text: Hello here's a short story I wrote, hope you enjoy: “You're never going to believe what I found!" "Come on, just tell me." "It's so cool..." "Yeah right, come on, stop dragging it out." The two girls were in a dimly lit room, the dank haze of the weed they smoked still lingered. The taller girl sat on the bed while the shorter one stood, and hid something behind her back. A small black cat lay on the bed, staring at them, seemingly disinterested. From behind her back the shorter friend pulled out a thin, rectangular shaped package and presented it with a smile." All right, fine, here you go. Happy Birthday, Samie!" Samie moved off the bed, the cat looking over at them annoyed at the disturbance, and reached for the present. "Finally. Was that so hard?" she asked sarcastically, but smiled in thanks. The excitement was apparent on Codi's face as she watched her unwrap the present. A puzzled expression crossed Samie's face. "Uhm, what is this, a painting?" she asked. "Isn't it amazing?" "I don't know, I'm not that into clowns." Turning the painting over to Codi, the light fell over it, illuminating its features. It wasn't a very good painting, or even complete, but there was something off about it. The clown was bald, except for two tufts of purple hair on either side of his head. His features were sloppy, giving him an odd look. His face was painted all white, except for around his eyes, they were surrounded by a deep black shadow. Although the artist was clearly not very skilled, the eyes of the clown were almost life like, further emphasized by the darkness around them. His red lips were twisted in a goofy smile that was too big for his face, but above that there was an ugly red smear. It seemed to start from the edge of his mouth, but abruptly became a thick line sloping down. "What happened here?" Samie, asked pointing at the streak. "Well, that's what so cool about it," Codi answered with a mysterious smile. "What? Is it blood, or something?" "Nope, paint. Guess again!" "I don't know just tell me!" "Boo, you're no fun." Codi moved over to sit on the bed and slowly started to scratch the cat's head. "I bought it at an estate sale," she began, "I was visiting my grandma and it was happening next door. Apparently, the lady had a stroke and died... while she was painting that." Realization swept over Samie's face, "Is this..." "Her very last stroke." "Woah... That's amazing." she said quietly. "Exactly. She had no family so they just sold all her stuff. I got it pretty cheap, no one else seemed to be too interested...for some reason. I think he's kind of cute... in the right light." "His eyes are kind of creepy" Samie said quietly. "Nah, you're just imagining things now that I told you where I got it." "Hmm, I guess so. He's still a creep though. But this is still so awesome, thank you!" Samie said, as she placed the painting on the wall. "Whatever," Codi said with a smile "let's smoke." The room grew hazier as the night grew longer, with the friends eventually falling asleep. Right before unconsciousness was about to take Samie, she thought she heard a very faint laugh. Samie awoke with a start. Her room had grown dark except for the TV. Sitting up, a sense of fear crept up her spine. She could feel a pair of eyes looking at her from somewhere in the darkness. Looking around she could see that Codi was lying next to her, her deep snores hinting at a restful sleep. I'm just being paranoid, she thought. Laying back down she closed her eyes, but she could still feel the intense stare on her. She could feel her body shaking slightly, something seemed lodged in her throat making it hard to breathe. Don't panic, she thought to herself, just open your eyes. But they didn't want to obey, they almost felt welded shut. Fuck, fuck, fuck! With what felt like all her might, she managed to slowly open her eyes. The clown stared down at her with his stupid grin, she almost felt like closing her eyes again. Even in the dark his eyes still somehow stood out with their chilling life like quality. She could feel the goosebumps start to form on her arms, but what she saw next made her heart stop. The clown's wide grin seemed to be getting bigger, until his lips parted revealing no teeth in his mouth, only more darkness. No matter how impossibly big the smile seemed to spread, his eyes never got smaller. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. All she could do was lay there and stare directly into the clown's eyes. She suddenly heard a soft noise make its way through her panic. She wasn't sure what it was, but she could feel the panic start to leave. She could feel herself breathe normally and her heart slowly getting back to a safer rate. Her mind a bit clearer, she realized the noise was Codi's small snores. Feeling better Samie sat up, and looked over at the clown. She couldn't really see it anymore, somehow it seemed less visible now. She stood up and flipped the clown to face the wall. Laying back down she fell asleep rather quickly, remembering the night's events simply as a vague nightmare. The clown, facing the girls, looked down and smiled. It was a few nights later, when a noise startled Samie awake. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but everything seemed quiet now. She sat up, realizing that she fell asleep on her couch. She yawned, nudging the sleepy cat off her legs so she could head to her room. She had only taken two steps when- "Hhuhh huh huh ha ha ha ha ha..." A disturbingly high-pitched laugh pierced through the silence sending waves of chills up her arms. Everything in the dark seemed to give off an eerie vibe, every shadow was menacing as she looked around the living room. Her heart seemed like it was trying to make its way out of her chest, like a rodent that knows it's been trapped. "It's all in my head" she whispered. At this the laugh rang even louder, this time echoing around the room. "Hhuhh huh huh ha ha ha HA HA..." Although it rang all around her, the sound seemed to be coming from her room. Her legs felt like lead as she began to move towards it, almost as if they feared what was waiting for her. She turned the corner, past Codi's room, and into the hallway as her door came into view. The glow of her light coming from under the door was the only source of illumination. Step by step she moved closer, did it always take this long to get there? The closer she approached the more muffled and silent everything became, she could feel the pressure pushing against her skull. She inched her way closer, when something large seemed to move in her room to stand on the other side of her door, partially covering up the light. Samie instantly stopped, looking at the shadow under the door. The pressure was too much, she felt like she couldn't breathe, as if she was underwater. The shadow seemed to shift, moving closer from the other side of the door. "Hhuhh huh huh ha ha HA HA HA!" She could feel her body physically react to the laugh, her arms tensing at her side as a wave of nausea rolled over her. It can't be, there's nothing there... "Huhhh huh huh HA HA HA HA HA!" Samie was sure the laugh was now coming from inside her, that's the only way it could be so impossibly loud. What if she just went back to the couch? Her fingertips brushed the doorknob, any further and she'd be touching it, but she seemed unable to continue. The iciness of the doorknob seemed to move from it and up her arm. Why couldn't she continue? "HUHH HUH HUH HA! HA! HA! HA!" The laugh bounced around in her head, getting louder with every reverberation. She felt so weak. How she was still up, she didn't know, but she could feel her hand fighting to turn the knob. She felt the presence of someone just on the other side. Holding her breath, she pushed against the door, the light in her room blinded her. Blinking the clarity back to her eyes, she looked around, realizing that she was back in her bed. "You can't still be freaked out by the painting, can you? Codi asked, a few weeks later. "Well I'm not scared, I just... feel like it's not right." Samie slowly says. "I feel like I haven't been sleeping well, and I think I've been having nightmares." "Why are you so unsure?" "I don't know I just haven't been feeling myself lately." Codi looked at her friend with worry, then up at the painting. "Hey, you touched it up a bit, it looks nice." "What do you mean?" Samie asks confused, "I haven't done anything to it, it looks the same." "Oh, come on, you can't fool me, I know that was you." Codi says with a non-believing look. "I know you can do it. It looks a bit more filled out, even the shading is nicer. Wow, you're good." "Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I did," she says exasperated. "I mean, why would I even do that? Just to mess with you? Please." After a pause, "That's not the only thing... I can't even be alone in my room at times, I just feel like he's watching me. Sometimes I think I can even hear him laugh." Codi looked at Samie. She was worried how scared she looked. Looking over at the painting, a very fleeting sense of cold dread swept over her. "Well I still thinking you're being just a bit paranoid. It doesn't seem all that bad to me. Maybe you should lay off the pot" she said with a smile. "I can't really imagine how that would be of any help" she said with smiling at the joint she had just pulled out. "It's the only thing keeps me going." The sense of unease, the sense of dread was melted off of her and replaced with rolling waves of peace. Samie smiled, not really listening to what Codi was saying. It's not that she didn't care, but nothing mattered. Her eyes began to droop, she was slowly losing the fight with sleep. Gravity intensified as she was absorbed into the bed in a deep sleep. Mreow! Samie's eyes jerked open at the sound of her cat. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she let out a small yawn as she heard him again outside her room. He probably wants to sleep in here, she thought. Moving slowly to not wake Codi, she got off the bed and carefully made her way through the dark. Reaching for the door, she slipped out and turned on the hallway light. Mreow! She heard him again somewhere else in the house, probably in the living room. He probably wants food, not to be let in, she thought with a small chuckle. She gave the living room a quick scan, still not seeing him."Hey where are you? Here kitty, kitty." she said trying to be quiet. Mreow! She grew very tense as now she could hear he sounded scared. "Kitty!" she said much louder. She turned on the light and started to frantically look around as the cat growled louder. It took her a couple of minutes to find him as he'd hidden himself under the kitchen cabinets. No matter how much she nudged or called him she couldn't make him come out. He simply stared at her, unblinking. "What's wrong? Are you going to stay there all night?" she asked him. He didn't respond, but continued to stare, when- "Aaahhhh! Samie!" The screams punctured the silence, filling the house with terror. "Codi! Codi! What's wrong!?!" she yelled as the screaming continued. She ran towards the direction of her room. Adrenaline pumped through her as she dashed through the living room. "Aaaaahhhhh!" "Codi!" She hadn't stopped yelling since she started. What could be possibly going on? Right as the she passed Codi's door, she heard something that made her stop in fear. Deafening silence. It enveloped her, surrounding her with fear. She tried to call for Codi, but couldn't manage to make any sounds. She stood there paralyzed in terror, unsure of what to do. The silence remained unbroken as the seconds slipped by, but she knew what she had to do. Using willpower she didn't even know she had, she made her way towards her door. Her heart was pounding, every frantic beat a bombastic boom inside her body. She could feel every sense on max alert, every hair standing on edge as she reached the door. Closing her eyes, Samie gulped and turned the knob. She could feel the cold air from her room brush her face, as she opened her eyes to the dark room. She flipped the switch for the light, but...nothing happened. Worried, she pulled out her phone to use in the dark. "Codi!?"she called. No answer. She moved towards the bed and flashed the light onto it. But she wasn't there. The bed was empty, the blanket hanging from the bed onto the floor. She could feel panic as she looked around the empty room. Shining the light up at the clown painting, her mouth dropped open as she stared up at it. The painting still hung on its frame... but the clown wasn't there. Samie couldn't take it anymore. She started running when from behind her she heard: HUHH! HUH! HUH! HA! HA! HA! HA! Samie's blood turned to ice as she froze in place. The room no longer felt empty, she could feel someone behind her. Please be Codi, she thought, please... Turning, she could see a figure standing in the darkest part of the room. One thing she was sure of, it was much too tall to be Codi. The figure was completely in the shadows but in the dark she could make out a large pair of bright red spats. Then, it moved towards her. As they made contact with the floor, a shrill "squeak!" rang. It was almost funny, but each one sent an icy shock through her body as they approached. Now closer to the light, she could see him, the clown. As soon as she saw its face, or what could be called a face, a feeling of cold dread that stole her breath made its way through her body. The clown's eyes were gone, only large gaping holes remained, its red lips turned into a wide smile, revealing more darkness. The three holes began to shift almost as if reacting to her fear. They grew and grew as it got closer. When the clown stood directly in front of her, they had melded together to form one large void of dark terror that seemed to go past the back of its skull. The unbelievable darkness swept around her as she slowly became a part of it. I'm trapped... it's over, she thought. Just before she was fully enveloped, she could hear the clown's laugh... but now it was also hers.