Section #1: Six Phone Calls

                      Prologue: The Spooky Scary Spectacular

May 20, 2050, two days after the opening day of The Spooky Scary Spectacular. 

. . .

Inside the Clanton Police Department, Officer David Hicks and Detective Jason Harris stood in front of a short table. Hicks was a tall, thin man, with a small, bushy mustache. He held his hands on his belt and always furrowed his brow. Harris was just as tall, though a little more fluffy. He wore the same officer outfit, and he had a thin layered, light brown-ish red, goatee. He held his head up, giving a sense that nothing could stop him.

        On the other side of the table, wearing an oversized, purple hoodie, was Elizabeth Crabtree, though most people called her Luna. She stared at her hands, which sat on the table and she shivered.

 “Mrs. Crabtree…” Harris said, using a calm and kind voice. She looked up at him. He asked, with a hesitant tone, “Can you please explain what happened at the show?” She gulped and tried her best not to let a tear fall down her face, though she failed.

“Luna, please,” She said to herself, gazing up at the officers as they both nodded. “Well.. Taylor and I had been together for about a year now… and she told me a few weeks ago that she was going on stage for the first time. God, the smile on her face was so damn contagious that I couldn’t help but smile with her.”

“So..” Hicks thought for a moment, never taking his eyes off of Luna, “You and Taylor are dating?” putting great emphasis on dating. Luna nodded. Hicks looked at Harris and they both turned around. Harris walked over and stood right next to Hicks.

            “Do you think..” Hicks whispered, furrowing his brow, “That this could’ve been a targeted murder?”

             Harris looked at his partner skeptically, “What do you mean?”

        “Well… I know a lot of people here don’t exactly like those sorts of people.”

“Still. That gives no one any reason to murder someone just because they don’t like their sexuality.” Harris added. Hicks nodded, partly disagreeing, and they both turned back to Luna.

        “Ah, Luna,” Hicks continued, “You were saying that Taylor just got a job, what exactly was the job?” Luna cleared her throat, looking down at the table again, finding it too embarrassing to look them in the eye.

“Ma’am…?” Harris curiously said.

        “A stripper. She worked as a stripper for the bar.” Harris and Hicks shared a look, understanding.

Hicks pushed on, “Can you describe her routine? We need to know who could’ve gotten to her during that time.”

Luna shrugged and said, “She told me that she was gonna first walk out and sing some sort of song, I don't remember. One of the older ones, I think, and she told me she would come out and dance and then slowly take off her costume–”

        “What was the costume? She was naked when we came over.” Harris interjected, not interested in hearing the rest of that sentence.

        “A clown…”

        “A clown?” Both men asked.

        She slowly nodded her head.

           “Like.. um, balloons, weird make-up and kids..?” Hicks asked. She nodded again.

            He looked at Harris, “Who in the hell is turned on by that?!” Harris placed a hand upon Hicks’ shoulder. Hicks took a deep breath and looked back at Luna. He motioned his hand for her to continue.

        She sighed and said, “That night we made.. er, love, and then about a week after, Taylor and I decided to have a date and went into a park.”

“Which park?” Harris asked.

        “The one with the geese, or whatever..” Luna shrugged, continuing on as the officers nodded, “While we were walking, we sat down on a bench to watch the sunset. We kissed and when we did, all we heard then was a voice yelling, ‘Eugh! Get the hell out of here, you stupid queer!’ We looked and we saw two guys standing next to their bikes. A thin, tall man who was very pale with short brown hair, and a slightly shorter man, medium-length blonde hair, who had a little more muscle than the first.”

        Harris and Hicks wrote down the description of these two men.

            “Names?” Harris asked.

        “Levi Dylan and Brandon Smitherman.” She replied.

        The two men nodded their heads, sharing exasperated looks. “See,” Harris said, “Dylan and Smitherman have already had a few run-ins with the law. First with bullying a kid at a park, then spray-painting a teacher’s car, and now this! What did they do after?”

        “When we saw them, we tried to ignore them but they yelled, ‘Hey, faggot! I’m talking to you!’ That’s when Taylor got up and rolled up her sleeves. She yelled at them to not come near her, which they didn’t, but they did keep yelling. Words like ‘Queer,’ ‘Faggot,’ and ‘homo-reject..’ They yelled at us, ‘Why are you dating each other? No boys ever want your gay ass? So you had to get with this dirtbag-’ They were pointing at me. That’s what got Taylor angry. She jumped towards them, but I grabbed her. I calmed her down and the boys left, yelling the slurs back at us.”

Harris and Hicks nodded along as they listened to Luna. She sighed, her lip quivering and tears pricking at her eyes, and before you knew it, she was in a river of crying and sobbing that wouldn’t stop. Harris reluctantly placed his hand on her shoulder and hugged her.

“I’m really sorry..” He said, trying his best to be consoling. Luna slowly stopped crying, now able to wipe the tears, wetting her puffy eyes and tear-stained red face. She still hiccuped here and there, the heartbreak never fully leaving. Harris, after getting confirmation she was ready, got up and stood next to Hicks. They both sighed and Harris asked, “What happened the night of the spectacular…?”

        She looked up at the officers with red eyes, took a shaky breath, and began to speak:

“Well, Taylor had left a few hours before I did, to get ready of course, and then I left about 15 minutes or so to get there. When I got there, I asked a man if I could see her and he told me I could for only five minutes. So, I walked through the backstage door and proceeded to Taylor’s room. When I opened the door, I saw Taylor sitting in her chair, in costume, though she didn’t have her make-up on yet. The clown costume had a tight, white shirt, one where you could basically see her chest, and it was lined with red trimming. The sleeves were a striped pattern with white and black lines, and then ended with a ruffle where her hands stuck out.”

        The officers grabbed out their notebooks and started writing down the description of the outfit, though they could barely keep up because Luna was talking so fast and she was shivering.

“She had a gray belt around her waist, which led to a beautiful, two layered skirt of some type of beautiful cloth. The first layer was light gray with the same red lining and the second layer under it was the same striped pattern as the sleeves and it had the softest cotton line at the bottom. She also had two big orange poof balls on her shirt and one right under her belt. She wore probably the tightest pair of mid-gray tights I’ve ever seen a girl wear, but damn, did they look good on her. and uh, she wore these black boots to finish off the costume. She had dyed her hair a reddish-orange for the show and it fit so well with the costume. I said, ‘Baby, I’m here.’ and she jumped around and ran to hug me. We hugged for a while and then she asked me, ‘Does working as a stripper bother you?’ I told her, ‘No, as long as you’re not cheating on me..’ and she smiled and promised me that she would never...”

Luna sighed and looked at both of the officers. “Can I please get a glass of water?”

Hicks nodded and went to go get her one. Harris looked at Hicks, then back to Luna. “What did y’all say after that?”

        “Well.. she kept telling me how happy she was, but also how worried that no one would like the show. I told her that she had the perfect body, because, you know, you saw it.” Luna awkwardly chuckled, “But she still had a bit of doubt. She sat down and finished putting on her make-up, um..” She looked at the expectant officers in front of her, and started describing the makeup. “White face, red lips, black eye shadow, red nose, and two, thin lines starting above the eyebrows and leading to the lips, one half red and one blue. She kissed me, leaving the red lipstick on my mouth, and then another man came in and said, ‘Taylor, on in five.’ He left, and she looked at me and asked, ‘Do you really think I’ll be good?’ All I did was smile and hug her, ‘Of course baby.. Now go get them Tiger.’ That’s what I would call her in bed. And then.. right after she left I, um, I never saw her beautiful face again.”

        Hicks came back in with a glass of water and set it in front of Luna. Luna sighed and grabbed the glass, chugged the water, and set it back down.

“Ma’am..” Harris asked, “Did you see anything after that?”

Luna shook her head, “No, I couldn’t. The crowd was so packed and I couldn’t see her, at least, not until everyone ran out and I saw her hanging there..” Hicks and Harris slowly nodded.

Harris left the room and Hicks said, “Look, you stay here because I need to question someone else. I am deeply sorry for what happened that night.” He left the room and all Luna could do was cry.

        Down the hall, in another room, sat Caleb Foshee. He had a bright pink hoodie, he wore black glasses, hair that was not long enough for a mullet but not short enough for comfort. He sat with a cigar in his mouth, shaking, as the officers walked in.

Hicks stood directly in front of Caleb and asked, “Mr. Foshee. What do you know about the night of Taylor’s death?”

        “Well…” Caleb pondered, “I was alone that night, no kids, no wife, just me. I heard about this show at the club and I knew I had more money that I didn’t know how to use, so I went to the club. When I got there, I found an empty table and so I sat down. I ordered a drink and waited for the show to start. As the lights turned off.. I heard a voice whisper in my ear.”

        “What voice, Mr. Foshee?” Hicks asked.

        “I.. can’t exactly tell. A cross between a teen girl and a teen boy. Like.. like it had no gender, but it said, ‘I’ve dreamt of you… I’ve.. craved you… I’ve missed you….’ and then it whispered, ‘Time to Honk..’”

Hicks and Harris stared at the man like he was a rotten piece of fish. Both of them were confused. “How much did you drink, sir?” Harris asked.

        “I.. It may have been a side effect from the drinks I’ve had, though I only had two beers by that point.” Hicks sighed and said, “What happened next?”

Caleb continued, “Well, as the voice finished speaking, the spotlight on the stage turned on, and Taylor, in the clown outfit, was standing under it, one hand up in the air and another on the pole next to her. Then, she started singing.”

“What song, Mr. Foshee?” Harris asked.

        Caleb thought for a moment, trying to remember the tune, but let out a gasp, “Wait, I have a video!” He pulled out his phone and found the video. He pressed play.

        Taylor stood under the spotlight as the sound of a piano started playing. The crowd was screaming and yelling as the show started. Taylor then started singing a very famous song, especially for her name:

                                              I don’t like your little games…

                                      Don’t like your titled stage.

                                      The role you made me play!

                                                      Of the fool! No, I don’t like you!

        Harris and Hicks looked at each other.  Harris scoffed, “Taylor sang a Taylor Swift song.. How fitting.” They continued watching. As she continued to sing, she turned towards the audience and started pointing at people in the crowd.

                                      I don’t like your perfect crime!

                                      How you laugh when you lie…

                                      You said the gun was mine!

                                                      Isn’t cool! No, I don’t like you!

        Taylor grabbed the pole and started twirling around, a big smile on her face.

                                    But I got smarter, I got harder

in the nick of time

Honey, I rose up from the dead,

 I do it all the time

I got a list of names, and yours is

 in red, underlined

    I check it once,

         then I check it twice, oh!

        She got off the pole and started rubbing the side of her body as other strippers came alongside her. They all started singing together:

                                   Ooh, look what you made me do

        Look what you made me do

      Look what you just made me do

       Look what you just made me…

   Ooh, look what you made me do

        Look what you made me do

     Look what you just made me do

                                                      Look what you just made me do

        Taylor stood in a pose as the chorus finished and right before she was supposed to sing the next verse, a voice came from the audience.

“Hey, faggot! Bette Midler called! She wants her look back!” Taylor looked at the crowd. One thought went through her mind: Levi and Brandon.

Both officers looked at each other. “Looks like those boys can’t keep their damn mouths shut!” Hicks said.

        Taylor looked at the boys. She smiled and went behind the curtain. All the other strippers continued the show. After about half-a-minute, Taylor came back out and continued singing.

                                        The world moves on,

another day another drama, drama

         But not for me, not for me,

          all I think about is karma

     And then the world moves on,

           but one thing's for sure

           Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours!

        Taylor laughed and the other strippers on the stage left, leaving her by herself. Caleb drank his beer while watching the show, but he did notice something in the video, and apparently so did the officers.

 “Pause that!” Harris hissed, and Caleb did. He paused on a frame of Taylor. It looked normal, except for one thing; her eyes.

Her once dazzling green eyes were replaced with a more eerie, bright golden yellow.

 “Is she okay?” Harris asked.

Hicks shook his head, “Yeah, I think it’s just the light, or some freaky contacts.” Taylor continued, though her voice sounded more and more inhuman as she did.

                                   But I got smarter, I got harder

in the nick of time

   Honey, I rose up from the dead,

 I do it all the time

I got a list of names, and yours is

 in red, underlined

     I check it once,

         then I check it twice, oh!

        Changing the way she rehearsed, Taylor grabbed Levi and Brandon and threw them onto the stage. She grabbed a long piece of cloth that was hiding in her belt and she tied both boys to the stripper pole. She laughed, sounding more and more unlike her normal self. Almost.. possessed, you could say. She rubbed the side of each boy’s face and whispered in their ears, though no one could hear her.

Both of their face’s turned bright red as she sat in Levi’s lap and started kissing his neck. He closed his eyes and smiled, not wanting to lose the moment. She did the same to Brandon. As she did, the lights went out. After a few seconds, the spotlight came back on and Taylor was standing alone in the middle of the stage. She started up again, losing herself in the song.

                                I don't trust nobody

            and nobody trusts me

          I’ll be the actress

        Starring in your bad dreams…

                          I don't trust nobody

            and nobody trusts me

               I’ll be the actress

        Starring in your bad dreams!

        She looked at Caleb, and then back to the audience. She cackled, louder than anyone could ever expect. She took the microphone off the stand.

 She whispered, “I’m sorry, but the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh…”

She let out a bone-chilling chuckle and pointed at the ceiling. Above the pole, hanging by the endless wires and lights, was Levi, Brandon, and Taylor. They were all bloody and naked. The clown on stage was an imposter, a mimic. The clown laughed, “Because she’s dead!”        

        As the line, “Look what you made me do,” played over the speakers, the clown pointed at the ceiling. Caleb, as well as everyone in the audience, looked up. Floating above everyone, bobbing up and down, were hundreds, or even thousands of red balloons. Each one read:

“I 🖤 Clanton.“

Everyone screamed when they saw the people hanging and gasped when they saw the balloons. The clown laughed and pointed at the audience.

All of the red balloons, in a single second, popped.

        Inside each balloon, thick, red and crimson like a prostitute’s make-up, was blood. It poured down onto the audience, each person screaming in a contortion of emotions. They all rushed out of the club, people getting trampled and hit along the way. Caleb gasped when he was the only one, besides the clown, left in the club. He had only one thought:

 It was back.

Caleb stood in shock, not knowing whether to run or stay.

        The clown laughed and disappeared. Caleb gasped and ran outside. To his surprise, the streets were empty. Completely. All he heard was a faint voice, the same clowney voice whispering, “Look what you made me do.”

The video stopped. After a long silence, the two officers looked at Caleb, both looking reasonably bewildered and worried.

“Sir, do you.. know who that clown is?”

 With very little effort and a deadpan expression, Caleb only said one word; “It.” The officers stared at him. No words could describe the turmoil of confusion that went through their heads.

“Mr. Foshee,” Hicks said sternly, “I think you had a little too much to drink, I suggest you go home.” Caleb nodded, quietly obliging and following the officer’s orders.

        He left the police department and walked home, alone, as usual. When he opened the door, he waited there for what seemed like an eternity. He sat on his couch and then stared at his hand. On his hand, marked with some sort of sharp object, had one letter: A. His eyes widened in realization. He knew what to do. He grabbed his phone and sighed, “Time to make some calls. Who knows, maybe their lives became just as lonely as mine..”

Call #1: Autumn Sneaks Out

        I’m sure everyone in the world has had at least one friend that is so overprotective and never leaves you, no matter what. Kyleigh was that friend, or so Autumn liked to think. Autumn and her and known each other for–Well, I don’t know how many years–but they were “friends” if you could say that. They talked here and there, but Autumn never got too fond of Kyleigh, until she was the last friend Autumn had.

 After a few years, friends drift apart.. or they don’t. Autumn’s friends were unfortunately the type that did. A group of friends, unique in ways only they could understand. In the group, Autumn was the quiet one.

The replaceable one, she often thought.

Autumn was a quiet person in general. Always has been, though a deep friend at that. Ask her a question in person and she would respond with very few words, but if you ask her to write it down, it’s like a whole new world opened up. Like you were seeing another side of her.

Autumn had been working on a book for the past three years since she lost contact with her friends, and upon thinking of several titles, she simply went with: A Blank Page. She would write every single night, even if it meant she would be exhausted the next morning. It didn't matter how many words she wrote, she just wrote them as they came to her. She just went with what felt natural. One day could be 30 words, another day, 3,000! Autumn never gave up on it. Especially since.. Well, it was something to do after rotting away in her room, wasting the years.

One evening, writing in her book, Autumn was approached by Kyleigh. Having lived with her for quite some time, Kyleigh simply let herself into Autumn’s room. Wearing her usual fluffy coats with thick rain boots, Kyleigh marched up to Autumn. Autumn, being casual and calm, and seen by her flannel on her waist, raised an eyebrow at Kyleigh's abrupt entrance.

“AUTUMN!” Kyleigh cried from the top of her lungs, “Do you know what just happened to me outside?!”

Autumn slowly shook her head, trying to say something despite not caring, but got interrupted by Kyleigh’s boisterous voice.

“Well, I was walking alone, you know, because you wanted to write or whatever. While I was walking, a strange man kept following me! Well, I soon asked the man what he wanted, but he disappeared!” Autumn yawned, as she had heard her say this a billion times.

“Well, thankfully a cab driver was driving next to me and I stopped him. I got in and we drove here. When I got out he yelled the strangest thing!”

Autumn raised an eyebrow, “What did he yell?”

“Rape me! Rape me!”

“I’m sorry?” Autumn questioned, squinting at her roommate.

“That’s what he yelled! ‘Rape me! Rape me!’”

Autumn slapped her forehead, heaving a tired sigh. “Kyleigh, he was yelling rate me not rape me…”

Kyleigh laughed, “Oh… well, I ain’t doing either!” Kyleigh started walking away before turning around and said, “Oh, and make sure to cook dinner tonight.”

Autumn sighed, “Kyleigh, I’m not your boyfriend, I am not your slave and I definitely ain’t your momma. I am only living with you until I can get money to get my own place.”

Kyleigh smiled, “But until then, you’re the cook.” Kyleigh left and shut the door.

Autumn rolled her eyes and looked at her phone.

“Wh- god damn..” She had missed three calls already, from an unknown number at that. “Who the hell is calling me so much? I swear if it’s another scammer, I am gonna burn down that Walmart.” She answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, is this Autumn Smith?”

“Yeah, who’re you?”

“You don’t recognize my voice?”

Autumn sighed, “Sir, I deal with about 40 people a day, so I don’t think I could even remember my own voice. What’s your name?”

“Nana Figgiebottom.”

Autumn gasped and paused for a minute. “…Caleb? You… Do you still have my number? After all these years?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do!”

Autumn laughed, “God, I haven’t heard your voice for a long time… what'd you need?”

“Well… It’s back.”

“What’s back?”

“It.”

“What’s it?”

“It! The clown!”

Autumn gasped, “Oh! I see. Is it really?”

“Yes! Killed three kids two days ago. I need you to come back… please…”

Autumn thought for a moment. She hadn’t heard this guy or even heard about him in years and she is supposed to just get up and leave her life here, even if it was awful? Autumn sighed and whispered into the phone, “Alright. I’ll be there.”

 After a short ending, he hung up the phone, leaving her silent, only hearing her own breath. She walked into the living room to see Kyleigh sitting on the couch, watching her usual opera shows.

 Kyleigh looked at Autumn, “Dear, how about you sit down and watch the show. Either that or cook dinner.”

“Kyleigh,” Autumn sighed, “I’m leaving.”

Kyleigh jumped up in shock. “But.. you can’t leave!”

Autumn nodded and said, “I can, I have to, and I will.” She went back into her room and started packing, with Kyleigh rushing behind.

“Autumn! You can’t leave! I need you! Who is gonna cook dinner? Who is gonna wash the dishes and clothes? Who is gonna pay the phone bill?”

“Kyleigh, I don’t pay the phone bill,” Autumn whispered.

 “Yes, you do, I take it out of your account every month.” Kyleigh whispered back, childishly aggressive.

“Is that why I’m always a couple hundred dollars short on my paycheck?” Autumn exclaimed.

 Kyleigh gulped, “Still! I need you! Don’t leave!” Autumn didn’t listen, and frankly, she didn’t care.

“Where do you need to go anyway?” Kyleigh asked, catching on to the fact Autumn wasn’t going to listen.

“Well,” Autumn started, “I made a promise with a couple of old friends… and now they need me.”

“Promise?” Kyleigh laughed, “Autumn, you haven’t seen those people in years! You made that promise when you were- what. 13? Nobody keeps a promise at that age!”

Autumn slowly looked up at the other girl, eyes boring into Kyleigh’s dangerously, “For your information, I was the type of kid who did.”

Thinking it’s about all she could do, Kyleigh grabbed Autumn’s stuff and rushed out of the room.

 “Hey!” Autumn yelled, chasing after her.

“You are never leaving this house!” Kyleigh exclaimed as she threw Autumn’s bag and coats into the guest bathroom. Before Autumn could get another word out, Kyleigh grabbed the key above the bathroom door and locked the knob.

Autumn gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. “Really?”

Kyleigh smiled and put the key in her left coat pocket. She laughed and walked towards the living room and sat down.

“Autumn! Time to cook dinner!” Autumn rolled her eyes and went towards the kitchen.

After a few minutes of cooking leftover spaghetti, Autumn got an idea. She looked at Kyleigh, who was still on the couch, watching the same opera show for the last 6 weeks. Autumn went to a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. In it were countless medicine bottles. Pills, gummies, liquids, etc. Autumn grabbed a specific bottle. Light purple liquid, to show its grape flavor. On the bottle read to help get a full rested sleep.

Autumn poured some of this into Kyleigh’s wine glass when she wasn’t looking. She handed Kyleigh the plate of spaghetti and the glass of wine. Without even taking a look at the wine, Kyleigh snatched the glass from Autumn’s hands and chugged it. Autumn watched, eyes wide with slight concern. Kyleigh threw her glass back at Autumn and stuffed her face full of spaghetti. Autumn was both astonished and disgusted.

After about 10 minutes, Kyleigh was out like a light. This was Autumn’s chance.

She walked over to Kyleigh and found the pocket on the furry coat where she kept the key. After a hot second of searching through the pocket, Autumn found the key along with 20 pounds of disgusting makeup. Autumn went to the bathroom door and unlocked it. Inside, exactly where it was thrown, was her stuff. She gathered her things and snuck her way to the front door of their apartment.

As soon as she was ready to leave, Autumn looked back at Kyleigh. She felt so bad for leaving like this. She couldn’t just leave with no explanation, could she? Of course not. Autumn put down her things and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from her desk. She wrote something down and placed the paper on the fridge, because she knew that Kyleigh wouldn’t miss it.

Then, taking one final breath in that place, Autumn opened the door and walked down the stairs. She called a cab and waited by the street corner. While she stood there, she glanced over at a storm drain that was a few feet away from her. She stared at it for a while, unable to look away. Memories rushed back through her brain like the rain water trickling drain. She shivered and her gut wrenched in uneasiness as she remembered that one summer. The summer with a group of 8… then 7 kids. All of them fighting for their lives against a great fear from long ago.

Soon, the cab drove up beside her and she hopped in. “Where to, ma’am?”

“The airport. I’ve gotta get to Alabama.”

“Oooh, nice,” the man said, starting to drive away, “you seeing family? Friends?”

“Friends. The best ones I’ve ever had.” The man nodded and smiled as he drove.

The man turned on the radio, and with a thick, southern accent said, “Three kids at a local club here in Clanton have been murdered. 18 year old Taylor Crabtree, 16 year old Brandon Smitherman and 17 year old Levi Dylan.”

Autumn froze in fear. That must’ve been what Caleb was talking about.

She could only mumble one word from her quivering lips.

“It.”

She knew what she was getting herself into, but she didn’t know what it would cost to save the lives of others.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Kyleigh woke up to the sound of the channel changing. No longer her opera shows, but now the afternoon cartoons.

 “Autumn, don’t you just hate when it changes on you like that? Autumn? Autumn?” No answer.

Kyleigh got up and looked at the kitchen. No Autumn. She rushed over to the fridge, getting ready to grab her “thinking food.” When she reached for the handle of the fridge, she saw a piece of paper hanging from a magnet. It was a note, which she pulled off the fridge and read to herself.

Kyleigh, I am so sorry, but I have to leave. My friends need me. My true friends. I hope you can understand. I’ll be back as soon as I can. And please stop using my money to pay the phone bill! Thanks, I love you, Autumn.

Kyleigh quickly went into a panic.

“AUTUMN!” She rushed out of the front door and saw a cab start driving away.

 “No! Autumn! I need you!” She fell to her knees and cried herself a river of pitiful, spoiled tears as mascara ran down her face in a heap. She sobbed until she heard a voice piercing her messy thoughts.

“Kyleigh…” it whispered into her ear. She looked up. No one was around.

 “Hello?” She asked.

The voice whispered back, “Right here.”

 She looked in front of herself to see a shiny red balloon floating in the street. She stopped her tears and slightly smiled at the beautiful balloon, almost hypnotized. It looked so bright compared to the dim light of the city. Something so pretty and colorful for once.

 “Go get it, Kyleigh.” The voice said again.

She slowly got back on her feet and walked towards the floating red balloon. As she reached the middle of the street, she stretched out her hand for the object.

To anyone outside that night, opposite of the road where poor Kyleigh stood, all you could do was watch and be a witness to the terrible sight of a car speeding down the road towards the girl.

Bright lights engulfed her figure and eventually a terrible CRACK! as the car collided with her body, sealing the end of her life as blood splattered through the street and down the drain nearby, a grinning face slowly backing away into the darkness of the sewers.

Call #2: Tatem Cries A River

The bar at Willow’s Brook Corner was not as great as it was hyped up to be. The news

said that the bar was full of endless entertainment for adults. That was a damn lie. The only entertainment there was the amount of fights that went on between drunk fathers and divorced mothers. At least, that’s what Tatem thought. She never liked bars that much. She only liked when it was quiet, so basically never.

             This particular evening, however, she sat at the bar with a grin upon her face. A fake grin. A smile that was forced upon her like every afternoon sex night. Forced upon by her boyfriend, Jon Smitherman. Smitherman was a popular guy at the bar. He'd come in almost every night. He would shout out his accomplishments so that the whole bar would hear them. Tonight, he was boasting about how he beat up a group of innocent African-Americans in an alley. Not everyone cheered with him, but the ones who did overpowered the haters.

             Tatem sat at the bar next to her arrogant boyfriend, trying to ignore comments about her in any way, good or bad or downright random.

         The bartender approached her, “Another, ma’am?” Tatem nodded.

             After boasting, Smitherman sat down next to his red headed girl.

“Hey, babe, how was your night?”

She smiled a little more, happy that he was in a good mood. “It’s been great, honey, I promise.”

Smitherman started brushing his hands through her hair.

He paused and questioned, “Your hair is darker than I like. You're gonna go back soon and dye it red again?” She nodded slowly, because in all honesty, she didn’t mind dying her hair.

He smiled and laughed, “Alright, that’s my good little girl. You might just get a few extra minutes of sex tonight if you keep acting like this.” She smiled, though on the inside, she cried a million tears.

            Every night was the same to Tatem. Every single night was a painful routine of giving herself to Smitherman. At first, she tried to fight it, but after years, he became stronger and she became weaker. After a long day of work, or whatever he was doing, Smitherman comes home to his girlfriend sitting on the couch watching TV. He wouldn’t have to say anything, just take off his belt and point it to the bed, whatever his mood. Either angry, happy.. whatever. She would silently nod and head towards the bed where he would then proceed to play with her as if she was some sick toy instead of a living human being. She would never say anything, just smile and moan, but on the inside, she was flooding her brain with tears and screams.

            Tears of regret for letting this man be in her life. Tears of pain for the same uncomfortable, torturous happenings in bed. Tears because she has asked this man to stop and she has asked friends for help… but none ever came to her. He never stopped and she never got help from her friends. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t actually have many friends. Just Kim who lived down the street, but Kim was always too busy with work to ever help Tatem.

           Tonight, she wanted that to change, but all she needed was a sign.

           To her surprise, her phone started ringing. She barely had anyone call her. She looked at the number. All it said was Unknown ID. She raised an eyebrow at the call before answering it.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey, is this Tatem Singleton?”

            “Yes, now who are you?”

            “You aren’t gonna have a panic attack if I tell you, right?”

            “Probably not, unless I think you’re dead.” Tatem laughed.

            “Charles.” The man whispered.

            “Do what?” She paused and stopped smiling. She had no idea what the man was talking about.

“Charles Bank. My ego number 1?”

Tatem paused and dropped her phone onto the bar. She covered her mouth and started gasping for air, tears pricking the edges of her eyes. She hadn’t heard that name in years, why now? After a second, she was able to catch her breath and grab the phone.

“Are you okay, Tatem?”

“Y-yeah… I just… had to remember you, Caleb. It’s been.. God, how many years?”

“27. It’s been 27 years.”

Tatem paused, before gasping one more time, “Wait, does that mean-”

“It’s back.” He said, confirming her suspicion.

        She slowly bowed her head, memories flooding her brain.

        “You coming?” He asked, interrupting her thoughts.

        She smiled again, trying to hide the tears, as if he was really in front of her, “Of course, Caleb. I’ll be there.”

        “You promise?”

        She let out a small sigh, “You bet.” Then, they hung up the phone.

        As soon as she heard the sound of the call ending, she fell back into her seat. She buried her face in her arms.

“I… I can’t go back to that town, I just can’t!” She was in the middle of gasping for air, almost running into a woman walking by wearing a white hat. Tatem, trying to get out of the moment and not wanting to get in any more drama, grabbed her purse and walked out of the bar.

        As she walked to her car, she heard a yell come from behind her. “And what do you think you’re doing, little miss?”

        She jumped around and saw Smitherman staring at her from the bar entrance, belt in hand. Tatem sighed as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Without responding, Tatem turned back to the car and opened the car door. And she threw her purse in, she felt a cold touch on her wrist. She looked and saw Smitherman glooming over her, giving her the same look in his eyes right before bed.

        Smitherman shook when a loud crashing noise came from the other side of the bar wall. Everyone outside looked at it, stopping their drunk fights and annoying antics.

        She shook her head, as she couldn’t figure out the words to speak, and tried to free herself from his grasp.

“I don’t think our little lessons at night have taught you much, have they?” He grabbed his belt and hit her in the side of the leg, leaving a mark right under her shorts that would probably scar. She stood in shock as the blood slowly trickled from her leg, a pain shooting right from the wound.

        She looked him in the eye one more time, before he said, “Babe, I think we oughta show the world our little lessons.”

He grabbed the zipper of her jacket and pulled it down her chest, revealing her cleavage. She gasped as he grabbed her left breast. Thinking it was the only thing she could do, she looked him dead in the eye and kneed him between the legs with a sudden force.

        He immediately let go of her and fell to the ground, groaning in pain from the blow.

“I fu*king hate you, you son of a bi*ch!” She turned to the car but then turned back at him and spit on his face. He held one hand on his face, wiping off the spit, and the other hand in between his legs as he stayed doubled over on the ground.

        She rushed into the car and slammed the door. She accelerated the gas and drove out of there as fast as she could, leaving Smitherman in pain on the ground.

        “You fu*king bi*ch!” He yelled at her, finally having the strength to get back up. He put his belt back on and grunted as he slowly wobbled to the railing of the bridge in front of the bar. “Fu*king bi*ch…” he whispered again to himself.

        “Jon…” a whisper came from behind him.

        He flew around, “Hello? Anyone there?” No answer. “I don’t like someone calling my name and then not answering!” He slammed his hand on the railing.

        “Remember your son?” The voice whispered again.

        “Do what?”

        “And your wife? You left her! WHYY!” The voice screeched in his ear.

        He fell back to his knees. “Who are you?” He yelled, “What are you? How do you know about her?”

        “You left her for this girl! Leaving your wife for this life! And a child! A CHILD!”

        Smitherman screamed desperately, “Go away!”

        Soon, the voice stopped, and Smitherman looked around. The parking lot looked the same, though it was much brighter than before, and there was snow falling onto the ground. Smitherman heard something. A piano. The music of the piano rang all over the lot. He raised his eyebrow. “Who… what are you?” He asked again, voice quiet and unsure.

        A voice whispered behind him, different from the screeching voice, “Dad?”

        Smitherman spun around to see a teenage boy standing on the bridge. The boy looked innocent enough, short sleeves, jeans. There were two things unsettling about the kid though. First, there was a red line across his neck, it looked like dried blood. The second and most unsettling, is that Smitherman knew the kid.

        “Dad?” The kid asked again.

        “Brandon?” Smitherman asked, slowly stepping towards the boy, “How… How are you here?”

        “You killed me, dad. You killed me.” The kid let out an eerie laugh as he stepped towards the man.

        “I didn’t. I couldn’t have- Why, I haven’t seen you in years!”

        “You left us in that town!” The kid yelled, “You let me die! You left mother! SHE DIED! I DIED! IT’S YOUR FAULT!” The kid’s angry, red face started melting as it approached Jon.

“The fu*k!” Jon cursed as he fell back onto the concrete in a startle. He landed on his backside and grabbed his belt from his waist once more, waving it warily in front of him.

“Get back!” He cried, “Get back!” Alas, the kid didn’t listen. The melting face slowly walked towards Jon, holding out his hand. The face was like pouring wax, dropping onto Jon’s legs.

 “F*ck! F*ck!” He yelled as the monster came closer. As soon as the boy got right up to Jon’s face, the boy whispered, “Shouldn’t have left, and shouldn’t have let her leave.”

“Her who?” Smitherman asked. The boy cocked his head to the side and smiled, revealing the sharp teeth. Rows of teeth. Each one with blood ripping from the bone. Smitherman sighed, “Oh… her…”

“She’s next!” The boy laughed as he lunged towards Jon. Bone-chilling screams pierced the air as the teeth of the monster stuck into the skin of this abusive, poor man. As Jon was being eaten alive on the ground and screaming for his life, he realized something. The snow falling wasn’t snow, but ash. The last thing the man saw out of the corner of his eye was a figure standing at the end of the bridge. The figure wore a gray suit, one reminiscing of an old circus clown. In its hand, floating by a thin string, was a red balloon. The clown waved with its fingerless, red gloves and laughed and it said in an eerie voice, “If you honk too long, you’ll be honked! Karma’s a bi*ch!” Then, the balloon popped in mid-air.

That was the last thing Smitherman ever saw before he was eaten alive by the boy.

Rushing down the highway, Tatem gasped as she tried to breath, remembering what Caleb had said.

“Tatem, you’ve lived this long,” she told herself, “But then again, you didn’t have a clown chasing you for 27 years!”

She pulled into her driveway and took out her purse. She slammed the car door shut and rushed towards the front door, which was left unlocked for if Smitherman was in one of his nightly moods. She ran to the kitchen and pulled out a bag from the drawer beside the sink. Inside the bag, she pulled out a pistol. She kept one around in case someone ever tried to break in, but no one ever did. Just like no one was here to stop her now.

“I’m done!” She cried to herself, voice shrill. “27 f*cking years! I thought we f*cking killed it! Why the f*ck is it back?” She burst into tears and held the gun by her side, her knuckles white from the grip she had on the weapon.

She sighed, “It’s either die now… or watch as it kills my friends and kills me too.” She thought about the times she had with her friends. The smile on their faces. The joy in their eyes. The proud feeling they each had when they first fought this monster. Tatem took a deep breath, waited a few long seconds, and finally whispered, “Goodbye.”

She held the gun up to her head, placing her finger on the trigger. Again, she took a deep breath. Before she pulled the trigger, she heard a loud CRACK as the front door burst open.

A voice cried, “TRACY! NO!”

  Call #3: Katie Burns The Memories

        “So, this is how it is?” Katie said, putting on her cowgirl hat.

“I guess so.” Carla replied, taking the rope from around her waist. Katie ran towards Carla and jumped into the air. Just then, a loud HONK was heard as Katie landed onto a four-wheeler. Her friend, Auburn, was driving, and Katie wrapped her arms around her waist. Carla smiled, “Alright! That’s my girl! Just like we practiced!”

        Katie smiled and laughed, “Did I finally do it?”

        “Yep,” Carla said, “I guess those few weeks have really paid off.”

        Katie laughed as she jumped off the four-wheeler with Auburn. They hugged and then Katie took off her hat. “Hey, Mrs. Hassle, I got a question.”

        “Yes, Katie?” Carla responded.

        “Is it okay if we head to the bar for a drink?”
        Carla thought for a moment, “Of course, I’ll meet you there. Let me just use the bathroom real quick.”

She took off her hat and walked quickly to the porta potty on the other side of the fence. Katie looked at Auburn, “I’m gonna go and grab and drink. You can stay here, or you can come with me. What do you say?”

Auburn beamed and nodded, “Hell, yeah, I wanna go!”

        They waddled over to the bar and took a seat at a table. A waitress came by, and with a thick, country accent said, “What can I get you two ladies to drink?” Katie ordered her drink and Auburn ordered hers. Neither of them knew what the drinks were, they just liked the name.

        “One tiny Kill-A-Momma Whisky,” The waitress said, “And one Stir-Your-Stick Margarita.” She closed her notebook and walked away. Auburn pulled out her phone and started checking her messages. Katie took off her hat and started admiring it.

She remembered when she first got the hat. The delicate hand on hers as she received the hat. The face, however, couldn’t be remembered. She couldn’t make out a face in her faint memories. Who was the hand on hers? Who was the person who gave her the hat? Male? Female? She couldn’t tell. All she remembered was the feeling of the hand. Sweet, kind, caring, and yet so hurtful. A feeling she’s felt many times.

        “Here you go girls, your drinks.” The waitress said as she put down the drinks. This took Katie by surprise. Don’t they usually take a long time to make? She thought to herself. The waitress smiled and asked, “Can I get you anything else?”

        “Um- No, m-ma’am.” Katie stammered. The waitress nodded politely and walked away.

Katie looked at Auburn. “I thought they took a while to make?”

        “They do,” Auburn responded, “You’ve just been staring at that hat for about ten minutes.”

Katie raised her eyebrow and looked at her drink. She looked back and forth between the drink and her hat. Red drink, white hat. Red hair, white skirt. A feeling rushed over Katie. A feeling she couldn’t describe. An unreadable feeling of something she hasn’t felt in a long time. The feeling of fear. She remembered a red-headed girl, and the friendship she had with her. She remembered the white skirt she wore that day- That day. The day hearts broke into pieces. The day a promise was betrayed. The day that caused the world, in Katie’s mind, to turn upside down.

        “This is delicious!” Auburn exclaimed, taking a sip of her drink and snapping Katie out of her terrible thoughts.

        “Really?” Katie asked, grabbing hers. She put the drink up to her lips. She took a few sips before setting the glass down. “Wow,” Katie thought. The “Kill-A-Momma Whisky” was actually really good. Smooth, tasteful, and refreshing. Katie took another sip before leaving the glass half empty. “I’m gonna go run to the restroom. Let me know if Carla gets here.” Auburn nodded as Katie headed off to the restroom.

Katie grabbed her hat and ran to the restroom. On her way, she was almost hit by a girl who ran into her. Without paying much attention, Katie continued on her way. Right before she entered the restroom, she turned back to the girl. The girl ran out of the restaurant, her red hair flowing behind her. The light bounced off Katie’s eyes and she saw the lady. Without thinking too much of the situation, she entered the restroom.

        As she walked inside, she felt the freezing breeze of the restroom flood over her. She walked slowly over to the last stall, the only one not being used. As she reached the door, she looked at the sink across the floor. The mirror, stretching across the wall, stood out to Katie. Not the glass, not the size, but what she saw; or, what she didn’t see.

        As she stared into the mirror, she only saw the stall behind her, not her reflection.

        She raised her eyebrow and walked towards the wall. She held out her hand, feeling some sort of pull or desire towards the mirror. As soon as her hand touched the mirror, she knew something was wrong. Not a solid mirror, but a liquid one. She placed her hand on the mirror and watched it sink into the void. When it was past her wrist, Katie felt a pull on her arm. She screamed, “You son of a bitch!”

        She grabbed her arm and tugged as hard as she could, fighting the mirror. Once she had a good grip, she flew off the mirror and landed next to the stall door. Her head hit the wall harshly and she got dizzy from the impact. She looked at the mirror, and to her surprise and horror, saw a figure crawl out of it.

        Hair as wet as the ocean, dangling like fresh spaghetti. Her clothes were torn and tattered, showing off her stomach and legs. Her feet were bare with no shoes and her eyes were drained of all color and life.  She crawled out and sat on the sink, letting her legs dangle off. She flipped her hair out of her face and stared into Katie’s eyes without blinking. The woman’s mouth grinned, slobbering onto the floor.

        It took everything in Katie not to throw up as she heard the gross sounds as the slobber hit the floor.

        “Katie,” The woman squeaked, “Didn’t you miss me?”

        “I-I-” Katie couldn’t even speak, her throat was clogged with frozen terror.

        “Awe, Katie, you haven’t seen me in quite a while and this is all you say?”

        “Who are you?” Katie finally said. The face looked familiar, but now it was all dirty and- well, just plain creepy. The hair, the clothes, the face, though all a little different, still familiar. There was only one thing different. The voice. Katie had heard the voice before but not from the woman. From another creature. Another being that knew her, one that she hated. One that she despised.

        “Katie!” The woman laughed, “You didn’t think she was actually still this young, did you? It’s been 27 years! Nobody is gonna look the same, unless you’re me!” The woman laughed, causing the bathroom to vibrate as if an earthquake had hit. Katie stared at the woman in horror and disbelief.

        “You’re not her,” Katie gasped, “You’re–”

        “Yep! And I’m back for more fun!” The woman interrupted and her smile grew even wider.. inhumanly wider. She lunged forward, ending up only inches away from Katie’s face as Katie backed up in alarm. Her drool was spilling onto Katie’s lap.

“Oh, and if you think you can stop me this time, you’ve got another thing coming.” The woman laughed, grabbing Katie by the arms. All Katie could do was scream. The only thing that stopped her was another woman coming out of a stall.

        “Ma’am, are you okay?” She asked, a tone of genuine concern in her voice. Katie looked around at the woman, mouth agape in shock from the happenings. Katie looked back to see that.. that awful thing was gone, as if it had never been there. The only thing that proved its existence was the drool still dripping down her lap. She cleared her throat and closed her mouth, nodding quickly.

        “Ye- yeah.. I’m fine. Just… scared myself.” Katie replied quietly, quickly walking past the both bewildered and worried woman. She hurried out of the restroom and came back into the bar, glancing around until she spotted the table again where Auburn sat waiting for her. Katie strode over and took a seat. A terrible, gut wrenching feeling washed over Katie as the horrific events that just happened seconds ago in the restroom swarmed around her mind. Auburn looked up, frowning as she spoke.

        “Okay,” Auburn said. “Where’s Carla? She’s not answering her messages.”

        “Let me call her.” Katie said, urging the awful feeling away. The phone started ringing. After a moment, they got left with the voicemail.

        “Hey, I may not be on the phone right now, but I’m sure I’ll be– Tim! Put the pig down! Tim! Hey, don’t put it there! What are you doing with the fork? Why in there?!” The voicemail abruptly ended with a click.

        “Damn, not answering.” Katie sighed. Having no patience, she called again. Same response. The voicemail. Again. Voicemail. This fourth and final time, however, there was an answer.

        “Hello?” Carla said over the phone.

        “Carla, where are you?” Katie questioned.

        “I’m sorry, dear, but– what the hell?” There was a pause.

        “What? Carla? You okay?” Katie asked, starting to get worried.

        Nothing. Silence. Deadly, eerie silence.

            “Carla?” Katie asked.

        Then.. A scream. A scream of terror. A bloodcurdling, sickening scream of the end. The end of a life. Carla’s life. Coughs and gags could be heard from the other end of the phone as well as sounds of a struggle.

 “Carla? Carla!” Katie screamed again. No answer. The phone hung up.

        “Carla…” Katie whispered again before throwing her phone onto the table. Auburn covered her mouth with one hand and put her phone in her pocket with the other. Katie’s eyes welled up with tears, as well as Auburn’s. The waitress came back to the table, completely oblivious to what had happened.

“Are you two ladies done, now?” Both girls looked up at the waitress. Katie slowly nodded for the waitress to get the drinks, which had not been what she thought. The waitress grabbed the drink, and as she did, a foul odor followed the cup. Katie took a glance at her drink. Not a whisky, not fruit punch, but blood. Katie had been drinking blood. The waitress smiled as she took the drink. She took Auburn’s drink and placed it on her tray. Before leaving, she looked down at Katie. Katie looked at her, and gasped when she saw her face.

Just like the woman in the bathroom, the waitress’s face was burnt and slightly melted.

 “Run,” she whispered to Katie, “Run far. Run as fast as you can. There is never an escape from me. This is the closest to one. Hiding it. Hiding the truth. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

Katie gasped, at a loss for words from the pure shock running through her body. “I-”

“If you run home, you’ll get hurt more, so I’d stay here if I was you.”

Katie closed her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath. When she opened them, the waitress was gone. Vanished.

“You okay?” Auburn asked, putting on her hat and looking at Katie curiously.

Katie glanced at Auburn, taking another deep breath before saying, “We have to go get Carla.”

After leaving their table, they got outside to run back to the field beside the bar. Auburn ran off, leaving Katie alone in the parking lot. Getting ready to follow Auburn, Katie put her hat on, only to be stopped by a scream. She turned around in a startle to see the same red-headed girl. This time, she was being pushed against a car with a man on top of her. Katie cocked her head to the side as she watched the man abuse the woman, uncertain of what to do. The red-head screamed for him to let her go, but he obviously wouldn’t listen, saying obscenities to the poor girl.

Katie, now invested in this, watched as the man fell to the ground after being hit in the groin.

 “I fu*king hate you, you son of a bi*ch!” The woman yelled. That voice. Katie knew that voice. She knew the red-head. The woman flung herself into the car and sped away from the man.

Before she could say anything else, she heard a scream from behind the bar. She flung around and rushed over. When she approached, she saw Auburn with tears rolling down her face. Her hands cupped her mouth, and she gasped for air, and it looked like she was just about to have a full blown panic attack.

“What’s wrong, Au-” Katie started, looking behind Auburn and stopping mid sentence, face flooding with pure shock and horror at the sight before her.

Carla.

Headless Carla.

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from Katie as she stared at the corpse. “Where’s her head?” Katie exclaimed, anguish and terror filling her voice.

“I- I don’t know!” Auburn cried, tears flooding her face.

Blood filled the streets and the porta potty as Carla’s body laid lifeless on the ground. Her shoes were torn off her feet, and her hands were tied behind her back. Her shirt was ripped into pieces and one of her legs had a big, nasty slash on it.

“K-K-Katie… Who did t-t-this?” Auburn stammered, a sob escaping her.

Katie held her stomach and dropped her hat to the ground. She coughed and gagged at the sight of Carla’s headless, lifeless body, the reeking smell of the deceased body hitting her nostrils.

 Then, interrupting the deadly silence, a phone rang.

Katie checked her pocket and saw it was her phone ringing. Instead of a name, it said Unknown ID. She gulped nervously but then answered it nonetheless.

“Hello?” She whispered.

“HI!” The voice said from the other end.

“Who is this?” Katie asked, trying to hide her shaky, teary tone.

“A Dumba**.”

“Which one?” Katie laughed, for the first time in a while, even despite the horror she just witnessed seconds prior.

“Caleb Foshee.”

A pause. Him. That man. He was the one that drove her wild. The one that left her like this. The reason why the summer of 2023 was the worst summer ever.

“Oh, my God!” She exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand for a second. “You’re still alive? I thought you would’ve died by now.”

“I’m still alive… and so is something else.”

Katie sighed, before looking back at the corpse. She quickly turned back around before throwing up on the grass, coughing. Why did I look back? She thought.

She sighed and nodded, “Yeah, I know it is. It… already took a friend of mine.”

“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that.” Caleb whispered over the phone.

“It’s fine. Let me guess; you’ve called the others?”

“I’ve called Autumn and Tatem, Lacy’s next.”

Tatem. Her. Red-Head. That’s why she was in a rush to get home. That’s why she was running from the man. That- Her anxiety. It’ll get the best of her. She’ll do something stupid. This was all rushing through Katie’s brain as Caleb spoke.

“Katie, we need you back. Everyone needs you and you need them.”

Katie sighed before looking at Carla one last time. She sighed, made a fist with her hand and whispered, “We’re gonna kill this fu*king clown.”

After a brief goodbye, they hung up.

Katie shook her head as she put her phone away. “Auburn, I have to go back to Clanton- Auburn? AUBURN!” Katie frantically looked around for the girl. Where did she go? Then, stopping Katie’s mind, was a laugh. A slight giggle. Sounding that of a five-year old. The same laugh from 27 years ago. She looked at the hat laying on the ground. White, pure of joy, but still full of memories of pain and fear.

“We’re gonna end this f*cking nightmare!” Katie exclaimed. She pulled out a lighter from her pocket, she lit it. She let the flame burn in front of her eyes. She picked up the hat and lit it. The pure white joy turned into a dark, black void, flames rearing up wildly from the shriveling up hat. She threw the hat into the porta potty and ran.

As she did, a loud explosion came from behind her as the porta potty exploded. The hat, the body and the toilet all went into flames. Ashes filled the sky above her as the memories washed away with the flames. She looked around.

“Auburn,” She whispered, “Where is she?”

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Katie looked at her shoulder. Drool. More saliva. She looked up, already knowing what to expect.

Hanging from a tree with its leg, smiling with full teeth, was IT; the clown was here. In its arms, wrapped in some sort of sticky web, was Auburn, unconscious.

“YOU! GIVE ME BACK AUBURN!” Katie yelled at the top of her lungs, trying not to inhale the ashes.

The clown giggled, “Oh, but why? It’sss just a game. A fun little game for me. A game where I alwaysss win.” Its voice was hissing like a snake, tone dripping with venom and terrible malice. Everything this thing did to torment them was like a game to It. One hand held Auburn, the other hand held a shiny, tiny, red balloon.

 “I don’t wanna play anymore!” Katie yelled.

“You don’t have a choice.” The clown laughed, but then stopped with a gasp, face lighting up with wicked and terrible joy and mocking, “You know, I’m usually right, but for now, I’ll be wrong. You do have a choice. Either ssstay here and let me have her,” the clown rubbed its hand over Auburn’s unconscious face, “Or go back and watch all of your friendsss die. The choice isss yoursss.”

Katie sighed, glaring up at the clown. All she wanted was to be free like she used to be. Before she met the group. Before she had to fight a clown. Before she had to run.

She stared at the clown dead in the eye, “I’m going back, and we’re going to kill you.” She said through gritted teeth, fists clenched at her sides.

The clown laughed again, “But how can you… If you don’t even know if I’m real?”

“...Do what?” Katie asked, raising an eyebrow, a small tinge of fear running through her.

The clown kept giggling throughout the conversation. “Well, if you remember, which I’m sure you don’t, I can be in multiple places at once, girl. Like right now, I’m here, bone and flesh, but there is another me somewhere else around here. I can be everywhere if you want! I- Well, I’m real. I can do whatever I want. The only difference between me and other versions, is that the real me can die, the fake me, not so much. Like, I’m taking your ‘Auburn’ back to my place, while another me is devouring an evil, little soul. You know him, I’m sure.”

“Who…?” Katie asked, confused.

“A Mr. Jon Smitherman.” The clown giggled.

“You’re eating him?!” Katie exclaimed, her bloodshot eyes widening with shock.

“What’s wrong with it? He was beating your red-head friend, wasn’t he?”

He was. That man was beating her friend. Beating a memory. That sh*t ain’t gonna fly.

“Where the hell is he?” Katie exclaimed, looking around the lot.

“Right over there.”

She looked at the empty parking lot. Well, almost empty.

Laying in the middle of the parking lot, dismembered and drained of blood, was Jon Smitherman, or what was left of him anyway. Katie rushed over to the dead man, forgetting all about the clown.

“Smitherman… FU**ING SMITHERMAN!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. All that was left of him was his half-eaten face, an arm, a leg, and his stomach. He was lacking, as some would say, his manhood, as Katie could clearly see. She stared at the body of the man who abused and used the red-head. But where is she now? Where was she headed?

Next to Smitherman’s leg, was his phone. Katie grabbed it and stared at the screen. A picture of him and Tatem, happy, or that’s what the lie told. As she tried to unlock it, the screen read: Password. “Dammit.” Katie sighed, she didn’t know his password. She looked down at his hand, his only hand.

“Thank goodness,” She sighed as she saw he still had a thumb. She grabbed his sweaty, bloody hand and placed the thumb on the home-button. The phone unlocked.

She went to the Google Maps app and looked at the “Favorites” tab. She smiled when she saw the one titled “Home.” She clicked it.

“Ten minutes away. I can make it.” She put his phone in her pocket and rushed towards her car.

Driving down the road was a heart-racing experience. What if Tatem had done something? What if she made it too late to stop her? What if the clown got her? Katie had to make it in time. When she reached the house, she saw the same vehicle parked in the driveway. She took a deep breath as she jumped out of the car and ran towards the door. She tried the doorknob. Locked.

“Fu*k!” She yelled. “Time for brute force.” she thought to herself. She backed up and kicked down the door. Thankfully, just in time to see her friend… with a gun to her head. Before Tatem could do anything, Katie yelled, “TRACY! NO!”

Tatem dropped the gun and stared at the woman in her doorway. “Who- Who are you!?” Tatem cried, covering her mouth.

        Katie held out her hand, “Tracy, it’s me, Katie.”

        Tatem stopped by the sink. “K-K-Katie? From- Clanton?”

        Katie nodded and she slowly walked towards the red-headed girl. She held out her hand for Tatem to take it. “Tracy, please calm down.”

        “I can’t! I got a call from-!”

        “Caleb. I got one too. He’s calling everyone.” Katie walked close enough to wear she was less than arm's length away from Tatem. She held out her arms.
“Can I have a hug?” Tatem slowly nodded and hugged Katie, tears filling her eyes.

        “Listen,” Katie whispered, “We’re gonna kill this clown. It hurt us too many times, so we’re gonna hurt it.”

        “But-” Tatem cried, trying to wipe her tears away, “It killed S-S-Smitherman.”

        Katie sighed, “I know… I saw. He also killed my boss. She… Was always like a mother to me.” Tatem laid her head on Katie’s shoulder. She wrapped her arms around Katie and whispered, ‘I know you’re not much of a hugger, but I need it right now.”

        “We both do.” Katie’s eyes filled with tears as she remembered Auburn. She’s trapped in the arms of that- thing. That creature. She had to kill it and get Auburn back. She looked Tatem in the eyes. “Do you remember the song we used to sing together?”

        Tatem smiled and laughed, “Yeah, every word of it.”

        They stared at each other as they sighed and cried, before remembering the song.

        The both sung:

                                      No matter where you are

      No matter where you’ll be

      I’ll always find you

     And you’ll always find me

     We get through this together

     Every step of the way

                 I’ll be with you I promise

     Every single day

     We get through this together

                                                     We’re gonna win this fight

     We’re gonna be at the top

     And we’re gonna do it right.

        They hugged each other and cried. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.” Tatem said, tears falling out of her eyes and onto Katie’s jacket. Katie held her tighter. 27 years. After 27 years, they still trust each other. They still love each other. They still care for each other.
Katie looked at Tatem in the eyes and smiled, “We’re going back to Clanton, we’re gonna see our friends and we’re going to kill this f*cking clown.”

        They both laughed and ran out the door, well, not before Tatem grabbed her gun. She put the safety on and put it in the car. They both jumped into Tatem’s car, with Tatem in the driver's seat. Katie sighed, “Why can’t I be the driver?”

        “Because it’s my car,” Tatem laughed, “If you wanna drive, get your own car.”

        “I’m too lazy, just drive.” She jumped in.

        Tatem drove out of the driveway and down the road.

   …

   …

        Far behind them, way up in the sky, there’s a red balloon, flying high. A web of lies one might see, but this web’s been here for eternity. A child-like laugh and a toothy smile, a clown watches in the trees for a mile. Sitting like a dog, its hands by its legs, it sits there and laughs, while another screams and begs. Wrapped up in goo, screaming in the night, Auburn sat in the web, screaming with fright. The clown walked over, a grin on its face, and it took her down to a deep, dark place.

        Souls among souls, tears in their eyes, this is where it lives, this is where it lies. Each little kid, all alone in the dark, watched as another was taken apart. A heart, full of joy, no longer will shine, as the clown laughed again, “This one’s mine.”

        It raised its hands, and way up high, Auburn’s body lifted into the sky. Her pale face, loss of a heart, sat there in the darkness, her soul ripping apart. It screamed and cried, like the other souls do, and the clown laughed again, “Now, I’ve got you.”

        “They don’t stand a chance,” the clown laughed as It spoke, “These girls are all crazy and their hearts will be broke.” It walked and laughed, It landed with a bonk. It looked with a tear and smiled, “It’s time to honk!”

       Call #4: Saralyn Doesn’t Play

        The good old Walmart was used by every single one of Saralyn’s friends. None of them disagreed to go. It was their favorite time of the week: Saturday Shopping! A group of five, all women, waking up at noon to go shop for useless but necessary clothes and items.

        On this fine day, in the middle of May, Saralyn was having a restful time making her way through Walmart. She was accompanied by her loving and caring girlfriend, Amanda. Both were short, but tall enough to be taken seriously. They both had lovely, light brown hair, which flew whenever there was wind.

        They both loved hoodies, and they almost never wore anything else.  Their wrists were covered in scrunchies and bracelets of all sorts. Their glasses matched each other, and their smiles made the other smile more.

        On this day, while walking through the store, the pair gossiped about the other members of their group. Stories about Janet getting with Jamez, a rumor about if Lily is pregnant or not, or maybe even if anyone would care.

        They walked around drinking their coffee, enjoying the company of each other.

        “You know,” Saralyn said, interrupting the chatter, “I believe we need some popcorn for our movie tonight.” Her smile was brighter than the sun, but more beautiful to look at.

        “I believe you’re right.” Amanda laughed, grabbing Saralyn’s hand.

They walked past the isle before something hit Saralyn in the back of the head.

“Ouch!” She exclaimed.

Something soft however, nothing hurtful. She looked down and saw a pillow. Someone had thrown a pillow at her, or at least in her direction. The pair turned to see an- actually recurring sight at their stores.

Yelling with her powerful fist, a storming brewing in her hands, was Old Man Karen. Old Man Karen was a heavy weighted woman whose hair was twice the length of her temper. She got the name Old Man Karen by her rude attitude and faint mustache. After 70, you just stop caring. Her black heels clanked to the ground every time she walked to make another complaint. She always wore the same outfit when walking in public; a dirty green dress suit and skirt that looked like it hadn’t been washed for decades.

She was standing at the Subway in the corner of the store.

“I ain’t gonna tell you one more time,” she exclaimed with a deep, raspy voice, “I brought this da*n sandwich back to get a refund! You guaranteed me a refund!”

“Ma’am,” the unfortunate employee sighed, “You bought the sandwich last week. We only allow refunds within 24 hours and you have the receipt, which you don’t have.”

“I didn’t get no receipt!”

“We asked you if you wanted one and you said no-”

Karen licked her dry, crusty lips. A look of dumb defeat crossed her face. She slammed the soggy sandwich on the counter. “Alright then,” she spit everywhere, “I would like some mashed potatoes and green beans!”

“Ma’am, we don’t have mashed potatoes here-”

“I want my f*cking mashed potatoes!” Her spit covered the counter.

The employee closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “Ma’am, as I said, we don’t have mashed potatoes!”

Karen looked around and her eyes fell upon Saralyn. Her drink. A nice, hot cup of coffee. She waddled over to Saralyn and snatched the cup out of her hand, spilling some in the process.

“Hey!” Saralyn exclaimed, “Give me back my coffee!”

“What are you doing?” Amanda screamed.

Karen ignored the shouts and marched over to the counter. She reared back and chucked it at the woman. A screech left the woman’s body and filled the store.

Saralyn let go of Amanda’s hand and rushed over to Karen. “I don’t know what happened to make you so ignorantly bi*chy but you need to leave now!”

Karen cocked her head and wabbled over to Saralyn, “Does it look like I listen to an insignificant piece of sh*t like you?” Her hot breath sprayed into Saralyn’s face.

“Ma’am, I don’t care what you do to me, just don’t mess with innocent people who are just doing their jobs.” Saralyn stood, almost growing taller than Karen. Her face said it more than the words did. Karen didn’t want to show it, but she truly didn’t have the energy to argue with this young lady today.

“Fine, then you and your little lesbian friend can go home and finger each other and stop bothering me.”

The words Saralyn could’ve said. The amount of anger that pent up in Saralyn’s head. The only thing that stopped her, was the hand that was placed upon her shoulder. A small, smooth, pale hand. Amanda’s hand. She looked at her love, holding back emotions that she wanted to throw up on Karen.

“Baby,” Amanda said, “Let’s just go home,”

Letting her angry step down, Saralyn nodded and grabbed Amanda’s hand. A small flame of trust was made with that gesture. Saralyn’s heart stopped beating as fast as it was, and her eyes seemed lighter and her smile seemed brighter. Without a word they left the situation and went to finish out their shopping.

They didn’t see Karen the rest of their trip around the store. Maybe she got arrested, or maybe she just left, they don’t know. However, they did buy their groceries for the dinner they had planned, though because of the stress of the store, they just decided to eat cereal for dinner.

As the sun set below the clouds, a movie was played in the living room as they sat on their new couch. A movie neither had seen, and frankly, they didn’t know what it was. The title, all uppercased, was “To Love Or To Lose,” and it was a beautiful story of a group of four, two men, two girls, who embark on an adventure to seek treasure.

Amanda sighed, “I’d love to go on an adventure like this with our friends, wouldn’t you?”

Saralyn stayed silent.

True, she did want to embark on an adventure with friends, though they weren’t the same friends Amanda imagined. Saralyn wanted the group she knew and loved. The group that was tied with blood and tears. The group that loved her so much, but eventually, like most friends, faded away. Oh, how Saralyn wished she could see her friends again, but fate had different plans.  

“You okay?’ Amanda inquired, looking at the blank look on her lover’s face. Saralyn didn’t answer her. “Hey,” she continued, placing a hand on Saralyn’s thigh, “I’ve known you for five years, I know when something is bothering you. Tell me what it is.”

Saralyn’s eyes flooded as she fell into Amanda’s arms. She curled around Amanda’s waist and buried her face in her chest. Amanda started to brush her fingers through Saralyn’s hair. Amanda didn’t ask anymore questions, she just let Saralyn lay on her for a moment.

Soon, Saralyn stopped, and she whispered, glumly, “I- Babe, did you ever have close friends growing up?”

Amanda laughed, “Of course, I was friends with everyone! The neighbors, the geeks, the jocks- I just didn’t like the preppy kids. They always gave a stank look on the face.”

“No, I mean like- someone you would run a mile for. Someone who would throw rocks for. Someone you would risk everything for. Have you ever had someone like that?”

        Amanda bowed her head and let it hang. She sighed and her eyes were now droopy. “Yes, I do. I did. He was the bestest friend anyone could ask for. He would make me smile, laugh and he always comforted me when I needed him. Sadly, he disappeared one day, and I never heard from him again.”

        There was a pause in her voice. Saralyn could tell the subject was touchy, and it was, for both of them.

        “His family moved out of town,” Amanda continued, “And his sister went with them, though I never heard about him again. No mention online, no more internet posts- just nothing. Soon, I felt like our friends all forgot him, but I couldn’t. Something that close could never be forgotten.”

        Her words stuck to Saralyn. Her words hit like a rock. Her words reminded Saralyn of something- someone- a group of someones. The best friends she ever had, but the ones she lost.

        RING! RING!

        Suddenly, breaking the silence, Saralyn’s phone started to ring. It scared her as she jumped from Amanda’s arm, landing on the floor. She looked at her buzzing phone, which was sitting on the coffee table near the couch. No name, only a flashing light of Unknown ID. She slowly brought her hand to grab the phone, before answering it.

        “Hello?” She whispered.

        “Hello, Mini-Me!”

        Saralyn gasped, dropping the phone and covering her mouth. Amanda jumped back, before placing her hand on Saralyn’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Who is it?”

        Saralyn sighed and picked up the phone. “Hello, Caleb.”

        “At least you remember me!”

        “What do you mean?” Saralyn laughed.

        “The others took longer.”

        “The others?”

        “The rest of the friend group!”

        Saralyn chuckled, “Of course. So, whatcha calling for?”

        Saralyn could hear a sigh come from the man on the phone, “Saralyn, I’m not joking when I say something horrible is back.”

        “What’s back?”

        “It. The clown’s back.”

        Saralyn’s face lost all color and her eyes shrunk. Her heart felt like it froze. Suddenly, not helping her situation, a knock came to the door. Saralyn tried to get up, but Amanda pushed her back down. “Let me get that, you talk to buddy boy.”

        Amanda strutted to the door and unlocked the thick, metal lock upon it. When she opened it she was met with a terrible sight.

        “Karen,” She sighed, “How did you find our house?”

        Karen stood with a wrinkly smile upon her crusty face. “I don’t need to tell you that! I just want to tell you that the police will be here in five minutes!”

Amanda raised her eyebrow, “And why is that, if I may ask?”

“For your rrrrude attitude towards me at the store!” She stood and placed her hands on her hips. Her thin glasses fell down to her pointed nose, revealing her dull, gray eyes.

Amanda let out a small chuckle, though she held it back. “What do you mean by rude attitude? If I recall correctly, you were the rrrrude one!” She said, mocking Karen.

        Karen gasped and placed a hand on her bosom. “I would never! How dare you accuse me of such an action!”

        Before Amanda could answer, the driveway began to fill up with police. Three men approached. The first being a bigger, pale, well-rounded man with a plain bald head. He had what Amanda called “a baby face.” He had a half-empty coffee cup in one hand and a napkin in the other. Officer Donald was his name and he wore it like a badge of honor.

The second man was a short, red-headed man. His red mustache blended well with his caramel skin. He didn’t have anything in his hands but he kept them on his belt. His name was Officer Warren and he looked the meanest out of the three.

The third man was a tall, buff man. His short curly hair fit well on top of his head. His dark skin looked well with the blue shirt required for the job. He wore a big smile upon his face along with a goatee. His name was Officer Douglas, and he was the politest of the group.

        “What seems to be the problem, ma’am?” Officer Warren asked, his voice being smooth but assertive.

        “This girl and her girlfriend harassed me at the store!” Karen exclaimed, waving her arms around. She put great emphasis on the word girlfriend.

        Amanda wanted to step in, but her better judgment stopped her.

        Officer Douglas turned to Amanda, “Is this true, ma’am?” His voice was calm, and smooth. He kept one hand on his hip, and the other hand was massaging his mustache.

        Amanda let out a small sigh, “No, Officer, it is not true.”

        “I beg to differ-” Karen exclaimed, marching towards Amanda.

        “MA’AM!” Officer Warren yelled in a deep voice, halting Karen in her tracks, “We’ll let you talk when we say you can talk! CAPEESH!” Karen froze and slowly nodded.

        “So, what exactly happened, Miss…?” Officer Douglas

        “Amanda,” she told him, “Well, me and my girlfriend were walking through Walmart when we saw Mrs. Karen yelling at an employee.” Karen crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. “She then proceeded to take my girlfriend's coffee and throw it at the wall! My girlfriend and I got a little angry, which I hope is understandable, and so we told Karen to stop yelling and cussing and all sorts of things. Then we left. Now, she shows up at my door telling me the police are on their way.”

        Officer Donald and Officer Warren looked at Karen, who still stood with bitterness. “Mrs. Karen,” Officer Donald sighed, “Why were you so… angry… with this employee?”

        “Well,” Karen started, flailing her arms around and clicking her heels, “I ordered a sandwich, and I was told I could get a refund! I didn’t eat the sandwich at first, because it just didn’t look appetizing at the moment. Well, a week later, I wanted to eat the sandwich! When I opened the fridge, it had mold growing all over it! I rushed to the store and demanded a refund!”

        Officer Donald took a sip from his cup. “So, can you explain to us why you decided to throw a coffee cup at the worker?”

        Karen gasped, “Excuse me? I never did such an act! I’m too old and kind for any violence!”

        Officer Warren rolled his eyes and held out a pair of handcuffs. “Mrs. Karen Tophump, you are arrested for lying to the police and workplace violence. You have the right to remain silent. Anything can and will be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the court.”

        Karen gasped, pushing up her glasses. “Excuse me? I cannot be arrested for a crime I did not commit!” She turned around to try to run, only to see Officer Douglas standing in front of her. “You people don’t know what you’re talking about!”

        Officer Douglas held out his hands which had two thick, metal handcuffs, dangling by a chain. Karen gasped and as she tried to run away, Officer Warren grabbed the back of her arms. “You are under arrest ma’am!”

        “NO!” She exclaimed, trying to fight her way out of his arms to no avail. “You can’t do this! Former presidents can’t be arrested!”

        Amanda laughed, “You aren’t no former president, and even if you were, they can still get arrested!”

        Karen cried as she was taken into the car by Officer Warren. He slammed the door and signaled for the others to follow. When all of the men got into the car, they drove. Amanda watched as a distressed Karen cried in the back seat.

        Saralyn stuffed as many clothes as she could into the small, crumbling suitcase. Pants, shirts, undergarments, jackets- and anything else she could think of. She crammed everything inside and slammed the suitcase shut. Soon, Amanda walked in through the door, and she stared at Saralyn’s hasty movements.

        “Who was on the phone?” She asked, slowly walking towards Saralyn.

        “An- old friend of mine. He said that something came up-and that I need to get back there.” Saralyn was out of breath. She was exhausted from moving around, but she was also trying to calm her body after the news that she was just given.

        “Do I need to come with you? Am I allowed to come with you?” Amanda grabbed Saralyn’s hand and felt its warm, smooth surface.

        Saralyn stopped moving around and looked at her partner. She stared into the emerald eyes that sparkled in the glasses Amanda wore upon her face. “Honey, I would love for you to come… but I can’t let you.” Amanda raised her eyebrow. “If you came with me, I might lose you, and I really can’t lose you.”

        Amanda’s face filled with worry. She gulped, “What happened to buddy boy that you need to go alone?”

        Saralyn gave a slight laugh, “I’m not going alone, technically… We have a group of friends going, and-” She sighed and shook her head. “If I told you, you’d think I’m crazy.”

        Amanda laughed, “I’ve known you for a while. I can handle crazy-”

        “There’s a murder clown!” Saralyn blurted out.

        “A what?” Amanda’s face went blank. Her smile cut off and her face filled with confusion. She raised her eyebrow and took off her glasses. “Did you say… ‘murder clown’?”

        Saralyn paused and slowly nodded her head. “I understand it sounds crazy but you’ve got to believe me-”

        “Do you ever feel like your day sucks? Like you’re just depressed?”

        “What?” They said in unison. Neither one of their mouths moved, so who spoke these words? They looked at each other before the voice spoke again.

        “Life can drag you down, so let me cheer you up!”

        Soon, they felt a light flash onto their faces. They glanced over and saw that their late-night TV dramas had turned into a 1930s advertisement. The screen corners were black, black spots covered the screen, and no color was in the video.

        The picture is shown as if it was taken in the late 30s, with cracks and cuts in it. A large circus tent sat in the back. The striped pattern was lit with a fire on one side of the tent. Animals, dancers and clowns all rushed out of it. The text upon it read: Hangman’s Carnival. The text was dripping something, but the faded color made it hard to tell. Ice cream? Perhaps, but not likely.

        On the other side of the screen, stood Saralyn’s nightmare.

        “Come on down to the touring circus: Hangman’s Carnival! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry! You’ll cheer! You’ll die!”

        Standing with popcorn in one hand and a balloon in the other, was the infamous murder clown Saralyn had mentioned. Its purple hair was the only color on screen, with the rest of the outfit being faded like the picture behind. Its grin rose to each ear, and its eyes stayed hollow and cold.

“Him! Her! IT!” Saralyn exclaimed, leaping back onto the couch. She kicked her suitcase over, causing the clothes inside to spill out.

“Saralyn, what are you talking about?” Amanda screamed, waving her arms around.

Saralyn looked up with a haze over her eyes. They fogged up like glass and hid the color behind them. “You wouldn’t understand-”

“Understand?” Amanda crossed her arms, “Saralyn, you were talking about a murder clown and then suddenly the TV turns on! I think I've passed the line of understanding! Who is this… clown?”

Saralyn slowly made her way off of the couch and near her girlfriend. Her eyes gained their color back and her cheeks seemed more red. “When I was a kid, my friends and I used to see this clown around our town. We all thought we were crazy until we all met it face to face at the same time… Its face still haunts me…”

Amanda cocked her head and stared at Saralyn, who was spacing out at the moment.

“We thought we killed it,” Saralyn continued, glancing at the television screen, “But apparently we were wrong… and now I have to go back to Alabama-”

“You gotta go all the way down there?” Amanda exclaimed.

“Don’t be mad-”

“I’m not mad,” Amanda smiled and placed her hand on Saralyn’s cheek, “I’m worried. If you’re gonna go down there, I want you to be safe.”

Saralyn smiled, tears starting to form. She pulled Amanda in and hugged her tight. They kept hugging for at least five minutes before Amanda interrupted it. “You wanna get the suitcase filled back up?”

Saralyn smiled, wiping her tears, and nodded. They bent down and started putting the clothes back in the suitcase. They completely ignored the television screen that repeated the phrase: You’ll laugh, you’ll cry! You’ll cheer! You’ll die!

      Call #5: Lacy Has A Nightmare

        “Skyler! Dinner’s ready!” Lacy yelled from the other side of the house.

She had on her purple apron, stained with grease from the spaghetti and her blond hair tied in a ponytail. So much for trying not to have a mom look, huh? She wiped the grease off her hands using her white shirt and jeans. Skyler came rushing in, wiping his mouth, his blond hair hanging like curtains in his face. He ran up beside Lacy and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Baby, the food looks so good.” Skyler said before kissing his wife.

Lacy took off her apron as Skyler grabbed two plates. Skyler set the plates on the table and grabbed two forks for each of them. Lacy took the pot of spaghetti and a spoon and poured an equal amount onto both plates. After putting up the pot, Lacy and Skyler sat down at the table. As they began eating, Skyler decided to start a conversation.

“So, how was your day, babe?”

“Well,” Lacy laughed, “I swear I’m going insane, because after you left for work, I started hearing strange noises everywhere. First in the bedroom, then the kitchen, then just now in the bathroom. It’s like- a weird squeaky noise.”

“Well, maybe it’s those damn pipes again. I asked my brother to fix them, but he hasn’t come over, has he?”

Lacy shook her head, just as Skyler thought.

“Babe, I think we should be happy today.” Lacy said, taking hold of Skyler’s hand.

“Why? What’s so special?” Skyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lacy’s eyes lost their color as she sighed, “Babe, you don’t remember today? Really?”

Skyler shook her head, feeling awful. “I’m sorry, I really don’t. It’s something I should remember, isn’t it?”

Lacy nodded as she let go of Skyler’s hand. She opened her phone and handed it to Skyler. On the screen, covered in purple and red strings, was a sign that read: Happy 5-Year Anniversary.

Lacy sighed, “Five years married, 27 years together.”

Skyler gasped, “Baby, I am so sorry, I forgot. I genuinely did. I would’ve gotten you something if I would’ve remembered.”

Lacy shook her head and wiped away the tears, “No, honey, it’s fine, I promise. But-” She grabbed a box from beside her and handed it to Skyler, “I did get you something.”

Skyler slowly received the box and stared at it. Purple and blue stripes. Their favorite colors. He pulled the cloth ribbon on the top, letting the lid of the box fall off. Inside the box, bright and shiny like a diamond, was a necklace. A beautiful, gold necklace. Chains lined around it, and a heart sat at the end of the chain. On the heart, easily seen, was a picture of Lacy and Skyler. A picture of their wedding day. Under it read: L + S.

Tears filled his eyes as he put it on. Lacy smiled and revealed that she also had one around her neck, matching Skyler’s. They clasped hands and smiled.

“I love you.” Skyler whispered.

“I love you too.” Lacy responded.

They continued eating their dinner, before a loud BOOM noise came from the bathroom. “What was that?” Skyler asked, startled.

“I- I don’t know.” Lacy whispered, slowly standing up. She grabbed the pan sitting on the stove next to her and held it like a baseball bat. She slowly walked over to the bathroom, holding her breath on the way. As soon as she reached the door, she got scared, not of the bathroom, but her phone buzzing in her pocket.

“Oh, Jesus Christ!” She screamed as she grabbed her phone. Unknown ID. Who could this be?

 “Hello?” She said as she answered the phone.

“Hey Bestie!” The voice yelled over the phone.

“W-Who is this?” Lacy laughed, not really recognizing the speaker.

“Wow, and you said you’d never forget me.”

“Sir, I don’t try to forget people, I promise, but sometimes we just grow apart. Name?”

“Caleb Foshee.”

A pause covered Lacy as she heard the name. Foshee. Caleb Foshee. She remembered that name very vividly. That man was both a great part of her life, while also being the worst part of it too.

“God, Caleb… I- I haven’t heard your voice in years. How are you doing?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“I’m… doing good, but we have an issue.”

“And what might that be to where you need to call me after 27 years?” Lacy laughed.

“Lacy… It’s back.”

        Lacy felt her heart stop, “You mean-?”

        “Yeah… the same one who got Olivia. It’s back.”

        Just what Lacy thought. She laughed, tears filling her eyes. “No, Caleb, you’re joking! You’re joking! He- She- It isn’t back! It can’t be. W-W-We killed it!”

        “No… we didn’t. It survived. We made a promise and we have to keep it-”

        “Caleb, you’re just fooling me! You’re just trying to make me scared! There is no clown! That was just a dream we all had!” Lacy laughed, dropping the pan on the ground.

        “Lacy… it isn’t a dream though! We actually fought this thing! If not, how do you explain Olivia? How?”

        Silence. A pause. No voice.

        “Caleb, I have to go.”

        “Lacy, I’m sorry, all I’m saying is-”

Nothing. She hung up.

She set her phone on the table. Skyler looked at his stressed wife. “Babe… Are you okay?”

        Lacy sighed and held her stomach. Tears filled her eyes as she whispered, “Can we just go lay down, please?” Skyler rushed up and held Lacy, setting her against the wall. “Of course we can, go lay down and let me just put the food away.” Lacy nodded as they kissed. She walked down the hall and into her bedroom. She changed into a sports bra and shorts and laid in the bed, waiting for Skyler.

        After putting away the dishes, Skyler walked into the bedroom and took off his clothes, only leaving underwear. He laid next to Lacy, pulling the covers over both of them. He grabbed the side of Lacy’s arm and started rubbing it.

        “Baby, you know you can tell me anything, right?” Skyler said, pulling Lacy closer.

        “I know,” Lacy sighed, “It’s just… I- I’m scared.”

        Lacy’s eyes filled with tears again. Skyler wrapped her arms around Lacy and rubbed her back, while Lacy hugged back. Skyler whispered, “Babe, it’s gonna be okay. Don’t worry, I’m here if you need me.”

        “I need you…” Lacy whispered, hugging tighter.

            Skyler held Lacy for only a few minutes before whispering in her ear. “How about we calm down with a little fun time. We haven’t done anything for a while. And plus, it’s our anniversary, we should have some fun.” Lacy wiped away her tears and looked at Skyler with glee in her eyes. “Don’t you want me to put a smile on your face?”

            Lacy turned into a tomato as she nodded.

            Skyler smiled as she rubbed her hand up Lacy’s bra and grabbed onto her breast. They kissed as Lacy rubbed her hands against Skyler’s soft skin.

            After an hour, with her heart pounding, Lacy laid next to Skyler. She turned to her husband, who was exhausted as well. “Babe,” Lacy sighed, “That felt really good.”

        “See?” Skyler sighed with a smile, “I knew you’d like that.”

        “Yeah,” Lacy laughed. She threw her bra back on along with her shorts. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom, okay, baby?”

        “Okay,” Skyler smiled, wrapping himself in the sheets.

        Lacy hopped off the bed and walked into the bathroom. “Skyler!”

        “Yeah?” Skyler laughed, knowing what Lacy was about to say.

        “You left a hickey on my neck!”

        “Check your chest if you think that’s bad.”

        A scream came from Lacy, making Skyler laugh. “You left hickeys all over me!”

        “You said you wanted to have fun.” Skyler laughed, before laying his head on the pillow.

            After undressing and letting the water run into the tub for a bit, Lacy slowly sat down in the tub. She stretched out her legs and leaned her head back. She let her arms rest on the edge of the tub. She kept breathing in and out, still exhausted from her night with Skyler. She closed her eyes and thought of the wonders she enjoyed in life.

            She loved working as a nurse for the patients at the hospital. Even if they were in a horrible situation, Lacy could always find a way to make them smile. She also enjoyed coming home and cooking for her handsome husband. She loved being invited to games and events with her friends. Though, her friends now were not as good as her friends then.

            After taking a few deep breaths, Lacy felt a peaceful blanket was just thrown over her.

            However, as soon as that blanket was put down, Lacy felt the water ripple. She wasn’t moving, so what could it be? She tried raising her head, but she found it difficult to do so. She tried with all her strength but her head would not budge. Lacy, not being able to move her head, glanced at the mirror that stood beside the tub.

            Like a spider crawling up a wall, Lacy saw a pale hand with long, white nails crawl up her leg. It was wearing fingerless gloves and at the wrist, it wore a white cuff, one that a clown would wear. Lacy screamed, but no sound ever came out. The hand, along with the pale arm it was attached to, crawled all the way up to Lacy inner thigh. As it reached her left thigh, the fingers grew. Each finger grew a few inches, and started wrapping around her thigh, looking like a bunch of pale snakes.

            As it fully wrapped around her thigh, it pulled her into the water of the tub.

            Water surrounded Lacy as she was dragged further and further into the water. Her eyes shut as the pressure pushed onto her face. She tried to move her arms, still failing to do so. The arm dragged her further and further. She screamed, causing water to flood into her mouth. The light coming from outside the tub faded away, leaving a dark, empty room. All that surrounded her was bubbles.

            When she opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of 7 kids. The group of friends grew to love. There were a total of 8, but a younger Lacy wasn’t seen. All of the kids stood with a smile upon their faces. Suddenly, the mood changed when all of their heads went rolling on the floor. Four long, slimy tentacles rose up behind the bodies, having the blood from the severed heads all along them. The bodies fell to the ground like rag dolls.

            The four tentacles swung towards Lacy, leaving a slash on her cheek. The blood spilled from the body's heads, creeping towards Lacy’s feet. She screamed, using her arms to cover her still exposed body. She leaped back as to not be touched by the blood of her old friends. She screamed once again, before turning around and running away from the sight. The tentacles, moving like snakes, looked at each before slithering towards her. Lacy kept running not knowing if she was going anywhere.

            Following the tentacles, all seven bodies slowly began to rise up from the bloodstream. Each of them looked like mindless zombies. They grabbed their heads and placed them back on their necks. Lacy could hear their bones cracking and popping as the heads stuck back in place. She looked back at the group for a hot second before continuing her run. As she turned around, she was greeted by one of the zombies, one of the lifeless.

            A brown haired boy stood in front of her. His smile grew to his ears and his teeth looked as sharp as razors. The glasses on his face were splattered in blood. His hoodie and jeans were torn, revealing his bleeding body. He spoke with a rasping voice, a voice she did not associate with his face.

            “You should’ve listened to him!” The voice groaned.

            Lacy screamed and tore away from the monster. As she turned around, she was faced with another figure, this time, a girl. Her hair was a mix of blond and orange. Her eyes were empty as death. Her teeth drooled with blood, while her clothes were shredded to pieces. She laughed before speaking.

             “Why stay mad at her?” The figure screamed with a high pitched voice. She laughed once again before swinging Lacy around to face two other girls.

             In front of Lacy were two short girls. One had red, short hair with dead eyes and bloody night clothes. The other girl wore a camouflage hoodie, covered in spots of blood. Her brown hair went down to her waist, waving in the unknown wind.

             They both yelled at the same time. The brown haired girl yelled, “Why leave your closest friend?” While the other yelled, “How dare you leave a family member!”

             Lacy burst down into tears, falling on her knees. She screamed out for mercy upon her soul. She turned to see two other girls standing behind her, both about the same height as the other two. One girl wore a dark green hoodie with jeans while the other wore an unbuttoned flannel with jeans as well. Their eyes had the same dead look as the others.

            “You didn’t forget us, did you?” The green one laughed, while the other stayed silent.

            Her face was the only one to stay still while the green girl and everyone else’s smiles grew gradually. Lacy screamed, grabbing the side of her face. Wrapping her arms around herself, she ran away from the two. Soon after running, she was met by a short, thick woman. Her mixed skin was surrounded by scars and stitches. Her leather pants were torn and her shirt was halfway unbuttoned. Her long hair rose like tentacles above her lifeless head.

            “You're afraid now, aren’t you, bitch?” She exclaimed with a ghetto laugh, waving her arms out.

            Lacy cried as she ran away from everyone, the air getting thinner and thinner. As she ran, she was startled by a loud noise. The noise was that of a child’s. A small child. A female child. A cry. Lacy fell to her knees, feeling the lack of air. When she looked up, she was faced with the scariest memory of her life.

            Floating in front of Lacy, drenched in blood, was a little girl. She was wearing a yellow raincoat and boots. Her jeans were still intact, though something was missing from this pale girl. Not her short, brown hair or her dead eyes, or her frown. She was missing her right arm.

            Lacy’s eyes flooded with tears as she saw the girl in front of her. The girl yelled with a booming voice, “You let me die!” She repeated this over and over again.

            “No, I- I never meant for you to-!” Lacy stuttered.

            The girl smiled and disappeared, revealing a white door behind her. Lacy ran towards the door.

            When she opened the door, the black void faded, and she was now in her own bedroom. Only, it was much different. Blood splattered the walls, oozing down onto the carpet. Her bedsheets were wrinkled and tossed everywhere. The thing that scared her most was what was laying on the bed.

            Laying on the bed, looking dead as a doornail, was Skyler. His legs and arms were nowhere to be found. The blood drained from his corpse, making him more pale by the second. His mouth hung open, or at least that’s what Lacy assumed. This was only because his bottom jaw was torn off of his face, revealing his tongue and other internal organs.

            Lacy screamed, before being shook awake.

            When she opened her eyes, she was meant with the sight of Skyler, the real Skyler, standing beside her. She stopped screaming and looked around. She was still laying in her bathtub, with the water still running. Skyler, still only wearing his underwear, held her hand.

           “Babe, are you okay? You’ve been in here for an hour and I’ve heard screaming.”

           Lacy couldn’t manage any words, she could only cry and hug him, soaking him in the process. He held her tight in his arms, rocking her back and forth.

           “It’s gonna be okay,” Skyler whispered, shushing her. “Look, how about you get on some sort of clothes and we can cuddle again? You can tell me what’s bothering you, okay?”

           Lacy sniffled before nodding, while turning off the water.

           After getting dressed, Lacy laid next to Skyler on their bed and cuddled him.

           “So, what’s bothering you, honey?” Skyler asked, rubbing her arms.

           She explained to him all of the sights she saw. The ones of her old friends and nightmares.

            “Sky, do you remember Olivia?” Lacy asked, tears slowly filling up.

            “Your sister? The one that went missing? Yeah.” Skyler said, nodding his head. He felt his hand being squeezed harder as Lacy spoke.

            “She didn’t just go missing… she was murdered.”

           Silence filled the room just as Lacy’s eyes filled with tears. Skyler gulped before holding her tighter in his arms. She wrapped around his waist, crying as she did so. She sat crying for about half an hour before finally saying something.

           “Sky…”

           “Yes, baby?” He whispered to her.

           “I- we have to go back to Clanton. We’ve gotta get back to Alabama.” Lacy said, wiping her tears.

           “But you have that meeting in two days and I have that business trip. We can’t just abandon that.”

           Lacy let go of Skyler and got out of bed. She stood beside the bed, grabbing a shirt while she spoke. “Okay, I know that, but I made a Goddamn promise, and I intend to keep it.”

           Skyler sighed, staring at his wife, who was already packing by this point. Skyler thought to himself, a voice whispering in his head.

           Does he let her go? Does he risk that she will leave him? Caleb isn’t a lair, so he’s okay to believe him. Will she go and never return? Will she save the world from burn? Answers aren’t as easy as saying nope. All you can really have is hope.

           “Lacy,” Skyler sighed, looking at his beloved wife, “I’ll let you go if you make me one promise.”

           “And what is that, Sky?” Lacy said, finally put down her bag.

           “Promise me that you’ll try to stay safe, okay?”

        Lacy paused for a moment. Everytime she was asked to make a promise, it was never as hard as this. But, holding back her tears in her sparkling eyes, she agreed.

        She packed up the rest of her things and they both rushed into the car.

The car ride to the airport was silent. Neither of them spoke. Not a word. Lacy was too busy with the words in her head to say words out loud. She thought of a summer, many years ago, that changed her life. Not better change, not bad change, just change. The images of those months flooded her brain. Images of a group of kids all loving, caring… and yet so hurtful. The lies between them. The hate around them. The traitor among them. All of it was rushing back to her.

        She thought she had escaped it when she moved to California a few years ago, but that was only a short victory. Sort of like the short victory they last encountered. The world was full of lies. Anyone Lacy knew could admit that. She hated the world she lived in. Not because of people themselves, but because of the lies that were told.

        Soon, a song came on the radio. An old country song, though Lacy wasn’t paying attention to the words, only the music. Skyler did listen to the words, whispering the lyrics as he drove. The melody played through Lacy's head, adding notes to each image. Soon, all she could see was a mini version of herself, sitting in a bottle in the ocean.

        She sung to herself:

        Year after year, the memories fade away

        Of the best friends of my life.

        We all grew apart, our minds lost in the dark

        And lost in a sea of strife.

        But how could I forget

        That summer of torture.

        The pain in my brain

        I felt it for sure…

But how could I forget

        Everything that I’ve been through

        I should’ve believed him

        What am I getting myself into?

        I’ve gotta find a way

        To end this nightmare

        Will I ever be okay?

        Unsure, Life ain’t fair!

        I’m pretty sure our brains have snapped

        And like a bottle that’s been capped

        Or a gift that has been wrapped

        All I ever feel is trapped.

        Lacy stared out of the car window for what felt like forever. While driving, Skyler would glance at her to make sure she was either still awake or not crying, wishing she did neither. In his gut, he truly didn’t trust Caleb near his wife. Who knows what Caleb would do to her after what he did last time. Obviously, it’s been years since they’ve seen each other. And what if Caleb’s changed. It’s possible, but Skyler didn’t want to take a chance. He didn’t want to lose the woman closest to him.

        When they arrived at the airport, Skyler stopped the car and let Lacy get out by herself.

        “You need any help, babe?” Skyler asked, rolling down his window.

        “No, I’m good, Sky.” Lacy said before leaning in for a kiss.

        As soon as she kissed him, she darted for the doors of the airport. When she got inside, she saw thousands of people running around, trying to get to their flights. Lacy sighed and closed her eyes. The melody played again in her head:

        I couldn’t save my little sister

        I was the one who let her die

        If there’s a way to kill this clown,

        God Dammit! I’ll try!

        I’m gonna find a way

        To kill this nightmare!

        It may not be today

        But I don’t care!

        We’re gonna win, it’s a matter of fact!

        We’re no longer gonna feel trapped!

        And with the tune fading out of her head, she made her way through the airport to get on a flight.

        Meanwhile, sitting at a bar, mopping with a drink, Skyler sat alone. He guzzled down his beer, slapping the glass onto the wooden bar. He sighed and shook his head. Lacy hadn’t even been gone for an hour, but Skyler still couldn’t think of anything to distract him. Or at least, that’s what he told the bartender.

        True, Skyler did look a little sad, but Lacy leaving wasn’t the problem. The problem was that his “friend” had yet to show up, being 30 minutes late.

        The bartender looked at Skyler, “So, are you upset about Lacy?”

        “You could say that…” he hesitated.

        “Well, if you need anything, I’m right here.”

        The bartender walked away to serve another customer, leaving Skyler by himself. Skyler took another swing of the drink before feeling a hand caress his shoulder. He turned around to see a woman standing next to him.

        She wore a long, pink feather coat and a black lingerie. She had thick, black high heels to match. Her lips were a blood red and her eyes were the only thing that sparkled on her clean face. She sat down beside Skyler, crossing her legs as she did.

        Skyler smiled at the sight of her.

        “Good evening, Mrs. Destinee,” Skyler said, winking his beautiful eye.

        “Good evening to you too, Sky,” she said, licking her lips, “How’s my pimp doing today?”

        Skyler laughed, “I’m- I honestly don’t know. My wife just took a trip back to Alabama out of all places. Said she made a promise. How in the hell can she keep a promise? I can't even keep a promise for our marriage."

            Destinee laughed, "Oh, trust me, I know. Shame is on your name. While your baby is over there cooking for ya, what are you doing in the bathroom, huh?”

        Skyler shook his head.

        “You were making out with me, before whispering for me to climb out the window. That’s not nice, is it?”

        Skyler put down his drink. ‘Destinee, can you just shut up?”

        “What? You know it’s true. You only got with her because of the money… and the body. She is hot!”

        Skyler sighed and laid his head on the bar counter. He shook his head, only because he, in fact, knew she was telling the truth. He did only want her for the money and her body. It wouldn’t be a lie, either, if I told you that this isn’t the only time Skyler has cheated on Lacy without her knowing.

        Skyler raises his head and looked at the woman beside him. He stared into her eyes. Her sparking green eyes. He started zoning out, not paying attention to what she was doing. She grabbed his hand and whispered, “Let’s go outside.”

        He smiled and followed her out the doors.

        When they got outside, she pointed at the stars. When Skyler looked up, he saw the beautiful stars all lined in a row. They looked so beautiful compared to the dark, grim streets.

        Now, there is something quite different about this bar. Unlike most bars, this one had an animal farm. Pigs, Sheeps, Cows and Goats all walked around inside the gate. The pigs rolled in mud, The Sheeps sleeping peacefully, The Cows munching on grass, Then the Goats all headbutting each other.

        The pair walked over to the wooden gate and leaned over to watch the animals. It was a beautiful sight, but also a silent sight. Skyler felt Destinee rubbing his back.

        “So, you wanna go back to your place and we can finish the night?” She said in a seductive tone.

        Skyler turned to her. He put his hand on the side of her face and brought his closer to hers. He closed his eyes and kissed her sweet, soft lips. He didn’t want to let go. Every time their lips departed, he’d bring hers back to his. They kissed for at least a straight minute.

        As they kissed, Skyler heard a little giggle come out of Destinee. When he opened his eyes, he was confused. She was laughing loud for what seemed like no reason.

        “Skyler,” she whispered seductively, ‘What do you call a fast running goat?”

        Skyler raised his eyebrow, not really understanding her humor.

        She only responded with two words, “Your end.”

        She grabbed Skyler’s shoulder and turned him towards the gate. While they were kissing, she unlocked and opened the gate. Speeding towards Skyler was an enraged goat with his horns pointing forward.

        With one final gasp, Skyler felt the horns ram into his ribs. The sound of them breaking filled the silence. The horns went all the way through his body, first penetrating the ribs and one horn through his heart. They stuck out of the other side of his body. The goat raised its head up a little, raising Skyler off his feet.

        Skyler gasped for air, only coughing up blood. When he tried to turn his head to see Destinee, she was no longer her tan, beautiful self. While still gorgeous, her skin was now pale as snow, her eyes dark as coal, and her lips as red as the blood pouring from his mouth.

        The outfit was changed as well. The fluffy coat was missing, but the lingerie stayed, now with black and red stripes. Its eyes were no longer the long brown river, but now a short purple style. The figure walked up to Skyler. A smile grew on its face.

        “Oh, Sky, you were fun to be around, and know, you did just fuck a clown.”

        IT leaned into Skyler’s face, closing Its eyes and touching its lips against Skyler’s. After a quick second, the figure let go, blood dripping out of both Skyler’s mouth and It’s own. It smiled once more. It leaned it and licked the clown coming from Skyler’s mouth.

        It slowly backed up and, while Skyler on his last breath, Skyler’s bottom half fell off his body. His legs landed on the ground with a thud, leaving his torso and up still on the goat.

                       Call #6: Niesha Throws Hands

How hot do you believe it was on this day? Mind you, we are starting this part in Arizona. If you answered, "Hell, yes, it's hot!" You'd be correct! For this day of all days, it was 102 degrees! May was not a fun time for people around Phoenix. Ice Cream trucks and stores were flooding with cash, the electricity bill flew through the roof, the pools slowly evaporated, and school was a few days away from ending.

Now, I also heard a rumor about the heat. Now, I'm sure you know that not all rumors are true. But with the sight I'm about to show you, it may or may not be true.

See, I heard rumors that if it gets over 100 degrees, every black woman loses all senses. Now, that isn't said in a racist way, just a blunt one. On this day, you may see women of African descent going full postal on someone.

         Now, the rumor I heard was for all women. Today, I can prove the rumor false… to an extent. It’s not just women who get affected.

About ten miles from the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, sticking out like a polar bear in the desert, was the workplace of Niesha Smith. Now, she may sound normal to you, but I promise she isn’t. Like a lot of her friends, she wasn’t one to be messed with. If you crossed paths with her, you better be ready for a beating.

“Mrs. Smith!” Jane from accounting yelled to her boss.

“Jane,” Smith said, walking over with a grin on her face, “What did I say about yelling in the office?”

Jane gulped, “I-I-”

“Please,” Smith said, in a quiet and yet eerie tone, “lower your voice in the office. I don’t care how you sound in your normal life, but in the business world… don’t be yourself.”

Jane stared into Niesha’s dark, black eyes. She could see nothing but a blue flame rise inside. She was unsettling to say the least.

Niesha was the head of her company, or at least she liked to think. In reality, she was only the COO. Chief Operations Officer was not exactly her forte. She wanted to be in control of the company. Well, she did have some control, as the CEO was her husband.

Ryan Smith was a tall, fair skinned man. His blue eyes matched with his smile made everyone who saw him both afraid, but entranced. A wonderful African fellow whose enormous brain matched his muscles. All the ladies fell for him. However, Niesha was his lover, and she got to his heart first.

They met at a board meeting and they imminently took the other’s breath. They got married two years later, and one year after that, the enjoyment of a child came into their life. Natalie was their pride and joy, always has been, and always will be. Niesha and Ryan were great parents. Niesha was both a great mother and excellent boss. Ryan was only a great father.

Niesha was a strict boss, but she was the kind to have a laugh and a drink. Ryan was more on the stern side.

“Mrs. Smith,” one of her employees called out. It was poor, nerdy, scrawny Bill. She strutted towards his desk, her heels clanking on the hardwood floor.

“Yes, Bill?” She said with a pleasing smile, leaning on his desk.

“I know you wanted me to get through with the files by 1:00,” Bill said, slightly hesitating, “But can I leave work earlier and finish these tomorrow?”

Niesha’s smile grew, “Why is that? A special date? A doctor’s appointment?”

Bill gulped, “My son’s birthday is this afternoon and I promised him I’d be there.”

The good old birthday trick. Niesha hated that trick.

“Billy- Can I call you that?” Niesha said, laying her bottom on his desk with a thud, “I was never fond of the idea of a birthday party.” She put great disdain on the word. “I’m 40 years old, so I have had my fair share of ‘birthdays.’ The problem is… I never recall a party. No one ever showed up for my parties? No one cared to text or call. Poor daddy couldn’t even stop by for a visit.”

Bill sat in his chair, scared to move as the woman leaned in closer.

“On my 13th birthday, my father walked out of the door, and never returned.”

Bill gulped before raising a finger, “So, it isn’t just a racist stereotype?”

Niesha laughed, “Oh, it’s a stereotype for sure, but the sad part is… It’s very true. Once my father left, I knew I had to be the one to make the family name grow. After the years of school that I truly don’t remember, I built my way up. I went to college for six years, though,” she sighed, “It was hard as… no one wanted a black girl to run a company.”

Bill gulped as her smile grew bigger.

“Do you remember saying that, Bill? When they hired me and I told you all I would rise, you laughed and told them that black people can’t do anything except be… a simple worker.”

Bill raised a finger, “Ma’am, I don’t recall saying any of those words-”

“Alright!” Niesha yelled, leaping off the table. She pointed at Bill, “Everyone, please show of hands who all remember Bill saying that African-Americans couldn’t run a business!”

Everyone in that office raised their hands. Bill knew that he had messed up.

“So, Bill, you want the day off?” Niesha smiled. Before he could respond, she said, “I’ll leave that up to the CEO.”

A collective gasp was heard around the office. Everyone bowed their heads and prayed for the foolish man. Niesha snapped her fingers, commanding him to walk with her. His legs were trembling as he stood up, and his teeth were chattering. His tie was a worm upon his neck. He slowly followed her down the open hall, passing his co-workers. Each one of them either nodded in respect, or whispered words of luck.

On her way to Ryan's office, Niesha heard Jane call out from behind her desk. “Mrs. Smith, you have a call coming in from Alabama!”

Niesha flipped around, “Tell them to call back, I’m busy!”

She stormed down a hall that was dark and only had two doors. One leading to the elevator, and the other to Ryan’s office.

She slammed the door open and whispered, “Honey, we have an issue that needs your official input.”

Slowly, and like an owl in the night, Ryan turned around in his chair. His giant glass windows let the bright sunlight beam through. His coat was hanging on his shoulder as it was way too hot to be wearing it. Bill walked into the room, his face pouring with sweat.

Ryan’s smile was sinister and somehow made Bill feel as if all was going to be okay.

“So, what’s the problem?” Ryan’s voice was deep and slow. It fit his powerful position.

        “Well, Billy over here wanted a day off, but he let the mouth get carried away.”

        Ryan’s smile grew and his eyes squinted. He uncrossed his legs and stood, pulling a chair towards his desk. “Come, Bill, have a seat.”

        Bill gulped and slowly felt his body moving towards the chair, each second feeling as if a piece of his life was breaking apart.

        Once he sat in the seat, Ryan spoke to his wife.

        “Honey, I’m sure I can handle it from here. I believe downstairs can use some motivation.”

        Niesha smiled and closed the door. As she did, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She flung around to see Jane standing there.

        “Jane, what do you want? This is your third time bothering me in an hour.”

        “There is a maintenance issue downstairs-”

        “So, that’s what he meant!” Niesha started strutting down the hall, with Jane following suit.

        “What’s gonna happen to him, Mrs. Smith?” Jane said, a pile of papers in her hands.

        “Probably gonna get a lecture, then get fired. That’s all that my husband does. Never hurts him, well, physically at least.”

        “Are you sure?” Jane cried.

        “Jane, my husband is a reasonable and sensible man who would never hurt someone! He tells me he only fires them, and my husband never lies! Now come and help me with this maintenance issue!”

        Meanwhile, as soon as Niesha closed the door, Ryan didn’t hold back. A slap was the action of the conversation. Bill fell back, his head hitting the back of the chair.

        “So, you wanna tell why the f*** you’re being racist?” Ryan said, his smile now gone.

        Bill had no words, only a cough that arose from his throat. Ryan laughed as he took off the tie from around his neck. He unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, as he was already sweating. He slowly walked over to Bill, who was already at a loss for words.

        Ryan leaned down, almost touching Bill’s face. He wrapped his tie around Bill’s neck, tightening it, though not enough for him to stop breathing.

        “I want you to think about every racist thing you’ve said in this office. Whether it be about my wife, me or any other African American in this building. Think about it, and maybe then you’ll realize that what goes around fu**ing comes around!”

        He left the tie around Bill’s neck before opening a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a strange object.

        Bill stuttered, “W-What are y-you going to do with a p-p-pizza cutter?”

        Ryan smiled, he walked back over to Bill before pressing his knees between Bill’s legs. “Now,” Ryan whispered, “I don’t want you to make a noise. Don’t scream, or I’ll make it ten times worse.”

        Ryan took the pizza cutter and placed it right in front of Bill’s ear. He pushed a little harder, only until blood started dripping from it. Bill let out a groan but then saw the black flame in Ryan’s eye and stayed shut.

        Ryan pushed the pizza cutter further down Bill’s face. Started with the cheek, then jaw, the chin, all the way back around to the other ear. Bill’s face was bleeding around everywhere the cutter had been. Soon, he pulled out a razor from his pocket.

        “Now, this may hurt… a lot!” Ryan laughed before pressing the razor against Bill’s face.

        He started to scrape the skin off of Bill’s flash, causing blood to spill over onto Ryan’s shirt. He peeled the skin further and further off. Bill screamed with agony as his flesh left his face. His eyes turned dark red and his bones poked out of every corner. His tongue was a snake, grabbing for anything it could. The razor against his flesh made Bill groan and moan in endless pain. Soon, the razor reached his hairline, before ripping off of his face entirely.

        Ryan laughed as he held the detached face in his cold, dark hands. Bill gasped for air, still having the tie around his neck. Never before had he felt as much pain as that. Ryan chuckled as he placed the face onto the desk.

        Bill sighed as he bowed his head in agony.

        Ryan pulled out a box from a drawer on his desk, and placed it in his lap. He opened it to reveal some needle and thread. He also pulled out gloves that he put on each hand. He grabbed the face with one hand and the needle with the other.

        “Bill, do you want black or red thread?” Ryan asked, raising his eyebrow.

        With the rest of his energy, Bill turned to look at the insane man. With no response, he bowed his head back down.

        “Black it is then!” Ryan laughed.

        Ryan put in the thread and slowly and surely started to stitch Bill’s face into some weird shape. Bill was tired and hurt. How could he have known his life was in the direction? He didn’t know that those few sentences would’ve led to this.

        “Lift up your head.” Ryan commanded.

        Bill did as he was told, even though he was in full pain and he struggled to keep it up. Ryan placed the face onto Bill’s flesh.

        “Well, I ran out of thread,” Ryan whispered, crossing his arms. He smiled, and the idea came to his head in two words, “Duct Tape!”

        He ran to his desk and pulled out a roll of tape. He walked over to Bill, whose face was laying on his flesh like an old bandaid. Ryan snickered as he pulled some tape off and stuck it to his face. He did this repeatedly until his face was now stuck onto his flesh.

        Ryan smiled as his great accomplishment. His smile only stopped when he looked at his shirt that was no longer white.

        “Dammit! Everytime!” Ryan rushed to a door on the other end of the room. He swung it open to reveal a basket to which he threw his shirt into. In the basket, filled to the top, were more white button-up shirts that were now stained in blood. He pulled another shirt off the shelf and put it on and tucked it into his pants.

        “Well, Bill,” Ryan sighed as he retrieved the tie from Bill’s neck, “I hope our visit was helpful. I quite enjoyed it, I hope you did too.” Bill was at a loss for words. “Come, stand up, and follow me.” He grabbed Bill's hand and helped him out of the chair. He laughed, “Bill, I don’t know why you didn’t try to run. I didn’t tie you up or anything.” Ryan put on his coat and opened the door.

        He led Bill to the other door in the dark hallway. It was the elevator. They hopped in and Ryan pressed for the bottom floor.

        Bill started to speak, “B-But W-W-What ab-abo-about my st-st-st-”

        “Bill, try not to speak, it only hurts more, especially with that frown I stitched on. As for your stuff, you won’t be needing it.”

        Sure enough, Ryan had stitched a permanent frown onto the skin of Bill’s face. To add insult to injury, Ryan whispered, “Oh, and in the workplace, try to smile more.”

        Once they reached the bottom floor, they passed by the front desk. A pale, little elderly lady was working it. Poor woman didn’t have her glasses or she would’ve seen what Ryan had done to the poor man.

        “Mr. Smith, is that you?” Her sweet voice called out.

        “It is, Mrs. Gretchen, how are you?” He said in a sweet, calm voice.

        “I’m good, dear, I hope the day is treating you well!” she smiled and nodded.

        “Oh,” Ryan laughed, “It definitely is.” He had said it in a way that was both caring to Mrs. Gretchen and horrifying to Bill.

        Ryan led Bill to the front doors. He pushed Bill onto the streets. “Billy, you wanted the day off, well here you go!”

        Poor Billy’s face was melting in the hot sun.

        “Bill, you’re fired!” Ryan laughed, his deep voice echoing through the streets. “Oh, and tell your son I said Happy Birthday.”

“Put it in Jane!” Niehsa screamed.

        “Ma’am, it’s too small!” Jane exclaimed, twisting and turning the pipe.

        “It’ll fit, just shove it in!” Niehsa screamed again.

        Soon, they got the pipe to fit but into the hole. The toilet had been fixed.

        “Next time there’s a leak,” Niesha said, “I am not the one to be coming down here to fix it.” She sighed, handing the wrench to Jane.

        Jane smiled, “Thank you, ma’am. The women's restroom needed this!”

        “Yes,” Niesha nodded, “But can I ask why we don’t have a janitor?” All the workers shrugged their shoulders. “Alright,” she laughed, “I’m going to go ask my husband if we can hire some!”

        Outside, in an alley by the building, poor old Bill stumbled down by the dumpsters. He clutched to one side and his breakfast was on the street. His face was already peeling off as Duct Tape is not a sufficient way to stick body parts back on. From the corner of his eye, he could see something or someone fall from the top of the building. Not so much a fall, more of a jump.

        A strange person, covered in make-up and dressed like a Mcdonald’s ad had landed. Purple hair and gray pants topped with a black and white striped clown shirt and skirt.

        The clown laughed, “I love screwing up people’s day!”

        IT turned to see Bill throwing up in the alley. IT raised an eyebrow and slowly approached the scarred man. He looked pathetic, almost as if he needed to be put out of his misery. Like an old broken dog, gasping and crawling for air, but not enough to be put down. The clown had never felt sympathy before, but this was just wrong. It was ITs job to cause misery, not the inferior human being.

        The clown put its hand on Bill’s shoulder. “Sir, who did this to you?”

        “I-I- I need help-” He stuttered, gasping and moaning.

        “Yeah, I can see that, but who did this?” The clown exclaimed angrily.

IT slapped his face, causing half of it to detach. IT gasped as IT had not seen this sort of torture before. Only a complete monster would do such a thing, and this clown had to stop it.

        “Sir, where do you work?” The clown said, almost in a whisper.

        “I-I- I work there!” He struggled, pointing at the building. He coughed and spit up blood. The clown looked disgusted.

“Who’s your boss's name?” IT asked, trying to get an answer. He coughed again, laughing all the while. The clown backed up, a look of great concern on its pale face. Bill grabbed his stomach before throwing up his lunch.

He gasped for air one last time before falling onto the alleyway wall.

“Ryan Smith!” was his last breath.

He sat there, cold and dead, the Duct Tape peeling off. His lifeless body showing no emotion but absolute fear. The clown slowly walked towards the corpse, its black boots stepping in blood. IT grabbed Bill by the neck and held him up. It leaned into his face and took a sniff.

IT groaned, “Doesn’t smell the same when you don’t kill them yourself.”

IT threw Bill into the dumpster and wiped its bloody hands on its sleeves. It sniffed once again, almost like a dog. IT fell onto all fours and sniffed again. A grin came upon its face and its eyes turned black. IT crawled to the side of the building and started climbing, still on all fours. Once IT reached the top floor, IT stared into the big glass pane.

Inside, sitting at his desk, was Ryan. He smiled with a gleeful look in his eyes. A look of succession. He knew he succeeded in what he wanted, like thousands of times before. The clown looked him in the eyes. Those deep, dark, endless eyes. IT saw nothing. No heart, no soul, no fear. His body was lacking any human compassion. This both disgusted and angered the creature.

On Ryan’s door, there was a knock. In came Niesha, who was too tired from the fixing of the toilet to even notice the unsettling basket of bloody shirts. She sat down on the desk and sighed, “We need to hire some janitors.”

Ryan turned his chair around, his smiling slowly declining, “We had some, we got rid of them last week, remember?”

Niesha laughed, “Look, we need to get some more janitors or else I-”

She was interrupted by the desk phone ringing. Its loud, obnoxious ring filled the room. With a raise of an eyebrow, Ryan picked up the phone. He opened with the normal greeting, followed by a “How may I help you?”

“Mr. Smith, this Mr. Buford, from the middle school. We have your daughter here in the office.”

This confused both Niesha and Ryan, who wondered how their perfect daughter could end up in the crummy situation of the principal’s office. Natalie had been in the office once before, but that was when she was 7th grade home-coming queen. Now, it’s the end of 8th grade and she had done nothing wrong before, so what happened now?

“She got into a fight, Mr. Smith.”  His cracking voice whispered.

“I’m sorry?” Ryan laughed, squeezing the phone.

“In the hall, she and another student got into an argument and they settled it with a fist fight. They are both sitting here, we’ve already called the other students parents and they are on their way. We are asking for you to come down so we can rightfully settle this.”

It was the way he said rightfully. He said it as if there was an underlying issue not discussed yet.

“Alright, Mr. Buford,” Ryan sighed, “We’ll be there.”

Storming out of the office, still putting his coat on, Ryan flung his car door open. Niesha was following behind near the same speed. The only difficult part was he had normal business shoes and she was wearing heels. Niesha prayed that whichever bastard created them went straight to hell after this deed.

“Honey,” she exclaimed, “We can’t just leave the office-”

“I left Jane in charge!” He yelled, climbing into the driver seat.

Niesha groaned, “Why Jane? She’s a bit*h!”

Ryan slammed his door shut, “Just get in the car!”

Niesha did as she was told and slid into the passenger seat. She sighed as she was out of breath from running down thirty flights of stairs. Ryan’s nostrils flared as he punched the gas, flying the car forward. They sped down the highway, running red lights and almost hitting elderly women crossing the road.

Once they reached the school, they slammed the doors and rushed to the front office. Once in there, they were met with the sight of Natalie sitting in one chair, and a boy in the other. He was a taller, stronger white boy, and his hair was slick back. He wore a tank top showing off his medium sized muscles. He had a black circle around his left eye, obviously from the situation.

Standing next to him were Mr. and Mrs. Javington. They were both wearing clothes that looked like what Niesha’s family called, “Fake money.” Jacob Javington, named after his great grandfather, was a tall man, though shorter than Ryan. He held his hands in his coat pocket, and he kept a deerstalker on his head at all times. His wife, Maria, held a white, fluffy jacket by her side and kept her legs crossed. Her black hair matched her heels and her make-up looked like a Snapchat filter.

        Natalie was sitting in such a way that could make any man or woman love and fear her. Her eyes had this special look in them, and her smile was a combination of both Ryan’s and Niesha. You couldn’t doubt she was their daughter. Her shirt on the left shoulder was ripped, which made her parents wonder how violent the fight was.

        In a big, comfortable looking chair, sat Mr. Buford, His mustache wiggled when he spoke, letting cheese dust fall onto his suit jacket.

        “Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I’m glad you came.” He waved his arms out, causing his under odor to reach Ryan’s nose. He despised it already and it had only been a second. Niesha and him walked over to Natalie’s seat, to which she was sitting calmly.

        “Mr. Smith!” Mr. Javington said, waving out his hand, “Jacob Javington, I have heard so much about you. I read about your accomplishments all the time in the papers!”

        Ryan raised his eyebrow as he shook the man’s hand. A cold, moist hand.

        Mr. Javington laughed, “You know me, right? The greatest detective in Arizona? Solved a bunch of crime? Ring a bell?”

        Ryan shook his head, “You have a very forgettable face. I wouldn’t remember it if I tried.” He glanced over at Maria before sneering, “And tell your wife to calm down on the make-up. This is a school, not a back alley. Save the make-up for work.”

        Maria let out a gasp, placing her hand on her heart. Mr. Javington returned to his wife.

        Niesha placed a hand on Natalie’s shoulder, and Ryan did the same.

        “Now,” Mr. Buford said, “I would first like to say apologies for both of their behaviors. It was an unfortunate incident that happened.” Everyone was waiting in great anticipation to know. “In the hall, between Biology and English, they had a small confrontation. What they talked about, I have no clue, but they ended it with their fist, Natalie hitting first.”

        Natalie jumped up, “Excuse me, I did not-”

        “You will speak when told to!” Mr. Buford snapped, before turning to the Javingtons. “Now, will your son please tell his side of the story?”

        The boy, whose name was Jason, smiled and coughed before speaking. “Well, we were heading to class when I saw Natalie standing by her locker. I noticed that she had dropped something and so I simply picked it up. When I handed it to her, she accused me of looking up her skirt, and then she hit me!”

        Mr. Buford shook his head, while the Javingtons placed a hand on their hearts. Ryan looked in disgust, as Niesha looked intrigued. She kept her hand on Natalie’s shoulder and began to visibly breathe more intensely. Ryan placed his hands on his hips and flared his nostrils.

        “What did she drop?” Ryan asked, a deep tone in his voice.

        Jason’s face turned blank, obviously forgetting the scenario. He coughed for a moment before stuttering “A-a-a pencil!” He declared it as if he was a knight saving a prince, or a brat saving his butt.

        Mr. Buford sighed, “See? Your daughter is ill mannered and she needs to be suspended, or in detention at least.”

        “What about her side of the story?” Niesha exclaimed, finally letting go of Natalie’s shoulder.

        “She doesn’t need to! It was clear she simply had an outrage upon the man!” Mr. Buford snapped, slamming his hands onto the table.

        Ryan’s eyes were getting more red each second. It took all that was in him not to punch the man behind the desk. He thought of all other options besides physical abuse. Perhaps mental abuse could suffice the need.

        Niesha flung forward towards the desk, “I want to see the footage! I want to see the hallway camera! Show me!”

        Mr. Buford’s eyes were like the Atlantic Ocean; so big and yet unexplored. His mustache wiggled as he sat back down on his chair. He slid the chair over to his computer, whispering, “Yes, ma’am,” as he did.

        He pulled the computer around, showing the footage.

        The camera showed the hallway, and the lockers along the side of it. Just like Jason had said, Natalie was at her locker, to which she didn't deny. She was putting up her books as well as her lunchbox. Soon, a group of jocks walked her way, one of which was Jason. He walked up to her and placed his hand on the locker next to hers.

        She looked uncomfortable, and she tried to ignore him, continuing to put her books up. Soon, he turned to the rest of the jocks and seemed to laugh as he handed one of them his bag. He bent down and looked beneath her skirt, even grabbing the skirt to raise it further. She screamed and backed up to the locker. He pinned her against the locker and placed her hand on her neck, choking her in the process. Knowing it was the only thing she could do, she kneed him in the groin and slapped his face. She ran away after that as Jason laid on the floor.

        Niesha stared into Mr. Buford’s soul. He felt the heat from her eyes staring down on him. He felt weak. It made him feel as if he had nothing.

        “So, you still think my daughter isn’t the victim here? You think that brat rat is still innocent?” She slowly leaned off the desk before turning to the Javingtons. “And you might want to get your son under control, because if not, this mama bear will rip him to shreds.”

        Mrs. Javington coughed, “Don’t you think that’s a little much?”

        Niesha looked at her and let out a small laugh. “Maria, is it? Do you have a daughter?”

        “I do actually and-”

        “Wouldn’t you do anything for her to be safe? Would you let her be harassed like my daughter was?”

        Mrs. Javington sighed and looked stern. “No.”

        “Then why, Maria, are you gonna let your son, bigger and stronger, touch my daughter and make her uncomfortable?”

        A loss of words. Niesha's voice was so hurt and pure that Mrs. Javington had no response. She now knew what her son had done and she vowed that he would pay for his actions. Niesha smiled and shook her hand, “Thanks for understanding.”

        She looked at Natalie, who was so moved, that she jumped up and hugged her mother. Nothing sweeter had been seen by the Javingtons. They wanted that bond. They wanted that passion. A secret every parent wants, but the answer always changes, and Niesha found her answer.

On the way out, Mr. Javington stopped Ryan at the steps of the school.

“Mr. Smith, I am sorry for the cruel misunderstanding. I promise we will teach our son better.”

Ryan hesitantly smiled before shaking the man’s hand. “You know, I was ready to kill you earlier, but seeing the way my wife handled that, I decided not to.”

Javington laughed at his “joke.”

“The love of the parents are two things that everyone should have, but not everyone can get. You are a wonderful father, and I know you’ll teach him to be a responsible young man.” He held out his hand and Javington shook it.

His hand was still moist and cold. Ryan stared at the hand, wanting to tear it from his bony, veiny arm, but decided not to. He smiled and let go of the hand and proceeded to the car.

Above the front door, sitting like an owl in the night, was the clown. An eerie gleam was in its eyes. It stared at Ryan as he got into his car and drove away. Foam and fizz bubbled in the mouth of the creature.

“Him-” It gargled with a crack in its throat, “He’s someone special. No human being can ever hurt someone and just be calm after that. No, it can’t be possible…. Or can it?” 

It sat in silence as the Javingtons rolled away in their 2043 convertible. It rubbed its hands through greasy, purple hair. It sneered at the thought of someone else being as cruel as It is.

“I’m the craziest alive, not this black son of a b*tch!” It hopped up onto its legs and pondered in circles. After about only five minutes the clown sighed, “I can’t think in these conditions! Pourquoi être fou doit-il être si difficile?” It snapped its fingers and a band of tiny cards appeared. “Now! Mets-moi de la musique!”

Sounding like a jazz, warped version of Moonlight Sonata and In The Hall Of The Mountain King, with a little electro swing mix, the band played to their heart’s content. The clown nodded, before it started bobbing slowly up and down. It placed its hands on its hips, coughed, and began to sing.

                He makes me sick

Acting like a dick

And he’s really driving me insane!

But he doesn’t care

For the hurt he shares!

He’s mad! And messed up in the brain!

Cuz he might seem like he loves them so

But sooner or later they will come to know

What’s behind that mask and be ready to go!

No, they can’t see yet!

THEY CAN’T SEE YET!

It paused, before turning to the band, who was still playing music. It shook its head, causing the hair to flow in front of its face. It looked at its fingerless gloves and examined the pale hands beneath them. It noticed something different about its skin from a human’s. A lack of veins must be a cause of concern, plus the black holes around the eyes, creepy bigger everyday.

        IT smiled again, realizing that Ryan was no normal human, but a monster in flesh.

                But I!

I’m gonna make him cry

I’m gonna beat his life up until his face turns blue

And yes! It’ll be fun, I confess!

To make him pay, today, is a dream come true!

So true!

        It laughed a menacing laugh as it wrapped its arms around itself. Its arms looked like a 1930s cartoon, rubbery and all. It looked at the band who had stopped playing. “Listen, boys, I need a way to get rid of him! J'ai besoin de quelque chose qui le rendra assez fou pour le rapprocher de moi!”

        It walked back and forth, debating with itself. What could get Ryan to break? What could get a monster to crack? Like the Titanic breaking under pressure, IT had to tear Ryan to pieces. Every monster had a weakness, even IT knew that. What was Ryan’s weakness?

        Then it hit.

The light bulb flashed above the clown’s head.

        “That’s IT!” It exclaimed, jumping up like a rabbit.

                I’ll get rid of this old fellow

Melt his face into Jell-Oo!

Mon état d'esprit…

Is one not easily conceived!

        IT jumped onto a clock that hung above the school’s front door. It laughed a maniacal streak that roared through the city. It’s mouth started drooling and the black circles around its eyes began to grow.

What more could break a father than seeing his own daughter in the hands of a monster?

                That girl!

I’ll get that pearl!

I’ll make that guy rot and he’ll burn in hell!

I swear, It’s a promise I’ll do!

To make him cry, why! It’s a dream come true!

        It laughed again before looking at the band, who had stopped playing.

“Listen, that girl of theirs holds more value than either one of them thinks. I’ll break him, and see him wiggle like a worm on a hook!”

…        

                                                …

        Meanwhile, back at the house, Niesha was fixing her hair and Ryan sat in their bed, watching whatever TV channel he could find. Tonight’s channel was the news channel. Nothing too big, just the weather. Cold, harsh winds are said to come in, but Ryan didn’t believe it. The only winds that came their way were the quick breezes at lunch.

        Niesha put on her nightgown, after brushing her teeth and fixing her hair. Her hair was put in a bun and all of her jewelry was set on her nightstand, except for her wedding ring. She looked at Ryan, who had a beer in his hand and a cigar in the other.

        “Babe,” she whispered, “I’m gonna go say goodnight to Natalie.”

        “Okay,” He sighed, puffing smoke from his mouth, “Tell her I said goodnight.” He took a swing of beer before taking another puff from the cigar.

        Niesha sighed, then walked to Natalie’s room. Once she reached the door, she heard it was complete silence. She knocked on the door. “Natalie, are you awake?”

        It was silent for a few seconds before she heard, “Yeah, you can come in.”

        Niesha pushed the door open and saw Natalie sitting on her bed in her pajamas. She sat with her legs crossed and she had one hand holding up her head. Her hair, still wet from the shower, dropped to one side of her face, which she was repeatedly blowing away from her. Niesha walked over and sat on the bed.

        “You look perplexed.” Niesha whispered, placing a hand on Natalie’s shoulder, “Is it that boy?”

        Natalie sighed, “A little bit. It’s just… you didn’t seem mad that I hit him. You stood up for me.” A sprinkle of tears started in her eyes.

        A feeling hit Niesha, though she could never describe it. “Baby, of course I stood up for you. You’re my daughter and I love you! Any parent would have done what I did.”

        Natalie sniffled, “But I almost got suspended because of it. Mr. Buford said that I should be ashamed of myself for hitting Jason!”

        “Should’ve beaten that principal up.” Niesha thought to herself. She hugged Natalie and said, “Dear, I don’t think I would ever get mad at you for defending yourself. In this world, fighting back is the best thing.”

        Natalie looked up at Niesha, a look of something pure inside. She was a sweet, kind and caring lady. Niesha thought it cruel that the kindest of women get picked on the most. No one deserves to be bullied or picked on, but the world never changed. Everyday, bullies walk among us. Kids at school, karens in the streets, co-workers, the list goes on. The world knows they exist, they’ve known for hundreds of years… but nothing is done about it.

        “Listen,” Niehsa said, “I will teach you a little song to remember whenever you’re being bullied or someone tries to hurt you.”

        She grabbed Natalie’s hand and walked with their to the kitchen, where a grand piano sat in the corner. Still shiny and clean just like when the first got it twelve years ago. Niesha had played it a few times, but when Natalie was born, she never really had time.

        She sat down on the stool and raised the lid, revealing all the bright, beautiful keys. They shimmered as they placed her hands on the first keys. She played a few notes before she began to sing, her beautiful voice filling the room.

                When the going the tough

                And bullies keep coming after you

                There is one thing

                A simple thing

                That you must do

        She smiled and looked at Natalie. “Do you know what that is?”

        “Run and scream?” Natalie replied, letting a laugh slip out.

        Niesha shook her head, “No, you’ve got to-

                Defend yourself

                Make sure you give them sass        

                Just defend yourself

                And go beat their a**!

                Defend yourself

                You gotta fight back

                And defend yourself

                A punch you can pack

                The world is cruel

                And it’s pretty self- explained

                Everyone in it

                Wants to cause you pain

                Defend yourself         

                Tackle them like a bass

                Make them beg for help

                And beat!

                Their!

                A**!

        Natalie laughed as Niesha finished the song. They smiled at each other, hugged, said their goodnights, and returned to their separate rooms. Once Niesha got into her room, she saw Ryan in the bed, still smoking on the cigar.

        “Babe,” he coughed, “You know, you have a very beautiful voice. It almost made me cry when you sang that.” He took another puff from the cigar and another swing of his third beer. Niesha shook her head. She never liked cigars, but not enough to say anything to Ryan.

        She laid down beside him and set her head on his shoulder. She stared at the TV, which had a scrawny reporter. His glasses were half-way on his face, his hair was messed up and he shook like a chicken laying an egg.

        “Hello, Channel 6 News!” The man announced, “It’s Brett here in the heart of Chilton County! A mysterious report came up two days ago when three young adults were murdered at the Spooky Scary Spectacular! 21-year-old Taylor, and the pair of 19-year-olds, Levi and Brandon. The murderer disappeared before anyone could see them, but we know they stole Taylor’s clothes when they left-”

        “Poor kids,” Niesha whispered to herself, ignoring the man from that point on, “There are so many cruel people today! I can’t fathom the thought of someone murdering people.”

        Ryan kept silent.

        Before another thought could come into Niesha’s mind, her phone began to ring. She wondered who could be calling at this time of night. It read Unknown ID on the screen. Niesha never trusts unknown callers.

        “Hello?” She asked, leaning to one side of her bed, away from Ryan.

        “Is this Niesha Peake?”

        Niesha laughed, “Now Smith, but yes, this is she.”

        The voice gave a sigh, “Niesha, it’s Caleb Foshee. I don’t know if you remember me-”

        “Remember you?” Niesha laughed, turning on her back, “How could I forget you? You were the only one of the group I actually liked.”

        “Niesha, you may not want to hear this, but I need you to come back to Clanton. Something came up and we need you to come down.”

        Niesha squinted, pondering what could be so big that he must want her to come down. “27 years, Caleb, what could be so bad that-”

        She stared at the TV. The man who was talking pointed at a blurry picture of the murderer. A thin, taller person wearing a black and white striped clown costume. The gender was unable to be identified, but the eyes were as black as coal and the smile as long and the face it sat on.

        She sighed, “Caleb, It’s back… isn’t it?”

        He sighed too, “You’re watching the news aren’t you? You do realize who the new reporter is, don’t you?”

        She stared at the reporter. His eyes are so bright, yet so dark. He had a smile that was unforgettable. The name flashed through Niesha’s head.

        “That’s Brett McGhar!” she exclaimed, cueing Ryan to almost choke on the smoke from the cigar. He coughed and got out of bed, putting on some shorts as he did. He mouthed, “I’m going to the bathroom.” before leaving the room.

        “Yeah, he’s still here. I haven’t talked to him since we graduated. Never had a reason to.”

        The memories of school flooded through Niesha’s brain. They seemed to go in random orders however. First graduation, then the day she met Caleb, and finally to the eventful days of July 26 and August 2nd in the summer of 2023.

        “Caleb,” Niesha whispered, “I’ll come back. I know what that town’s against. I can only imagine what kind of emotions those parents are going through.”

        “None of us do, Niesha. None of us have kids.”

        Niesha smiled and let out a small laugh, “Actually, I do. I have a daughter, and she is the brightest thing in my world. I would do anything for her.”

        Ryan looked in the mirror with a smile on his face. He started to flex in the mirror, examining his abs. He smiled and put the cigar back in his mouth. He liked the taste of this one. Not too rich, nor was it too sweet. He held it in his hand, staring at it intensely. He grinned at his achievement for the day. Bill had it coming, and he got what he deserved, or at least in Ryan’s mind he did.

        He put the cigar back in his mouth and left the bathroom. He kept his head down walking to the bedroom, a beer still in his hand. Once she reached the bedroom, his head stayed down, taking a sip of beer.

        “You know, babe, I think-” He paused. Niesha was in a dark jacket and jeans, as opposed to her pajamas. She had a suitcase on the bed and she was stuffing it with clothes. “Babe, what are you doing?” He whispered to her.

        “Oh,” she said, turning to him, “I have to make a trip over to Alabama for a few weeks. Something came up with an old friend and-”

        “Old friend? Does this old friend have a name?” Ryan asked inquisitively.

Niesha paused and nodded, “Yeah, his name is Caleb Foshee.”

“His?” Ryan cocked his head. His tone of voice was uncertain and concerned. Another man asking her to leave? “Why does a man need you to go down there for two weeks? What’s the reason?”

Niesha turned her head, and bit her lip. “Babe, if you think I’m cheating on you, you are out of your mind. I would never, especially not with Foshee.”

Ryan pulled the cigar from his mouth, “I consider myself a reasonable man. You are gonna stay here and tell that man that you aren’t being his sneaky link!” His voice echoed in the room.

Niesha shook her head, putting the final clothes in the suitcase. She closed it and started to walk towards the door. Ryan was appalled. Never in the relationship had he been ignored nor had he ever been disrespected. Niesha was crossing a line that Ryan didn’t like.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, which she knocked off. Feeling aggravated, he grabbed her forearm and pulled her back.

“If you think you’re just gonna walk out of here and act like nothing’s wrong, you’ve got another thing coming!”

She spat in his face, causing him to let go. “I’m simply helping a friend-”

“Probably with his ere*tion!” He exclaimed.

He pulled her to the bed and threw her down. He ripped the suitcase out of her hand and threw it into the bathroom. She tried to get up but was pushed back again.

“Ryan, what are doing-”

A loud smack filled the room, followed by silence. A sting was on her cheek. He had hit her. Never in a million years would she think he would do that. He hit her, and all faith she had in his humanity was lost. He forced himself on top of her, ripping off her jacket.

“Ryan! Get off-” She struggled, his hands holding her down. Thinking of the only thing she could do, she pulled up her knee, hitting him in the groin.

He screamed, “You son of a-”

She kicked him in the face, knocking him into the wall. The last thing Ryan remembered was the frightened look on Niesha’s face as it faded to black.

An enormous headache was what woke Ryan from his nap. Pain rushed through his skull, and down through his body. He opened his eyes to see a puddle of blood beside his hand. He groaned as he lifted himself up, a painful process it was. He dragged himself to the bathroom and stared into the mirror.

Above his left eye, long and rigid, was a scar that was still bleeding.

“That b***!” he yelled, placing his hand on the scar. He grabbed a small towel and placed it on his head. His chest moved as he slowly breathed through his nose. His heart was beating faster, but his mind was calm.

He walked down the hallway, to which he was slightly interested but not surprised. The door to Natalie’s room was wide open, not a sound to be heard. He crept his way over and looked at the bed. Sure enough, like the hole in his heart, Natalie’s bed was empty. Her closet was half-empty too. Ryan groaned as he felt the pain in his head grow.

He faltered towards the living room, to which no light was shown, only darkness. The quiet walls screamed at Ryan as he was left alone in the madness. He fumbled into a mirror that hung by the kitchen walk-way.

When he stared into it, the reflection was not the same. It was him for sure, but his thin hair was frizzled and his teeth were foaming. His eyes were black holes and he wore a tattered suit instead of his bare outfit.

IT spoke to him in a raspy voice, “Go! Go find her! And- Go kill- Go find- get her back!”

The voice seemed as if it couldn’t make up its mind. The words were fighting over one another and eyes were staring at each other.

Ryan stared at the creature. Never before had he seen something like this. Ryan never took orders from someone, but under the current circumstances, he now had to. His wife had left him, and it seemed so had his daughter. Ryan was a man of his word, and when he told Niesha on their wedding day that he would never let her go, he meant it.

“Always trying to help someone, and they leave you! After 18 years married to her! After everything I did for them, she wants to leave me for some queer two-inch weirdo who probably doesn’t NOTHING with his life!” Ryan’s nostrils flared up. “I’m going to find them and bring them back, and teach them both a lesson!”

He walked over to his bedroom and opened a drawer in his nightstand. He pulled out a pistol and held it up. He grinned at it. His smile reached his ears.

“And if they won’t come freely-” He whispered to himself, “I’ll have to use other options…”j