Look again in the wardrobe

Her breathing was heavy as she remained flat against the unmoving door. She was waiting for the terrifying jester to appear from his hiding place. However he still hadn't shown his awful face. Cautiously Leanne began to relax. Her breathing steadied and she took a single step forwards.

She waited, holding her breath and listening intently for any sound. But there was nothing. No movement and no sign of that freak. With great trepidation she continued forwards, all the time listening carefully for any sign of life. It took her a long time to cross the small room and she paused again as she reached the wardrobe. Leanne gathered every ounce of courage she had in her body and, with a deep breath, pulled the door back and peered around it.

The clown was still there alright. Only something wasn't quite right. She remained in position, observing it closely. He was facing towards her but hadn't moved. Surely he knew she was there, so why hadn't he attacked? Gaining confidence with every passing second Leanne opened the door fully and stood in front of her harasser. It took a few moments but she eventually realised it wasn't the clown at all. At least not his body. The costume was hanging in the wardrobe with that disturbing mask suspended lifelessly at the top. It took a while to process this information but Leanne's mind suddenly became active.

If this was his costume then where was the creep? He could be coming back at any moment. Maybe Abbie left her there to confront him. Or worse. She trapped her so the freak could finish what he started. Leanne was quickly going from scared to angry. She'd had enough of this and it was time to fight back.

She grabbed the sinister mask from the wardrobe. Looking at it up close, without those dead eyes staring out, it didn't seem so terrifying. As she fingered the leathery material Leanne created a plan of action. 'Let's see how you like being frightened!' she thought to herself. Without thinking she turned the mask over and pulled it over her own head. It was difficult to move into the correct position and even then she couldn't really see anything. But the last thing she would remember seeing was the terrifying image of that horrible clown.

The staff and residents of Rosefield Manor heard a horrifying scream followed by a series of relentless cries of panic. When they found her Leanne was curled into a ball in the middle of that tiny room, mumbling gibberish as she begged for help. She was still wearing the clown mask, which caused some confusion among the workers who found her. They called an ambulance and she was urgently taken to hospital, still muttering about a petrifying clown.

The doctors were unable to help her and she was eventually moved to a specialist facility. Whatever had happened to her in Rosefield Manor seemed to be permanent. The carefree, outgoing young woman was lost forever in her own tormented mind. Evermore dreaming about nothing but her nightmarish torturer.

The End