Monday, October 30, 2006
The Line of Night
I wrote this story in October of 1995 (holy shit... 11 years ago tomorrow!) to post on a newsgroup I used to frequent a lot: alt.horror.creative. You see, newsgroups used to be the places you went to talk about topics with people of like minds. I actually don't know if any still exist, but in the early days of the internet, they were all the rage. The only problem was if you stumbled across a binaries newsgroup, you would have to encode about a dozen messages into one file for a picture or a sound clip. Movies? Hah! We're talking dial-up here people! You make me laugh until milk squirts out of my nose.
Anyway, I was just over 20 when I wrote this and, according to my intro note to the group those 11 years ago, this was a "rush job" to get it done for Halloween. So please remember that this was a story of a newbie and NOT a polished job of someone who's written a lot more since then. Okay? Now that I'm done transcribing it, I have to say that it was a huge struggle not to change anything. I mean, I clarified some things and corrected some long-ago typos, but the story remains intact from over a decade ago. Enjoy...
He spun around and fired wildly.
Nothing moved.
"Oh shit..." he moaned. Nothing moving would ordinarily be good news, but in this case it meant absolutely nothing.
A shuffle came from his right.
He wheeled around and pulled the trigger until the clip was empty. Laughing maniacally, he ran headlong into the darkness. He held his arms open wide, as if to embrace the danger he had been running from.
There was a sickening snap as his head came rolling back from where it came.
Julie jumped as Brent jumped from behind the library stacks wearing a skull mask. He took off the mask, smiling like The Cheshire Cat.
"Happy Halloween," he said with an unreal grin.
Smiling, she hit him playfully in the arm.
"Bastard! You scared the hell out of me!"
He pulled her to him and kissed her quickly. As she reluctantly pulled away, she looked at her boyfriend as if for the first time. He stood close to 6'6" and was all muscle. She ran her fingers through his dirty blonde hair and he pulled back.
"Hey! It took me a while to get my hair that way!"
He was so vain.
The two walked out of the library into the chilled evening air, and she shuddered instinctively. Pulling her coat tight, she nudged close to Brent, and felt warmer. He was speaking about some stupid party he was going to, but she didn't listen.
The moon looks gorgeous tonight, she thought. Tonight's the night, she reminded herself.
Happy with everything, she walked across campus to her dorm with Brent in tow. he was such a child sometimes, but there was a certain dangerousness beneath his boyish exterior that she found so alluring.
"I'll pick you up at eleven?" he half-asked, half-stated.
"I'll have to meet you. I have a prior commitment."
His eyes narrowed. "With who?" he asked in a low voice.
"My sister, you jealous twink! Now get the hell outta here before I change my mind altogether!"
She grabbed his coat and kissed him hard, then pushed back playfully. He walked away dazed and she walked inside.
"FUCK YOU!!!"
Diana slammed the phone down with such force that it split the cradle down the middle.
"Everything alright?" Julie asked her roommate, sister, and twin.
Diana looked over with such a vicious gaze that Julie was almost frightened, but then her sister's expression softened and she smiled.
"Man problems," she said. "Looks like I'll have to wait for another week. You're a lucky bitch."
Maybe tonight we'll both get lucky, Julie thought.
Brent let the water run down his back and thought of the night ahead: Beer, music, and Julie. He began to laugh. Another virgin! He had consumed more virgins than a Hawaiian volcano. He felt clean. He felt ready. He felt it was time to begin.
The party began inauspiciously, but soon developed into a mix of demons, cinematic personalities, and sports heroes drinking, dancing, and making out. Brent, dressed as a vampire, had seen more than one Judge Ito and he laughed his ass off when he saw his friend Rondell with a Don King wig and a sign reading "OJ: The Juiced Juice." It was eleven-fifteen and he looked towards the door for the fifth time in the last three minutes.
She walked in and he gasped.
Julie was dressed as a veil dancer and it looked like she had lost many too many of her veils before the party.
He walked over and grabbed her close.
"I want to suck your... well, I'll let you pick the spot," he said with a horrible accent.
She only smiled and gestured upstairs.
Ohyeahohyeahohyeahohyeahohyeah, he kept thinking.
When he got upstairs, he was so excited that he barely noticed the witch behind him.
He woke up in a dimly lit room. His arms were tied behind him and he felt cold and wet. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw he was naked. He eard someone approaching and found himself getting an erection.
"Julie, you kinky girl! I thought you were a virg..."
The words died on his lips as Diana walked on one side of him and Julie appeared ten seconds later on the other side.
"Diana is my sister. Do you remember her?"
"OH!! Yeah! You want a three-way huh?"
Diana laughed. "You could say that," she said. "But... " she glanced down noticing his hard-on for the first time. "Isn't that cute? You're aroused!"
She bent down to his groin and opened her mouth wide.
OhyeahohyeahohyeahohyeahohyeahohshitohshitohSHIT!!! OH SHIT!!!
She pulled away leaving a bloody mass where his pride had once been. he looked at her, still screaming, and saw her swallow his lost body part.
"Mmm-mmm, good!" Diana said, licking her lips.
She began to light a few red candles and, through his tears, he saw her pull out a wicked looking knife. She seemed to be levitating, but he couldn't be sure. She also pulled out a 9mm and laid it next to his body.
"For sport," she said with a wink.
Julie bent down to his head, began to untie his arms, and spoke softly into his ear:
"Happy Halloween."
He ran into the darkness with the gun in hand and, as he turned to fire, both girls took on a monstrous shape that seemed to be a cross between a giant bat, a huge wolf, and a human. They began to fly towards him. He ran hard. He ran fast. They were faster.
He spun around and fired wildly.
Anyway, I was just over 20 when I wrote this and, according to my intro note to the group those 11 years ago, this was a "rush job" to get it done for Halloween. So please remember that this was a story of a newbie and NOT a polished job of someone who's written a lot more since then. Okay? Now that I'm done transcribing it, I have to say that it was a huge struggle not to change anything. I mean, I clarified some things and corrected some long-ago typos, but the story remains intact from over a decade ago. Enjoy...
He spun around and fired wildly.
Nothing moved.
"Oh shit..." he moaned. Nothing moving would ordinarily be good news, but in this case it meant absolutely nothing.
A shuffle came from his right.
He wheeled around and pulled the trigger until the clip was empty. Laughing maniacally, he ran headlong into the darkness. He held his arms open wide, as if to embrace the danger he had been running from.
There was a sickening snap as his head came rolling back from where it came.
"Happy Halloween," he said with an unreal grin.
Smiling, she hit him playfully in the arm.
"Bastard! You scared the hell out of me!"
He pulled her to him and kissed her quickly. As she reluctantly pulled away, she looked at her boyfriend as if for the first time. He stood close to 6'6" and was all muscle. She ran her fingers through his dirty blonde hair and he pulled back.
"Hey! It took me a while to get my hair that way!"
He was so vain.
The two walked out of the library into the chilled evening air, and she shuddered instinctively. Pulling her coat tight, she nudged close to Brent, and felt warmer. He was speaking about some stupid party he was going to, but she didn't listen.
The moon looks gorgeous tonight, she thought. Tonight's the night, she reminded herself.
Happy with everything, she walked across campus to her dorm with Brent in tow. he was such a child sometimes, but there was a certain dangerousness beneath his boyish exterior that she found so alluring.
"I'll pick you up at eleven?" he half-asked, half-stated.
"I'll have to meet you. I have a prior commitment."
His eyes narrowed. "With who?" he asked in a low voice.
"My sister, you jealous twink! Now get the hell outta here before I change my mind altogether!"
She grabbed his coat and kissed him hard, then pushed back playfully. He walked away dazed and she walked inside.
Diana slammed the phone down with such force that it split the cradle down the middle.
"Everything alright?" Julie asked her roommate, sister, and twin.
Diana looked over with such a vicious gaze that Julie was almost frightened, but then her sister's expression softened and she smiled.
"Man problems," she said. "Looks like I'll have to wait for another week. You're a lucky bitch."
Maybe tonight we'll both get lucky, Julie thought.
She walked in and he gasped.
Julie was dressed as a veil dancer and it looked like she had lost many too many of her veils before the party.
He walked over and grabbed her close.
"I want to suck your... well, I'll let you pick the spot," he said with a horrible accent.
She only smiled and gestured upstairs.
Ohyeahohyeahohyeahohyeahohyeah, he kept thinking.
When he got upstairs, he was so excited that he barely noticed the witch behind him.
"Julie, you kinky girl! I thought you were a virg..."
The words died on his lips as Diana walked on one side of him and Julie appeared ten seconds later on the other side.
"Diana is my sister. Do you remember her?"
"OH!! Yeah! You want a three-way huh?"
Diana laughed. "You could say that," she said. "But... " she glanced down noticing his hard-on for the first time. "Isn't that cute? You're aroused!"
She bent down to his groin and opened her mouth wide.
OhyeahohyeahohyeahohyeahohyeahohshitohshitohSHIT!!! OH SHIT!!!
She pulled away leaving a bloody mass where his pride had once been. he looked at her, still screaming, and saw her swallow his lost body part.
"Mmm-mmm, good!" Diana said, licking her lips.
She began to light a few red candles and, through his tears, he saw her pull out a wicked looking knife. She seemed to be levitating, but he couldn't be sure. She also pulled out a 9mm and laid it next to his body.
"For sport," she said with a wink.
Julie bent down to his head, began to untie his arms, and spoke softly into his ear:
"Happy Halloween."
He ran into the darkness with the gun in hand and, as he turned to fire, both girls took on a monstrous shape that seemed to be a cross between a giant bat, a huge wolf, and a human. They began to fly towards him. He ran hard. He ran fast. They were faster.
He spun around and fired wildly.
