The Weapon of Clowns
Walking home after work. I hate the late shift, alone on the streets at midnight. I always think I hear footsteps behind me. I joke about it, telling my friends it's not paranoia when you're alone at midnight. After the day I've had, I wish I had the money to take a cab home. The police tape is still up from this morning. I still can't believe it was only 9 hours ago...
I was on my way to work when I heard a scream. Being the nice guy I am, I ran into the alley to see if I could help. I was confronted with the view of a clown walking towards a young woman. He was holding a huge blue lollipop. You know the kind, they're as big as your head, takes a week to eat the thing. It was the lollipop that got my attention first, the sun was reflecting off it in a weird way.
I noticed the clown next. He was huge, 6 feet tall and wide. He was wearing the usual polka-dot dress and colorful wig. At least I think it was a wig. I'm not so sure anymore.
Going back to the scream, I know some people are scared of clowns. I've never understood why, but I thought that was the cause of her scream. I stepped forward, about to tell the clown to back off when he swung the lollipop at her. It was the strangest thing I have ever seen, and all I could do was stand there while he swung it again and again.
I finally regained my senses and ran towards them. At first I didn't notice that the girl had fallen. It wasn't until the clown turned around that I got a glimpse of her, laying on a pile of garbage bags.
The clown looked at me, and snarled. He was still holding his lollipop, but the blue color was gone, it was pure red. He pushing past me and took off down the street. I'll never forget that face. It was the first time a clown looked evil. I don't know what it was, the red tears painted on his white face, or the way the smile was painted. All I know is that something made it look sinister.
I ran over to the girl, and immediately saw that she was in trouble. She had cuts all over, and was bleeding everywhere. I ran back to the street and yelled for help, while taking out my cell phone to call 911. Off in the distance I heard the music of an ice-cream truck.
It didn't take long for people to run over and try to help. It was in vain, she didn't make it. The police questioned me, but I couldn't give them any new information. They explained that the clown has been loose for a week, killing people in broad daylight with a strange weapon. It was a metal disc, sharpened to the point of a knife. It was painted to look like a lollipop, and given a strong handle. Other than that, the police didn't know anything about this crazed circus killer. They thanked me for my time, and gave me a note for work. I felt foolish asking for a note, but my boss is like that. If I'm late, nothing short of death will make up for it, and there's no way he would have believed my story without proof.
Such a bad day, but like they say, when you hit rock bottom, the only direction to go is up. I can't resist looking down the alley as I pass it. Just stick my head over the yellow tape. It's too dark to see anything, but I wonder if I will ever be able to walk past it without seeing that face. It's quiet, the distant sound of cars from a few streets down. The usual music is coming from the noisy neighbors again. I can't help but think how lucky I am, not to live beside that guy. Always blasting rock music this time of night.
I'm at the halfway marker, the flickering streetlight. I've been walking this way for a year now. Not always at night, but when it's dark I've noticed that the same light has been flickering like that. I wonder if they will ever get it fixed. There's something a bit odd tonight, but I can't place it. Everything feels the same, but there's out of place.
I'm almost home, and I finally figured out what it is. I can hear an ice-cream truck. That's strange, at this time of day. Suddenly it hits me, and I remember the music from earlier today.
I run home, and as I put the key in the lock the strong smell of paint overwhelms me. I turn around, and there he is!
"I knew I'd find you"
End
I hope you enjoyed the second story in my "Lollipops and Rainbows" series. This one was again done fairly quickly. I hope you will forgive the errors that I left in it, they might distract from the story, but I wrote this piece as an example of "Warm-up" writing. I hope it shows the difference between a serious piece of work, and the liberties you can take with your warm-ups. If I'm looking through old warm-up exercises, and this piece inspires me to write a longer, detailed story, I can worry about the editing then.
I am not saying that I'm a lazy writer, or that editing is not important. I am trying to show that when you sit down, and start on a small piece to get yourself going, you can start with something raw and creative, and work up to a serious level.
You might have noticed that I didn't mention rainbows at all in this story. I did mention the colorful clothing and hair of the clown. I'll let you be the judge, if that's enough to qualify. It's now easy to insert the word "rainbow", to describe the clothing and hair. If you are writing for a specific theme, and have sent the editor some questions, you can start writing before you get a reply. It will usually take some time before you get a reply, and you don't want to miss a deadline while waiting. Just make sure your story fits the general theme, and there's enough room to change things around once you get a response.
A final tip. Do not try to force a theme, or squeeze a story you've already written into a new theme. You might think it works, and every now and then it does, but editors know what they're looking for, and can easily spot that kind of thing. If you don't have anything that fits the theme, do something new.
That's it for now. I think I've covered "Lollipops and Rainbows", and I don't want to go too far with it, so my next post will probably be a new "Warm-up" exercise for you to try.
Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, keep writing, and have fun!
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