The (h/c) haired girl closed her eyes and tried to calm herself best she could as she listened to the violence unravel above her. Between the hairless beast's constant growling and screeching, and Jack's constant chaotic giggle her anxiety was through the roof.

She took a couple of deep breaths to steady her mind so she could focus on what's important, survival.

She opened her eyes and crawled towards the opening of the hole, being careful to avoid any more human body parts the Rake did not get to finish. As she neared the mouth of the hole, she peered her head through the opening. Seeing a very distracted clown, obviously having too much fun and forgetting about his main task. Jack was jumping around and teleporting just as the Rake was about to launch another one of its poorly strategized attacks. Driving the creature wild with frustration.

If they were distracted enough maybe she could run when he wasn't looking. If she kept track of her time right, the game should be over in about 7 minutes. She just had to stay out of his reach for another 7 minutes, then it would be all over and she could finally return to a somewhat normal life.

She focused back on the two who were fighting. The beast was on all fours growling at the clown who didn't seem frightened at all. The girl looked back in the hole and got a disgusting idea that could be very helpful. She kneeled back into the hole and grabbed the semi-rotted femur, making her nearly empty the contents of her stomach. The rotted bone looked like it was weak enough to be split. She very quietly pressed her knee cap into the shaft of the bone, both hands at each end pulling towards her abdomen. This caused the bone to snap in half giving her the sharp ends she desired. The sound was a little louder than she would like but the continuous giggles and teasing like "You can't get me", meant that the sound went unnoticed by either entity above her.

The girl yet again poked her head out of the hole and got a good look at her surroundings.

"Gotcha!"

Jack was on top of the Rake, digging his claws into its shoulders make the now helpless creature release a painfilled scream.

"I was having fun with (Y/N)! We didn't invite you!"

The girl's face turned into a horrified expression as the clown dug his claws into the Rakes gut. Thankfully, Jack's body was blocking most of the damage but by the sounds of wetness and the pain-filled cries of The Rake, you could tell he was doing a lot of damage.

Just as she was hoisting herself out of the hole in the ground, fists becoming filled with dirt, the creature's body stopped moving but Jacks ripping motions didn't stop. The blood began to pool under the creature's corpse and Laughing Jack started to laugh and holler like the Joker from Batman. That's when the girl knew it was time to go.

She pulled herself completely out of the hole and got on her feet as fast as she could, sprinting straight ahead, hoping Jack was laughing too loudly to hear her retreat. Lucky for her he didn't hear her, he was completely lost in his insanity that he didn't even notice her leave the hole.

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LJ looked down at the now-empty carcass of The Rake. The Rakes organs were all over the forest floor, the corpse sitting in its blood.

LJ then looked at his massive clawed hands and his clothes, which were soaked in the Rakes blood. "Boy oh Boy, (Y/N) I can't wait for you to see what fun I just had~".

He stood up admiring his work and giving himself a pat on the back for a job well done. The master of the house wanted the Rake out of his forest for years now, the clown just never had time to do it, he was too wrapped up in his hobby. If he knew what fun it would be he would have done it sooner.

The clown turned back towards the hole, stalking towards it loudly and slowly, making sure the small girl could hear every one of his footsteps.

"Gumdrop it's time for our final game to come to an end! It was fun while it lasted but it's time for me to find someone new~".

"I would say it's not you, it's me, but it is you. You understand Dontcha sugar?"

The clown was now at the opening of the hole and peered down inside.

"I give you one last chance to come out, if you do I'll make it quick~"

He said in a sing-song voice.

"!" The clown hopped down into the hole only to find it empty.

You had won.

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Your eyes fluttered open as you sat up, the cold breeze making you shiver. Looking around you quickly realized, you were laying on a cold and wet pile of leaves.

Your memories quickly came back to you, Jack, the games, and your freedom. Yet, Jack was nowhere to be seen or heard. You were completely alone.

Does this mean you had won? You couldn't be sure, maybe he lost you? No, your time had to be up, God only knows how long you have been out for.

You stood up dusting off your backside and knees. Your body ached. Your joints were sore your skin, covered in cuts and bruises. But you were so close to the end of all this suffering. It would all be worth it momentarily.

You needed to get a better look around. You looked at the sun shining through the trees. Naturally, you would be afraid to be in any forest now, but these woods felt different. They felt warmer and the sounds of birds echoed off of the bark of the trees.

The woods Jack had you run amuck in felt colder than any normal winter night. They had a very sinister vibe as if even the trees themselves wanted you to lose. Those woods also didn't have any normal forest noises like the sounds of squirrels jumping from branch to branch or chirping birds. You listened more closely, finding the sounds of normal animals very comforting.

Then you heard it.

The sound of a truck.

Butterflies suddenly began to flutter in your stomach.

You sprinted as fast as you could with out hesitation towards the sound of the moving vehicle.

Your legs seemed to have a mind of their own, you were dodging branches, launching yourself over any logs or fallen trees that were in your way.

Your legs didn't stop until you were at the giant slab of concrete, it was covered in a thin sheet of snow.

The tears of happiness that streamed down your checks were uncontrollable.

You reached the slab of payment that was indeed a road which was covered in a light dusting of snow with lines of tires pressed into it.

The road was well maintained, with freshly white stripes down its sides and two yellow parallel lines right down its center.

You turned your head to the left glancing down the road.

You smiled, your eyes landing on the large metal sign that read

"Welcome to (Name of Your State)".

You had finally made it home.

——————————————————————————-

"Slow down there (Y/N)! You're gonna choke", Mike laughed.

"I'm sorry I can't help it, you don't know how long it's been since I've eaten something this good!"

You were currently sitting in the passengers seat of 18 wheeler cruising down the highway. You had been walking for at least 4 miles until Mike past you. He pulled over and offered you a ride since his next delivery was to (towns name), which was a town over from (your hometown).

Normally you would reject such an offer from a stranger but given the circumstances a little normal human interaction could be beneficial.

Mike was rather concern with the state of your physical condition, he offered to call the police but you frantically insisted no considering you wouldn't know how to explain your situation. You explained to him you simply just needed to get home, and that you were fine.

He complied but asked that you would at least allow him to get but you lunch which you were happy to except.

So here you were shoveling a burger and large fry down your throat. You weren't normally the fast food type but obviously at the moment you would indulge.

You spent most of the trip listening to him talk about his children and how he's been working so much he hasn't gotten to see them. He was thrilled to tell you that after this next delivery he would get to go home and be off for awhile.

He did try to ask you what happened to you a second time but you shut down that conversation as politely as you could. You said something along the lines of you got lost in the forest while hiking with friends, which seemed to be a good enough answer to satisfy him for the time being.

————————————————————————-

Once you finished eating Mike gave you a blanket and you took a nap for about an hour. Once you woke up you were in your town. Mike dropped you off at your local gas where you thanked him and said your goodbyes. He offered to give you money for a cab but you insisted no since it wasn't a far walk to your street.

The hair on the back of your neck stood up as you reached your street, something didn't feel right. It was completely silent.

Walking up your street with caution, you examined your neighbors homes, which all seemed to be abandoned. The street was silent all the front lawns were completely over grown, peeling paint on the front doors, broken windows and the shutters were either missing or falling off. The driveways were layered with cracked concrete and were missing cars.

Your heart sank as you turned to your once beautiful home.

Your house was never the most pricey or large home but your mother took the time to garden and make it look as clean and comfortable as possible for the two of you.

The side of the house was covered in vines from the over grown ivy, the driveway was covered in cracks and fading much like the neighboring houses. The windows were all boarded up and a big yellow no trespassing sign was nailed to your front door.

You ran up your drive way and went for the front door trying to open it as best you could. It wouldn't budge. You then ran to the nearest window on the first floor that lead into your once lively living room. You punched your had through the glass and made a big enough hole for your tiny torso to squeeze through. Careful to not cut yourself you climbed through the window and landed in the living room feet first.

The living room was empty aside from the one chair that was in the center for the room and the single lamp that was alongside it. The floor boards were worn and warping. You quickly ran around the entire first floor which had minimal furniture, and was covered in a thin layer of dust and cob webs. The house was far past settled.

Panic quickly filled your sunken heart.

"MOM!" You yelled.

Your eyes began welling up with tears again. Your heart started beating faster As you quickly rounded the corner in the hallway and sprinted up the once silent staircase which now practically cried out as you put weight on it.

"Mom!" You cried again.

"WHERE ARE YOU!"

You screamed through your sobs. You ran straight into her bedroom with to no surprise was just as empty and dusty as the rest of the house. Her bed was made and left untouched for a long time. Her shoes were still neatly lined up in her closet, some clothes were missing, but for the most part everything was left.

You sobbed louder, pressing your back against the nearest wall. You slid down the wall and sobbed uncontrollably into your knees. You were so distraught. You were so confused, and frustrated.

What happened?

Where did she go?

How could your home, and your neighborhood get into such bad shape in only a couple months?

Nothing made sense at the moment and you didn't know what to do. You had only been away for a couple months how was this possible?

How long had you been gone?

After what felt like hours you peeled yourself off the floor and made your way to your room. You would solve nothing by crying and sobbing on the floor. Even though your confusion and pain was still there, you dragged your tear stain face into your old room. Which was surprising left completely untouched.

Everything was left right where you left it including your old dirty laundry that was still in your hamper. Your bed was still made and all of your dusty knickknacks were still patiently waiting to be asked about on top of your dresser. Nothing was missing however something new was placed on your nightstand.

There was a black journal that seemed to have a thinner layer of dust on it than everything else. You picked up the journal and noticed the back that was laying on the nightstand was dusty as well. It was put there recently.

You sat on your dusty bed not caring about the dirt that was probably going to attach to your back side.

Quickly opening the journal, multiple clippings of old newspapers slowly floated to the floor. You rapidly grabbed the newspaper clippings and quickly realize who the journal belonged to.

The first page was a diary log dated to 2014. Gripping the newspaper clippings in your hands you began to tear up again.

"On Friday, September 14th, 2014, a young girl named (Y/N)(L/N) went missing while babysitting a young boy."

The article explained how Nathan's parents went out to dinner and you were left to babysit their son, but when they came home early when they called to check in and they got no response. When they arrived the found you were missing and Nathan was unconscious on the floor of his bedroom seriously injured with no memory of what happened. The article explained that he was taken to the hospital and was expected to make a full recovery.

That article was was old and faded meaning 2014 was a long time ago.

You searched through the rest of the clippings and found multiple adds from future dates about how long you had been missing.

You were super confused, you had only been gone a couple months but according to the clippings the most recent date was from 2019.

The air got caught in your throat what year was it? You breathing started to get more rapid as you placed a hand your chest, struggling to fight back a panic attack.

"I've only been gone a couple months. I've only been gone a couple months!"

You kept repeating to yourself. How was this possible?

You needed to stay calm, you would figure this out, freaking out wouldn't do anything but exhaust you.

Trying to get ahold of yourself and steady your breathing you continued to flip through the journal.

All of the entries were dated from 2014 to 2019, all from your mother. They were mostly about unsuccessful search parties and her struggling to grieve with your disappearance.

She talked about how all of your extended family kept telling her that you were never coming back and she needed to move on because you were most likely dead and you would want her to move on.

She also explained how within a year of your disappearance the case became cold and the search parties stopped. So many questions were left unanswered and she wouldn't give up until she saw your dead body with her own eyes.

The ache in your heart was unbearable. If all of the newspaper clippings and the journal entries were true then that would mean you were missing at least 5 years.

This journal answered some of your questions but not all of them.

Where was your mom?

Why was your home and neighborhood completely abandoned?

How is it possible that so many years have passed, yet you were only gone a couple of months?

In the last page of the journal you found your obituary, your day of death was listed to be the day you went missing.

There was also one last, log it read;

"Dear (Y/N),

It has been 5 years since I've seen you. All of the search parties have stopped, the local newspaper won't take my advertisements anymore, they've claimed to have, "moved onto more prioritized cases".

I have not stopped searching for you, I know you wouldn't just run away and hurt that little boy.

I lost my job, I couldn't concentrate on my work anymore. Nathan's mother aloud me to retired early, I think she feels your disappearance is partially her fault.

Most of our neighbors have left the street. Mostly because everyone in this God damn town thinks I've lost my marbles, nobody wants to live on our street anymore. This case has caused our neighborhood value to go down, so the neighbors packed up and left this street as soon as they could. Hopefully that will change once you're home.

Honey I miss you so much, I've never stopped looking for you. Everyone else has giving up but I haven't. I'm meeting with a private investigator tonight, to discuss your case. I spoke to him over the phone and he says he has some information on your location. I hope to see you soon. I love you and miss you so much.

Love, Mom."

Your heart sank, the last entry was dated October 3rd, 2019.

You had no idea the current date but there was snow so it had to at least be January considering you saw no Christmas lights on your way to the house.

Who did she go meet?

And why did she not come home?

These answerless questions made your heart shatter.

But you had a very good idea of who she could have met up with.