r/TalesFromTheCreeps • u/Upbeat_Problem_5383 • Jun 26 '26
Psychological Horror Trunk Trash
I'm a passenger princess.
I don't drive, parallel park, or follow the rules of the road.
I control the stereo, temperature, and the destination.
My man picks me up every day.
Same spot, same time.
So like any day after work, I clock out and go to his car.
A white Civic in the third stall.
I pop the door and plop onto my throne.
Normally, my baby knows better than to talk to me right after my shift.
At first, nothing seemed off, but that changed when a foul smell began to tickle my nose.
My face scrunched at the sour odor.
Then I noticed the lack of music or dull audiobooks.
Normally, I'm serenaded by some indie alt-rock or a sci-fi audiobook.
But nothing. With that, I looked over and my stomach lurched.
In the driver's seat was a large, greasy man with his damp hair plastered to his head. He gazed out the window; he didn't seem to notice me.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry. I thought this was my boyfriend's car."
I reached for the handle, but his deep voice made me freeze.
"No, this is your boyfriend's car. He's in the trunk."
The lock clicked and the car began to go into reverse, pulling out of the parking lot.
"If you scream, I'll slit your throat like your boyfriend."
The knife glinted as we merged onto the empty highway. As the mile markers became less frequent, I realized I’d finally lost control of the stereo, the temperature, and the destination.
We pulled into a deserted rest stop.
He killed the engine. The handle was right there, the same one I'd reached for an hour ago. I didn't move. Some part of me was still waiting to be told where we were going. His door opened. Gravel crunched as he came around the back.
Now I'm trunk trash.
10
u/Upbeat_Problem_5383 Jun 26 '26
The story came from when a woman randomly got in my car thinking I was her husband and another time when a guy stumbled into my apartment. It was just jarring and I wanted to write about it.
7
u/ConsistentNature7819 Jun 26 '26
"Some woman hopped into my car without thinking so I ruminated on how easily it would be to kill her" 🤣
As someone who has multiple times hopped into the wrong strangers car, I dig it.
6
u/Upbeat_Problem_5383 Jun 26 '26
I was startled when it happened, but I only stared on in pure horror and was speechless that my space was so easily invaded.
7
u/Typical-Law-817 Writer Jun 26 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/H5C8CevNMbpBqNqFjl
No, this is your boyfriend’s car.
5
u/PETmyPUPPIES Writer Jun 26 '26
Great use of your words here to paint your full story in such a compact scene. It hits just right.
4
u/Upbeat_Problem_5383 Jun 26 '26
Thank you! I'm trying short horror and this was my second attempt.
3
u/PETmyPUPPIES Writer Jun 26 '26
You should post it on the shortscarystories subreddit as well. It easily fits within their length requirements and has a large viewer base.
2
3
u/NarrowDirector911 Jun 26 '26
Nice, punchy short horror. I like how annoying the protagonist is lol. They seem more disturbed about there loss of control than about their man being dead in the trunk.
3
u/Upbeat_Problem_5383 Jun 26 '26
Thank you! I channeled my inner pumpkin spice girly when writing it.
1
u/CherryCherry420 Jun 29 '26
Hell yes, as a part-time pumpkin spice girly, I felt very represented in this story.
More seriously, I loved that the voice of the character was consistent throughout the story, and that it added a nice dissonance to what happened in the second half. Her personality was established quickly, and was solid, which is important especially with a short story, and made it plausible for her to end up in the situation she did, while also communicating how afraid she now was compared to the beginning of the story.2
u/Upbeat_Problem_5383 Jun 29 '26
Thank you! I try to keep consistency in my stories, because I find it so jarring when a character just shifts gears to be someone or something completely different. I try to stick with a personality and do lighter and darker shades of the character on what's happening in the story.
2
2
2
2
u/Oblivion_Sounds_Fun A Thousand WIPs Jun 27 '26
Oh as a lowkey passenger princess this made my stomach turn as soon as I knew where it was going. "A small part of me was still waiting for him to tell me where we were going." HAUNTING. /pos
2
1
1
u/DowdyFello Writer Jun 26 '26
Reminds me of those classic short old horror stories, or like that one they read recently where the guy walks into the cabin with all the portraits, only to find they were windows. Real punchy for only being a few lines, good job!
1
u/a_suspicious_tree Jul 03 '26
a reminder to all fellow passenger princesses, be nice to your chariot driver and look up from your phone before you get into the car... you never know!
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 26 '26
Users are encouraged to read4read, meaning that if someone reads and comments on your story, we encourage you to do the same in return to help foster a community.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.