The Guild of Fallen Clowns (31 page)

“Leaving so soon? I feel like we were just
getting started.”

“Believe me, Father; you’ve given me a lot
to think about. Right now, my heart is telling me what I must
do.”

“Go in peace, my son.”

*****

The Friday afternoon crowd at the carnival
was thin. Inside the ticket booth, Cracky enjoyed a smoke as he
waited for the next customer. Alan wanted to be sure the Labyrinth
was unlocked for his visit with Peepers so he stopped at Cracky’s
ticket booth. He stepped up and Cracky blew his last puff out the
cracked open door and concealed his cigarette.

“Hi, Cracky, I’m back.”

“Oh, uh, hey, buddy. How many?” Cracky
replied as he prepared to dispense tickets.

Alan realized Cracky didn’t recognize him in
plain clothes and without his Boogy face paint.

“It’s me, Boogy.”

Cracky squinted and leaned in for a closer
look. “Boogy?”

“Yeah, actually it’s Alan, but yes, it’s
me.”

“Wow, it is you. I thought you wuz older and
uglier. What brings you back, Boog? Did ya come back for fun now
dat you ain’t working no more?”

“Actually, no, but I will be coming back for
that tomorrow night. I came back to see Geno.”

Cracky’s head tilted like a confused puppy.
“Geno?”

“Yes. I never got the chance to thank him
for recommending me for the job. I thought I’d stop by and do that
before you guys pack things up and leave next week. Is he in the
Labyrinth?”

“Yeah, he’s in there, but today might not be
good for dat. He’s in one of his moods since we closed him down dis
morning. He’s startin’ to remind me of his old man.”

“His father?”

“Yeah, I was just a kid myself, but story
has it, Geno’s daddy was a psychopathic murderer. He left a trail
of victims in every town da carnival passed through. It’s a good
thing dey finally caught up wid him before he started targeting us
carnies.”

“Is he in prison?”

“Better—he’s dead!”

“Dead? Wow, that had to be hard on Geno. Do
you really think he’s capable of doing the same thing?”

“I don’t know what ta think, Boog. I’m just
saying he’s been acting stranger den usual lately. I’m sure he’ll
be back to normal when da Labyrinth reopens in Monroe.” Cracky
paused. “You know what, I’m probably overreacting. I shouldn’t have
said nothin’. I wouldn’t like it if people judged me on some of da
things my old man did. Forget I said anything, Boog. Just watch
your back. Oh, shit, there I go again. Hey, I got a customer
headin’ dis way. Stop by to see me tomorrow night.” Cracky looked
past Alan to the approaching customer.

Alan stepped aside. “Okay, Cracky. I’ll see
you tomorrow.”

*****

Inside the Labyrinth, Alan found Geno
standing on a ladder, stretching black fabric across the
ceiling.

“Geno, do you need a hand with that?”

The ladder wobbled from the tension Geno had
on the material. He glanced down at Alan and smiled. “Sure, can you
hold the ladder steady while I staple this up?”

Alan rushed over to secure the ladder.

“Didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” Geno
said as he pressed five staples through the fabric and into the
wooden framework above.

“Me either, but I’ve been thinking a lot,
and there’s something I need to discuss with Peepers.”

Geno lowered his hand with the stapler and
looked down at Alan. Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded
knowingly. Alan released his grip on the ladder as Geno stepped
down and folded it closed. He tucked it under his left arm, leaned
forward, and whispered. “Good luck,” before exiting the
chamber.

Alan stood alone in the room. He wondered
why Cracky felt the need to warn him of meeting with Geno. This was
the most comfortable he’d ever felt with him. As the only two
humans connected to Peepers, he felt like they shared a bond. And
after Geno’s warning earlier that day, he realized that he wasn’t
alone in his concerns about Peepers and the Guild. Cracky’s
observations must have been of a scared Geno, not a psychotic
one.

The lights dimmed. Alan took a deep breath,
rolled the kinks from his neck, and locked his eyes on the mirror
in front of him. He was ready to face Peepers.

Peepers’ voice came from behind him,
catching him off guard. “Where are my sculptures?”

Alan spun around to see Peepers inside the
mirror. His face was without expression.

“Your sculptures? I didn’t come here for
that. Besides, I told you I wasn’t ready to make more.”

“Alan is right. We did make agreement. Alan
will help Peepers—soon.”

“Well, uh, that’s kinda why I’m here.”

“Oh, Alan now ready? Soon is today?” Peepers
said.

“Actually, no, that’s not it. I’ve decided
to get out. I’m not going to make any more figures.”

A look of rage filled Peepers’ face. His
image shook violently. Ripples formed around him and swallowed him
completely. With his image gone, the ripples smoothed, returning
the panel to a smooth mirror finish. The display was shocking, but
Alan felt a huge sense of relief, and calm, as he realized he did
it. He said no to Peepers and severed his ties with the spirit. He
shook out his last nerves and looked up to the ceiling in
anticipation of the brightening lights.

The lights didn’t return. From behind,
Peepers spoke. “Peepers help Alan from his fears. Spanky help Alan
with Lyle. Agor help Alan’s family. Now Alan refuse to help
us?”

Alan casually turned to face Peepers. “Yes,
it’s true that you may have helped me, Peepers. But I’m not
comfortable with any of this. I talked to Father Harris and he told
me that only God has the ability to help lost souls. I can’t be—
and shouldn’t be—trying to help you and the Guild. You need to take
that up with God, not me.”

Peepers snarled. “Father knows nothing of
Peepers’ soul. Alan cannot listen to the deception and hypocrisy of
petulant priest.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I trust
Father Harris and I’m not going to change my mind.”

Peepers stared into Alan’s eyes as he
considered his response. “Peepers wrong about Alan. We thought Alan
was a man of honor. We grabbed hands and agreed to help each other.
We help Alan, but now he is done, refuse to help us. Is Alan man of
his word?”

Peepers was right. Alan had agreed to help
as long as it was in his own time. If he backed out now or anytime
in the future, he wouldn’t be true to his word. He was of the
belief that a man is nothing if he can’t be trusted. How could he
live with himself, knowing he breached their agreement?

As he struggled to find a way out of his
dilemma, another figure appeared in the mirror behind Peepers. It
was Poppy, the same clown that appeared in an earlier meeting with
Peepers. As before, Poppy looked frightened. He shook his head and
mouthed the word “No.” Also, as with his previous sighting of
Poppy, a dozen clown-gloved hands reached around his body. Before
they pulled him back to the darkness of the mirrors, Poppy’s face
transformed into that of Alan’s father, shaking his head from side
to side with his right hand covered over his visibly thumping
heart.

With Poppy’s and his father’s faces gone,
Alan abandoned all thoughts of retaining his integrity with respect
to his agreement with Peepers.

“Yes, I am a man of my word, Peepers. And
I’ll honor our agreement by praying for mercy on your soul. You and
I know this is the only way I can help you. You may not like my
decision, but I have to follow my heart.” Alan stood erect and
resolute in his declaration.

Instead of the anticipated volatile response
from Peepers, the dark spirit stood eerily calm. He let out a
disappointed sigh and relaxed his stance. “Very well, but know
this. Alan’s spirit forever tied to Peepers and the Guild. Our
deeds are yours. At your end, Boogy will join the Guild where
father cannot reach.”

Again, Peepers vanished. This time, the
lights returned and Geno returned. As he approached Alan, he winked
and held his right hand close to his belly with a subtle thumbs-up
signal.

“Is that it?” Alan asked. “Will Peepers
leave me alone now?”

“Yeah, buddy. That’s it. You won’t hear from
him again,” Geno replied as he put his arm around Alan and walked
him out.

As they stood in front of the Labyrinth,
Geno leaned in. “Wait for me in the parking lot.” He turned and
darted back inside before Alan could ask any questions.

*****

Leaning both arms over the hood of his car,
Alan watched as Geno approached ten minutes later.

“What’s up, Geno? Why did you want to meet
me out here?”

“Sorry, Alan. What I have to tell you can’t
be anywhere near the Labyrinth. Peepers can’t know that I’m talking
to you.”

“Why? What’s this about?”

“It’s the molds, Alan. Peepers only let you
go because you still have his mold.”

“I’m not following you. I’m not going to
cast any more figures of him. Why does it matter that I still have
them?”

“The molds give the figures their power. And
you were right to get out because Peepers is crazy. His mold needs
to be destroyed or people will get hurt.”

“What? Wait, what about the other clowns?
Are Spanky and Agor dangerous?”

“No, it’s just Peepers. The others are fine.
Your sister-in-law is safe, but Peepers’ mold needs to be destroyed
or he’ll find a way to take it from you. Once that happens, all
hell will break loose.”

“Oh my God,” Alan said. His body went limp
and he slid down the side of his car to the ground. “Did he kill
Mrs. Henderson? Did I cause that?”

Geno sat next to him. “No. He was telling
you the truth about her. I know this because he was really pissed
off when she died because he didn’t get the chance to do anything
to her.”

Alan remained dazed. Geno grabbed his arms
and gave him a good shake. “You have to stay with me, Alan. I don’t
have much time. We have to destroy Peepers’ mold.”

“Okay, I’ll go home right now and destroy
it. Actually, I’m going to destroy all of them. I shouldn’t have
been messing around with this stuff in the first place.”

“You can’t do that, Alan. There’s more to it
than just destroying the mold. That will prevent Peepers from
casting more figures, but it won’t stop him from finding someone
else to make another mold.”

“Well, then, how can we prevent that from
happening?”

“We have to expel him from the Labyrinth.
The only way to do this would be to destroy his mold inside the
Labyrinth. It’s dangerous, but it’s our only option.”

“Okay, I’ll go get the molds, a hammer, and
a box cutter. You’ll have to sneak me inside—”

“No, that won’t work. Peepers won’t let you
back inside with his mold. He’ll kill you before you have a chance
to destroy it.”

“What do we do then?”

“He won’t suspect me, Alan. He trusts me
because I’m scared shitless of him. I can get the molds in without
him knowing. Then I’ll destroy them and we’ll all be free of
him.”

“You want me to give you the molds?”

“It’s the only way. Wait, are you saying you
don’t trust me?” Geno said.

“I don’t know. This is all coming at me
really fast, and I’m not sure who to trust anymore.”

“Alan, you have to trust me. Don’t you get
it? I’m like you. That asshole has been holding me hostage in there
for years. I want him gone more than you could imagine. Besides,
you don’t have any other options. Please trust me, Alan. I can’t go
on living under his control.”

Alan thought about Geno’s plea. While he
wasn’t comfortable releasing the molds to him, he didn’t see any
other options.

“Okay, I’ll consider giving the molds to
you, all three. But as I said, this is a lot to think about. I’ll
need some time. I’ll meet you back out here tomorrow morning, an
hour before opening.”

“I understand. I hit you with a lot of
stuff. I’m sure that once you think about it, you’ll know what
needs to be done, and you’ll bring the molds with you.”

“We’ll see.”

Geno helped Alan stand to his feet. “I need
to leave now before he suspects anything. I’ll see you in the
morning, Alan.” Geno ran back inside the carnival grounds.

*****

Peepers watched from the mirror as Geno
returned to the Labyrinth. Upon seeing Peepers, Geno stopped. A
smile came over Peepers’ face.

“Well done, my son,” he said.

Geno grinned. “It will be ours tomorrow
morning.”

Alan had just inserted the key into his
apartment door when the sound of a door opening behind him
prevented him from locking it. With his fingers still firmly
grasping the key, he turned to see Lyle walking toward him with a
smile.

“Hey, pal, I’m glad I caught you.”

“Oh, hey, Lyle.”

“Listen, before you leave, I’ve been
thinking about what went down between us the other night. I don’t
know what came over me. I was out of line, and I’m really sorry.
Can you forgive me? I swear it’ll never happen again.”

Alan let go of his key and sighed. He
turned, leaned his back to the door, and looked at Lyle’s face.
Lyle tried in vain to retain eye contact, but the whole time his
eyes shifted from side to side and down to the floor. There was no
question in Alan’s mind that Spanky was responsible for Lyle’s
sudden transformation.

“Forgive you? I think I should be asking you
to forgive me.”

“Why?” Lyle asked.

“I did a bad thing, Lyle. You probably don’t
realize it, but the only reason you are being nice to me is because
of that clown figure I left you this morning. I know this is going
to sound crazy, but I believe that it has—well, it has powers.
Those powers changed you, and this isn’t who you really are. I
shouldn’t have given it to you.”