Noah sat on the bed he had purchased from a yard sale for his small apartment three and a half weeks before. Normally, he wouldn't buy something he'd sleep on every night at a yard sale from some random stranger, but a twin sized bed for twenty dollars wasn't bad at all for a college student who had just moved out of his house. Also, the fact that the man had offered to help him move it up into the apartment, and even put clean sheets on it before they packed it up to move it, was an unbeatable offer. All that Noah had to do was help him sell some things and put away what remained unsold after the yard sale closed.
The man had also thrown in a free box of independent films he had acquired from friends in college that he no longer watched. Apparently, the film crews had no help whatsoever from any professional studio, and the movies were merely free copies that had been handed to the director and actors' friends purely for fun. He explained that the budget given to make them was low, of course, and that the effects, transitions, and acting weren't the best, but if that was ignored, some of the movies were actually pretty good. He also said that they would make excellent time killers if Noah ever didn't feel like studying.
The redheaded college freshman dug through the box of VHS tapes and DVDs, looking at the titles and reading the, occasionally hand written, summaries on the backs of the covers. Eventually, he spotted a VHS tape that looked mildly interesting at the moment. It was titled The Truth About Alice's Wonderland. The summary on the back even gave him a few chuckles:
What if "Alice in Wonderland" wasn't about an overly imaginative girl's dream? What if Alice had really taken massive amounts of hallucinogens and wandered around the real world, treating it as if it were, in fact, Wonderland? What would all of the real world residents say if they saw her wandering around singing, weeping, and playing with creatures, flowers, and people that don't exist? Watch their hilarious- though often rude- commentary and laugh along with some of the nastiest "people watchers" yet as you join Alice on her imaginary journey through Wonderland!
Noah opened the VHS case and took out the solid black tape. He turned his television onto the input channel, and then pressed the power button on the VCR before pushing the tape in. He laid on his bed and opened his Sociology textbook and notebook to at least get a start on some reading and note taking as he expected some credits or previews of other movies the crew was working on to show up. He dug through the school bag on the floor and grabbed a blue ballpoint pen to write with before turning attention to the producer of boredom before him that was known as a textbook.
He heard a brief second or two of static and then looked up at the television screen. It was showing that annoying grey fuzz. The redhead sighed and was about to whack the television when the screen went dark. Alright. It's just a weird or overused tape, I think, he thought. He stared at the television screen blankly, wondering if the tape was broken.
Suddenly, the screen opened up into the black and white image of a small room. The quality of the lighting seemed like the room was actually pitch black, and that the camera being used had night vision capabilities. Noah tilted his head, wondering if it was a preview for some other film, seeing as this most certainly was not the type of material that something with the nature of The Truth About Alice's Wonderland would consist of.
There was a bed in the corner of the room, and lying upon it was a young man, who appeared to be around twenty or so. He was shirtless and lying on his back with his face turned towards the camera, which showed from the top of his head to his knees. His arms weren't visible, so Noah guessed that they were positioned above his head somewhere. The camera wasn't close enough to examine the actor's facial features. However, something looked... strange about his mouth. Noah couldn't quite place it, but something was up. He leaned in closer and tried to get a good look.
Eventually, the man opened his eyes. He looked around a bit and the camera slowly zoomed in as his chin started to frantically move up and down slightly. When the camera centered in on his face, it was clearly visible that the man's mouth had been sewn shut. Noah's left hand went to his mouth and he shuddered a bit. What was that guy from the yard sale talking about? These effects are realistic enough to be Hollywood quality. ...And really creepy, he thought. But then again, he could have just chosen a movie that had an extremely dedicated cast and production team.
A few panic filled expressions could be seen as the panicking man thrashed about a bit on the bed. The camera slowly zoomed off of his face and then showed his entire body. His arms were tied above his head to something that had been drilled into the wall, and his legs were restrained as well. He was on a twin sized bed with solid wooden bedposts. The one to the right of the headboard had five lines cut into it. He struggled and his eyes shifted madly as the camera was being set down, possibly on a table or tripod. The surface was revealed as a tripod when the camera was moved upswards and angled to give a view of the man's face, chest, and stomach. It took Noah a few moments to realize that there was no sound to the video.
A figure slowly obscured the view of the camera as it approached the man on the bed. The latter didn't seem to notice the second person in the room, seeing as he was still looking around frantically. Noah decided that the video was obviously done in the dark with a night vision camera. The figure stopped for a moment and then turned back to the camera. A hand was visible for a moment as it appeared to touch the piece of equipment and the screen went black.
"That was a rip off of a movie," Noah muttered. He put his pen down and pulled the box of movies closer to him to take another look. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screen light up again. He turned his attention back to the television and noticed that the lighting of the tape was much better, and that the video was now in colour. The second person had turned the lights on. The redhead stared at the screen as the person once again approached the man on the bed, who was now able to see his company. The viewer was finally able to distinguish some features of the man on the bed. He was indeed young, and hardly over twenty. He had short, curly blonde hair and dark eyes. His skin was rather pale, and from what Noah could see, his features contrasted greatly with the standing person, who he believed was male. This person had dark brown hair and tanned skin.
Wait... Noah thought. If this ends up being some porn movie, I'm killing the guy from the yard sale...
The man on the bed's eyes widened considerably when his companion took a shiny, silver knife from his pocket. That's more like it, the student thought, giving a small sigh of relief. He really didn't want to have accepted a box that contained any amount of pornographic material. Getting rid of it would be even more of a pain than trying to hide it. He didn't want to lose any respect from his friends, classmates, or co workers by giving away free videos of that genre.
Noah closed his book and notebook and stared at the television. He rolled onto his stomach on the bed and bent his knees as he scooted backwards, resting his legs against the wall. He rested his head on his hands and stared at the television in the stereotypical position of a child watching their favourite cartoon from a living room floor.
The blonde struggled against whatever was being used to tie him in place and looked like he desperately wanted to get away from the knife. The other man lowered the blade, tracing its side along the victim's stomach and chest. The victim forced his weight backwards, attempting to lower his torso away from the blade.
The redhead laughed a bit as he shuddered. Geez, this is actually kinda creepy, he thought, laughing a bit. I can sorta feel the knife on my gut. This is one heck of an independent film.
A large, tan hand wrapped around the pale blonde's throat and held him still as the knife was turned. The blade was now pressed against the victim's stomach, who appeared as if he were trying to say something through the stitches that held his lips shut. His captor turned his head to look at him before pressing the knife downwards. With the angle the camera was at, Noah could clearly see the blade go in, and the red trail it left behind as the dark-haired man drug it along his victim's stomach. The blonde's eyes widened and his chin quivered as the thread that was stitching his mouth together prevented him from screaming, pleading, or saying something. The blade was pressed deeper into the blonde's stomach and then removed. Blood leaked rapidly from the wound. Then another gash was made, perpendicular to the first cut.
As the flaps of skin were pulled open, Noah raised a hand to his mouth. I guess the lack of money spent on the set and props left room for some pretty nice special effects equipment. I think I'm going to barf... He shuddered a bit and stared at the red instestines and parts of other organs that were visible as the red fluid dribbled around the man's abdomen.
The victim appeared to be trying to struggle, but either the pain or the tanned hand planted firmly on his chest was keeping him from doing so. Metal nails were shoved through the bent back flaps of skin, holding them in place. More blood leaked from the now gaping wound as the knife entangled itself in the blonde's intestines. Noah nearly vomited as the knife was swiftly pulled upwards, tearing through the intestines and pulling the pieces out, scattering them across the blonde's stomach. His dark eyes widened and his body convulsed a bit, bleeding rapidly.
Noah gagged a bit and held his hand firmly against his mouth. He swallowed something that threatened to come up his throat and stared at the movie. He shuddered again and bit his lip as he watched the blonde struggle a bit and then go limp. Alright... I think this is getting a little too sick, he thought.
The movie continued on as the killer walked to the victim's head. He delicately pressed the knife into the still eye socket and pryed out the eyeball. He did the same for the other eye, and then used the knife to carve a sixth notch in the post of the bed. Finally, he walked towards the camera and the screen went black.
Noah's jaw hung open a bit behind his pale hand as he stared at the television. Just in case any more sick, twisted videos decided to pop up on that tape, he quickly got up and ejected it. He threw it into the box and then curled up on his bed. What kind of sick, twisted freak comes up with this stuff?! he thought. Shuddering, he placed his Sociology book and notebook on the floor and rolled over onto his back. Why am I so freaked out because of that video? Sighing, he looked around his apartment for something to do.
His eyes widened and he leaned over the edge of the bed, heaving and vomiting. When the contents of his stomach were entirely emptied onto the floor, his backpack, and books, he looked back up at the bedpost and the six notches that had been carved into it.
