Chapter 3

The moon illuminates the deserted streets as a man drives through. He spots a person on the side of the road, a hitchhiker. As he gets closer, they become more visible. 

A clown?

The man pulls over, offering to drive the clown.

As the clown hops in the front seat, his big red lips curve into a smile. “Thanks for the ride. I thought I’d have to walk all the way home.”

“It’s no problem,” the man tells him as he begins driving. “You’re the second hitchhiker I picked up today. Are you coming from a party?” The man glances over, seeing a red stain on the clown’s white gloves.

“Yeah, I got hired to celebrate an old married couple’s anniversary.”

The man laughs, “That doesn’t sound like something people usually ask clowns to help with. What kind of things do you do?”

“Oh ya know, the basics. Balloon animals, crack some jokes, juggle a little bit.”

The man doesn’t know why, but he’s getting an odd feeling from the clown. “Where’s all your stuff? Didn’t you come straight from the party?”

“I just left it all at the house since I’m going back tomorrow. It’s a three day event.”

“I see.” The man says, starting to think this story isn’t adding up. Is he hiding something?

After a little silence, the clown asks, “And what do you do?”

“I’m a plumber. Nothing too exciting.”

“That’s a respectable job. More so than a clown.” He laughs, squeezing his red nose.

“Yeah, I guess.”

The clown reaches into his pocket, grabbing something. Just before he pulls it out, he hears a banging in the trunk. He turn his head to look, when suddenly the man pulls out a taser, jabbing it into his neck. The clown’s head drops as he falls unconscious. His hand slips from his pocket along with the phone he was holding.

The man pulls over onto a deserted road, surrounded by nothing but nature. He then kills the engine. 

Walking over to the passenger side, he yanks the clown from the car, dragging him into the woods. He then walks back to his car, grabs the girl from his trunk, and carries her over to the clown as she kicks and screams. He drops her on the ground, tasering her once more.

As the clown starts to wake, he sees the unconscious girl beside him. Fear fills his heart as he tries to stand. The man kicks him back down, pulling out a knife. He smiles, staring down at the frightened clown. “Come on now, make me laugh.” He jumps on top of the clown, stabbing him over and over, laughing maniacally as he does. His face turns red, painted by all the blood.

The girl starts to regain consciousness. Feeling groggy, she looks over at the man’s face all bloody and smiling. She doesn’t know what she’s seeing. “A clown?” 

The man laughs once more as he turns his attention to the girl. “I hate clowns.”