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Unraveling a Dark Reality - Scary Paranormal Story · Shallow Nights: Scary Bedtime Stories

• 0:17
  The butcher knife slammed down, echoing once, twice and again in
• 0:21
  the basement as I dismembered my husband.
• 0:25
  I hung his head in a harness above a simmering cauldron and
• 0:28
  got to work deboning, slicing and wrapping the rest of the
• 0:32
  body for shipping. Don't cut me in smaller portions
• 0:36
  than usual, he said, basking in the cauldron's aromatic vapor.
• 0:41
  I have to, or else we won't be able to meet all orders.
• 0:45
  I'm a rare delicacy. We want demand to be higher than
• 0:49
  supply. You're also addictive, and we
• 0:52
  don't want crazy customers hunting us down.
• 0:55
  Until I find a way to get you to regenerate faster, I'm chopping
• 0:59
  smaller portions. I leaned over the cauldron,
• 1:02
  sniffing. How's the new brew?
• 1:05
  Any difference? Yes, I can already feel my cells
• 1:08
  tingling. Really.
• 1:11
  I hope this is it then, because I'm seriously running out of
• 1:13
  ways to boost growth without affecting taste.
• 1:17
  I think you hit the jackpot. This will definitely make our
• 1:19
  business more lucrative with no major effort.
• 1:23
  Speak for yourself. I said, wiping the back of my
• 1:26
  hand across my forehead. I do all the work while you just
• 1:30
  hang around, BAE. Regenerating isn't a piece of
• 1:34
  cake, you know. Neither is getting slaughtered
• 1:36
  everyday. This was your idea, Mr. I'm a
• 1:39
  delicacy and a brilliant one if I do say so myself.
• 1:45
  I don't know, I'm beginning to feel it really isn't all that
• 1:48
  great. The money we're making isn't all
• 1:51
  that great? He asked, incredulous.
• 1:55
  It's not that I just miss doing things with you.
• 1:58
  What do you mean? We do a lot together.
• 2:01
  Yeah, at home while waiting for you to regenerate so I can chop
• 2:05
  you up the next day. I miss being outside with you,
• 2:07
  Max, Doing things couples do, you know?
• 2:11
  I sighed as I wrapped and packed the final portion.
• 2:15
  OK, I'm off to ship these. I placed his phone on the
• 2:20
  counter in front of him before I walked up the stairs.
• 2:23
  Call if you need anything and think of what movie you'd like
• 2:26
  to watch tonight. A minute later as I was entering
• 2:30
  my car, my phone rang. Max.
• 2:33
  Hey Roo, just wanted to say I love you.
• 2:36
  I smiled. I love you too, and you're
• 2:40
  right, we don't do much outside the house anymore, so I figured
• 2:43
  I'd join you via voice on your ride.
• 2:46
  How thoughtful of you. I appreciated Nax's company as I
• 2:50
  shipped pieces of him to our avid customers.
• 2:53
  It was something I missed and we agreed on making it a part of
• 2:56
  our routine from now on. And I just turned in the
• 2:59
  driveway. I said welcome back.
• 3:03
  Did you decide on a movie? I was thinking we could.
• 3:07
  He gasped at the sound of breaking glass and my heart
• 3:10
  dropped as I jumped out of the car and ran to the door,
• 3:13
  fumbling with my keys. Nax, what's happening?
• 3:17
  I think someone broke in. I'm not facing that direction,
• 3:20
  but I, I, Nax. My pulse raced as I dashed down
• 3:26
  the basement steps, and I gasped when I saw a masked man
• 3:30
  unhooking Nax's terrified, gagged head from its harness.
• 3:35
  Hey. I yelled as I charged at him.
• 3:38
  He managed to yank Nax free and kicked over the cauldron,
• 3:41
  sending a wave of bubbling brew my way.
• 3:44
  With barely any time to react, I jumped on the counter, the toes
• 3:47
  of my shoes sizzling. The man bagged my muffled
• 3:51
  husband and ran towards the broken window to make his
• 3:54
  escape. Not giving up, I threw my pots
• 3:57
  and pans on the floor and leapt from one to another, sprinting
• 4:00
  after him after I passed the boiling puddle.
• 4:04
  After climbing out the window, I saw him enter a waiting van and
• 4:07
  race off, and I didn't hesitate to jump in my car, my pulse
• 4:11
  frantic as I imagined what they do to my defenseless husband.
• 4:16
  After weaving high speed through the streets, they managed to
• 4:19
  lose me, and they didn't even have a plate number I could
• 4:22
  trace. I grabbed my phone and stared at
• 4:25
  it in helpless frustration. I couldn't call the police.
• 4:29
  I couldn't call anyone. No one knew about our
• 4:32
  questionable business. I spent the next hour roaming
• 4:37
  every Rd. LA and alley, my aching heart
• 4:40
  straining as my puffy eyes pleaded for a glimpse of that
• 4:42
  van. I told Max we should stop before
• 4:46
  things got out of hand. The money was incredible, but
• 4:49
  our clients were becoming more and more demanding as they
• 4:52
  became more and more addicted. He was just too vain and proud
• 4:56
  to stop. And now he was going to die,
• 4:59
  getting devoured right down to his skull because no one was
• 5:02
  going to wait for him to regenerate naturally, and no one
• 5:05
  knew how to create the right brew to accelerate regeneration
• 5:08
  except for me. I had to stop for gas and I
• 5:12
  whipped out my phone when it buzzed, my emotions clashing as
• 5:15
  I read the message from a private number.
• 5:19
  Tell me ingredients for brew. Nax must have told them how this
• 5:23
  all works. That meant they wouldn't eat him
• 5:26
  down to his skull. He was still alive, and we still
• 5:29
  had hope. The ingredients are special, you
• 5:32
  can't find them easily. Take me to, I'll make the brew
• 5:35
  for you. No, I can get anything.
• 5:39
  Tell me ingredients. Can you get essence of
• 5:42
  dentrobates, Leukomellis, powdered Lactradectus mactins,
• 5:47
  and Oxyuranus catalytus fangs? There was no reply and I sat in
• 5:52
  my car and tapped my anxious nails against my phone cover
• 5:56
  until the screen lit up again. Prepare ingredients for me to
• 5:59
  pick up. It's not only the ingredients,
• 6:03
  it's the method, timing and temperature.
• 6:05
  If you get anything wrong, it won't work.
• 6:08
  Take me, I'll make you brew daily as long as I can be with
• 6:11
  my husband. Another 5 minutes passed.
• 6:17
  We'll pick you up in 30. A mixture of hope and
• 6:21
  trepidation spurred my heart as I raced home and dashed to the
• 6:24
  basement, my footsteps squelching through the now
• 6:27
  congeal. The brew.
• 6:29
  I pushed aside the hundreds of boxes of ingredients I'd
• 6:32
  experimented with until I found the one I'd stashed in the very
• 6:36
  back. I checked the labels and made
• 6:39
  sure everything was right. I was ready.
• 6:42
  With a determined to breath, I dumped the box in my satchel and
• 6:46
  held it tight as I waited by the door. 10 minutes later a
• 6:50
  familiar van coasted down the road and idled beside our
• 6:53
  driveway. The side door opened and the
• 6:57
  same masked man beckoned me with a hurried motion.
• 7:00
  Gathering my courage, I hustled over and jumped in, flinching as
• 7:04
  the door slammed shut behind me. My pulse thudded along with the
• 7:09
  vans growling engine as we drove away.
• 7:12
  There was minimal light in the back and I sat myself in the
• 7:15
  corner furthest from the man, clutching my satchel and trying
• 7:18
  to ignore the sour smell. Is my husband OK?
• 7:22
  I asked. The man took off his mask, his
• 7:26
  eyes wild and bloodshot, and I gasped as he lunged at me.
• 7:30
  He pinned me down, and my scream echoed through the van as he
• 7:33
  sank his teeth into my bicep and tore off a chunk of flesh.
• 7:38
  He released me, gagging, and I scrambled away, my terrified
• 7:42
  eyes glued to him as I gripped my wounded arm.
• 7:46
  You're not like him. He growled in disappointed
• 7:48
  frustration, spitting my blood. No, I'm not, I said, shaking at
• 7:54
  this savage demonstration of addiction.
• 7:57
  Are there more of him? Didn't he already tell you?
• 8:01
  I want to hear it from you. He's the last of his kind.
• 8:04
  Because people are too impatient to wait for a natural
• 8:06
  regeneration and eat them down to the bone.
• 8:10
  He cursed and spat to the side. Keeping my eye on him.
• 8:13
  I sat up, trying to regain my composure.
• 8:17
  I'm bleeding a lot. You better do something or I'll
• 8:19
  pass out. He grumbled as he ripped off his
• 8:23
  sleeve and wrapped it around my arm with rough irritation,
• 8:27
  making me wince. Before I could ask about Nax
• 8:30
  again, he startled me by tossing a pair of handcuffs on my lap.
• 8:35
  Cuff them behind your back. I'm here in my own free will.
• 8:38
  Cuff them or I'll do it. He snapped.
• 8:42
  I flinched but held my ground. Look, I'm in a lot of pain right
• 8:46
  now and I want to see my husband.
• 8:49
  I'm not going to be able to do anything extreme, nor do I want
• 8:52
  to. If you want me to make the brew,
• 8:55
  you. You aren't going to make the
• 8:57
  brew. You're going to tell us how to
• 8:59
  make it. That's not going to work.
• 9:01
  It's a delicate process I've done countless times.
• 9:04
  You've done it. 01 mistake and it's ruined.
• 9:08
  He glared at me, his lips twitching as he struggled to
• 9:12
  find the words he wanted to say. No, you, we give me your damn
• 9:19
  bag. You didn't wait for compliance
• 9:22
  as he wrestled the satchel away, roughly patted me down and began
• 9:26
  rummaging through it. Be careful, I said.
• 9:30
  The ingredients are in there. He ignored me as he searched
• 9:33
  every compartment before he shoved it to the side and sat
• 9:36
  back in a huff. Don't move, I won't.
• 9:40
  After a few seconds, I asked again.
• 9:43
  Is my husband OK? What do you want me to answer?
• 9:47
  He doesn't feel pain, So what exactly are you asking?
• 9:50
  He does feel fear then. He's probably terrified now.
• 9:53
  Shut up. His blunt answer felt like a
• 9:57
  slap to the face and I fought to maintain my poise and avoid a
• 10:01
  grit and avoid aggravating him any more than he already was.
• 10:07
  The van lurched to a stop and the man yanked the door open
• 10:09
  before grabbing my satchel and pulling me outside.
• 10:12
  I cried out as he gripped my injured arm, but he didn't care
• 10:16
  as he turned to the older looking man getting out of the
• 10:18
  driver's seat. The older man gawked at my blood
• 10:21
  stained appearance. What You, you took a bite, They
• 10:26
  aren't the same. The younger man grumbled.
• 10:29
  You idiot, you could have ruined everything.
• 10:32
  We could have been stuck with no brew, no meat.
• 10:35
  Dada, I'm not an Before I knew it, a deafening crack rattled in
• 10:40
  my ears as the younger man collapsed to the ground.
• 10:44
  I gasped and backed away, my eyes wide with disbelief and
• 10:48
  alarm as I stared at the gun in the older man's hand.
• 10:53
  Damn imbecile. He muttered at the body.
• 10:56
  Did. Did you just kill your own son?
• 11:00
  I asked, my voice shaking. He grabbed my satchel.
• 11:05
  Good riddance, let's meet to share.
• 11:09
  He gestured with his gun to the side of a mansion.
• 11:11
  I only just noticed. Walk around that way.
• 11:17
  This was a lot more serious than I'd anticipated, and I didn't
• 11:20
  want to get on the man's already irritated side.
• 11:23
  I walked ahead of him, listening to his directions as he pressed
• 11:26
  his gun between my shoulder blades.
• 11:30
  We made it to a shed at the back of the property and I held my
• 11:33
  breath in anticipation as he unlocked 5 bolts.
• 11:38
  The door creaked open and the lights blinked on and my heart
• 11:41
  dropped to my feet when I saw a skull sitting on top a bloodied
• 11:44
  table. No, I ran over, my trembling
• 11:48
  hands caressing the non remains of my husband's head.
• 11:52
  Oh Nax, get back. The man barked, throwing me to
• 11:56
  the floor. You don't do anything.
• 11:59
  I do. You killed him.
• 12:01
  I sobbed. There's nothing left.
• 12:04
  You ate them all up. Don't lie to me, he said through
• 12:08
  clenched teeth. He told me as long as the
• 12:10
  brain's intact, he can regenerate.
• 12:13
  I wiped my tears with a quivering hand.
• 12:16
  His brain is still in there. Had to lock my idiot son out to
• 12:19
  stop him from eating it. He pulled out a chain and
• 12:23
  pointed with his gun. Go there, back to the pole.
• 12:27
  I stood up. No, I need to.
• 12:30
  You don't make the rules here. I flinched.
• 12:34
  He had the weapon, but I had the power and he knew that I had to
• 12:38
  get him to trust me. Sir, I'm the only one who knows
• 12:42
  how to make this a brew. You want meat?
• 12:44
  I want my husband. Nax and I are both ready to live
• 12:47
  with you and give you endless meat, so just let me bring him
• 12:51
  back. I could see the hesitation in
• 12:54
  his eyes, so I continued. I've done it countless times, so
• 12:58
  it'll be faster too if I make it rather than waste time teaching
• 13:01
  you the entire process. Fine, do it.
• 13:06
  Do it now. He dropped my satchel on the
• 13:08
  table. He told us we needed a cauldron
• 13:11
  and harness. Are these good?
• 13:13
  He pointed to a cauldron half the size of mine and a harness
• 13:16
  that looked like a remodel to bridle.
• 13:19
  The cauldron's too small. It won't allow him to regenerate
• 13:22
  fully, he said he regenerates top to bottom, not inside to
• 13:25
  outside. That's enough.
• 13:27
  I don't like legs anyway. Fine, build a fire under it and
• 13:32
  hang the harness 2 feet above. As he worked, I emptied my
• 13:36
  satchel beside my husband's head.
• 13:38
  Max, if you can hear me, you'll be all right.
• 13:41
  I whispered. I cradled his skull, careful to
• 13:45
  adjust his crooked jaw, and I placed it gently in the harness.
• 13:49
  Then I got to work filling the cauldron and throwing in the
• 13:52
  special ingredients as per this bruised particular recipe.
• 13:57
  Is it done? The man asked, his wild eyes
• 14:00
  just like his sons as his tongue flicked against his lips.
• 14:05
  Yes, you don't come in now. No, no, it's the vapor that does
• 14:09
  the work. Good.
• 14:12
  He pointed with his gun. Go stand there, back against the
• 14:16
  pole. No, I.
• 14:18
  I cried out, falling to the ground as he pistol whipped me.
• 14:22
  Don't disobey me. He snarled.
• 14:24
  I'm not going to do anything. I said, backing away from him.
• 14:28
  Your work is done. You're not my guest, you're a
• 14:31
  slave. Go stand there, I'll keep you 2
• 14:34
  apart. Not wanting to be separated from
• 14:37
  nacks, I acquiesced, shooting the man an uneasy look as he
• 14:41
  chained me to the pole opposite the cauldron.
• 14:45
  How soon until I can eat something?
• 14:46
  He asked. If you eat the first thing that
• 14:49
  grows, then that's the only thing you'll be eating because
• 14:52
  it'll always be the first thing growing.
• 14:54
  Wait until I've waited long enough.
• 14:57
  OK? OK.
• 14:58
  His eyes will grow in about 15 minutes.
• 15:00
  You can eat those. For those 15 minutes, we stared
• 15:04
  at Nax in silence, the brew bubbling to the rhythm of my
• 15:08
  anxious heart. My fatigue and pain were
• 15:11
  starting to dominate, and I stifled A groan as I adjusted my
• 15:14
  uncomfortable stance. The man gasped when a glimmer
• 15:19
  could be seen within Nax's eye sockets, and he made a
• 15:22
  disgusting slurping sound as he walked closer.
• 15:25
  Give him another minute, I said. Screw you.
• 15:29
  He said as he reached in and scooped out the burgeoning eyes
• 15:32
  with a squelch. He popped them in his mouth with
• 15:35
  a moan, chewing loudly and I grimaced at his revolting
• 15:38
  display. He licked his fingers and then
• 15:41
  began licking the skull itself, sucking upon the eye sockets and
• 15:45
  I turned away in disgust. A minute later I heard a wheeze
• 15:51
  and I look back to see him on the ground, his swollen lips
• 15:54
  purple as he clutched at his throat.
• 15:56
  Not 5 seconds later, his wild eyes were tamed forever.
• 16:02
  I sighed in relief. With the immediate danger gone,
• 16:05
  I slid down to a sitting position, humming to distract
• 16:08
  myself from the pain as I waited for nacks to regenerate, my head
• 16:13
  nodding towards my chest. Rue, can you hear me please wake
• 16:19
  up. I open my eyes to see Nax
• 16:21
  looking down at me with a worried expression as I lay on
• 16:24
  the sheds floor. Nax.
• 16:27
  I flung off the tarp covering me and sat up to hug him, but he
• 16:31
  shuffled away on his hands and stump of a torso.
• 16:34
  Poisonous, remember? He said, his half smile failing
• 16:39
  to hide the trauma and guilt behind his eyes.
• 16:42
  Are you OK? Yes, thanks to my brilliant
• 16:45
  partner. His smile disappeared.
• 16:49
  You're hurt, though. You need to go to a hospital.
• 16:52
  That's easily done. But are you really OK?
• 16:55
  You were eaten alive. He shuddered.
• 16:58
  Yeah, I didn't like going through that again.
• 17:00
  Reminded me of the days before I met you.
• 17:03
  Glad they let me talk or the buffoons would have picked my
• 17:05
  skull clean. I threw the tarp over him and
• 17:09
  slid over, hugging him tight. I was so scared when I saw your
• 17:13
  skull on that table, I thought I'd lost you.
• 17:17
  He leaned his covered head on my shoulder.
• 17:19
  Real. After you stripped me to the
• 17:22
  skull again so I can regenerate without poisoning you, I think
• 17:25
  we should retire. I released him and pulled the
• 17:29
  tarp down, my eyes wide with surprise.
• 17:32
  Really. Yes.
• 17:35
  We've saved enough to last the rest of your life.
• 17:37
  So let's live it. Let's travel, go crazy, do
• 17:41
  things that couples do. He chuckled as I flung the tarp
• 17:44
  over him again and squeezed him tight.
• 17:47
  I love you. I love you too.