The Guild of Fallen Clowns (42 page)

“Okay, maybe the battery’s dead. No, that’s
right, it’s in my purse, in the trunk of my car. But what’s with
the drama? Why wouldn’t I be all right?”

Alan sat on the side of his bed and sighed.
“I haven’t been completely honest with you about Peepers.”

Mary listened as he told her the entire
story, including his plans to stop Peepers and the Guild from
hurting more people. She just listened and never stopped to ask
questions. At the end, he made her promise to stay away from the
carnival. She didn’t say much but she agreed to stay away, and they
hung up.

Alan shook his head. He sensed that she
hadn’t questioned his fantastic tale because she thought he lost
his mind. He knew he lost her as a girlfriend, but her safety was
more important than any negative impressions she might have formed
about his mental state.

He stood from the bed and walked into the
closet. A few seconds later, he returned to the living room with a
new figure in his hand. He held the figure out in front of him and
said, “I hope I’m right about you.”

*****

Walking toward her car, Mary held out the
remote and pressed the button. The trunk popped open. She stepped
up to the rear of the car and lifted the lid. She grabbed her
purse, closed the trunk, and returned inside the house. She placed
the purse on the kitchen table, reached inside, and dug around in
search of her cell phone. A puzzled look came over her face when
she felt a long foreign object. The touch of her fingers couldn’t
identify the object, so she grasped it and removed it for a visual
inspection.

Instantly recognizing the figure, she
dropped it on the table and jumped back. The cell phone slipped out
as the figure landed on the soft purse unharmed. Both she and the
figure remained motionless as her eyes moved between it and her
cell phone. She inched closer until she was within reach of her
phone. Like a fisherman setting the hook, she snapped up the phone,
lurched backward, and rushed toward the front door. The door
slammed shut before she got there. She grabbed the knob and pulled
with all her might, but it didn’t budge. The house began to rumble
and she turned to see a life-size Peepers digging through her
purse. She flipped open her phone. The display was dark. She
pressed the power button, but it didn’t light up.

Peepers pulled something from her purse and
turned to face her. He held out the battery to her cell phone and
smiled. Mary flipped the phone in her hand and looked at the empty
battery compartment. Her eyes returned to Peepers while her hands
continued to turn and pull the front door.

“Your clown cannot help,” Peepers said. Mary
dropped her phone.

“My name is Peepers. I represent th—”

“I know who—what you are.” Her eyes never
left him as she crept sideways until she was blocked into the
corner of the foyer. Peepers’ focus moved to the knife block on her
kitchen counter. He casually stepped up to the counter and removed
the widest blade from the set, an eight-inch chef’s knife. With his
back turned away from Mary, he held the knife above his head and
tilted it until he could see her reflection in the adjoining
foyer.

“I’ve seen how you operate in Clown World,
and Alan filled me in on the rest. You’re here to kill me, like you
killed those other people.”

Peepers laughed as he faced her. Then he
moved through the kitchen to the center of the foyer. “Cancer will
kill you. Peepers here to set Mary free.”

“Cancer? I already won that battle. I don’t
need your help.”

Peepers stepped closer. His eyes gazed down
to her right thigh, just above the knee. He grinned and gently
touched the tip of his knife to her shirt over her right breast.
The blade sent tingles as it slowly traced a line down her body,
stopping when it reached the target of his stare.

“That battle only beginning of war. Cancer
return.” He looked at the tip of the blade and tilted his head
left. Mary followed his eyes to her bare leg below her shorts.
Peepers removed the knife. She leaned over and grabbed the skin on
her leg. She twisted her foot to see behind the knee. Hidden from
view she noticed a raised black mole about the size of a pea.

“No!” she screamed. The house rumbled in
response to her anguish. Tears filled her eyes as she looked back
at Peepers. “You did this! I was clean a week ago. Why, why would
you do this to me?” She moaned and looked back at the suspicious
mole.

Peepers stepped closer. She looked into his
face and cried, “Why would you do this?”

“Fight cancer again, Mary will lose. Remain
weak, and sick, many weeks.”

Mary sobbed. With each tear that fell to the
floor, the house rumbled.

“Disease and chemicals will feast on flesh.
Misery till last gasp of breath squeeze from chest.”

Mary’s legs shook. Her body collapsed to the
floor. “I can’t go through it again,” she whimpered, wiping her
sleeve across her face.

Peepers grinned, then bent down and sat
beside her. His head leaned to her ear. “Tears of memories. Dark
path to despair beckon Mary’s return.”

Her forehead pressed into her knees as she
hid her face in an upright fetal position with her arms wrapped
tight around her legs. “Please leave,” she said. “You did what you
came here for. You made the cancer return and now I’m going to die.
You’ve done it. You killed me. Now please leave me alone.”

The dark spirit’s eyes closed. He inhaled
deep, basking in the savory flavors of her grief in the way a
connoisseur bathed in the complex nuances of a fine wine.

“Fear what will become. Mary doomed to
surrender life vision. Death sucks desire and joy from soul.”

Mary’s arms tightened around her legs as she
continued sobbing uncontrollably. Peepers feasted in the second
course of her torment. He looked at the knife in his hand and
squeezed.

“Peepers set Mary free. Mary’s will to live
still strong. Accept death by Peepers’ hand. Die with strength.”
Peepers stood and stared down at her. He held the blade out and
twisted his wrist, flashing beams of reflected light from the
polished steel surface over her tucked head. Her arms loosened and
her head began to rise. Her eyes winced but didn’t retreat as she
met his glare. He lowered the knife and nodded his approval of her
decision to accept death by his hand.

“Wise to accept swift death. Fight disease,
never real choice,” he growled.

She wiped the remaining tears from her face
and paused before standing to her feet. Peepers nodded his
pleasure.

“Thank you,” she said. She smiled and closed
her eyes. The muscles in her body relaxed.

Peepers’ expression grew dim. “Mary grows
weak in mind. Lose will to fight for life.”

She opened her eyes. “You don’t get it, do
you? For a brief moment there, you managed to bring me back to a
place I vowed never to return. For a split second I prayed you
would end my life while I sat feeling sorry for myself. Then you
reminded me of my will to live. My will to live is strong. That’s
true. I don’t want to die. If you killed me when I wished for it, I
would have experienced my greatest fear. I would have died as
someone I’m not. So thank you for giving me time to escape that
darkness.”

Peepers grew angry over his failure to
recognize the moment of her greatest weakness. “Mary still die at
Peepers’ hand. Why she stand eyes closed, arms at side?”

Mary smirked. “That’s what you want, isn’t
it? You want me to run in fear from you, don’t you? You get off on
terrorizing your victims before killing them. Well, I hate to
disappoint you, but I’m not going to give you that
satisfaction.”

Peepers snarled in anger. He turned away and
stomped across the room in rage. He flung the knife across the
floor, where it rested at her feet. “Pick up!” he commanded.

Mary ignored the weapon and mocked him with
a fake yawn.

Peepers clenched his teeth and fists and
stomped his way back to her. He leaned down and jerked the knife
from the floor. He stood above her and snorted hot breath in her
face. “Very well, you have nothing more to offer Peepers. Mary dies
now. Your clown follows this night.”

She snickered as she met his intense stare.
“Then my promise to him will be fulfilled. I’ll be there to guide
him to the light. But your soul will remain eternally damned to
hell.” She lowered her head as a peaceful, closed-lip smile filled
her soul.

“Foolish beliefs,” he said as he stepped
back. His left hand raised the knife above his head. Mary’s eyelids
closed as she enjoyed one last blissful breath of a joy-filled
life.

Just as Peepers was about to run the blade
down to her head, he stammered, “What is this?” He looked up to his
hand still holding the weapon above. The knife and half of his arm
were fading from the solid form of the rest of his body. Mary
opened her eyes. Peepers stepped aside to make sense of his
situation. In the kitchen behind him, Mary spotted a ghostly image
of a large black woman in servant’s clothing standing beside the
table. Her left hand was placed on the figure of Peepers. It took
on the solid mass lost in Peepers’ own hand and arm.

“Lailah!” Mary shouted. Peepers turned to
see the spirit interfering with his kill. He turned back to Mary
and took the translucent knife into his right hand, where it
instantly returned solid. Without haste, he raised the blade. Once
again, the knife and his arm faded to a ghostly state.

Lailah now stood with both hands grasping
the figure. As the powers contained within the figure drained and
weakened Peepers, Lailah’s image also transformed. Not only was she
gaining mass to match that of Peepers, but Mary also noticed a
dramatic change in her physical appearance. Her soft brown skin
turned ghastly gray. Her nose swelled and turned coal black. Her
hair stood on end, popping out from the sides of her bonnet. Even
her clothes changed from plain and drab to a field of dark polka
dots. The evil energy which gave Peepers his form was taking hold
of Lailah’s very soul.

“No, Lailah! You have to stop before it’s
too late. It’s not worth the price,” Mary pleaded.

Temporarily abandoning his mission to kill
Mary, Peepers’ half-solid image rushed toward Lailah. She let go of
his figure and snarled back at him as he leapt the last ten feet.
With his body aimed directly at her, she made no effort to avoid
his tackle. A collision was imminent. His semi-solid, outstretched
hands were inches from her throat when Lailah pulled a cast iron
skillet from behind her back and gave his face a forceful undercut.
Peepers’ stunned body fell to the floor. Lailah rushed to Mary’s
side.

Dazed, Peepers rose to his feet and
turned.

“Lailah, why?” Mary said.

Lailah growled, showing her newly acquired
pointed teeth. She shook evil thoughts from her head and warned
Mary. “Nobody gonna hurt my children. But you must leave, child,
before the evil becomes too powerful for Lailah to protect you. Dis
boy’s evil too powerful for Miss Lailah to overcome.” She turned
and raised her hand toward the door. It opened. Peepers locked on
his target and snorted as his paced quickened. Lailah looked back
to Mary. “He comin’ for me now. You run while you can, child.”

Lailah stepped deeper into the living room,
away from Mary’s side. Peepers’ focus on the pair split and locked
on Lailah.

“Peepers feast on your soul,” he grunted.
Lailah submissively backed into the far corner of the room. He
stopped to enjoy his power over her spirit. She leaned to the side
and hollered out to Mary, “Run, child!”

Peepers turned to watch Mary run toward the
door. He laughed and returned his attention to Lailah. “Cannot
escape death. Peepers not confined to this house.” His hands
returned to solid form, and he reached out to Lailah’s neck and
squeezed. He lifted her choking body off the floor. She gasped as
she tried to free herself by slapping and grabbing his locked
hands. A fine mist began to emanate from her mouth. Peepers opened
his own mouth and began sucking it toward him. He was attempting to
suck her soul. She was too weak to resist the black hole’s energy
as her essence was being pulled closer to the void.

A loud crash from behind broke Peepers’
grip. He dropped Lailah and his body flickered and faded in and
out. Before he completely evaporated, he turned to see Mary bent
over the kitchen floor, pulverizing his figure with multiple blows
from a hammer.

With nothing but dust and small shards
remaining, Mary dropped the hammer and ran to Lailah. “Are you
okay?” she asked.

Lailah smiled and stood. Her body began to
fade. As she faded, color returned to her face. Her nose remained
clown-like in size, but now it was bright red. Her clothing also
remained clownish in appearance, but the colorless polka dots
transformed into every vibrant color of the rainbow. Both watched
as she transformed in front of them into a happy clown caretaker.
Lailah let out a hardy laugh of approval of her new look. Mary
returned a smile.

“He’s gone, but it looks like both of us
were left with scars from the battle,” Mary said.

As Lailah’s image continued to deteriorate,
she smiled and turned away. Among the field of multicolored polka
dots on the back of her dress, Mary noticed a single black dot
halfway down Lailah’s right leg. Instantly, Mary reached down and
looked at the back of her own leg. The mole was gone. She looked
up, and Lailah was also gone.

Dale stepped through the open door to a room
at the back of the church. Father Harris was leading prayers at the
altar. Dale spotted Cheryl and the kids sitting in the center of a
pew in the middle of the church, with people blocking them on both
sides. Aside from the curious choice in location, she looked fine.
She was safe, and she didn’t appear to be agitated or anxious to
leave.