The Clown (NETFLIX SHORT STORY CONTEST)

3)Follower

"One way or another" by Until The Ribbon Breaks
***

There wasn't time for Alan to focus on the the strangeness of the idling car. John challenged him to a card game and that took up the brothers time up until their parents came home later on that evening. Alan never gave the clown nor the driver another thought until the very next day when he was again forced to walk himself and Kimmy home from school.
John was at basketball practice at his high school while their mother was at the grocery store with Beth. The two middle O'Hare children would be home alone until their mother's return.
"I didn't want to go outside today for recess," said Kimmy as the siblings walked. They had waited until many cars had pulled out of the parking lot as to not risk getting accidentally run over by an over eager parent picking up their child.
"Why not?"
"Dr. Morgan was back."
Alan shot his sister a confused glance. "Who's Dr. Morgan?"
"You know, you met him yesterday."
Alan stiffened. "The clown's name is Dr. Morgan?"
"Yeah, he told me he's a doctor. He dresses up like a clown to make children feel safe around him."
There were a few weird things about his sister's statement that seemed off to Alan, but the most important escaped his mouth first. "What do you mean, he was back? Was he picking up his own kid from school?"
Kimmy shook her head, causing her oversized hat to flop into her eyes. Alan groaned as he helped the small kid adjust her hat. She batted her eyelashes and it seemed to enhance her large blue eyes. "No. He stopped outside the fence to the playground in his small blue car. He said hello and then he asked if I wanted to go see a big girl doctor."
The memory of the conversation the man was having with Kimberly the day before caused Peter to shutter. "Don't talk to him, okay? He's a stranger."
"But mommy says that when you're in trouble, the people you can go to are her and daddy, or a teacher or a doctor."
"He's not a real doctor, Kim." 
"But he says he is."

"Well, he's a liar." Alan was suspecting that the man was a little too interested in children. One time at a birthday party when he was seven, Alan's friend Bobby had an uncle who tried to get little kids to sit on his lap. Alan never did, and he had told his parents about the odd man. His father then warned him of individuals dubbed by him as scoundrels. They often requested odd things like that from children. Scoundrels would try and guilt children into doing what they wanted. Letting them hold, hug, or touch them. When his parents were alone and thought none of the kids could hear him or Shirley,  his father's vocabulary included profanity and a word that was alien to Alan. Goddamn pervert, his father had said.

"If he's not a real doctor then why does he call himself a doctor?" asked Kimmy, sounding as if she felt she knew everything at the mere age of seven.

"I think he's a scoundrel," said Alan absentmindedly, causing Kimmy's forehead to scrunch together.

"Huh?"

"Heyyy, kids!" A voice called brightly. Alan winced. Speak of the freak and he shall appear. The clown was back. He looked identical to yesterday. White face paint covered his face. A bright red smile was painted across his lips. The look was completed with the rainbow wig and a big red nose. Alan half suspected the man was wearing a large jump suit with pom-pom buttons down the front given how in-character he was. All he could see, however, was a large black coat covering the man. The clown's blue eyes twinkled as he watched them. He was sitting in the  drivers seat of his beat up sky-blue car. The clown smiled. "It's snowing pretty hard right now. Would you kids like a ride?"

Kimmy said nothing as she stepped behind her brother. She was afraid. Alan swallowed his fear of the clown to shake his head. "N-no, thanks." Looking around, there wasn't a grown up in sight. Most of the adults picking up their children drove given the snow falling. Hardly anyone minus a few stray older kids were walking.
"Are you sure? It's pretty cold outside. I know where you live," said the clown, thoughtfully. A part of Alan felt this was only said to provide fear. As if the man wanted to show off he knew where the siblings lived.
"I said no," said Alan firmly, a protective hand now holding onto Kimmy's.

The clown offered an eerie smile before his attention turned to Kimmy. "And what about you, Kimberly? Would you like a ride in my warm car?"
"Get lost," Alan said as he started to walk with his sister. He held onto Kimmy's hand tight. It was only as the siblings made it to the end of the block did Alan realize that was not the last of the clown. He was slowly driving behind them.
"I never heard Kimberly answer me," said the clown out his window as he pulled up beside the siblings. "It's not polite to ignore a doctor."
"I bet you're a doctor like Dr. Pepper is a doctor," Alan shot back, hurrying up their walk to move past the clown's car. His words were not held together with bravery.  Even though his parents had once told him never get into a strangers car, they really didn't say anything regarding what to do if a stranger followed them in their car.
A few stray kids walking home from school saw the clown, but no other child said anything. They continued on their way as if nothing was abnormal of a grown man in clown costume following two other children in his car.  Perhaps they were merely thankful the situation was not happening to them.
"You're a very rude person, Alan," said the clown, his car slowly making its way to one again stay even with the kids as they walked. "I really don't like rude people."

Alan tried very hard not to show he was terrified of the clown. He and Kimmy were only a block away from their house. Alan would have gone back to the school and informed his teacher, but now they were far enough away from the school that they couldn't exactly make the trip back. "Then you better stay away before we call our brother. He's big and tough and he'd be really rude to you," said Alan with as much bravery as he could muster up. Kimmy trembled as he held her hand and continued to walk.
"Is that so?" the clown smiled as he kept his car even with the walking kids. "Are we pretending that John isn't at basketball practice? I suppose next you're going to lie and  say your mother is home right now when we both know, she isn't."
Any sense of courage was stripped from Alan upon hearing that. Looking back at the clown, his stomach fell. The clown provided an eerie smile as he looked at him, showing that he was plenty aware of who was or wasn't at home at the O'Hare residence.  "You might as well let Kimberly come with me," said the clown slyly. "If you do, I won't come back. If you don't, something very bad will happen to you because I really don't like you."
The terrifying part of this declaration was that it came so straight faced. The clown never raised his voice or spoke in a threatening manner. He simply smiled at Alan as if he had just spoke of a funny television show that he recommended him watching. Alan did the only sensible thing a child could do when terrified for his and his sister's safety. 

He ran.

Alan held tightly to Kimmy's hand and the children ran as fast as they could down the snowy block towards their house as the end of the road. They weren't alone; the clown's car followed along, eventually coming down their block with them. It was difficult trying to race while running on snow and trying not to fall down on ice. Instead of running to his house at the end of the block where clown knew they would be home alone, Alan took Kimmy and ran up the steps to the house of the crotchety Clarence Jones and his wife, Stella. The retired couple in their sixties were always home during the day unlike other neighbors. Alan ran up their stoop with Kimmy just as the clown slowly got out of his car. Alan banged on the door while hitting the doorbell. He didn't stop either of these actions. Alan felt in his heart that if he did not keep Kimmy away from the clown, she would be lost forever.
Stella Jones was very slow walking to the door. A hip surgery last spring had rendered her a slow walker. Alan started screaming for help for the clown was close now, only a few feet away. He was smiling at Kimberly as he offered a very large and nice looking lollipop he pulled from his pocket. Sensing how scared Alan was, Kimmy stepped closer to her brother and started to cry as Alan screamed. The clown was just a foot away now. He could easily grab Kimmy and Alan wouldn't be able to overpower him. 

It was then that Alan decided he couldn't wait for an adult to help. The clown was too close.
They got lucky that the front door was open. Alan threw open the Jones' door, thankful that the couple didn't seem to believe in keeping doors locked. Once he and Kimberly were inside, Alan shut the door behind him and locked the deadbolt and then another top lock.  He was shivering as he tried jumping up to see out the tall window on the door. Alan had to know if the clown was still out there.
"What the damn gummit is goin' on!?" shouted Mr. Jones, hobbling over as his wife yelled for him to come quick.
Kimmy had started crying as Alan kept jumping to see if the clown was still there. Once he got a nice glance, he saw he wasn't. The clown and his car were now gone.

"Someone just tried kidnapping my sister," said Alan at once, thankful this was finally over.