A weird trip

About the author and series.

This book is part of a series, written by IP Spall, consisting of 22 short stories in total. To find out more about this book series or any of IP Spall’s other publications, head to https://linktr.ee/ipspallbooks

Many of these short stories are free, and if you enjoy reading this book, you can even buy a total collection of all the short stories for a low price! Follow the link above to find out more.

This story can be found on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3cBtQ7Q

An uncomfortable foreword

It has been said that a series of short stories must emanate unexpectedness and a sense of chilling surprise. Such a collection of stories would require a character framework that is present throughout the whole book; from tale to tale, offering the reader a chance to relate to the individual characters — their pain, their horror, their paranoia. Such a collation would also contain an underlying subplot, so all of the stories connect and relate to one another, in a weblike manner, allowing each entry to follow on from the last with some continuity, while still retaining individuality.

I gave this some thought and decided to do the complete opposite. For me, each story should be read as an individual tale of terror, and certainly not as a collective.

Each of my short stories should evoke thought, emotion, and hopefully, leaves the reader wondering what the hell happens next. Let’s face it; not everyone looks for a happy ending in the stories they read. With this in mind, let your imaginations run wild, and enjoy the unpredictability; often an uncomfortable ride.

A weird trip

Typically, the taxi didn’t arrive on time, so the three boys came far later than expected, as they pulled into the driveway at around 9 pm. With an air of excitement, they threw the driver a twenty-pound note, as they bundled out of the car, eager to party. They had a short walk into the driveway of the impressive and expensive-looking building. The stately home was grand, with its ornate masonry and plenty of gargoyles. The thick layer of shingle stones crunched beneath their feet, as they all walked together in a line briskly towards the entranceway. The energy from the party inside attracted them like moths; all smiling and wide-eyed, they were all looking forward to the event of the year. Victoria’s parties were renowned; coming from a wealthy family, she always pulled out all the stops, with no expense spared. With that in mind, last year’s bash had been cancelled, due to illness, so this guaranteed this year’s event to be a good one.

As they arrived, the party was in full swing, as the sheer force of the deejays skill and the pounding bass, drew so many from all directions. As an invite-only event, with over-the-top security, it was also renowned for being safe, which just added to its attraction. An unwritten guarantee of sorts, which meant that all of her friends who were a little nervous, or the ones that had fragile parents, actually let their kids go, so everyone invited would show up.

The strobe lights, the blues, purples, and deep reds that threw out beacons of light, across the large driveway of the house, summoned the partygoers forward. The three boys headed towards the doorway, where a group of attractive looking girls surrounded a couple of huge bodyguards that stood in the doorway.

“You got the invites, right”?

“Yeah, of course, I have them here,” Tim said, as he yanked them out of his pocket, readying them for bouncers to check. Laughing and bouncing eagerly, so eager to get in, they queued up behind the girls, eyeing them up as they waited. Then came their turn; the security guy stood above all of them by at least a foot, he looked them up and down, one by one. He gave two of them a brief pat-down security check, before he quietly nodded, with a sarcastic grin on his face; that was their invitation to enter, which they enthusiastically accepted.

The heavy bass tones pulsated through their bodies, as it led them down a long corridor, in the end, the open doorway filled the gap with an intense purple light, which flashed and danced about, leading them into the dance hall. As they arrived, they looked inside and instantly screamed, as they went straight into the crowd, immediately falling into dance-mode, bouncing to beat amongst the madness of the party. The splendour of the room just dissipated, as they spent the next fifteen minutes or so dancing frantically, eyeing up the ladies and meeting friends, before they all realised that they needed a beer or two. Off to one side, on the other side of the room, they saw a large open doorway with the lights on inside. One of them pointed towards the white light, suggesting it was probably where the bar was, so all in a line, they started to push their way through the crowds, eager to get the drinks in. The music was great, gently baying them to stay; the heavy-duty bass rose and down rhythmically, and mixed with the atmosphere created by hundreds of hot, sweaty, beautiful people, did feel good, so the plan was to get some drinks and come right back.

Their eyes adjusted as they entered the room, feeling the pressure ease slightly as a wall came between themselves and the thumping basslines. This room was a complete contrast to the other; people sat and lay everywhere. The furniture had been removed and instead, the whole room filled with blankets, cushions and oversized beanbags. Off in the corner, a smaller sound system battled against the main rig, attempting to play a more chilled out selection, but unless you sat near to it, the music in the main party hall just overtook everything. In the opposite corner to the music, a temporary bar had been set up, selling alcohol, even though they weren’t supposed too.

They maneuvred themselves pass all the floor dwellers to the bar, where to their surprise, they got served straight away. Once they held beer, they moved over to the window area; the only place in the room with a tiny amount of free space. The relaxed partygoers lined the walls, gently nodding in agreement to the blunted, chilled beats, all socialising nicely, in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

“Has anyone seen Victoria yet”? Matt asked, but no one had.

“She’s probably upstairs getting laid” Jake joked, bringing his mates to laughter. They all then coincidently gulped beer. About ten minutes passed, as they chilled and drank, talking amongst themselves, although Tim was trying his best to speak to the girl next to him, although she wasn’t as keen.

The music in the main room then changed the style a little; going from a heavy drum and bass style, it turned a lot more acidy and techno-based form. A significantly large plume of smoke then came funnelling into the room, supported by green lasers flashing about, which accompanied the new style of music; this was enough to get some of the chillers up, back up onto their feet again. The boys felt the excitement ripple through the room, so they had every intention of joining the revellers, but as they were about to leave, Matt pointed at someone.

“Is that the legendary Sci-fi man over there”? Matt said, pointing directly at him, across the crowded floor. Resembling a mad old scientist, walking about in his trademark old dirty white lab coat, the old man was slowly working his way around the room.

“[the other guy’s laugh]… Who the hell is the Sci-fi Man”? Jake asked as both of his mates tried not to laugh.

“I’ve never met the guy, only just heard about him. He’s a legend around here, apparently” Matt continued. “Apparently he lives out in the country somewhere; supposedly he’s an old Science Professor from the Uni, that’s got his own chemistry lab, hidden away somewhere. “Rumour has it that he makes all his own drugs”, “I knew someone that supposedly brought some weed off him, years ago”. They stopped and watched him; he seemed to go around the room, squirting something into people’s mouths.

“What’s he doing?” Jake asked.

“Dunno, but I’ll have some of that he said,” Tim said, watching some of his victims kick back into their cushions, going off on their virtual trips somewhere. Then the sci-fi Man headed straight towards them, almost as if knew they were talking about him. Apart from two girls that were in front of them smoking something smelly, the old technician raised his hand to Matt, opening his mouth for what he was about to receive. One by one, they each got a squirt of the clear liquid directly into their mouths, well, Jake got two quirts for some reason, before the old scientist moved on to the group next door; no one seemed to turn him down.

The spray purportedly tasted of lemons, quite a pleasant taste. At first, nothing happened, but as the minutes passed, they all began to feel a little light-headed. A space on a nearby mat emerged, so they decided to sit down and finish their beers. The feeling of lightheadedness then started to get stronger, as the rush slowly began to kick in. They all, in turn, closed their eyes, as the swirling feeling, brought feelings of joy and happiness to all. Upon looking around, they were greeted by smiles and beautiful intoxicated people, in every direction they looked. Everyone looked happy; girls seemed to notice their stares, and a feeling of warmth and security, made them all kick back and relax. The chilled music just seemed amazing, as it felt like it aided the whole structure of their bodies. They couldn’t get enough of it, as they all slowly sunk lower and lower into the nearby cushions. The pounding bass and madness of the main room quietly descended away, with the beautiful blunted beats rhythmically taking them on a new journey.

“Oh my, this is awesome,” Matt said, unable to smile any more than he could. His friends nodded gently in agreement, as grins widened and eyes narrowed, while they all began their spiritual journeys. The feeling of love and contentment guided their way on their individual quests. Three boys lay there in the corner with huge smiles and eyes shut; everything was beautiful, until Jake, shook and woke up his friends, bring crashing back down to Earth.

“Guys; I don’t feel too good” he announced, but with feelings of ecstasy, his friends didn’t pay him much attention. His head started to pound like he had hit it on something; right at the front, which he now held in his hands. He felt his eyes bulging, and his ears seemed to exaggerate the music until it became uncomfortable to listen too. His throat dried up, and his tongue now felt fat, especially the spot where the stuff landed. He put his hands on the floor and decided to try and stand up. As he pushed up, a strange feeling of dizziness flooded his body, making him top-heavy.

He put his hand out and supported himself. He raised his head to look around; both of his mates were slumped on the floor, motionless, with huge grins on their faces. Being of no use at all, he then looked around the room. To his horror, it seemed like there were a lot of people already staring at him. It caught his attention and made him uncomfortable. As he looked, the beautiful faces began to twist and blur. The more he looked, the more grotesque they seemed to get. Then the horrific feeling of dread flooded his body. Confused and scared, with the intensity of the drug now getting stronger and stronger by the minute, something deep inside was telling him to get the fuck out of there, as quickly as he could.

Sweating and immensely cold, he turned towards the exit and physically pushed his way through the crowds, as an intense feeling of claustrophobia descended upon him. With every step, the intensity and strength of his fear drove him forward, as he bounced off walls and anyone who got in his way.

From wall to wall, room to room, he stumbled and fell in a desperate bid to escape. The music and lights taunted him, as the mutated faces laughed and poked fun at him. He started to cry, as the sheer unrivalled panic kicked in. No one helped.

He crashed down the main hallway towards the entrance; instead of helping him, the bouncers saw him coming, they ushered the party-goers out the way, as he literally spilt out of the building, onto the shingle driveway. A couple of girls said something derogatory, he could tell by the tone of their voices, appalled by his behaviour, but it all seemed so irrelevant to him at that point.

Jake then took flight, with the white of his eyes showing, the fear burned inside of him, driving him to get up and run for his life.

He ran out of the driveway, as best he could, off into the darkness, screaming, shouting, and making bizarre noises as he went. As he progressively speeded up, he found it increasingly difficult to stay focused and balanced, so he fell, stumbled, and bounced off anything in his way. The noises and lights slowly subsided, and the shadows grew. The quiet of the night just seemed to make matters worse, intensifying the fear and undesirable feelings he was now experiencing. He pissed himself which didn’t help, as it only allowed the cold night air to grab a hold, making him shiver and shake.

He now ran for his life, falling and stumbling off towards the main road. As he went, he thought that he heard something behind him; he turned back to look, swearing blind that something was there, lurking in the shadows. Whatever it was, it was following him, he was sure of it. He turned to run again, twisting his head back and forth, trying to keep an eye on it, whatever it was. It was still coming, jumping from one shadow to another, using the dark of night, to run after him. Jake was frantic; he had to escape. The fear of being caught was horrendous, as it drove him onwards at an incredible speed. With sweat now dribbling down his face, his heart pounded hard as he struggled to catch a brief, he felt that he just had no choice. The beast was after him.

Everything was now closing in on him; he felt that everything was out to get him. Jake continued running until he arrived at one of his favourite restaurants. He briefly thought to himself, that he might be able to seek help, but as he neared the building, the couple of young teenagers who were sitting in the windows smiled at him, it just freaked him out even more. Scared witless, he looked at them, but as he did, their faces began to twist and melt, distorting into strange and unnatural smiles; he couldn’t handle it, so he again ran off panicking, openly weeping, even more, afraid and scared than he was before.

Jake ran as fast as he could. He pushed his body to its limits, with paranoia now fuelling his escape. With a continua look over his shoulder, he could sense that the creatures of darkness were closing in on him. The further he went, the more frightening and intense the feelings got, as the horror of it all invaded his system; but to make matters worse, something else then happened. As he glanced back only to see that the bulbs in the street lights sequentially start to burst, allowing the blackness of night to slowly gain momentum. Now hundreds of creatures and monsters of the night congregated, all joining forces to try and capture him. Crying, sweating, and struggling to breathe, he continued to push himself ever onwards, as, within the blackness of night that followed him, the entities jumped from shadow to shadow, swirling and twisting in the chaos of fear and commotion that followed him.

He ran, and he ran until finally, he came to a large bridge that crossed the freeway. With a sudden purge of energy, he pushed himself into the centre of the bridge, shrouding himself in the street lights; he brought himself to a halt, frantically gasping for air. Bent over, sucking in air, he stopped for a moment, before he raised his head up to see the level of threat. He suddenly realised that ahead of him, on the other side of the bridge, there was another large area of darkness that just lay in wait for him. He stopped and stared before he turned to look back at the way he came. Cold, shivering and in an appalling state, he watched as the last, and nearest set of the street lights start to flicker before they burst and went out. The chaos within the darkness, that now surrounded him, twisted and moved, as every little patch of black contained something evil, and something that was coming for him. He panicked, twisting head from side to side, sweating, shaking, and now openly screaming to himself, hoping that someone would hear him and offer help. He slowly backed himself away, moving towards the middle of the bridge, supporting his body, as he followed the feeling of the railings on his back, guide him along.

Another level of fear then reached into his soul, as the first set of lights actually located on the edge of the bridge, blew out and turned off. Twisting his head back and forth, dribbling in fear, he frantically looked around, not knowing what else he could do; he’d run out of options, and deep down, he knew it. Then, a deep and menacing growl rumbled across the bridge; it sparked a reaction, as he ran to the opposite side. He leant over the railings and looked down at the road below. With a loud noise, the street light on the other side of the bridge blew out and attracted the darkness even closer. What could he do? How on earth could he save himself? Within those few moments of fear, his body made the ultimate decision for him. Jake had no choice but to jump. With only seconds to go, the next, closer street light flickered and burst, pushing Jake into reacting without thought. He lifted his leg and put his foot on the railing. Just as the unnatural growling sound again rang out, this time much louder and more intensely than before, he felt that it was nearly upon him. This was the trigger, he pulled himself up, and without a second thought, he jumped blindly into the void below. For a few seconds in time, the serenity of the night air seemed to carry him down, suppressing his fears, just for a few, very brief moments of his life. Then with the hardest of crashes and bangs imaginable, he was abruptly hit hard by a speeding car, just a matter of inches from the ground. As his body and the surface of the car made contact, and as it did, the darkness converged. His body crumpled, snapped and broke, with the darkness rushing in to consume him. The numbness and speed at which it all happened, softened the blow, as his body was violently thrown around the roadway. In his dying gaze, he lay there watching as the shadows of the night, quickly began to devour everything around him, pouncing towards him with great speed and aggression.

His friends were oblivious of his death, or his absence, as they spent the rest of the night just partying away, drinking heavily, and dancing with the most beautiful girls at the party.

About the author and series.

This book is part of a series, written by IP Spall, consisting of 22 short stories in total. To find out more about this book series or any of IP Spall’s other publications, head to https://linktr.ee/ipspallbooks

Many of these short stories are free, and if you enjoy reading this book, you can even buy a total collection of all the short stories for a low price! Follow the link above to find out more.

This story can be found on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3cBtQ7Q