Black, grey and white dominated the palate of the room. Not an ounce of color could be seen anywhere within the room which Juniper stood in. The walls were bare of pictures, only hosting a small diamond shaped grid wallpaper in various shades of grey, while the floor looked like a black abyss that could swallow her up whole at any moment. There didn’t appear to be a way out except through a tiny door far too small for her to squeeze out of easily.

She had no idea what she was doing there, but a sense of sadness and dread was filling her being. Like she knew something was about to happen or maybe had already happened? She wasn’t sure. Had something already happened? Something in the back of her head was telling her she’d seen all of this before.

Juniper turned in a circle, looking around herself, unsure what she should be doing.

Suddenly the little door popped open, and in walked a figure. Juniper couldn’t quite tell who or what it was. But, as if by magic, as the thing walked closer towards her, it grew in size and it’s features became more pronounced. The large shoes, baggy pants, suspenders, wild, crazy hair, and a perpetually sad painted on face loomed above her as the clown grew larger, and larger and larger until it towered about her. The ceiling seemingly growing upward to accommodate the new being.

Juniper backed herself up into a wall, eyes wide. Fear was beginning to mingle in with a strong sense of loneliness and despair. There was no way out. She was trapped. What would happen to her? Was she about to be killed? Worse?

She flailed and darted through the legs of the clown, dropping to her knees as she pulled at the tiny door. IT flung open with ease, but the taunt of freedom only made her heightened emotions worse as she tried to claw her way out. The sense of dread, knowing that the clown was about to do something horrid to her only grew with each passing moment as she tried in vain to squeeze herself through the tiny door.

She felt something grip her ankles and pull her. “NO!” She screamed.

Juniper shot up in bed, clawing at the blankets that had managed to get wrapped around her legs. She flicked on the bedside lamp, eyes wide as she worked to ground herself in the real world. Sweat prickled her brow and body, all the while, Star laid on the window sill staring at her with disdain for waking him up.

“Damn it. That’s the fourth time now.” Since the party, she’d been dealing with these horrid dreams. Each night it always seemed to end at the same time with her trying to escape but being grabbed. At this point she was getting a bit run down from the reoccurring nightmares since it always took her a while to calm herself back down afterwards.

Carefully she crawled across her bed and plucked Star from his perch. The small feline didn’t protest as he was pulled to her chest and scratched upon his head and back. Eventually the purring began and Juniper allowed herself to relax in the bed again. Star’s consistent motor of a purr worked its charms though. As Juniper curled her body around him, the vibrations helped to lull her back into a dreamless sleep.

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