Lauren goes down to the basement

Her sister still howling in pain and cursing, Lauren choose to get away from her by taking the dumbwaiter down to the basement. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get out on the third floor and certainly wasn't about to get out on the first floor where there were tons of people. Riding inside the cramped little compartment she began to wonder if she was going to be able to survive the day with her dignity intact. So far she had been lucky, but for how long could she expect her luck to hold out?

When she arrived in the basement she slid out of the dumbwaiter and fell rather ungracefully to the damp cement floor. She had yet to come down to the basement, she had been too busy enjoying her newfound wealth, and looking around she found that she couldn't see much. The lights were off and only a little light came from some windows high up on the walls. What she could see however took her breath away.

The basement looked like a fun house! It appeared to be filled from floor to ceiling with the contents of a carnival. There were animal cages, carny games, even some rides. It was surreal. Creeping around in the dim light Lauren tried to come up with a new plan. Getting back to her bedroom seemed like it wasn't going to happen and she couldn't stay in the basement forever now could she?

She was still wandering around trying to determine her next course of action when a noise from the stairs scared her and she stumbled backward into huge gaily decorated box. Just as alarming the impact seemed to have triggered something and the box started shaking and creepy music began playing. Confused and disoriented Lauren didn't know what to do and just stood there wide eyed watching. Then suddenly...BOING!!!

A psychotic looking fifteen foot clown with a hammer sprang out of the jack in the box nearly knocking Lauren off her feet! It wasn't real but Lauren was so frightened that she thought she might have a heart attack right then and there. It was of course just a really big, really unnecessarily terrifying jack in the box, and Lauren didn't have a heart attack, but as her heart slowed she began to somewhat wish that she had... It might have been preferable to having just spectacularly wet herself in terror! Now the little doll underwear and tights she was wearing were soaked and it seemed like someone might be coming down to the basement. What was she to do now?