Free A Life To Waste by Andrew Lennon Page B

faint, it was very
slow, it sounded like a jack in the box being turned slowly. Like
whoever was turning it was trying to build tension, waiting for the
precise moment to make the scary clown jump out and terrify whoever
was watching it. Just one beat at a time, it was a painfully slow
tune. He recognised it though, each beat followed by what seemed to
be an eternity before the next one came. It was Teddy Bears
Picnic, he said the words to himself slowly, in time with the
tune being played.
    “If.....you.....go.....down....to....the....woods....today”
     
    It sent shivers down his spine,
this was the creepiest thing he’d ever heard. It was definitely
coming from outside, what the hell was that?
    “You’re....sure....of....a....big....surprise.”
    He peeked out the window.

Chapter 14
     
    Dave’s jaw dropped. “It can’t
be” he said.
    He looked at his watch to double
check the time, it was 2.30am, the middle of the night. He looked
back out the window again. Outside there, in the darkness, stopped
at the side of the road, was an Ice cream truck. Why the hell would
an ice cream truck be out there at this time of night?
     
    “It’s happened, I finally have lost my mind” he said to himself.
    The music carried on, it’s
steady slow pace, he couldn’t help but sing it again in his
head.
    “If.....you.....go.....down.....to.....the....woods.....today”
     
    This couldn’t be real, he had to
be hallucinating or something. Maybe his sleeping during the day
theory wasn’t really working. Maybe he had drank too many energy
drinks or perhaps this was the book playing on his mind again. It
could be that he was just seeing things, and the music was just in
his head. Like the giggling children before. This wasn’t real, this
was just in his head. He looked outside again. It was still there,
music still playing.
     
    “You.....better.....believe.....your.....eyes.”
    No way, this couldn’t be real.
He decided to go outside and prove it to himself. He grabbed his
coat and put his shoes on. He knew that when he walked outside he
would see that there was no ice cream truck. He would see that it
had just been his mind playing tricks on him.
     
    He walked towards the door, he
could still hear the music playing, that slow, haunting, jack in
the box music. He stopped in front of the door and reached his hand
out. He was overcome with fear, what if he opened the door and the
jack in the box sprang to life. What if he opened it and the thing came flying through. Could the music be some weird
countdown, waiting for him to open the door so it could pounce. He
shook his head, he had to stop thinking these stupid thoughts, it
was just his mind playing tricks on him again. He knew there was no
ice cream truck, it was all a figment of his imagination.
     
    He opened the door and walked
outside.
    “fuck!” he didn’t shout, it was
like a loud whisper.
     
    It was there, that music still
playing. It didn’t seem right though, the music wasn’t loud like an
ice cream truck. If he hadn’t been sat in silence he wasn’t sure he
would have heard it at all. The ice cream truck sat there across
the road from him, in the dark, playing that song like a giant
music box on wheels.
    “It can’t be real”
    He was trying to convince
himself. He snuck towards the truck, looking around trying to see
if anyone was nearby, there didn’t seem to be anyone there. He was
next to it now, his hands were shaking, he reached out and touched
it.
    “oh my god it’s real”
     
    He took a step back, it was
really there, the music was still playing, the same tune on loop,
still that slow haunting music. It was embedded into his head
now.
    “If.....you.....go.....down.....to.....the.....woods.....today”
     
    Trembling, Dave moved around to
the driver’s side and peeked in the window. There was no one to be
seen. Where had they gone? Someone had to have been driving this
thing, he couldn’t believe they would just leave it on the side of
the