F I F T E E N
Spotlight Fear

ALL MY LIFE, I had prided myself on minimal fear standards. Being one of the members of the elite squad back in high school had practically forced me to shove all of my fears away. Leaders had to be strong, confident and in every sense of the word, perfect. And that was what I was groomed to be since the very beginning of my career.

Nothing short of absolute perfection.

However, there will always be one deep dark fear everyone tries to hide no matter what they're told. Some might fear the dark or whatever dwells within it while some might fear death. Some might have the philosophical fear of fearing fear itself. But not me. I was afraid of something more real, something that could really attack me if they were given the chance to do so.

There was nothing in the world I was scared of more than clowns.

Don't get me wrong. I love a good cutesy clown that carried balloons and had normal human eyes. Everyone loves those type of harmless clowns. Ones that only wished to spread joy and laughter to children around the world with their silly clumsy antics and amazing balloon-shaping skills.

Those clowns in my mind are the killer clowns, ones that would make even the bravest of souls whimper in fright. The large pointy teeth, absurd makeup that ran like blood, and smiles so wide that weren't even physically possible. Its face would be painted a ghastly white, the color of a sheet of paper and their eyes would be exaggerated into a large mocking expression.

I feared clowns that existed in movies more so than in reality. And where clowns could be found, I also feared the place a little more than I should.

And in this case, Death played my fear all too well.

The night was alive with loud buzzing carnival music, mascot adults walking around with mascot children in their hands. There were balloons everywhere, and there was no one other than me that was dressed in normal everyday clothing. This entire world was so obviously fabricated by the imagination of Death and his wizardry abilities, and yet this fact did absolutely nothing to soothe my nerves. In fact, it only ever increased my anxiousness.

Every once in a while, I would see a yellow-suited clown walking along the streets. Their hands were holding onto that of little clown children's, helium balloons streaming after them as laughter echoed into the night. Their little rainbow colored hair cones stuck out from their heads, resembling that of a scene straight out of a purgatory nightmare.

"Citizens of Hell." A loud voice echoed through the speakerphone system with a crackle of electricity, overriding the music as members of the crowd turned around to face the main stage a few feet away. Silence filled the place, the laughter died down as everyone awaited the next line from the voice that had just spoken.

While they waited with anticipation, I was awaiting it with pure dumbstruck horror. Sadly, I knew that voice all too well.

The stage was decked in glittering Broadway lights, red sparkly bling curtains that caught every single ray of light from the spotlight let down as the speaker stood smack in front of it. He was dressed in a smart black tuxedo with a red bow tie, and yet in his hands was a clown hand-held mask placed to cover his features.

Even with the mask covering his face, I knew who it was underneath. His gleaming silver eyes only ever confirmed my thoughts the second he cast me a quick glance in my direction.

"I am very pleased to welcome you all once more to the annual Hell Week. And as you all already know, the carnival is in town this year!"

I could practically feel the man smile from behind the mask, and my curious self pushed me to walk towards the front of the crowd. He paused for a moment, silver eyes shining from behind the mask as he eyed my figure.

"Tonight's main event will be spectacular, ladies and gentlemen!"

A burst of applause erupted from the crowd, thundering loudly as screams of delight echoed into the night. The children were all screaming in joy, their parents holding them up high into the air so that they could see the stage better. I could even spot a few babies here and there, all held in the arms of their caregivers. Even they did not shed a single tear or let out a single whimper. That said quite a lot about the atmosphere here in the carnival.

In contrast to the cries heard back in the boathouse, the people here were yelling in pure sadistic joy.

These were the cries of the murderers.

Those in the boathouse are the cries of the murdered.

"We," Death paused for a moment before he chuckled lightly. "My apologies. I," he corrected, "am delighted to have such a beautiful guest of honor here with us tonight. She is, I guess you can say, an old friend of mine."

Momentarily, I was blinded by the spotlight as it was cast on me. My hands immediately raised to shield myself, peeking a little straight through my fingers, seeing that they aren't exactly opaque yet and still very much translucent. Death lowered his mask, a pure wide grin appearing on his deviously handsome features as he held out a hand for me to take.

"Come on up here, baby doll. I promise I won't bite." He paused before the corners of his lips lifted even further. "Unless you want me to."

A chorus of 'ooh's and 'aah's rose from the crowd as they began to push me forward, practically shoving me into Death's hands as he clasped onto my wrist, yanking me up to the stage as if I weighed nothing more than a single feather. I didn't even have the time to trip over my own two feet before I was whisked into Death's arms, his fingers wrapped around my waist and my face inches away from his. From how close we were, I could distinctively see each feature on his face ever so clearly, even more so than the first time since it is obviously brighter here on the stage as compared to the party.

His dark eyelashes were long, much longer than mine probably. With his lips turned into a cunning smirk, the dimples in his cheeks showed ever so clearly, but only on one side, the left. His eyes were the color of molten silver, a bright dazzling shade that gleamed more so than plain gray. And his lips were the color of a soft pink-red ombré, twisting with evil. There was a small crook on his nose that proved that it wasn't in a perfectly straight line but instead looked as though he had a long-term injury that hadn't quite healed over the years. Just right beneath his left eye was a small faint scar, a shade lighter than his natural skin tone.

And yet, all these imperfections with his physical appearance was so difficult to catch, simply because he was undeniably gorgeous.

And undeniably deadly.

As he leaned forward to peck me on the lips, I quickly tilted my head to one side, allowing his cold lips to contact my cheek instead. When he drew back, his grin was still ever present, eyes locking on mine for a few seconds before loosening his grip on me, hand still on my hips. Though he knew that his attempt at a kiss and ending the game had been foiled due to my quick reaction, he did not seem too dejected and this made me worried.

The crowd burst into laughter, probably chuckling about how I had rejected the kiss of such a stunning man. Yet I paid them no attention. In my mind, there was only one thing that I needed to remember.

Stay alive and don't die.

"Now, my beloved guests, tonight's main attraction will be none other than this stunning woman here in my arms. If you don't know who she is, her name is Addison Pilediah. Her friends call her Addy." For a brief second, Death cast me a small school-boy grin before it turned dark once more. "Now, I'm sure you are all familiar with the maze?"

As if by command, the crowd cheered, laughing and whooping in delight as little animal mascots and clowns jumped up and down in excitement. From where I stood, the number of mascots and clowns available for the naked eye to see could stun anyone. The crowd seemed to go on for miles, only ever increasing as the seconds went by. This was nothing but a waking nightmare for me.

"Ah, yes, yes. The maze was always the most enjoyable event to watch. I do rather enjoy it myself. It's sad that we don't have that event quite often enough, though. Only once every three or four decades."

The crowd sighed simultaneously as if regretting the fact that they could only watch such a sadistic freak show every once in a while and not every day. I, on the other hand, was stunned silent. My mind immediately went to all the people that had been thrown in this maze that Death had spoken of. There, I prayed that those people were still alive. However, knowing Death and his ways, the chances were as good as none.

May their souls find peace in the afterlife.

"Do not fret, ladies and gentlemen. For tonight, we have a spectacular event like never before! So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

Without warning, the floorboards broke open as I dipped down below, Death's grip on my waist loosening until I was plummeting down a seemingly endless hole. When I landed on the ground, however, everything was upside down. My hair was standing up, the furniture on the ceiling as I glanced about nervously. It took a few seconds before the world rooted itself right on the axis again and I was thrown onto the ground, groaning in pain as a distant laughter echoed through my ears like noise out of an amplified sound system.

"Rules of this mini-game are simple, darling." Death's voice reverberated through the system, but from what I could see, there were only tall hedges after hedges, an endless line of overgrown plants that seemed to kiss the sky.

There were no lights, the only source of light would be the rays of the moon, and even with that, the moon wasn't a full one. Rather, it was in the shape of a crescent, resembling that of Death's nefarious smile since it was twisted to a side, the curve facing upwards unlike the usual sideways. The odds were against me.

I could not tell where was Death's voice coming from, but I knew that he could see my every movement and every action. In fact, I feared that he might even be capable of reading my mind and see my every thought.

"Reach the center of the maze to get your orb, and you will have the fighting opportunity to live for at least the next hour. We are not done with you just yet, so you will not see your beloved friends for some time. Lose?"

I could practically see the man shrugging playfully, a fake pout appearing on his face as he mocked my situation.

"Lose and you die here in the carnival. Oh, and you might need this."

A sharp pain attacked the top of my skull as I winced, rubbing my head profusely. When I looked down, it was a single white pistol that looked identical to the one I had left with Cassiel back at the boathouse. My jaw dropped a little when I reached down to pick the gun up. It was the exact same as the pistol that I had found. It wasn't possible for it to be a replica because it even had the little indent I accidentally made on the side.

My fingers trailed over the words on the weapon, lightly grazing them as I whispered its name under my breath so as to remind myself that I had a piece of goodness with me.

"Weapon of light," I murmured, pulling the gun close to my chest.

"You know what that is, and hence you know what's out there. I hope you're a marksman, baby girl because if not, I will see you back in hell."

Let the games begin.

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