Tommy ran through the playhouse like nothing mattered. He bounded around with no sign of stopping. Being an eight-year-old child, he had more energy than he knew what to do with. His belly was full, and so he had the fuel to keep on going. And on he went; down the slide, into the ball pit, up and down the tunnels. He was having the time of his life. No other kids were present, but Tommy didn’t care. He didn’t play well with others. He had the whole playhouse to himself, and he was just fine with that. Every time he stopped moving, his little heart would beat in his chest, and his rosy cheeks would beam pink. His brown straight hair would go fuzzy after the ball pit swallowed him whole and spit him back out again. He continued a routine for as long as he could. But eventually, he wanted to go to his mommy and have a sip of his juice box. He rushed toward the door of the playhouse, nearly tripping over while doing so, and stood by the big glass opening. He looked through, and saw his mother nowhere. He saw something else, and it made him back up. He slowly toed backwards, watching as the creature moved forward. Its big red nose looked awful, and its full-teeth grin chilled Tommy. The room went cold too. It crept up to the doors and looked inside. It looked at Tommy with devil eyes and grinned even harder after seeing its victim. It slithered a gloved hand to the door, and pushed. Tommy ran in the other direction to seek refuge, but he knew what was behind him. The door closed and then he heard squeaks coming for him. Tommy ran and then jumped into the ball pit, covering himself with multicolor. It felt like he was hiding under a blanket, but with less protection. The monster laughed an insidious cackle and moved forward. Tommy thought he had evaded certain doom, but he would find out soon enough. The clown stepped even farther.
Squeak, squeak, squeak . . . Is all Tommy could hear. It was the kind of sound a rubber ducky would make. Tommy liked having a happy yellow ducky squeaking in the bath when he was with his mother, but this was different. This frightened Tommy.
“Where are you?” the thing said in a demonic tone, its voice booming. Tommy shook underneath his cover. He had to see where the clown was, so he popped his head above the ball pit and looked. He saw a yellow jumpsuit with polkadots littered all over. That’s when Tommy saw it. Horrid legs sprouted from its back and it spoke again, even more demonic.
“You don’t want to play, Tommy?” it roared while turning to face Tommy. It laughed and nabbed its nose.
Tommy screamed and jumped out, making a full-on sprint to the tunnel. His spider arms wouldn't be able to fit though, he thought. As Tommy made his attempt to run, the clown almost grabbed him, but fell down trying. Tommy didn’t give the thing a break and leaped inside the tunnel.
“Tommy, come on out of there,” it said, in a more caring tone. “You want to see your mom?” Tommy knew it was a trick. His mommy wasn’t there, and he nearly started to cry knowing what the disgusting beast had done to her.
“Let’s go find her,” it said. “Together.” It then slithered an arm into the tunnel. Tommy couldn’t tell if it was his extra limb or his normal one. He didn’t want to find out, but he needed to take action. He opened his mouth and wrapped his lips around a clothed arm. Tommy bit down and teethed the monster’s flesh as hard as he could. It leaked fluid, but by the time Tommy was tasting it in his mouth, he had already started running again. This time, he ran into the kitchen area in which the serving door was connected to the playhouse. He ran inside and looked for something sharp. He tiptoed up to the top draw and pulled out the longest and sharpest knife he could find. The clown crept in, but Tommy hid his weapon.
“It’s dangerous in here for children.” It giggled to itself and looked at Tommy tastily. “Come with me.” It stepped and stepped and stepped, until Tommy could feel its cold and dead breath on his cheek. Tommy did not hesitate. He whipped the knife from behind his back and pushed as hard as he could into the belly of the thing. He then struck it sideways, spilling liquid everywhere. The monster screamed like a witch being drowned in water. After pulling as far as he could, he dropped the knife and ran. He saw other creatures entering the cursed place. Black demons surrounded Tommy. He felt as though he would wake up any moment. They looked at him with eager expressions, ready to eat him up. But Tommy ran out the kitchen and then toward the exit. The escape was bitterly close and just as he got to it, the sliding doors opened. His mother was at the door with a smile on her face. She looked down at Tommy and held in a scream. Her eyes went as wide as plates and she hugged Tommy so tightly that he couldn’t breathe.
“What happened to you, Tommy?” Mommy said frantically.
“The clown tried to get me, it tried to get me!”
The doors to the kitchen opened and Tommy’s stepfather walked out. He held his intestines in his arms, cradling them like a child. He groaned in agony, pouring cups and cups of blood onto the floor. He walked into the middle of the room and collapsed. People screamed and nearby employees scrambled to help.
“Call nine-one-one!” someone shouted. “We need an ambulance!” another screamed.
Mommy looked at Tommy with horror.
“I killed the monster, mommy. He tried to take us away.”