17.

After a bit longer, I lost him. Almost like he disappeared in thin air. Where did he go? I wondered, looking around my surroundings to find him once again. I eventually cursed underneath my breath, walking straight a little bit longer. Not having an idea where he could've gone.

I eventually found him once more, grinned. Before I followed him, I saw him go into the shadows between two stands. I hesitated before making my way towards the shadows. Once I did, it was almost like a maze. I followed him, making sure that he didn't notice me. The further we went into the shadows, the colder it got. It was strange, chills running down my spine.

He would take a few turns here and there almost like he was trying to get somewhere specifically. Eventually There was an area that was very spacious. There was a stained mattress with blankets that looked more like rags. There were apple cores, and a whole bunch of garbage spread about. He had a small rack of clothes that looked a bit more like costumes: Werewolf, clown, scarecrow, and a lot more.

What the hell? I whispered to myself. I examined the area a bit more until I made my leave. What I have figured out is that he lives at the amusement park and that he has killed innocent people who were scare actors.

It all was messed up, especially him living at a park where a whole bunch of

kids and adults go to have fun. Such fun wouldn't be amusing nor would the park be called an amusement park. Not when a killer lives here, a killer who gets to decide to go after.

When I was almost out of there, I tripped over a shoe. A random shoe that was put there on purpose. I cursed under my breath before getting back on my feet. I wiped my knees and my behind. I looked around me, and one of the corners of one stand had that man peeking around the corner, staring at me with widened eyes that was full of anger.

I booked it, not getting another look at the man. I could hear him walking behind me, not bothering to actually run after me. There was a tight gap between two stands that t you would win prizes at. I was lucky enough to get through, especially when I have a slim build. When I was to get to the other side of that disastrous maze, I turned around to see an arm stretched out between the gap. He was trying to grab me. Since when was he so close to me? He sounded farther away from me while running, so how?

I breathed heavily, watching the arm vanish within the shadows.

I went on my way to the entrance of the park. It took me a bit as I felt light headed on the way due to the unbearable heat. It felt a lot hotter than before. The assigned weather does not make any sense.

Once I reached the entrance, I fell down onto my knees, gasping for air. I felt like I could die at any moment. I went onto my back, lifting up my head just to see a syringe sticking to my thigh. The hell? I took the syringe out as people started to surround me. I examined the syringe as best as I could but my vision got blurry. From what I can tell is that there was still some liquid inside of the syringe.

My body grew weak, I rolled the syringe to make sure it wasn't close to me. I eventually passed out.

I opened my eyes, seeing a police officer beside me along with Clarence and Edson. Clarence's face had a few small scratches and bandages, while Edson looked like a ghost.

"How are you doing, dear?" Clarence asked as I lifted myself up. I was in the hospital, having an IV at hand is what gives it away, including the gown.

"What happened?" I asked, glancing over at Clarence. She stood there quietly, avoiding eye contact.

The officer eventually spoke, "Mr. Francis" He started, "You were found cold right at the entrance of an amusement park along with a syringe." He said.

I stuttered, "W-well I know that but-" The officer interrupted me, "Have you been taking drugs, Mr. Francis?" He asked.

"No, of course not." I replied, even Clarence backed me up, "He doesn't do drugs especially not at an amusement park, sir."

The officer nodded, "Alright, but how can you explain the syringe?" He asked, lifting up a clear plastic bag that had the syringe in it.

"I found a syringe sticking to my thigh, I didn't even know that it was there." I thought about what happened until I continued. "There was this strange man there at the park." I said which grabbed the officer's attention.

"How could you describe this strange man?" The officer asked.

I looked down at my hands that were clenched. "He's tall and had a large build-" I paused for a quick second, looking back up at the officer who was writing the description of the man.

"His face looked melted. He was wearing dirtied overalls with a red plaid shirt. Was bald." I said, seeing the officer nod his head.

"Well-" the officer started but soon got

interrupted by Edson. "I saw him." He said, "The man with the melted skin." His eyes were full of fear. "I was the one who called the police, I was the kid inside of the haunted house who almost got killed." His eyes grew watery, as there were tears brewing.

"I saw him before. When that teenage girl died. He was there, on the other side of the fence. Staring at me." He began to tremble, leaning into Clarence for some comfort.

"Must have been so hard for

you,

Edson."

Clarence said, wrapping her arms around Edson. I sighed, looking back down at my hands, I relaxed them seeing dents built into my skin.

"That man must have done all that, he must've been the one who killed all the innocent people inside of the haunted house." I said, "He is probably also the one who stuck the syringe to me without me noticing." I sighed once again. "Why would you think that?" The officer asked, his brow raised.

I stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering, "Because-" I paused, "I went after him. I followed him to this place at the amusement park." I said.

"What place?" He asked.

"I don't know." I shrugged, "It was like-" I thought about the location and it didn't really make much sense to me. "It was behind all the stands that were there almost, it was like a maze but there were really just a few turns here and there." I said.

"So? What did this place look like?" He asked while writing everything down. "There was a mattress and blankets in one corner and a rack of costumes in another."

I replied. "Costumes?" He said, "What costumes?" He questioned.

"Uhm.. I don't know-" I paused, "Oh, uhm. Werewolf, scarecrow, clown. Just a whole rack of costumes."

The officer nodded his head.

"The whole place was a mess. I think he's living there." I said. The officer looked at me for a moment before looking back at everything that he wrote down.

The officer sighed, "The man with the melted skin, correct?" he looked at Edson, waiting for him to reply.

Edson nodded his head, "Yes, the man with the melted skin." He replied.

The officer put away the notepad along with the pen he was using. "Will look into it." He said, going straight to the door.

it." He said, going straight to the door. "Also." He said, continuing his sentence, "Mr. Robert is who I am, address me as officer Robert or Mr. Robert." He handed Clarence a piece of paper with his phone number, "Call me when you need me." He said.

He left the room after saying his goodbye. Both me and Clarence looked at each other; We were both confused.

Me and Clarence were talking to each other while Edson sat in the corner of the room, playing on his phone while shaking. The doctor eventually came into the room to check up on me.

"Mr. Francis." The doctor said, holding a clipboard.

"You were in a short coma for several hours. Have you been told that?" The doctor said.

I shook my head, "No, I haven't been told" I replied as I made eye contact with the doctor.

The doctor nodded her head, "It seems you were injected with a liquid, yes?" The doctor didn't wait for me to reply back. "The liquid you were injected with was GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate." She said, I blinked a couple of times in confusion which made the doctor smile a bit.

"GHB is a depressant drug that helps narcolepsy. There are indeed side effects just like any other drug. It can cause drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and vision changes." The doctor continued explaining gamma- GHB.

When the doctor finished explaining I was able to say something. "So, I could've died?" I asked, still not

unsure about it all.

The doctor nodded her head, "Yes, whoever takes GHB can become unconscious, stop breathing, which can also lead to death." She replied, holding the clipboard that was leaning more to her side.

"Do you know how you got in touch with the syringe at all?" The doctor asked me. "Oh, uhm."

I sighed, "Tough luck I guess." I smiled at the doctor awkwardly.

The doctor nodded her head.

I had a feeling she didn't believe any of that.

I sighed once more before looking down at my hands.

"You may rest here a while longer, you have just woken up from a coma. Have Not shown many side effects currently but do expect them some time." The doctor nodded her head before glancing over at Clarence and Edson.

"Other than that, there isn't much." Before the doctor left the room, Edson stood up. "What about the actors?" He asked.

The doctor glanced over at Edson, "Excuse me?" She replied, her head tilted to the side a bit.

"The people who came from the amusement park. How are they?" He asked once more.