It was one fine morning when I received a mail from Messrs. Anderson and Noble, Advocates and Solicitors to be present at their office in New York for the reading of my Uncle John’s will. Enclosed in the letter were a key and a note. For the whole day, I could not forget the contents of the note. On the piece of paper, despite its old age, a message was clearly written on it. If it wasn’t for the message, I would have tossed the piece of paper into a garbage can. Written in a type of ink which clearly looked like blood, it carries instructions on the key’s usage. The only thing that troubled me was the language that was used to write the instructions. It was some strange and peculiar writings that were neatly scribbled onto the piece of paper. In fact, when I looked closely, the ‘paper’ turned out to be some kind of skin. Not just skin but human skin. One look at it made me turn away in disgust. I drove back home, thinking of ways to decipher the idiosyncratic scribbling.
When I arrived home, I ransacked my mammoth-sized collection of books that had to do with ancient runes. Leaving no stone unturned, I spent two hours in search of the particular book. My effort paid off when I stumbled upon a black, hard-covered book which my grandfather had passed down to me as an inheritance. I flipped through its pages and stopped at a page which held the same writings that the note possessed, together with its translation in English. I matched each word to its own meaning and the message that appeared looked as if a treasure hunt was being carried out. It pointed out directions, starting from my uncle’s home as the reference point. Feeling excited and with euphoria, I grabbed my car keys and immediately rushed to his residence. Upon my arrival, my uncle’s dogs barked, greeting me with friendly looks and showing no hostility towards me. I patted them on the head and went into Uncle John’s house to snatch a few treats for the dogs. Once I was done with them, I took out the note he had left for me and started to look for clues that would point me to the hidden location. After four grueling hours of searching, I finally found the place that the message pointed to.
I was standing in front of a stable, feeling annoyed because of the trouble that was caused by the note - just to locate a plain horse stable. I pushed the door open and walked into the building. Inside, it was just an ordinary sight. Stirrups, saddles and horseshoes were all over the place. Uncle John had sold off all his remaining horses and gained quite a profit from the sales. As I looked around, suddenly, I heard something that made my blood run cold. Distant screams of pain and agony could be heard in the barn. I rushed out of the stable, in search of the source but as I ran out, the shrieking stopped and could be heard no more. Confused, I walked back in, wondering what had caused that sound. I continued rummaging and paced around the room, hoping to find something valuable. Once again, I heard the same piercing scream. This time, I dashed out but I tripped on a stirrup and fell with a thud. Grimacing in pain, I rubbed my ankles, fearing that I may have sprained them but I did not have time to think about it for when I looked down, I saw something that should not be found in an ordinary stable – a trapdoor.
Heavy as it looked, it took me quite awhile to open it but finally, it creaked open and a flight of stairs were revealed to allow one person to go down. With a sense of curiosity, I took hold of a lamp, lighted it and was on my way down. A few minutes later, I reached the bottom and came face to face with a heavy wooden door. Remembering my uncle’s key, I immediately reached for it in my pocket and stuck it into the lock. It clicked open and the door swung forth, revealing a narrow path. It was so dark that it was impossible to see what was at the end of the road. I bravely took a step forward but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard another scream. This time, it was louder, sharper, more piercing and agonizing than the previous screams. Praying to God that I would be safe, I continued walking until I came across a fork in the road. As the direction of the scream came from the left, I took the left turn and continued my exploration. When I finally arrived at the end of the road, I saw a sight that was so disturbing and gory that I almost fainted. A man, chained to the wall, was being sliced up, limb by limb while he was screaming in anguish. Before I knew it, he was screaming no more. A blade, as sharp as a razor, which was mechanically attached to a metal arm, swung towards the victim’s head and sliced it off thus ending his pain and suffering at the very moment. As his head rolled onto the floor, the chains automatically clicked open and the badly mutilated body fell into a puddle of blood. After the ordeal, I heard another click. A counter, which I did not notice when I entered the chamber, showed the number 97. It did not take me long enough to figure out what was going on. My late uncle was a sadistic man who had an insatiable hunger for blood. He was keeping count of the number of people that he had slain to satisfy his bloodlust. I also realized that the killing machines in the house of horror were all functioning on a motor in the house.
In order to exit the torture dungeon, one must continue walking to the end which I did for I could no longer watch another fellow human being cut up barbarously. I arrived at the next chamber. This time, I noticed a behemoth saw on my right, stained with blood. In front of me, there was a lady, clothed in a tattered and torn dress, screaming for help and begging for mercy. The saw was closing in. I ran forth and did all my best to release the lady form captivity but there was nothing I could do. Picking the lock of the chains was useless and there was not a single thing in the room that could be used to cut the chains. In my futile attempt, the saw came so close that I jumped aside to avoid it, forgetting the helpless victim that was restrained there. In a split second, the saw did its job. Her torso was brutally sawed off into two and her organs could be seen jutting out from her sawn off parts. Feeling extremely sick, I vomited at the sight of it. I could no longer hold back the disgust but still continued forward. It took me only five steps to discover what happened to another victim. I saw a body, pinned to a rotating circular tabletop on the wall. The body was nailed onto it. Knives of all sorts were plunged deep into its flesh, regardless of the body parts. The body was so badly dismembered that it was difficult to identify the shape and size of the body. Having seen the first two tortures, this was not as brutal and inhuman as the ones before. After studying the body, I realized the cause of its death. A knife, stuck into the head, delivered the coup de grĂ¢ce. I stood there, not knowing what to do next. It took me quite awhile to regain my strength and courage to continue my journey.
I kept walking, ignoring the bloodstains that were all over the floor and walls. When I thought the first few chambers were bad, oh, how wrong I was. I remembered the type of material that was used to hold the instructions that brought me into this torture chamber. I shuddered at the thought of humans being skinned. Upon arriving, I saw bubbling, green liquid, stored in a cauldron. Above it, there was a suspended and transparent glass chamber. I saw a bucket, hovering above the glass chamber. Curiosity filled me once more but this time, curiosity killed the cat. As I approached the chamber, I felt a strong shove which caused me to enter the enclosure and the instant I was in it, the glass door slammed shut. There was no way I could escape. The walls of the glass were so slippery that not even a fly could climb it. I turned to look for the person who pushed me. Ironically, I saw my sadistic uncle, who should be dead. Words failed me for I was so shocked. Earlier today, he had already been proclaimed dead but now, he was sneering at me while standing in front of a lever.
It did not take me long to finally work out what was happening all this while. My bloodthirsty uncle had staged his own demise to allow his will to be carried out. Uncle John knew that the contents of his will would definitely entice me into coming to this slaughterhouse he had created. This glass chamber that I was in would now be my hearse. As he lowered the lever, the bucket above me was stirring and the chamber was lowering itself nearer and nearer towards the cauldron. The bucket overturned. What seemed like red coloured beads were falling over me. One of the beads landed on my arm and a sharp pain seared all over my body. When I looked closely, it was an ant – a fire ant. One bite would release pheromones thus causing the entire colony to attack me. Now it was too late. The ants were all over me. As I looked down, what used to be my legs were now bones. I stumbled onto the floor of the chamber. The ants were working their way up. My flesh was slowly disappearing as I saw bones. Suddenly, everything turned blissful. Before I closed my eyes, I saw my uncle laughing hysterically at his ultimate achievement. The counter had struck 100.
Written by:
Isaiah Tan 4P (2009)