Horror

I'm being followed by a clown

I Think I'm Being Followed by a Clown

Courtney poked her head out the window of her second-floor bedroom. The neighborhood was still and silent under a haze of mist and a light drizzle. The streetlights illuminated the fog into glowing amber orbs that hovered above the streets and sidewalks. All the houses that lined the residential road were dark and still. Courtney paced from one side of her room to the other. She waited impatiently for her parents to settle in and go to bed for the night. It was close to eleven before she finally heard the heavy footfalls of feet going up the stairs to the master bedroom on the other side of the house.

Slipping one leg out the window, then the other, Courtney carefully placed the tip of her toes on the bracket that secured the drainage pipe to the house. She was mindful of the light drizzle that coated everything, making it difficult to get a good grip on the slippery metal housing. The fit girl shimmied down the thin pipe with expertise and dropped to the ground for the last six feet. She pulled out her phone to check the time. She had just enough time.

Courtney calculated after a brisk jog to the subway station, two stops and another face paced walk she would make it with just enough time. The girl still couldn't believe she was going through all this trouble for a boy she barely knew. Courtney never did anything like this. She never lied to her parents or snuck out of the house in the middle of the night. In fact, it was usually the boy who did this kind of thing for her; not the other way around. But there was something different about him. Whenever he was around her, she felt flustered. A slow burn emerged from her core making her cheeks glow hot and caused her to stumble over her words. His aroma was nothing but intoxicating to her. She hungered for him. Yes, that was the most accurate description of her feelings towards him. She hungered for him.

When she was next to him, nothing in the world was wrong. However alone, Courtney would ponder the events and wonder how they got to this point. She was always the careful and cautious type. This behavior was so out of character for her. She knew virtually nothing about him. She didn't know what school he went to or what he did in his free time. All she knew was his name—Jairus or Jai to his friends. She also knew she was supposed to meet him tonight at the park bench on the east side of Bicktorn Field Park.

Slightly out of breath, she descended the stairs to the subway platform and waited for the train to arrive. The fluorescent lights flickered off and on erratically, casting a pale greenish blue glow over the walls. Separating the inbound and outbound platforms was a four-foot drop where the tracks were laid and disappeared down a long dark tunnel. The platform was deserted and deathly quiet; something not unusual at this time of night but still oddly left the girl with a feeling of emptiness and loneliness. Courtney poked her head over the edge and looked down the tunnel hoping she could see the lights of an approaching train. A soft chuckle filled the empty terminal startling her. She realized she wasn't alone. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a lone figure sitting in the shadows. Not wanting to let the stranger know she saw him, Courtney kept her head turned in the direction of the tunnel. She turned around and took a seat on a bench. Keeping her head down, she tried to get a look at the strange man in the shadows.

The man was sitting on a bench, slouched and arms stretched wide as if he were watching television at home with one leg crossed and placed upon his knee. Courtney couldn't help but notice the clothes he was wearing. They seemed excessively baggy to the point of ridiculousness. The same could be said of his feet which where were abnormally large for an average person. Regardless of what the weirdo was wearing, she was almost sure he was watching her intently from across the way. For the moment, he did not move a muscle, and his stare remained unbroken. Slowly, his head cocked to the side, and his hand slowly rose. Swaying left to right, he waved hello to the frightened girl.