The Brazen Bull

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/2Km8gIj

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.

The Brazen Bull

After what seemed like an eternity, shackled for hour upon hour, made his body go numb. Stuck in the centre of the cell, with his arms chained and bound, hoisted up to a central point, he could no longer feel any pain worse than what he had already explored. On the cold, wet floor, his subtly bounced on his toes, desperately trying to ease the pain, hindered only by the rats, which were helping themselves to the meat supply he unwillingly gave. There were no luxuries, no sustenance, no food, or drink, only the unnerving feeling of relieving himself, amongst the darkness that enveloped him. He fell into unconscious sleep, with no knowledge of whether he was awake or not. Hours mingled into days, possibly weeks, it was a nightmare that never seemed to end for him.

At some point in time, he heard the guards coming for him, clanking their way down the tunnels towards his cell. Strangely, it offered him a slight feeling of hope, even though he knew that he’d be taken for more interrogation. With a tight and painful clamp firmly attached to his head, covering his eyes and face, hearing was the only sense he had left. The numbness, created from the tightness, dulled by pain, it offered little help. He could sense the men, as the noise increased. He then smelt the burning torches just moments before their voices. With the sound of metal banging on metal, he heard the gate unlock. William felt a strange sense of serenity, hoping and praying for his pains and torture to end; he had given up on life, hoping that the next life would treat him better. Under the blindfold and clamps, a few rogue tears desperately tried to push their way out. He gave out a whimper; the guards forcibly yanked and pulled at him. Then, the chains were released, and he fell to the floor, landing with a hard crash. Yes, he was in pain; exhausted, bruised and battered and the idea of it all going away now seemed an idea which he openly welcomed. He didn’t know who the visitors were, he just presumed that they were the Kings Guards, but it didn’t matter either way; he just hoped for an end to his suffering.

During the long cold dark days or nights, he had a secret visitor once, a secret held from all; a demon or maybe the devil himself joined him in his cell. He felt its immense presence, the uneasy and sickening presence of evil that made his skin crawl with insects burning and itching. Within his head and the prevailing darkness, and amongst the chaos of pain and suffering, the beast offered him a sanctuary. The cost was his soul, but amongst his plight, as he fought back the tears, he was still a conscientious man, who still had immeasurable love for his family however hard he was beaten or scolded. He thought long and hard about the options, but his love for his wife and child prevailed and denied the offer. The beast quietly slipped back into the shadows, leaving a trail of immense, disgusting oppression, which slowly dissipated while he hung there, as the searing pain devoured at him.

He didn’t know whether he was in a dream or reality, but he knew that in that visit, the beast had marked him. As the guards maltreated him, picking him up, dragging through the tunnels, he knew that the creature was there by his side. He felt its presence, reassuring him, giving him an air of hope, in the hour of his need.

He heard the gate unlocked and three sets of footsteps, as the guards came over to him and began to unshackle his chains. The black bag and clamp on his head were unscrewed and removed, allowing the brightness of the darkened tunnels to burn at his eyes momentarily.

With weak, useless legs, unable to walk, they dragged through the castle tunnels. Up ahead, William could hear a deep rumbling noise. As he was brought closer to a heavy wooden door, the rumbling turned into jeers. As the door swung open, a huge rapturous roar greeted him; an unfriendly, spiteful crowd, that spat and shouted at him with hateful insults. The guards dragged across the castle courtyard, amongst the barrage of rotten vegetables and abuse.

Dragged across the cobbled stones, he felt the pain of his feet scraping on the floor, the direct hits from objects thrown at him and the shame of his accusations burn away at him. In his weakened state, he slowly lifted his head to look. A mass of people had convened to see him suffer public humiliation and death. He scanned the crowd as best he could but didn’t see any loved ones or any friendly faces, instead, just faces of hatred in every direction. He let his head flop down as the guards continued to drag him somewhere.

As he was dragged across the courtyard as the crowds suddenly shouted louder; this prompted William to raise his head again. There, standing before him, a huge golden statue of a horned bullock towered above him. In the bright sunlight, he looked at it, wondering what it might be. The great metal creature, easily the size of four horses, stood in an aggressive pose; head down, nostrils flared, with its stance emphasising it’s height and with two massive horns. His eyes searched the crowd before they were drawn back to the metal beast; it was then that he saw the hinged door. His stomach then sunk, as he suddenly realised why it was there. As he was held there, initially feeling like it couldn’t get any worse, the bottom of his world fell out, with a crash. While held tightly, two of the castle’s doormen, started bringing over logs and branches, placing them neatly under the belly of the beast. ‘Oh my gracious Lord’ he muttered to himself. He now knew what was to come.

A strong, streak of pain jolted his body; he yanked at the guards, as his heart sank painfully. Tears appeared, and he felt an extreme flush upon his face; the jaunts and insults grew in intensity, as the fear burned brightly within him. Surely this was the most sadistic and unholiest way to die; in pain, in sin and for god’s sake, in the eyes of everyone he knew.

The piles of wood underneath the beast continued to grow. He had never seen anything like this before, or even heard of such a thing, surely the most horrendous, cruel and painful death imaginable.

The crowd were forced to one side by a troop of royal knights, as the King came forth to govern the execution. He approached William, standing just a few yards away. The King held up his arms, and his subjects quietened down. In a loud, stern voice, the king then addressed his people.

“It is a sad day when we have to kill one of our own,” he shouted. By the tone of his voice, everyone could feel his anguish, as he pursued his authority over the event.

“Today, this man will die for the sickening attack on those two beautiful girls; daughters of the castle, friends of many. This man is to be a lesson to anyone that destroys everything that we’ve built. We are a community, we stand strong together, and together we are strong,” he said, as the crowd erupted in joyous agreement with their leader, throwing their arms into the air. He again then raised his hand, and silence found its way back to him.

“Unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, we have borrowed this monstrosity from our friend and neighbour King Maldor [he then turned to look at it], the great warrior King of the Northern territories. He assures me that this metal beast will torture and cleanse this man’s soul of his sickening crimes against us all.” Again, the crowd erupted into pure excitement, all now baying for William’s blood.

William lowered his head in shame; no one would acknowledge his innocence.

“My god, what is this monstrosity before me. Why can no see that I am innocent?” he said, muttering quietly under his voice. He openly wept, weak and helpless, but none cared. More objects were thrown at him, as he felt a thud hit him on the head.

The king raised his arms again; he directed his staff.

“Open the door.” William looked up. The king then looked at William with disgust.

“Do you have anything worthwhile to say.” Limp and weak, William thought about it for a moment, but instead of pursuing his innocence, he just gave up, allowing his head to lower again.

“Let the beast cleanse his soul,” The king ordered, as he felt the guards drag him towards the statue.

William gave it his all, pulling and yanking at his oppressors. But it was no good; he didn’t have the strength to do anything. Instead, William gave up his fight as he was drawn near; full of fear, he was then forcibly pushed with little care, into the small door on the side of the beast. He screamed out, and struggled, rolling about on his chained arms, but as the door slammed shut, darkness and fear consumed him. Bizarrely, he felt some comfort in the dark, surrounded by the unnatural cold metal. William quietened down, realising that there was no way to escape.

“My god, what have I done to deserve this. Why do you punish me like this” but his words were lost to the world, no one could hear him, and God had abandoned him.

He screamed out in desperation, now desperate to proclaim his innocence, but in his weakened state, the words never quite appeared, however hard he tried. The clanking of metal banging on wood continued, the only noise he could now hear.

The foul and acrid smell of death smothered his body. He coughs and choked, momentarily suppressing his tears and muffling the silent screams that reared up from inside.

“Light the fire… let the beast cleanse this man’s soul for all of eternity,” the king shouted, obviously standing nearby.

A couple of guards approached the magnificent bronze statue, burning torches at the ready, a priest stepped forward and began to bless the figure openly in the square. Angry jeers were shouted, prompting a surge in the crowd, which the guards struggled to hold back. The sanctimony seemed to be against everyone’s wishes, as the screams and insults grew louder and angrier; they bade for his blood, excited by the prospect of the bull blowing smoke out of its nostrils.

William looked around, inside the belly of the cold and dark metal animal which incarcerated hin. Then, he felt it; slowly, he could feel the cold metal floor of his cell begin to warm up. “My God, help me in my time of need,” he said through a wave of tears.

“Help me, Lord, help me,” he screamed, as the sound of flames grew ever-present. The temperature within the beast’s belly started to gather pace. It wasn’t long at all before William felt really uncomfortable. The heat soon became unbearable, upon his tied hands, legs and back. He wiggled about, trying desperately to find a better position, but every way he turned, it just got more and more intense. The fires burned him greatly; it hurt so much; there was so much intensity and excruciating pain, that he screamed, and screamed. It began to wrap in blistering heat, as the red-hot sides started to eat him alive. He twisted and turned, frantically trying to move away from the searing heat that now surrounded him. Within only a few minutes, the fire outside raged, licking the giant beast all the way up to its body, the guards continually fed the fire, as its appetite for fuel increased. The belly of the creature turned red, it glowed, and as the crowds quietened down, knowing the suffering that was taking place, suddenly smoke came out of the nostrils. Their previous levels of excitement didn’t seem to care anymore. The pain had taken the fun out of the event, and now, most of the bystanders fell ill with shock and horror. Inside, William was ravished by the heat, eaten alive, as his skin blistered and boiled, peeling off and smouldering. He coughed and spluttered, as the smoke smothered him, not allowing another breath to come forth.

Williams fear and panic was consumed by coughing, as he started to cook from within. He felt his eyeballs burn as his eyebrows lifted.

He screamed a last intense and unnatural cry for help, as his skin blistered, bled, and liquified. The darkness drew him into an unearthly place, as his violent reactions became settled. The noise, the stench of his skin melting, the agonising pain, and the unbearable suffering soon dissipated, as he gave a last and final thought to his family. Amongst the raw, bleeding folds of melting skin, the corners of his mouth briefly rose, as his last thought was for the love of his wife and son.

The crowds watched on in horror; the great metal beast snorted an acrid brown air from its nostrils.

A disgusting bloody red coloured liquid started to leak through the hinges of the door, popping and sizzling in the raging fire, as foul smell began to fill the castle courtyard. The king had seen his fill; he soon left within a large group of guards. He didn’t look back.

Later that day, when the raging fires had finally died down, silence filled the courtyard. No one wanted to see what had happened to William. The stench of human flesh that riddled the castle square, sickening even the strongest wills, only attracted a large gathering of crows, which sat watching the last few hours of the burning. They waited patiently, eager for a feast. Eventually, after the fire burnt itself out, the guards finally cleared away the embers, before they opened the door. As four of the King’s Guards forced open the side of the Bullock, a mass of brown coloured liquid slopped out onto the floor, followed by a mass of putrid blackened smoke and steam. The thick, viscous liquid, bones, and lumps of cooked meat fell onto the floor of the courtyard. A sickening feeling of shock and complete horror consumed the guards, as they all held their hands to their mouths, appalled by the events they had participated in. No man should ever have to suffer such an evil, torturous fate.

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/2Km8gIj