“No!” Crystal yelled, letting her sister’s other arm go and jumping on Klaws’ back. The black Santa staggered around the room as he tried to dislodge her.
This gave Nightshade a perfect opportunity to knee Klaws in the balls.
“Ooaf!” he groaned, dropping the axe and clutching his nuts.
Whilst he nursed his privates, Crystal dug her fingers into his eyes and pushed.
“Argh!” he screamed, bucking wildly.
His shaking was so violent that he managed to throw Crystal off his back and also avoided the axe Nightshade was swinging at his head. The force of her missed swing took her off-kilter, allowing Klaws to wrap his hands around her throat. He squeezed with all his might before throwing her out the dining room window.
With his back turned, Klaws failed to see Crystal rush him with two forks from off the table. She punched them into his back. He let out a howl as he tried to reach around to pull them free.
“Now you’re fucked!” Crystal said, picking Harry up off the floor and putting him in the crux of her arm.
Harry unleashed a flurry of throwing stars, with three hitting Klaws in the face – a fourth and fifth sank into the man’s neck and throat. He fell against the wall behind him, and then slid down it.
“If we don’t get out of here soon, the whole place is going to go!” Harry said.
“I need to get my sister!” Crystal said.
“Fuck that bitch!” Harry said. “She’ll only turn on you later.”
“We don’t know that!” Going to Sam, Crystal helped her to her feet. “Come on, we have to get out of here!”
Sam groaned.
As Crystal turned to face the window, she was shocked to see Klaws rush her. Jumping to one side, she avoided his tackle with success, but he managed to shoulder charge Sam onto the dining table.
Looking back, Crystal saw Klaws trying to throttle her sister.
“We have to go!” Harry said.
“No, I can’t le—”
A loud cracking sound cut her off, and she witnessed the ceiling above Sam and Klaws give way as the roof fell through. Huge chunks of brick smashed down on their heads and bodies, which was enough to kill them both.
Getting to the outside, Crystal was shocked to find Nightshade still alive. They coughed and wheezed as they watched the building fall through.
“Where’s your sister?”
“Dead!” Crystal said.
“You don’t seem too unhappy about it,” Nightshade said. “What about that grand apology?”
“A truce would never have lasted – I’m sure she would have tried to kill me.”
“I guess we’ll never know.”
“No. I guess that’s the end of everything!” Crystal said.
“I was almost firewood!” Harry said.
“That was never going to happen,” Crystal said. “I would have died with you had you been killed.”
“Now what?” Nightshade asked.
“What do you mean?”
“David’s still out there, and he’s not going to stop until we’re dead – he’ll just write us into another trap. We can’t escape. We can’t win!”
“Do you think we were meant to survive that blast?”
“Probably not. And if we had, I’m sure David was hoping Klaws would finish us off,” Nightshade said. “We could just slip away – nobody will be any of the wiser?”
“Are these even our own thoughts?” Crystal asked. “He would never let us just ‘slip away.’ Never.”
Nightshade shook her head. “I say we get back to the circus. We can leave with it tomorrow.”
“What about Mr. Tickles?” Crystal asked.
“I can explain things – don’t worry, you and Harry will be safe.”
Without another word, all three fled the scene, heading back to the fairground.
THE AFTERMATH
The next day the circus pulled out of Porthcawl with Crystal and Harry stowed away. They had plenty of unanswered questions on their minds, which they spoke of between themselves.
Are we out of danger?
Will the writer let us go?
Will he lead us somewhere else?
If he knows we are alive, will he write about us again?
These are questions to which they will never know the answers – will never be privy to. Why? Because I can’t have my characters, or readers, knowing their fate. That would be madness!
When I wrote the end to Escapees and Fevered Minds, I knew exactly who would live and who would die. I’m quite happy to allow Crystal, Harry and Nightshade to keep on living for now – at least I managed to kill off a few of the others, which has freed up a bit of space inside my mind.
Will I turn the series into a trilogy? Who knows! Maybe you, the reader, can figure out how it all ends?
Is Harry real?
Maybe…
All I do know is that my characters are still out there, appearing in a circus of utter horrors. Pray they never come to a town near you…
But they are all in your mind, I hear you say, dear author?
That might be true, but how do you know for certain…?!
About the Author
David Owain Hughes is a horror freak! He grew up on ninja, pirate and horror movies from the age of five, which helped rapidly install in him a vivid imagination. When he grows up, he wishes to be a serial killer with a part-time job in women’s lingerie…He’s had several short stories published in various online magazines and anthologies, along with articles, reviews and interviews. He’s written for This Is Horror, Blood Magazine and Horror Geeks Magazine. He’s the author of the popular novel “Walled In” (2014) & "Wind-Up Toy" (2016), along with his short story collections “White Walls and Straitjackets” (2015) and "Choice Cuts" (2015).
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Escapees and Fevered Minds Page 19
