Shifting Horrors - 1. Shifting Horrors

It was two weeks before Halloween and I was still wracking my brain trying to decide on a costume for the party I was planning to attend. I was torn between three costumes I had found online. I could go as Westley from the Princess Bride, or as a ghost pirate like the ones you might see in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie, or Pennywise from It. I weighed my options carefully, and even though I wanted to standout, I didn’t want to scare off any guys that I might be able to hook up with later. After all, this was a party organized by a local gay group for single gay men and they’d sent flyers out to surrounding communities. There might be a few transsexual males in attendance as well, but the lesbians were having a separate party at another location.

I didn’t want to blow my chances by having the wrong costume, and this realization helped me to whittle down my options. Since I knew there are many people who have a strong dislike or even an aversion to clowns, possibly to the point of sending them into uncontrollable panic and even terror, I quickly ruled out the Pennywise costume. I also ruled out the ghost pirate costume because it would completely hide my face under the makeup and hinder my chances of attracting anyone, so I went with the Westley costume.

As Westley I would only have a black mask that wrapped around the upper half of my face, but it would still allow any potential partners to glimpse the rest of my face, including my mouth. I also felt it would portray me as a dashing and adventurous type of guy, more so than any of the other costumes. I quickly placed my order and made sure it would arrive in plenty of time for the party

The package with the costume was delivered a few days later and I quickly opened it to see how it looked. I wanted to determine if the costume looked the same or vastly different from the photo I’d seen online. I was impressed with what I discovered and I’d be dressed completely in black, from the black boots, black pants, black shirt, and black mask that would cover the top half of my head. Beside the lower half of my face being visible, part of my chest could also be seen where the shirt remained opened, which I thought exuded sex appeal. I believed it was an excellent look to attract a potential partner.

When the calendar indicated it was finally Halloween, I could hardly contain my excitement. In fact, I found myself distracted at work and couldn’t wait for the day to end, and as soon as it was time to leave I rushed home to get ready. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I put on my costume early and primped for nearly an hour to make certain everything was perfect.

I brushed my teeth to ensure they were dazzling white and that my breath smelled like of a mixture of toothpaste and mouthwash so I didn’t turn off a guy by having bad breath. I even obsessed over the way the mask was tied, because I wanted it to look exactly the same as in the movie. I also checked to make sure the opening on my shirt exposed just the right amount of my chest and that my rapier hung threateningly from the sash tied around my waist. As I left my apartment, I thought I looked incredible.

I drove to the location where the party was being held and parked in the lot out in back. I had to walk around to the front of the building to enter, but it wasn’t very far and there was a sidewalk running along the side of the building. When I got inside, I discovered there was a small crowd of people there already, and more were continuing to arrive.

The party was being held in a hall that they’d rented for the occasion, and a bar had been set up on both sides of the room to take care of the guests. There were ghoulish decorations scattered about the hall and a large number of tables had been set up. They ranged from square tables that would seat four people each, to smaller round tables designed for two. Other changes had been made to accommodate the clientele that would be in attendance as well, including that only gay friendly males were hired to work this party. Since no women would be there, they were also able to temporarily turn the ladies room into another men’s room for the overflow crowd. It was all quite nice and tastefully done.

After I’d scanned the interior, I began to walk around and mingle with the other guests. I hadn’t been doing this for very long when I was approached by a guy dressed as a Roman emperor. He wasn’t merely wearing a sheet as a toga and was actually wearing a very nicely designed white toga with decorative gold trim around the neck opening and along the hem, which was just above his knees. He also had on a thin leather belt that held in place the red sash that was draped over his right shoulder, and he wore authentic looking sandals on his feet. He also wore an appropriate, but modest, golden crown that encircled his head and accentuated his neatly trimmed brown hair, beard, and moustache. I’m not sure why he had zeroed in on me, but I was flattered.

“Hi, my name’s Jaxon and I spotted you as soon as you walked in the door,” he said in introduction.

“I’m Brock, and it’s nice to meet you. Your costume is fantastic.”

“Thank you and yours is impressive as well. Are you supposed to be the guy from the Princess Bride or Zorro?”

“I’m supposed to be Westley from the Princess Bride, but I guess I also resemble Zorro. I haven’t thought about it before, but I suppose I could be either one.”

“Either way, you look fantastic.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Sure, but where do you keep your money in that outfit?”

He smiled before he answered. “That’s where the sash comes in handy. There’s a pocket sewn into the backside where I’m able to keep my wallet.”

“Ah, I see, and it makes me wonder what other secrets your costume might be hiding.”

He laughed heartily this time. “If you play your cards right, you may find out before the night is over.”

After I told him what I wanted to drink, he walked over to the bar to get a drink for each of us, but before he left he asked me to find an intimate table we could share. I found a two-person table near the wall and sat down, and before long he came over to join me. We sipped our drinks as we chatted and we talked about what we did for a living and a little about our past. We’d been doing this for a while when he asked me a question I wasn’t expecting – at least not yet.

“So what types of things are you into?”

“Do you mean sexually?”

“Of course, isn’t that why we’re all here?”

“I came to get out for a while and have a little fun. I’ll admit that I also considered that I might find someone I was attracted to, but I wasn’t thinking any further ahead than that at this point.”

“So tell me the types of things you’re interested in if we do hook up later.”

“I guess I’m a vanilla sort of a guy when it comes to sex. I’m not into anything kinky.”

“So you’re not into bondage, S&M, or anything like that?”

“No, I’m definitely not into those types of things.”

“Have you ever tried them before?”

“No, as I said it’s not my thing.”

“So you wouldn’t even be willing to try any of those things even once?”

“No, I’m just not interested. Look, I appreciate the drink, but I’m going to leave you alone so you can find someone who is more like you and interested in those types of activities. I’m sure there are others here who enjoy the same things you do, so I wish you the best of luck in finding one of them and it was nice meeting you.”

I grabbed my drink, got up, and began to wander around amongst the others in attendance, hoping I would find someone who was more like me. I hadn’t found that person yet, because the others looked as if they’d already paired up and I didn’t want to interfere with anyone who was already interacting with someone else. I was still looking around when all of the sudden a blond appeared in front of me. He was dressed like the blond kid in the original Karate Kid movie and wore the black Cobra Kai gi when he faced off against Daniel at the tournament. However, there was something about his clean-shaven face that looked familiar, although I couldn’t place what it was before he spoke.

“Hi, I’m Jack. Are you looking for someone to spend a little time with?”

“Sure, and I’m Brock.”

“It’s nice to meet you, and we’re both dressed in black, but I’m showing a little more skin than you are.”

“Yes, you’re sleeveless, but other than that the rest is pretty close. We’re even showing a little chest in the gap in our costumes.”

“And I’m willing to show even more skin, if you’re interested.”

“Let’s slow down a bit and get to know each other first.”

As we chatted, questions began to form in my mind. This guy’s name is Jack, while the last one was Jaxon, and although this guy is blond while the other one had brown hair, beard, and moustache, they sounded a lot a like. This became abundantly clear when he asked his next question.

“Are you into pain? Not a lot of pain, just a little?”

“No, not at all. I have a very low threshold for pain and don’t even like when I get a shot or be pricked by a needle for a blood test.”

“That’s too bad, because a little pain can also bring pleasure.”

“Not for me, so I think you’re wasting time and are with the wrong guy. Maybe you should look for a guy dressed as a Roman emperor. I’m pretty sure you two would hit it off.”

When I finished speaking, I got up and walked away again, totally confused by what had just happened. Was it possible that I’d run into these two guys with similar names and sexual interests completely at random? Was there some sort of a connection between them, or was I merely letting my irrational fears and imagination guide my mind into believing there was something similar between them?

I started walking around again and before long I was approached by someone different. This guy was dressed up to look like John Snow from the Game of Thrones and he had long black hair, a full beard, and a moustache. He was wearing black pants topped with a faux leather jacket, and a cape with artificial animal fur at the top that wrapped around his shoulders.

“Hi, I’m Jason,” he announced.

I was suddenly getting another strange vibe. Jaxon, Jack, and Jason: what are the chances that I would run into three guys at the same party with very similar names? Sure, one had brown hair, the next was a blond, and this guy had jet black hair, and they were also dressed differently, but I couldn’t shake the feeling. It wasn’t exactly déjà vu, but there was something eerily similar and weird about them.

“I’m Brock and I was just getting ready to leave,” I told him, since I’d decided this Halloween party was getting a little too weird for me.

“Don’t you want to get to know me first?”

“Maybe another time, but I’m not feeling well and think I should be heading home. I’ll probably take a couple of Tylenol and head to bed.”

“It’s your loss,” he said as I turned to walk away.

I stopped in the men’s room first to relieve myself and splash some cold water on my face, and then I made my way out to the parking lot to retrieve my car. As I was approaching the rear of the building, Jason suddenly stepped out from around the corner, making me jump and my heart skip a couple of beats. Not only had he startled me, but he was totally naked.

“What the hell?” I muttered in disbelief.

“You didn’t like me like this, or when I was a blond,” he said as he changed into Jack, “or when we first met when I had brown hair,” he continued as he changed appearance yet again.

“But you had different costumes on as well,” I stammered in response.

“Yes, I stored them inside the building earlier in the day, in case the guy I chose was into a slightly different looking guy.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in any of those versions of you.”

“Then perhaps you’ll like me better like this! I’ll also give you a chance to see what real pain is like, whether you’re interested or not.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I stood aghast as he changed again right before my eyes, but this time into a wolf. As the wolf dropped down onto all fours it was snarling and baring its teeth, and that’s when it leaped at me and went for my throat. I felt excruciating pain as its sharp teeth sank into my flesh, just before I lost consciousness.

·                                                                                                                         *  *  *  *  *  *

The police are still investigating the Halloween night death of Brock Underwood. A spokesman says it appears that he was killed by a wild animal, possibly a wolf, but since there are no wolves in the area they feel he might have been attacked by a large, stray dog. There is no evidence that any humans were involved in this incident.