Chapter 4: Monster


His vision was kind of blurry and his steps slightly unsteady. He was having a hard time recognizing even the not so distant shapes. David probably shouldn't have drunk that much.

But then as the road turned, and he practically arrived at the back of the theme park, he saw a light. A golden light, beaming somewhere there, among the trees and splayed tents. He was right; she did come to the park. But did she really think all those lights wouldn't alarm anyone around? Well, so far they didn't. No security, no nosy neighbors... There wasn't a single soul in the streets. It seemed he'd have to do this by himself.

Climbing up the fence wasn't hard, but as he was about to shift to the other side, he slipped. His body scraped against the ground, leaving dirt all over his jeans and fancy leather jacket.

"Ah, fuck!" He cursed and his hands clenched into fists as he got up. His eyes narrowed at the brightness before him. "I hope she's having a good time... A good time, so I can watch that dumb, annoying, innocent expression fade from her little face." Dave mumbled as he was trying to wipe off the dirt from his clothes.

But what if she wasn't alone? The thought made him bolt up immediately, straight as a string. Oh, she better be alone or her ass won't be the only one to get kicked. His lips pressed together in a tight line, almost disappearing.

Suddenly his whole body shrugged startled. A scream ripped the silence, followed with a loud slam. What the hell?

As if hypnotized, David followed the dreadful sound.


She let out the loudest scream her lungs were able to make just mere seconds before she was violently pushed inside and the door shut behind her. She could feel this moment coming. Robert's hand abruptly left hers, abandoning Madeline in the darkened room. The girl's heart skipped a beat and suddenly her breathing seemed awfully loud.

She gazed around, searching for something to hide behind, to hold onto, but the only real thing for her now was the wooden floor beneath her feet and the darkness coming from every direction.

Why did he do that?! What happened? What was about to happen?

Madeline blindly struggled to move around and not trip with each step.

"Robert?" Her quivering voice called after him.

All of a sudden, dazzling redness filled her eyes. Red neon. Of course. This was supposed to be a dark ride.

Before her, the small room opened to a series of corridors, draped with pieces of ripped cloth and huge cobwebs. During the day, the monsters hiding in the nooks were actors, hired to frighten those in need of a jump scare by wailing and screaming in their faces. There was still some popcorn scattered across the floor.

However, now the nightmare was real. There, at the end of the passageway just in front of her stood Robert, his back unnaturally bent forwards, arms tensed, like a wild animal ready to hunt down the chosen prey. And his eyes were no longer green. The man's pupils became two shiny yellow dots, gleaming at her threateningly.

Madeline's mouth went agape. She could not believe her eyes.

"Robert?" It was more of a silent, miserable plea than a question, but she got her answer anyway. His lips widened in a toothy grin, and she knew that expression couldn't belong to a human.

"No." It replied in a low, daunting whisper.

As the girl's heart thrilled in realization, at last she listened to all the warning signs, which were running around her mind for quite some time now, demanding to be heard. She ran into one of the dusty corridors with the last bit of hope for getting out of there in one piece.

A psychopathic, otherworldly laugh resounded in her head, making her whimper in fright.

"Run little one, run! There's nowhere to hide..." That coarse, giggly voice hit her ears for the first time. Madeline was filled with panic and regret. A million hopeless thoughts were swirling in her head.

The twitching light was flooding the walls in red again and again as she scanned the surroundings restlessly.

"You can't run from me" It's voice came from behind and just as she turned, a large, gloved hand closed around her throat. The soft fabric digging into her sensitive skin.

"And just where do you think you're going?" The man seemed delighted with the girl's shocked face. Pure malice burned within those shining eyes. Another scream was caught in her throat and came as a muffled shrill.

"Poor little Madeline..." It laughed and pressed her trembling body harshly against the wall. "If you're looking for Robert, you won't find him here. He's gone." The girl's hopeless attempts at loosening the grip on her neck were no good. It only tightened and tightened, until her limbs went numb.

"Not completely gone of course, and who knows, maybe I'll use him again in the future, but I've had enough of playing for tonight." The creature in front of her took in every single gagged sound she made with pleasure, and her eyes widened as she noticed the white smudges slowly covering the skin on the face, which still belonged to a man. Like dried paint, it left a couple of cracks on his forehead.

He gazed at her intensively, examining every inch of fear exposed in her features and as he did that, a drool started forming on his flushed red lips. That color was also new. And it darkened to the most lush shade of crimson.

He swallowed hungrily, when his face inched closer to hers. Madeline's heart pounded irrepressibly, as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

Those glaring eyes closed for a second, and he inhaled, smelling the fear, for which he's been waiting for the last 27 years. His whole body immediately pressed to hers, and he let out a low, satisfied growl.

When his eyes opened again, they were crossed with dark, red lines going up from the corners of his mouth, resembling an impossibly wide smile.

"Tasty, tasty, beautiful fear... If only I could savor it over and over again..." He could feel her blood pulsating under his strong grip on her throat.

A small part of him told him to restrain the brutal instincts and not to go further, because it was still her. The girl, whose bright eyes sparkled in the golden light. Moments ago she thanked him just for being around. She trusted him.

But he did not listen to that part of him and shut down the thoughts, which surely were only the remains of the human hidden somewhere deep down inside.

As frightened as she was, Madeline suddenly felt another hand crawling up to her chest. He possessively placed it over her beating heart.

"Such a delightful being you are... So delicate, so innocent, so naive. Oh precious thing, hasn't anyone ever told you not to trust strangers?"

The girl's eyes filled with tears, she cried with the last bit of energy she's got left.

"Oh, hush, little one." His whisper shushed her like a baby.

Madeline was completely still, when he licked a single tear off her cheek.

"I promise I'll be quick about it. To tell the truth, I think it's a terrible waste to break a pretty face like yours. If only I could spare you... If only there was anyone, who could save you..." He was mocking her. Making fun of how weak she really was. But for a brief second she saw a painful flicker in those bloodthirsty eyes. She knew there was a certain kind of well-covered powerlessness in the words. Or maybe it was just her imagination.

Madeline felt his hot breath against her neck. His face was inching closer with each second until his red-painted nose brushed against her cheek.

"So silent now... Haven't you got any more questions? You wanted to know me. Here I am."

Nothing could ever prepare her for what came next. His eyes rolled up, and she watched in horror as his mouth opened to reveal multiple layers of razor-sharp teeth.

This is it. She thought. This is the end.

Tiny black spots danced across the girl's vision, and she no longer had the strength to fight for air. The world around her slowly started to fade. Her ears caught a low, creaking sound somewhere in the distance. What was it? She didn't care. Just a while more and all this would be gone. Just a while more...

The next thing she knew was that a dazzling light fell upon them and after that, the grip around her throat was gone and her limp body collapsed onto the floor.

A flashlight. It was a flashlight.

"What the fuck?!" A male voice resounded in the corridor, as if from very far away. She knew that voice. Could it be?

"Madeline! W-wha..." David was so shocked he didn't realize the fatal position he's just found himself in.

"And who the fuck are you?!" There was no reply, but a furious growl. She wanted to see. She 'needed' to see what was happening but her head was heavy like a stone and it was still hard to breathe.

"No, no, no stay back you freak!"

Two, blurry silhouettes stood facing each other in the darkness. One was of a young man holding a flashlight, the other; noticeably taller and looming over the first one like an embodiment of a nightmare. After a second, she recognized David's leather jacket, which he was also wearing earlier this night. But the other figure wasn't familiar to her at all. He was wearing... a costume? Madeline had to blink several times to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Yes, it was an old-fashioned, silver costume with puffy sleeves and a collar on top. His hair also changed. It wasn't dark, but bright red. She wasn't really sure, because it would seem impossibly out of place in this truly horrible situation, but was he really dressed as a clown?

"I said, stay away!" David screamed and then Madeline saw something that haunted her dreams many nights after this one.

With a great force, the creature in the costume reached its large hand through David's chest.

He dropped his flashlight.

The harsh sound of breaking bones filled her ears, and she didn't want to see or hear anything anymore. Maybe she should've died.

These sharp teeth, which were supposed to rip her apart, sunk into the young man's flesh instead, and in that moment Madeline didn't see just one monster in front of her. In that split-second, an endless number of faces reflected in the clown's features and the girl shut her eyes, curling on the ground.

The horrendous crunching didn't stop for a couple of minutes. Madeline didn't dare to move until all was silent again, but even then she did not open her eyes.

Before she passed away, she heard a subtle sound of bells getting close to her and felt a gloved hand running through her hair.