X-Rays of a Broken Heart

Halloween Story Contest 2022

Trevor Rabin; Trevor Horn; Jon Anderson; Chris Squire: "Owner of a lonely heart. Much better than an owner of a broken heart."

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My name is Gerald Mason. I make educational videos for a living. My hobby is trying my hand at all other types of movie making. This has caused many heated arguments from Ariel, my wife.

It is not cheap to produce even a small film if you want to do it right. That's a problem but not the biggest problem. To do these movies I have to pay actors and actresses. Some of these actresses are set on advancing their careers and do things that wouldn't pass the spousal approved test.

Well timed wardrobe malfunctions tempt me, but I've managed to enjoy the scenery without compromising my vows. Ariel thinks otherwise regardless of my denials. Like I said, it's a bone of contention.

Ariel, as are most women who put their mind to it, is a good looking woman. She eats healthy, works out a few times a week, and isn't shy about spending lots of money on clothes and beauty products. Working at a large health facility I'm sure she gets plenty of attention that also wouldn't pass the spouse sniff test.

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For Halloween this year, I've decided to attempt a scary short story. Kind of like an avant-garde style horror film. As my personal life currently sucks I was not a pleasant man to work for. Try as I might to not take it out on the cast and crew, I'd occasionally screw up. Still, they believed in the project and stuck with me.

These movies usually take a lot of time, but I was in a hurry to present this one at our family birthday party. Ariel and I were hosting this year. In our combined families, there were four with birthdays in October including mine. Making it a family party seemed natural. All told it looked like about thirty people would be joining us today. Friends, neighbors, and lots of in-laws from both sides were expected to start arriving shortly. Many came primarily to see my newest movie.

My invitations warned of the nature of this movie. It is pretty scary. Christy, the young lady I recruited for the main female role, really had the panic screams down. The hair on my arm stood up while filming some of the scenes. She was that good. I'm hoping tonight's crowd feels the same way. I asked her to be here tonight and she's been flirting with everyone. Most of the men have been having trouble keeping their eyes off of her well displayed chest.

One of the hardest things to get right, in any of these movies, is the dialogue. Contrived conversations can ruin a scene. So, I've resorted to recruiting my friends and relatives. Well recruited isn't quite the right choice of words. Without their knowledge I've recorded some conversations. So sue me. It's much more realistic to hear people share rumors and secrets believing no one is listening. I've done this for most of my movies after getting slammed on my first few shorts.

Today's attendees included my parents, Ariel's parents, my brother Dan, Ariel's sister Rachel, and the list goes on. Many of these people have unknowingly provided random conversations. It's pretty dull stuff and I'm amazed at how almost all of them snipe at each other. What's up with that? Do I snipe at Ariel? I'm now more cognizant of that possibility, so I'm biting my tongue more often nowadays. However, the clandestine recordings have helped me achieve my goal. Realistic conversations in scenes really do help.

The previous movies I've done were quirky remakes of some of the all-time greats, so everyone was looking forward to this year's offering. I warned them that it was like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.

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When my parents asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told them 'Acme Forge Series 10-Piece Knife Block Set'. I asked them to keep it a secret, and that I had my reasons.

It's a high quality knife set. Stainless Steel. Wood handles curved for comfort and precision. The set includes a Chef, Butcher, Boning, and several serrated knives. It ain't cheap, but I'm the good son.

When Ariel's parents asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told them 'Acme Forge Series 10-Piece Knife Block Set'. I also asked them to keep it a secret, and that I had my reasons. I am, after all, the good son-in-law.

My gift suggestion for my brother Dan was a grey oversized hooded sweatshirt, Belichick style, with cut-off sleeves. My neighbor Ned is getting me a work bucket from Lowes or Home Depot along with several four foot two by fours.

I must have been a good boy this year, as I got everything on my list. And then I endured the taunts and ridicule.

"Hey, you asked, I told you, and then you got it for me. What's the problem?"

Ariel chided me "You're weird."

I shrugged my shoulders while responding "And you're just now getting around to noticing?"

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After the dishes were cleared away and the wrapping paper disposed, all gathered around our sixty inch wall-mounted high definition television.

"I'm warning you now that my first reviews found this to be quite scary and troublesome. You won't hurt my feelings if you want to leave."

My parents didn't budge. Ariel's parents didn't budge. My little sister bid us farewell. Rachel stuck around. I wasn't sure about her, but correctly guessed everyone else would stay. Only five people had left.

"Sit back and find something or someone to hold on to."

Ariel and Rachel snuggled up next to each other as sisters are known to do. The screen showed the title 'Owner of a broken heart.'

The background noise was a heartbeat. Steady, but not overpowering.

The camera came into focus in a typical residential house garage with man muttering to himself. He was wearing a hoodie sweatshirt, with the hoodie pulled over his head. Something was bothering this man. He gathered up a twenty-five foot extension cord, a reciprocating saw, and a few saw blades. The camera followed him as he passed a lovely woman sitting in a kitchen.

"Hey babe" from her drew no response from him as he muttered his way to the top of the stairs.

After dropping the coiled up extension cord and his corded saw he knelt down. His hands were shaking as he secured the nine inch blade in the saw. Normally that blade would be used to prune trees. It was the closest thing he had to what he needed. Plugging it in, the saw was now ready for use.

Trudging down the stairs he walked by the woman who shrugged her shoulders at his indifference. He returned once again to his garage where he retrieved some two by fours out of his truck. Taking his claw hammer down from the tool rack and grabbing a sack of 16d nails, he re-entered the house.

The woman was still sipping her drink and sending text messages. That changed when she heard the sound of nails being driven. The telltale sound of thump, thump, thump.

"What in the hell are you doing?" from the quite irritated woman as she noticed the front door covered with two by fours.

Thump, thump, thump, and another nail was securely in place. After two more boards were attached to the doorframe, the woman ranted.

"How are we supposed to get out of house using that door?"

The man curtly replied "We aren't."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she returned to the kitchen and resumed texting.

Back in the garage, the man grabbed an empty work bucket from the storage shelf. He picked up two unopened sets of knives. Opening one package, then the other, the unused blades touched down softly in the bucket. He found one of his Phillips screwdrivers. Entering the kitchen, the man set the bucket of blades on the counter. She rolled her eyes.

First locking the deadbolt to the garage, and then using the screwdriver, the man removed the handle to the deadbolt. He put it in his pocket. They were locked in with no easy way out.

"What is wrong with you?"

"I gave you my heart. I want it back!"

When he took the first knife out of the bucket, and hurled it into the wall, intentionally missing the woman, she screamed and tumbled away from her phone. A slash of another knife convinced her to seek safety. Completely panicked and screaming, she raced around the first level of the house. Knife after knife whizzed by her head embedding into whatever was unlucky enough to be in the path.

Carrying a bucket of knives didn't appear to slow the man down. Every once in a while he'd stop and pick up one of the errant knives. Eventually she raced up the stairs, but he was close behind. Grabbing her ankle, she fell on the stairs. Scared for her life, she kicked repeatedly and finally hard enough to break free. The screams were quite believable. Upstairs, finding all but one door locked, she ended in the master bedroom. Slamming that door, and then locking it, failed to stop his hiking boot from busting it open.

Her screams were hair raising. More knives were thrown at her. His slashing was more for show. He could have easily cut her several times, yet he hadn't.

It took a few minutes to herd her into the bathroom. The one with no windows. She locked that door and then waited, crying hysterically.

The man started planting knives in the hollow core bathroom door. Most punctured clean through to the blade handle. Her blood curling screams continued. Finding the reciprocating saw, he began his assault on the door. The screaming continued as the screen and sound faded away.

The background heart beat had been increasing in volume as the screen faded to black. A few seconds later, the screen swirled back to life, but this time in red.

With special effects, the scene transformed to the man who was hell bent on carving the woman with the electric saw. All you could see was her still body on the ground with him hunched over her. His arms, and the bathroom floor, were covered in blood. The sound effect was a loud beating heart.

Exiting the bathroom, the man was completely covered in special effect blood and carrying what was supposed to look like a beating heart. It was a battery operated plastic heart, like a real heart would continue to beat? Get real. It was realistic enough for those too scared to realize how silly that was.

The camera followed the man into the kitchen. He set the heart down on the counter. It only took a few seconds to put the handle back on the deadbolt, leaving blood stains on the door and handle.

Once in the garage, he opened the trash dumpster and casually dropped the still beating heart into the dumpster. The beating heart sound got fainter and fainter until the soundtrack was complete silence. The scene faded to black.

I looked around and saw several frightened faces. Which brought a smile to my face. Ariel and Rachel unknowingly did the voice over for the damsel in distress and her friend in the next scene.

Across the black screen, a blood red message scrolled 'One month ago!'

Two women greeted each other in a kitchen. The same kitchen from earlier, if you were paying attention, as my production studio had a limited budget. The same woman from before was joined by another who looked much like her. Makeup can do that for a director.

They gossiped, they giggled, and then they talked about the ongoing affair.

Swirling her wine glass "I tell you sis, the sex with Bobby is awesome. When he takes me from behind, standing up, his cock does things to me that I've never felt before. He really rocks my world. I can't give him up."

"Do you love him? What about Gerald?"

"I love both of them. Gerald owns my heart, but Bobby owns my body."

My wife and sister-in-law recognized their voices. I think others in the room did as well. Ariel was crying and she started chanting 'I'm sorry.'

All I had done was play back the voice activated recording of a conversation I'd picked up in Rachel's kitchen. I never suspected that Ariel was having an affair. Realistic banter was all I was trying to get.

Her lover, Robert Norquest, was some low-life she worked with. Rachel provided alibis when needed.

Back to the screen, and the cheating woman was staring into the camera repeating louder and louder "Gerald owns my heart, but Bobby owns my body."

As the credits rolled, the background showed a blood stained pine box the size of a coffin. The box was addressed to 'Robert Norquest'. What a coincidence!

Ariel screeched when she saw that.

After I turned the lights back on, people looked around and found me blocking the front door. I was wearing my new grey hoodie unwrapping the knives. As each knife dropped into my new work bucket, I smiled at Ariel. She tried to leave but Dan retained her.

"Ariel, tell us about Bobby!" I barked across the room.

"Yeah honey, who's this Bobby" from her mom.

"Can I try to rock your world too?" from the sleazy single guy across the street.

With a swift kick to Dan's shin Ariel escaped and bolted out of the house, through the garage.

NOW my birthday gifts made sense to everyone.

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Epilogue:

I can't tell you how many people warned me 'Gerald, please don't do anything you'll regret!'

I've never seen Ariel again. Her belongings disappeared while I was at work. She filed for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty. Me?!? Mental cruelty? Come on, get real. Maybe she was influenced by the discovery of one Robert Norquest, stabbed in several non-fatal places. Places that will make it very hard for Mr. Norquest to do many things he'd previously taken for granted, like a one or a two. Wasn't me. I made sure to have a solid alibi that night. Oops, wait, I didn't know it would happen that night.

Rachel's husband moved out for a while. They seem to be on their way to a divorce. She'd been providing the cover for Ariel and that didn't sit well with her husband. Can say I blame him.

My film got honorable mention at the fall film festival. The 'Best Actress' award went to Christy. Her damsel-in-distress screams really were awesome, not only in that movie, but now in my bed at the tip of my tongue. No reason to turn down her desire to thank me for giving her the part. I may not have rocked Ariel's world but Christy would beg to differ.

As far as relationships, forget about it. I'm a very bitter man who only wants a woman for a night at a time. Wardrobe malfunctions seem to provide likely candidates.