{Reader's POV}

As I moved my tired hand, I felt a cold fabric rub against my skin. The sensation was unfamiliar to me and sent my eyes fluttering open.

I looked around my surroundings and noticed I was laying on a hospital bed.

I raised an eyebrow and, as I tried to get up, a strike of pain flew straight to my head. I winced and clutched my head with my hands as I tried to comprehend what happened.

I didn't remember much though. Just knew I went for a late night walk and went inside an alleyway for some reason...

The alleyway.

My eyes shot open and I gripped the bed sheets under me. Panic surged through my veins and my heart pounded in my chest.

*knock* *knock*

My head thrusted towards the door and I almost felt myself faint from the abrupt sound.

"C..Come in..", I said with a raspy voice and coughed.

A middle-aged woman dressed in scrubs walked into my room and smiled warmly as she noticed I was wide awake.

"Sorry for waking you honey. I just need to check your blood pressure, is that alright? If you want I'll just wait until you're asleep", the nurse asked and it took me a moment to comprehend what was going on. I shook my head and tried to return the smile.

"No, no, I'm fine... I don't mind", I said in a soft whisper and the nurse nodded her head respectfully. She walked over to a monitor near my bed and switched it on. Her hand gently touched my arm and she wrapped a black blood pressure gauge around my arm. After the machine beeped the woman frowned.

"It seems you're still shaken up from last night... At least your physical wounds are healing up nicely", the nurse responded and I nervously smiled back. She let out a sigh and began taking the gauge off my arm.

"Uh... what happened after the police came..? Did they catch him..?", my voice echoed through the room and the nurse knitted her eyebrows in response.

"No, unfortunately they didn't. But they were able to rescue you both before anything else could go wrong. The media are making a huge ruckus out of this too..", the nurse shook her head as if she was displeased and began mumbling something to herself.

"Both of us..? The boy's alive..?", I asked worriedly and the nurse's mood suddenly brightened up.

"Thanks to you honey! He's a floor below us and recovering just like you. His parents are extremely grateful you were able to save him at the last minute!", the nurse rambled on and I sunk back in the bed in relief.

"That's great—", my sentence was cut off when the door suddenly swung open.

A group of men with large cameras flooded the room and crowded around me. They roughly shoved the nurse behind them and some held their microphones close to my face.

"Miss (L/N)! Did you see the killer up close?! If so, what did he look like?!"

"What were you doing that night?! How were you able to find the killer during one of his rampages?!"

"Is it true he only kills children?!"

"The parents of the surviving child said that the boy described the perpetrator as 'clown-like', do you have any comments on that?!"

Microphones poked at my face and I defensively raised my hands to shield my eyes from the harsh flash of lights. Suddenly, during all the mayhem, a group of police officers swarmed in the room and roughly dragged every one of the reporters and journalists away. The nurse dusted herself off and immediately locked the door, leaving only one officer behind the crowd.

"...Apologies, I wish you hadn't witness that, Miss (L/N)... We neglected to surveillance one of the back exits and they must have slipped in", the officer spoke as he casually took off his hat, revealing sandy, brunette hair.

"It's fine...", I replied understandingly and felt my shoulders relax.

"What a bunch of nuisances..!", the nurse shook her head in disgust and sat down on the couch adjacent to the bed. The officer pulled up a chair and sat in front of me.

"However, we still have questions that we need you to answer, if now is the right time..", the man spoke firmly and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. Last nights events replayed in my head and I suddenly felt a chill run up my spine.

"S..Sure.. What do you want to know..?", I asked quietly and the officer pulled out a notepad and a pen.

"What were you doing in the alleyway last night?"

"I had went for a walk and heard a scream. I went to check it out and found h..him."

"Were the rest of the children already dead when you found them or..?"

"Y..Yes."

"What did he look like?"

My eyes suddenly widened and I stared at the man in shock. A shaky breath exited my lips and I began to feel nauseous. I knew that last question would be hard to explain, but I couldn't leave the officer without an answer.

"...I..I'm not sure... It was dark and I couldn't get a clear view of him...b..but he was wearing a lot of black clothing...", I fumbled over my words and watched carefully as the officer wrote down every word I said on his notepad.

"Alright... What about the boy? Did he see him?"

"Ye... Uh.. I'm not sure... You'll have to ask him that, I just ran off a with him before the clown could kill us."

"Clown?"

My heart suddenly stopped and I gawked at the officer.

"W..What..?", I asked innocently and gripped the bedsheets under me tightly. Now both the officer and nurse were staring at me suspiciously.

"You said the clown?", the man said with an uneasy tone and I immediately shrunk back in my pillow.

"I'm sorry... I guess I'm still a little lightheaded...", I said timidly and looked over at the nurse who quickly nodded her head. She got up and left, leaving the man and I alone in the room.

"Well, Miss (L/N), I think that's all the answers I need for today. You have a nice evening", the officer spoke professionally and left the room with a noticeable frown on his face.

I heaved a sigh of relief and clutched my chest tightly after he left. I felt my heart pounding faster and I mumbled curses under my breath.

The nurse soon returned with a cup of water, but this time she held a more perky attitude. She walked towards me and gleefully handed me the cup.

"Good news! The little boy's parents are here to see you! Do you want me to let them in?", the nurse's announcement shocked me and I almost missed when she neglected to hear my answer and happily opened the door.

A man and woman stepped into the room and smiled kindly at my presence. I kept gawking at them until they sat down across from me, to which I forced a smile.

"We're sorry to barge in like this, but we had to thank you", the woman said apologetically and turned to her husband who nodded.

"Yes, we're so grateful you saved our son..", the man responded and almost choked back on his words.

The woman rubbed his back comfortingly and tried to hold back her tears as well.

"We just don't know what we would have done if you hadn't saved our Jamie..! Thank you so much..!", she said with a few tears trickling down her cheeks and the scene left me speechless.

"No... It's alright really..", I said and shook my head reassuringly.

"I don't know how we can repay you but–",

"No, no! You don't have to do that..!"

"No, it's alright. We owe you this..", the mom spoke with a gentle, but firm voice and revealed what she had hidden inside her purse. She pulled out a beautiful music box and handed it to me.

I hesitated at first, but took the box anyway to not be rude.

The music box was absolutely adorable. It was adorned with cheerful designs and lovely touches like glitter and a ribbon. A crank was on the side and I gently grazed over the golden appendage with my fingers.

"It's a Jack-in-a-box... We don't know where it came from and it was just lying around in the house and it was so beautiful to just leave it alone... that we thought it'd be better off in your hands", the man spoke as he gazed at the music box and twiddled with his thumbs.

I smiled and nodded my head as I held the music box in my hands.

"Thank you, I love it..", I said warmly and received bright smiles from the couple. They gleeful rose from their seats as they faced the nurse who had her hands covering her mouth in awe.

"Wonderful! Well, now that we've settled that, we must get back to our son. It won't be long before he wakes up too", the woman said politely and the nurse nodded her head understandingly.

We said our goodbyes and the nurse helped escort them back to their room.

I smiled and gazed once more at the beautiful, dazzling music box in my hands. I turned it over and surprisingly found an engravement on the side of the box. I knitted my eyebrows and curiously read the words out loud.

"Laughing Jack-in-a-box."