‘Like’ This Page – A Thriller (Part Two)
The Audience, covering their eyes…
WARNING!
‘Like’ This Page is a two part thriller as stated in the title. If you are a little squeamish and horror stories and thrillers make you uncomfortable or downright terrified, you may like to give this story a miss.
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One of the black hooded figures then withdrew two hot skewers, from the coals, with his gloved hands and approached the man in the chair.
…….
Gasps and various sounds of disgust emanated from the crowd as, one by one, the skewers were inserted into the poor soul’s nostrils. An agonising scream filled the room momentarily, but with one sharp push, the metal spikes were inserted all the way up and into his brain.
Quickly gazing around I saw many in the audience covering their eyes, or actually throwing up. I had to suppress that urge myself.
The screams stopped as quickly as they started and the man’s head slumped forward onto his chest, but his torturer had not finished yet. Two more skewers were selected and the previous process repeated, only this time into the man’s ears. He didn’t issue any further sounds, but his body seemed to convulse and shudder.
The person in black withdrew the two remaining skewers from the coals, seemed to turn and stare at the audience for a second, and then stabbed them into the captive’s eyes. The eyeballs popped and blood and ooze poured down the cheeks.
The audience had fallen into silence, sitting in shock at the gruesome scene before them.
Then, in an instant, and what seemed like one fluid movement, the black clad figure withdrew a razor sharp blade from his coat, reefed back the blonde head, and slashed the man’s throat. Blood gushed out like a fountain splashing many in the front row who screamed, and tried to jump back into the seats behind.
The other dark figure returned to the stage and together they picked up the chair and dragged it and the lifeless body away.
The audience sat in shock, frightened to move until a harsh voice sounded from a loudspeaker, “You may leave!” Wherein everyone jumped to their feet, pushing and shoving in their hurry to escape this horror show.
As I made my way out of the building my feelings were a jumble of disgust, shock, horror, but also excitement and exhilaration. I tried to make sense of what I had witnessed.
While driving home I realised that the victim must have been chosen at random from the numbers held by those people attending the event. It would have been a simple matter for him to be ushered through a different curtain than the other spectators, especially as only one person entered at a time. How did they get away with this though? What about the bodies – how did they dispose of them? A hundred questions spun around in my brain.
I felt a sense of relief that my own number hadn’t been chosen, but that was soon followed by an adrenalin rush as I realised how close I had come to being executed. It was a 1 in 50 chance. Wow!
I didn’t tell my family about the night, or what I had witnessed. How could I? I told my wife I had been to attend a baseball game – something she can’t stand, and would not question further.
Once again this horror invaded my dreams and more than once I awoke tossing and turning in troubled sleep. A week later I received an email, “Another live performance has been arranged. A confirmation letter containing your allocated number will be mailed to you shortly.”
To say I wasn’t excited would be a lie. I wondered if the other participants felt the same way. In fact I was both excited and afraid. What if my number was the next one chosen? Maybe I only had a couple more weeks to live. I’d better put my affairs in order just in case.
This was a real-life game of Russian Roulette and I couldn’t wait to find out – whatever the result. I knew this was crazy, but I anxiously checked the mail every day
Within the week, a black envelope arrived.
by John Hansen © 2016
(The Final Chapter: Number 13)
Now I find myself branching out and experimenting with short fiction, and thoroughly enjoying this, especially flash fiction.
I have been fortunate to have two poems made into songs and recorded. The first "On the Road to Kingdom Come" by Al Wordlaw, and the second, "If I Could Write a Love Poem" by award-winning Israeli/British singer Tally Koren.
My services increasingly in demand as a freelance writer and I have ghost-written the text for a number of children's books and educational tutorials.
It has taken me many years of searching and restlessness to realise that my life's passion is to write. It saddens me that I wasted so many years not devoting to that, but thinking positively, the experiences gained over those years are now wonderful material for my stories and poems.
I want to try to bring a new focus on poetry and try to make it appealing to a new generation of young people and those who thought they never liked or understood it before.
- The First Word – A Flash Fiction Story - January 18, 2024
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- Weave Me a Story - June 15, 2023
Oh my gosh, John! I was too impatient and did not wait for Rasma to go first. That poor man – such a horror! Now I will be sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next performance. Dare I? This will take some serious thought. Uhm – what is my number?
You were too impatient, Phyllis 🙂 I appreciate you reading this even if it is a little out of your comfort zone. It is also darker and more gruesome than anything I have written before. I haven’t written another chapter yet, was waiting to see how it was received first.
I can’t believe you could write something so dark and gruesome – but, I should know better, John, for you are a fine writer and very versatile. Even though it is a little out of my comfort zone, you have intrigued me to the point of carelessness. LOL. I am anxious to find out what happens with your main character – a bit of a thrill seeker he is.
A wonderfully gruesome and dark thriller John, so well penned and so out there you can see its possible, at least in our minds. I think humanity is transfixed by the macabre and here you have expressed that reality. A great tale my friend. Excellent
Thanks, Tony. I am glad this thriller succeeded in attaining the “macabre” moniker from you. I have always found the psychological thriller genre the scariest of all, because terror really only exists in our minds. I was undecided whether to try and continue this story, but I think I have managed to portray the feelings I wanted in these two parts, and left the readers’ imagination to do the rest. Maybe at a later date I may add to it.
John, you could turn this story into a challenge. Challenge others to choose a # and write about the next scene? I might turn my ‘Time Travel – Out of the Coffin’ into a challenge. Challenge to walk the path, pick a set of bones and write about which criminal jumps out of the coffin.
Not a bad idea, Phyllis. If you want to take a number and write the next scene go ahead. There have been very few readers so far though so I doubt there will be many take up that challenge. No one has accepted any of the challenges we have issued here before.
I will put it in the newsletter, John. The challenge for Halloween came across pretty good. I will put my challenge in the NL, too. How fun. I take up your challenge. 🙂
OK, Phyllis. Thanks. We will see what happens. Can’t wait to see what you come up with for the continuation. I hope you get allocated a good number.
I accept the challenge on one condition. I still want to see your ending, John. it’s a great plot and you should see it through. I’m sure you were planning on it. maybe it’s already written???
Glad to hear that you like the plot and you are going to take up the challenge, Chris. I am going to finish this off myself, and have started a rough draft for the next and hopefully final chapter though I still have to work out a few details. It will be interesting to see if anyone else decides to take it on. Phyllis said she would.
John, this yarn has all the makings of a real classic in the best traditions of the slasher school, or is it the work of a fine master of magic; a manipulator of the mind such as Robert Houdin, or his successor Houdin-i? Seeing is not beleving. I susspect the only way our protagonist is going to find out the truth is when he himself sits in the chair of ill fate. We need more!
Thank you for those encouraging words, Bill. Glad you are enjoying it, and the third and final chapter is there waiting “Number 13: ‘Like’ This Page.” I will eagerly await your comment regarding the conclusion.
John, I just finished my version of part three. I haven’t read yours yet. I’ll go ahead and post it now. I’m looking forward to your version and to Phyllis’s. I hope others will give this a try. You certainly gave us a lot to work with.
Thanks, Chris. I look forward to reading yours. I thought I should finish mine first so it wouldn’t look like I was stealing anyone else’s idea 🙂 I think Phyllis has decided against it now. I hope others give the challenge a go, however.
I couldn’t help but laugh when the guy said ” You can leave!” and the people scrambled for the door. I could just picture that scene.
Thanks Dana…yeah I would have been first in line.
Its an exciting adventure, however what is the motivation behind it? I can understand if each contestant was offered some monetary award should they leave the building alive, after their number not having been called. Or could it be that dumb humans just want the adrenaline rush? We will soon find out in the final chapter, looking forward to it, but the blood and gore doesn’t bother me, I have a huge tolerance level to it, unless of course it’s happening to me, yikes.