Ch. 31 The Clock Tower's Clock Stopped
Laura was the first one to realize that there was a door that led to the outside. When Laura saw it, she pointed it out. "Hey! Where does that go?"
Everyone looked where she pointed. "That's probably to the top of the clock tower." said Joshua.
"The top of the clock tower? We must be at the top of the mansion right now!" said Laura.
"Oh no! I don't wanna think about heights right now!" exclaimed Anne.
"Come on Anne! You just climbed up a tall ladder earlier! It shouldn't be a problem!" Joshua joked.
"Yeah, why don't you go first!" Jennifer teased.
Like Jennifer, Anne shot Jennifer an irritated look.
'Now you know how I feel!' Jennifer said in her head with satisfaction.
Laura giggled at the girls' cattiness.
"Come on everyone, let's go outside and see what we can find!" he suggested
"Yes! Let's get out of here!" cheered Laura.
"Oh no." complained Anne.
"Um…..you guys go ahead. I'll stay here." Jennifer looked at the switches again.
"What?" Laura was surprised.
"Jenny what's wrong? We wanna stay together." said Joshua.
"Maybe she's afraid of heights!" teased Anne to get back at Jennifer.
Jennifer sighed. "You remember earlier when I said that I'm trying to piece together this mystery? I really meant that."
"What mystery? You already know that Scissorman and Mrs. Mary wanna kill us and that she's a Satanist! What other 'piece' do you need?" Anne frowned.
"Well Anne, that 'piece' is that note that I found in one of these rooms earlier." replied Jennifer.
"You're really concerned about a note when we're all in danger of getting killed?" Laura frowned at Jennifer as well.
"Do you think that note has something to do with Scissorman or Mrs. Mary?" asked Joshua.
"I don't know Josh. Why don't you guys leave me be? Go ahead! I'll be fine! I just need time to think, that's all." Jennifer looked at the gears this time.
The other 3 looked at each other.
Laura looked back at Jennifer. "Are you sure Jennifer? We don't want you to get hurt or even worse…killed! We wanna stay together like Joshua said.
Jennifer turned around, smiled at Laura and placed her right hand on Laura's shoulder. "Thanks Laura but I'll be fine…..I promise."
Laura looked into Jennifer's eyes for about 5 seconds and felt reassured. "Okay."
"Go ahead! I'll be alright Laura!" She let go of Laura's shoulder, encouraging her to go with the others.
"Yeah! She'll be alright!" teased Anne once again.
"If you need us Jenny, we'll be right here." said Joshua confidently.
Jennifer smiled at him. "Thanks Josh!"
The others walked outside.
As soon as she heard the door shut, Jennifer turned her attention back to those 2 switches. "I wonder if those switches operate the actual clock tower gears. But I don't wanna make any noise. Still, I can't get over that note I found in that room. There's a mystery that needs to be solved. I need to understand what 'adherence' means." As Jennifer got into deep thought, she began to tune out the outside world.
While this happened, someone started climbing up the tall ladder the gang climbed earlier.
Jennifer then walked over to the rails where the gears were. She wanted to get a good look at them. For some reason, the clock tower operation seemed to fascinate her just like it did Laura. "Hmm…..I don't know why I'm attracted to these cogs. Maybe it's got something to do with that note I can't get over. After all, it did say that the clock tower's clock stopped. So here I am."
As if she was a kid on a field trip at a factory, Jennifer looked the cogs and saw how they were arranged to make the clock tower work. "Wow! This looks so amazing! I sort of feel like a kid on a field trip at a factory! Except…there's a serial killer!" As if on cue, Jennifer heard a familiar zing noise. Immediately, her heart rate went from normal rate to what felt like someone pounding on her heart like a pair of drums.
"Oh no! It's him!" Jennifer didn't wanna turn around, but she didn't have a choice. She could either keep daydreaming about a field trip and risk being killed or snap back to reality and survive! As soon as she turned around, Jennifer screamed as loud as she could. "Heeeeelp!...Josh!...Anne!…..Laura!...Help me!"
But for some reason, they didn't come to her rescue. What kind of friends didn't respond to their friend screaming for help?
Jennifer wondered that. 'Why aren't they responding? Are they afraid? Do they care? Was everything they said a lie? Was everything Josh said a lie? I thought he really cared for me? I thought they all cared for me? Are they really my friends? Or maybe they knew Scissorman would come and warned me that we needed to stay together?
Maybe they were right! Maybe I should have went with them! Perhaps it is my fault!' she wondered in her mind. Jennifer felt terrible. How could her friends betray her like that after all they've been through so far, especially Joshua? He's supposed to be the gentlemen of the group! What a friend he turned out to be! Bursting into tears, Jennifer was about to run to the door but then she thought, 'If I go outside, me and the gang will be stuck on top of the clock tower! If I climb down the ladder, that'll be a dead end! What should I do?'
Scissorman snapped his scissors loud and clearly and came towards her without mercy. Jennifer's tears didn't faze him at all.
Jennifer looked around for a possible solution. She felt cornered. It was a death trap! How was she going to get out of this? Would Jennifer and her friends finally get killed like Mrs. Mary and Scissorman planned after all? Was this the end? Was this a dead end? Jennifer had to think of something quick! She had no weapons to fight Scissorman with! But then, she remembered…the switches!
She quickly side stepped him and ran to the panel. "Maybe I can make him fall into the cogs!" She hurried and pulled both switches turning on the clock. She heard the gears start to move and work together. Now all Jennifer had to do was lure him in there…..but how? Well, fortunately, she didn't have to do a thing.
Scissorman seemed to hate the sound of cogs spinning together. So he threw his giant shears down and walked himself into the cogs and fell.
Jennifer gasped when she heard him fall to the ground. She didn't wanna see him get crushed so she didn't bother going over there. The giant monster is dead, Scissorman's dead and now what to do about Mrs. Mary? After encountering Scissorman for the first time after a long time, Jennifer figured she should take a breather before doing anything else. She felt a little traumatized after seeing him again.
Jennifer listened to the clockwork of the gears and it was somehow comforting to her. Maybe silence was detrimental when your life was in danger! She put her back against the wall, slowly slid down to the ground and sighed. "I wonder where Mrs. Mary is."