THE FINAL TRIP
a short pulpy horror story - PDF attached
Hey! I was stuck inside sick this weekend and had to cancel plans, so I took that time to put a short horror story together over two days. I am new to the game so would love honest feedback - good or bad - on it. More so than likes or subs. Feel free to comment or send a private message.
Call this my demo tape!
I initially didn’t send this out to subs but I got zero eyes on it haha so have made this a subscriber email too! Apologies to add to your inbox mess!
Without further ado I present… THE FINAL TRIP
(the copy and paste below has messed up my formatting and I can’t change it - so check out the attached PDF to see how I did it!)
Sid craved revenge, it had been the single item on his bucket list for the past thirty years. He could barely go an hour before his imagination would violently run riot, making plans. On November 2nd 1993 Sid had been tortured, savagely beaten and left for dead by a group of angry locals in the Welsh town of Môr-Gwyrdd. The problem was Sid actually died that day so payback was indeed going to be a slight bitch.
He tried to use all his will to survive his ordeal and fought, hoped, and prayed to stay alive til his final breath. The effort he put into living resulted in a rare circumstance, his spirit didn’t move on to the next chapter, he instead got stuck between life and death. He could go anywhere, see and hear but could not ever be seen, heard or interact with people or objects in any way. He was a ghost of a ghost.
During his 30 years observing the world he learnt that Stephen Carruthers was responsible for handing out the poisoned Jelly-Babies that killed five young kids in Môr-Gywrdd the day after Halloween ’92. Stephen, a popular rugby player and undercover sick fuck had been able to convince some local idiots that Sid - a pill popping misunderstood weirdo that organised free parties - was the culprit. Stephen had planted contaminated sweets in Sids home, and this was enough for the authorities to shut the case. No arrests were ever made over Sids murder, despite the identities of the killers being fairly common knowledge. Stephens Uncle was a local detective and Sid had watched him sabotage the case many times over in order to protect his own family. In the end they stopped looking, the overriding feeling was that justice had been done.
The ability to travel freely was of course the one plus of Sids state - but frustratingly, travel was limited to the methods available when he was alive, and wasn’t any faster. So for example when he went to see the Pyramids he needed to board a train to Heathrow then catch a long-haul flight. He did a lot of sightseeing over the years and along the way had met other trapped spirits. When Sid was trekking in South America in 2006, he met Claudia who told him there were rumours of spirits finding way back, they just needed to be called over and then possess an unsuspecting body. Some had even found ways to pass to the next chapter. What that entailed was anyones guess.
Halloween 2022 saw Sid receive a call. A true crime podcast was trying to summon Sids spirit via some dark magic for the thirty year anniversary and get Sid on for an interview. Sid had heard about this plan so made sure he was back in town and waiting for them in the place he was killed. The team seemed to know what they were doing and had an old leather-bound book with them. Lydia, who seemed to be in charge chanted an incantation from it and Sid felt himself being pulled back into the real world easily with minimal fuss or strange activity. “Its bollocks, its not working! Perhaps I’ll just pretend to be him” said Callum the sound engineer, brandishing a Jelly-Baby.
“Hey, don’t piss him off - put that away” said Lydia
“Ooh save me from the chid killer” chirped Callum
“I’m serious! Besides you said they are for tonight - I can’t have you tripping now”
“I know right, theres some banging acid in there!”
This all went down just as Sid made a dive for Callum’s head intending to possess him. Sid ended up clumsily colliding with the Jelly-Baby and suddenly felt clammy, pudgy, tiny and slow all at once. This had to be a fucking joke. After three decades of invisibility he had escaped to inhabit an hallucinogenic jelly-baby.
Callum popped Sid away and into his pocket, the sound was very muffled, but he eventually sensed he was moving in a car. He was starting to stress as he saw no way out of the sticky situation, it was like he was like a turtle on its back that was also drunk on ten pints and wearing an inflatable sumo suit. In this condition he wouldn’t even be able to lodge himself in Stephens throat and choke the bastard to death.
The group of four podcasters eventually arrived at a hotel and piled into their room. Callum was ready to party and he whipped out a bag of coke and some beers which he immediately cracked into.
“Yah yah my guy just has the best shit, honestly - it hasn’t been touched since Peru. You really can tell by the taste” he jabbered. “Seriously though, this episode is going to make us huge! Once I have edited the audio everyone will think we really contacted him. A million views first day. Easy money!”
“I really wanted to explore if Sidney was actually innocent” said Lydia, the host and spell caster. “There are a lot rumours he was set up”
“Fuck him, who cares? Lets go viral for contacting a dead man. Donate some of the money to Amnesty International if you want to feel better! Line of racket?”
“You know I don’t touch that rubbish. You should lay off too. Sometimes, I think you are becoming a real dick because of it.”
“I’ll have one!” Chimed in Dan, one of the crew.
“Me too! Then lets get on the ‘poisoned’ Jelly-Babies” added Sarah. “I want to get spacey!”
“Lets fucking go!” exclaimed Callum and slapped a handful of the gummies down on the coffee table. “I’ve been told these are strong so just have a nibble to begin!”
Sid started to panic, Callum had him clutched in his sweaty hand, was about to eat him and there was nothing Sid could do about it. He tried struggling but his pathetic movements didn’t even register. He thought he was done for. However, when Callum bit into Sid his teeth sliced his jelly-baby belly wide open and his spirit burst out and down Callum’s throat, letting Sid take control of his body. Sid suddenly felt very alert, likely due to the low quality speed his host had actually been shooting up his nose and realised it was going to be bad news if any acid got into his system. He acted quickly and spat out the chomped gelatine mess.
“You fucking pussy” laughed Dan, “What are you doing, man?”
Sid wasn’t in the mood for this lads banter. There were scores to be settled. He grabbed an empty wine bottle and smashed it. Waving the fractured vessel at Lydia’s face he screamed that she should start recording.
“Fuck, what have you taken? What are you doing? I’m joking bro!” Screamed Dan, he tried to rush over to Sid.
“Stay back or I’m going cut her from throat to stomach. You want to be famous? Record what I say now!”
“Ok bro, relax, let me get my phone” said Dan reaching to the table for his device.
“Is the tape on? Listen up. This Sidney Price, you did bring me back today, I’m not the evil spirit you might think I am. I didn’t poison those children, it was Stephen Carruthers. They aren’t the only ones he has killed. Go to his farm, there is a safe under his bed. All the evidence you need is in there. He framed me and killed me. He wont be seeing a jail cell though, as far as he’s concerned you brought the devil to him today. I’m getting revenge on him and his Uncle, the bent cop Craig Latham who interfered in the case to stop them finding my killer, knowing full well it was Stephen. The evidence that went missing - thats in Stephens sick memory box too. There were people that helped Stephen kill me - Sam Llewellyn, Carla Williams and Ryan Joseph. They are inbred bumpkins too stupid to know Stephen was a lying rat. They will survive tonight to see a jail cell. I hope you got all that because its going make you fucking famous!”
“Cal, you need to calm down and just drink some water. What are you talking about?” pleaded Lydia.
“I’m very calm, now everyone get in the bathroom” he replied gravely while snatching some USB cables, “I don’t know what these are for, but they are just what I need.”
After restraining and gagging the podcasters Sid started to feel a bit off, his rage had been amplified by the amphetamines and alcohol already in his hosts blood stream. But now, he was getting a different sensation - sound was altering, his vision too. Oh fuck. Had Callum actually swallowed some of the acid? Don’t think about that! He couldn’t freak out and fail now, he had to find Detective Craig Latham. It shouldn’t be difficult - he had just turned 80 and was in the Green View Care Home, he wasn’t a hard-man cop anymore, taking him out would be simple.
As Sid walked to the care home, nausea started to creep in, multi-coloured polygons shone in front of him, turned to hexagons, to octagons, then the buildings surrounding him disappeared making everything one flat expanse. A hazy light shone in front of him, hands, paws and tentacles beckoned from the light, asking for him to enter the void they were in. He had seen this before on the night he died and retreating into its many arms felt like the most natural thing in the world to do, but he fought the urge again, like he did nearly thirty years ago. He needed to stay here and issue some final beatdowns.
Another bright flash consumed everything before Sid was suddenly stood over Craig Latham who was asleep, tubes in his nose pumping oxygen to his tobacco ravaged lungs. On the bedside cabinet was a heavy trophy, awarded for marksmanship during Craigs time in the army. There were a couple of rumours about how infamous he had become for his brutality when he was stationed in Northern Ireland and Sid thought it would be fitting to smash his body from feet to head with this prize. Sid examined the sleeping pensioner, noting how weak and frail time had made this once ferocious and amoral man. Sid might have been intoxicated with pain and drugs but he could still feel pity - and he wasn’t about to join his enemies in becoming a coward who killed the defenceless. Instead, he nudged Craig. “Wake up you cunt. Any idea who I am?’ Craig looked at him with blank, leaking yellow eyes. “Its Sidney Price. You never allowed me to have justice, or peace, and worse you allowed a chid killer to roam free. You pig, you’re a disgrace.”
“Nurse, Nurse” croaked Craig.
“Sisters asleep, its just me here, scumbag.”
“You’re insane. Sidney Price is dead. Who are you?”
“I’m his hole-y spirit, some wounds never heal. Let me prove I’m not lying. Ask me what happened when you arrested me in 1990?”
“No one, knows about that, I never recorded it”
“I know, you let me go free, gave me some good advice to be fair. Anyway, I’m not going to kill you, I want you to live out your days knowing the truth. Your nephew killed me, I know you know that, I don’t think you understood he was the real Halloween killer though. You prevented his capture, and let him kill again. Many times, many innocent people. So let that guilt marinate for your short remaining life, I want it to destroy you while I go and destroy his world, like you helped destroy my families.”
As Sid turned around to leave he heard a rattle. He span around to see Craig pointing his old army pistol at him as it shook up and down in his weak grip, he looked on the verge of tears. “You’re wrong, I knew he was a killer, I could never accept the truth though. Besides, the rugby team were top of the league at the time - we needed him. It was important for the town. Take my gun and do what I should have done when I was able to.” Sid was disgusted but the light flashed again, the hands, the paws, the tentacles all called to Sid. Suddenly, he found himself outside the care home once more. This time covered in blood, chunks of flesh and lumps of skull and bone. There was no gun. What the hell was in that jelly-baby? A procession of bloody footprints led from the care home to him. Someone had been hurt and it wasn’t Sid. An inner peace started to wash over him. Had he shot Craig? A scared voice in his head told him he had and it made him move on to the next target.
The walk to Stephens farm was not fun. Sid kept finding himself back in the same places and startled by things which may or may not have been there. While in the town it was hard to tell what was Halloween attire and what wasn’t. Callum kept trying to talk to him too, the poor kid was confused and terrified, it was very annoying.
“Callum, shut up! This is your fault! Why couldn’t you just take your job seriously?”
“Stop telling me to shoot people. I don’t want to. That man hadn’t done anything” he wailed back.
Sid smiled, he must have blacked out and popped Craig with his own gun. The old geezer should have stopped talking, he had pushed Sid to far. Although traumatised Callum might need some therapy after this, that is if the poor kid didn’t end up in prison.
They arrived at the end of the lane where the farmhouse was around one in the morning. Unexpectedly, Stephen was out in the farmyard. Nearing, Sid saw the bastard was dealing with a flooding cess-pit. Apt for such a piece of shit. This was a concern, Sid had hoped to just pull up on Stephen while he was sleeping. Stephen had put on weight since his youth, but he was still athletic and strong. Despite being a paranormal entity Sid only had the strength of Callum, who was quite a small guy and tripping his tits off.
Tentacles and hoofs called to Sid from the open cess-pit, its just the acid - its bad gear he told himself.
Creeping through the farmyard Sid managed to get right behind Stephen, while collecting a brick en-route. He raised the brick high so he could crack Stephens skull when Callum freaked out and overrode the controls.
“I don’t want to do it again!” The words hollered out into the night and Callum tossed the brick over Stephens head and into the distance. Stephen span around shocked, dropping the screwdriver he was using to unlock some pipe covers.
“Lad, what are you doing? Are you ok?” He said nervously. Sid was transfixed by the horns, tentacles and arms teaming from the cess-pit, his concentration was drifting and this gave Callum more and more control.
“He wants me to kill you”
“Who does?”
“The elf in my brain. He’s in charge now”
Stephen wasn’t messing about with this shit, he moved quickly, snatched the screwdriver and plunged it into Callum’s thigh. This kind of violence was instinctual for him. Callum screamed and as the blood gushed out Sid felt himself being sucked out too. Like an airplane window had just smashed.
Back outside of the body he saw Stephen landing some brutal kicks into Callum’s ribs. He might survive the stab wound but not the kind of beating Stephen liked to issue. Not wanting Callum to die and needing to get control of the situation Sid dived into Stephens mouth, ready to end things. Thirty years on the rematch wasn’t going to be so one-sided.
“Surprise, surprise motherfucker - the king is back” screamed Sid, causing Stephen to freeze
“What the fuck?” He remembered that voice “Sketchy Sid?”
“You’ve got a cheek saying that! Yeah, its me you sick fuck”
“What have you done to me, lad? Whats going on?” Stephen yelled at Callum, who was rolling around on the floor in shock.
“Nah, this is reality. I’m here to get some sweet revenge for those kids thirty years ago, their families, all those you killed on your sick trips away and for me. Its time to die you scumbag, people are going to know why too, theres going to be a rod-mast telling everyone about it!”
Sid dropped Stephen to his knees and then smashed his forehead into the ground, then again for good measure - fracturing his forehead. He grabbed the screwdriver and plunged it into Stephens neck, claret exploded like lava. Splattering a gory trail for a good ten meters. Just before his spirit was sucked back out he contorted Stephens body one final time causing him to flop face first into the flooded cess-pit. Sid hovered above him watching him bleed out while drowning in the foul broth. Callum got to his feet, and was quickly hobbling away screaming for help.
Ethereal hands reached out of the cess-pit, Sid looked at the dead body, then the limbs and felt tranquil. I guess its time to join them.
FIN
This is awesome!! Fuck yes, Sid!!
That was wild! A lot of fun, well done!