The Prankster

Everything was perfect when the doorbell rang, and Chloe went to answer it. Her parents were out of town, the Doordash order was on its way, and, assuming no unexpected guests had come to crash her girls’ night with Jessica, the two of them were going to have a wonderful time.

“Hey,” Jessica said as she hurried into the house, glad to be out of the late March air. As soon as Chloe had shut the door, she held up the bag of food. “I ran into your DoorDash driver on my way in. Talk about a real creep.” Amused by her best friend, Chloe rolled her eyes and turned the deadbolt on the door.

“I know, right?” she replied before glancing out the thin curtains to check to see if the car was still outside. “Some guy named Matt… He keeps showing up every time I order from the app. I think I’ll switch to GrubHub instead.” Ignoring her, Jessica hurried to the couch and set the bag of food down on the coffee table before placing her overnight bag on the couch.

“Personally, I prefer to pick up the food myself,” she retorted with a hint of pride in her voice. “Ever since Mom and Dad bought me the car, I’ve been driving everywhere. I like being free to do practically anything I want.” As if on cue, her phone buzzed, and she groaned in annoyance as she checked it. “Well, almost…” Confused, Chloe stared at her friend as she started to text.

“Your mom?” she asked, and Jessica nodded in response, her eyes glued to the screen.

Jessica's family seemed like the perfect family on the outside, but, on the inside, her parents were overprotective and extremely controlling. They made their daughter keep a tracking app on her phone and always insisted on Jessica checking in with them anytime she left the house. Usually, they seemed okay when Chloe was around, but that was because they saw Chloe as the super responsible type who didn't need any supervision, but they preferred to know when Jessica had made it to Chloe's house safely.

Chloe's parents were the exact opposite. After the divorce, they left Chloe to fend for herself, only getting involved if she needed intervention with the school or money to keep herself occupied. Neither house she went to seemed truly like home, especially since Chloe craved the loving attention Jessica got from her parents, but Chloe never needed to do more than ask for whatever she needed.

“Anyways, have you heard what everyone at school’s been talking about?” Jessica asked as she sat down on the couch and started to go through the food bag. Chloe scoffed as she sat down next to her.

“I don't really pay attention to school drama,” she reminded Jessica. “Ever since Jamie and Cory started all those rumors after I turned Nick down, I decided to ignore everyone.” Finding her part of the DoorDash order, Jessica shrugged and popped open the takeout container.

“I still don't know why you turned him down,” she said between bites of food. “I mean, he's drop-dead gorgeous, and he's one of the most popular guys in school. He could have helped you reassimilate into the school so that everyone would stop treating you like an outcast.” When Chloe didn't respond, Jessica waved a hand dismissively at her. “Anyways, that's not the point… Everyone keeps talking about some make-believe serial killer called The Prankster.” Immediately, Chloe shuddered.

Yes, she had heard about the Prankster. It was something the guys at school kept talking about, and, as much as she didn't want to get involved, she couldn't help but listen when they talked about it.

Originally, it was some middle-aged jerkwad who decided that it would be funny to “prank” his ex-wife by dressing in all black and wearing a plastic clown mask, but everything went wrong when his ex-wife’s new husband happened to have a shotgun in the house. That simple, harmless prank meant to make the kids laugh ended in a tragedy and another divorce for the safety of the kids.

Strangely, the story seemed to continue from there. A few days later, on April 1st, a young woman was found dead alone in her house, gutted like a fish, and her blood had been smeared on the walls to write the words “It's just a prank.” When the security camera footage was pulled up to help identify the killer, the killer was revealed to be a tall person dressed in all black with the same plastic clown mask. No skin could be seen, and the clothes were baggy, making it impossible to tell if the killer was male or female.

This had been going on for almost five years, and the anniversary of the killings was supposed to be tomorrow.

“Yeah, I heard about that,” Chloe agreed as she stared down at her takeout box. “I don't really believe in it, though. It's probably some sick jerk trying to get away with their worst desires and is using the costume that poor guy wore when he died as a way to conceal his identity.” Jessica chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“I know, but everyone has been on edge since tomorrow's April Fool's Day,” she replied. “According to Tyler and Jason, there's a chance the killer will strike again tonight.” As much as she wanted to laugh it off, Chloe couldn't bring herself to.

Truth be told, even she was afraid that the killer would come back, and it was the reason she didn't want to be home alone tonight. She tried begging her mom to let her go stay with her grandparents for the weekend since her dad was in another state on business, but her mom refused since her grandparents lived over an hour away. So, instead, she had to settle for a girls’ night with Jessica.

“You don't actually believe that, do you?” Chloe started to ask, but the conversation was immediately cut short by Jessica's phone ringing.

“Hang on a second,” she said as she stood up and started towards the kitchen. “It's my mom…” Without waiting for Chloe to respond, Jessica left the room and, within seconds, was arguing with her mom on the phone.

Alone in the living room, Chloe felt a little less comfortable than she had before Jessica arrived. She was used to being home alone, which was part of the reason why her mom was so insistent on having the best security money could buy, but none of this made her feel any better. After all, the best security systems had failed the previous victims of the Prankster, and she didn't think that would change anytime soon.

Seeing something outside the house, Chloe's blood ran cold. Even though the streetlights were on, and the street looked as peaceful as ever, she swore she saw someone standing in her front yard, dressed in all black with a clown mask and holding a long knife. The figure stood there, watching the house, and, when it saw Chloe staring at it from the thinly curtained living room, it actually raised its hand and waved at her.

“Hey,” Jessica said when she finally came back, causing Chloe to nearly jump out of her skin. “My mom is full-on freaking out right now, and she's demanding I come home right now. Something about finding a condom in my room…” Pausing temporarily to grab her bag, she frowned when she saw Chloe's pale, sweaty face. “Are you okay?” Looking from Jessica to the front lawn, which was now empty, and back again, Chloe shook her head, trying to ignore the terror that was still gripping her chest.

“I think I'm just a little freaked out,” she admitted as she placed her takeout container back on the coffee table. “Anyways, you're leaving?” Jessica nodded in response.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Mom claims she found a condom in my room, but I don't know. She wants me to come home so we can have a chat…” Shouldering her bag, Jessica sighed. “Honestly, I think she's just freaked out because of the Prankster rumors going on at school. She said you're welcome to come over if you want.” As much as Chloe wanted to say yes and spend the night in the safety of Jessica's house, she knew her mother, who hated Jessica's mom and how she was always accusing her of neglecting Chloe, would never allow it.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll have an early night tonight,” she decided, knowing that she would regret it as soon as she was alone. “Call me when you get home, though.” Confused, Jessica stared at Chloe for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

“If you say so,” she breathed before heading towards the door. “I'll call you when I get home.” With that, she waved, opened the door, and left Chloe alone in the house.

Immediately, the fear returned, frustrating Chloe. She knew that she was probably overreacting and that her imagination was running wild, but she couldn't help herself. This had been going on for five years now, and the chances of her being attacked were incredibly slim.

However, having seen the Prankster in her front yard did feel real to her…

“That's it,” she said as she cleaned up the coffee table, threw away the trash, and set the alarm. “It's time for bed.” With one final look around the house, she went upstairs, turning off the lights as she left.

Before she even got up the stairs, the alarms started blaring in the house, indicating that one of the doors had been opened. Immediately, Chloe covered her ears and started back down the stairs to check the alarm panel, hoping that she had made a mistake when she put the code in to set it. However, halfway down the stairs, she froze in terror.

No, she hadn't imagined what she had seen before. There was a tall figure standing in the living room, and she knew without a doubt it was the Prankster. She could hear the heavy breathing from within the plastic clown mask, and she couldn't see a single patch of skin.

Fight or flight kicked in, and she whirled around, racing up the stairs as fast as she could. She knew she had to get to her mom's room, where the pistol was hidden under the bed. If she could just reach it in time, she could stop the intruder before they could hurt her.

She had barely reached the top of the stairs when she felt the intruder grab her from behind and lift her into the air. Kicking and screaming, she struggled to escape the strong grasp of the intruder, but it was no use. As if she was nothing more than a toddler, the intruder carried her closer and closer to the banister before throwing her over the edge, and she let out one final scream before everything went black.

When Jessica didn't come home that night, her mother called the police, but it was too late. Someone had heard a scream coming from Chloe's house and called them already. In fact, when she called the police, two officers had just arrived at her door with the dreadful news: Jessica had been found slaughtered outside Chloe's house. Worse, Chloe didn't make it, either, and the killer was nowhere to be seen.

When their classmates arrived at school the following day, they were all silent and terrified, not sure why, for the first time in five years, the Prankster had targeted two students. All they could think about was how the killer had propped Chloe against the wall and, using her blood as ink, wrote on the wall, “It's just a prank.”