Twisted | Teen Ink

Twisted

February 26, 2024
By Kaydonimus BRONZE, Ashland, Illinois
Kaydonimus BRONZE, Ashland, Illinois
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today." - Tim Fargo


It was around 9 at night, and I was watching this decent movie about a killer 

killing off characters as each minute passed. I was munching on my popcorn and beginning to get tired. My eyes became way too heavy, and I fought to stay awake.  

I woke up, popcorn spilled everywhere on the beige carpet. The TV was playing something else, so I turned it off and went upstairs to get ready for work. I had clothes laid out on my bed, got dressed, and put on my nametag–Abraham Stevel. I stepped over piles of dirty clothes kicking trash towards the walls of my room as I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and deal with the atrocity I call my hair. My toothbrush was missing, the mirror was cracked, and my comb was in the toilet. “What happened?” There was no time to investigate. I ran downstairs, grabbed my keys, and locked the door behind me. 

My rusty but reliable car started right up, and I pulled out of my driveway and went to work. I stopped by the local cafe to grab some coffee, and as I walked in, the barista stared at me. The entire place was silent and every customer was looking at me steadiIy. I placed my order and paid with a 10 dollar bill. “Where’s my money?” I was just paid yesterday. “Why is he barista looking me over?” I grabbed my order and started for the door, “I’ve got to get out of  Strandleton.”

I parked my car at the office and looked around. There was no one else in the lot. WasI early? I went into the building and heard a pop coming from outside. I felt like I should’ve taken a look for the source of the noise out there, but I ignored it. My boss and co-workers were in the office. 

“You’re fired,” my boss stated, looking me straight in the eyes.

“What?” I was his best worker. I’d been there for years and never asked for a raise or anything. 

“You're fired.” He moved toward me and began chasing me around the office. I exited into a horde of people who joined pursuit.

My car tires were flat, so I sprinted toward . . .. The crowd grew, and I ran into a tailor shop and watched the crowd search for me. I wasn’t alone. Behind me was a tall, thin tailor with a wide square jaw using a sewing machine and a line of several people with their mouths sewn shut. He glanced up and pulled out a sewing needle, “What can I do for you?” I stood frozen as my mind whirled. How can I get out of here?.

The crowd outside gave an agonizing screech  when they caught sight of me dashing from the tailor shop.  I did my best to defend myself, but had to resume running. I made it to a nearby town. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?” 

Suddenly, these tall, skinny creatures with large mouths with rows of sharp teeth stormed by me and took over the town, destroying, leaving nothing in their wake. “Oh, I shouldn’t have come here, but. I had to save myself. I ran into a house, locked the door, and hid. As the day turned to night, I fell asleep.

I startled awake to the sound of a knock on the door. I didn’t answer. A voice came from behind it, “Open the door.” That’s when the knocks began to get faster and faster. A fist broke through the door and I was face-to-face with the intruder. It looked human, came at me with a bat, and knocked me out.

As I woke, I felt dizzy and smelled leather. I was in the school gym,surrounded. There were 20 volleyball poles you tied nets to. There were 20 people, including me, tied to each pole with colorful jump ropes. That’s when I heard steps, and the same person who knocked me out was walking down the row. That’s when the leader spoke up, “You’re here to work.Don’t worry. It’ll be .” 

There were four goons, each wearing a mask and some form of sports equipment, including a hockey stick,  a golf club,  a tennis racket, and a baseball launcher modified to be handheld. The hockey stick and golf club had barbed wire attached. The tennis racket had electric fencing. The baseball bat the leader held onto had nails sticking out of it.

The work started. Six people  were thrown into boxing matches and forced to fight each other. Four others were given a backpack and told to scavenge for  food at nearby restaurants and grocery stores. Another was a chef. Seven more people made sure chores got done. Two mechanics kept the generators on.

 I was a scavenger, and the four of us split up. I found a nearby store and a bunch of canned food. I also grabbed packaged soda and water . I grabbed a sledgehammer and hid it in a bush next to the camp entrance. Other scavengers started showing up. “Hey, what did you guys find?”

 “We found canned food and drinks.”

“I found nothing,” one of the scavengers stated. Silence came over our group and the door opened.

The leader inspected our stuff. “Hey! You failed!” He grabbed the guy and threw him out and blew a whistle. A horde of creatures rushed in and devoured him. There wasn’t even a bone left. We stood in deafening silence. 

The next day I refused to scavenge. I was thrown out and the whistle sounded. The army of monsters came rushing towards me. I grabbed the sledgehammer and bashed in the door with one solid swing and ran inside. Chaos erupted! The goons fought the creatures but were overcome by the horde. The leader glared at me, “You’ve doomed everyone here!” I glanced at him, flashing a grin, and ran back outside, leading the other survivors to the military base where we found an. abandoned military helicopter. We rushed onto the helicopter.

 “I know how to fly one of these things,” the mechanic said as he strapped himself in and the rotors started up. I jumped in, and the helicopter began to take off.

The leader was on the roof of the school, sprinting after us. He leapt and grabbed my leg, “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me.”. He pulled and leveraged all of his weight, dragging us both to the ground.

I sat up. “Where am I? My head hurts,” I looked around my own living room. “Wow! What a nightmare.” I stumbled off the couch and looked around. My whole house was in ruins. The TV was broadcasting the news, and the anchor was talking about an earthquake. I walked to work along the burning houses and screaming pedestrians everywhere. This all was really twisted.


The author's comments:

A story about a man named Abraham Stevel who falls asleep and is in a terrifying version of the town Strandleton.


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