2020TOO Book Five: Twisted Stories/Unhinged Poems

By Matthew Tonks

You hold in your hands a piece of a puzzle far grander than you could ever know. For scrawled in blood upon the pages are stories twisted twenty in all, soaked in the embers of my insanity. Five minutes to glimpse inside the eyes of someone new, five minutes to wonder, five minutes to dance, five minutes to do almost anything. A mirror, a gash, a voyeur, a flash. A whine, a flask, a cup, a dish. Death and division, humanity askew. A belfry of bats, a sea of black cats, so many moments out there to see, so many things you could see with me. So take a seat beside me and call it voodoo, because now you ride with me too...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew Tonks
• Release date: Jul 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463670385

Matthew Tonks

Together we ride the steed of madness, along a road long foretold. Do not let the dire consequences scare you from this journey, for it is written, so it must be. We traveller. We explorers of otherworldly things. Let us share our providence, so we may all prosper.Hidden in the depths of it all, you will find your utopia, and it will be a beautiful sight to witness.For I may walk beside you, and I may carry your umbrella in the sun, just don’t expect me to dig you up, when the zombie apocalypse comes...

Book preview

The Stories

A Doorway Not Locked Yet Not Open

You ain’t the shit! Devon spits through clenched teeth as he tries to fight his way out of their grip while he glares hatefully at the smiling Leon.

Fact is boy, Leon says with a curl of his tongue as he dips the tips of his fingers into the pool of Holly’s blood then rises back to his feet with stoic poise. I am omnipotent, while you are food for thought, he says as he wipes a trail of blood across each of his cheeks, then sticks them into his mouth and sucks them clean.

Y-YOU’RE A FUCKING JOKE WITHOUT A PUNCH LINE! A-A FACE WITHOUT EYES! A-A-A SPACE FILLER WAITING FOR WHATEVER IS NEXT! YOU’RE NOTHING!

He laughs softly and rolls his eyes up into the back of his head. Let me ask you a question, and not one of those playful joke questions we seem to be asking ourselves all the time, but let me ask you a real important question, one that could change the very fabric of the reality that surrounds us. Can I do that? he asks as he crouches in front of Devon.

I-It won’t change anything, a-and e-especially not t-the fabric o-of t-this FUCKING reality!

He smiles softly. Why not?

B-B-Because q-questions can’t do that, questions can’t c-change the fabric of everything t-that surrounds us. Devon stammers nervously.

Leon smacks his lips together and bows his head in silent agreement. You are of course correct, but it doesn’t alter my request. Do you think now is the right time? Do you think I can ask my question and initiate change?

What s-sort of difference c-c-can a q-question change?

You have obviously misheard my words, and in doing that you have also failed to understand what was meant. For you see, I do not intend to change anything with my question, all I am merely looking to do is to learn something. Maybe, just maybe, if you treat this like the opportunity that I am treating this as, you may learn something too.

I TOLD YOU, A QUESTION WON’T CHANGE A FUCKING THING!

And as I said, it isn’t designed to change, it is designed to teach, and in teaching we learn. Learning is not change, it is broadening ourselves for that change to be initiated, and in that we are able to deal with whatever is next. Do you see? Do you understand now?

NO! NO I DON’T! YOU START OUT ONE WAY, AND THEN YOU SWERVE ANOTHER WAY! DECIDE WHICH WAY YOU’RE GOING, AND STAY WITH IT! he bellows, spit flying from his mouth in waves while his nose twists and turns upwards as he tries once more to free himself from the grasp of Leon’s henchmen, but he again ends up on the ground in a huddled heap as the two wrestle him to the floor.

Leon smiles and crouches over him, brushing the hair from his eyes. I have stayed on course since this all began, I have stayed on course without fear or failure, but you, you have steered your ship towards those that would wish us behind the bars of justice. YOU, you my little friend have told secrets outside of school.

W-W-WHAT DO YOU WANT! Devon screams.

I want to ask a question, that is all.

A-A-And if I-I, if I let you, w-w-will you let me go?

Please Devon, we both know the answer to that question, don’t we? he says as a broad grin writes itself across his face and he allows a maniacal chuckle to escape his lips.

Tales Told By Lamplight

We who craft the delicate pathways between heaven and hell, are the same beings that sever those cords and leave the unworthy to rot midstream, as you now do. she says with wide uncaring eyes scourging Bethany’s very being with their glare. But do not think me heartless, for that is not the case, it is just that the countless eons that have past have cost us our care and ownership of all that is. So, take heed of my words, for your words are worthless to my ears my child as the impossibility of the possible is monumental in its worthlessness.

I-I-I, Bethany