Horrific World: Book I

By Bobby Brown

Horrific World is a contemporary collection of 13 short stories loosely based on urban legends in various countries around the world. Stories are thrilling and chilling to give blood curling scare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bobby Brown
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781737518778

Book preview

Before we begin, let’s get the legal mumbo jumbo out of the way.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 by Bobby Brown

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form on by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission of the copyright owner, except brief quotes used in reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-7375187-0-9

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Welcome to my world of horror!

I’ve always been an avid reader with a great big imagination. Horror, mystery, and romance are my absolute favorite genres. As a child, I loved hopping from one imaginary world into another. Next to reading, I love creating my own stories. So, I created these short stories for other fans of horror, so you too can quickly hop around this horrific world.

Prepare for thrills and chills and let’s start our journey. You’ll read about the horror that happens in other countries. You might even see your own country of origin and discover the horror in your own backyard. But, if you don’t see your horrific country in this book, you might find it in the next book!

Bon voyage!

Bobby Brown

CONTENTS

Title Page

TIKO

HOTEL KAPUNDA

RIGHTS AND RITUALS

ANTIQUITIES

THE QUIET LIFE

INSANATORIUM

SHADOW MAN

INTO THE FOREST

THE SCORNED ONES

GHOST ROAD

FELIZ NEVER DEAD

OUT OF TIME

THE DEBT

AFRICA

TIKO

My people have a legend of a creature known as Tikoloshe. It comes from an old Zulu myth about a short, hairy man who can become invisible by swallowing a pebble. You can summon one with the help of a shaman, allowing you to kill your enemies while they sleep, but this power comes with a price: the soul of a loved one. There is no way to control which of your loved ones’ souls they claim, and it can happen anytime. Sometimes the price must be paid immediately, and other times, it can be decades before the Tikoloshe comes to collect.

I was in a bad place when I met Odion. He was supposedly a shaman trained in the old ways, and it was said that he could even summon the Tikoloshe. My wife had just left me, running off with my former best friend, and my heart burned with revenge. I drowned my sorrow with glasses of rum, and that certainly affected my judgment. When I was introduced to Odion and learned about the Tikoloshe, I jumped at the opportunity to collect my debt for revenge with my unfaithful wife and traitorous best friend.

When I first spoke with Odion, it was at the back of a dingy bar. He had a shaved head and a thin moustache, while he was dressed in a sharp gray suit. I, of course, looked like a mess. I had on a pair of dirt-stained jeans and the same t-shirt I’d been wearing for the last five days straight. By the way Odion wrinkled his nose when I arrived at his table, I assumed I must’ve reeked something awful, but I’d long since gotten used to the smell of my own stench. I probably still had flecks of vomit stuck in my scraggly black beard, but I couldn’t be sure, as I hadn’t looked in a mirror for weeks.

I’m Solomon, I said, introducing myself and extending my unsteady hand. Odion just gave me a disapproving look, so I withdrew it and sat down across from him. My buddy Zithulele said you might be able to help me.

What I do won’t help you, he stated. Not the kind of help you need.

Wait, I thought you were supposed to be some kind of shaman? Zithulele told me you know how to summon the Tikoloshe.

Yes, that is true. But this won’t help you, Odion insisted. Believe me, I’ve seen this hundreds of times before. You seek vengeance for something, looking to hurt someone that wronged you. But this won’t bring you peace. It only leads to more pain.

I don’t care, I sneered in a low voice. I want to summon the Tikoloshe. There are people who deserve to be punished for what they did to me. What they’ve turned me into.

Odion shook his head solemnly. You still have a choice, my friend, he said looking at me side eyed. Leave here now and live your life in peace. Let go of the hatred you have in your heart before it destroys you.

My hatred is all I have left. I want you to help me perform the ritual. I implored.

He sighed and reluctantly agreed. Very well. Meet me here tomorrow night. Odion slid a slip of paper across the table with an address on it and tapped it twice. But before you come, go down to the river and retrieve the largest, smoothest pebble you can find. If you don’t bring it with you, there will be no ritual, and you won’t get another chance to try. Understood? I nodded focusing on the address. Good. Now leave me. He pulled back his head disdainfully and uttered a parting advice. And take a bath before tomorrow night.

The next morning, I trudged through my filthy apartment, kicking the piled-up trash and refuse aside as I made a walkway to the bathroom. I dug some clean clothes out of my dresser and took a shower. The scalding water burned my skin, like the hatred that still burned my heart, but I figured the water might help get the dirt out that had seeped into my pores. When I was done, I pulled on the fresh but wrinkled clothing and headed out to meet my destiny.

I was able to reach the river on foot, and I spent nearly two hours wading through the rushing waters, picking up stone after stone as I examined them for near perfection. When I’d finally found two that seemed to meet the criteria, I placed them in my satchel and started making my way to the address on the slip of paper. It was on the outskirts of town, and when I arrived, I discovered that it was a dilapidated warehouse.

When I knocked on the door, I didn’t hear any sound of movements from inside, but light emanated from under the door, so I cracked the door to see if I was in the right place. I could see a figure silhouetted by a large fire burning in the middle of the empty warehouse. Unsure if that was Odion or if this was the right place, I just stood there staring for a few moments until I heard Odion’s deep throated voice call out to me.

Come in, Solomon.

As I crossed the large warehouse to him, I glanced up and saw half the roof was missing. The smoke from the fire billowed up and escaped through the large hole. I reached Odion, who was kneeling in front of the flames and appeared to be praying.

I dropped the small satchel with the pebbles beside him and said, Here.

He gave me a disconcerting look as loosened the draw string and pulled out both pebbles. You only needed to bring me one, he stated still looking at the pebbles in the palm of his hand.

But I want the Tikoloshe to kill two people, I told him. Though the rum was not burning my stomach the hatred was still burning my heart.

What? He raised an eyebrow at me. You didn’t tell me that last night.

I said there were people who needed to be punished. My body stiffened with determination.

I assumed that was rhetorical, Odion muttered. You truly are lost, aren’t you? Are you aware of the price you must pay to summon the Tikoloshe?

Yes, I replied flatly. I was not to be dissuaded from my only purpose in life. The soul of someone I love.

"Two souls,