Rookback

Rookback

A Story by Mason
"

Samuel meets up with his friend Persef. But not all is as it seems

"

The morning sun shone brightly onto the town of Rookback. Through the window, the light made the blood splattered behind the bathroom door almost sparkle. The corpse laid there, fresh and warm, eyes as hollow as a freshly dug pit, body as dead as the eyes of a crow. The door opened and a woman screamed.

Samuel sat on a park bench as the sun sets. He was reading the local newspaper "Rookback Daily" underneath a street lamp. The trees gently swayed with the soft wind. He was reading the page about the murder that happened last night. The body was found in a bar's restroom with a full arm missing, he read. The victim was a 25 year old man by the name of Atlan Brookes. Atlan was a student in a community college who had hopes of becoming an engineer. The body was found by one of the bartenders who had to go to the bathroom who then alerted the police. The police have yet to find any suspects.

Samuel pondered on this. News like this rarely happened in Rookback, everybody knew everybody around here, and sure there are some disputes and rivalries here and there but nothing that could have led to a murder. If there was someone that was angry enough to kill someone you can bet almost everybody in the town would have known about it the next day. The fact that there weren't any suspects made it even more odd, there aren't many violent people that Samuel has noticed. So unless there are some secret murderers hiding in the sewers, waiting for the most best moment to strike, there should at least be some suspects. But what did he know, he thought to himself, he wasn't a detective.

"Chilling news today don't you think?" Persef said, standing behind the bench.

Samuel turned his head around and smiled. "It's about time that you got here Persef, I've been waiting for ages. I'll have to buy you a watch at some point." Both of them laughed.

"Oh, you're just early is all, next time come later." Persef said as he went around the bench and sat down next to Samuel.

"Your lateness aside though, this is pretty weird news for a place like this." He flipped to the next page where it continues on about the life of Atlan. "We haven't had a murder here since I was ten. And that was probably just an overblown accident anyway."

"You're right, looks like you'll have to get a knife to protect yourself pretty soon" he smiled.

"I can handle anyone with these hands and massive biceps" he said holding in a laugh.

"Alright, mister strongman" Persef said while chuckling "How about we ditch this bench and go get s**t faced drunk like we planned."

"Are you serious? We haven't eaten yet."

Persef smiled a huge s**t-eating grin " The earlier we drink, the more time we have being drunk" he said wisely while stroking his chin

"That's true, but also pretty dumb" Samuel said as he stood up "But we'll have to do something with our time this weekend so how about some dinner at your place, I know you're a great cook."

Persef took on a face of fake disappointment but followed Samuel none the less. The two walked side by side chatting about whatever inane things crossed their minds.

"Hey, do you think I could get murdered?" Samuel asked.

"What the kind of question is that?" He looked up at the sky with a blank expression.

"Well, with the murder and the lack of suspects, for all we know I could be next" he said half-jokingly with a smile.

"No one in their right mind would try and kill someone like you, the only type of person that would try to kill you would be psychopaths. It's not like you have the will to actually make someone mad." He said with a grin which quickly faded.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say. But you can't doubt the possibility, it is a small town after all."

"Can we change the topic, I don't really think I'm comfortable with this" he said with a blank expression.

"Huh?" Samuel voiced "I thought nothing made you uncomfortable."

"Just drop it."

Samuel took Persef's advice and dropped the topic. He almost never saw Persef angry but the few times he had was not pleasant. But it usually takes more than just a news article to get him on edge. The rest of the walk was in silence.       

They hailed a taxi and went to  Persef's house.

Every time they come to Persef's house the smell was always the first thing that hit them. The smell of fresh air and trees. Samuel always liked that smell, one of the perks of being in a small town like Rookback, there's no traffic, you're free to relax, the views on the hills are nice, and you know everybody in there. But that's not to say that he wouldn't trade this life for a city life, after all, it was mind numbingly boring in the town, exciting things happen only once in a blue moon.

He's only ever travelled once outside of the town to a big city for a convention he and his friends were going to and he loved it. There was always something new to see and discover. He remembered Persef and him drunkenly singing Bohemian Rhapsody out on a busy street with Amanda, Sarah, and Ash following behind them with all of them laughing along the way. Samuel thinks he got punched by a stranger at some point, but he wasn't sure really.

 He sighed at the moments turned into memories.

The two walked towards the house. It was a plain looking one story house, much like the others, made of a mix of cement and bricks with windows dotting the side. The two moved forward and Persef unlocked the door and they went inside. Samuel entered first followed by Persef but not beore the latter looked behind him as if awaiting something, then he closes and locks the door.

"Welcome to my humble abode Samuel. Make yourself at home, turn on the TV if you'd like, help yourself to some of the chocolates on the table." Samuel took off his coat and threw it towards the coach, he stretched out a bit and plopped onto a bean bag that basically belonged to him at that point while helping himself to the chocolates Persef offered.

"So what are we having?" Samuel asked

"Oh, I have something special in store for you my good man" he said, smiling.

"Oh well aren't you mysterious." he said as he threw a chocolate into his mouth.

"Shut up and try not to get full on snacks, I want you to eat every single scrap of this dish." he disappears into the kitchen, turning on lights along the way.

"And by the way Sam, don't open the fridge. " He calls from the kitchen.

"Why not?" Sam asked "What are you hiding in there?" he asked with fake suspicious voice.

"Just don't, I spilled some soup in there and I haven't cleaned it up yet, it smells terrible."

"If you say so."

Samuel turned on the television and started flicking through the channels. Around half an hour passed with Samuel mindlessly watching TV while making some conversation with his friend.

"Hey, food's ready now. Get up off your a*s and put on some music." Persef called out.

"About time, I'm starving." Samuel got up and put on jazzy music. "Wow, that smells good" he said looking towards the kitchen. He went to the dinner table. The at the center of the table was a meat dish, cut into slices. Outside, it was a delectable shade of brown while the center of the meat slices were soft shades of pink and red. To the right of it was a plate of fried garlic rice. And to its left was what looked like mushroom soup topped with bread. Samuel's mouth watered at the food presented to him. And too top all it of there was a full bottle of red wine which pairs well with most meats.

"Oh Persef my good friend, you've out done yourself tonight. You're just a step away from becoming my personal chef." Both of them smiled.

"I try my best." He said proudly "Don't let it get cold then, let's dig in." They took their seats across from each other and started to eat."

"Hey Persef, what type of meat is this? It doesn't taste like anything I've ever eaten before' Samuel said noticing the odd taste.

Persef stopped eating and took on a blank expression. Samuel fouynd it odd that he's been taking on that expression more and more. Persef looked out the window as if searching for something that wasn't there, maybe something that will be. Then he smiled. He turned back to Samuel.

"It's just beef, I just cooked it a bit differently " Samuel, not being able to think of anything to dispute the answer, accepted it.

"If you say so."

They finished their meals in relative silence, savoring every single moment the meat was in their mouths.

"That was an absolutely grand meal" Samuel said while rubbing his belly.

"I told you it would be special. Well, I'm a bit tired and I still have some things planned tomorrow."

"I'll leave it to you then." Samuel said with a warm smile.

When it was time for Samuel to leave and they were at the door, something suddenly bubbled up into Samuel mind, nothing more than a whimsical thought.

"By the way, before I leave, I have to ask you something." Persef looked curious.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"What got you all worked up about the murder, you would be the last person I know that would be disturbed by that kind of stuff. Hell, you were the type to burn ants when we were kids." Persef's face slowly morphed into a serious look. His eyes suddenly stared into nothingness, as if he were staring past Samuel and into an infinite void in which his gaze cannot escape from. Then he returned to reality.

"You know me too well Sam. That scares me sometimes." The other man looked at him oddly. Persef looked to the side of Samuel, avoiding eye contact. "I think it's time I told you something Sam, though I didn't think that I'd have to tell you this so early."

"What is it?" Samuel asked, becoming wary. What could be so important that Persey had to keep it a secret? He thought.

"Come with me for a second." He closed and locked the door. He turned away from the door and walked into the kitchen and towards the refrigerator, Samuel followed him. Persef took a key from his pocket and inserted it into a lock that Samuel hadn't noticed before. Persef looked at Samuel intensely, he looked at him in a way he never had before.

"What's going on with you Persef?" He asked, more than a little perturbed by his friend's actions.

"You've known me well for a long time Sam, and I appreciate that. But there's something I have to admit"

"What is it" he asked with a feeling of dread rising from his chest.

"I was in the bar where the man was murdered when it happened" He said without breaking his smoldering gaze.

"So what? wh-what does it matter?" Samuel nervously laughed. The other man simply shook his head slowly.

"I don't think you understand." He twisted the key on the fridge and opened it.

Blood

He saw blood.

"Wh-what is that?" Samuel asked not being able to tear his eyes away from the hunk of meat inside the refrigerator, it was wrapped in plastic. It was the only thing in there.

"Let me show you" He reached inside and pulled it out. Samuel got a good look at it.

 It was an arm.

A human arm.

"Wha-what the f**k Persef!" He screamed, Persef simply stared at him while holding the arm. The arm itself wasn't a full arm, only the forearm and the hand. Samuel could see the white bone and some tiny vein openings on the side it was cut on. "This better be some type of joke!" He said with a shaky voice. Persef continued to stair.

Then he smiled.

He smiled a wide grin cutting his face from ear to ear.

"Oh, don't act like that Sammy, you weren't all the disturbed when it was on your plate." He somehow smiled wider. Then he laughed. Samuel took some time to process what his closest friend just said. When he did his eyes widened, his stomach turned, and his blood ran cold. "No..." he said quietly. His breathing became heavy and he sprinted for the kitchen sink. He vomited his insides out, everything inside his stomach including stomach acid was thrown out by his body from pure disgust.

The other man simply stared.

" You're a sick f*****g freak!" Samuel screamed out of pure terror.

"Look at you, you just wasted my cooking." He began walking closer to Samuel.

"Get away from me!" He took a  butcher's knife from a nearby table and raised it above his head threatening to plow it down onto Persef's head. The thing still smiled. It took a knife from the nearby knife holder.

"I really hoped that I won't have to do this. But since it will, let's won't make the most of it " The thing lunged at Samuel, the terrified young man swung the butchers knife down with closed eyes. His mind racing too fast to form any sane thoughts. The butcher's knife hit the target. But unfortunately for Samuel, it hit the palm of his target's hand. The thing had caught the knife before it gained any momentum. It only got a cut from it. The thing held the butchers knife in a death grip. Crimson blood slowly flowing out of the wound.

"Shame" the thing said. Everything in Samuel froze, he couldn't move. The only movement he was capable of was shaking in fear. He could feel a warm liquid spread from his crotch area and tears forming on his eyes.

"You know Sammy, you're just a normal person, aren't you? Which is why you'll always live a sad life. I'll put you out of your misery. "

And with those final words the thing plunged the knife into Samuel's eye socket. The body convulsed while the thing twisted and turned the knife inside the head. Blood spurted out onto its face.

And that was the end of it.

 

© 2020 Mason


Author's Note

Mason
I'm open to any suggestions. Just tear into this thing and I'll do my best to fix it!

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Added on January 7, 2020
Last Updated on January 7, 2020
Tags: Horror, Thriller

Author

Mason
Mason

About
I'm a 15 year old aspiring writer from the Philippines. I'm really into philosophies like existentialism and stoicism and just philosophy in general. I hope to meet you soon! more..