by Brian Harmon
Why wouldn’t they answer? They wouldn’t have turned their cell phones off. In a noisy place like this, they wouldn’t even have turned their ringers off. There was no reason for it.
The clown took another step. It was only about ten feet away from Karen. She still didn’t see it.
“Come on…” muttered Eric. “Check your damn phone!”
It stopped and turned its head. Its big, cartoon eyes looked right at him. Its creepy smile widened into an evil grin, its plaster lips splitting apart to reveal huge, white teeth. It even lifted one of its oversized hands and waved.
At the same time, that creepy giggling began again in the arcade.
He turned and looked in that direction. When he looked back, the clown on the lower floor was no longer waving. Instead, it was pointing at Karen and making obscene humping gestures at him.
“Bastard!” cursed Eric. Then he remembered where he was and quickly glanced around, making sure no one had heard him. When he was sure that no parents were glaring at him, he turned back to the glass to find the clown creeping toward Karen again.
It was hunched over now, a foul look on its hideous face.
It was only a few paces away.
He turned and ran. There was a sign pointing the way to restrooms and stairs on the other side of the playland, much closer than the stairwell on the far side of the arcade.
The boy in the Mario tee shirt passed him as he sprinted down the stairs and greeted him with yet another goofy, “Good mornin’!”
(He was starting to think something was a little off about that kid…)
He reached the bottom of the steps and ran back to the party room, desperate to reach Karen before that thing did. But as soon as he was within sight of the gift table, he realized that the clown had returned to its post against the wall and Karen was gone.
He stopped and stood there, his heart pounding, his mind racing.
Where did she go? What happened to her while he was running down the stairs? What did that clown do with her?
But as he looked around, he realized several things. First, no one seemed to be acting as if the party planner had just been kidnapped by a living clown statue. Second, the only thing anyone seemed to find unusual was the grown man who’d just run into the room like a lunatic. And third, there were lots of people wearing those stupid, red noses.
Melodi was standing at one of the tables with a bulk box full of them, handing them out to the children as party favors. Apparently, she was determined to spread the love for her clown nose idea in spite of his and Kacie’s opinion of them. And it seemed to be working. Children and parents alike were wearing them.
This place was really starting to make his skin crawl.
He spotted Holly by the refreshment table and made his way over to her, willing himself not to draw any more attention by running.
She turned and smiled at him as he approached. “Hi.” She wasn’t wearing a clown nose. She didn’t need one. Hers was painted on with the rest of her face. Again, he was struck by the contradiction of how equally appalling and lovely she was in that makeup. It was utterly confounding, really. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Her pretty smile melted as she saw the look on his face. “What’s up?”
“Where’s Karen?”
She turned and looked out into the room. “Uh… She was here a minute ago…”
Eric’s heart sank a little. If Karen was gone…
“Oh! She’s over there.”
Eric turned in the direction she pointed. She was over by the arcade, with her sister, almost at the far opposite corner of the room. He’d practically walked right by them on his way to talk to Holly.
Her back was to him, but she was clearly unharmed.
Relief washed over him with such force that he thought for a second or two that his knees might give out beneath him. He had to resist the urge to sit down in the nearest chair.
“Are you okay?” asked Holly.
“Yeah…” he said. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He set off across the room, leaving her to look after him, confused.
There were suddenly more people down here than there were when he was upstairs looking down. Children were running around, playing. Moms were standing around, chatting. There were even several women sitting at one of the tables right beside the gift table. (There only appeared to be two dads at this party and both of them were sitting in chairs by the wall, looking profoundly bored.)
It took him less than a minute to make his way down here, yet the scene had changed considerably.
Was everything he saw from up there just an illusion? Was it all in his head?
As he approached his wife from behind, he had to resist the urge to simply grab her and hug her. “Karen.”
She turned and faced him. Any further urges he might’ve had to embrace her immediately vanished when he saw that she, too, was now wearing one of those stupid clown noses.
“Really?”
“Don’t be a sourpuss,” she told him. She reached up and put one on his nose, too. “There. Much better.”
Eric scowled at her over it. It looked soft, but it felt scratchy. It made his nose itch. “Smells funny,” he told her.
“Trust me, it’s an improvement. Isn’t that an improvement?” she asked her sister.
“Definitely suits him,” replied Joyce.
Eric had to bite back the urge to ask her if she forgot her witch nose. He might not have managed to hold it back if it didn’t seem grossly unfair to the real witches he knew. Instead, he simply asked, “Where’s yours?”
She laughed that fake laugh she always used when she thought she was being polite. Or maybe she always knew she was being a snot. It was hard to tell. “My skin is way too sensitive for one of those things. I’d break out in a rash.”
A lot of things supposedly made Joyce Barringes break out in a rash. She could only use the gentlest soaps and the most expensive shampoos and perfumes.
It was utterly obnoxious.
“Where’re your shoes?” asked Karen.
Eric looked down at his stocking feet and then back up at her again. “In the train,” he replied, as if it were the silliest question he’d ever heard.
She cocked her head, perplexed.
“Have you been playing in the ball pit?” asked Joyce.
Eric shot her a defiant look. “I didn’t see any signs telling me I couldn’t.”
“Touché,” she replied.
Turning back to Karen, he said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“You going to ask me to catch you on the slides?”
“No, I need you to sneak me some of those goody bags. Some kid bet me I couldn’t fit five cookies in my mouth.”
“Just five? That child has no idea who he’s dealing with.”
“I know, right?”
“You have fun with that,” said Joyce as they walked away. She looked genuinely bewildered, which always delighted Karen.
“What’s up?” she asked when they were out of earshot. “Did you find anything out?”
“A few things.” He took the clown nose off and rubbed at the itchy feeling it left behind. “Were you over by the gift table just before I came down here?”
She looked confused. “I was over there…but it was maybe fifteen minutes ago. Why?”
Eric dropped the clown nose onto one of the tables and looked up at the second floor where he’d been standing. That was too long ago. That couldn’t have really been her he saw. It was only an illusion, like the things in the midway.
It made sense, he supposed. That clown couldn’t have been real either. The room was far too crowded. Someone would’ve seen it.
So then…was it all in his head? Was all the weird stuff he’d seen so far only in his head?
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just trying to figure this thing out. This one’s really messing with my mind.”
A little girl, little more than a year old, came toddling past them then, pushing one of the c
hairs across the floor and looking absolutely delighted with herself. Her mother came along behind her, saying, “Excuse us. Sorry.”
Karen assured her it was okay and waved at the happy little girl. When they were gone, she said, “So do we have to end the party early?”
“Just the opposite. I need you to keep it going as long as possible.”
She squinted at him, confused. “Wait…what?”
Holly walked up beside them. “Is everything all right?”
Eric didn’t know where to even begin.
“Is it safe for the children, or not?” asked Karen.
“They’re safe for now, but only as long as this party is going on. If people start leaving, that’s when it’ll get ugly.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Karen.
“It never does,” he sighed. “Listen. Do me a favor, okay?”
“Anything,” promised Holly.
He gestured around the room. “Keep your eyes on these clowns. Don’t let them catch you off guard.”
Karen actually laughed. “What?”
“I’m serious. Just… Don’t let one grab you.”
“They’re just statues,” giggled Holly.
“Right. And ogres only exist in fairy tales.”
That made her smile vanish. She stared at him for a moment, then looked around at the statues again, uncertain.
“Keep an eye on each other, too. I’m really afraid they’re going to try to hurt one of you.”
“Who’s ‘they’?” asked Karen.
“The clowns.”
Holly stared at him for a moment. Then she pointed at him and said, “You’re kind of scaring me a little.”
“Good.”
“Why would the clowns be the bad guys?” pressed Karen.
“Yeah,” agreed Holly.
“Why wouldn’t they?” countered Eric.
Holly shook her head. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
Eric rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like a horror movie. Impossible things keep happening. Then everything goes back to normal. It’s like magic.”
“Is it magic?” she asked.
Eric shook his head. “I don’t think so. Isabelle doesn’t feel any magic. Just something she keeps calling a ‘dark energy’.”
“Could be dark magic.”
“Dark magic?” said Karen. “Really?”
“There’re lots of kinds of magic. Some of them could feel completely different from what we use.”
His phone alerted him to a new text message: IT’S POSSIBLE
Eric didn’t like the idea of dark magic. He could barely handle the regular brand of the stuff.
BUT IT’S ALSO POSSIBLE IT’S SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY
“There’re ghosts involved,” said Eric. “Is that common with dark magic?”
Holly shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not sure. I haven’t had any experience with it, personally.”
He nodded. That was about as helpful as he expected. “Just keep your guard up. Both of you. Whatever’s here is trying to scare me off. And it’s not afraid to use either of you.”
“Great,” said Karen. “That’s just perfect.”
Holly hugged herself, as if suddenly cold.
“I don’t think it’ll do anything that might cause a panic,” said Eric. “It likes crowds. It wants people to stay around as long as possible. If you stay out here in plain sight, I think you’ll be fine.”
Karen nodded. “So no restroom breaks. Nice. This is going to be fun.”
Eric shrugged. “Just keep the party going.”
“Fine. Anything else I should know?”
“Yeah. Stay out of the mirror maze.”
“I’ll try to resist the allure,” she promised. “What’re you going to do?”
Eric pulled the keys Kacie gave him out of his pocket. “I’m having a look around.”
“Did you steal those?” asked Karen, horrified.
“No. The owner called. Told Melodi I was supposed to inspect the place for her.”
She looked about as confused as he expected her to be. “Why would she do that?”
“That’s a good question. I’m going to find out. In the meantime, if anybody asks, Mrs. Boldt called you to arrange it.”
“If you say so.” She pointed at the keys. “Hey, I wonder if any of the old attractions are still here.”
Eric looked down at the keys, confused. “Attractions?”
“Yeah. This place used to be a lot cooler. Like, they used to have a mini golf course. And a cool little carnival game area.”
“Oh, the midway.” He nodded. “Yeah… That’s definitely still here.”
She looked up at him, surprised. “You found the midway?”
“It tried to eat me.”
She frowned. “Oh…”
“They don’t usually do that, do they?” asked Holly.
“I think it pretty much only happens to me. By the way, are your phones on?”
“Yeah,” said Karen, pulling hers out of her pocket. “I never turn mine off. You know that.”
Holly produced hers, too, seemingly from thin air. “Mine too.”
“Because Isabelle was trying to call you earlier and neither of you were answering.”
They looked at each other, confused. “That’s weird,” said Holly. She examined the screen. “I don’t have any missed calls.”
“I thought Isabelle could always connect,” said Karen.
“She can,” said Eric. “I think whatever’s causing trouble here can block us from calling you. I might not be able to warn you if anything goes wrong.”
“That’s seriously not cool,” said Karen. She sounded angry and Eric wasn’t surprised. She hated the idea of anything interfering with her service. She even hated having to turn it off in movie theaters.
“So like I said, keep your eyes open. And watch out for each other.”
“We will,” promised Holly.
“Of course,” said Karen. She caught sight of Melodi and said, “I’ve got to get back to work. You go. Fix this mess before somebody gets hurt. And be careful.”
She turned and walked away, leaving Eric and Holly alone.
Holly leaned toward him and whispered, “Did my sisters get in touch with you?”
“Yeah. Thanks for that.”
“Sure. I hope they can help.”
“I think they can.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on Karen.”
“Thanks.”
Holly turned and walked away, too. She didn’t make it far before she had to stop for the little girl as she made her way back across the room with her chair. “Oh my gosh!” he heard her ask. “Where are you going with that? Is that yours?”
Eric turned and looked down at his phone again.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THEM
“I can’t help it,” he murmured.
THEY’LL BE FINE. YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON FINDING ELIOT
He nodded. He was well aware of what he needed to do. He was already walking toward the playland.
YOU’RE RIGHT ABOUT IT TRYING TO USE KAREN AND HOLLY AGAINST YOU, BUT DON’T LET IT FOOL YOU. IN THE TIME YOU SPENT CHECKING ON THEM, YOU COULD’VE FOUND ELIOT
That was true, he supposed.
REMEMBER, IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BEAT YOU. IT ONLY HAS TO STALL YOU UNTIL THE PARTY’S OVER
“It doesn’t even have to do that,” he reminded her. It didn’t have to stick around. It could decide at any time that it could just kill everyone and leave.
That was a hell of a trump card.
With odds like that, he simply wasn’t sure he could win this one.
Chapter Fourteen
Eric checked his watch. Almost forty-five minutes of the party had somehow already flown by. Only a little more than three hours remained. How the hell was he supposed to fix this mess in just three hours? He still didn’t even understand what it was he was up against.
Why did these
things always have to pull him in on such short notice? If this thing had been here a while, why couldn’t he have come last week? Or last year? Wouldn’t he have been more of a match for this thing before it reached its full strength?
He made his way across the party room, zigzagging through the crowd, dodging hyperactive children, giggling toddlers, bustling parents trying to keep up with their hyperactive children and giggling toddlers and one little girl who was pretending to be a cat.
As he walked by one table, he heard a mother ask her young son who was clutching himself if he had to use the potty, to which the boy casually replied, “Nope. I’m just holdin’ it.”
Another little girl zigzagged between the tables and darted past him, yelling, “Mom! Caleb won’t stop calling me ‘banana’!”
Eric stepped over a spilled cup of soda, detoured around a table where a little boy with a snotty nose was having a coughing fit and managed to avoid tripping over a spilled diaper bag, only to then be hit in the chest by a flying clown nose.
Yes, he’d definitely take a classroom full of rude, know-it-all, hormonally-raging teenagers any day. He wouldn’t even need to think about it.
He stepped through the playland entrance and winced at the piercing shrieks of three stories of inadequately supervised children. It was like one of those apocalypse movies, where society had broken down and civilized people had turned savage. Except with children. No one was walking. Everyone was running or crawling. They were pushing. They were crowding. The slides were all clogged with children all facing the wrong way so that it was impossible for anyone to come down them. The ball pit was a churning, writhing sea of colorful balls, groping hands and screaming heads.
A little boy ran past him with an armload of balls from the ball pit, leaving a trail behind him.
A little girl shot by him in the other direction, screaming, “I don’t have to take this! My daddy’s a principal!”
Somewhere overhead, the same little girl he’d heard twice before was still shouting for Hunter. And higher still, at the very top of the colorful, labyrinthine abomination, someone was shouting, “I’m king of the world!”
He really needed to remember to ask Karen about that aspirin.
All he had to do was find one kid in this insane crowd.
Sure.