part of the Delta Chi’s?”
“Of course we do, if we aren’t part of a sorority we won’t get accepted. Anyway, you’re the one who talked me into this, remember?”
“I know, but that’s before I realised they still did this shit,” she says as she readjusts the nightlight strapped to her head.
“Say what? Am I talking to Sasha, or some brainless doppelgänger who’s taken over her life?”
“Don’t be like that, I know you warned me, I know, okay. But I thought with mum being a former member I would just breeze in, but this shit, this is…” she stops in her tracks as something splashes in the water up ahead, they both turn to each other, blinding one another with their lights.
“Fuck,” she says as she quickly turns away, her light passes across the tunnel walls, briefly shining on a dark, shadowy figure as it slowly creeps towards the girls, Sasha screams.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“That!” She yells, shining her light where the figure stood, but there’s nothing in sight, except miles of dark, deserted tunnel.
“What did you see? What was it?”
“How the fuck should I know Clare, I only saw it for a second, and then it was gone, I’m going back, we’ll apply somewhere else, I-I can’t do this,” she yells as she turns and runs back down the tunnel, she can hear Clare calling her name, but continues to run. It’s only after several minutes that she comes to a stop, realising she no longer knows where she is, the unspeakable happens at that moment as her light flickers, and then, goes dead.
“Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” She screams as she stuffs a hands into her jacket pocket at pulls out a phone and a knife, but the uncontrollable shaking of her hands results with with them both slipping through her grasp and plummeting into the water below. “Shit!” She cries as she plunges her hands in the water, feeling desperately around for them, as she does, she feels something grab her shoulder, call it instinct, panic, or fear, but whatever it is, it takes over and she spins around, driving the knife into whatever it is.
The tunnel lights up, Sasha shields here eyes in surprise, it takes a few moments for them to adjust, and, as she lowers her arm she is confronted by the house leader Marisa and the rest of Delta Chi, then, she stares down at the quivering, bloody, Clare and drops the knife.
“I-I-I didn’t realise, I thought it was that, thing, I-I-I, my god, Clare, please help her,” she screams looking up at Marisa, tears running down her face.
“Don’t be a cry baby Sasha, you passed the test, you’re in. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
Sasha looks up from her blood covered hands, tears running down her face, “This wasn’t a test, it was murder!”
She laughs, “It’s only murder if they find a body, now, eat.”
You can read the original 50 Word Story HERE, I’d be interested in what you think of the full story that came from the short.
“Please Norris, don’t do this, don’t listen to their words, I don’t want to be part of it all, I don’t want my family chosen, just let us go, please!” He yells, looking up into the eyes of the gigantic man who stands before him. His hands clench into fists, and his eyes tighten sharply, almost squinting, as he targets his prey.
“I’m sorry Sammy, but I can’t, you know what will come of it all, you know what it means to be chosen,” he says in a low, course voice, pulling back a fist, he fires towards him, driving the powerful left into Sammy’s head, sending him crashing to the ground, his eyes lifeless, his stare void, a pool of blood quickly forms beneath his head, and her screams break the silence. Norris turns to the woman who sits bound by her hands and feet like a wild animal not far from Sammy’s lifeless corpse, and he smiles.
“Don’t worry sweetheart, it’s going to be all over soon,” he says as he takes a step towards her.
“PLEASE!” she screams as he grabs her by the hair and pulls her to her knees.
“Please what? Don’t fucking think for a second you can please your way out of this shit, you and Sammy started all this, you both forced the hand, you made this choice easy, and I have to make sure I do it, or them things will, and if they do, well, you’ll suffer a lot more than what I’ll do to you, you know that don’t you?”
“PLEASE NORRIS, JUST LET ME GO, I’LL LEAVE TOWN, THEY’LL NEVER KNOW YOU LET ME GO, PLEASE!!”
“I can’t do that, you know they’ll know, and then it will be me and mine who will pay, and I ain’t putting my family in danger, not for you, not today, not ever.”
“DON’T BE AN ARSE NORRIS, HELP ME!”
“I fucking can’t!” he yells as he slaps a solid left across her face, sending her to the ground, her whole world spins around like a merry go round, her vision flashes in and out of focus as does her hearing. She tries to mutter words, but all that comes out is gibberish, and she feels Norris hands slowly close around her throat.
“I’m sorry, but, none of us have any choice, you know that, I wish to god I didn’t have to but if I don’t,” he says as he tightens his grip, squeezing her throat, she tries to suck in air, she tries to clumsily fight him off but, to no avail, and evenly, her lifeless hands fall to the ground and he release his grip.
“Bravo,” a voice from behind says, followed by slow, sarcastic clapping. Norris clenches his hands into fists, and stares to the ground.
“It’s done, I’ve punished the sinners, like it was mandated, like I was told.”
“And what a fine sheep you are, following the shepherds orders so well, so precise, you have done well Norris, you and your family should rest well tonight, knowing that they are chosen for the next cycle.”
Norris spins around, his body trembling, “No, I did what you asked, I punished the sinners, the non believes, please, not my family, I’ll do whatever you ask of me, but please, spare my family.”
“The choice has been made, this is a reward Norris, you should be happy, the next cycle is what we all, as a community work towards, don’t make the same mistake Samuel made, don’t make a choice that will only end in suffering.”
He unclenches his fists and his head drops towards the ground, and he falls to his knees, he feels Sammy’s blood soak into his trousers, and he looks back up into Father Jacobs’s smiling face.
“No suffering?”
“Norris, the next cycle moves us past suffering, and into the next phase, so don’t be afraid my son, for they are with us. Let them be your guide and you will know what lies out there, past what you see in your flesh suite, past what these eyes allow you to see, into, another world, one, where you will be rewarded.”
END
“Don’t be a cry baby Sasha, you passed the test, you’re in. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
Sasha looks up from her blood covered hands, tears running down her face, “This wasn’t a test, it was murder!”
She laughs, “It’s only murder if they find a body, now, eat.”
Go HERE for the 50 Word Story Expanded version of this story, or, if you’re feeling game, try to extend it yourself….