The man was walking rather quickly, and your bruised ribs were started to limit your breathing.

"Look, I'll cooperate, can I just walk on my own?"

"No. You'll be too slow."

His voice was as low and angry as ever. His tone almost startled you.

"Please?"

"Stop fucking talking or I'm going to drop you, kick your face in, and leave you here."

You went silent then. At least you wouldn't have to walk.

Just look on the bright side and you'll be okay.

The thought of your father's voice telling you that almost brought you to tears. You couldn't shake the image of your mom cut up like that. You could only imagine the state your dad had been in...

No.

You couldn't cry now, not when you still had a chance.

But do you really want to escape?

Your view of your surroundings was still sideways, but you knew you were in a forest. It was dark – still nighttime, and the moon was obscured by the heavy foliage above you.

"Would you stop squirming? I don't need to drop you right now, you're already too beat up."

"Why the fuck do you care? Your jacket's covered in blood, asshole, I don't see why I'm the one person that suddenly gets to stay alive!"

He glared at you, and you decided it was best not to keep talking.

"I'm not the one that wants you, dollface."

"Please put me down."

"No."

"Then, who's the one that 'wants' me?"

He just chuckled darkly. At the same moment, he walked through a few thorn-bushes which scratched up your bare legs and face, and stepped into a clearing. You could see a massive building before you.

It was absolutely enormous. There had to be at least six floors, as far as you could tell from the outside. It was also extremely dark, and none of the visible windows had lights shining through them.

You had a terrible feeling that you were going to die a death worse than your parents here.

A cloud of black smoke appeared before the man, and the same clown-demon as before smiled his ugly smile and looked right into your eyes.

"You're late, Jeff. You missed dinner." His voice grated against you like broken glass against a foot.

"I'll just get something later. I'm tired of carrying this brat, can you take her?"

The clown giggled. "Anything for a dear friend." The clown reached down and took you from the man's – Jeff's – shoulders, and held you in a bridal carry.

With no warning, a cloud of black smoke surrounded you and you felt like you were spiraling down and down and down—

Until you heard a heavy thud and the clown was standing. You rolled out of his arms and onto the floor, landed on your hands and knees, and immediately vomited.

The clown giggled again, and you knew you'd rather die on the spot than hear it one more time. "I probably should have told you. That happens."

You looked up to glare at him, but saw you were in a dark hallway right in front of a door. The hall looked like it was almost entirely concrete, so you were most likely underground. The door was metal and had a small porthole near the top, not unlike doors in a hospital. You shuddered at the thought of what was going to happen to you.

"Don't worry, dearie, Jack is gonna fix you right up!"

Jack? Wasn't that the clown's name?

You looked up at him with wide eyes, and he must have sensed your question.

"Oh, no, you silly goose, not me! The other Jack – resident doctor, demon, and cannibal extraordinaire!"

Before you could react properly, the clown whisked you through the door, albeit roughly, and plopped you down on a cot. It was, unsurprisingly, not comfortable, but better than some guy's shoulders.

The clown took a deep breath in, put his fingers between his lips, and whistled.

"Oh, Jack!" He had a singsongy voice now, but it was still just as grating as usual. "I know we told you to stay here! We got here, and she's..." He took a look down at you. "Unharmed?"

You heard a door open from somewhere to your left, but the wall was obscured by curtains. You saw a shadow moving closer and closer to where the two curtains met, and you couldn't tell if the bubbling in your stomach was anxiety or vomit.

You would have put your money on both.