The main course

We should never have stopped at that roadside restaurant. The friendly smile on the receptionist's face hid an indescribable wickedness.

We were separated as soon as we walked through the door. I woke up locked in a dark stable, dazed and sore. The stench of excrement and rotting straw turned my stomach.

Through the gloom, I spotted my girlfriend in a dingy cubicle on the other side of the stable. She was screaming my name in desperation as she struggled against her restraints.

Heavy footsteps echoed outside and the door creaked open. An imposing hooded figure entered dragging a huge mace. He approached her, brandishing the weapon.

-No, please! Stop! -I pleaded in vain. The sledgehammer went up in the air..

The terrible crack of broken bones reverberated in my ears. The piercing screams of my bride paralysed me with horror. Our captor turned to me, the sledgehammer dripping darkly.

In that instant, I realised that here we tourists were the main course on the menu. I watched helplessly as the monster opened its mouth in a grotesque grimace. I witnessed my own shriek.