“…..”
The child’s voice slid softly into my ear as I stared at the balloon hovering in place. It was red, unnervingly red, and the longer I looked, the more a slow, creeping chill settled over me.
Outside, the tapping of the rain seemed to slow down, each drop unnervingly loud in the silence that filled the playroom.
’Something is definitely wrong.’
I could feel my stomach rumbling, and my hands tingling.
Scrrr—
Looking down, the kid had once again resumed doodling on the paper. He started to circle the area around the eyes with the black crayon, twirling it over and over again, forming the usual spirals of black that made up the clown’s eyes.
The balloon floated silently above as a flash of white lit the room—
BANG!
A thunder pierced through the silence shortly after, as I looked around me, trying my best to remain composed while looking around the room in search of some clues. Anything.
However, regardless of how much I looked, I couldn’t find a single thing.
Crouching down, I leveled with the boy.
“Chris.”
I called out his name.
But…
Scrrr—
The child ignored me, focusing his entire attention on the drawing in front of him.
He continued to circle the area around the eyes, almost as if entranced.
“Chris?”
I called out again, but yet again, I received no response.
“…You said Mr. Jingles is angry. Can you tell me why he’s angry?”
Scrrr— Scrrr—
The kid’s hand grew faster and faster, the white parts of the eyes slowly getting covered, making the eyes entirely pitch black.
A weight pressed on my chest.
And then—
“…..”
He stopped.
Slowly, he raised his head and looked at me, his brown eyes meeting mine.
The world turned quiet in that moment.
Just me and the small kid, and my breath gradually started to thin out.
His lips parted.
I waited, breath caught in my throat. Maybe this was it. Maybe he’d say something, anything that made sense of this.
I wanted to know why Mr. Jingles was mad. Perhaps I could figure out some sort of clue.
Something.
But…
“…I am hungry.”
I stared at him, momentarily stunned.
A sigh slipped out. “Alright.”
I stood up once more.
“Let’s go. The Matriarch has already prepared food for everyone.”
The kid didn’t wait for me before getting out of his chair and moving out of the room.
“Hey, wait!”
I was just about to follow him when I found myself drawn to the drawing. I had been so focused on the eye that I hadn’t noticed there was something in the usually blank background.
’A TV?’
Slowly, my head raised, and my eyes stopped at the TV.
It was currently switched off, and even as I got closer to check if there was anything wrong, I didn’t notice a single thing.
“Strange.”
I reached for my glasses, then hesitated. Memories of the Twisted Man flashed through my mind. I pulled my hand back.
’…Once Kyle comes back and he’s with me, I’ll use the glasses.’
I’d feel much better if he were with me. At least, if Mr. Jingles did show up, Kyle would be present to protect me.
“Seth? Seth…? Lunch is ready! Seth!”
The Matriarch’s voice echoed faintly down the hall.
I tore my eyes from the TV and slipped the drawing into my pocket.
I planned on giving this to Kyle later.
“Seth?”
“Coming.”
***
“Let’s go over here!”
“Shit, this rain is crazy…”
Kyle and Zoey pulled their jackets tighter around themselves as they ducked under the bridge-like archway of the small pub to shield themselves from the rain.
Stopping there, Zoey looked at Kyle.
“Be kind and stop the rain.”
“Huh?”
“…Just use your time thing and get the rain to stop.”
“That would be a waste, though.”
“You’re the one who forgot the umbrellas in the car.”
“Right…”
Kyle had no retort there. He had indeed been the one to forget the umbrellas. The rain wasn’t even that bad before, but it had somehow intensified over the course of the past hour.
Taking out his phone, Kyle sighed.
“I also don’t have a signal for whatever reason.”
“…Same.”
Zoey tilted her phone in Kyle’s direction.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds before turning to look at the pub. The light inside flickered warmly, and through the circular window above the dark oak door, the silhouettes of several figures moved in and out of view.
“Should we go in?”
Zoey suggested as she looked at the rain outside.
“I don’t think things will calm down anytime soon. Might as well go in and ask the people here if they know something.”
“Yeah.”
Kyle was of the same opinion as he reached for the door handle and pulled it down.
Creaak!
As the door creaked open, the noise from the bar rushed in, filling their ears. Inside, the place was bustling, tables packed with people chatting and laughing. Wooden pillars lined the room, and paintings hung from the walls, giving the pub an almost homey feel.
Closing the door behind them, Kyle and Zoey looked around before finding their own seat.
Their table was rather isolated, located in the corner of the pub. However, this worked well for the two of them as they didn’t want to attract much attention.
Taking their orders, Kyle’s expression was the first to turn serious.
“Do you see it?”
“….I do.”
Zoey quietly nodded, her gaze fixed on the wooden pillars around, more specifically, towards several framed drawings.
“They’re the same…”
“Not quite.”
Kyle commented, noticing that the drawings were missing key details in some of them.
“That one right there is missing the gloves, while the one right there is missing the nose.”
“…You’re right.”
Zoey frowned, suddenly thinking of something.
“Do you think there is a connection to it? If you look at the drawings, they’re all the same, besides the small key details. Why do you think there’s such a difference?”
“I don’t know.”
Kyle tapped his finger against the table. He had tried asking one of the kids, but all he received was the same answer, ’But this is Mr. Jingles…’
“The kids don’t seem to be aware of the reason as well.”
The situation was a lot more problematic than they thought.
“Oh? It looks like you two are interested in Mr. Jingles.”
All of a sudden, a soft yet cheery voice broke them out of their thoughts. Lifting his head, Kyle saw a young girl with blue eyes, soft yellow hair tied in a ponytail, and a fairly fit body holding onto a wooden tray carrying a couple of drinks as she slowly placed them down.
“Thank you.”
Thanking the lady, Kyle looked at her.
“…Mr. Jingles? Is that what the name is?”
Kyle pretended to be oblivious.
“Haha, yes, yes. He’s become some sort of icon with the children these past few days.”
Laughing, the lady took out a black purse as the sound of coins clinking together echoed.
Kyle took out his wallet.
“I see. No wonder the sketches appear like that. So it’s a kid’s character.”
“Yes, but I’ve never seen him before. I think it’s something the children saw on TV or somewhere else.”
“Oh. Any idea which channel?”
“No, not at all.”
The lady looked behind her.
“As you can see, I’m quite busy myself. I don’t really have time to check on what the kids do.”
“Right, of course. ”
Chuckling, Kyle opened up his wallet and handed the lady a couple of bills.
“…But is there anyone else who has seen it besides the kids? I’m actually quite curious about this, Mr. Jingles.”
“Hmm.”
Taking the bills, the lady thought for a moment.
“In the past, no, but in the past couple of days, there have been some people who have talked about it in this pub. Something about them seeing strange things and their TVs not working.”
Kyle and Zoey looked at each other, their expression changing subtly.
“Who was it? Who was it…? Hmm. Ah, right!” As if finally recalling, she snapped her fingers. “I think it’s Mr. Shingles from a couple of blocks away on Newway Street. 42. He should know—Huh? Wait, customers! Your change!”
“Keep it!”
Kyle and Zoey moved the moment they heard the information. Without wasting a single second, they left their table with their drinks full and headed towards the street that the lady mentioned.
The rain poured even harder the moment they went out, the air blowing strongly in their direction.
However, with a single wave of his hand, everything around Kyle stopped, and the two moved around the town, finally stopping before a certain building.
“42. This has to be it,” Kyle muttered, looking up at the building. It was a two-story house, its white brick façade worn from time, ivy winding up its walls. The tall, narrow windows and steep, slate roof gave it a quiet, almost mournful charm.
Moving past the brick fence that surrounded the house, Kyle rang the bell, feeling the forceful taps of the rain hitting against the nearby window as he saw a faint dot of light coming from inside the building.
“I’m almost certain there’s someone inside.”
He waited with his arms crossed, hoping he’d receive an answer shortly after, but…
“…Nothing.”
Kyle and Zoey looked at each other.
“I’ll try again.”
Kyle rang the bell again, but…
Nothing.
The two looked at each other again, nodding quietly.
“It’s for the investigation, so…”
“Yeah.”
Kyle hunched over and took out a small key from his pocket, which he inserted into the door of the lock. As agents from the Containment Department, they naturally had the means to bypass doors.
Click!
Turning the key, the door unlocked, and the two came in.
Bzzz! Bzzz!
The first thing they noticed upon entering was the static sound of the television coming from the living room as the two quietly entered the place, their bodies tense and ready to sprint into action at any second.
Neither made a sound while walking in, moving past the small corridor that led to the living room.
Eventually, the two turned the corner of the corridor, granting them a glimpse of the living room.
The moment they did, their faces changed.
“….?!”
“——!”
Bzzz! Bzzz!
“Mr Jingles says~”