On a cold fall evening Becky and her friend Ethan packed the cars for their weekly hike. They have been friends since before they can remember and always loved to go on hikes together. But this time it was different. This time it was to watch the sunset three miles deep into the steep mountainous forest. They brought their normal hiking gear plus headlamps for their walk back in the dark forest. This was Ethan’s idea and Becky had always been skeptical knowing she had to walk back in the dark. There had been recent reports on a killer clown around the area going around harassing people, but Ethan told Becky not to worry.
They started for their hike like usual, going to the left on the “mountain top trail” as they like to call it. The hike was beautiful with the leaves all different shades of fall and a crunching noise accompanied every step they took. The river that runs halfway through the hike was low and not as noisy as usual. They had made this hike more than twenty times, so they had no thoughts about getting lost on their way back. But the leaves on the ground made the trail unclear.
They finally made it up to the top of the mountain and made it to the big rock at the edge they always sit on. About thirty more minutes until the sun sets. They opened their backpacks to the abundance of snacks they brought. They settled in and open their food and before they could take a bite, they heard what sounded like a clown horn coming from back in the forest.
“What was that, Ethan?” said Becky with her voice trembling.
“I don’t know, probably just some stupid kids” he said.
“I don’t know Ethan, there have been reports about a dangerous killer clown around here for the past few weeks. You’re not worried?” She exclaimed.
“Becky please, don’t worry. It’s probably some kids just messing with us. We are okay. There is nothing to worry about,” said Ethan in a calm reassuring manner.
They went on eating their food and eventually forgetting about the noise. The sun started setting and they laid down on their blanket, taking in the scenery. The towns below shimmered in the orange glare of the sun and the leaves stretched for miles across the untouched land.
“This is beautiful, Ethan. We need to do this more often,” exclaimed Becky.
He sighed and looked at her, then back at the sunset, taking it all in.
“We should get going soon. I don’t want it to get too dark before we start walking back,” she commented.
“I don’t know. I think we should stay a little longer. We will be okay,” Ethan uttered.
They started packing their bags, making sure to take all the trash they brought up with them. They got done packing and took a few moments to finally take in the view. There was a fifty-minute hike back down the mountain waiting for them.
“Do you have your headlamp?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, I should have it somewhere in her,” she exclaimed while digging through her bag.
“Ethan, can you look? I really don’t see it, but I packed it earlier. It should be in there!” She said, panicking.
Ethan then checks her bag. Everything was in there but the headlamp.
“No headlamp. We need to start leaving now before it’s too dark,” he said, frustrated.
They then head back down the mountain. The sun was already setting and Becky was getting antsy. About one third of the way down, it was completely dark out. They have one headlamp that they were using for their only light source and Becky was freaking out.
Visibly distressed, she said, “Can I please have the headlamp? I am so scared right now.”
Ethan listened and gave her his headlamp. They finally reached the river flowing through the hike and they took a pitstop. They always stopped at the river to watch the water and to listen to the roaring rapids of the river. But this time that’s not all they heard. In the distance, there were subtle but noticeable crunching noises.
“What’s that, Ethan?” she whispered.
“I don’t know. Probably a deer or something. We are in the woods. It’s okay,” he explained.
The crunching noise got louder and closer until they started walking. Becky was worried and deep down Ethan was too, but they continued their way back down at a faster pace now. They couldn’t hear anything over their own steps through the crunchy forest. That’s what made it even worse; they still had the fear of the footsteps they heard before, but now they couldn’t hear anything. Almost two thirds of the way down, past the half line, they started hearing the crunching again. Not just their footsteps, but someone else’s. It was almost like there was someone walking with them. That is because there was.
Out of the dark forest appeared a tall, slender, crazy-looking clown.
“Run now!” Ethan shouted.
Becky made a run for it to the right and Ethan didn’t follow. Becky threw the headlamp as she was running so the clown couldn’t follow the light, but little did she know the clown was not after her, but was actually after Ethan. Ethan was dashing across the leaf-filled forest, jumping over logs and sticks and big roots sticking out the ground from the trees as the clown was trailing him with what appeared to be a machete. Ethan ran for a minute and then tried jumping over a fallen tree and fell. The clown never gave up and got to him and took him by the arms and tied him to a tree with a rope. Becky was about a quarter of a mile away from Ethan, frightened by what just happened. After realizing the clown didn’t chase her, she went to find the light that she threw so she could hopefully find Ethan. She didn’t need the light though. The clown started honking his horn and let out an evil laugh.
Ethan shouted to Becky, “Run Becky! He is waiting for you! Leave me and run!”
Astonishingly, Becky hears him and starts running for what she thought was the right way down the hill. About three minutes into running, she noticed a dropped wrapper of what she and Ethan were just eating about an hour before at the top of the mountain. She was lost. She had no idea what to do. Her phone was on 3% and she had no service to call for anyone. She then decided she would make the walk back down the mountain and hopefully find Ethan on the way down. She made it five minutes down the mountain, sprinting and out of breath. She finally started hearing the river, so she was in the proximity of Ethan and the clown. She started hearing the horn again, faint and far, but she could still hear it, and she also heard what she thought was Ethan screaming out for help.
“Someone please help! Please help me!” He shouted.
She ran, and ran, and ran, leaving Ethan behind. She made her way to the car to hopefully drive to someone who could help save him. But it could be too late.
