The Circus

"So, Gabriel, how long ago was it that you visited this, eh, 'circus'?" the therapist asked in an overly friendly tone. I sat uncomfortably on the sofa, trying to recall all the details of the terrifying place I had visited.
"It was... A month ago, I think. A month, yes, that's it. A month. A month it was." I said, my right eye twitching slightly as I said it. The therapist wrote something down.
"Can you... tell me about the circus, Gabriel?" the therapist questioned lightly. I closed my eyes and tried to remember. Suddenly all of it came back to me. I was reliving the memory of the circus. The music, the animals, the candy, and worst of all, the clowns.
...
I opened my eyes and was immediately overtaken by the sounds of haunting circus-like music. I sat up and looked around. I was inside of some sort of tent. A circus tent, to be exact. I found that I was sitting on a large bed of straw. Hesitantly, I climbed down from the straw. As soon as I stepped down I heard a loud honking sound, like a horn. I looked around and saw at the back of the tent... a clown. He was crouching in the corner facing me. This was where I froze in terror. All my life I've had a fear of clowns. I could see in the dim light of the tent that the clown began to smile fiendishly as he stood up from his hiding spot. I backed up against the wall in fear as the clown began to walk towards me. It held a knife in its hand.
Behind the clown I saw a light. It was the exit of the tent. In a mad dash, I sprinted past the clown and out of the tent. I didn't stop running there. I kept on running until I came to a cotton candy stand. There was a man inside with his back facing me. I yelled to him for help, but he didn't move at all. It was at the mention of the word "clown" that he finally responded. I was in for a shock. He turned around, revealing that he was, in fact, a clown as well. I screamed in absolute horror and spun around to find some other place to hide, only to be met with yet another clown. This one had an eye patch, missing teeth, a scar running down the side of his face, and was missing hair in many places. I was unable to react since I was so terrified. The next thing I knew I was laying on a bed in another circus tent. I was tied down with ropes this time, but I could still move my head. I looked down past my feet and saw a horrible sight.
There was a group of three clowns on the floor eating... something. As I looked more closely I saw that what they were eating was... a woman. She was still alive, but there was duct tape over her mouth and her arms and legs were tied together so she couldn't move. It was awful. I stared in disgusted fear as the clowns devoured her quickly. I don't know how I managed to retain consciousness while watching the scene unfold in front of my very eyes, but I did. Eventually the woman quit moving. When she did, the clowns stood up from the floor and gazed at me with starving eyes. One of them laughed maniacally as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and came over to me.
The clown ran the knife along my neck, not quite hard enough to puncture, but certainly enough to give me a good fright. The clown leaned in close and smiled. I took advantage of this and bit his big red nose, which made him lurch back in pain. He dropped his knife, and it landed right next to my hand. My hand was tied down, but I was still able to grab hold of the knife and use it to cut the ropes on my hand. The other clowns were bent over to see if their comrade was alright after the vicious nose-biting. They weren't aware that I was escaping. After I cut all the ropes, I hightailed it the hell out of there. By now they knew that I had fled, and so they were pursuing me, all while laughing and shrieking horribly. I ran and ran and ran until I woke up in a hospital. The doctors told me that I had a stroke and was very lucky to still be alive. I never thought it was a dream. I knew that the clowns and the circus were real. I knew it.
...
"I see, I see. Tell me, Gabriel, why you think the clowns are real." the therapist said calmly. I just looked behind him and gasped.
"Maybe because there is one behind you right now!" I shouted in terror. The therapist had no chance to look behind him before the clown slit his throat with a knife, killing him. The clown smiled demonically before he began to walk over to me, giggling the whole time.
The Circus
The Circus
The Circus