Demonic - The Gathering (ON HOLD)

Chapter Six

Six – Lucy

I tried to grasp and answer. I had to do something. My mind was swimming; searching for a way to save myself. Though, once I could not find an escape plan, there was only one thing left to do. Stare. Watch. Wait for my fate. Everything faded to black. No sounds came to my ear. My mind went blank and my heart froze as the handle continued to twist backwards; the eerie, childish song ringing softly. Faintly—so faintly—I could hear a dog’s bark. Fading into hearing, my heart beat like a bass drum at a rock concert. My frantic breathing filled my ears also, like gale force winds out to sea. I was afraid. I was paranoid. I was going to die.  

                Echoing into my head suddenly was the loud barks of a canine. My trance was broken and I glanced away from the jack-in-the-box. Keenan was snarling at me and at my feet. I jumped violently as he gripped my school dress in his jaws and began to pull me.

                “Keenan! Stop it!” I shouted.

                He growled but looked up at me with pleading eyes. He tugged at my dress and stepped a few paces back towards the eating area. He barked at me and wouldn’t stop. Wetting my lips I risked a glance back at the box on the floor. The handle had stopped moving. Dramatic fear pumped into my veins, signalling for me to get the hell out of there. I suddenly jumped and pulled my right hand up as Keenan nipped my fingers and growled, still backing towards the eating area. I shook my head and stepped towards him. As soon as I did, Keenan looked behind him at the back door. He wanted me to follow him out of the house.

                “But what about my family?” I cried desperately.

                He barked twice and whacked the floor with his front paws, getting impatient. I bit my lip but reluctantly followed Keenan to the door. Dragging it open, Keenan led the way out. I slammed the door shut, taking one more look into the house. I gasped loudly as the jack-in-the-box finally popped out, bouncing every way. Terror gripped me as the clown dangled from the spring. It looked so different. It had a sharp and defined face, with the usual clown make-up. It had bright green hair that spiked backwards. But the thing that really made my blood run like ice was its teeth. They were long and sharp. Just like the clown I saw yesterday.

                I suddenly felt strong paws on my thigh. I looked down. Keenan had jumped on me and was barking. I nodded and followed him to the edge of where the forest started. He stopped and so did I. We both looked back at the house and almost jumped out of my skin! Standing and staring at us was the clown. Not in the jack-in-the-box form, but the actual…circus clown. It had no facial expression and it was just standing there and glaring at us, its arms handing loosely but its sides. But, slowly its unsmiling expression shifted into a mocking smirk. It raised its hands, clinging to knives. Two in its left hand and one in the other. It threw the once knife and chucked one of the two to the right hand. It was juggling the knives. They weren’t like the knife that the man named Usatan threw at my window, these knives were like butcher knives, which only added to my fear. If it caught me, was it going to slay me and the cut chunks of me and eat them? No…now I was exaggerating my thoughts. Surely…it would…go away…? Maybe? Tears started to fall down my face. I looked at Keenan and sat down. He looked at me and whimpered, licking away my tears. I sniffed and wiped away some of my tears, though more just fell.

                “I’m so scared, Keenan.” I said softly. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to go back there knowing that there is a clown in my house. I’m so scared. I’m so…scared…” I started to cry, resting my head on my knees.