A/N: OK guys, I'm new to writing for this fandom and . . . *flinches* I've only ever watched the movie of this. I'm not saying I'm a major fan or I know everything about it because I don't. I've only ever watched the movie. Please feel free to insult me for this. I've done it before for other fandoms so I need to be able to take what I dish out. Still, I just want to make it clear that this is based off what I know from the movie and such.

I know how annoying it can be to have someone who has just watched a movie based off a book series get on like they know everything but that's not what I'm doing. I just wanted to write a fic from it because I love the movie so much! I know I probably know nothing since I haven't read the books but give me a chance?

Don't get me wrong, I want to read the books some time but my mum won't buy me any of them because I got loads of books for christmas and she won't get me any more until I read all of them. I will read them someday though. Hopefully someday soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Darren Shan's characters or ideas.

Chapter One- The Gremlin dressed as a monk

My name's Scarlet. You know, like the colour? Call me Scar though. Everyone else seems to do so. Quite ironicly you'll later discover: Scarlet is the colour of blood.

If somone says a sentence with the words, 'Fangs,' 'Blood,' 'Crucifix,' or 'Holy Water,' then you'll immediately think of a vampire. Unless you're like my little cousin who thought of an injured bat hung on a crucifix while being soaked in holy water, but most of the time, you'll think of a vampire. Then lead on from the word vampire you either think of the pretty ones like Edward Cullen or those ugly things from Salem's Lot. I, for one, choose Salme's Lot over the Cullen Clan. Much more gruesome . . . much more . . . statisfying.

As you water down the timeline of words, you'll eventually reach the fact that vampires drink blood. You never saw fangs in Twilight, they just sort of bit and sucked. What? Do they have super teeth or something? I have no idea but I know it put me off the films. Apart from the sucky love story that was what put me off the films. I prefer Van Hesling or Salem's Lot where they're not afraid to make you jump out of your skin and witness blood and gore. That's who I'am. It's in my nature.

Give me a spider, I'll squash it. Give me a tranlantula, I'll poke it with a stick to make it mad. Give me a daddy long legs, I'll pull off all the legs and watch it suffer. I hate spiders.

I was walking down the road when the green flyer arrived. Someone slipped it out of their car window as they passed by me. (By the way, who owns a purple car these days?) The wind immediately picked it up and blew it towards me, making it land at my feet. I picked it up-obviously, who wouldn't?-and read the title.

Cirque Du Freak, One night only. The world's greatest freak show for 500 years.

I'm not one for following random flyers, especially ones chucked out of purple cars, and listening to where they tell me to go but something about this freakshow makes me want to go. Even now, staring at the flyer on my way to the old theater, I wonder what I'm even doing. It's late. Really late. I should be at home. My mom will kill me if she finds out I'm gone. Still, doesn't stop me going. Plus, it's a freakshow! Maybe I'll see something really gross! Now that would be awesome.

"Back in three seconds?" A voice in the distance says. "What?" I head closer to the theatre and continue to listen to the voices ahead.

"One. Two. Three. There, it's been three seconds," a different voice says. When I'm finally close enough to see who the two people are, I blurt out:

"You have got to be kidding me!"

It's not that I hate Darren Shan and Steve Leonard, it's just . . . I don't particually like them. Darren is too much of a posh goody two shoes and Steve thinks he's badass. I keep my distance from people like them, I don't really get on well with them. I'm not sure they favour me in particular either.

Both boys whip their heads round and stare at me. Darren sighs inaudiabley before stuffing his hands in pockets while Steve makes his sigh more noticable-making his irritation clear- before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" I ask. "What are you doing here?" I need to be careful, freakshows are apparently illegal, and if these two are just out for a casual stroll then I can't let them know my true intentions, breaking the law normally leads to jail. Well, that's what Mr. Kersey says anyway. He found someone else in a different class with a Cirque Du Freak flyer and ended up lecturing all his classes about how he expects no-one to be going and how it's digusting and inmoral etc. etc. "Aw, don't tell me your the reason Mr.'What you got for me,' prattled on for ages about the idioticy of freakshows," I sigh. Darren coughs and picks up the 'Back in three seconds,' notice to closely examine it. I throw a glare at him. "You ass! Do you know how brain melting that lecture was?!"

"Oh go play with a ball of string or something," Steve mutters, snatching the sign from Darren.

"That was one time! And I was only showing my cat how to do it," I snap. Don't ask . . . Just . . . don't.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yada, yada, yada," Steve replies, kicking the stand in which the sign sat on. If looks could kill I'd have vaporised him by now. Cocky piece of-

A panel in the bottom of the stand opens and a small note is chucked out. Steve picks it up and reads it. "Money," he says.

"They want money," Darren voices.

"You didn't think they were going to let us in for free did you?" I scoff, shoving my hands into my pockets and searching for the ten pounds I had put in before I left. Steve gets his own money out while Darren hands in his own share. Holding the money infront of the panel, Steve says, "Uh . . . two tickets please?"

"Three," I correct irritabley, shoving my own money into his hands.

Something suddenly lurches out of the wooden panel, snatching the money. All I catch is the glint of pointy teeth and a high growl before the panel is snapped shut again. The three of us stare at the panel, dumbstruck.

"Did we just get conned by a gremlin?" I ask after a couple of moments of shock.

"Hey, he took our money!" Steve snaps, knocking on the panel. "We gave you your money now give us our tickets!"

The panel flings open again and a gremlin in monk dress lurches out and bites Steve's hand. "Holy shit!" he exclaims, sucking on his bit finger.

"What was that thing?" Darren frowns.

"A Monk Gremlin?" I suggest. I take Steve's wrist and examine the bite. "Pssh, it's just a small bite. You'll be fine. I'm sure the mighty Steve Leonard can survive a small bite anyway." The last part is muttered under my breath but I still earn a glare.

Three tickets are flung out of the panel and flutter to the ground. I snatch mine up and head towards the theater, not looking back. Darren and Steve still catch up with me though.

"I didn't know you were into this type of thing Scarlet," Darren says quietly as we walk down a red carpeted corridor towards the main theater room.

"Oh . . . yeah, sure. Anything gross is my type of scene," I reply. It's true. When all the other little girls were playing with Barbie dolls, dressing them and pampering them, I was shearing their hair off, colouring the sheared head blue and scribbling over their faces. Then when teenagers worried about their make-up, I worried about whether my pot of bouncy slime would dry out or not.

"Yeah, that's why people call her Scar, because she had photos of her mom's gall stone operation scars on her phone once," Steve puts in, nudging me with his elbow. What? She got staples. Like, proper staples! The type you'd use to staple pieces of paper together! I wanted a photo because it looked all Frankenstein like and I wanted to have a proper look when I got home from visiting her in hospital.

"It's your fault everyone found out about that," I say coldly.

"Hey, don't blame me, I was just looking for someone on your contacts to send a prank text to and bam! there it was! Frankenstein stomach!"

"Oh do shut up," I snap.

"I bet you still have it on," Steve teases.

"Just shut up Steve," Darren sighs. "I bet there's a reasonable explanation why she'd have a-"

"Do you still have it?" Steve pushes.

"No," I reply unconvincinly. "Of course I don't!"

A tall man suddenly steps out of an aclove, almost making the three of us bang right into him. When I say 'a tall man,' I mean 'a tall man.' He's huge! My neck hurts just looking up at him!

"Are you 21?" he asks, his voice deep and hushed but audible, basically, it sends a shiver down my spine. The three of us don't answer him so he says, "Say yes." I want to answer him, tell him yes with the ease I normally lie with but my voice catches in my throat and a squeak comes out. I think the same happens Darren because Steve is the one who ends up answering.

"Yes," he says.

"You don't have a tendancy towards panic, sudden cardiac arrest or crippling anixety do you?" The tall man asks. We're silent again. "Say no."

This time the three of us manage a reply. "No."

He holds his palm out flat for us to place our tickets on before saying,

"Then welcome to the Cirque."

I scoot around him and head into the main theater room. There's a semi circle of chairs on the stage with many people sitting on them. "Wow, I wonder if this place would set off an echo," Steve muses. Darren quickly slaps his hand over Steve's mouth as he opens it to yell.

"Shut up numbskull," I hiss.

Steve slaps Darren's hand away and snaps, "Or what?"

"Or I'll show you the real reason people call me Scar," I reply. My temper also isn't the best. You challenge me and I'll step up to it.

"Come on then, hit me with your best shot," Steve fires back.

We both take a step towards each other when Darren squeezes himself between us. "OK, time out," he says. "Look! There's some seats!" He runs down the aisle and drops himself onto a spare seat. Steve and I glare at each other before conseeding and following Darren's lead. Once Steve sits down beside Darren I go on my tiptoes and look for another seat further away from these two idiots.

I don't find any.

"Come on Scar, aren'tcha gonna sit down?" Steve teases, reaching over Darren and patting the spare seat beside his friend. Sighing heavily, I drop onto the seat and fold my arms in irritation.

As soon as I'm seated, the room darkens and some really omnious music begins to play as the tall man from the corridor comes out from backstage and smiles.

"Good evening all, and welcome to the Cirque Du Freak!"

A/N: Um, so yeah, I hope the 'I haven't read the books thing' hasn't put you off but please give me a chance? Also, please leave off a review? I'd appreciate it :)