After my parents death, my daughter and I inherited the farmhouse I grew up in. There was just one rule. Never go outside while it’s raining. Unfortunately my husband made the mistake of going outside on a stormy afternoon to save our dog, Penny. I was forced to hide my poor little Charlotte in the closet while my husband was dragged to the woods behind my home nobody could explain by the Click Clack man. Before he went he was able to hide Penny away by cramming her in a tree stump. I hated hearing his screams as I covered Charlottes small ears. Penny was never the same after what she saw. She absolutely refused to step a single paw outside. After the incident I would tell Charlotte the same exact thing my parents would tell me when I was her age. “Never go outside when it’s raining dear, for the Click Clack man might just hear.”
Nobody has ever seen him, not including his victims. Each night before dusk the Click Clack man circles our home six times. While he clicks his tongue. Though this Sunday was different. There was no “click clack” instead there were just loud, heavy, and angry footsteps, we did something to upset him. “Go to your room Charlotte.” I told her. Charlotte just smiled with a hint of fear and ran off to hide under her sheets. Penny followed her and laid in her dog bed placed next to her. I carefully looked around and walked upstairs to my parents old room. The fourth door on the right. I opened their closet to reveal the only thing of theirs that remained. It was a book titled, “The Click Clack man.” They were gifted it by the old homeowners when they moved in. I flipped to page 78, chapter 3. “So you made him angry.” It said. I kept reading. “There’s only one step to survive. MOVE OUT!” My eyes widened, I closed the book. I knew it would be be bad if I remained in the house.
The next day I called my brother. He was kind enough to allow me to stay with him. Luckily he loved Penny. “Charlotte, how about you go get all your toys packed?” I smiled. “But why mommy?” She asked, her grin fading. “We’re going to uncle Geoffe’s for awhile. She did a small cheer then ran to her room. I began to pack my own things. I was deep into thought when I heard rain. Little drops of water hit my window, soon enough, I heard him. It wasn’t just heavy footsteps though. It was also violent knocking at the front door. Each time he circled around he knocked on the door six times each. After the sixth time he went away. His clomping fadding away. About an hour later, the rain stopped. It only took two more days to finish packing and successfully move out.
We were finally free. I sold the old farmhouse, we got a nice apartment that allowed Penny, I got a new job, Charlotte is even attending a brand new school. Everything was perfect, until the front desk gave me a book titled, “The clapping man.”