FULL ON HORROR - The 30th 2000AD Forum Short Story Competition

[Lady Festina]

No other way to describe it, we're after FULL ON HORROR from you.

Our last winner, bluemeanie, explains the theme:

I say go dark. Short story. 2000AD characters. FULL ON HORROR. Want it nasty as hell. Extra points for not using an obvious character like Judge Death or Durham Red to do it either. Take someone not usually associated with horror and do something messed up with them. Ideally in a way that it could actually work in continuity and it's a hidden side to them that normally happens off panel or between stories. Show some dark closeted skeletons.

500 words or fewer. Entries written in blood will receive extra credit. Closing date 23:59, Sunday 19 May.

This being our 30th competition, there will be prizes... More details soon!

[Eamonn Clarke]

I left my heart in ...

The man was strapped to a metal frame. He couldn't move his arms or legs, and the pounding in his head told him he was upside down. There was a wet feeling on his neck and a dripping sound. Through eyes that were blurred by sweat and tears he glimpsed a tall figure standing in the shadows. His lips and mouth felt dry and his voice cracked as he tried to speak.

""Wh-what are you doing to me?"

The figure stepped towards him, the light revealing a leather uniform and a badge.

"I'm sorry but you have something that I need. It's nothing personal."

The Judge reached out and flicked a plastic tube.

"I like it warm and fresh. The needle in your arm is giving you heparin to stop the blood clotting. It gives a slight chemical after-taste but it lasts longer. Draining you upside down keeps your heart beating and I get more out of you."

"I don't understand. You want my blood? Why?"

"I got a taste for it when I did my hotdog run. A senior judge takes a group of cadets out into the cursed earth. Like a scouts camping trip but with better weaponry. Except we got ambushed by the Cullen gang. A claymore mine took out the lawmasters and 3/4 of our group. The rest of us fought them off but it was a long battle. In the end there were two of us left with just our boot knives, 70 clicks from the city walls. It was Varney who suggested we fill our canteens with blood, said it would be our best chance of survival as we walked back. He was right too. Thing is, once you've had that taste it's difficult to give it up."

"I'll be missed. Puh-people will look for me."

"No they won't. What's one more missing person after the day of chaos? Public records are still off line. Damage reports are confused and inaccurate."

The Judge reached into the man's jacket and pulled out a wallet.

"No. No-one is going to come looking for Joseph Abraham Stoker, an unemployed sign painter from Oldman block with no known next of kin."

"Then k-kill me now. Don't leave me like this."

"Hush now. You'll pass out soon enough, and I'll have what I need. Enough to keep me going for a while."

"But I know you, don't I? You used to be the chief judge, you do that tv ..." his words faded to a faint mumble as a radio crackled into life.

"Control to Francisco. Your helmet cam and mic are showing as off-line. Is there a problem?"

"No, Control. I switched them off for a little personal time."

"That's a Rog, Francisco. No problem. We'll mark you as on a break for the next twenty. You've earned it. Kickback and drink a cup of joe."

"Thanks, Control." He looked at the pale, unconscious figure on the frame, and the rapidly filling bottles. "I might just do that."

[Alski]

Nice punchline 

[Sideshow Bob]

Yep, got to agree....Great stuff !!
And a Very nice punchline.....A nice cup of Joe...
Cheers..

[Sideshow Bob]

I very much like the reference to Varney.......who along with Francisco, survived their Hotdog run.......I'm hoping it is a 'nod to'  one of the very first vampire novels in the 1830's by James Rymer.....Later attributed to Thomas Prest from 'Feast of Blood'.....
I think Varney was also played in the Film 'London after Midnight' starring Lon Chaney Snr, a very early Todd Browning ( I think ) film. 
And of course pre-dates Bram Stokers' Dracula by 30 or 40 years...
Great stuff anyway..
Cheers

[Eamonn Clarke]

Yes all the names are references including the original Varney the vampire.
Thanks for the kind words.  The title is half of an obvious song references as well.

Looking forward to reading everyone else's stories

[Marlowe]

Oh dear. Horror is not my forte.

Forgot to say grats to the winners in the 29th comp! And good luck to entrants for this comp. I look forward to reading everyone's stories.

[Alski]

Not sure about what is Horror, but for me war is the ultimate horror story.

The Spirit Of War

Some cultures believe there is a God of war, but then some cultures think there are Gods of shopping, small dogs and pancakes. War, however, does not need a God. All war needs is two sides, the more heavily armed the better.

Private Schultz didn't know if he was on the right or wrong side, and to be fair he was mostly on his side. His platoon marched slowly through the thick, dank jungle, weapons at the ready for whatever might spring out. The spirit of war liked him, he was perfect. As he marched, the spirit allowed his mind to wander, and he saw himself on the ground, his guts hanging out of him, The Enemy standing over him laughing. Somehow he felt the kick, felt the excruciating pain as the spirit infested his mind, playing the final reel of the horrors of war again and again until Private Schultz marched, lifeless except for the tears pouring from his eyes.

This was a ripe group, and the spirit moved on to Private Kernow, who was fresh faced and ready for action. A little more challenging, but in the end fear was fear, and Kernow soon found his mind wandering as the jungle blurred. Instead, he found himself in a small hut with an enemy woman. She was scratched and bloody, teeth on the floor, naked and had been repeatedly violated. She could not talk, such were her injuries, but her eyes pleaded with him, begged him to end her pain. A bang on the door, a reminder that he was expected to rape her, cut her, use her, or be killed himself... it was that sort of war. Kernow had no gun, no knife, so he could either beat her to death or rape her as gently as he could. Some choice, but that's war, the spirit whispered into his subconscious. Private Kernow would shoot any women he saw from now on, just to make sure it never came to pass. Take no prisoners, tell no tales.

One by one, the spirit of war moved through the ranks, spreading despair, loosening bowels, filling minds with visions of severed limbs, horrible choices, shattered minds. It was too easy, always too easy. At the head of the column were two young men, all the old soldiers having been killed long ago.With practised ease, the spirit of war went to work.

"Hey Earnest," said Waldo "D.R" Dobbs. "Is it just me, or does this planet really get you down? I mean, it's enough that there aren't any expensive foreign restaurants, am I right?"
"S'right..." replied his lumbering companion.
"Screw this for a game of soldiers," said D.R. "Hand me the happy pills Quinch, you disgusting mound of slime. Time for a dose of deleriousness. And take one yourself, this is one miserable freaking planet."
With the pills popped, the two draftees marched on, oblivious to the tears of their fellow soldiers and the anguished howls  of the spirit of war.

[Sideshow Bob]

Really liked that, Alski..
Like all good short stories, complete in itself but totally engaging...and left me wanting to know more..
Excellent stuff,
Cheers..

[Van Dom]

Havent been able to get on here in ages and have missed loads of these comps by now - this theme is great though and 2 brilliant entries so far. Would love to try and submit something this go, time permitting...

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Spider

I wait in the dark. Slumped and unmoving in my wooden seat, vacant eyes peering through the bone-thick glass of my cell (how that makes me smile - their illusion of safety, as translucent as their intentions). I wait, because I need do nothing else. Sooner or later, one by one, they are brought to me.

I watch as the latest comes before me. He's a little mortal man, all newly dead and trembling, being led to me by Arcana. It reminds me of a wedding. This little man is the bride, being given away by his daddy, and now I'm going to rape him. Of course, he doesn't know that. He's expecting suspenders and roses and champagne cocktails.

The new one pushes himself up against the glass, hands either side of his face as he peers in at me.  (Didn't you listen? Weren't you warned about staring into the abyss?).

"Major, what happened to him?"

The Major won't look inside, won't meet my eyes. "We don't know, son," he lies. The words slip past his cigar like fleeing prisoners. "He was my partner. We got caught in one of the border zones, the no-places between worlds, and he was like this when we came back."

"Is he in pain?"

"We... don't think so. At least, he doesn't show any sign of it." A puff on the cigar. "But then he shows no sign of anything, so..."

"Why not kill him? Put him out of his misery?"

The Major has the decency to look askance before answering. "I already told you, son, you're dead. We're all dead. You'd have a hard time killing us twice. And, besides, we don't get rid of our own. We're all he has. Such as it is."

I could feel the new man's thoughts jiggling. He still wasn't sure if he was dead. (If I am, he asks, then why am I not in heaven or - even - hell? Why have I got a job?).

"We being everyone here on the first day," the Major says. "To let them see the risks. So they understand that when things go wrong, they can really go wrong. To make sure they're careful."

(You bring them because I make you).

Time to open up another. I reach into the fresh mind and ferret out the soul. It runs (they always do, but where can they go?) and for a moment I let it think it has hidden inside the memory of his first kiss. Then I pluck it out and make it mine.

The Major looks over and nods. "So do you understand, son? You see what we are trying to do? You understand what Indigo Prime is?"

The new man feels light-headed. He puts it down the shock of the new (not the wrenching of his soul, not possession, not becoming my puppet).

"I... guess so. We're the thin line. We stop what's over there getting here."

"You got it."

(Yes. I'll have it all).

[Sideshow Bob]

OOhh !!,  very good indeed...
I really liked that, A LOT !!..

Very atmospheric .....and actually quite 'creepy' !!...A very difficult thing to achieve in only 500 words or less..
Left me wanting more, again, a sign of a very good short story....Great Stuff.
Cheers

[Modern Panther]

Smile

The Chief Judge's breastplate gave a heavy clunk as Hershey laid it upon the table.  Who had designed this thing, she wondered?  Who had decided that, on top of everything else, she should be weighed down with this unwieldy monstrosity?

It felt good to be free of it.  To be able to shake off this burden, at least, in the privacy of her own space.  She wished that she hadn't spent so much time with the Old Man.  Maybe then she would be able to sit on a comfortable chair, sleep in an actual bed, without the guilt.  But she would have a shower, gruddammit...a real shower.  She would allow herself this little thing.

The peephole was invisible from within the Chief Judge's chambers.

He watched her, silently. 

He had watched them all, through the years, as they went about their duties.  Watched them in their private moments, when they felt sure they were alone and they stopped being Judges, if only for a little while.  Hershey was his favourite.  He watched her taut body move across the room, the shower water run over her pale skin...

They had put him in the secret place because he was special.  He was patient and he wouldn't be lonely, oh no, he wouldn't be lonely.  She was so close.  He remembered the warmth of other people.  He hadn't considered it at the time, but when she was so close, it was hard not to think about it.  After so long tucked away between the walls, squeezed it the gaps of other people's lives, other men might have gone mad.  Lesser men might have lost themselves in their own thoughts.  Not him, though, oh no, not him.  He was special.

The Secret Place was comfortable enough.  They had made sure he was provided for and would never go hungry.  There was a pretend little window that looked out onto a pretend little garden.  It was more that most people in the city had.  He had everything he could ever need.  Almost everything he could ever need.
It was his duty to watch over them, to watch over Hershey.  Watch her in these lonely moments.  He would whisper to her, whisper the secrets that after all this time only he knew.  Whisper to her in the dark, when she thought she was alone.

The years, though, they had been long, hidden in his secret place.  He ran his hands over the smooth walls, felt the cold material hard against his cheek, closing one eye to see better through his little peephole on the world.  As close to her as he could be.  For now, at least...

He loved her.  She would love him too, he was sure of it, sure of it, if she knew that he was her special friend.

He was special.  He was patient.  That's why he was chosen.  He could wait.

And watch.

And whisper.

And smile.

[Sideshow Bob]

OK, Temponaut....you've got me !!
Attention caught, interest aroused and curiousity piqued....

Now,..... need to know.......Who was / is he ? ...Who put him there..?  Why did they put him there ?.. Why is he special ?...What is he ??.....What does he whisper ??

Great stuff !!....and I would like more....always an indication of a great short story.
Thanks..

[Emp]

   THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Cooper awoke to a throbbing in his head. He tried to sit up but found himself bound, unable to move. Turning his head he saw others like him, bound  to beds in what looked like a hospital.

The sound of the pressurised doors opening made him look down, passed his feet. Two heavily armed men had entered and began wheeling a gurney from the room.

"Boss looks torn up," said one.

"Shadupp, less you wanna be a donor,"

Hours, days passed before the next victim was  dragged  out. Cooper watched ,determined that he would not follow in his wake.
Patient struggle had allowed him to free one hand and soon he was standing.

"What are you doing?" hissed a female voice, "you'll get us all killed!"

Looking around he saw a girl not much older than himself secured to a bed a few rows away.

"In case it escaped you I think these guys want us dead anyway!" he hissed.

"Damn, well I'm coming with you then,"

" You think?"

" I can scream really loud," the girl replied and took a deep breath.

"Crap," Cooper whispered as he crossed to her bed and released her, "Just keep it quiet!"

Opening the door revealed a corridor running parallel. Right lead to a set of stairs and since stairs led up and up equals out they took them.
The top of the stairs led into another corridor and a sight that stopped them in their tracks. A window allowed them a view of a lab in which rows of hearts sat is jars, slowly beating.

The corridor was lined with doors and Cooper tried one at random. Alarms blared and a voice from an unknown source cried out!

"UNAUTHORISED ACCESS IN LEVEL 2! SECURITY DETAIL TO LEVEL 2!"

Leaving the door ajar, Cooper opened the opposite door, ushering the girl inside.

"Ssshh...hopefully they'll see that open door, think it's a false alarm!"

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

"Got a better one? Cooper spat.

The girl looked at him and then the floor.

"Thought not, now shut up, I hear them!"

The sound of footfalls deafened them as they hid, hoping they would pass by. They didn't, they stopped and voices could be heard.

"Nothing,"

" Make sure, room by room sweep,"

"Aw c'mon...my hearts beating too fast..that alarm freaked me!"

"You shot up! In here! The boss will kill you....."

The sentence was cut short by blaster fire and the the door slowly opened. Cooper grabbed the nearest object and stepped in front of the girl.

The door swung open to reveal .....a Gronk!

"This ways!" it said ushering them out.

In the corridor the Gronk leant against a wall, holding it's chest.

"You OK? asked Cooper.

"Heartsess" replied the creature, " stairs at end or corridor..go"

Taking the girls hand Cooper ran, only to find himself faced by armed guards. Turning he saw the Gronk draw on him and fire.

"Sorry, I need your heartsess"