Not a Night for Clowning Around

𝕋𝕎𝔼ℕ𝕋𝕐

CARTER

I WAS BEGINNING to regret running away. In all honesty I had no idea where I was anymore. Worst of all, I felt much more vulnerable now that I was all alone. What if the real stalker was here and they were coming after me? Or what if Jake was the stalker and now that he knew I knew it was him, he was after me?

I tried to shake the thought out of my head. Jake wasn't the stalker...he couldn't be. I was seriously hoping he wasn't.

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, right now I had to focus on getting out of here. I knew I would feel much safer if I were surrounded by more people, and this funhouse did not ease my worries at all.

Instead of walking down the path I didn't know, I decided it was best to turn back and retrace my steps to the entrance. The only issue was that I didn't know if Jake was the stalker and whether or not he was still behind, looking for me. I decided to wait a few minutes before I headed back.

Once I was sure he would've passed me by now, I started my trek back to the entrance. At least that way I knew the ticket taker would be there, as well as all of the people in the line.

Several minutes had passed, but I was nowhere closer to the entrance. I didn't remember it taking this long. I was going in the same direction...right?

A couple walked past me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Excuse me?" I called out, hoping they'd stop.

They turned around to look at me, a blank expression on their faces.

"I'm kind of lost, do you remember the way to the entrance?"

Instead of responding, one of them handed me a slip of paper before they walked away into the darkness.

"Thanks for giving me written directions...in a pitch black funhouse," I muttered under my breath.

Just then the lights turned on, brightening the place. The funhouse immediately looked less scary now that I could see all the wires and ropes. I unfolded the piece of paper, which I was hoping was a map.

Carter, my love,

I felt bile rise up my throat. It couldn't be...

I see you are hidden inside of the funhouse,

Shall we play a game of cat and mouse?

I will give you thirty minutes to escape and be free,

If you lose, surely the consequences you will see.

Best of luck.

They knew I was here. The stalker could probably see me for all I knew. They knew I was walking toward the entrance, which meant I had to change direction. I dropped the note and sprinted in the opposite direction. Part of me was hoping I'd run into that couple again, but they could've been in on this for all I knew.

The path ahead of me was split into two. I was about to go left, like I usually did, but I got paranoid that the stalker would know that. What if they knew I played softball left-handed? With that in mind, I decided to go right.

I heard boisterous laughter not too far ahead, so I ran in hopes of catching up to the person. The last thing I wanted was to be alone. A group of three teenage boys were ahead of me, all of them laughing amongst each other.

"Hey," I called out. "Do you guys know how to get out?"

"Twenty-seven," one of them replied before snickering.

"Twenty-seven," another chimed in.

"Twenty-seven...twenty-seven...twenty-seven..." they all chanted in sync.

I took a step back, suddenly feeling uneasy.

"You have twenty-seven minutes," the first one said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Until what?"

"Until you're dead." With that being said, he threw a knife in my direction. I ducked, barely missing it, and the trio started to laugh.

I turned and sprinted the other way before either of them could catch up. What the hell was going on?

While glancing over my shoulder to make sure they weren't following, I bumped into someone else.

"Oh my God, I'm so..." My voice trailed off when I saw it was a little girl. What concerned me, however, was that she was holding a dead puppy.

"Do you wanna meet her?" she asked me politely. "Her name's Carter."

I let out a gasp and ran past her. I had to find a way out.