My grandmother had a picture of a harlequin in her living room. It was dressed in a red and white motley outfit with a jester hat, juggling bowling pins on a unicycle. I thought it was cute. This Harlequin is almost exactly the same except its covered in my friend's blood. Instead of bowling pins he's carrying a baseball bat with a buzz saw blade hammered through it.
The night started off like any other Halloween first at a house party with my boyfriend Daniel. Then we met Daisy and Cindy at a bar. Cindy was wigged out because she thought a creepy clown was following her. We all thought she was watching to many horror movies.
Now Daisy was dead, impaled through the eye with a tent spike. Then the Harlequin came after me, cutting my thigh open with his bat. Daniel stepped in to try and protect me. The Harlequin smashed his skull in. He wont even be able to have an open casket. Cindy bashed the creepy bastard in the head with a old bottle. Giving us enough time to escape.
Now we are hiding in a abandoned restroom with no cellphone service. Not that we can call now with the clown right outside the stalls we climbed into. I should be holding the wound on my leg closed, my racing heart making blood pour from it. Some of it drips onto the floor. The Harlequins eyes catch the small pool of blood. He looks into the gap between the stall and door smiling.
"Oh God no." I whisper shaking. The door flies open and I scream. He raises the bat and I'm begging him not to do it. Then Cindy jumps on his back wrapping her arms around his neck. Cheerleaders are deceptively strong. I've seen Cindy arm wrestle line bakers and win. The Harlequin grabs a fist full of her hair and yanks her to the floor. He steps on her chest pinning her down. She tries to push his foot of of her screaming in rage. It doesn't work.
And here I stand frozen in fear. The bastard looks at me smiling, he's going to kill Cindy first and then me and there isn't a thing I can do about it. Cindy never stops struggling even when the Harlequin raises the buzz bat over his head. I look away and then I hear a crash and shattering glass.
I open my eyes Cindy is scrambling away. There is a wet thudding sound like meat being tenderized, over and over and over again. I run to Cindy and watch as something pummels the Harlequin with its fists. Its grey, the color of old stone and its skin looks like plates. Maybe it's a man in a suit? It turns revealing a snarling demons head. I fall partially from shock, partially from blood loss.
The demon removes a thick looking zip tie from its belt. Why does a demon have a belt? It cuffs the Harlequins hands together. It looks at me.
"The cut looks deep." It says. Its voice is harsh and brutal.
"May I?" It asks pointing at my cut.
I dont answer. The demon approaches anyway. Cindy goes for the discarded bat, grabbing it holding in front of her. She is the bravest of us.
"Don't be afraid." Kind of heard not to be when the thing saying it looks like a nightmare with the voice of the worlds scariest drill sergeant. It kneels down and gently with just a light touch moves the bat out of the way.
It looks at my wound then takes a hard plastic looking square from its belt. It opens the case up. There are gause, bandages, syringes and other first aid supplies. Then the demon treats my wound cleaning it and wrapping it. I barely register the sting of the alcohol.
"That'll do till the paramedics arrive."
"How did you call them?" I ask. Why would a demon call paramedics? Or carry a first aid kit?
"Don't worry about it." He says putting his kit back on his belt and throwing the unconcius Harlequin over his shoulder.
"Are you going to kill him?" Cindy asks.
"No."
"You should." I say.
The demon shakes his head disapointed. "Not my way."
He leaves. We follow a fem minutes latter. Cindy my brave strong friend holds me up the entire time carrying the bat at her side.
"Thank you," I say exhausted. "For saving me."
"I didn't," She replied. "It was the Gargoyle."
"Gargoyle?"
"When I was younger my dad brought me to church. It was old had these stone gargoyles carved on the side of it they scarred me."
We see the Harlequin hanging by his ankles from the ferris wheel.
"God in heaven."
"That's what my dad said. 'Cindy gargoyles look scary but they're from God to protect us.'"
"Well, he came through for us tonight." I start crying then. Cindy cries to clinging to me till the cops and paramedics separate us.
Just like a surreal teen slasher movie, good read.