Having successfully undermined the mental stability of the entire population of the House of Horrors, the Scarecrow sauntered off toward the next attraction.
He was really quite proud of his handiwork. Apparently, the word was already spreading. A highly disorganized mob was already pouring from the exit of the Happy Holidays monstrosity. He tapped his scythe (a new and delightful acquisition) on the cobblestones to get their attention, and tossed two capsules of fear toxin at the ones in front. The mob surged cartoonishly, some shoving forward and others pushing back, paying no attention to their positions in the crowd, those who had been affected by the drug indistinguishable from those who had not. He waited to see who would be trampled first.
That honor almost went to a little blond girl in a Strawberry Shortcake t-shirt, but she managed to pull herself up to stand precariously on the door handle, nearly falling each time someone slammed into the door-which was a near-constant occurrence.
There was a woman shoving her way toward the child through the crowd, throwing punches left and right. She had to have been the girl's mother. No one else would have bothered coming to the rescue. Not with this level of desperation.
There were very few things more satisfying than a mother afraid for her child.
She was a small woman, not a natural match for those she was knocking down so handily. But she made it through just fine, pulled the child down, and held her close.
Without the surging adrenaline, she didn't fare as well against the crowd. She was shoved back and forth, and finally spun around so that she was looking right at him.
He would have laughed if he hadn't been momentarily struck dumb.
Mother?
She screamed, the perfect catalyst for turning the confused mob into a stampeding mass. She managed to avoid being crushed by ducking back inside, just as the doorway was completely clogged with a mass of humanity. She wouldn't be getting out of there any time soon.
Whistling jauntily, the Scarecrow walked around to the staff entrance.