With her back to the room, Shaylan had missed the shadows moving. The room was growing darker of its own accord.
A fresh, hot pizza in her hand, Shaylan closed the door behind Brian and turned back to the room. Strange, it seemed darker somehow, but she couldn't tell why or how. Flicking the nearest switch, an overhead light came on, driving some of the shadows back, but not quite far enough. Shaylan set the pizza box down on the coffee table beside the game controller and went to her bedroom where her phone lay half-forgotten on her bed. Glancing around the room, as if to be sure she was alone, Shaylan scurried to the bed, grabbed her phone, and rushed back to the living room where her pizza sat waiting for her.
One eye behind her, Shaylan all but leaped onto the couch. She made certain that her feet were well away from the floor, afraid of the shadows lurking under the couch, waiting to grab her ankles. Grabbing the remote, she switched the input on the television and sound flooded the room making it feel simultaneously less and more foreboding. While the television showed scenes of cartoon comedy, and Shaylan ate the pizza, the shadows moved in closer and closer, pressing against the light.
More than half the pizza was gone by the time Shaylan was done with it. The box lay open on the nearby coffee table as the air nipped at the pizza, chilling it. As the hours wore on, Shaylan gave into sleep on the couch, the television's light flickered, giving the room a eerie look. As the young woman slept on the couch, her fingertips brushing against the carpet, the shadows came out to play. The television flipped back to the game Shaylan had paused, and the sound of laughter that had seemed so innocuous before reached out for the sleeping woman.
The sound woke her with a start. Eyes wide, she searched for any signs of another person in the apartment, but quickly found that she was alone. Pausing the game, that she was so certain she had paused before falling asleep, Shaylan stood up cautiously as she made her way to the nearest light. When she tried to turn it on, nothing happened. Again, she tried to turn the light on, and again, nothing happened. Scuffling her feet along the carpet, Shaylan picked a cautious route to the circuit breaker on the wall behind her bedroom door. The game unpaused once again, the laughter filling the room with its ominous tones. Shaylan froze with her hand on the doorframe, about to enter the bedroom. With guarded movements, she turned to look at the television, expecting one of her friends to jump out at any moment to scare the shit out of her. Standing in front of the television was the shape of a person, darkened by the glow of the television from behind.
"Heh-hello...? Brian? That you?" The words came out as little more than a quivering whisper.
The only response she got was the laughter. The same, horrifying laughter that had been in the game, and it dawned on her that the sound was no longer coming through the speakers. It was coming from the figure in front of the television.
"This...this isn't funny..." Shaylan took a step backwards, stepping on a shirt she'd left lying on the floor. A shriek of terror ripped from her lungs as she jumped forward, her eyes focusing on the lump of innocuous fabric on the ground. When she lifted her eyes back to the figure, she found it to be closer. Much closer. It was barely two feet away from her now. Shaylan could feel her heart pounding like a jackhammer in her chest. Never before had she been more terrified than she was then. It was too dark to make out the figure's face, but Shaylan had the distinct feeling that it was smiling at her. "B-Brian...?" Even though she knew now that it wasn't him, she asked out of desperation, one final hope that maybe this was all some elaborate prank.
Flickering, much like a television, the figure disappeared from view. Shaylan took a jerky step forward, nearly petrified with terror, trying to figure out where the thing was or if it had gone for good. Just as her foot slid forward, Shaylan felt a slimy hand on her upper arm. Her first instinct was to run, but her fear held her as if she'd been frozen in place. The hand slithered to her shoulder, gripping her tightly. It-- whatever it was-- turned her around.
Finally, Shaylan saw its face. It was like something that had stepped right out of a horror movie with its rotting flesh, a smile cut into its horrifying face that stretched from one ear to the other. Over the rotting flesh was the remnants of what appeared to be clown make-up. Shaylan felt her fear expanding from her chest. Her heart stopped before beating in a way that made it feel like there was a jackhammer in her chest. Bile rose up the back of her throat, followed by a scream that tore from her fast enough to cause her voice to crack into a shrill screech of terror.
The thing that had climbed right out of the game she had been playing now had a hold of Shaylan. It's laughter filled the apartment as it grabbed her by the throat and she was plunged into a darkness that pushed against her with so much force, it might have knocked the air from her lungs had there been any in them to begin with. It was a darkness that couldn't be penetrated even by sound, let alone light, but the clown's laughter still rang in her ears.
The sound woke her with a start. Eyes wide, she searched for any signs of another person in the apartment, but quickly found that she was alone. Pausing the game, that she was so certain she had paused before falling asleep, Shaylan stood up cautiously as she made her way to the nearest light. When she tried to turn it on, nothing happened. Again, she tried to turn the light on, and again, nothing happened. Scuffling her feet along the carpet, Shaylan picked a cautious route to the circuit breaker on the wall behind her bedroom door. The game unpaused once again, the laughter filling the room with its ominous tones. Shaylan froze with her hand on the doorframe, about to enter the bedroom. With guarded movements, she turned to look at the television, expecting one of her friends to jump out at any moment to scare the shit out of her. Standing in front of the television was the shape of a person, darkened by the glow of the television from behind.
"Heh-hello...? Brian? That you?" The words came out as little more than a quivering whisper.
The only response she got was the laughter. The same, horrifying laughter that had been in the game, and it dawned on her that the sound was no longer coming through the speakers. It was coming from the figure in front of the television.
"This...this isn't funny..." Shaylan took a step backwards, stepping on a shirt she'd left lying on the floor. A shriek of terror ripped from her lungs as she jumped forward, her eyes focusing on the lump of innocuous fabric on the ground. When she lifted her eyes back to the figure, she found it to be closer. Much closer. It was barely two feet away from her now. Shaylan could feel her heart pounding like a jackhammer in her chest. Never before had she been more terrified than she was then. It was too dark to make out the figure's face, but Shaylan had the distinct feeling that it was smiling at her. "B-Brian...?" Even though she knew now that it wasn't him, she asked out of desperation, one final hope that maybe this was all some elaborate prank.
Flickering, much like a television, the figure disappeared from view. Shaylan took a jerky step forward, nearly petrified with terror, trying to figure out where the thing was or if it had gone for good. Just as her foot slid forward, Shaylan felt a slimy hand on her upper arm. Her first instinct was to run, but her fear held her as if she'd been frozen in place. The hand slithered to her shoulder, gripping her tightly. It-- whatever it was-- turned her around.
Finally, Shaylan saw its face. It was like something that had stepped right out of a horror movie with its rotting flesh, a smile cut into its horrifying face that stretched from one ear to the other. Over the rotting flesh was the remnants of what appeared to be clown make-up. Shaylan felt her fear expanding from her chest. Her heart stopped before beating in a way that made it feel like there was a jackhammer in her chest. Bile rose up the back of her throat, followed by a scream that tore from her fast enough to cause her voice to crack into a shrill screech of terror.
The thing that had climbed right out of the game she had been playing now had a hold of Shaylan. It's laughter filled the apartment as it grabbed her by the throat and she was plunged into a darkness that pushed against her with so much force, it might have knocked the air from her lungs had there been any in them to begin with. It was a darkness that couldn't be penetrated even by sound, let alone light, but the clown's laughter still rang in her ears.
* * * * *
It was nearly five days later when they came to check on Shaylan. Brian had reported having not heard from her for a couple of days and was beginning to worry.
What they found was a game, paused, and a half-eaten pizza that was a few days old. And Shaylan. The woman was slumped near her bedroom door. The corpse looked as through it had been wrung out entirely of fluids. Her face was contorted in a scream. Studying the body, they could have sworn they heard the sound of laughter. Cold, mechanical laughter. The kind of laughter you might expect to hear from the creepiest clown doll in existence, but when they searched the apartment for the source, they found nothing but the paused game.
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