Doctor Delight - (PG - Brief, light swearing)

[Lazer Yoshi]

[spoiler=Doctor Delight]


“Whatever happens tonight, do you promise to be there for the party?”

“Of course. Their mother said she’d be back by 9. Although that hick town is half an hour away, there’ll be plenty of time to hang out.”

“Sounds good. I still find it weird that someone hired a teenage boy to babysit.”

“It’s not like I plan to do anything bad. You can blame society for having everyone think a male can’t be babysitter. One man acts like a creep, and then everyone thinks all men are creeps as well.”

“I guess. Well, I got to get back to flipping burgers. My break is up in a few minutes. Catch you later, AJ.”
“Okay. Later Trent.”

AJ hung up his cell phone and put it in the pocket of his ripped-up jeans. He looked outside to see the weather. He was glad to see that is was overcast, and grabbed his gray jacket. Before heading out to his car, AJ checked the clock in the kitchen. It read “4:30” in red letters that left a luminous glow in the darkness.

AJ’s mother walked into the kitchen from the living room where she was watching the news. “Do you have everything, honey? Have you taken your anxiety medication?” The wrinkles in her face showed inquiry yet certainty as well.

“For the last time, no, Mom. It may be pitch-black outside, but I’ll be fine.”

“Well, alright. Are you coming back from babysitting or going to Randall’s sleepover?”

Randall, according to his peers, was the school creep. AJ had no intentions of spending the night at his house, let alone seeing him.
Lying, AJ replied, “Yeah, sure. I’ll be back tomorrow. Is 10 A.M. okay with you?” AJ knew that this is the time that the party ended. That’s when Trent’s parents returned from their Hawaiian vacation.
“That’s just fine, sweetie. Please be safe!”

AJ waved good-bye as he walked out to his car. It was heavily overcast and freezing outside, but it didn’t spoil the mood. The party tonight was going to be a blast. Alcohol, girls, the works. AJ and his friends all needed a break from high school.

As AJ drove off into the winter night, AJ’s mother stepped towards the living room window. She watched the headlights slowly fade away into the darkness. She sighed and felt a pain in her stomach. [i]I wish I would have said “I love you”, [/i]she thought to herself. [i]Something doesn’t seem right. I hope I see him soon. I want to say “I love you” at least one more time.[/i] She sighed once again and dragged herself over back to the couch where she continued to watch television.


AJ parked in the driveway of the Gerfreids, a rich German family who had moved into the area some five years ago. Their house was a large log cabin that had been renovated to have electricity, plumbing, and the like. It was built on the top of a hill; possibly the tallest in all Bear Valley, which was a small forest town around five hours away from San Fransisco. There had been many morbid and dark rumors about this hill, but AJ didn’t believe a single one.

AJ walked up the dirt driveway and knocked on the door. At the door he encountered Adele Gerfried, the mother of the children.
“You must be Sir AJ. I welcome you. Please step inside.” AJ was a little disturbed by Adele’s big girth and smile, but continued on. He hung up his hoodie on a chair. “It’s a little cold to have rips in the trousers, huh?” She bellowed a great laugh. AJ was polite and laughed as well. However, you could see the annoyance in his eyes.

“Well, Anne-Marie and Conrad are playing their video games, so they should be occupied for a little while longer. I called in a pizza, so you shouldn’t have to worry about cooking. They are easily entertained by their toys or TV, but if you could try to be social with them, that would be wonderful.”

She spoke so fast and mispronounced around half of the words. AJ just nodded at everything she said to show understanding. Adele kissed her kids good-bye and left wearing a fancy fur coat. The slamming of the door made the entire house creak.

[i]This chick is nuts. At least this I only have to be here for three hours.[/i] AJ walked over to the pizza box and went to grab a slice. To his disappointment, it was covered in anchovies. In disgust, AJ picked off the fish and took a bite. The awful taste was still on the pizza, but he powered through it. [i]Who the hell gets anchovies on their pizza? I guess they haven’t been in America for too long.[/i]

Seeing that the kids were occupied with their video games, Jared took the time to look around the cabin. The living room and kitchen took up half of the house, while there were two bedrooms and a bathroom that took up the other half. All the furniture looked very elegant, and even the smallest spaces in the house were occupied by some sort of knick-knack. Everything smelled like the forest that surrounded the home.

While walking around, AJ noticed a jewelry box on the counter inside the bathroom, which was as graceful as the rest of the house. Without hesitation, AJ lapped up all the gold and diamonds he could find inside. [i]Perhaps they’ll learn their lesson not to leave out important belongings. Finders, keepers.[/i]

A clockwork factory inside AJ’s head began to operate. He thought he should search the rest of the house for any valuables. It’s not like any of the kids were going to notice. His devious mind went to work, and he began his expedition inside the house.

AJ searched Adele’s bedroom to find nothing great. The bed, although it was home to piles of beautiful pillows and a magnificent blanket that was as pleasing as the sunset, did not interest AJ.

Disheartened, AJ scurried over to the second bedroom. His only guess is that this was the children’s bedroom. It would’ve have been odd for a boy and a girl to sleep in the same room, but they were both only 4. He flicked on the light-switch to set eyes on the most nightmare-inducing thing he could imagine. A life-sized clown doll sat comfortably in a recliner.

AJ backed away in the sight of this stuffed monstrosity. He was a victim of Coulrophobia; the irrational fear of clowns. He has been tortured by the very thoughts of clowns ever since he watched the gutter scene from the movie “It”.

The doll was dressed in a bright yellow jumpsuit and big blue shoes. His skin was as pale as a ghost except for his nose, which was a red sphere. The clown had a large afro hair-do that was colored like a rainbow. A vast smile spread across its face. AJ thought he had seen sharp teeth, but came to the conclusion that he was just hallucinating out of horror.

The poor boy inched over to the doll. It became even more dreadful as AJ slowly came closer. You could see the terror in his eyes along with the joy in the clown’s. As AJ almost reached the doll, he noticed a tag attached to its left sleeve. He carefully kneeled down and lightly took hold of the tag to read what was written on it:

“Hi-ya, kids! My name is Doctor Delight! I am one cool clown! I specialize in having a great time, and have a PhD in FUN! I’ll be your best bud when you’re happy, when you’re sad, when you’re afraid, when you’re glad! It’s my pleasure! So let us frolic together!”

It was sometimes hard to make out what the tag said, as it was quite dirty. When AJ let down the tag, he sworn he could have felt the arm move. He stood in fright as sweat gathered at the neck of his shirt.

“Hey, what did you do to Doctor Delight?”

“What are you doing to him? Let him go!”

Anne-Marie and Conrad stood at the doorway, shoulder-to-shoulder, speaking in very heavy German accents. Both of their faces had a baffled look. Their expressions could’ve asked the same questions that they just did themselves.
Conrad was short, tubby, and wore rather large glasses. His hair was very neat, as was his sweater vest and khaki pants. Anne-Marie was kind of the same, just with a vibrant, pink dress with matching sandals. AJ didn’t know who could possibly here sandals in the middle of winter. This family just kept getting stranger as the time slowly passed.

“Oh, this guy? I was…er…just saying hello. This is my first time seeing him.”

Conrad replied, “Really? Is that true, Doctor Delight?” Conrad and Delight met eyes, as if they were communicating telepathically. The tension in the room grew exponentially. Conrad’s eyes raced around, and AJ’s eyes followed every slight movement. Conrad scrunched up his face really tight; he was thinking as hard as he could. “Oh, is that true Doctor Delight? That’s good.”

“What? What is he saying?”

“Doctor Delight said he was very pleased to meet you, and hopes to talk again very soon.”

Anne-Marie grinned innocently. “Oh, Doctor Delight. You are just such a great pal!”

Both of the kids wrapped their arms around Delight’s neck in the most passionate example of friendship. They both held on with a vice-like grip that surely would have killed AJ.

AJ took a deep breath and spoke softly. “Okay kids; let’s…let’s go play a game!”

“Like ‘Go Fish’, Mr. AJ?” Anne-Marie smiled happily, waiting for a response.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go then.” The kids joyfully skipped out of the room. AJ stood there for a moment where he could refresh his mind. He searched through his thoughts. He needed to flush out all the fear.

[i]I should have never accepted this job offer. These foreign people are scaring the hell out of me. Who buys their children a life-sized clown doll? I’m surprised these kids aren’t in a mental hospital; I’d be wetting my pants.[/i] AJ flicked the light-switch off, and walked to the living room.

The weather outside was now not only overcast, but raining. It started out as a slow trickle, but was currently building up into a hefty rainstorm. As AJ entered the living room, thunder boomed across the town. Lightning lit up the woods outside. Trees did the tango with the help of the wild winds. Rain was hitting the roof so hard that you couldn’t hear yourself think.

AJ pulled up a wooden chair and had a seat at the table. Conrad and Anne-Marie had already started. AJ drew his hand and saw that the cards were as pretty as every other thing in the house. The colors of the numbers were vibrant and were in excellent condition; save a few that looked like they were dug out of a grave long ago. AJ impatiently waited for a child to make their move.

Connor looked at AJ with a calm look. “Will you please go first? That would make Doctor Delight very, very happy!”

AJ’s spine tingled. “Of course. Anne-Marie, do you have a King?”

She giggled innocently. “No…” Both kids looked at the each other and shouted at the same time: “GO FISH!”

Conrad and Anne-Marie rolled around in their chairs with laughter taking control. They were laughing like clowns. AJ’s right eye twitched. His body began to shake rhythmically. This phobia of his was affecting him in a way it has never before.

However, the children did not pay attention to their babysitter’s situation. Conrad looked at the deck of cards, then back at AJ in a concerned matter. “We said ‘Go fish’, Mr. AJ!”

AJ painfully drew a card. The card was as dirty as the clown’s tag. He placed the card in his hand and waited for Anne-Marie to take her turn. She kept staring at her cards. AJ became frustrated and slumped down into his chair.

AJ’s thoughts quickly turned to the party tonight. He smiled as his imaginative trait kicked in. He visualized what the party would be like…
[i]I could see it now. Trent, Oliver and I all walk in to find everyone from school dancing to our favorite music. The food is great and the booze is immensely satisfying. We are all playing foosball, and then the most attractive girl at the school, Rose Goldman, walks through the front door. Our eyes meet in a powerful gaze. We immediately start dancing together as the music became romantic.[/i]

AJ began to fall asleep. School had worn him out today. He was hoping it’d be a relaxing Friday, but almost every class had a test. He pulled an all-nighter so that he could absorb every last bit of information. His body could no longer take the torture. Dreams had taken control over AJ.

[i]There we are. My arms are around her waist and hers are around my neck. The music became softer and softer as we ogle each other’s perfect faces. The big moment is soon to happen. I, AJ Rupert Henston, will finally kiss the love of my life. It’s been two long years, but I can finally express all of my feelings for my eternal angel.[/i]

Suddenly, the room began flashing dark colors. All of AJ’s friends, including Rose, slowly began transforming. They grew large, red noses and sharp, rotten teeth. They grew afros that were lit on fire. Their clothes changed into jumpsuits that were drenched in gasoline. Rose pulled out a match. She cackled as she lit everyone in the room on fire. They all began laughing and falling over like corpses. As AJ ran out of the room, their voices quickly became more distorted and warped, as if they were demons.
AJ finally reached the top of the stairs to only find an empty, black room. However, countless arms reached out of the darkness once AJ’s foot touched the floor of the room. One filthy, burned arm grabbed each limb and held AJ in the air like a crucifix. They kept pulling as hard as they could. Even though he was in a nightmare, AJ could feel his ligaments tear.

From the arms’ darkness emerged Doctor Delight. The big smile was still there, and the afro was still colored like a rainbow. Delight was suspended in the air and bobbed up-and-down. AJ watched in terror as more arms grew out of Doctor Delight’s back. He looked away in dread to only see the sea of arms making violent waves.

Each of Doctor Delight’s arms held a different type of knife; from butterfly to butter. The arms slowly stretched towards AJ while twisting and wrapping around each other.

All the arms came together as one to form a snake’s head. Each tooth was replaced by a knife, and several arms tied together represented the tongue. The snake hissed blatantly and secreted glowing green venom. When this acid dripped from the mouth of the snake and hit the sea of arms, you could hear souls mourning from their burns.

The snake opened its mouth slowly but surely to show Doctor Delight comfortably sitting on one of its teeth. The doll pointed one finger in the air to signal something.

Manic chuckling then ensued. The sea of arms dropped AJ and then grasped him once again mid-air. Then the arms began swinging AJ around like a lasso to build up speed. All AJ could see in his whirling was the evil, grinning face of Doctor Delight.

The arms flung AJ across the limb ocean. The wind aggressively blew back AJ’s hair as he came closer to the snake. Doctor Delight still remained silent and content. AJ closed his fearful eyes and braced for impact.

“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!”

AJ broke free from his nightmare to see Conrad screaming uncontrollably about the weather. Anne Marie remained stuck in her chair with a lone tear scurrying down her right cheek. The rain now hit the windows and left cracks that let in some of the wind, which was just as powerful. The lightning now left a permanent light in the night sky, as if God accidentally left his lamp on.

AJ quickly stood up, knocking down his chair in the process. He began running around the house and locking every door and window he could find. The lightning lit up the darkest corners of house as AJ passed by. His frightening state led him to believe that something was following him as he scampered. However, AJ knew that he was not well right now. He put his fears behind him, and continued to scuttle throughout the house.

As AJ entered the living room once again, he tripped and fell on the hard wooden floor. He turned on his back to see Doctor Delight sitting with his legs crossed and gazing at him in the most malevolent of manners.

AJ went to kick the doll out of fear when Conrad and Anne-Marie came to the rescue. They guarded Doctor Delight with their own lives.

“How dare you hurt Doctor Delight? He is such a nice man! He would never do anything; especially on purpose!” Anne-Marie held Conrad close to soothe him.

“Come on guys! That thing is scary. Why do you children worship it like an idol?”

Conrad unleashed a fury of brutal words: “Because Doctor Delight is kind! He would certainly take better care of us than some teenage bum. He wouldn’t act depressed when playing cards with us; he’d be overjoyed and treat us like royal blood! Unlike you, he wouldn’t be a coward when the weather became hellish. Doctor Delight would make us hot cocoa and tell us fairy tales to comfort us! He would especially never steal our gold and diamonds too!”

[i]How did they catch me? Why didn’t they do anything? Were they engulfed in their blind faith towards this doll? [/i]AJ stood frozen in the realization of the current dilemma. This doll was morphing the kids into disciples of pure wickedness. AJ’s fear of Doctor Delight was at a peak, but his bewildered feeling towards the actions of the children was far more powerful. Something was terribly wrong.

Darkness suddenly engulfed the house. The electricity had blown out due to the intensity of the storm. The kids shrieked and grabbed onto Doctor Delight. The wind become so overbearing that it destroyed both the living room windows. It now ravaged all of the valuables and furniture in its path.

In the midst of it all, AJ’s phone began ringing. He slid it open to find an unknown number calling. He simply pressed a button to end the call before it started. He was too afraid to answer.

AJ stumbled towards the kitchen so that he may avoid the winds. The phone rang again. AJ pressed the same button to end the call and continued to huddle under some cover. His preference was the oven.

From his spot, AJ could hear the screams and yelps of the children in their unfortunate predicament. Tears rushed out of Anne-Marie’s and Conrad’s reddened eyes. The teardrops of pure dismay left stains on the jumpsuit of Doctor Delight, who was being tackled in horror by the Gerfreid children.

“Conrad! Anne-Marie! Run over here, and quickly!” AJ stood up just long enough to get his message out before the wind forced him against the wall. He dropped to the floor in pain.

The phone rang again. The same unknown number was displayed on the screen. Exhausted, AJ finally gathered up the courage to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hello? AJ? This is Mrs. Gerfreid. How are things there?”

“Hectic. It’s just wild: the weather, the oddities, the…just, everything.”

“The electricity has gone off at the restaurant I am at. Is that the same for the house?”

“Yes. The wind has also broken some windows and the lightning is vicious.”

“Just stay there. I will be there shortly there to pick you up.” Mrs. Gerfreid heard some crying in the background. “Is that my babies being terrified?”

“Yes.”

“What are they doing?”

“They’re acting strange. They are both huddling around their Doctor Delight doll. The clown.”
Adele Gerfreid looked at her date for the night in horror. She wiped sweat off her forehead and spoke in disbelief. “Mr. AJ, we do not own a clown doll.” The lamentation of the children then ceased.

AJ sat in his place in dread for what was happening. He slowly got up and looked to see if Conrad and Anne-Marie were cuddling with Doctor Delight for console.


Save Conrad’s glasses and a pond of tears, there was nothing. AJ’s heart sank. Adele kept talking on the phone, but AJ was not listening. He could only stand; paralyzed in terror and shock. He fell to the floor and became unconscious. The wind now seemed to snicker as it blew AJ’s hair gently.
[/spoiler]
I was going to post the Epilogue, but it might ruin the story, so I left it out.

This was a story I wrote for my school's annual "Halloween Scary Story" contest. I ended up getting 2nd place, beaten only by the president of the Writer's Club. The voting may have been biased, but I'm not complaining. It was a huge literary accomplishment for me.

Please do enjoy. Criticism, whether good or harsh, is welcome.