012 - Home Alone

Julia Kennington checked her makeup in the mirror one last time. Tonight was the first time she was going on a date in five years and she was determined for things to go perfectly. That meant she had to look perfect. She turned to her son and smiled.

“Well?”

“Well what?” Kevin asked. He was twelve years old and was more interested in the game on his Nintendo DS than he was in the appearance of his mother.

“Don’t be a brat. How do I look?”

He glanced at her briefly before returning to his game, “Fine.”

Julia took that as a perfect compliment. She fished in her purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, “This is for pizza. I want the change back.” She said, knowing full well it would disappear into Kevin’s Playstation Fund jar, “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m twelve, Mom! You’re only gonna be gone a few hours anyway.”

“You call me if anything.”

“If anything, I know.”

Julia ruffled Kevin’s dark hair and kissed him on the forehead just as the doorbell rang, “Don’t stay up too late!” She grabbed her purse and walked down the hall towards the front door. Her shoes clacking on the hard wood floor. Kevin watched as she opened the door and was kissed on the cheek by a man with graying hair. He waved at Kevin.

“Dick.” Kevin whispered and pushed himself deeper into the couch.

“I love you, Kevin!” His mother called out and disappeared out the front door.

Kevin heard them laughing together as they walked down the front walk. He stood up and dropped his DS on the couch cushion. With a sigh, he walked out of the living room and to the front door. He peaked out the side window and watched as his mother climbed into Dick’s car. He closed the door for her and jogged around to the driver’s side. Kevin let the curtain fall and twisted the deadbolt locked. He looked up the stairs and into the dark hall to his left. He was home alone for the first time.

Thirty-eight minutes later Kevin was sitting again on the couch in the living room with a hot pizza in his lap and seven dollars in his pocket for the Playstation Fund. He flipped through the channels searching for something to watch while he ate his pizza.

He settled on some movie about a haunted house and hungrily munched away while some ghost wreaked havoc on a young couple. As the film progressed, Kevin was growing more and more apprehensive by being alone in the house. The film was creeping him out to the point that he didn’t even want to eat anymore. He shut his pizza box and set it aside. He glanced around for the TV remote and quickly flipped the horror movie off. The channel switched to a news broadcast and a dour looking woman was describing a prison break that had happened earlier in the evening.

“…has escaped. He was sentenced to life in prison five years ago after a being convicted of eight homicides. His crime spree was the stuff of horror films as he stalked and killed his victims while dressed up as a clown.”

Kevin quickly shut off the television, “REXIE!” He yelled and a Golden Retriever bounded into the room. The dog leapt over the back of the couch and landed firmly in Kevin’s lap. Rexie licked Kevin’s face leaving a trail of drool behind.

“Good boy!” Kevin wiped the spit away from his face and grabbed his DS, “Let’s go to bed, Rexie!” He grabbed the cordless phone and walked out of the Living Room.

Kevin was pretending to be brave by turning off the lights in the lower floor of the house. In truth, he was getting more and more scared with each room that fell into darkness.

He paused briefly at the front door, which was directly in front of the stairs, and peaked out the side windows. The porch was empty and the street beyond was dark. Kevin checked the locks and finally satisfied he walked upstairs. Rexie followed obediently.

Kevin walked into his room and closed the door. He quickly changed into his pajamas and turned on the baseball bat lamp next to his bed. He turned off the ceiling light and climbed into bed. He played his DS for a bit longer while Rexie slept with his head across Kevin’s leg until his eyes begin to droop and close against his will. Eventually, he could fight it no longer and closed his game and settled in for sleep.

He didn’t know what caused him to awaken but his heart was pounding in his chest. He pushed back his blanket and pulled his legs from beneath Rexie’s sleeping body. He slid out of bed and padded across the room to his window.

The street outside was quiet and dark. There were streetlights casting perfect round circles every few feet but the rest of the street was shrouded in darkness. Kevin pressed his head closer to the glass and struggled to see further. His breath fogged the window. He wiped it away and squinted. That was when he saw it: two red semicircles, just barely inside a circle of light. They looked like the tips of a pair of plastic shoes, large floppy shoes.

“Clown shoes.” Kevin whispered and jumped back from the window. He had to fight himself to keep from running back to his bed and hiding. Instead, he gathered his courage and looked out the window again. The small half circles of plastic clown shoe were gone. The street appeared empty, not a soul or a clown to be seen.

Kevin let out a sigh and returned to his bed. He must have imagined what he saw. He gently pet Rexie and moved to lie back down but stopped when he heard a knock at the front door. He leapt to his feet and looked at the clock. It clicked over to 12:35 just as another knock sounded at the door.

A deep growl came from Rexie and he barked loudly.

“Shh!” Kevin stepped to his door and quietly walked out into the hallway. He peaked around the corner so that he could see down the stairs. He stepped quietly around the corner and slowly made his way down the stairs.

The knocking continued.

Rexie bolted past Kevin and was furiously barking at the front door. Kevin rushed down the stairs and grabbed Rexie’s collar.

The knocking stopped.

Kevin released Rexie’s collar. He stepped up to the door and stretched to look out the peephole. He saw a red balloon bobbing in front of the peephole. Kevin fell back just as something large slammed into the door. Kevin grabbed for Rexie who was cowering in fear.

Kevin ran up the stairs just as he heard glass shatter behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw a white gloved hand and a polka dotted sleeved arm snaking through the side window. The fingers stretched to reach the deadbolt but it was too far to reach. The arm retracted and as Kevin reached the top of the stairs the front door exploded in a shower of wood as the dead bolt is kicked free of the doorjamb. Kevin heard the heavy metal bounce of the hardwood floor as he disappeared into his room with Rexie right behind him. He quickly slammed his door shut.

The Clown stepped into the house. He was tall, almost freakishly so, and heavy. His strength was evident even beneath the baggy polka dot clothing. He had bushy red hair that surrounded the pale white bald area at the top of his head. Even the wide smile painted over his white face could not hide the madness that was just beneath the surface. His eyes were wild and darting from side to side in search of his prey. The red balloon was tied to his finger. He slipped it off and let it float to the ceiling. He glanced around the foyer and let his eyes rise up the stairs.

Kevin struggled to push his dresser in front of his door. It was moving so slowly but finally the large wooden chest slid in front of the door. He quickly grabbed the phone and pressed the on button. There was nothing. Not a busy signal, not a tone, just silence.

“No…no…no.” He whispered and looked around him. He rushed to the window and pushed it open. He could jump down but that would certainly break his legs, “Help! Someone! Help me!” He screamed as loud as he could but his only response was the turning of his bedroom door’s handle. His heart leapt into his throat. He darted across the room and grabbed Rexie’s collar. He pulled him into the closet. He closed the door slightly but left it open a few inches so that he could see out.

Kevin sat down with Rexie whimpering between his legs. He buried his face in his warm fur and cried softly, “Please god, please, please.”

The bedroom door flew open sending the dresser crashing to the floor. The Clown steps into the room and pushes the dresser aside with his foot. He glanced briefly at the closet door before flipped over Kevin’s bed. The Clown walked over to the window. He leaned forward to look out at the drop below.

Kevin took his chance and darted from the closet. He rushed forward and threw himself against The Clown. It felt as if he had crashed into a wall but his momentum was enough. The Clown tried to turn and grab for the window but his posture was against him and he fell through. Kevin winced when he heard the heavy body slam into the ground below.

He stepped forward and looked out the window. The Clown was lying on the grass with his neck cocked at an odd angle. Kevin could not tell if he was breathing or but he was not moving. Kevin almost screamed with joy when he saw a car pull to a stop at the curb. He saw his mother leap out of the car and rush towards The Clown. She stopped and looked up towards Kevin. He smiled despite the tears that were falling down his face.

Kevin felt Rexie nudging his hand. He reached down and pet his head and his neck. Everything was okay now. His hand felt wet when he pulled it away from Rexie’s fur. He looked at it and saw streaks of red running down his palm. His hand began shaking as he looked down at his beloved pet.

Rexie was looking up at him with sad eyes but something was wrong. He wasn’t all there. It was just his head.

“Woof.”

Kevin spun around and faced the source of the bark. He was face to face with another clown, this one no taller than he was. He had blue hair and a vicious grin painted across his mouth.

“Mo-!” Kevin started to scream for his mother but the little clown leapt on top of him. They fell to the ground. Kevin landed on his back with the midget sitting on his midsection. He put a fat meaty gloved hand over Kevin’s mouth. Kevin’s eyes widened in terror as he saw the clown removed a thick hook from inside his stripped jumpsuit.

Kevin tried to scream through the heavy hand.

The Little Clown looked down on him with a large toothy grin. He placed the hook to his lips, “Shhh.”

Kevin shut his eyes and screamed as loud as he could.

The little clown laughed and raised the hook over his head.