Not a Night for Clowning Around

𝕋𝕎𝔼ℕ𝕋𝕐-ℕ𝕀ℕ𝔼

 WE WERE OUT. After hours of torture, we made it out. Well, most of us had.

After the initial shock of escaping the funhouse, Aaliyah ran to the nearest group of people. "Excuse me?" she said to the family taking pictures nearby. "Can I please borrow your phone?"

A woman, who I presumed to be the mother, looked at Aaliyah with concern. "Are you alright, dear?"

"There's a killer in that funhouse, and he tried to murder me and my friends," she explained. "Please, can I borrow your phone to call 9-1-1?"

The family members gasped and prodded, asking more questions. Did they not realize this was time sensitive? Luckily, Shawn went up to other strangers and got ahold of their phone.

"Cops are on the way," he said.

"How long?" I asked. "What about Jake? We can't just leave him, Shawn."

He placed his hands on my shoulders in an attempt to calm me. "We made it out, C. Take a breath and calm down. We'll let the authorities deal with the rest."

"But Jake..." I couldn't even finish my sentence as I turned into a blubbering mess.

Shawn pulled my snotty face into his chest as he patted my back and muttered reassuring words.

Meanwhile, Aaliyah talking to that family generated a whole crowd. People started forming a circle around her as she gave a detailed play by play of what happened inside.

One person in that crowd caught my eye, and when he saw my current state, he shot me a pitied look. There was so much I had to say to Matt, starting with a massive apology, but there was too much on my mind right now to worry about that.

Aaliyah left the crowd to check up on us. "The carnival security is looking for that Van Dicen guy so his sorry ass can be thrown in jail."

"I hope that bastard rots in there," Shawn added.

I wanted nothing more than to be out here, safe with my friends, but I couldn't be at peace knowing Jake was still inside. "It's thanks to me that you both went through this, and you'll never know how sorry I am."

Aaliyah waved me off. "Don't say that. You didn't deserve any of this."

"You're just as much of a victim as we are," Shawn piped in.

"Let me finish." My friends being sympathetic only made this harder. "I'm so relieved you both are okay, but I can't live with myself knowing Jake is still in there because of me."

"What are you trying to say?" Shawn asked like the naive idiot he was.

Aaliyah, however, threw her arms around me, knowing that she couldn't sway my decision. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Carter," Matt called out from the crowd.

As much as I had to talk to him, saving Jake was the priority. Ignoring Matt, Shawn, and Aaliyah, I ran right back into the funhouse, bracing myself for the absolute worst.

I was hit with a wave of fear and terror as soon as I stepped in. Every part of me screamed for me to wait for the authorities to come and deal with this, but I knew I couldn't just wait idly.

Jake risked his life for the rest of us, and it was time I returned the favour to him.

I couldn't stop feeling like every move I made was being watched, but I couldn't waste any time. I ran in the direction that we came in, hoping I would find Jake with ease. I tried to block out disturbing scenarios playing in my head and hoped that he was hiding somewhere safe.

After a while I arrived outside of the door to his replica bedroom. Slowly, I creaked the door open and tiptoed inside. I had no idea of Kellen's whereabouts, and the last thing I wanted was for him to overhear me and come give a visit.

I looked under the bed, in the closet, behind the door, but I couldn't find Jake anywhere. My eyes zeroed in on the giant wooden wardrobe, but just as I approached it, I noticed a pool of a dark coloured liquid on the ground in front of it.

The realization that the liquid was blood made me retch. The blood had created a trail, leading outside of the bedroom. I must've been so distracted with finding Jake that I didn't notice the path of blood.

I followed the bloody trail out, my heart wrenching with every step. I knew we shouldn't have left Jake behind. I was such an idiot. Kellen had a vendetta for Jake, and I knew for a fact he would show him no mercy. All I knew now was I had to find Jake before it was too late. Unless it already was.