Halloween House {Part 2}

by Cotton The Clown September 24th 2009, 1:01 pm

About forty-five minutes later..... Jimmy and Scott were screaming, panting, frantic, and running down the hall that Watson and the girls traveled. They skidded around several corners and took a flight of stairs down. They ran until they heard raised voices. They kicked open the door and dove in. Brandy, Candy, and Ashley were on the floor bound with duct tape and gagged.
Scott hurled himself toward the girls. Jimmy was close behind. Then, a gunshot rang out. Jimmy slumped to the floor. Scott's bloodshot eyes opened even more wide than they were before. The previously shy and quiet Raegan stepped out of the shadows gripping a pistol that was still smoking. She raised the pistol and aimed it in the middle of Scott and the girls. Waving it back and forth she ranted, "He loved me. Always. And then you came along." She drew a bead on Ashley. "Cotton picked you. I loved him. Forever." She was teary-eyed and screaming. Raegan backed up against the door. I've been saving this for you Ashley." she said turning the gun on it's side examining it. "Then I saw you and Cotton here together and I just snapped. Too bad poor Watson Pritchard and James 'Jimmy' Piper got in the way. Oh yeah, and you other three are witnesses." she snapped the last sentence and revealed a malicious grin.
Raegan sucked a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She pointed the gun to Brandy. "You first....."
Then, the door exploded open. There was a sickening crack as she was pinned to the wall. She slid to the floor with a thump. Cotton was standing in the doorway
"Ash." he whispered as ran to untie her. He ripped the duct tape off all the girls.
"WATCH OUT!!!" Ashley yelled. Raegan had limped, bloody, to her feet and was aiming at Cotton. She didn't even get off one shot. The floor erupted underneath her and a big, black, bulbous head opened it's huge jaws and snapped her up. Everything - the head, gums, and teeth were all black. the creature looked like a slimy shadow. Scott and the twins ran past a statue-like Cotton and out the doorway. Ashley ran to Cotton's side and tried to move him. He ignored her and her attempts to move him.
A spike about six feet tall, made of the greasy black shadow, popped out of the top of the top of the creatures head. It rapidly morphed into the shape of a man. A man who resembled Cotton, but about a hundred years older. It spoke in a muffled, metallic voice, "Son." and extended his hand. Cotton reached for it and the creature immediately crunched down on Cotton. The shape of Cotton's father sunk back into the creature.
Ashley tried to run, but tripped. Her head smacked hard on cement. The shadow oozed out of the hole and over the top of Ashley. It absorbed her and left nothing on the floor. It slimed across the hall at an alarming rate. It caught up with Scott and the twins in the North Tower of the house.
They ran as hard as they could up the staircase. The creature filled the stairwell as it flowed upward, tearing the house from underneath the kids. Scott was in the front leading the way. The spiral of the staircase had a dizzying effect on them. They were disoriented and aching. The muscles in their legs seared and felt like they were being ripped from the bone. Candy stumbled and fell. A stone step crushed some of her ribs. She could barely move. Brandy ran past her and didn't even imagine stopping. Scott stopped and rolled backward. He helped Candy limp up the stairs. The creature crushed the step under Candy and Scott at the exact moment that they had leaped for another. Candy forgot all about her ribs and climbed with all of her heart.
Brandy stopped to rest. Candy, and then Scott, zoomed past. Brandy wanted to run, but could not move. She heaved and vomited. The spinning made her sick. The slimy, black shadow reached the step under Brandy's feet. She flipped backward into the air and sailed past the creature. And all of the way to the ground, a hundred an fifty feet down. Candy and Scott burst through the wooden door at the top of the stairs. They saw daylight. Something that they had expected never to see again.
"What happened after we split up?" Candy panted.
"Dora killed Damien. And Brenton Cyrus for his money. I assume Raegan killed Watson Pritchard."
"Yeah, he tried to take her gun." Candy replied. Scott shook his head.
They heard a small squeak. On top of the house, Dora was jumping, waving, and screaming like an insane cheerleader. The creature slammed through the tower wall. It looked like a slimy, black blob of a whale jumping out of the ocean. It landed on Dora and caused the house to collapse. A gale force wind blew from the house as it was being converted to rubble. The shadow soaked into the ruins and disappeared. An envelope blew to Scott and Candy who were in shock. It blew right into Scott's chest. He opened it and retrieved eight rectangular slips of paper.
"Omigosh. Did you see that?" Candy asked.
"Forget her. Check this." He fanned the papers out and showed them to Candy.
Her eyes bugged out. "Eight hundred-thousand dollars?"
Scott nodded his head and said, "Yup." The only things left standing were the two towers. One was a thousand feet away. The other, the one they were standing on, did not have steps. "The only problem is getting down."

...

Cotton bolts up out of bed. He is standing before he realizes it. He looks around. Candy and Old Jeb are snoring softly in their beds.

He tries to clear the cobwebs from his head.

Why does everything I dream involve death? And who the fuck is Cotton Blaisdell?[i]

He slowly stumbles to one of the narrow windows in the side of the modified semi-truck trailer. Looking out, he sees the first light of dawn. He may as well get to working out.

Cotton the Clown opens a glass case and removes his remaining title. The gold sparkles even in the diffused light of early dawn. He straps it to his waist and begins rubbing it unconciously.

The dream has left him with more questions than answers. [i]Was my name Blaisdell? He digs his knuckles into his eyes, trying to extinguish the sleepiness from them. He shakes his head as if that would clear it.

He moves away, off into the dark.

Maybe he should sleep on it.

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