Dave's clown friends were waiting for him. Circling him, drooling and gaunt. Low rumbled growling as they licked their lips and panted.
"What have you done with Lucy??" Dave demanded, yelling at them.
The clowns looked at him surprised and stopped in their tracks.
"Loo-sey?? Who is Loosey??" They stared at him confused and dumbfounded.
"We do not know of a Loosey.."
"LUCY.. A friend of mine.. She.. She ph-phoned me.. I.. think.. I.. Told me to get hamburger... I got hamburger.. You.. You hurt me.. Cut me.. Ate me.. Hit me.." Dave said slowly, trying to string together a coherent sentence.
"We did no such thing Davey.. We don't exist.. You are laying deep inside Bozo's stomach because you think you are.. Not because you actually exist here. We don't exist.. Cindy doesn't exist. You don't exist."
Dave stared at the clown who had bent into the lotus position and was floating several inches off the floor of the stomach lining. "We are all non-entities, Davey.. Say it with me.. Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.."
"Om?? Uhh.. I don't think so. I don't go in for that new-agey crap. So if I don't exist here.. What happened to me?"
The clown had stretched out so he was laying flat, his arms folded under his head and he floated a little higher, bobbing in the air. "Beats the hell out of me Davey.. You're bleeding because we were hungry. But what happened to you outside of here.. I do not know. None of us do. Only you know that.. Only you know what truly happened."
"But I don't.. I don't remember.. I.. I thought you did it.. I thought you would know why I hurt so much."
The clown shook his head. "Nope.. Don't have a clue.. Here.. Give me that.." The clown reached down and plucked Dave's ear from his head and munched on it like a potato chip.
"Ow! What did you do that for??" Dave glared at him and rubbed at his head, discovering that his ear was still there.. Curious, he looked down and saw his scrubs still covered in blood. "How?"
"We didn't do that Dave.. Outside. They did that outside. You came to us like that.." The clown said plainly, now sitting up and treading the air like a bicycle.
"But.. You.. I saw you.. All of you.. Eating me.. Hurting me.." Whimpered Dave, tearing up at the memory.
"We did that because that's what you expected.. We only do what you expect Dave. We don't exist. Remember that."
"But.. You.. You were eating my liver.." Dave said worriedly, fingering through his wounds, seeing if it was still there, and it was.
"You thought I was.. It was a manifestation of the fear and pain you were experiencing in the real world. That.. and we were hungry.. Everything's still there, Dave." The clown grinned, blood dripping down his chin, still munching on the ear that didn't exist. "Except for your spleen.. I think they had to take that out.."
"I.. I thought you didn't know.." Dave stammered worriedly. This clown was evil and obviously knew more than he was telling.
"I don't.. I only know what you know. I know that something happened on that pier.. But until you remember, I don't know what happened exactly. I know that they took you up to surgery. I know that cute little redhead told you they were going to stitch some stuff up.. And that funny looking little man, took out your spleen, because that Babcock guy said something. But I only know what you know."
Dave sighed, clowns were still evil. "Why are you so creepy looking??"
The clown sighed and floated to the ground. "Because you saw 'IT' too many times as a child.. What sort of parents rent that for a kid? Because some of us clowns are sick bastards and what ever that Bozo guy did to you in that circus tent, was pretty sick.. Because I partially agree.. We are not exactly normal looking. We freak people out. That's part of our charm. We're creepy and unusual. Sad but angry, Happy but evil. Some of us have acquired a taste for human flesh.. But that's not a clown trait.."
The clown paced the floor in a circle, his red shoes flapping and squishing on the stomach floor. "Some of us clowns, our callings in life weren't immediate. Some of us have disturbing pasts, we can't shake. Take Binky over there for instance.. Remember that Jack The Ripper??"
Dave nodded nervously.
"Jack was a real person. He was a sick bastard indeed.. I'm sure you've seen the movie.."
Dave nodded again, shrinking away from the clowns who had all started to mimic their leader and pace in unison. Back and forth.. back and forth. Dave was about to be sick.
"After Jack cleaned up his act.. He became reformed and decided to make the world a happier place. But he's still a sick bastard.. He's the only one in the bunch that prefers a human leg over a cheeseburger.. Most of us clowns are reformed murderers and psychos.. Some taking a little career change, some reincarnated.. But you can't destroy the inner-self, David.. You're doctor correct?"
Dave nodded again, wordless and speechless.
"If you suddenly decided to become.. Oh.. let's say.. An icecream man.. Your whole personality wouldn't change? Would it? You'd still be Dave.. Just Dave in a stupid hat.. Instead of Baby Duck Malucci.."
Dave scowled at the mention of the nickname.
"Don't like Baby duck?? Why ever not?? I think it's cute.. Anyway.. As I was saying. You don't destroy who you are, just because you change your job."
"My name is Dr.Dave.. Not Baby Duck.." Grumbled Dave.
"Why do they call you Baby Duck?" The clown, replied grinning. He knew exactly why. He just wanted to hear Dave say it.
"We..We were supposed to bring baby photos for the County newsletter.. I brought one in of me when I was little.. Playing in the spring thaw at my Grandfather's farm.. The whole field was little a giant mucky lake.. The picture.. Me, age one and a half, soggy Pampers and covered from head to toe in mud and snow, with a big grin on my face. Somebody mentioned how it looked just like a little duck playing in puddles and then some jerk started calling me Baby duck.."
The clown smiled. "Of course.. I remember now.."
Dave glared at him, pulling out a kidney and throwing it at the clown, bouncing it off his fat head. "And there's more where that came from. How do I get out of here.." He grumbled, raring to strangle the clown with his lower intestine.
The clown grinned, eyeing the kidney and sinking his teeth into it. "Just.. Just wake up.. We'll be waiting for you Dave.. We'll be waiting." The clown slurped and munched and watched Dave vanish yet again.