Twisted

By: Bob Suarez

Prologue

Its October 31st. Twisted By: Bob Suarez Prologue Its October 31st. Halloween night. Tonight is the night I work my magic. This time I will not fail. The simplicity of it all. The greatest murder ever witnessed. But it must be done tonight. Most crimes will be done tonight. The police will be to busy with others. They won't even know what I've done. I leave in three minutes.

Tom Burgess closes his journal and sets it aside. He then walked over to his bar and fixed himself a scotch. Sipping slowly, he went over his plan in his head. It was perfect. Not a single flaw. Finished with his drink, Tom placed the glass in the sink and walked out of the apartment building.

He started towards a cab but decided to walk instead. As he walked he snagged a copy of the New York Times. The front page read:

Trouble in the Big Apple

Trouble in the Big Apple. New information from New York's Own NYPD and government has informed us of the drastic Change in New York Cities crime wave. Our crime rate has increased by a good 64. Our new information makes us Believe that a giant crime spree is going to occur on Halloween night. More information will be in our evening Addition. (See more on p.17)

Laughing to himself, Tom crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the snow. The media always thought they knew exactly what was going on. Turning left down Emporium Rd. Tom found himself pausing to stare at the famous Statue of Liberty. After about ten minutes Tom came out of his piercing gaze. He shook his head and kept on walking.

“Sir? Excuse me? Sir!”

Tom turned to find out who was trying to wreck his moment of pure excitement.

“Can I help you Mrs. Is there something wrong Mrs.?” Tom said, annoyed at the constant interruptions.

“Well, no, it's just, I was wondering if you could help-“

“You find someplace? Do you not realize that this is New York? That there are thousands of people here and you wanted to interrupt me over anyone else?” Tom interrupted.

“Well… yes. Um… I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll um… I'll just go now. “

“Yes I believe you will,” Tom replied. That bitch. I'm late I cannot be late! Tom thought. It had to be done on time. It had to be done tonight!

Twenty minutes later Tom was facing the house. It was very mansion-like. Horror movie scary it looked like it came straight from a Stephen King novel. The windowpanes were hanging from one hinge. The paint was practically scraped clean away from the house. What paint was left was a grotesque shade of green. Most of the windows were shattered, the rest were spider cracked. Half of the roof was nearly caved in. It was a fairly new building but it looked ancient. The front porch had no stairs and half of the wooden floor was gone. The door was still intact, except for the missing locks.

Tom pushed open the door and walked in. Then he began to set up his trap. He took a Smith & Wesson .45 chief special out of his bag and rigged it to the door to where it would put a decent sized hole in any unwanted visitors.

Then he proceeded to the next room. In the kitchen he placed a small recorder. This way he will be able to transmit messages to his guests. He placed three microscopic osculating cameras in every corner of the room. He took three large butchers knives from the drawer. He placed one handle first into the drain. Then he took out a pint of vegetable oil. He poured it all over the kitchen floor. The first kill should happen here. When the first of the kids arrive, they will slip and fall onto the knife. A weak and easily stopped trap, but it works. He will save the more complicating things for the upper floor.

Next he entered the living room. Tom walked over to the couch and took off all the cushions. He reached into his bag and pulled out twelve three foot spikes. He placed four of the spikes in the bottom of the couch. He then put eight of them into the back area of the couch. He then began to set up the couch to close when someone sat on it. He pulled out three hinges and applied them to the bottom of the couch. Then he took off the wooden supports that keep the back from caving in. He pushed the back as much as he could, straining every muscle in his back to keep the back from falling to soon. To make sure that it worked, Tom tossed a wooden chair on the couch. As if on instinct the back of the couch slammed down, crushing the couch as if it were a Venus flytrap capturing its prey. Satisfied, Tom began adding the biggest part of the couch of death. The automated engine that made the spike push through the couch. He took the miniature engine from his pack and plugged it into the wall. Then he started to wire the spikes to the engine. Finished he got up.

Tom was just finishing up his house when the first of the kids showed up. He ran over to his spot in the wall. This is the main part of the house. A small crevice in the wall opens up the door to the taping room. Inside are monitors of all shapes and sizes. These are where the cameras are hooked up. He shut the door and took a seat. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the pitch black. The dim light of the monitors was all that he saw. He sat back and began to enjoy the moment.

Jake and Alice were the first to arrive.

“Spooky,” Alice said.

“Yeah I know. Why are we here again?”

“The letter you idiot,” Alice replied.

“Oh, right. Its just, I have a really bad feeling about this place,” Jake said shifting his weight. Jake and Alice were best friends. Jake was a little pudgy and always afraid of something. Alice on the other hand was thin and tall. She had long slender legs and a curvy body. Her problem was the fact that she wasn't afraid of anything. Four more people showed up.

“Hi I'm Jasmine,” A young girl said. Another beautiful girl, Jasmine was amazingly gorgeous. She had great curves and an overall voluptuous body. Jake turned to gape at her.

“Ray's the name.” A man in his early twenties thrust his hand out.

“Jake.”

“I'm Rya.” Now both Ray and Jake almost past out. Rya had to be the only girl here who looked as if she came straight from a modeling agency. She was around five foot four and was not to thin but far from fat. She had dark Black hair that fell to her lower back. Her eyes were a bright shade of emerald green. She had an actors smile. With the shiny, straight, and white teeth. Her lips were plush and red.

“Put your tongues back in your mouths and introduce yourselves. I'm Troy.”

“Jake.”

“Ray.”

“Jasmine.”

“Alice.”

“Yeah nice to meet you all” Troy said sarcastically.

“Shut up you asshole,” Rya said. “This is my brother,” She added noticing the looks of surprise she received.

“I take it you all received the same letter?” Jasmine asked aloud. “Yeah,” The group replied in unison. Jasmine pulled out her letter.

Dear Resident,

My name is not important. What is important is that you join me in a little haunted house game On Halloween. I would love for you to come. It is a murder mystery game. The address is marked on the envelope. I will anxiously await your arrival.

Your lovely host.

“So who is our lovely host?” Jake asked.

“Who cares, lets go in!” Rya replied. The group followed and they entered the house.

“Weird. Its all old and creepy in here,” Troy whispered.

“Well lets split up and look around,” Ray suggested.

“Yeah all right,” Everyone agreed. Troy turned into the kitchen and everyone went they're separate ways. He began searching the area for a clue to kick-start the game. On the countertop he found a tape recorder. Picking it up, Troy pressed play.

“Hello. Welcome to the house of pain. At this present moment you are inhaling a fatal nerve gas that will eat you from the inside out. I have hidden enough of the antidote to save you all. You can have it, if you can get to it alive. You have two hours.” The recorder clicked off. Troy laughed to himself. Thinking it was just a joke; Troy made no attempt to leave the house. He surprised himself when he pocketed the recorder. He began to leave when he heard a noise come from the sink. Going to check it out, he slipped and began to fall face first into the sink. That's when he saw the blade. “Oh sh-“ The blade proceeded to the other side of his head. Far away you could here distant laughter coming from the walls.