Part 3: If You Can’t Stand The Heat, Stay Out of the Vents
Sweat trickled down the back of Jadine’s neck wetting the dangling tresses of her ponytail and soaking into the collar of her managerial top. Her palm felt slick with it, sliding across the surface of the doorknob as she tried to turn it.
“Damn,” she muttered, exhaling her pent-up breath in a huff. At least the shaking in her hands was hidden from sight in the lightless room. She dragged her palm across her jeans then reached out for the knob again.
“Wait,” Trevin said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Can you fire off the flash one more time? Just so we know where we stand.” The creaking in the heating vent had slowed, replaced by a banging as if a large creature was trying to force its way through a too small opening. The sound was unnerving.
“Yeah, okay.” Careful to keep her elbow against the doorknob so she wouldn’t have to search for it again, she turned in the direction of the room and fired off another picture.
Stacy grunted and slapped a hand over her eyes.
“I’m blind,” she complained.
“We’re all blind, the lights are out,” Trevin said, impatiently.
“What the hell?” Jadine couldn’t believe her eyes. Quickly she depressed the camera icon again. A clown lay wedged in the mouth of the vent, the head of a second could be seen pressed into the space between the first one’s shoulder and the vent opening. How they had managed to fit in the tight space at the same time was baffling. The two panted heavily, their breathing echoing in the room as they struggled to push out of the opening, neither appeared to make any progress.
“Where’s the clown on the floor?” Stacy shrieked, staggering back against the door, the chair in her hands raised in anticipation of an attack.
Jadine aimed the phone at the spot on the floor where the clown had last been and flashed again. Only a rainbow-colored puddle, like oil resting on water, appeared in the photo. There was no clown in sight.
“Oh, God, he’s loose in here somewhere!” Stacy’s voice rose with her panic. The chair feet met the door with a thunk as she swung it wildly in from side-to-side. Jadine felt it breeze by her, narrowly missing her arm.
Fighting her own rising panic, a flash of anger shot through Jadine’s body. She caught hold of the chair leg and yanked it out of Stacy’s hands before she could take another swing with it.
“Stop, Stacy,” she hissed. “Before you take out Trevin or me.” She tossed the chair aside. It crashed to the floor, the sound near deafening in the silent room. All three jumped at the sound.
“Flash the light again, Jadine. We need a visual,” Trevin hissed trying to keep his voice low.
Jadine bit back a sharp retort. Between the heat and stress, she was feeling the need to snap at everyone. She depressed the button as quickly as she could, impatient at the pause as the camera adjusted and focused. There was no sign of the clown.
“I don’t know where he is, but I’m not seeing him,” Jadine said.
“Try the vent again,” Trevin urged. “I think I know what happened.”
Jadine took another picture of the vent. The two clowns now lay side-by-side, their bodies emaciated. The garishly painted faces drooped, pulling the features into grotesque contortions as though their faces were made of wax.
“Ha!” Trevin clapped his hands together, the sound like a thunderclap in the quiet room. “I knew it would work! In your face, Stacy, my heat idea is working.”
“It sure seems that way,” Jadine said, a hopeful smile crossing her lips. “If we can plug the hole in the door, we might be able to pull this off. I’m going to check the hallway.”
As quietly as possible, she released the lock and bolt. With a flick of her wrist, she turned the knob and slowly opened the door a crack, hoping there wasn’t a clown standing silently on the other side of the door. From somewhere indiscernible, a light flashed first blue then red then blue again. The lighting was indirect, bouncing along the wall. Not enough to light up the hallway but enough to lighten the darkness.
With her eye pressed to the small space, she sought any movement or shape that would signify a clown nearby. Seeing none, she slipped her foot between the door and the jam to hold it open while she set off the flash once in each direction. Then, she retracted back into the room and closed the door, engaging the locking system once again. She shivered. The temperature on the other side of the door was icy compared to the soaring heat in the room where she stood.
“Are they out there?” Trevin asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see any, but your phone’s battery is too low to take any more pictures. As far as I could see with the flash, the hallway is clear. We need to move now.”
“What are we waiting for?” Stacy hissed. “Open the door, let’s go!”
“Wait,” Trevin said, resting his weight against the door. “We need a plan before we race out there. You know, possibly to our doom.”
“Wow, thanks for reminding me, Trevin.” Stacy said sarcastically. “Because I totally forgot we were in danger!”