lost and found | it chapter one | 2017

Chapter 9 | Unconscious

C H A P T E R 9
E D I T E D
1262 WORDS

STANLEY'S POV:

    I was cold and alone. The dark skies were covered by rusted bars above, the cries of countless children screaming in my ear was making me go insane.

    I was there for a day, I think. I had lost track of the minutes and hours. I felt like I was losing my mind. I tried to look for Ben and Mike, but I was completely isolated.

  Unfortunately, I knew where I was. I recognized it all too well. I'm not going to lie, I was terrified. These old, grey sewer walls were so familiar. Even the smell had been drained into my nose.
 
    I had always played it safe when it came to doing things out of my comfort zone. I wasn't rebellious and I was far from adventurous. But look where that got me.

   I sat on a wooden box I had found when looking around the area. Large piles of different decaying toys stood in front and around me. The bodies of dead children floated above, hiding any glimpse of sunlight. I was disgusted for the most part, but also rattled with definite fear. Who wouldn't be?

     The sounds was the worst part, though. I could hear whispers. So many whispers. The sounds of water splashes and drips made me want to peel my fingernails off.

    All of a sudden, a loud bang was heard from the other side of the echoing room. That hadn't happened before, so I jumped quickly to my feet.
   Another loud bang was heard  followed by a bloodied scream. It sounded young and scared. I didn't know how to react, I most certainly wasn't going to go "investigate" because I wasn't that stupid, but I had to do something.

    "Hello?" I shouted, awaiting an answer. I immediately regretted making my presence known. All I got was silence.

    "Help!" A voice gasped. It sounded like they were out of breath, almost like it hurt to even speak.

   My heart sank. If someone was being murdered, I needed to go save them. I couldn't live with not trying to do anything.
  
   I shaked, annoyed at myself for knowing that this decision was so idiotic and stupid. But, I started walking through the dirty puddles and ruckus, expecting the worst to come.

   I peered my head around the corner of toys, trying my best to stay quiet. My breathing hitched up as my eyes fell out of my skull. In front of me was the clown, but he was huge. Bigger than last time. And the worst part: he was holding up Ben and Mike.
 
   I certainly wasn't prepared to deal with this situation, especially since I was completely alone.
 
   Ben seemed to be unconscious. His head was slouched downwards and his arms no longer flew around in attempt to be freed, unlike Mike.
 
   Mike was shouting, kicking and scratching at the monster in front of him. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. That was my friend up there, I needed to do something.
 
    Fear is what it wants, so I wasn't going to give in. I took a deep breath and assessed the situation. I slowly walked up behind the clown, reaching Mike's eyes. My heart was racing at a million times per hour. I was tiny and this clown had to have grown to be at least 7 feet tall.
 
    I spotted a piece of metal sticking out from the pile. It was sharp at the tip and rounded at the bottom, almost as though it had been waiting for someone to use it.
    My hand gripped hard, preparing to take a swing at this thing.

   Without anymore hesitation I swung the metal as hard as I could. I watched it snap on the clowns back as I quickly fell backwards from the pressure.
 
  My eyes grew wide at the realization that that hadn't done anything but make me It's newest target..

   Two loud bangs were heard as Mike and Ben dropped onto the cement like ragdolls. Mike groaned in pain as Ben seemed to be completely knocked out.

   Two, big, yellow eyes looked me over. They were shiny, bloodshot and evil. The clown had cuts across his face along with a broken skull. He was terrifying, but I tried not to let it get to me.

   I got back onto my feet as fast as I could, grabbing the metal piece that was now bent and honestly, completely useless.

    He grinned. Long drool fell from his mouth slowly and steadily like molasses. It made me gag.
 
  "Wow, I seemed to have forgotten about you." He said gruffly, his smile growing wide.

   "I'd love it if you would keep it that way." I shook, holding the metal out in front of me.

   "I thought you learned that that's not how it works down here." He said, slowly walking towards me.

  "I'm not scared of you." I tried to spit out.

  "Things change. So does time." He said, drool continuing to fall from his tinted smile, "I've change."
   His voice raised proudly, "I no longer need fear to survive. How revolutionary."
 
   His hands raised to his face, showing long claws ripping through his white dirty gloves. His nails flushed against my cheek before going back to his side.
 
   "You think you scare me?" I shouted back. 

   "I don't care." He said, unexpectedly taking the metal out from my hands and throwing it at Ben. It went through his arm, which made both Mike and I scream.

  "Boo-Hoo." The clown said, catching my attention.

  "Did you kill him?" I shouted at him as his smile closed

  "Me? Kill a child?" He giggled. We both looked up at the cloud of dead children above.

   "You hurt my friend." I managed to mumble out.

   "Big whoop." He said, "you never liked him anyways."

   I looked around and found a steel pipe sticking out from the ground. I quickly pulled it out and smacked it against the clowns ankle, which somehow managed to trip him.
 
   "You're making a stupid choice." It groaned out in agony as I hit him once again in the side.
 
  "You don't want to end up like your friend Ben, do you?" It asked, his voice turning robotic and deep, cracking slightly.

   I somehow grew brave enough to smack him right in the forehead. Why wasn't he hitting me back? Why wasn't he defending himself? He was so much stronger than me yet he made himself seem weaker.
 
    "You don't want to do this." It continued before it's voice getting cut off.
 
    A large plank of wood was jabbed into It's mouth. Blood slowly floated around the air like gravity didn't exist. I looked up and there stood Mike, shocked by his own action.

     He looked at me, blood spread across his shirt and shorts. His eyes were dilating, which made him
look insane.

    "Mike." I said. We ran to one another and fell into a hug. Thank god he managed to get up in time.

   "Did we- Did we kill him?" Mike asked, stuttering.

   "No," I said, releasing him from the hug. "There's no way he's gone that easily."

    My eyes met Ben's body, breaking my heart completely. "Ben." I mumbled.

   "He isn't dead. He has a pulse. We need to get him out of here quickly though." Mike said frantically.
   
   "Do you know a way out?" I asked.

    "Yeah, you just need to help me carry Ben up." Mike sighed as we both glared over at his limp body.