Little Red

Hide and Seek

     You quickly, but apprehensively walked up the stairs, Maria following closely behind you. The second floor was eerily silent. Once you got to the second floor, you turned.

     "I'll check the left side, you go right," You whispered to her. You turned to walk along the left side of the hallway. You opened the first door, nervously, scared of what you might see inside. The room was too dark for you to be able to see anything.

    "Hey, Josh. Where are you?" You hesitantly called out as you stepped into the room. You turned on the light. The room looked empty. You walked to the closet, peering in, before going towards the bed. After taking a deep breath, you got onto the floor, looking under the bed. It was empty. You let out a sigh of relief as you stood up. You glanced around the room once more, checking any other hiding spots Josh could be in.

     You walked out of the room, turning off the light and closing the door. You called out to Josh again.

     "Josh, if you're hiding come out. We need to know where you are."

     You glanced across the hallway. Maria wasn't in sight, but one of the doors was open, the bright fluorescent light spilling out into the hallway. You figured she was in there.

     You checked the next room, following the same routine. As you got closer to the end of the hallway, you felt more anxious. You were scared of seeing Josh hurt. After hearing about what Laughing Jack had done to Maria's sister, you were scared of the same thing happening to Josh.

     Three rooms left. You walked into the room, looking around. It was empty.

     Two rooms left. One on your right and one on your left. After a short moment, you walked into the room on your right. Josh wasn't there.

     One room left. You slowly walked to the door. You grabbed the handle, taking a deep breath in an attempt to prepare yourself for anything you may see. Your heart pounded in your chest. You swung open the door.

     Inside, Josh sat on the floor, reading a book. You let out a sigh of relief.

     "Maria, I found him," you yelled. You heard Maria yell something in response.

     "Why didn't you answer when I was calling you?" You asked, trying to keep your tone soft. Josh looked up at you, setting his book down next to him.

     "Laughing Jack told me to sit in here and be quiet," he said. You ran a hand through your hair and sighed.

     "Why did he want you to sit in here?" You asked, slowly becoming more annoyed.

     "He said he wanted to play with an old friend."

     You cursed under your breath, as you ran towards him. You grabbed his hand, taking him out of the room.

     "We're leaving," You tell Josh, nearly running towards the other end of the hallway where Maria was waiting.

     You yelled out for Maria, throwing open door after door to find her. One door down the hall, you saw Maria trying to run out of a room, only to be pulled back in by the hoodie of her jacket. She let out a choked scream as she fell backward. You watched as she clawed at the door frame, desperate to keep herself out of the room. She let out another choked scream as she was violently pulled into the room. You ran to the door, telling Josh to stay there as you went into the room. At the same time, Maria ran out of the dark room once more causing you to run into her. She stumbled into her, as you wrapped your arms around her in an attempt to steady yourself. She screamed in pain as the monochrome clown behind her slashed her, also partially cutting your arm in the process, then disappeared.

     You pulled Josh in front of you while supporting Maria. She leaned against you as you both walked painfully slow down the stairs You ran to the front door as fast as you could, making sure Maria and Josh got out of the house first. A sharp pain shot through your back as you felt sharp claws sink into your back before cutting in a diagonal line. You try to muffle a scream as you fall to the floor.

     You looked up at the clown from your position on the floor. He let out a loud, maniacal laugh as you struggled to stand. You go over to Maria, both of you supporting each other as you walked towards the street. You kept Josh in front of you as you walked. From behind you, Laughing Jack continued to laugh.

     There was a large blood trail from the house to where you, Maria, and Josh were. You stumbled along the sidewalk, Josh constantly looking back, concerned. You got to the corner of the street, where a stoplight was. The street was full of cars.

     You set Maria down on the side. You told Josh to stay next to her. You felt light-headed and weak, you were losing blood fast.

     You yelled for help as you stumbled towards the car. You saw multiple people look at you concerned, but nobody made a move to help. You yelled, begging for someone to call for help, but when the light turned green, the cars kept going. Once the light turned red again, you stumbled into the street, walking towards the cars. You walked up to an old-looking sedan. You knocked on the door, asking for help. The man in the front seat turned his gaze forward, nervously looking around. The woman in the passenger seat picked up her phone. You nearly cried in relief, hopeful she was calling for help.

     Everything seemed to spin, as black circles began to dot your vision. You fell to the ground, as you heard a car door open, and Josh screamed out your name.