The Killer Duo
By: Lovely girl 10
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the good personas of the creepypasta characters.
Chapter 10- Come Little Children
The next couple of hours were a blur for both of the killers as they still continued to remain in silence after their recent argument. As Jeff continued to pay attention to the road, sometimes he stole a few glances at the girl right beside him. She is now sleeping in the passenger seat. She had leaned the car seat a bit to make it more easier for her to sleep in the car. Her head leaned a little bit to the left as she breathed lightly in her sleep. Her black hair was sticking to the car seat, perhaps when she wakes up it will collect static and then she will have a bad hair day.
Jeff didn't know what to say when he stared at her. Then again, he thought that he was being too possessive over Jane's well being. He guessed that he was doing it because he doesn't want her to get hurt like how his little brother Liu did. He did not want to see anyone else he likes to hang around with to get hurt in the process.
He sighed as he pressed the cruise button to keep the speed he is on and lets his right hand rest comfortably on Jane's left hand that was resting on the little platform between the two. Jeff felt that little tingling sensation that was present inside both the girl and himself, whether it was the flower or his own strange urge that kept him going, he felt really calm after touching her.
Jeff's pale fingers began to move counter-clockwise on the girls hand. He didn't know why, but it felt really nice to touch her and feel that she is with him. The male killer thought that he was glad enough to find her before Randy and his goons could get their hands on her. He wanted to keep her safe. His urge told him in his head to keep her all to himself, but his sane personality decided that only Jane can choose whether or not that she wants to stay in his company.
Jane soon stirred from her nap, making Jeff quickly pull his hand away from her. Her eyes blinked and she moved her other hand to properly put the car seat back in its place so that she can sit up straight. Jeff noticed that they are entering a new town that they are not familiar with, so he takes off the cruise button and begins to slow down to where the speed limit wants him to go when he drives in a town. It is in the afternoon, and from what it looked like in the town, everyone is currently in the shopping stores where they are getting ready for Halloween.
Neither of the killers needed anything in town, aside from the cans of soda that they have in front with them whenever they are thirsty,(Jane only agreed to have one soda just so that she has a sugar boost), so they didn't need to stop for anything in town.
Jane broke the silence, Jeff could detect that she was a little tired from her nap. "How far are we going?"
"To be honest, I am not sure where we are going." Jeff answered honestly. "Maybe once when we both feel something off about a place, we will investigate what is wrong." He looked at the girl for a quick second, and then spoke what he wanted to say. "Jane, I'm sorry for my... behavior toward you. It wasn't right for me to argue with you over the toy box."
Jane looked at him in a calm way as she rests her left hand on his right arm. "I think it is my fault for not telling you what happened last night. You have every right to be angry with me over what you don't want me to do. Its natural for us to have some differences in working as a team."
"If you believe that what Slenderman says is true, then I hope that the toy box will be of good use to us when we need it." Jeff said, still a bit unsure of what will happen if they used the box for something. He decided to try to change the subject as he asks. "Did you have a good nap?"
Jane nodded, "I did have a good nap, though I keep getting strange dreams lately." She put her right hand up to her forehead and rubbed it as if she got a headache and sighed. "You would not be interested in listening to what it is about."
"I'm listening Jane." Jeff told her.
"Alright," Jane said as she composed herself. "The dream I had is more like a memory from my past long time ago, a couple of years before my parents were going to be murdered." She quickly looked at Jeff who waved his hand to tell her to continue. "The memory was showing me of my trip to the circus with my parents. I remember that I was so excited to go to that place since I had never been to one before. I stayed close to my mother and father as we went through most of the place to find some entertainment that I might enjoy. Over the next few hours, I suddenly got so in tuned to what the circus had to offer that I had completely lost track of where my parents are." She almost choked up a sob as she remembered what it was like when she had gotten lost in the huge crowd, just having no idea of where her parents were made the girl feel afraid for the longest time. That usually is the biggest fear to a young child, being separated from your parents in a public place where you might most likely be getting lost in.
"I didn't know what to do as I just stood there in the middle of the crowd. I knew that I had to go around and ask somebody if they had seen my parents, but my fear of being made fun of my appearance kept me from doing exactly that. So I went for the idea to stay where I was at so that my mom and dad could find me. I found a small haystack to sit on right by the petting zoo and I began to keep a watch for my parents.
After a while, I felt in my heart that I was beginning to lose hope. I thought that my parents were never going to find me, since that the circus is a really big place. But before I was going to just let my sorrow out, I heard someone from one of the tents call out to children of all ages to come over and see something that they have never seen before in their life. I got curious as I left the haystack and slowly made my way to that tent and see what was going on. While I was walking over there, I could hear the children singing 'Pop Goes the Weasel'. I drew nearer and peeked behind the curtain. I didn't see anything interesting in there besides the huge stage and an audience full of children from ages six to ten, and on the stage where every kid can see him I spotted a clown."
"Don't tell me, you then ran away from that place in total fear of clowns." Jeff interrupted, trying to get a rise out of the girl.
Jane shook her head. "No. The clown I saw was different from all of the other clowns I had seen in the circus. The regular clowns I seen wear these big polka dot suits that cover the body except for the face and hands, but the one I saw didn't have any of those. He was tall and thin, though he had multicolored clothing on his overalls and he had light blue feathers on his shoulders. He also had a colorful cone nose and bright red hair that reached the top of his shoulders. His eyes were a light blue color that reminded me of a clear blue sky.
It wasn't long until he spotted me from where he was on the stage. I got nervous as he gently calls for me to come and watch with the other children, he even called me by my name in front of everybody."
Jeff narrowed his eyes in confusion while he was driving. He and Jane were out of town by now and is putting the speed limit in the car up to fifty miles per hour. "Is he some sort of stalker or a physic clown?"
"I-I guess you can say that he might be physic," Jane told him. "Then again, I am still not even sure how he knows my name, but that is not all, he even knows what I liked when I was really young. For example, I loved watching butterflies out in my moms garden when spring comes, and right on that stage the clown opens his hands and shows some of the same butterflies I liked looking at. Once when he opened his hands, the butterflies flew over to where I was and landed right on my hair. When he stepped down from the stage in order to come and look for me, I got nervous again and started to back away from the tent. I almost made it out until he began to sing a strange song that stopped me dead in my tracks."
"What did he sing?" Jeff asked, curious.
"Hmm... It start off as "Come little Jane, I'll take thee away. Into a land of Enchantment. Come little Jane, the times come to play, here in my garden of shadows." Jane began to hum the exact tune as she continued to tell the story. "I don't remember the rest of the song, but it was so hypnotic and soothing to listen to. I had no idea of what he was doing to gain my attention, but his song made me forget about my fear and all of the other things as I went to him, no longer afraid of him. It was as if he wiped it away with just a wave of his hand.
After when I got entranced by the tune, the clown took my right hand gently and led me over to the stage. I vaguely remember what the kids said in shock or jealousy, but I suspected that they were trying to be mean to me while I was there. As if he can sense what is making me nervous, the clown turned to the other children with a serious face. I don't know what he said afterwards to the children, but he made them behave when I am playing with them.
I wasn't sure how long I was hanging around in the tent, but an hour later, I noticed right outside of the tent that my parents were looking for me. I got so excited that I ran out to meet them. When they asked me where I went off to, I told them that I was having fun with the one clown that made me feel very special, but when I turned around to show them the tent, it wasn't there at all. The children that were with me in the tent had obviously returned to their families and continued their day as if nothing happened and there was no sign of the clown that was there.
I was later scolded gently by my parents to never run off again and to just be careful when I am not with them. I nodded, telling them that I promise to never do it again. To this time, I could never forget about that clown and that song he sang to me." Jane took a few breathes as she unscrews the cap of her water bottle and takes a drink.
"Did that clown even say what his name is?" Jeff asked her.
Jane shook her head. "Not his full name, no. I kept hearing the kids calling him "L.J." but nothing else. I don't even know who he really is." Jeff decided to let the conversation end there as he continued to drive through the country.
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Some hours later
It was just about evening when Jeff and Jane had entered into the state of Georgia in a place called Redneval Town. The town itself seemed to be a very quiet place where it could be mistaken for a deserted town. Some of the houses looked pretty ancient and others are still recently new. But the one thing that caught the killers' attention was the missing paper signs hanging around the fence, the telephone poles, and on the doors of the houses.
Jane held back a gasp as Jeff parked the car, put on his disguise and got out to take a closer look, the girl later got out in the same fashion as her mentor and stood right beside him to look at one of the pictures. She shivered, seeing that the people on the missing posters are actually children no more than three to ten years old. Whether one child is black or one of them is white or any other race, no matter if its a boy or a girl, the children have gone missing.
"Who would do such a thing in this town?" Jane whispered as she hesitantly touched one of the pictures with her right hand.
"Possibly someone who wants to hold them for ransom or to have their way with them." Jeff guessed his answer as he grabbed onto Jane's hand and squeezed it, but not too tightly on her.
Someone from behind the killers spoke. "No, it is something worse than that, my boy." Jeff and Jane turned around to see who it was, only spotting a old woman who is now watching them from her porch in her rocking chair. It creaked each time she rocks back and forth. Her tired hazel eyes looked at the killers in weariness but it was not enough to make her think that the killers were dangerous. Her grey blanket hid most of her clothing, but Jane could tell that the old woman is wearing a long black nightgown. The old woman's hair is a mixture of gray and white, and her hands and face are shown to have wrinkles.
Jane is the first to come close to the old woman as she asks. "What could be the problem, ma'am?" Jeff came up a few moments later as Jane looked at the old woman who is staring at them in mild curiosity.
"Take that clothing off of your faces." The old woman spoke, surprising the killers. "I want to see who you truly are." Jeff and Jane did as they were asked and are frightened to see if the lady will shriek in terror, but there was no fear in the old woman's eyes as she stared at them. "I can see that you have suffered through a difficult time to get to where you are now. I had a feeling that someone would come and put an end to this nightmare that is haunting my town for quite some time."
"Your not scared of us?" Jeff asked, earning a chuckle from the old woman.
"Oh believe me my dear boy, your face may seem to be scary but I know just by looking in your soul that you are kindhearted." The old lady said to him. "Forgive me for my rudeness, allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Connie, and I suspect that your names start with the letter 'J'?
Somehow the woman's revelations are making the female killer shiver in fright. "How do you know who we are?" Jane asks. "We never told you why we are here."
Connie looks at the girl curiously and speaks out what is on her mind. "For being a retired physic, my talent has never failed to show me what can happen and what will not if I am being careful. As for the reason why I knew you would come, I just had a feeling that you could free my people of the horrible crime that is continuing to rise in this town. I suppose you have seen it, the pictures of the missing children? They have been disappearing from this town for over a couple of weeks now."
"Were they abducted from their home?" Jane asked.
Connie replied. "You could say that, but it appears that the children just walk out of the home as if they were in a trance to go somewhere special. You see, nobody has figured out how and why the children are disappearing from their homes. A few people believe that the children have been taken back home by our heavenly Lord, others think that the children were drawn to somebody who had recently gone through this town. I actually believe that the hypnotist had something to do with the children's behavior as of late. There was one child that did not disappear from us yet, and that is my granddaughter Isabel," The woman gestured to her grandchild who is peeking through the window curtain in the house to spy on the killers. Jane could see that the child has light blond hair and green eyes, but her clothing is hidden behind the curtain.
"Did you do something to make her stay put?" Jeff said in curiosity.
Connie nodded. "To put it simply, I didn't make her stay put in the house whenever the children disappeared, she managed to stay away from that hypnotist and his song by putting a different tune in her head. I know that she likes to sing "Pop Goes the Weasel", but why she chose to sing that song is beyond my reasoning."
There it was again. Jane froze in her spot as she looked back at the girl who is watching her closely. "Maybe it is her favorite song to sing whenever she finds a different song that is annoying." She guessed.
Connie nods her head. "Perhaps you are right. You should try to look for the missing children in the forest. They always seem to disappear in that place for some odd reason." Both of the killers nodded and immediately set off to figure out where the children were taken.
Once they got inside of the forest, Jeff put his disguise back on and led the way as he held onto Jane's hand while swinging his knife in his other hand. The forest looked a little bit dark and spooky as the killers went deeper and deeper into the one place where the children are said to have vanished. "How are we to find the children in this place?" Jane asked while she wrapped her mouth and neck with her scarf.
Jeff shrugged. "Beats me. Perhaps we should keep our ears open for any voices that might be here." He thought he heard a distant cry for help as he followed where the voice came from with Jane following closely behind. Through the darkness of the forest, the killers spotted a shadowy figure of a young boy no more than six years old with grey shorts and a white t-shirt. Jeff called out to the boy. "Hey kid, are you lost? My friend and I are here to take you back home where you belong."
The boy did not respond. As Jeff and Jane drew closer to one of the missing children, they noticed that the boys eyes looked vacant of emotion. He looked like he is completely under a trance. "Little boy?" Jane tried to talk to him. "Are you okay? There is no need to fear us, we are here to-" Suddenly the boy slapped the female killer on her cheek.
Jane didn't move from her spot as she touched the spot where the boy slapped her. She doesn't know whether to be angry at the kid or what, but he was going in for a kick in the face if it wasn't for Jeff grabbing him and pulling him away from the girl.
"Get away from me! Let me go!" The boy yelled as he struggled to break free from Jeff's grip, but it is to no avail since the male killer is not letting the boys punches and kicks get the best of him.
"That will be enough out of you young man." Jeff tried to hush the boy, "I want you to apologize to my friend for slapping her."
The boy looked at Jeff with some sort of death glare as he continued to struggle. "I will not. You will leave me alone, or else-"
Jeff had enough of the boys fighting and clamped his mouth shut with his right hand. Though the boy tried to bite on his hand to make him let go, Jeff did not flinch from the pain. "Oh yeah?" Jeff challenged lightly. "You are going to have to try harder than that to scare us. You are coming home to your family and that is final."
A dark chuckle bellowed behind the male killer. "Why bother taking him home? He already is right where he wants to be." Jeff and Jane tensed as they heard the mysterious person cackle in amusement. Leaning against one of the trees is a tall thin old man with a fluffy grey beard that reached the bottom of his neck. The old man wore a dull yellow colored business suit and a medium sized straw hat resting on top of his head.
Jane could see a small little string that the man is holding firmly in his right hand and at the end of the string there is a small silver circle that has a hole in the middle. "What do you mean by that sir?" She asked.
The old man showed his devious smile as his grey eyes stared at the killers. "Why don't I show you what I mean?" He asked in a amused tone. He raised the string with the silver circle up right in front of his face and began to move only his wrist to swing the weapon in his hand back and forth. Something bright came from the silver circle as Jane blocked her eyes from it, Jeff used his other hand that is not holding the boy to block his eyes. Some sort of spell came upon the killers as they both fell into a comatose state as the old mans laughter echoed through the dark forest.
XXXXXX
Jane blinked her eyes as she searched for Jeff, seeing that he is looking down on her with that concerned look in his unblinking gaze. She could feel his right hand cradling her head as she gets herself to stand up from the ground. "I suppose we have lost sight of our target, have we?" She guessed.
"Yes, for now anyway." Jeff replied softly. "Right now, I think we are stuck in this place." Jane looked around him to see where they are at. She could see some fog on the ground and a few piles of rocks that are in a couple of different spots.
"Where are we?" Jane asked, her black eyes widened in shock.
"From my guess, I think we are in a cave." Jeff said as he shields his eyes from the fog. "A very dark cave. I can hardly see pass the fog here. Come on, Jane, lets see if we can get out."
Unfortunately, it took longer than Jeff thought into getting out of the cave. They seem to be either walking in circles or that they are in some part of the cave where it has many passageways to go through. But while they were walking, the killers could see some of the children in the cave. Each time they tried to talk to the kids, they don't get any responses.
"Something tells me that crazy hypnotist guy has done something to them." Jeff noted with caution.
"He put them under a trance to do whatever he says." A small voice said right behind the killers. Both Jeff and Jane turned to see that the person who spoke to them is none other than Isabel.
Jane immediately went to the girl and picked her up. The little girl lifted her hands to the female killer's shoulders and allowed Jane to carry her. "What on earth are you doing here, Isabel? Does your grandmother know where you went off to?" Jane asked.
Isabel nodded. "Grandma knows what I am doing is a major risk, but I told her I had a feeling that you need my help. As soon as you two left the town, I went out of my way to follow you and make sure that you were safe. I kept myself hidden while you were in the forest searching for the rest of the children, and I did all I could to be sure that Mumbo didn't discover me."
"Mumbo?" Jane raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"That is the hypnotists name." Isabel confirmed. "He has been using hypnotism as a way to get what he wants in life. Now he is mainly using it so that he can have his own amusement with the kids. I have seen what he can do, he will mainly force any child or adult under the hypnosis to listen to his words and to do what he wants. If it is to kill people, he will make them think that they will enjoy the sick game of his, and if he wants someone to kidnap somebody important to the cause, he will make the children do it."
Jeff interrupted. "What I don't understand is how come you are not under his spell, Isabel. How are you able to stay the way you are without being exposed to the hypnosis?"
Isabel explained as her right hand searched through her small little backpack. Jane can easily see that the young girls dress is a mixture of black and white flower patterns. "As long as I have LJ's candy with me, I will be safe from Mumbo and his crazy pendulum."
"W-wait a second. Did you just say the name LJ?" Jane questioned.
Isabel nodded. "Yes. Not too long ago before Mumbo appeared in my town to kidnap the children, LJ came and visited us. When he was playing with me in hide and go seek, he told me of what is to come and to be on the lookout for Mumbo. I didn't understand him at first because I thought that he is just joking around, but I later realized that he speaks the truth. Before he left the town to help out the rest of the children in the world, LJ gave me some of his candy and told me that if I eat one little piece of candy I will be safe from Mumbo. To this day, I have kept his candy safely with me until I really needed it the most. Just a few days ago, I heard Mumbo calling me and the other kids in the middle of the night singing his wretched song, I quickly popped one candy into my mouth and wanted to see if what LJ said is true. It did help keep me from thinking about following Mumbo to his cave, but his song still haunted me inside of my head, trying to break through the shield that LJ created. So when I was completely stuck in a place where I wasn't sure of what to do, I quietly sang the one nursery song I could come up with..."
"And that song is Pop Goes the Weasel." Jane finished, astonished. Isabel smiled brightly as she hugged Jane.
"You have his box, don't you Jane?" Isabel finally asked.
"Wait... You don't mean that the box Jeff and I have is LJ's box?" Jane guessed in surprise. Isabel nodded once again, telling the female killer that it is true.
"I think you should call him right away so that he can help you clean up the mess that Mumbo created." The young girl said.
Jeff shook his head. "We can't call on him yet. Slendy told me and Jane that we can play with the box only if we absolutely need help. I suggest we get out of here as fast as possible and deal with the guy right now." However as soon as he took one step, he felt that the floor is cracking from underneath him and the girls. "What the-!"
The rocky floor caved in as Jeff quickly pulled Jane and Isabel away from the floor that is cracking with each step they took, but it wasn't enough as they fell right into the darkness of the cave. Jane held Isabel close to her chest as she and Jeff fell through the dark abyss.
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Jeff landed first into a pile of dirt as he slammed into the ground on his back while Jane and Isabel followed afterword by slamming onto his gut. Jane quickly got off of her mentor as she got herself up off the dusty ground, she even dusted off Isabel's black and white dress to try to make it neat. Jeff regained his composure as he began to stand up and look around the place.
Nothing seems to be standing out in the fog but two cliffs on the opposite sides of the walls are present. Jane lets Isabel stand on her own two feet as the little girl stays close to the killers by holding onto their hands. Jeff and Jane begin to walk through the cave as a couple of shadow figures of the children are watching them from the cliffs.
Some of the children are as young as three, others look like they are seven years old, and some are as old as ten years of age. But as the killers walked farther into the cave, they could see that some of the children are now fully grown adults. Maybe they were kidnapped a long time ago?
"There is no light for you, only shades." One boy said in a trance.
"Soon Isabel, you will join us when your mind belongs to Mumbo." Another boy said in a monotonous voice. This came from the same boy who slapped Jane before she and Jeff got taken to the cave.
Isabel shook her head. "Please, open your eyes and look at what Mumbo is doing to you, Matthew. Can't you see that he is using you?"
The children looked at her with no expression written on their faces. "Mumbo is our friend and he will never hurt us the way our parents did. You should be thankful that you are finally out of your grandmothers reach. That crazy old lady is kinda stupid anyway." One girl said.
"Do not speak about my grandmother that way, Megan!" Isabel growled at the girl with curly red hair and big brown eyes. "What will your mother say from such language you are using?"
"Do not make me remember who I belong to." Megan said in disgust, though her expression is vacant like everyone else. "You will come to Mumbo sooner or later, Isabel. Why are you not joining in on the fun? We can be together with Mumbo in this cave and we won't have to worry over what everyone else thinks."
Isabel shook her head and said nothing. She pulled on Jane and Jeff's hands as they continued to go through the cave.
At the end of the cave, the killers spotted two old men, one is kneeling on the wall barely alive as he takes slow and even breathes, the other old man is lying on the ground not moving at all as his empty eyes stared at the rocks on his side.
The killers could tell that the one old man won't have very much long to live, but the one thing they were worried about is Isabel since that she has been very quiet lately. Jane broke the ice as she asked. "You okay?" She could tell that Isabel's tears are starting to break out underneath her eyes. "Just try to ignore what that one girl, Megan, said about your grandmother. I don't think that the girl is in her right mind at all."
Isabel choked back a sob as she tries to stay strong. "She was my best friend long before Mumbo came into our town. Why did he have to imprison them inside of their minds and promise false happiness to them? They have no idea that he is imprisoning their minds like they are just some toys in a box."
Jane held Isabel close as she tries to comfort the girl while Jeff examined the one old man who is struggling to stay alive. He almost had the urge to puke when he got close to the decomposing corpse of the other old man.
Jane rubbed the little girls back as she tries to come up with a little tune to calm her. Isabel somehow beat her to it by mumbling a few words into the female killers chest. Jane could not catch what the beginning lyrics were, but she caught the last paragraph. "Weep not poor children, for life is this way, murdering beauty and passions." Isabel sang slowly.
Jane froze upon hearing the lyrics. "Isabel, what is the name of the song you just sang?"
"Its actually LJ's song I am reciting." Isabel said as she wiped off her tears. "It calms me whenever I feel scared or if I feel like I want to cry." Jane looked at the girl as if she was taking nonsense, but she suddenly remembered the same tune that the mysterious clown was singing back when she was at the circus.
"Um, Isabel do you mind if I ask you something?" Jane asked softly. The girl nodded, telling the female silently to speak what is on her mind. "Do you know what your friend LJ's real name is? Can you give me his full name?"
Isabel suddenly screamed and pointed to what is behind Jane, but the older girl is a second too late as she got severely knocked sideways in the head and is pushed away by a strong force that she could not see in the fog. Jeff jumped in shock as he quickly came over from where he was to protect Isabel from the unseen force. He took out his butcher knife and slashed at the attacker who was about to grab the girl, succeeding in making the mysterious person back away a few steps.
Jeff crouched down, telling Isabel to climb on his back. She grabbed tightly onto him as he got himself back up on his feet and runs straight to where Jane is laying on the ground. Jane struggled to get herself up as Jeff shook her awake from the little blow she had on her head, but she manages to get herself back together enough so that she pulls out her knife, getting ready to strike down whoever comes near the little girl she and her mentor have to protect.
Jane and Jeff stop in their tracks as soon as they discovered who they are fighting. It was the children, and out of reach by another cliff stood Mumbo the hypnotist as he grins evilly at the sight. "Well, well, looks like I might be able to add another young child to my collection. Its such a shame you killers would stand a chance to protect her from me. No matter, I will break her strong spirit as soon as I dispose of you two."
Jeff growled as he looked at the hypnotist. "Why are you kidnapping the children? What did they ever do to make you use them as your slaves?"
The hypnotist chuckled, ignoring the killers question with a wave of his hand. "I do not know how long she has avoided my hospitality that I am going to give her, but I will give her another chance as long as she stays with me where she will be safe and happy and to get away from her grandmother." His attention turned to Isabel as he swings his pendulum back and forth. "So Isabel, would you like to come and stay with me? I promise that I can give you what your grandmother cannot. Your friends are waiting for you to join them."
Isabel shook her head as she took out one of the candies that she has in her bag and plucks it into her mouth. "Why would I go with a monster like you? You took my friends away from me, and to add to that, you want me to make my grandmother worried sick by my disappearance just to allow you to haunt her dreams. You are a sick minded fool and I will not go with you no matter how many times you try!"
The hypnotist shrugged as he gave her a look that told her that he will not allow her to be set free. He began to sing a little song that put the brainwashed children on high alert. "Come Little Children, come with me, safe and happy you will be. Be rid of the intruders here, make sure they will not spoil my plans, bring the young girl here to me, I will arrange her memories so that she can see how happy she will be."
Obeying the hypnotists command, the brainwashed children began to stalk over to the killers. "Jeff, what should we do?" Jane asked as she and her mentor keep backing away from the children.
"We can't just hurt the children to get to the hypnotist. It could cost them their lives and I don't want to be the one to end it and it shouldn't be your duty to end it either Jane." Jeff told her as he keeps pushing some of the children away from him and Isabel who is still clinging onto his back.
"All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel..." Isabel sings the nursery tune to block out Mumbo's song from her head. Jane looked at the girl as she remembers the other children in her childhood at the circus singing the tune to summon LJ the clown. Jane wasted no time as she takes the toy box out of her mentors sweatshirt pocket and began to turn the lever.
At first, the lever would not budge an inch, but it slowly moved in a circular motion to where Jane is guiding it. Jeff looked at Jane quickly before he returned his gaze to the hypnotist as he wonders how the heck he and Jane were to get to the crazy old man. The answer he figured out was simple, he and Jane could not get to the man without hurting the children. But someone else who has experience with the children could.
As Jane pulled the lever up and pushed it down, she and Jeff could hear the same tune that Isabel was singing. The music coming from the box seemed to be way different from Isabel's version of the song. Whereas the song Isabel sings sounded joyful, the music box's tune is a little bit spooky and off key. The music box reached the end of the song it played as Jeff, Jane, and Isabel sang along with the final verse. "Pop Goes the Weasel."
The top of the box swings open but nothing comes out, not a jack in the box clown or anything that Jane expected to see in there, just some sort of grey smoke that was rising out of its prison. The box looks completely empty. Jane and Jeff felt dread as they wondered why the box did not work.
"Is this some sort of joke you are trying to pull with me?" The hypnotist chuckled as he ordered one of the kids to take the toy box away from the female killers grip, Jane looked at the box in confusion. "Did you honestly think that a worn out jack in the box toy would make me and my little friends stop what we are doing? Well, you thought wrong kids."
The hypnotist commanded the kids to take the killers and Isabel away to their respective prisons as Jeff and Jane slowly backed away from the small army of children. One of the children threw away the toy box to the wall and watched as it got crushed underneath the rocks.
Somehow, Jane had enough of the nonsense as she gets in front of Jeff and Isabel and forces the kids to back away from her by the black flames in her eyes. Taking out her knife, Jane shouted. "If you kill Isabel and my friend Jeff, you kill me!"
"I already told you, I am going to add the young girl to my collection of toys. You and your killer friend are not suitable to be with her anymore." Mumbo said in a cold tone of voice. "My children, take the meddling adults away from here." The hypnotist waited to see if the children he has under his control were going to do what he said, but the strangest thing is that they were not moving an inch.
"What are you waiting for? Get rid of those fools once and for all." Mumbo commanded with a shout. Again, the children are not moving from their spots, they just stood still like statues. "You good for nothing brats, you will do as I say!"
Just then, a youthful yet mature voice called out from the shadows behind the hypnotist. "I'd watch what you say in front of the children if I were you, Mumbo." The hypnotists eyes shot open in surprise as he turned his gaze to where the toy box was thrown at. Jeff and Jane did the same as Isabel muttered toward Jeff's ear, "LJ is here."
Out from the shadows came the one clown that Jane remembered seeing from her childhood. The clown LJ still had the same rainbow colored outfit and the bright red hair and his colorful cone nose. He looked like he didn't age a day. He is still the same, youthful, funny and kind clown that she remembered playing with.
"What gives you the right to tell me what to do, clown?" Mumbo insulted the colorful being standing before him.
LJ simply stated calmly. "I don't have the right, I am just reminding you to watch your language, Wyatt." The hypnotist jumped in shock as he asked the clown how did he know his name. "Call it a gift I am still using from the angel that created me long time ago. I know you remember me playing with you back when you were but a seven year old child." He sighed as he looks down to the ground. "All I can say is that I am very disappointed in you, kiddo. I thought that you are going to do something good from the happiness I gave you, but now you turned your happiness into your own obsession. The only way you figured out how to fill in your void of loneliness is to kidnap children and hold them hostage inside of your hypnosis for a long time to come. Now that my new friends are asking for my help, I will gladly take you out."
Mumbo scoffed. "You are just an imaginary freak. I don't need you or anyone else but my little friends here, so I command you to go away!" He threw his pendulum right at the clown's feet, seeing that his small device is glowing as it exploded, giving off a loud blast in the cave. The clown did not flinch or do anything as the hypnotist watched him being engulfed into the burning flames.
Jeff and Jane are too stunned to speak or move from their spot as they watched the flames die out. The smoke from the blast of flames are still present where the rainbow clown stood. Mumbo smiled, seeing that he got rid of the intruder, but when he turned around to continue what he was doing with the killers, he felt a cold jolt running up and down his spine as he turned his attention back to the smoke.
Still standing where he is, the clowns colorful body began to turn completely monochrome as the rainbow colors dropped down to the ground in a puddle. As the colors began to fade from his body, the clowns once white pale fingers turned black and are revealed to be as sharp as knives. His straight red hair turned black and mangled with twisted locks and his arms hung down like a ragdoll. When his sharp fingers touched the ground, the hypnotist and the killers could hear some scrapping noises.
When the black and white clown smiled, his teeth are shown to be sharp and jagged underneath his twisted grin. With a bone chilling raspy voice, the clown spoke. "You always did forget to call me Laughing Jack, didn't you Wyatt? Didn't you miss me at all?"
The hypnotist could not believe his eyes at what the clowns true identity is, neither could Jeff and Jane for the matter. "You are suppose to just disappear. Why didn't you just go away?" Mumbo asked in a stutter, clearly the clown is freaking him out.
Laughing Jack replied with a long horrifying cackle. "Hahahaha! I've been waiting for such a long time to teach you a lesson kiddo. I could not lay a hand on you back when you were just a kid, but now I can play with you... One. Last. Time!"
Author's Note: I hope you enjoy Laughing Jack's first appearance in this story. Even I have been waiting for a long time to bring him out and I had to do it as good as possible. The next chapter will be just as fun for me to write. Review if you need to as I write out the next chapter.
