Chapter 411
Clementine:
We began to run as if our lives depended on it, which they did. It was almost hysterical because a few minutes ago we were talking about getting married and looking at a wedding venue.
Now we were running toward the only place we could find, which was the theater. The monster behind us, the hollow man, had picked up his speed.
“Why is he running so fast?” I complained to Ian, holding his hand tightly.
My fingers wrapped around his, letting him know I did not want to be left behind.
I could outrun almost anything, but we had just been through a rough session and I was sore.
“He has seen us too many times. The more he gets his eyes on his victims, the more power he gets to chase after them. The next time he sees us, you better believe he is getting us,” Ian commented.
I snapped my head back and saw the monster’s hand come close to our backs. I yelped and jumped a few steps ahead.
“Are you sure it will be next time?” I asked, and then I felt his hand pull me toward the theater. It seemed like the only place we could go for now.
“Oh no, not there,” I complained, but there was no other choice.
The monster swung its arm hard and reached for my back. If Ian had been one second late pulling me toward the entrance, I would have been caught.
We both landed on the floor of the theater as the doors slid closed.
The monster vibrated, and I noticed the windows shudder with the noise. It was furious. It stretched back, but I could still see it standing outside.
“Okay, I do not like when monsters forget what their limitations are,” I commented, and then I dreaded turning around. “Oh no, Ian, these things. I hate them so much p>
As I began to turn so I would not give the clowns my back, I felt a hand wrap around my eyes.
“Ian, what are you doing?” I asked, panic building inside me. His whisper came from behind me, close to my ear.
“Do not look at them directly. That is how you make them target you,” he whispered.
My body went numb for a few seconds.
“Tell me more,” I insisted.
He knelt behind me, his fingers keeping my eyes covered.
“The clowns are watchers. They start chasing when we are not looking. They only begin their actions when you make direct eye contact with them,” he stated, then gently removed his hand from my eyes.
“Make sure you look down,” he whispered.
“But what if they remember me? I have looked at them before,” I said, remembering how the hollow man remembered his whisper.
“No, they do not do that. They do not remember. That is the thing about them,” he explained, and I nodded my head.
“So what we are going to do is walk away, so the monster does not feel our presence anymore. Once the monster goes away, we will come out again. However, Clementine, we need to make sure we do something about this monster. I do not think it is going to let us stay here for too long now,” Ian explained, and we both started to get up. He made sure to hold my hand tightly.
We planned to go to the other side of the theater, get out, and wander around a bit, so that the hollow man would come to this side and start wandering there until we returned from the other side.
It was a lot, but the trick with the clowns that Ian told me helped ease my nerves.
So it was decided. We walked with our heads down. I started to hear whispers and things move around us.
“Ian, I do not think it is working. They are moving,” I began to panic, and I bet he noticed it in my voice because he gave my hand a reassuring shake.
“They are just trying to get your attention so you look up and meet their eyes. Just avoid it,” he explained quickly, and I nodded.
I squeezed my eyes a little so I would not look directly at their faces and kept my gaze down. I watched them get closer because I could see their shoes now.
Some even came so close that their breath touched my ears. I tightened my fist around Ian’s hand.
As we were about to reach the other side of the theater, toward the exit, I noticed something in the foot of one of the clowns.
It stopped me from moving. I bet Ian noticed the pull on his hand because he grunted.
“Come on, Clementine, keep moving,” he stated. But I kept watching the toe ring showing from the torn shoe of one of the clowns.
But I felt stunned, unable to move an inch.”Clementine, what is wrong?” he asked again. My hands began to shake. He finally turned around and placed his hands on my arms.
My head was tilted to the side, staring at the foot of one of the clowns on the ground.
I could not stop myself. I snapped my head up and looked straight at the clown.
I gasped and trembled at the sight. Tears left my eyes, burning my cheeks.
My head spun, and the world I had created around myself, where I thought no one could hurt me anymore, began to fall apart.
“Clementine, what did you do?” Ian complained as he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me away.
“Ian, that is my—” I tried to scream and cry, but he dragged me toward the exit quickly because the clowns had started to attack us.
“Clementine, snap out of it!” He shook me as he put me behind his back, fighting whatever came at him.
But my eyes were fixed on that one clown as she approached me. Before I could react, I felt my knees go weak.
“Wake up—” Ian screamed to snap me out of it but I could not.