#007 | He’ll Make You Laugh
The carnival was in town. The small backwater town of Beaumont, Alabama was a place almost every high schooler wished to put in their rearview mirror when they grew up. But for one week every summer, the carnival reminded everyone why a small piece of them loved their hometown.
The carnival ran from Friday night to the following Saturday. However, a small group of friends decided they wanted an early look.
Lifelong friends Robby, Jay, Adam, Christina, and Emily found an opening in the chain link fence that bordered the carnival grounds, and snuck through.
“It’s so…quiet,” Emily said, as she took in the eerie calm all around her. Some of the lights of the attractions were on, but otherwise it was still pretty dark.
The group walked down the main drag, which, come Friday evening, would be filled with screaming children, frantic adults, and teenagers drinking out of brown paper bags.
“Oh sweet, cotton candy!” Adam exclaimed. He opened the door to one of the food trucks and ripped open a plastic container of blue sugary goodness.
“Look out everyone, the big, bad cotton candy thief is in town,” Robby said, laughing.
“What? I like cotton candy!” Adam said, his mouth overflowing.
“Alright, give me some,” Emily said as she snatched the container from Adam.
The group walked on and hopped up on a table in front of the bottle toss.
Jay broke out a joint and lit up. He inhaled deeply and slowly, before passing it to Christina who did a horrible job of acting like she didn’t want any. One small puff and she was coughing up a lung, which drew a laugh from Robby, her boyfriend.
To her left, something caught Emily’s eye. It was a figure about 50 yards away dressed in all black. They wore a hideous clown mask and stared at the group.
“Guys…” Emily said, a hint of nervousness in her voice. The group turned to look at the figure, who was as still as a statue.
Robby stood up and shouted, “Can we help you, bro?”
Christina grabbed his arm and told him to be quiet. “Shh! We aren’t supposed to be here, remember?”
The figure slowly turned and walked behind a trailer.
“Fuckin’ carnies,” Robby said, sitting down.
“It’s probably just some kid trying to be funny,” Adam added, and threw in a half-hearted laugh.
“Yeah, probably,” Emily returned unconvincingly.
“Well, I gotta take a leak,” Jay said. “Be right back.”
He walked around the corner to relieve himself. Just as he was about to finish he heard a twig snap behind him.
“Man, can a guy get a little pri-“ but his words were cut short as a hand whipped him around. The figure in the clown mask stared back at him. This time, he had a knife down by his side. Before Jay could make a move, the clown pinned Jay against the truck and stabbed him in the stomach and then ran off.
A few minutes passed and the group began to wonder what was taking Jay so long.
“I’ll go check on him,” Robby said.
As he stood up, one of the glass jars behind the group shattered, and a baseball rolled off the table.
All four spun around to see the clown looking at them, standing like a pitcher at the end of his throw.
“What the FUCK! Are you kidding me?” Robby screamed and began to move towards the clown.
The clown straightened up and a knife slid down the sleeve into their hand. Robby stopped dead in his tracks.
Christina ran over to Robby and pulled him back. “Baby, stop, we need to go,” she pleaded with him. Robby didn’t protest.
“Where is Jay? We are leaving now,” Adam said frantically. He looked back to where the clown had been standing, but there was no one there. He ran around the corner when a figure stumbled into him. It was Jay. He was bleeding and badly.
“Jay!” What happened?” A bewildered Adam pleaded. Even in the darkness, he saw how pale Jay was.
Emily ran over and took her sweatshirt off. She pressed it to Jay’s stomach, to try and stop the bleeding.
“I’m calling 911,” she said.
“Wait! We are trespassing, we’ll get in trouble.” Robby protested.
“Do you see what’s happening? We can’t worry about that!” Emily shot back. She took out her phone to dial 911, but there was no service. “Shit,” she whispered.
“The…clown…stabbed…me…” Jay said laboriously.
“If we can get him back to my truck, we can get him to the hospital,” Robby said.
Emily recently became an EMT and was very worried for Jay. He was slipping in and out of consciousness, and Robby’s truck was nearly a half-mile away.
“We have no choice,” Adam quietly said.
Robby and Adam put Jay’s arms around their shoulders, and hurried towards the fence they snuck through.
They got no more than 50 feet before all the lights in the area shot on.
Everyone shielded their eyes from the harsh light and when they looked up, were frozen with fear.
They were surrounded by three figures in clown masks. All of them had knives at their sides, including one covered in blood.
The only way to go was to their left, deeper into the carnival, where there were far fewer lights. The group knew it could be a trap but they had no choice. Robby and Adam lifted Jay’s feet off the ground to carry him faster, with the girls right on their tails.
The three clowns, who did not immediately give chase, glanced at one another, and slowly went separate ways after the group.
The carnival was divided into a grid system, which was designed to allow for easier navigation. The group had run two “blocks” to their left, and one more north. They were next to a barn, with several stalls for animals. They ran inside.
Jay slouched back in a pile of hay. His breathing became fainter by the minute.
“There is no service in this swamp, but we might get some out near the entrance, next to the road,” Emily said. Adam noticed she was surprisingly calm, given the circumstances.
The same could not be said for Christina.
“Oh…my…god,” Christina repeated as she sobbed hysterically. Robby was trying unsuccessfully to console her. Ever the macho man, he too was clearly rattled by everything.
The group heard movement behind the barn and everyone froze. They pressed themselves as far back against the wall as they could, further into darkness. One of the clowns appeared around the corner and stood right at the gate. It’s eyes scanned the stalls, and stopped and stared right where Adam was.
“There’s no way that thing can see me,” he thought.
After a moment, the clown turned and walked away.
“We can’t stay here any longer,” Adam whispered to his friends. “We need to move, now.”
“What about Jay?” Christina asked, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
Adam and Emily both looked at each other, and without words, came to the same conclusion.
“Jay, we are going to get help. Stay here, keep out of sight, we will be back for you, I promise.” Adam said. With that he piled hay on top of Jay to keep him hidden.
“You’re crazy!” Robby whispered.
Emily shot him a look that silenced him.
“That…thing…has already come by here, they most likely won’t be back,” she said. “Adam and I will head towards the road, you and Christina go get your truck and bring it around to the entrance. You see any cars on your way here, flag them down for help. Everyone keep trying 911.”
The group split up and went towards their respective destinations.
The full moon that had been obscured by clouds all evening was now fully visible. The carnival grounds were now much more illuminated, for better or worse.
Adam and Emily stuck to the shadows as best they could. They made their way along the various game stations and hid in the shadows of a basketball station. The entrance was about 100 yards away, although you could’ve put it a mile away and it would’ve felt the same.
“Do we make a break for it, or try and sneak along,” Adam wondered aloud. He looked over at Emily and hoped the answer would appear on her face.
“Let’s just get to that trailer,” she said and pointed to one just across the strip, about 20 yards away.
“Okay, on three, we stay as low as we can, and move as quickly and quietly,” Emily said.
Together they whispered, “One, two, th-“ and as soon as they stepped into the light, one of the clowns walked around the corner about 15 feet to their left. Adam immediately stepped back against the wall and wrapped his arm around Emily. They had been walking parallel to the clown the whole time.
“I don’t think it saw us,” Adam whispered, his voice barely audible. Emily gripped Adam’s arm, and he felt a tear roll off her face and down his forearm.
After a terrifyingly silent minute, Adam crouched down and peaked one eye out around the corner. The clown was gone.
He turned and looked at Emily.
“It’s now or never,” he said. With that, he grabbed her hand and the two of them scrambled across the way.
Suddenly, the lights to the entrance came on; two clowns were standing right at the gate.
“There goes that idea,” Emily said. “We need to draw them away from the road.”
“What can we do with these?” Adam asked. He pointed to various tools scattered under the trailer.
A loud crash rang out in the night. One clown walked past the basketball station and saw movement up ahead. It followed the movement, knife at the ready.
A toolbox was scattered about.
“Hey,” a voice called out.
The clown looked up to the right and was met with a deluge of gasoline.
“Now!” Adam cried out. Emily appeared at his side on top of the trailer and threw a lit match. The clown was immediately engulfed in flames, and flailed it’s arms about wildly.
It disappeared around the corner and Adam and Emily jumped down off the trailer.
“No time to rest, we gotta-“ but Adam was cut off and thrown up against the wall. A second clown had appeared out of nowhere.
The clown’s knife glinted in the moonlight, and it thrust forward. Despite the clear disadvantage in strength, Adam somehow blocked the clown’s knife-wielding hand.
With a guttural roar, Emily picked up the biggest wrench in the toolbox and swung wildly at the clown’s head. It glanced off her enemy, but enough for the clown to let go of Adam. He hit the ground and the pair took off towards the gate.
A clear path lay ahead for Adam and Emily. They quickened their pace but were ground to a halt less than 30 yards from the entrance. In front of them, clothes smoldered and charred, was the burnt clown.
“It can’t be,” Adam let out. Emily was in shock. The clown started towards them, this time at a much quicker pace than before.
The pair ran to their left along the same route they saw the first two clowns at. A unseen ditch caught Emily’s foot and sent her to the ground. She cried out and reached for her ankle. Adam stopped and took one step towards Emily before the burnt clown appeared next to her, knife raised.
Time seemed to slow for Adam. He looked to his left at the shattered glass jar that one of the clowns threw a baseball at earlier in the evening. Baseball.
Adam was over the table in a flash. He grabbed the ball and without processing, threw as hard as he could right at the clown’s head.
The ball nailed the clown right between the eyes, and it stumbled back. Emily saw her opening and with her one good leg, kicked with all her might right at the clown’s knee. An audible crack was heard, and their assailant dropped to the ground. An ear-piercing scream emanated throughout the night.
“Let’s go!” Adam helped Emily up and they made a last gasp effort for the entrance.
“What is…” Adam started, as a pair of headlights charged up the entrance road and slammed through the locked gate.
“Come on!” Robby yelled, as he stood in the bed of the truck. He bent down in the bed and when he stood up, had his hunting rifle balanced on the roof.
Adam and Emily turned to see a clown run towards the group with almost inhuman speed.
Robby slowly exhaled and pulled the trigger. The shot ripped through the clown’s chest and dropped it once and for all. The clown that Emily had kicked was still on the ground.
Just as Robby sighted and prepared for the second kill shot, an army of police cars charged down the road.
One of the officers yelled, and motioned for Robby to drop his weapon and get off of the truck.
“Is everyone okay?” an police officers asked, while the rest moved towards the two downed clowns.
“I think my ankle might be broken,” Emily winced as she tried to pull up her pant leg. “Two of the clowns are down over there, but there is a third somewhere.”
“EMTs are on their way, and we have more police en route. We’ll find this son of a bitch.” the officer assured.
“We were able to dial out almost as soon as we got to the truck, I’m glad the police showed up when they did,” a visibly shaken Christina said to her friends.
“Jay…?” Robby’s voice trailed off. Accompanied by two officers, the group made their way to the barn and found Jay still in the hay. He was dead. Tears streamed down everyone’s face as they mourned their friend.
The sun began to rise over the horizon. As Emily was about to be loaded into the back of the ambulance, she called out for Adam.
As he approached he started to say, “How are you fe-“ but was interrupted as Emily grabbed him and pulled in for a kiss.
“You never left me tonight. I can never repay you for that.” she said.
Adam didn’t say anything and only wrapped his arms around her tighter, a single tear ran down his cheek and cut through the dirt and grime that caked his face.
He pulled away and allowed the ambulance doors to close.
Just as the ambulance pulled away, Robby, Christina, and Adam’s parents burst under the police tape and ran over to embrace their children.
The event would go on to make national news, and the group of friends would never set foot in their hometown carnival again.
