Demented (Sinister Tales Book 1) Read online

  Lindsey popped the movie into the DVD player that sat on top of Monica’s TV. Meanwhile, Monica set up a pallet on the floor and placed the junk food and drinks on it.

  The movie started. Monica and Lindsey cracked open some soda and dug into some chips while their eyes were glued to the screen. Both of them had probably watched this movie close to a hundred times, so they knew everything that was going to happen. They even knew exactly what each character was going to say. Still, they watched the movie now as if they’d never seen it before in their life.

  During the scary parts, they stopped chewing and drinking, watching the screen intently. They remained still as statues, waiting for the scenes that would make them jump out of their skins.

  It was during such a spooky scene when a crunching sound filled Monica’s room, ruining the suspense. This annoyed Lindsey so she turned to her friend and snapped, “Monica, stop chewing! You sound like a cow.”

  But Monica wasn’t chewing anything at all. Still, the chewing and crunching sound continued and it sounded as if the sound was coming from behind them.

  The room seemed to fill with tension and fear as both of their hearts dropped. Someone else was in their room. They felt as if they were in the same situation as the girl in the movie— a life or death situation. Neither of them wanted to turn around. Instead, they wanted to close their eyes and wish it would go away. But the crunching continued and their hearts started racing faster than ever.

  Lindsey mustered up the courage to turn around, to face the perp who broke into her friend’s home.

  “Caiden?” She said when she saw who was standing behind them. It was their other friend from school. “How the hell did you get in here?” She wanted an explanation because neither of them heard or saw him enter the room.

  “How did we not see you come in?” Monica jumped into the conversation, questioning him.

  “The window.” He chuckled, glancing towards the opened window.

  Instinctively, Lindsey and Monica walked over to their friend and slapping him hard on the arm. He rubbed his arm, feeling a tiny hint of pain. “Ouch! What was that for?” The expression in his eyes showed that he really didn’t know why they were upset with him. He looked like a confused little puppy dog.

  “Oh, I don’t know…” Monica talked before Lindsey could, sarcasm clear in her voice. “It definitely wasn’t because you broke into my house and scared the hell out of us!” She gave him another hard smack on the arm.

  “Stop doing that!” he whined, rubbing his arm once again. It began to turn bright red from the smacks.

  “Stop being so stupid!” she hissed at him.

  Caiden was about to open his mouth and say some smart comment. But Lindsey jumped in before he could so he and Monica wouldn’t be at each other’s throats again, trying to kill each other. “Why are you here, Caiden?” She asked with her arms crossed over her chest.

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” he said, his facial expression changing from confusion to happiness. He looked like he had a big secret that he wanted to tell the whole world. “Do you know what tonight at midnight is?” His lips curved into a smile. It was a smile that said he was up to no good.

  “No. Enlighten me.,” Monica said flatly. At this point, Lindsey seemed a little interested while Monica didn’t seem to care at all. She sat on her bed with the same bored expression she had during Math class.

  “It’s the perfect time.” Caiden’s smile seemed to only grow larger as he spoke.

  “I’m not following.” Lindsey was just as confused as Monica was. “What’s a perfect time and what is it for?” Lindsey tried to think of what it could be, but nothing came to mind.

  He looked at them, shocked that they didn’t get what he was talking about, so he decided to elaborate on the subject. “Tonight! Tonight is the perfect time to go to Kingly Road!” he said with an excited tone in his voice. “People say that if you go to Kingly Road on a night when the moon is full, you can see a man with an axe walking up and down the street. They say that you shouldn’t try to communicate with him in any way or capture his attention because then you’ll be his next victim.”

  “That’s a load of crap! It’s just a stupid myth.” Lindsey seemed skeptical. She wasn’t buying a single word he said.

  “If it’s just a myth, then why don’t you guys come with me and we’ll see for ourselves?” he smiled at her in a challenging kind of way.

  “I know you’re only saying that to trick me into coming with you.” Lindsey wasn’t the one to back down from a challenge. “Your mind tricks annoy me to no end,” she scoffed.

  “Are you scared?” his smile grew into a condescending one.

  “No, and I’ll prove it.” Lindsey grabbed her jacket and shoes, and headed out of Monica’s house with Caiden following behind her. Monica didn’t seem like she wanted to go, but she also didn’t want to stay home alone. Reluctantly, she grabbed her phone and decided to head out after them.

  “Hey, guys, wait for me!” she yelled, as she walked out of her house, locking it behind her.

  It was 11:58 p.m. when they arrived at Kingly Road. They all jumped out of the car except for Monica. “You don’t have to do this, Lindsey. You know he only does this crap to aggravate you,” Monica spoke pleadingly to her friend as a way of telling her that she could back out now.

  Then she shot Caiden an evil look. “This is your fault.”

  “I can live with that.” He didn’t care. He just shrugged her words off like they didn’t mean anything to him.

  “I want to do this,” Lindsey said in a soft tone, and then she walked off. Monica stayed in the car, watching her friends walk down the deserted road until they finally disappeared into the night.

  Monica started to play with her phone, trying to find something to occupy her while she waited for her friends to return. The clock on her phone changed to 12:00 a.m. and she felt a shiver go down her spine, not because she was scared but because she was cold.

  Monica looked around the car to find out where the wind was coming from. The window near the driver’s seat was open. She reached over to roll it up, using her phone as a light to find the switch. But then she accidentally dropped her phone and as she bent to pick it up, something peculiar caught her eye. A figure—possibly a male—walked down the street with something in his hand, dragging it against the paved street. The sound of steel rubbing against asphalt made Monica want to cover her ears.

  She knew deep down who that person was, she just didn’t want to believe it. It was just a myth— well, at least she thought it was. She remembered what Caiden said: Don’t communicate with him and don’t capture his attention because then you’ll be his next victim.

  Monica froze as she watched the man, making sure she remained as still as possible so he wouldn’t notice her.

  Suddenly, the man stopped in his tracks. Monica’s heart sank, panic and fear quickly enveloping her. The man began to turn around, so Monica ducked before he could catch a glimpse of her. She didn’t even dare to breathe until she was sure that he was gone. A part of her told her not to pop her head back up, but another part of her felt confident that she was going to be okay. Maybe it was just her imagination tricking her. She kept trying to fill her thoughts with positive things.

  Her inner debate lasted a few minutes while she stayed hidden in the car. Then, she made her decision. She was about to prop herself up to look out the window when…she changed her mind yet again and lowered herself.

  Maybe nothing will be there, she thought as she tried to calm herself before she attempted to look up again.

  She let out a breath and finally mustered enough courage to see if he was really out there.

  Monica felt tears stream out of her eyes when she was faced with the man. His lips curled into a smile—a smile that could be only described as twisted. Only evil lived in that man. She could smell his rank breath as he exhaled into her face.

  Monica closed her eyes, praying that this man would go away. But much to
her surprise, he was still there, inches away, observing Monica—looking at her as if she were a brand new toy. She couldn’t move, her body paralyzed with fear.

  The man yanked Monica’s hair through the open window, and dragged her out of the car. She tried to fight back, but it did her no good. She let out a bloodcurdling scream before the axe came down on her, silencing her forever.

  “Did you hear that?” Lindsey asked as she looked around the road. Dead grass and dead trees surrounded them.

  “Stop being so paranoid,” Caiden said coldly. He was growing tired of Lindsey’s talking ever since they left Monica in the car.

  “It sounded like a scream.” she paused, worry showing on her face. She was really concerned about Monica because they had left her alone in the car. “What if Monica’s in trouble?”

  “I’m sure she’s fine.” The carelessness still remained in his voice.

  “What if she’s not? That’ll be on you.” She stopped walking and stood in front of Caiden, not letting him walk any farther. “You will seriously do anything to get out of doing this, won’t you? You’re such a chicken.” He began to make chicken noises at her, mocking her.

  She grabbed him by the ear, pulling him down to her so she could look him in the eyes. “I’m serious.” She said, yanking harder. “If anything happens to Monica, I’ll have your head. And if you make any more chicken noises at me, I’ll emasculate you.”

  “Fine. Let’s go back then.” Caiden said, grudgingly giving in to what she wanted. Lindsey, on the other hand, looked relieved that they were going back to check on Monica. “When we get back and see that she’s fine, I’m going to give you hell, chicken,” he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  They walked down the abandoned road in silence—that was until they saw someone walking toward them.

  “Monica?” Caiden called out to find out if it was her. When the person didn’t respond, they knew it wasn’t their friend. To their surprise, the figure started running towards them. It was then they realized that something was very wrong.

  “Run!” Caiden yelled. As soon as the word slipped from his mouth, Lindsey ran as quickly as she could towards their car. Monica was there and it was their fastest means of escape. Meanwhile, Caiden attacked the guy to distract him. Lindsey looked back to see her friend trying to fight off the guy, who was now wielding an axe. She wanted so badly to help Caiden, but he gave her a frantic look and screamed, “Get out of here, Lindsey!”

  As Caiden’s screams echoed through the night, Lindsey forced herself to run faster. She knew very well that the psycho would now come after her.

  When she reached the car, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Monica had been hacked up into pieces, her severed body parts lying on the ground just a few feet from the vehicle. Lindsey shrieked at the sight, tears running down her face. She felt bad for leaving her friend there, but she had to get out of the place before the man could get to her.

  Lindsey jumped into the car and tried to find the keys. She was about to give in to more hysterics when she realized that Caiden was the one who had the keys. From the rearview mirror, Lindsey could see the man coming towards the car with the axe in his hands.

  Blood was dripping from the axe and she watched as each drop hit the ground, splashing and forming a tiny puddle. She looked away for a second, and when she looked back, he was gone. Lindsey felt a sense of relief but that quickly vanished as she realized that the man could be anywhere—watching her and terrorizing her like it was some kind of sick game.

  Lindsey knew there was only one way to get out of there. She had to run. It was her only choice. She emerged from the vehicle and, without thinking, she ran as fast as she could. No matter how weak she felt or how much her heart felt like it was about to explode, she didn’t give up until she was a safe distance away from the psycho.

  When she couldn’t take it anymore, she stopped running, huffing and trying to catch her breath.

  “Bye, Lindsey,” a husky voice suddenly spoke from behind her. Her body froze, knowing it was her end. The axe came down on her and she fell to the ground.

  Investigation

  (Part Two to Kingly Road Myth)

  When a team of friends joined together to investigate the myth of Kingly Road, they got a lot more than they bargained for.

  “You got your camera, Isabelle?” her friend, Carlos, asked as he sat on the kitchen counter and watched his friends scurry around, getting their stuff together.

  She held the camera up. “Got it.” Then she turned to their friend, Samuel, who had been shoving snacks into his bag. “Really, Sam? Snacks? We’re not going to be out there for a week. It’s just for the night,” she said, placing her hand on her hip.

  “I get hungry,” he said sheepishly.

  She laughed and waved off the subject of snacks. “Got the notepad and pen? We need to make sure you write down everything that happens.”

  “Yep!” he yelled, shoving a yellow notepad with a pen attached to it into his bag.

  “How are we so sure that something’s going to happen?” Carlos questioned her.

  Isabella gaped. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” When he didn’t respond to her, she continued speaking. “Every person that has gone to Kingly Road at midnight during a full moon has gone missing or was found dead, like those three teens they found recently.”

  “Police say that was the work of a serial killer,” Carlos mentioned, skepticism in his tone.

  “Come on, you don’t really believe that, do you? It’s the urban legend, the axe man. Everyone knows it, and the police officers are too stubborn to believe it.” Isabella said, anger now Anger evident in her voice. “If you don’t believe it, then why are you tagging along?”

  He shrugged. “It’s the curiosity that gets me. I mean, I doubt that anything is going to happen, but it’d be cool if something will.”

  “Like what?” Sam jumped into the conversation. “Do you think we’ll see the axe man?”

  “I’m not sure.” Carlos jumped off the counter. “But we should be heading out. It’s an hour drive away.” His looked at the clock. It was 10:45 p.m.

  “Shit,” Isabella cursed under her breath, and grabbed her car keys while making sure the camera was still in her hand. “Let’s get it moving, ladies!” She hurried out the front door, urging her friends to follow her outside.

  “Shotgun!” Samuel shouted when they began to walk to the car.

  He bolted for the passenger door before Carlos could get to it. Isabella sat in the driver’s seat while Carlos sat in the back with Samuel’s bag.

  “Can you put my camera in the bag? I don’t feel like having it sitting on my lap.” Isabella turned to Carlos.

  “Sure.” He grabbed it but didn’t put it in the bag like she asked. Instead, he pressed the power button and pointed the camera at his friends in the front seats. “It’s 10:48 p.m. when I report this. Isabella, Sam, and I are on our way to the spot of the popular urban legend, Kingly Road.” He turned the camera around, getting some shots of the outside. All they could see were the silhouettes of the trees and the full moon, when it wasn’t behind the clouds.

  “If you drain my camera’s battery, I’ll kill you.” She turned around to find the camera was right in her face. She pushed it away, then kept her eyes focused on the deserted road.

  “Is that a taped confession of my murder?” Carlos chuckled.

  “Maybe,” she said flatly.

  Carlos turned the camera around to point at himself. “You hear that, folks. Isabella Martinez said she was going to murder me on camera. If I don’t return, I’m sorry, my fellow fans, I’ve possibly been murdered by a soul-sucking succubus.”

  Isabella took one hand off the steering wheel and smacked him on the leg. “I’m not a succubus!”

  Carlos turned off the camera and put it in the bag. The next ten minutes were spent in silence. Isabella turned on the radio at one point, flipping through the stations, but all that was playing were bad remixes of so
ngs and mostly talk from radio hosts.

  Sam groaned. Isabella peered at him for a second. “What?” she asked him.

  “Can we stop at a gas station real quick? I have to pee.” He swayed back and forth in an attempt to keep his bladder in control.

  “Sure.” Isabella took an exit for a gas station once she saw a sign for one. “Apparently there’s one down here.” She drove the car down the road. To their right were trees and to their left was a wide field full of cows and manure.

  Off in the distance, they could see bright lights belonging to a Circle K. “There it is.” Samuel pointed out.

  As soon as Isabella pulled into the gas station, Sam jumped out of the car and ran into the store. “Wow. I guess he really had to go,” said Carlos. Not even ten seconds later, Sam was running back to the car.

  “I thought you had to—” Isabella started to speak.

  Sam interrupted her. “He won’t let me use the toilet unless I buy something.”

  Isabella got out of the car. A few moments later, so did Carlos. “Let’s go.” She walked into the store with Sam. Isabella turned to the cashier once they entered. “I’m going to buy something. Can he use your restroom now?”

  The cashier, with a smug expression, handed the key to Sam. “It’s at the back.”

  Sam wasted no time running to the back of the store.

  Isabella walked around with Carlos, scanning the candies, drinks and other items the store had to offer. She picked up a pack of sunflower seeds, then walked up to the cashier. She handed him the money and he gave back the change.

  “Where you heading?” the cashier asked. His sudden interest took the two friends by surprise.

  It took a second for Isabella to find her voice, so Carlos spoke for them instead. “Kingly Road.”

  The cashier’s eyes grew twice their normal size, or at least that’s what it seemed to them. “That place is no good.”

  “You don’t really believe the rumors about it, do you?”

  “The legend is true. No one who goes there on a night like this returns. Just drive back home. I don’t know why people like to put themselves in danger.”