Requested by @Kathyperez851
"Chloe?"
I searched the vintage store for my friend. She had wandered off while I was checking out some of the old vinyls and now I couldn't find her. My long search ended up bringing me to the back of the shop in a corner. This section had more bright and colorful things then the common beige and brown that dominated the rest of the vintage shop.
A red and white striped, mini circus tent caught my attention. It was a music box of sorts. I turned the small lever and it began to play this eerie, cheerful music. I listened to the music before it started sounding scratchy. After gingerly setting the music box back where I found it I turned to this floor length mirror, seeing the reflection of a wonky, cartoony clown behind me.
A scream escaped my mouth as I swiftly turned around. Instead of the same clown I saw in the mirror, Chloe stood before me with a clown mask on.
"Boo!"
My heart was racing and chest heaving for air as I stared at her. No way the thing I saw in the mirror was fake! I never hallucinate and that couldn't have been Chloe.
Chloe pulled the mask off with a concerned frown and walked over to me. She didn't think I had a fear of clowns and was alarmed by my shaken state.
"Did I go too far?" She asked, "I'm sorry, I didn't think I'd scare you that bad."
I composed myself and shook the nerves off. Maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me.
"It's quite alright," I reassured her, "I just thought I saw... something else in the mirror."
Chloe tilted her head in confusion, "Something else?"
"A real clown."
"Do you have a fear of clowns?" She had an idea in the back of her mind that the clown mask reminded her of, but if I was afraid of clowns she was going to forget about the idea for my sake.
"No, I just spooked myself," I glanced at the mirror, "Maybe I need more sleep."
We walked out of the vintage shop, I had gotten the circus music box and some vinyls while Chloe found some items to spruce up her 70s styled room. The drive back we talked about everything we saw in the store and what we wished we could get if we had more money.
"I have a wonderful idea," Chloe grinned as we took her stuff inside her house.
I raised a brow, "And that idea is?"
"There's this abandoned circus tent way back in the woods I heard the Smith's whispering about," she told, "I thought that you liked the music box so much why don't we see a real one... or what's left of one for that matter."
A small smile formed on my face as I how'd the small music box in my hand. Perhaps that would be a fun thing to do. Dangerous and stupid but fun and adventurous.
"Let's do it."
Chloe smiled at my answer before putting away the last of her items and taking me by the hand.
"If we go now we can see the tent before sunset," she pulled me downstairs, grabbing two flashlights incase we stayed out longer and it got dark.
We left her house, taking her car to get there. I brought the music box with me, but found a note on the bottom.
"Fixed it. See you soon ~"
My eyebrows knitted in confusion, wondering how the note got there or if I just missed it. I played the circus music box again and this time noticed that it played fine the whole tune. The scratchy notes nonexistent like how it played at the shop. That was odd. Perhaps the cashier quickly fixed it before giving it to me? But the note also said see you soon...
Once at the edge of the woods, Chloe parked the car and we headed out, flashlights in hand but turned off due to the warm colored sky lighting our way. The walk felt long until we saw a familiar white and red striped fabric. Upon closer inspection we saw that the tent was in good condition.
"I thought you said this thing was abandoned?" I looked at Chloe, "like, as in it was old."
"I never said it was old," Chloe was mesmerized by the tent as much as I was, "I just heard it was abandoned."
We stared at the tent for a bit before feeling nervous. Neither of us wanted to peek inside the tent, scared of the unknown. The sky was a mix of colours, the reds merging with the blues to signal the oncoming night approaching.
"It's rather random to have something like this here," I softly commented, afraid to be loud.
"It is indeed," Chloe stepped closer to me, "I think I've seen enough."
An uncomfortable, nervous feeling overcame us both as it looked like the tent moved a bit. As if someone was on the other side causing the tent to rustle. My heart skipped a beat, Chloe's breath hitched and we were now shoulder to shoulder.
"Let's leave," Chloe whispered to me so quietly I almost didn't hear her, "Something doesn't feel right."
Nod, I simply nodded in agreement as I firmly took her free hand and pulled her back. We were about to run back to the car before a commanding voice made its way to our ears.
"HEY! What the hell are you guys doing out here?!"
Chloe was shaking in fear now and wouldn't move, I had to pull her roughly over to a low branch tree where we climbed up it as high as we could, partially concealed by the branches but able to see the tent before us as well as the surrounding of the circus tent.
The voice belonged to a cop. Someone must have called the police to alert them of the vacant car parked by the woods edge. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the cop, scared that a serial killer had found them. I squeezed Chloe's hand in comfort and watched as the cop stopped to look at the tent.
Chloe and I felt like quiet birds in a tree, watching as a deer came upon something odd. The cop turned his flashlight on, but the tent suddenly was bright as lights turned on in the inside of it, lighting up the surrounding woods. He still held tightly onto his flashlight for defense, the other hand on his gun as he approached the tent.
I exchanged nervous glances to Chloe, the cops uncertainly making me feel scared. We still couldn't get over the overwhelming fear of the fact something was clearly off... besides the fact there was a tent deep in the woods.
Chloe shifted to balance better, causing her to almost slip. She dropped the flashlight she held on, me grabbing the back of her hoodie to help her from falling. We both watched and cringed as the flashlight fell to the ground with a soft thud, the grass softening its descend. It probably still worked after hitting the ground.
The cop spun around as quick as a whip to see what he heard, his gun drawn out of fear. I could've sworn I saw his hands shaking ever so subtlety. Chloe and I held our breathes until we saw something emerge from one of the tents entrances.
I clamped a hand over Chloe's mouth and she did the same for me as we stopped the other from gasping too loudly at what was approaching the cop.
"Hey!" The cop pointed his gun at the newcomer before nervously lowering it, "oh, do you work here... sir?"
It was a clown of sorts. Resembling the one I saw in the mirror earlier today. I gawked at the odd clown. A description would do the creature no justice, it looked so unreal that even Chloe had to rub her eyes and look again.
"It looks like the one I saw in the mirror," I whispered to Chloe who kept her eyes on the two below us.
The cartoony clown pulled out a funky colored gun and pointed it at the cop. The cop made a joke about it being one of those water-guns before he was suddenly zapped with it and turned into smithereens. Our faces dropped, not believing what we just saw. Chloe swore under her breath and felt faint.
"What do we do now?" Chloe looked at me helplessly.
I put a finger to her lips to shush any further talking from her. The clown was walking over to the tree we were at to examine the flashlight. I assumed it was able to figure out that the flashlight didn't belong to the cop. Chloe shook in my hold and a few loose leaves fell off the tree. Shit. The leaves fell slowly, close by the clown as it had already picked up the flashlight with its rather large hands.
The clown looked up and that's when I felt like I stopped working. A rush of intense fear overcame me and I felt like I was about to die. Chloe had the same overwhelming fear but she looked like she was about to pass out and I was afraid she would and I wouldn't be strong enough to catch her.
"Hello, up there!" The clown sounded like he was mocking us, "why don't you come down?"
We didn't say a word and just stared, like a deer in headlights. The clown didn't move.
"I won't bite," if it's smile could get any wider it did, "it's no fun being stuck in a tree."
I shook my head at it, the only response I could give in my fearful state.
"Don't be shy, cutie," the clown cooed, "how 'bout we help you down?"
We?
My mental question was soon answered as two more clowns exited the tent. One held an alarmingly big chainsaw that was already running.
"I believe we found them," the first clown referred to me, "but cutie pie is a little shy and needs some help getting down."
The other clown nodded furiously with a laugh and walked over to the tree. Chloe was silently sobbing as she clung to me. The clown started sawing down the tree.
"As soon as the tree falls we run," I whispered over the loud chainsaw.
Chloe nodded and braced herself. The clown cut through the tree and we felt ourselves fall. We landed with a thud and scampered off like scared rabbits, Chloe and I holding each others hand with an iron grip. Chloe lost her flashlight but I still had mine held tightly in my free hand.
The clowns shot some sort of gun and Chloe's hand was stuck to the tree by cotton candy. It was like when Spider-Man would webshoot someone's hand to a surface, except now it was cotton candy.
Chloe screamed and struggled to get her hand free while I tried to help without getting stuck as well. The clowns approached, funky guns raised and ready to shoot again if necessary.
"Get out of here!" Chloe cried.
"No fucking way am I going to leave you!" I pulled at her arm.
"LEAVE."
One of the clowns grabbed my arm, "come here, sugar."
I stunned the clown by bashing its face with the flashlight I still had. The clown's grip loosened and I was able to break free, I turned to Chloe to see a clown dragging her away.
"Run, Y/N!" She screamed as she fought them, "RUN!"
I ran like hell until I climbed up another tree to catch my breath, trying to figure out the best way to deal with this situation. I was about to climb down the tree when a voice called out.
"Y/N?"
It knew my name. Did Chloe tell them my name? She would've had to... unless they somehow already knew my name. But how?
"We have your little friend with us," one of the clowns continued, "if you don't come back before sunrise you'll never see her again."
I felt at a lose. Defeated. I couldn't simply just abandoned Chloe and have her end up like the cop did, or worse.
"You in exchange for the girl," the clown said before I heard it retreat to the tent.
I climbed down the tree, flashlight raised at eye level incase I needed to attack again as I cautiously made my way back to the tent. No clowns were around so I assumed they were inside. I could hear the sounds of a familiar girl sobbing and entered the tent to find Chloe in the middle of the tent shaking and sobbing.
"Chloe," I breathed out and lowered the flashlight a bit.
She didn't notice me until I took a step forward and my shoe hit a medal object. She swiftly looked up at me and shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"Get out of here!"
Before I could do anything my flashlight was shot out of my hand and I was roughly pushed to the ring with Chloe by one of the clowns.
"Looks like our little cutie decided to be a hero."
"Aren't they adorable~"
I glared daggers at the clowns that surrounded us. I didn't forget what the one said out in the woods and gathered my courage to speak.
"I'm here now," I snarled, "that means she can leave safely."
The clowns scolded one of the other clowns for making such a deal, saying something about being hungry and couldn't stand the wait. A large clown approached me.
"Alright, alright," it grinned.
The clowns parted so that Chloe could leave.
"And she better make it all the way home and live the rest of her life in peace away from you freaks," I threatened, "If she's hurt I'll make sure you all suffer."
The clowns laughed at me while Chloe hugged me from behind, her tears staining my shirt but that didn't matter. This could be the last time I see her.
"Of course, sugar," it stuck out its pinkie, "I pinkie swear."
I looked at him oddly before reluctantly hooking my pinkie with his. He grinned and my face scrunched up in disgust. We broke the link and I tried to push Chloe off me but she would budge. She was crying buckets of tears now and I swear it looked like my back was sweating now.
"I'm not leaving!" She cried, her eyes red and body shaken, "this isn't fair! This isn't right!"
My eyes watered and I tried my hardest not to cry but she wasn't helping.
"Please, Chloe," I was finally able to pull her off, "if you don't leave, I'll never see you again."
She shook before me.
"Go."
The clowns watched our interaction as if it were amusing. Chloe started slowly walking out as I lightly pushed her out.
"Please go."
I watched as she left the tent, hearing her footsteps turn into running where I knew the direction of the car was parked. The clowns got closer to me.
"Now we finally have you, cutie."
"Finally?" I questioned, still angry and scared.
They nodded without answering.
"Welcome to our humble abode," one smiled, "you're new home."
🤡