{Reader's POV}
The zombie children surrounded me and peered at my face from below. I raised an eyebrow and gazed over the House of Mirrors once more.
I turned back to look at them with a frown, "What is it? It's just a game."
The zombie children shook their heads and pointed into the direction I had come from. "I'm not going back to the Carousel", I said unyieldingly, "I want to go in there." They shook their heads again and began to drag me away from the building.
I crossed my arms and with a frown I stepped inside the building, brushing past the hordes of children that refused to move.
I roughly slammed the immensely wide doors shut and let out a sigh as I heard their protests in the form of moans and banging.
Turning my attention back to the House of Mirrors, I looked around the dark, deserted areas of the building. I cocked my head in confusion as I was expecting to see mirrors and lights hanging everywhere to shine on the maze.
Then, all of a sudden, a soft melody began to play in the background as I walked further into the building.
Rows of mirrors were immediately illuminated with spotlights and brightened my path toward the maze. They held a sequence of colors as I passed by them too, starting from blue to green and then to red... A sort of festive decoration.
I calmly watched my figure pass by and I soon walked deeper into the maze of mirrors. The soft melody was soothing and particularly gentle, which completely erased all my worry from before.
"L..La..Laughing...J..J..Ack..? Laughing Jack-in-a-b..b..ox..?"
My head whipped around to find an image of a young boy stuttering in the mirrors behind me. I kept my composure and stepped closer towards it.
I saw a little, blonde boy holding an all too familiar toy box in his hands. His voice had a strong British accent and with the decorations in the background, I assumed it was Christmas.
"Huh..? It's broken..", he said with a frown on his face as he examined the box. Even if he had turned the crank and it played it's tune, nothing happened.
I knitted my eyebrows and stared at the boy as he solemnly stared at the floor. I cocked my head to the side and perched my lips, "Isn't that the boy painted on the side of this building...?" I muttered.
In the mirror, the box suddenly started shaking and smoke began to seep through it's cracks. I slowly took a step back and widened my eyes as a tall, multicolored CLOWN man, with bright RED hair and a swirly, RAINBOW colored cone nose appeared out of nowhere.
My eye bulge out of my sockets as I gawked at the scene before me, "I..Is that... Jack?!", I asked incredulously.
"Wh..Who are you..?"
"Glad you asked! I am Laughing Jack, your new friend FOREVER! I'm magical, I never get tired of playing, I'm a wiz at the accordion, and I like whatever you like!"
The little boy looked up to Jack, "We..We're friends..?" the blonde child asked.
Jack looked at the boy with a knowing smile and nodded his head proudly, "We're BEST friends Isaac!" he said with a wink.
"Why don't we play a game of I Spy?"
"I'D LOVE TO—oh wait... I'm sorry but I can't... I have chores.."
"That's alright kiddo! I'll just stay here and wait until you're done!"
The little boy's smile widened and he enthusiastically ran toward the door, but Jack suddenly stopped him.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
With a broad smile, Jack tilted his head warmly, "You should smile more, it suits you" he said as Isaac nodded back cheerfully.
The spotlight on the mirror suddenly faded and left the area in a circle of darkness. I stood in front of it with my mouth gaping open and, as I remembered the child's heartwarming smile appear in the mirror, I too found myself grinning. It was unbeknownst to me as to why Jack was so colorful and sprightly in that image and I wondered if the mirrors were playing a trick on me.
The Jack I know wouldn't ever wear bright, colorful clothes or even genuinely smile at anyone who wasn't his prey!
A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I reflected on the mirrors images, it might have been a refreshing version of the killer clown I've come to know better, but I knew it just couldn't be real.
With a gentle shake of my head, I walked away and continued down the narrow path toward the end of the maze.
However, a spotlight shined overhead another mirror and caught my attention once again.
"AHAHAHAHA Wow! guess this cat ran out on his nine lives! AHAHAHA!" Isaac boasted out heartedly and wiped away a tear from his eye.
Jack, a little taken aback with Issac's behavior, wryly began chuckling. "Heh heh. Seems like it... But if your mother finds it dead out here in her garden, won't she be furious?" Isaac's laughter suddenly died down.
"Crap! You're right! Um... Maybe... we can throw it back into the neighbor's yard?!" Isaac freaked out as he grabbed a shovel and scooped up the dead cat before fumbling it over the fence back into the neighbors yard.
I raised an eyebrows and studied the scene. The sinister cackle of Issac as he towered over his dead victim reminded me of Jack during one of his kills. The uncanniness of the situation sent a shiver up my spine and unsettled me.
"What did your mom say?" Jack asked nervously. Isaac pinned his gaze to the ground as he spoke, "...She wants to send me to a boarding school... I'm leaving tonight... and you can't come with me..."
"What?! I-I can't come? Where will I go?"
Isaac said nothing but pointed over at the beautiful colored box from where his friend had come from.
"Back in there? But I won't be able to get out until..."
I knitted my eyebrows and thought about Jack's words. Isaac promised he would come back to him, to which a reluctant Jack understandingly agreed to, but something about the whole ordeal made me feel uneasy. If what these mirrors are showing me is true, then Jack probably spent years locked up in that box without anyone to keep him company.
Then, as if reading my mind, another mirror held a spotlight overhead and showed me yet again an image of Jack... But this time, I felt my heart sank.
Through the mirror, I watched as Jack's beautiful, rainbow colors suddenly pooled around him as if they were showered off their canvas.
Nothing but darkness surrounded Jack and engulfed his body with more loneliness. I sunk down to my knees and held my hand over my mouth in utter shock. The expression on Jack's face was emotionless and empty, no longer filled with the glowing smile I saw before.
I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I witnessed the horrid scene. My heart pounded in my chest and I drowned in my own quiet sobs... But what really stunned me the most was watching a more grown up Isaac bringing people into his home to... to kill them... in front of Jack.
I couldn't understand why an adorable, innocent boy could turn into such a monster. And what was worse, was that Jack slowly gained interest in his daily murders. That's when the words Jack had told a younger Isaac echoed in my head, "Whatever you like, I like!"
I stared in horror as Jack, finally free of his toy box, slaughtered the older Isaac and cackled in joy as he ripped out his tongue. The scene made my stomach lurch—but I have to admit—I was also happy to see Isaac suffering for his sins towards Jack and all the innocent people he had killed.
The blood spilled everywhere and Jack stood high and mighty, reveling over his newfound love for death and destruction. The twinkle in his eye and the grin on his face were proof of it—this was the moment where Jack became a serial killer, a psychotic murderous clown... monochrome at last.
All the lights dimmed and the lively, decorative lights faded away into nothingness. The mirrors suddenly vanished and all that was left was the bright light from outside shining through two open doors.
I ignored the light and hunched over the ground as I continued my silent weeping. My body was trembling and the strength in my muscles had disappeared, along with the rest of the mirrors inside the building.
Hot tears and painful hiccups plagued me for what felt like forever, but the agony I felt right now was nothing compared to what Jack had suffered during those years of his life... And to think, I had questioned him about that stupid toy box! From the very beginning, I only brought back painful memories to him. With my ignorant inquiries, I returned Jack to those awful days he went through.
I tortured him.
I let out a heavy moan as I punched the ground under me. I shakily continued to take my anger out on the cold floor of the building and let my tears drop onto the pavement.
"(Y/N)? Didn't I tell you to wait in the Carousel?! Goddammit! The zombie children keep complain—wait... why are you..?",
My eyes widened and I froze on the ground as Jack's voice echoed through the building. I tensed up as he walked towards me and felt myself shrink away in fear. I couldn't face him after what I saw today and after I realized what I had done to him.
"Leave me alone...", I pathetically wined as I buried my face into the cold floor, avoiding eye contact to not let him see my bloodshot eyes. From above, Jack scowled and rough lifted me off the ground.
Ignoring my yelp, he wrapped his arms around my body and held me bridal-style.
Jack noticed the dried and new tears on my cheeks and his eyes widened as he felt my body trembling in his grasp. I hid my face in his chest and tried to show him I wasn't in the mood to talk right now. Fortunately Jack understood and let out a sigh as he walked out of the building.
"Don't tell me the zombie kids bullied you?"
_____
Anyone feel like Jack is really dense?? Vote if you liked the road down memory lane!! ;)