Danny R. Negron

BATMAN STORY PART 6

Catwoman is staring out of the window of Batman's aircraft and notices a few droplets of rain. She becomes startled as the window beside her opens and sees Batman make his way inside. There is an odd silence as he sits down and fastens his seat belt.

Catwoman breaks the silence and asks, “Well? Is she okay?”

Batman does not reply and activates the engines. He then proceeds to fly the aircraft away from the crime scene. Batman then opens a channel and hears Commissioner Gordon say, “Tell me some good news.”

Batman coldly and bitterly replies, “None today. I'm sending you the address.”

Gordon tries to talk but is interrupted as Batman abruptly ends the conversation with the push of a button. He then gives Catwoman a quick glance and mutters, “I'm sorry, Selina.”

Hours later, Batman's aircraft gradually descends and Selina notices the rooftop of her apartment building. Befuddled, she looks at Batman and asks, “What are you doing? Aren't you taking me back to Arkham?”

Batman gives her a hardened stare and replies, “No. I failed you and so has Gotham. We're even now. And yes, the Commissioner knows.”

Catwoman nods and says, “Thanks.”

“The city is under siege, Selina. You may think it's not your problem but it is. I can use your help.”

“Fat lot of good my help did, so far. If only I...”

“Never mind that. What do you say? Do you want to catch this guy?”

Catwoman gives him a sly grin and replies, “Sure. Now, take this jacket off of me.”

Moments later, Catwoman stretches her arms above her head and says while purring, “Mmmmm. Much better.”

Batman approaches her and gives her a piece of paper. He says authoritatively, “Here is the rendezvous. Don't be late.”

She stands up straight and gives him a salute while replying, “Yes, sir!”

Batman grins slightly and says, “Go get some sleep, Selina. You'll need it.”

Catwoman observes the aircraft as it disappears into the stormy clouds above her and feels relieved about this opportunity. Maybe she can even score some jewelry along the way. He doesn't have to know, of course.

BATMAN STORY PART 5

Batman arrives at the front door of the Lisa Middleton's modest apartment and finds it slightly ajar. Not a forced entry. Which means the person who entered was either someone she recognized or someone she was expecting. He becomes startled when a flashlight illuminates his masked face. Batman swiftly grabs the individual by his shirt and lifts him up in the air. In a frightened voice, the man asks, “Batman? Look, I just work here. I,I,I was just responding to a few complaints by the other tenants, that's all.”

Batman lowers him to the floor and replies, “That's a good way of getting yourself killed, Mister...”

“Pat. Pat Nash. Sorry about that. I'm a security guard here.”

Batman looks at the front door again and asks frigidly, “Any previous complaints, Mr. Nash?”

“From Lisa? Nah, she's cool. Which is what makes it so weird. You know?”

Batman slowly pushes the front door open and says, “I need for you to wait here.”

“Sure thing, Batman.”

As Batman cautiously enters the apartment, he discovers that the television in the living room is on but the volume is set at a moderate level. Which rules that out as a possible cause of the tenants complaining. He reaches into his utility belt and grabs a firm hold of his stun gun with both hands. Judging by the lack of any visible disturbance, she was probably taken by surprise from behind and knocked out with chloroform. There is a slim chance she may very well still be alive and the culprit may still be here hiding somewhere.

Batman turns on the bathroom light and points his stun gun as he kneels. Nothing here. He gradually turns his head and focuses his attention to the master bedroom. Batman lowers his head slightly dreading what he might discover. It may be safe to assume that if he has not come into contact with anyone so far, things are not looking well for Miss Middleton. He turns on the bedroom light and puts his stun gun away while coming to a conclusion that the Riddler is long gone by now. But he can't seem to shake this feeling that he just missed him by a matter of minutes.

Batman approaches the bed and sees the serene face of a young woman resting her head on a pillow with here eyes closed. Upon closer inspection, he notices a blood stain on her blanket close to her neck. Batman grabs the blanket with his right hand and pulls it off of her body. Lisa Middleton's head has been completely severed off and a note was was attached to her bare chest with a nail.

Batman quickly looks under the bed and then opens the closet to make sure that the Riddler was not there. He then races to the front door to prevent Pat Nash from making this gruesome discovery himself. As soon as he arrives, he asks, “Mr. Nash?”

No response. Did he become frightened and leave? Bizarre behavior as he seemed concerned for her well being. Unless...no, it can't be. Batman takes out his flashlight and clicks it on. He shines the light on the wall in front of him and sees a green question mark painted on it.

BATMAN STORY PART 4

Selina Kyle gradually opens her eyes and finds that her vision is very blurred. While trying her her best to shake off this grogginess, she is shocked to find herself restrained in a straight jacket while also tied down to a wheelchair. She notices a familiar dark figure standing across the table from her and utters bitterly, “Honestly. Is this really necessary?”

Batman replies coldly, “You know the answer to that.”

“Thanks, dad. Is this the part where you tell me the error of my ways?”

“Not quite.”

Batman tosses an object toward her which lands directly on the table. Selina squints and becomes surprised when she recognizes the bracelet. Rather than ask him where he found this, she asks with a sly grin, “You need me, don't you?”

“Sharp, as always.”

“Then, you know what comes next.”

“Yes. And you have a deal.”

“What? Don't you need to run this by Gordon?”

Commissioner Gordon appears behind her and injects her neck with a long syringe. As she loses consciousness, he says, “I approve.”

An hour later, Batman uses smelling salts which makes Selina inhale deeply and open her eyes widely. She looks around and notices that she is accompanying him in his aircraft. She also realizes that she is again in a straight jacket while also tied up. Selina groans and says loudly, “Are you kidding me?”

Batman finds that he is unable to prevent himself from slightly grinning and replies, “You're out of Arkham, aren't you?”

“Fuck you. This isn't what I had in mind.”

“Selina. I need you to focus right now. The person who you gave that bracelet to is in danger. This Riddler may already be torturing her. You need to set your ego aside and think about doing the right thing.”

“If I help, you're going to take me back. Right?”

“Yes. You committed a crime.”

After taking a moment to think, Selina takes a deep breath and says, “Her name is Lisa. Lisa Middleton. She was born here in Gotham.”

Batman begins typing the information and shows her the results. Selina says without hesitation, “The second one. That's her.”

Batman gives her a quick glance and replies, “Good girl.”

Selina does not look back at him and asks in a shameful manner, “Can you put my mask on? I don't want her to see me like this.”

“Of course.”

Moments later, Batman's aircraft arrives at the location where Lisa Middleton is supposed to be living. Not a great neighborhood but also not the worst. He only hopes that it is not too late.

BATMAN STORY PART 3

Alfred Pennyworth prepares Bruce Wayne's favorite late night herbal tea and places the pot on the tray alongside the teacup. He then makes his way toward the elevator which leads to the Batcave.

Meanwhile, Bruce is resting his chin on his folded hands as he stares intently at the cryptic riddle on his computer screen. He notices his cell phone vibrating and quickly glances at Tiffany's gorgeous caller ID. Bruce ignores the call and zooms into the Riddler's latest puzzle.

“It doesn't take much to tame a cat, make them wear this, and then call the bat.”

Alfred places the tray next to him and picks up the teapot. He looks at the riddle and says, “My, my. Makes one think about a certain burglar.”

Bruce grins at him as the butler pours the hot tea into the cup and replies, “The next victim is undoubtedly related to her in some way, Alfred. Maggie is too obvious. It can't be her.”

“Hmmm. Perhaps a trinket of some kind tied to someone of her past? An old friend?”

As Bruce takes a sip of the tea, he takes into consideration what Alfred is suggesting. He needs to take a little trip to Selina's apartment building with the hopes of finding a clue.

An hour later, Batman lands on the rooftop of Selina's apartment building. He lowers himself down gradually to her window and notices that it is slightly ajar. He whispers, “Good girl.”

He enters her bedroom and uses his flashlight to study every inch of it. There must be something. He notices a picture frame of her being hugged by Harley Quinn and continues searching.

Moments later, he arrives at the kitchen and illuminates the trash can. Well, why not? He removes the lid and rummages through the garbage. He then grabs a hold of a small box and uses his flashlight to observe it further. No sender address. Of course, Selina has made a few enemies and did not take any chances. Next stop, Arkham Asylum.

BATMAN STORY PART 2

Catwoman climbs on the edge of the building's rooftop to marvel at Gotham's night life. She then purrs while slipping the backpack, full of stolen jewelry, on her back. Suddenly, her ankles becomes tied together and she struggles to maintain her balance. She falls over the edge and closes her eyes tightly.

As she gradually opens her eyes, Catwoman finds herself swaying back and forth in midair. When she looks at her ankles, she notices Batman staring down at her. She groans in a frustrated manner while Batman tells her coldly, “You could've gotten away if you would've taken less.”

“You need to stop being so cheap on our dates, lover boy.”

While attempting to find an escape, she asks him, “Don't you have some riddles to solve, Batsy? You would think a life is more important than diamonds.”

“A crime's a crime.”

Catwoman impersonates him with a deep, manly voice, “A crime's a crime.”

There is an odd moment of silence as they stare at each other. Catwoman grins as she reaches into her backpack and says playfully, “I'm going to have to teach this little boy scout a lesson in priorities.”

Batman whispers, “Don't do it, Selina.”

“Meow.”

In an instant, Catwoman uses her razor sharp hunting knife, knowing that this is the only method that can be used to cut through the cord, and laughs hysterically as she takes a nosedive toward the alley's sidewalk below. Batman leaps off of the edge and notices that, once again, she avoids certain death by a stroke of luck. The Catwoman leaps out of the garbage dumpster and, while running away, yells, “Ta-ta, lover boy!”

Her face gleams with excitement at the thought of escaping Batman and having pulled off a successful heist. Suddenly, she sees the overweight body of the bulldog-faced Detective Harvey Bullock blocking the exit of the alleyway. He asks her in a bitter tone, “Going somewhere, kitty-cat?”

Before Selina Kyle has a chance to move in for the kill, she hears a trigger being pressed and feels a sharp pain in her abdomen. She looks down to see that Detective Bullock has just used a taser gun on her. He gives her a sly grin as her body receives a huge 50,000 volt surge. This makes her go into violent convulsions and then collapses to the grimy sidewalk. She moans in pain and attempts to crawl away. Bullock shakes his head and gives her another jolt. Batman arrives and shouts, “That’s enough, Bullock!”

“You do your job, freak, don’t tell me how to do mine!”

“She’s immobilized.”

While securing the handcuffs behind her back, Detective Bullock says, “If it were up to me, all you costumed loons would get locked up in Arkham.”

There is no response. Detective Bullock raises his head to find that he has been talking to himself yet again. He mumbles, “I hate it when he does that shit.”

He removes Catwoman’s mask forcibly causing it to tear and gazes at her beautiful face. Minutes later, several police officers arrive behind him. He stands up and commands, “Put this filth in the van.”

From the top a tall building, Batman observes the officers place the unconscious body of Selina Kyle in the rear of the police van. Next stop for her is Arkham Asylum. Such a shame. He has tried so many times to help her get her life together with each attempt failing miserably. He sighs, leaps off of the edge and disappears into the night.

A BATMAN STORY

Commissioner James Gordon arrives at the gruesome crime scene and gazes down at the mangled body of The Riddler’s latest victim. He observes the medical examiner as she carefully probes the exposed, naked body of the severely beaten girl searching for clues as to the cause of her death. Gordon exhales in frustration and says, “I’m afraid to even ask how she died, Dr. Harris.”

“Judging by the wounds, it seems she was tortured for several months, Commissioner. Several fingernails are missing as well as some of her toes.”

One of the detectives hands Gordon a piece of paper and says, “Here’s his riddle, sir. I can’t understand any of that shit.”

“Thanks, Rodgers.”

Gordon adjusts his eyeglasses and intently begins reading. He squints as he becomes absolutely baffled at The Riddler’s latest message. All of a sudden, he becomes startled at a familiar deep voice behind him asking, “Catching up on some reading?”

Gordon turns around and replies, “Not on Gotham’s best seller list. You are going to give this old man a heart attack one of these days.”

He shows Batman the cryptic letter in its entirety and a brief camera flash is seen shortly afterwards. Gordon then hands the letter back to Detective Rodgers and asks Batman, “Have you solved any of them?”

Gordon looks up to find that he is once again talking to himself. Just as stealthily that Batman arrived, he disappeared in similar fashion. He whispers to himself, “You’re welcome.”

The Batmobile’s rear engine spews out bright, yellow flame as it races down the murky streets of Gotham City. Batman connects a USB cable underneath the monitor in front of him and proceeds to upload the photograph to his encrypted server back in Wayne Manor. A beep is heard followed by Alfred inquiring in a fatherly fashion, “Shall I cancel your dinner with Miss Tiffany, Master Bruce?”

“Yes. Thank you, Alfred.”

“Of course, sir.”

The communication ends and Batman disconnects the cable from the monitor. The sound of screeching tires startles him which makes him look up at the sight of a van coming straight at him. It would seem that the vehicle has swerved onto the lane of opposing traffic.

Batman skillfully swerves out of the way, shifts gears and turns completely around. The engine revs and flames spew from the rear. As Batman approaches the rear of the van, he takes a moment to think and opens up a communication channel.

“Alfred.”

“Have you changed your mind about Miss Tiffany, sir?”

“No. I need for you to scan for activity at Gotham’s jewelry stores.”

“Late night shopping, master Bruce?”

Batman grins at his butler’s dry sense of humor and replies, “You can say that.”

He activates the automatic driving mode and unfastens his seat belt. If his theory is correct, this is a clever distraction perpetrated by a certain thief who is obsessed with outsmarting him.

“Alfred?”

“Well played, sir. An alarm has been activated at Gotham’s Quality Jewelers. Not very far from your present location.”

“Thank you, Alfred.”

Batman disconnects the call and touches a button to open the roof above him. He doesn’t have much time. She truly is a master of her trade. He pokes his head out and notices the driver looking at him in a frightened manner. He screams, “My brakes aren’t working!”

“Remain focused on the road.”

Luckily, the police have blocked traffic around the crime scene and there are no other vehicles on the road. However, there still exists the danger of a random pedestrian crossing the street at any moment. Batman jumps on top of the speeding van and immediately uses a hook to maintain his balance.

The driver hears Batman making his way toward the passenger side window. A black boot is suddenly seen shattering it to thousands of pieces and Batman glides inside with the grace of a ballet dancer. Then, Batman shoots numerous projectiles at the rear doors of the van and whispers, “Now.” into his wrist. The rear doors vibrate violently until the hinges fall apart. The doors fall off and Batman proceeds to prepare a sophisticated mechanism while telling the driver, “When I tell you, let go of the steering wheel and move towards the back of the van.”

“What?”

“Now!”

The driver hesitates for a moment. He lets go of the wheel, as instructed, and leans against the side of the van while inching his way to the rear of the van. He becomes startled at the sight of the Batmobile as it appears without warning. He feels something grab him, gazes in horror at the rear of his van and looks above to see a car roof sliding shut. All of this happened within seconds.

Batman manipulates a miniature joystick of some kind and the van ahead begins to swerve. It then flips over and the driver whispers, “Whoa.”

Batman slams on the breaks and the roof slides open. He tells the driver in a cold manner, “Get out. Now.”

The driver is sitting on the sidewalk breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Batman tells him, “Stay here. The police are on their way.”

“Th-th-thank you.”

The Batmobile’s engine spews out flames and disappears into the cold night. In quick pursuit of the Catwoman.

MIRANDA

Miranda Danson just got fired….again. It’s always the same shit with her. Maybe her bitch of a mother was right all along. Maybe she’s destined to be a drug addled loser like her father. Who’s in jail for pedophilia...again. Oh, she’s all too familiar with his little hobby having had the pleasure of experiencing it herself.

And to top it all off, it’s fucking raining and her shitty umbrella won’t open. The security guard is holding the door open very impatiently. She says with teary eyes, “Look. My umbrella’s fucked. Let me wait until it eases up, Darryl.”

He rolls his eyes and forcefully pushes her out. He locks the door with his key and smiles as he waves goodbye. Miranda punches the door with her fist and screams, “Fuck all you assholes! I’ll make you all pay, one day! Even if I have to give my soul to the devil to make it happen!!!!”

She starts walking away and shoves her umbrella into the garbage can. Hasn’t been five minutes and she’s already soaking wet. There’s a bar across the street. Yeah...a drink. That’s what she needs right now. She walks across the street and a taxi cab screeches to a halt. Miranda doesn’t even flinch and just keeps walking like a zombie. The driver yells, “Hey! Watch it, you crazy bitch!”

Miranda opens the front door of the bar and walks toward one of the stools. She sits down and shoves her face into her hands in disappointment. What a joke her life is. All of it.

At this point, a tall man wearing a black trenchcoat sits down next to her. He smells foul...like burnt sulfur. He removes his top hat to reveal a horribly scarred head. The man has absolutely no hair at all. Not even eyebrows. He notices Miranda’s stare and says, “What a fucking mess.”

After a moment of silence, she asks, “Huh?”

He removes his sunglasses and turns his head to look at her. She feels a vast amount of fear as she looks into two empty sockets where his eyeballs should be. The fear is so intense, that a tear rolls down her cheek and she feels a small amount of piss exit her body. Luckily, she clenches tightly to avoid what could have been an embarrassing moment. He whispers, “What do you think I mean, young lady?”

The bartender arrives and Miranda waves her hand back and forth. She snaps her fingers several times and shouts, “I’m right here! Hello!”

The mysterious man tells her, “He can’t hear you. Or me for that matter.”

“You freaky son of a bitch. Don’t talk to me.”

“We made a deal...you and I.”

Right now, a chill goes up her spine upon him saying those words. No. This can’t be happening. Could it?

“Oh, yes. It is happening, Miranda.”

“So you’re...him? The devil?”

“Let’s dispense with the pleasantries, shall we? Your soul is mine as you so generously offered. Let’s get to the fun part.”

“Fun part?”

Satan puts on his sunglasses and replies with a grin, “The part that I change you into a demon, my dear. On with the show!”

Suddenly, Miranda loses complete control of her body and she floats up off of the stool. Satan stands up and begins muttering something in a completely different language. He raises his clawed hand and all of her clothes are ripped off of her body.

He takes a step closer and chuckles as he caresses her naked legs. A burning sensation overwhelms her to the point that she pisses and shits onto the floor.

The skin from her back gets sliced from her anus all the way up her back, over her head and down to her vagina. Miranda is screaming in agony at this point which makes the devil say, “Now, now. We’re almost finished.”

The sound of raw flesh can be heard dropping to the floor as her skin gets removed from her young body. The process is now complete and her skinless body gets lowered. The moist flesh squishes and blood seeps between her toes.

Satan approaches her and says, “It is done. You are mine.”

Miranda shivers for a moment and looks at the front door of the bar. A twisted grin forms on her face as she asks in a distorted voice, “May I?”

“Certainly, my child. I shall wait here.”

WOUNDS

Thirteen year old Veronica Hayward is laying down on her bed touching the tip of her bowie knife with her finger. Just as she finishes listening to Dimmu Borgir, she glances at her phone. It’s 3:30 AM but she’s still not sleepy. Her older brother, Max, is snoring like always. What an overweight piece of shit. All he does is play his fist person shooters only taking brief breaks to eat a doughnut and insult her.

Veronica logs into her Viber account to see if any of her friends are online. She sends a private message to her two best friends; Arthur and Joy. They all reply. Out of boredom, she records her brother’s snores. She then uses audio software to make two mp3 files. One extremely slowed down version which sounds very creepy while the other is sped up so fast, that it makes her cover her mouth to prevent a loud outburst of laughter.

Veronica shares both of the mp3 files with her friends. The result is everyone laughing hysterically. Joy sends a message that says, “I dare you to record and upload his fat ass.”

This makes her cringe at first but decides to do it. She initiates a group video call and proceeds to tiptoe towards Max. Veronica arrives and, with her left hand, begins to gradually pull on his blanket until the crack of his ass can be seen peeping out of his shorts. Her friends chuckle and she whispers, “Both of you shut up. So nasty.”

Veronica gently tugs on his shorts until his entire hairy ass can be seen. She then begins to record the video clip with her smartphone. Max unexpectedly moves and is now resting on his back. She ceases recording the clip and gives him a very hateful stare. He’s always been given more love by their parents. This disgusting slob is worshiped by them. Hell, they even fear making him angry. They never admit to that fact, of course. Arthur whispers, “Someone should slaughter that fat cow. Look at him.”

That is not a bad idea at all. Veronica’s grown sick of the pungent odor of sweaty armpits and farts. She misses having her own room. Now that her mother’s taking care of her grandfather, she’s stuck sharing this prison cell with this foul creature. She walks back to her bed and takes her bowie knife. Joy is heard whispering, “Ummm. What’re doing, Nicky?”

Veronica tiptoes back to her brother and stands above him while tightly gripping the knife with her right hand. She’s always fantasized herself slashing her brother’s throat for months now. Just do it and show everyone on YouTube, yeah. Let them all watch a real life murder. She whispers to her friends, “I’m taking Arthur’s advice, Joy.”

Arthur panics and immediately says, “What? I was joking about that, Nicky. What the fuck.”

Veronica swiftly jabs Max’s throat with the sharp knife. It punctures his Adam’s apple quite effortlessly. He opens his eyes wide and gurgles so loudly, that she puts away her phone and places her hand over his mouth. Similar to a geyser spraying water, blood gushes out of his neck and some of it gets splattered all over Veronica’s face. She grins deviously at the sight of his blood oozing out of the edges of her hand and says softly, “Mom and dad can’t help you now, Max.”

Max gives one final desperate struggle to break free but Veronica’s rage is such that her strength seems to have tripled. His eyes roll back into his head and he finally becomes limp. She trembles and opens her mouth wide. She leans forward until she is inches away from his lifeless face and whispers, “Rot in hell, piece of shit.”

Veronica slowly pulls on her bowie knife until it finally exits his neck completely. After staring at him for several minutes and breathing heavily, she hops off of the bed and reaches into her pocket for the smartphone. She taps on the screen and proceeds to record the aftermath of a girl that has lost her mind.

Veronica sits down in front of her laptop and gazes at the shocked expressions on the faces of her friends. She smiles innocently and asks, “What’s up with you two? I tried to record as much as I could but that fat fucker was making too much noise. I’m gonna upload it to my YouTube account right now.”

Joy asks her while crying, “Veronica? Is he really dead?”

While plugging her phone into her computer, she replies softly, “Not so loud, stupid. Yeah, he is. No more snoring.”

Arthur cannot believe what he just heard. He is actually witnessing someone that has gone utterly psycho. He says softly, “Oh, shit. You’re fucking crazy.”

The reality finally hits Veronica and her demeanor gradually shifts to that of sadness. How the fuck did this happen? She killed her own brother! She gazes at her blood covered palm and slowly grins. He deserved it. That’s right. She has an idea and looks up at the screen. She says, “Guys. I got it! I can take requests from people!”

Joy hesitates for a moment and asks, “What do you have in mind, exactly?”

Veronica explains excitedly, “I can ask what part of his body I should cut off next. Until he’s nothing but a pile of bloody mush.”

Arthur shakes his head and whispers, “No! That’s it. You’ve gone too far with this shit.”

Veronica gives him a creepy stare and says, “You can leave now. You don’t have watch this. The truth is you want to see this. Both of you.”

Arthur and Joy do not reply. It’s true. They are both morbidly fascinated by what is about to happen next. Veronica rises to her feet and says softly, “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna get my dad’s toolbox. And the hedge clippers.”

She walks away and exits the bedroom. Forty minutes later, she returns with her father’s toolbox and hedge clippers. Everything is set. All that’s left to do is upload the clips to her blog. The quietness of the room makes her close her eyes and a take a deep breath. Such comforting bliss.

Veronica sits down and tells her friends, “Since you guys are my bffs, you get the first two requests. Who wants to go first?”

Arthur clears his throat and sweats nervously. He can’t believe he’s still playing this twisted game. He says softly while biting his fingernail, “Cut off his finger...with the hedge clippers. And not YouTube. Unless you want them interrupting this little show of yours. Use our Dtube and BitChute accounts.”

Veronica nods her head and says, “Good call. Okay. Here I go.”

She rises to her feet, grabs hold of the hedge clippers and makes her way towards Max’s lifeless body. She places her ten inch tablet on the corner of the bed and begins recording. Veronica roughly takes his hand and lays it flat on the mattress.  Then, she places the lower blade of the hedge clippers underneath his four fingers and smiles at the tablet. She says in a low voice, “Hey, guys. This is called trimming a hand.”

With all of her might, she pushes the wooden handles together and the sound of the blades meeting is heard. The four fingers have been neatly severed from the hand and now blood slowly soaks the bed sheets. Veronica takes the fingers one by one and places her hand very close to the camera lens of the tablet. She says rather coldly, “It feels weird. Holding my brother’s fingers like this.”

Veronica sits down on her chair and smiles as she shows her friends one of Max’s fingers. She giggles and says, “That was sweet. Your turn, Joy.”

Joy is quite stunned but feels strangely entertained. She says, “I want to see his brains.”

Veronica is taken aback by her response. She replies, “Joy! That’s a real good one! Well, here we go.”

She stands up and walks toward her dresser where she keeps her hair products. Why go through the hassle of shaving? Some Nair should do the trick. Veronica grabs it and gingerly makes her way to Max’s head. She can’t help but laugh as she completely smothers his head with the hair removal formula.

Several minutes later, Veronica wipes off chunks of Max’s hair with a towel. She then uses her sharp knife to make a circular cut around his bald head. Blood is dripping onto the bedroom carpet. She uses her fingers to gradually remove the skin like one does when peeling a ripe orange. The sight of his exposed skull kind of overwhelms her. Sure, she’s seen it many times in horror movies and documentaries. But to actually see it in front of her right now sends a shiver up her spine. Get a hold of yourself. You can do this.

Veronica takes a deep breath and fetches her father’s hammer and chisel. She has seen an autopsy video on bestgore.com showing a pathologist cracking a dead man’s skull open using these tools. It should work...right? She places the chisel on Max’s forehead but remembers at the last minute that the noise may wake up everyone in the house. She turns on Max’s computer and accesses YouTube to play a long video of someone playing World of Warcraft. They are all afraid of him so there will be no distractions during the surgery.

Right, then. Veronica places the chisel on Max’s forehead and hesitates for a moment. She raises the hammer and waits. She strikes the chisel with all of her might and a crack forms on the skull. She continues to hammer away until the top of the skull drops to the floor. There it is. Veronica digs her hands into the opening and gently removes the brain. It feels so disgusting and she almost pukes.

Joy anxiously waits to see what she asked for. And there it is. Veronica holds Max’s brain in front of the webcam and says, “Ugh. This feels so fucking nasty.”

Veronica tosses the brain aside like a piece of worthless meat and sits down. Her body is completely covered with blood at this point. She plugs her tablet into her computer and copies over the video files to the hard drive. Then, she accesses the accounts and eagerly uploads the videos. She tells her friends with satisfaction, “Done, guys.”

To everyone’s surprise, the amount of views of the videos grows at an alarming rate and everyone is posting stuff like, “More!” or “Cut off his dick!”. Veronica grins deviously and says, “The videos have gone viral. Awesome.”

Veronica types a reply. “His dick? Coming right up.” Arthur is fascinated at the amount of responses and views the videos have gathered up to this point. He says to Veronica, “You’re gonna run out of body parts, eventually.”

Veronica turns her head to look at him and replies coldly, “I know. I may have to get my whole family involved in this little game.”

As soon as she walks away, Arthur tells Joy in a whisper, “I’m out of here, Joy. You can stay, if you want.”

“I’m staying.”

Veronica uses her bowie knife and slices off her deceased brother’s penis. She returns to her chair to upload the video and she notices that Arthur has disconnected. Joy tells her, “He wimped out, Nicky.”

“Shit. Oh, well. Fuck him. But you know he'll be watching.”

Veronica slaughters the rest of her family and her videos become the latest internet sensation. Many say they are real. While others say they are fake. In no time at all, her gruesome exploits get reported on the news and she realizes that there is one more member of the family. Herself.

Veronica grabs ahold of the bloody knife and gives Joy a sly grin. Joy shakes her head and whispers, “No. Don't.”

Without even thinking twice, Veronica shuts her eyes tightly and viciously jabs herself in her neck. As she cuts across, flesh can be heard ripping and blood gushes out of her mouth uncontrollably. She collapses to the carpeted floor and chokes on her own blood. A tear rolls down her cheek...then, everything becomes dark.

THE ROOM

Twenty-two year old Yvonne Ortiz finds herself in a grimy room with a wooden table at the center. There are no doors or windows. The room is illuminated by the swaying, flickering light bulb connected to an extension cord. Is this a prison? How did she get here?

She cautiously sits down on the wooden chair and folds her arms. She has no memory of how she ended up in this room. The light bulb continues to flicker.

Yvonne notices a red balloon floating in mid air. It gradually gets inflated. It’s at the breaking point…..POP. Silence again. What was that all about?

The light bulb flickers. Now, there’s a naked woman standing on the table. She’s covered from head to toe with white powder and her body has been wrapped with barbed wire.

Yvonne stares in both confusion and awe. It’s like a bizarre work of art. Suddenly, the barbed wire starts tightening up until it punctures her skin. The woman moans with pleasure as her blood trickles down her legs. The bulb flickers…the woman is no longer there.

Yvonne starts getting scared. She shouts, “Hello?”

The light bulb flickers. Now, there’s a huge, pulsating maggot on the table. It’s heartbeat echoes throughout the room. As the front part arches upward, slime drops off from it’s body…almost like saliva. Tentacles exit the maggot’s body and begin whipping Yvonne’s face. The light bulb flickers. It’s gone.

A door appears on the table. Yvonne curiously gazes at the door knob. She rises to her feet and hesitates for a moment. A way out? Better hurry before the light flickers again.

Yvonne jumps onto the table and kneels to turn the knob. She hears it click and she pulls the door open. There is nothing but darkness beyond the door. Hundreds of tentacles reach out and wrap themselves around her body. She gets pulled inside.

Several minutes pass. A stream of blood pours out from the door. The light bulb get covered with it. Then, the door slams shut. The light flickers and the door is no longer there. The light bulb flickers rapidly until it turns off. Darkness.

Yvonne Ortiz is surrounded by darkness. All that she hears is the slimy tentacles as they wrap themselves around her body. Strange that she hasn’t been strangled yet. This is so disgusting. She’s always despised slimy creatures like squids and octopuses. Perhaps you can call it a phobia.

While struggling to break free, a dim light shines on the creature. Mother of God. It’s a giant octopus! Unbelievably gigantic….she shivers with fear and lets out a blood curdling scream. The creature’s moan is deafening. Yvonne’s ears ring afterwards and now she sees the creature opening its mouth. It drools and pulls her quickly. She yells, “No! No! Wait!!!”

Yvonne gets devoured by the monstrous octopus. She is surrounded by darkness again. The thought of being dissolved by stomach acids is too much for her to handle and she begins to hyperventilate. Minutes later, she passes out from the stress.

Yvonne awakens to find herself in what seems to be a long hallway with doors on each side. The florescent lights flicker and she sees the scurrying of rats and cockroaches. The stench of spoiled food and cat litter is just over powering her. She proceeds to slowly walk down the hallway.

Yvonne decides to open the door on her left. She covers her mouth in utter shock. A man is sitting on a chair while being eaten alive by five year old children. One of the kids chews off his penis and blood squirts in all directions. The man doesn’t seem bothered by this, however. In fact, he seems to be enjoying it!

Yvonne slams the door shut and begins crying hysterically. She yells, “What is this?!?”

No use crying. Gotta find a way out of this nightmare. Is it a nightmare? No…the putrid stench is just too strong for this to be a nightmare. She continues walking. Now, she gazes at the doors with a sense of dread.

There is one door that grabs her attention. A strange flickering of light can be seen emanating from the bottom of it. Yvonne stands in front of the door and hesitates for a moment. Will this be worse than what she saw before? She needs to gather up the courage if she wants to escape, though.

Yvonne turns the door knob until a click is heard. She opens it and sees a grimy room with a wooden table in the center. Out of curiousity, she enters the room. The door slams shut which makes her quickly turn around. To her shock, the door has disappeared. She looks up and observes the flickering light bulb attached to an extension cord as it sways back and forth.