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Steve and Robin were both working at Family Video on Halloween night, and the place was packed. All kinds of people were coming in to rent movies – mostly horror movies. Some of the customers were dressed in really cool costumes. Witches, ghosts, Princess Leias, Darth Vaders, a few Indiana Joneses, E.Ts, a couple of ghostbusters. The movies were flying off the shelf.
Steve and Robin had worked pretty hard on decorating the store, with streamers, and balloons, plastic bats, and fake cobwebs. Keith had bought a few large bags of candy at the grocery store. Robin had spent a great deal of her shift handing out candy to the customers. Everyone who went through her till got to pick out two little bite-sized candy bars, or from the bowl of assorted molasses candy, suckers, and bubblegum. She’d promised Steve that whatever was left at the end of the night, they’d split evenly down the middle. But at the rate they were going, she didn’t think they’d have much candy left.
“Oh, look at you!” Robin gushed, as she stared at the toddler’s costume. The boy was wearing a handmade green knit Yoda costume, with his face painted green. Robin held out the bowl to him, and watched as the kid reached in and grabbed fistfuls of tiny Baby Ruth bars. Two was the limit, but Robin made no effort to correct the boy, or his mother. If little Yoda wanted three, or four bars, she wasn’t going to intervene. He was just too cute.
“You’re giving away too much candy,” Steve muttered under his breath, only loud enough for Robin to hear. “Remember, we split the leftovers. So, you’re giving away our candy.”
Robin laughed, then gave a little wave to the kid as they picked up their VHS tapes, and headed out the door. She was having a blast. Halloween was one of her favourite holidays. Horror movies, free candy, fun costumes – it was all so campy, and exciting.
“When you have kids,” Robin said, glancing over at Steve, “are you going to be one of those dads that do themed costumes? Like, everyone’s going to be from ‘Star Wars’, or something?”
“I don’t know.” Steve shrugged. “I’m not great at costumes. I’ll probably just buy them a cool mask, or something from the store. Maybe dress them up as like, a tiny Michael Myers, or something. Or a cute fuzzy outfit, like an Ewok, or a gremlin. Keep the kid warm.”
“Will you go trick or treating with them, or just hand out candy at the door?” Robin asked. “’Cause if you don’t want to go door to door for free candy, then Aunty Robin will easily volunteer to take the kiddo out.”
Steve laughed. “This theoretical future child of mine is going to go trick or treating to all the best houses in Hawkins. We’ll both take the kid out for the night. We’ll make a map of all the houses that give out the goody bags, and full-sized candy bars.”
“Yeah.” Robin smiled at him. “And if you have two kids, or more, we can split up. Work those kids all night, and get as much candy as we can. Then I’ll take my cut.”
“Yeah.” Steve grinned at her. “Everyone loves a cute kid in a Halloween costume. We’ll milk it as many years as we can.”
There was a slight lull in business, so Robin went and picked out a movie from the horror section. It was some cheerleader slasher film, with plenty of gore, tons of cute cheerleaders in too-short skirts, and even a few topless shots. It was perfect. They made microwave popcorn, and started to dig into the candy bowl.
By that time of night, there weren’t too many younger kids coming into the store, mostly older teens. Keith would probably freak out if he saw the movie they were playing that night. Robin kept the remote control close at hand, just in case they needed to pause the film.
Robin was deeply engrossed in the horror film, watching as the cute blonde cheerleader ran down the school hallway, screaming, trying to get away from the masked man. She had already seen this film a few times before; the girl didn’t make it. But still, Robin’s eyes were glued to the TV, urging the teen forward, hoping that she would survive, be a final girl.
She heard the front door open, and Robin quickly scrambled to pause the film. Thankfully, it wasn’t some kid at the door. She knew she’d have been in trouble if that had happened. But as Robin turned to look at the customer, she realized with horror that it was somebody in a clown costume. Oh, hell no.
“Hey!” Robin said. “You can’t be in here!”
If there was one thing that Robin Buckley hated, it was clowns. Hated was maybe not the right word for it. Feared, despised, intimidated, maybe. Whenever she saw a clown, she always felt a deep sense of dread, and her blood always ran cold. Clowns were the worst. There was just something so wrong, and off-putting about them. She knew there was a person under all the makeup. Just a regular old human. But still, she couldn’t help but feel terror at the sight of one. Phobias were irrational things.
It had been pretty much one of the only rules that Robin had put in place that night – apart from the ‘only take two candies’ rule. No Clowns. Absolutely none. She’d even hung up a prominent sign on the front door, stating that clown costumes were not allowed in the store.
But a clown had walked into Family Video, despite her very large sign. The clown was wearing a gawdy colourful polka dot jumpsuit, with frills on the collar and sleeves. They were wearing a large, frizzy green wig, and a pair of white gloves. Robin stared at the horrifying clown makeup, her eyes too wide. The clown had corpse white face paint, with blood red circles around their eyes and mouth. There were small yellow triangles on their cheeks, its nose red. The clown smiled widely at Robin, walking towards her. She noticed the clown had dark blue and white paint-flecked sneakers, and they walked with a slight limp.
“Didn’t you see the sign on the front door?” Robin asked, staring at the clown with what she hoped was a fearless expression. “No clowns allowed in the store.”
The clown nodded, smiling at her. Robin took a step back from the counter, wanting to put distance between her, and the clown abomination. It pressed on, continued walking towards her.
“Hey, I’m serious. Don’t come any closer, okay?” Robin said. The clown took another step towards her. “Steve!”
Steve heard her shout out, and he hurried out of the backroom to see what was going on. Steve took in the scene in front of him, and slowly removed the green sucker out of his mouth.
“Hey, you heard her. No clowns allowed,” Steve said, walking towards the desk. He quickly put himself between the clown customer, and Robin. “No exceptions. Any other costume is fine, but no clowns.”
The clown didn’t say anything. It simply held up his blue stars and moon pillowcase, and gave it a little shake. The green-eyed clown tilted its head slightly, and its mouth became downturned. Eyebrows angled upwards, giving it a sorrowful look. The clown shook his candy bag again.
“Oh, you’ll leave if I give you candy?” Steve said. He glanced over at Robin, seeing how stricken she looked. Steve turned back to the clown, and nodded. “Okay, sure. But then you have to leave the store, okay? My friend here, she’s terrified of clowns. Me, not so much. That’s why she put up that sign on the front door.”
The clown nodded. Steve grabbed the bright green plastic bowl off the counter, and walked over to the clown. “The limit’s two candies, okay?”
The clown nodded, watching as Steve approached. He held out his pillowcase, and waited patiently. Steve expected the clown to reach in and grab the candy that he wanted, but the clown didn’t move. Steve picked out two molasses candies, and dropped them into the clown’s bag. They had plenty of those ones left in the bowl, because they weren’t very popular. The clown smiled widely at him, giving his bag a small shake. Steve hesitated, then threw another handful in the pillowcase. He hated molasses, so it was no loss to him to give those candies away.
“Okay, there you go,” Steve said. He jerked his chin towards the door. “Go on, now.”
The clown didn’t move. He stared at Steve, the wide smile still plastered on his face. Steve frowned, starting to feel uneasy. Robin was standing a fair distance away, and Steve backed up a step, hoping that the clown would leave.
“You’re just here for the free candy, right?” Steve said, studying the clown. “You want to rent a movie?”
The clown slowly tilted his head, pondering over the question. Then, he shook his head.
“Leave, clown!” Robin shouted out, from a safe distance. “C’mon, we gave you candy!”
The clown reached into his bag, and pulled something out of the pillowcase. Steve saw something glint in the light, and barely had any time to process that the clown was wielding a knife, before the clown had grabbed him. He pressed the knife against Steve’s neck, using his other hand to grab Steve. The clown was somewhat on the shorter side, but he was surprisingly strong.
Steve stood unmoving, with widened eyes. Oh, God. He stared at Robin, needing her to help, to fix the situation. But she was just as frozen in fear as he was. The store was quiet, as Steve tried to figure out what to do next.
“Hey, uh-“ Steve said, quietly. “Could you lower the knife?”
Steve could smell the nauseating scent of cigarette smoke, fear sweat, and clown makeup emanating from the clown. The clown had a tight grip on him, and Steve could feel the sharp blade pressed tightly against his skin.
“What do you want?” Steve finally asked, his eyes sliding over to the clown. He tried his best to keep his voice steady, but it was quavering slightly. “Just tell me what you want.”
“Put the money in the bag.”
These were the only words that Steve and Robin would ever hear from the clown that night. As soon as the clown said it, Steve glanced over at Robin. She was still terrified. They had never been robbed before. But Keith had told them when they had first been hired, that in the event of a robbery, they had to just hand off the money, and then call the police after the person left the building.
Robin didn’t move at first. For a good five seconds, she stayed absolutely still. Then, she finally stepped forward, taking a cautious step towards the cash register. Steve watched as she pressed a few buttons, and the cash tray popped out. With shaking hands, Robin started to pull out the large bills, stacking them on the counter.
“I’ll give you everything from the register,” Robin said. “Business was booming tonight – there’s a small fortune here. Just let Steve go, okay?”
The clown tossed her the pillowcase, and Robin started stuffing it with all the money from the till. She held it out, just out of reach of the clown. Robin watched as the clown hesitated, then released his hold on Steve. He hurried over to the counter, and went to grab the bulging pillowcase from Robin. She let out a yelp of fright, seeing the knife-wielding clown rush towards her. Robin dropped to a crouch behind the counter, the bag still clutched in her hand.
The clown started to pull himself over the counter to get at Robin. Steve acted quickly, tackling the clown from behind, bringing them both heavily to the floor. He tried to pin the clown down, grabbing at the knife. Robin quickly went around the counter to try and help subdue him.
Robin’s eyes widened, when she saw the clown plunge the knife into Steve’s shoulder. Steve screamed out in pain, and he let go of the clown. Robin ran to his side, as the clown hurried out of the store empty-handed. The knife was sticking out of Steve’s shoulder. She watched, aghast, as Steve reached up.
“Steve, don’t!” Robin said, quickly rushing to his side to stop him. But it was too late. Steve had already grabbed the wooden handle, and pulled the knife out. He let it fall to the floor with a clatter.
“Steve – “ Robin clutched his arm, allowing him to lean on her for support. Steve was bleeding quite profusely, his green work vest stained with blood. “Hey, hey. Stop moving, okay? You’re bleeding so much.”
“Shit, this is bad.” Steve looked down at his shoulder, his eyes widening. He was really pale, and Steve groaned in pain. “Aw, shit.”
“Yeah, it’s bad. Hang on, Steve. I’ll call an ambulance,” Robin quickly told him, as she stood up, and grabbed the phone. “Just hang on, okay?”
She dialed 911, and frantically told them what had happened to Steve. Robin was terrified that the clown might try and return, so she quickly locked the front door, then went and stored the bag of money in the safe, in Keith’s office. When she came back, Robin saw with dismay that Steve had blacked out. He was sprawled out on the floor, his eyes closed.
“Steve,” Robin said, sitting beside Steve as they waited for the ambulance. She pressed her bundled up vest against Steve’s shoulder to try and stop the bleeding. “Hey, I need you to wake up, okay? Don’t die on me, okay?”
Steve was still. Slowly, he came to. Robin watched as his eyes fluttered open, and he looked around his surroundings. Steve focused on her face, then smiled faintly. “Robin.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m still alive.”
“Yeah.” Robin nodded. “You’d better stay that way.”
“I can’t believe I got stabbed by a clown,” Steve said, his eyes half-lidded. “Keith’s going to be pissed. There’s blood everywhere.”
“I know. Clowns suck.” Robin gave Steve what she hoped was a reassuring look. If Steve was talking, he’d be okay. He had to be. But she could tell that he wasn’t doing so good. Steve was pale, and sweaty. Robin pressed her vest harder against his wound, trying to ignore Steve’s pained whimper. “This is the worst Halloween ever.”
When the ambulance arrived, Robin got in the back with Steve. It was a short ride to the hospital, the siren wailing as they drove through the darkened streets. She clutched Steve’s hand tightly, watching as the paramedic looked at his shoulder wound.
They were separated once they got into the hospital. Robin watched as Steve was wheeled away on a stretcher, as he was rushed into surgery. She had to put her faith in the staff, that they would take care of him. She knew that he’d be in surgery for some time. A stab wound in the shoulder was terrible, but it was better than being stabbed in the chest, or stomach. Robin hoped that he would be okay, that he’d heal up soon enough.
Robin went to the bathroom, and stared hollowly at her reflection. Her button-up shirt and slacks were both spattered with blood. Robin thought that she looked like she was from the slasher film she’d been watching earlier, before the clown had come into the store. The fear and adrenaline that had been flowing through her system, was starting to fade. Mostly, she felt worn out, and stressed, and worried about Steve. She felt like breaking down, and sobbing – letting everything out in a torrent of emotion. But instead, Robin tiredly ran the taps, and started to wash Steve’s blood off her hands. Robin’s eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed. Even when there was no more blood visible on her hands, she continued furiously scrubbing at them until they were raw.
Her clothes were pretty much ruined, and that was a damn shame. The slacks were a pair she’d ‘borrowed’ from her father’s closet. She figured she could try and get the stains out, or maybe cover them up with some patches. The blouse was vintage, and had cost her a fair amount. That one was a goner, unfortunately. Robin went to the gift shop, and bought an oversized pullover hoody. She slipped it on over her blouse, embraced by the soft material.
She waited in the lobby for Steve to get out of surgery. Robin slouched down in her seat, watching wearily as people ran around. The lobby was filled with people, with different ailments, and injuries – and it was particularly busy because it was Halloween. At one point, Robin had tried to call Steve’s parents, but nobody answered. She let a message on their answering machine, but she doubted they would show up. Steve had mentioned that his parents were in town, but he hadn’t seen them in two days. They were probably working, or maybe at a Halloween party.
After what felt like ages, Steve was out of surgery, and she was allowed to go in and see him. He was on some pain meds, and he was pretty drowsy. His shoulder was all bandaged up.
“Hey, Robin.” Steve said, when she hurried into the room.
“Hi. Are you okay?” Robin asked, sitting down beside his bed. “You scared me. Bleeding out like that – I thought you were a goner.”
“Yeah.” Steve gave her a smile that was barely above a wince. “I thought I was a goner, too.”
“I want to hug you, but I’m scared of hurting you.”
Steve nodded, understanding. “High five?”
Robin nodded, then gave him a high five. She stayed with him for a while, as Steve dozed on and off. He was pretty drowsy, and still in a lot of pain. The doctor said that he would heal up soon enough, but that he’d need to stay in the hospital for another day, or so to make sure he healed up nicely. Robin knew that she would be staying by his side the whole time. That creepy clown was still out there, and she didn’t want to take any chances of him coming into the hospital, and going after Steve again. She’d call Keith later, and explain to him what had happened. At least the clown hadn’t run off with the money. That would’ve been way worse.
Robin pulled her chair closer to Steve’s bed. She wanted to say something to make him feel better, but she didn’t know what to say. They’d had a really terrible night. And after all that, they didn’t even get to properly celebrate Halloween. Didn’t get to finish their stupid slasher film, or binge on the leftover candy, or anything. They didn’t get to go to Dustin’s house to watch horror movies, and steal some of his candy. Instead, they were stuck here, in the hospital.
Robin and Steve glanced up, when deputy Callahan walked into the hospital room. He greeted both of them, before grabbing a seat beside Steve’s bed. Callahan pulled out his notebook, and pen.
“I was told you guys had an attempted robbery at the video store tonight,” Callahan said. “And Steve, you were stabbed.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know who did this to you?” the cop asked Steve.
Steve shook his head. “I don’t know. A guy in a clown costume.”
Deputy Callahan stared at Steve for a second. “Did you see his face? Did you recognize them?”
Steve shrugged. “It was a creepy clown. I don’t know who they were. A guy, about my height. He sounded young.”
Steve wasn’t really up for talking. He told Callahan what he could, but Robin ended up doing most of the talking. She told Callahan as much as she could remember about the clown, anything that could help identify him. He had green eyes, a limp. Robin mentioned the paint spattered sneakers. The clown had worn gloves, so he hadn’t left any fingerprints. Someone young, probably a teen, or a young adult.
After Callahan was finally done questioning them, he left. The cop gave them his business card, and told them to contact them if they could remember anything else. He assured them that the police were doing everything to find the guy in the clown costume, and arrest him. In the meantime, one of the deputies would be posted outside of Steve’s room while he recovered.
Steve finally passed out, curled up on his side. Robin watched him sleep for a while, listening to the beeping machines. The room was dimly lit, with blue lighting. A nurse would come in occasionally to check on Steve, and one of them had given Robin a blanket. She wanted to stay awake, to keep guard over him. But Robin’s eyelids were slowly drooping, and she soon succumbed to deep sleep.
Robin woke up slowly, hearing the sounds of a TV show playing. For a minute, she stayed curled up in the chair, her eyes closed. Robin couldn’t remember where she was. The room smelled sterile, with a faint whiff of bleach, and lemon cleaner. She allowed her brain a moment to catch up, to remember that she was in the hospital. Oh, right. The image of the guy in the clown costume flashed through her mind – which was terrifying enough. Even worse, was the memory of seeing Steve get stabbed, covered in blood. Her eyes snapped open, and Robin quickly looked over at the hospital bed to make sure that Steve was safe.
“Hey.” Steve smiled at her. “Sleep well?”
“Not really,” Robin said. She sat up, her body protesting from being in an uncomfortable position. “Too many nightmares.”
“Yeah.”
Steve was propped up with some pillows, watching an episode of ‘M*A*S*H’ on TV. There was a tray of food sitting in front of him, mostly untouched. He looked better. The colour was back in his cheeks, and his eyes had regained their sparkle. He was going to be okay.
Robin scrubbed at her eyes, yawning. “What time is it?”
“About ten in the morning.”
“Oh.”
“Can you open this for me?” Steve asked, handing her his pudding. “I’m having trouble with it. The pudding’s about all I want to eat on this tray.”
Robin reached over, and picked up the small metal tin of vanilla pudding. She peeled back the metal lid, then handed it to Steve. She watched as he carefully started to eat a few spoonfuls. Steve didn’t have much of an appetite, barely able to eat a few spoonfuls. He pushed the rest of the tray towards her.
“Are you in a lot of pain?” Robin asked, as she nibbled on a piece of toast.
“Yeah. Hurts like hell.” Steve shrugged. “I’ll manage.”
“Fucking clown,” Robin said, darkly. She took a large bite. “I should’ve thrown something at him. Grabbed something heavy, and just knocked his ass out. Sorry. I froze up.”
“It’s okay.”
“I called your folks, but nobody answered at the house.” She glanced over at him. “I left a message, explained what happened to you.”
“Thanks.” Steve fidgeted with the TV remote. “I don’t know if they’re at home, or out with friends. Mom loves Halloween parties. But thanks, for trying to reach out to them.”
Robin continued working on Steve’s breakfast, eating the fruit salad, and the eggs. She hoped that the police would find the clown. She wished that she’d seen the guy’s face properly, so she could tell the police what he looked like. But with all the gawdy makeup, it had been pretty hard to make out the guy’s facial features.
“You should come stay at my place for awhile,” Robin said. “I think it’d be better that way, until your shoulder’s better. Especially if your parents aren’t going to be consistently at home.”
Steve hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take you to heal up, but you’ll probably have mobility issues for awhile. You might need to do like, physical therapy, or something to get your range of motion back.” Robin pulled up her legs, sitting crisscross on the chair. “You can have my room.”
“Thanks, Robbie.” Steve grinned at her.