A few notes: This is a mixture of Movie and Book-verse, with the plot being AU, not really following the book timeline - more so the movie timeline...lol
Second, Jo's dog's name is pronounced "Rooz".
Third...I don't really have a third - I think that's everything XD
Time it takes to pass out due to smoke inhalation: Mere minutes.
Time it takes to die from smoke inhalation: roughly fifteen minutes.
Time it takes to burn to death: Anywhere between one and two minutes - burning from the inside out, as well as from the outside in.
Sound like your idea of a good time? No. It wasn't Joanna's either. So, one might wonder why nineteen year old Jo Piper stood now, before a crowd of darkly clad teens and 'punk' posers in the underground black district of New Orleans, her entire five foot, five inch frame surrounded by angry flames. This was her job - well, not that she got any cut of the money made. Really, it could hardly be classified as a job...So, let's scratch that: This was her obligation. She had no recollection of her life before the show, none of her family (even her parents), nothing. Whenever she tried to remember, it was just black. But, regardless of the fact that she'd never known anything different, she knew that this was not normal. She knew she was not normal - not all kids can play with fire and not get burned - and she knew that the way she was treated was not acceptable. Tonight, she'd decided precisely two days prior to the show, would be the final night that she performed with their Black Circus (an unofficial name for their little show), and she planned to go out with a bang.
They often would perform in the same venue - the basement of a dodgy club. A club filled with pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers - it was the city's trash can, filled with the world's finest douche-bags. Joanna was going to burn it to the ground.
See, not only was Joanna unaffected by the scalding flames, she could control them. A touch of her fingertip could ignite any object she wished to incinerate. Plus, it would be easy enough to pretend to lose control over her current flame - have it spread through the basement, up in to the club itself, turn the God forsaken place in to a pile of ash. Preferably with their 'ring leader' inside, but she wasn't picky. This was simply a means to an end - a distraction to allow her to make her escape out in to the night. She would hop the next train to pass through and go where ever it took her - Hey, it couldn't be any worse than here.
She finished her act, her eyes not pausing on any single member of the crowd - it was a fault in her performing abilities. She never really connected with her audience. Perhaps, had this been an actual job that she actually cared about, she would have put an effort in to it and overcome her error. But she didn't, so she'd never bothered. It was for that reason, partially, that she didn't notice the pale pair leaning against the wall near the stairs - an older man with bright orange hair and a scarred face, clad in a long, red coat, vest, and slacks, and a young boy in a bright leather coat and black shirt. The boy could have easily passed for a normal, human teenager had it not been for his odd companion. But, amongst this crowd (all of whom were oddly dressed), neither of them stood out.
Darren Shan had seen almost everything. Seeing a girl standing in the middle of an inferno without burning to death was not something that shocked him - impressed him, sure - but no, he wasn't baffled. He knew better than to assume that it was simply an illusion and decided that the girl was a freak. Now, one must know that when Darren drops someone in the 'freak' category, he does so with the utmost respect. He has learned to love freaks - freaks are his family, now. He is a freak. It was becauseof this particular fire-saturated freak that he and his Vampire mentor were here this particular evening. Mr. Tall had been known to pick up a few freaks in his travels across the country with the Cirque - Darren had heard a firsthand account of one such rescue from Evra Von, the snake boy - and, while the rest of the Cirque camped outside the city, Mr. Tall had ventured here and found this girl. Whatever he'd seen had displeased him greatly, and Mr. Crepsley was asked to retrieve the girl tonight. Being Crepsley's assistant and all, Darren was obligated to tag along. He probably would have done so anyway, whether he was required to or not.
"We should wait outside," Mr. Crepsley commented once the girl was finished with her act.
Darren glanced over at him, "We aren't going to watch the rest of the show?"
The vampire shook his head, "There should not be much left to it, anyway - and, if there is, it won't be anything worth seeing, I'm sure," Mr. Crepsley's mind was made up, and Darren followed him up the stairs with no further complaint. And it was a damn good thing, too, because a mere ten minutes after they'd exited the building, screams could be heard from the very basement from which they emerged. Darren glanced anxiously up at Mr. Crepsley, waiting to see if he would do anything before Darren himself chose to act. Crepsley's silence made Darren anxious, and he shifted his weight restlessly from one foot to the other, "Shouldn't we go back?!"
"Are you not listening, Darren?"
Darren waited for him to continue, "...Whatta ya mean?"
Mr. Crepsley sighed, "There is a fire. It would be suicide, even for us."
Sure enough, when Darren listened, he could hear the crackling flames as screaming, hacking audience members and club goers fled through the entrance and out in to the street, "Oh."
Jo burst through the back exit, grinning from ear to ear. So far, so good. She snatched up her pack from where she'd hidden it behind a dumpster and peered up and down the alley, making sure the coast was clear before she began to jog toward the street, keeping out of sight as best as she could, "Ruz! C'mon, boy!"
A large, slightly overweight golden retrieved bolted around the far corner, running to catch up with his master, panting - with his mouth agape, tongue hanging out, he, too, looked like he was grinning. Jo laughed, the glee bubbling up inside her - freedom was so close, she could almost taste it!
Almost.
"Joanna Piper?"
She skidded to a halt as a man with orange hair seemed to materialize directly in her path - poor Ruz, unable to stop in time, barrelled right in to the legs of the brown haired boy who appeared just behind the odd looking man. The boy yelped as he toppled over, the massive dog stumbling over with him. Jo gulped, "Y-Yes?"
"My name is Larten Crepsley," He gestured to the pinned boy behind him, "And this is my assistant, Darren."
Jo frowned down at Darren, confused by Ruz's strange reaction. While Ruz had managed to get back on his feet, he still stood with his two front paws on Darren's chest, teeth bared. Ruz never growled and was never an aggressive dog. In fact, Ruz was a major wuss. She hardly recognized her furry friend, "RUZ! Get off of him! Bad!" Jo stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the dog, prying him off of the poor guy, "Sorry about that, I don't know what happened - he's never like that..."
To her surprise, Darren simply rose, sighing, and brushed himself off, "It's alright."
Jo blinked for a moment, but then turned back to Larten Crepsley, "I'm in a bit of a hurry..." She explained, hinting that she couldn't linger, so, whatever they wanted to say needed to be said soon.
Mr. Crepsley nodded his head once in understanding, "Of course. We've come to offer you a job - and a home - at the Cirque du Freak."
She stared at him, adjusting her pack on her shoulder, "The what?"
Darren spoke up, "It's a freak show."
"Excuse me?!" Jo didn't really know why she was offended that they'd offered her a job at a freak show. Honestly, she knew she wasn't exactly normal. It was just that freak shows were usually associated with so much negativity that her being offended was sort of a knee jerk reaction.
"You are surprised?" Crepsley sounded amused, "We know what you can do, Joanna - Mr. Tall is a big fan of your work," He glanced toward the now fully engulfed club, raising an eyebrow knowingly. Jo blushed, "And, after tonight, it seems you will, conveniently, be homeless and without a job - I am offering you both. This offer is a one time opportunity, take it or leave it."
She glanced from Crepsley to Darren, and down at Ruz, who stared up at her, panting. He stopped and whimpered, turning his attention to Darren and Larten. Jo sighed, wondering why she was even taking so long to decide -
"What have you got to lose?" Darren asked, shrugging.
Jo raised an eyebrow - she had just been thinking that very same thing. She grinned, nodding, "Alright, I'm in," She quickly caught herself, and reached down to scratch behind her dog's ear, "Ruz can come, too, right?"
Mr. Crepsley smiled at the silly question, "Yes, he can come, too."
Jo beamed, "Perfect," She clapped her hands together, "So, shall we go? Where'd you guys park?"
Darren glanced at Mr. Crepsley. He wondered if they should tell Joanna what they were. Was it too soon? How could they be certain that they could trust this girl? What if she couldn't accept the idea of vampire's existing? What if she panicked and had them hunted down? One could never be too careful when in their position.
"Well, I suppose it is no secret that we, too, are freaks," Mr. Crepsley began, "So, if it's all the same to you, would you climb on my back? Either I or Darren will have to carry you to the Cirque."
"...On your back?"
"We ran here," Darren explained.
"...I'm not sure I'm following you here. I'm perfectly capable of running on my own...?"
Darren grinned, "Trust me, you wouldn't be able to keep up."
"If it would make you more comfortable, Darren could carry you," Mr. Crepsley offered, thinking that she may prefer to...uh...run with someone closer to her age, rather than on the back of some old man.
Jo looked over at Darren. He was lean, but definitely did not look like he could carry her for any extended period of time. It seemed odd to her that Mr. Crepsley would think otherwise. Not only that, but Darren, admittedly, was quite good looking, and Jo knew she would not feel more comfortable riding on his back. Naturally, it was going to be awkward either way, but at least she wouldn't have to worry about being attracted to Crepsley.
...No offense to him. Heck, for all she knew, he could've been quite the looker in his day. Just...Yeah - he was too old and...not her type. And he dressed funny.
"Uhm, no, it's fine," She approached Crepsley awkwardly, "So...do I just...hop on?"
"Basically - Darren, would you grab the dog?"
"Oh, sure, I get to carry the dog..." Darren grumbled, cautiously approaching Ruz, who backed away, keeping his distance, "The dog hates me!"
"All dogs hate you, Darren - stop complaining."
Darren glared at him, then, faster than Jo had ever seen anyone move, he darted forward and snatched up Ruz. Ruz never even saw him coming, and yelped in fright, struggling against Darren's hold. Jo's eyebrows shot up, "How did you...How are you...?!" Ruz was a big dog, but Darren made holding on to the struggling, hundred-pound pooch look easy, "Wow," Clearly, she'd underestimated him.
"Well, the night is almost over - we should get moving," Mr. Crepsley turned so that his back was to Jo. Without giving herself a chance to hesitate, Jo wrapped her arms around his neck and climbed on to his back.
Yeah, this is weird...She thought, gulping. She looked around, and blinked in confusion when she realised that Darren was gone.
"Hold your breath," Crepsley warned before he took off down the street.
It was a weird suggestion, but, being a total fish out of water, Jo obeyed, sucking in as much air as possible before they set out. He eyes were wide as they sped through the streets. This was impossible - no one could run this fast! But, in all fairness, technically, no one should be able to start fires with nothing but their bare hands, or be able to survive standing in the middle of a blaze. Still - it was amazing! They were out of the city in minutes (of course, it would've been less if they hadn't had to stop for her to take a breath), and Darren was waiting next to the road a short distance out of town (she couldn't be entirely certain just how far out they were), and Mr. Crepsley set her down. Darren released Ruz (he'd been holding the dog to keep him from running away), and the dog immediately ran to Jo's side with his tail between his legs.
He really didn't like Darren.
Mr. Crepsley gestured grandly toward the large campground before them, "Welcome to the Cirque du Freak!"
Jo glanced at Darren, who gestured for her to go ahead, "After you?"
She shook her head, smiling politely at him, "I wouldn't know where to go," She imitated his previous gesture, "So...after you."
He grinned back at her, shrugging, "Fair enough," After making sure that she was following, Darren set off toward the camp, "You'll have to share a tent with Rebecca - I doubt you'd want to be stuck with Evra and I, anyway, so..."
"Who's Rebecca?" What she really wanted to ask was 'what made her a freak', but she refrained, not really sure what was considered rude amongst the members of the Cirque. She'd find out once she got there, she supposed. Let them ask her first, then it would definitely be safe for her to ask the same.
He slowed slightly, allowing her to catch up so they could walk together, "Oh, Rebecca's great - you'll meet her soon enough, I suppose. We dated briefly..." He glanced at Jo, noticing the wide eyed, expectant stare. He leaned in closer, as if he were revealing some big secret, and grinned, "She's a monkey girl."
Jo nodded, as if she actually had a clue what the hell that meant, "Oh. Cool...?" She took the opportunity to examine Darren himself - if there were monkey girls in the camp (Jo expected the girl to be quite hairy), odds are there were others with strange appearances. She was trying to spot an extra limb on the boy next to her, or any weird tufts of hair. Eventually, not seeing anything, she gave up trying to be subtle and polite, "So, uh, Darren - what's your...uh...talent?"
Darren hesitated, "I'm Mr. Crepsley's assistant."
"Well, I know that, but how'd you get that job? It doesn't seem like something you apply for. Are you two related?"
Darren snorted, "You could say that, I guess."
"Wow - because that's not vague at all. You don't have to tell me if you don't want - I mean, if it's something embarrassing - "
"Oh, no, no, no - It's nothing embarrassing!" He blurted quickly, not wanting her mind to start thinking of humiliating deformities or 'skills'.
"Right. If I guess it, will you tell me?" She smiled, kind of liking the mystery. It had been a while since she'd been around anyone close to her age that she actually was interested in socializing with for any extended period of time.
He laughed, looking extremely confident, "If you guess it, I will be very impressed."
"Well, in that case..." She eyed him through narrowed, thoughtful eyes, "...do you swallow swords?"
"No - well, I might be able to. Never really tried it..."
"Fire?"
"What?"
"Can you swallow fire - ooooh, are you fire breather?!"
"No - I don't swallow any inanimate objects, so, we can move past that."
"Oh, okay. Hmm," She grinned playfully, teasing: "Werewolf?"
He laughed, "No - but we do have a wolf man!"
"Really?! That's cool! Can I meet him?"
"It won't be much of a meeting - he's...kind of more wolf than human, but I'll take you by his cage when we get there."
"Awesome!" She returned her attention to guessing what made this seemingly normal boy a 'freak', and she remembered their journey here, how fast the pair had moved, and how he'd been able to carry Ruz like he weighed nothing, "OH! I got it: You're super strong! Like - the strong man! Only, not massive," She snapped her fingers, "You're Superman."
He smirked, winking at her, "I'm not trying to impress you or anything...but, yes: I'm Superman," he reached over to shake her hand, "Hi, I'm Clark Kent - pleasure to meet you."
Jo laughed, accepting his hand, "Lois Lane," She shot back, playing along. She realised too late, however, that Lois and Clark were one of the most famous couples of all time. Darren, too, seemed to have caught that reference, because, almost simultaneously, they dropped each others' hands, and Jo cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling her cheeks heat up with blush, "Uhm...B-but seriously, though - am I right?"
"If you want to be a buzz kill: no. I'm not Superman."
"No super-strength? No X-ray vision?"
He raised an eyebrow, grinning to himself at the idea of having the ability to see through walls (among other things), "No X-ray vision."
"A-ha! But you do admit that you have super-strength!"
He shrugged, "I never committed to either a 'yes' or a 'no'."
"That means 'yes'," Jo concluded..
The trio parted once inside the Cirque campground (Mr. Crepsley went to inform Mr. Tall of their success in their rescue of Joanna), Darren and Jo set off together to tour the camp. Jo shrieked when a small being in a cloak sprung up beside them, sprinting toward Darren excitedly.
"SWEET JESUS, WHAT IS THAT!?" She yelped, hiding behind the lean boy.
Darren laughed, waving to the tiny creature, "His name is Harkat," He explained, before addressing the creature itself: 'How are you?"
Harkat rubbed his belly and eyed Ruz.
"Ooooh, no," Darren shook his head, glaring at Harkat, "The dog is off limits!"
"It wants to eat my dog?!" Jo gasped.
Harkat paused before rubbing his belly once more, his eyes pleading.
"No!"
Harkat growled in disappointment, letting his hand fall away from his stomach. Jo was still keeping herself hidden behind Darren (the little person creeped her out), with Ruz pressed against her thigh. Harkat looked at them briefly, then thrust his hand out toward Darren. Much to Jo's surprise, Darren sighed, but took the tiny creature's hand.
"You don't mind if he comes along, do you?"
"N-no," Jo squeaked, wincing at the way her voice broke due to her nerves.
"He won't hurt you...I mean, I won't let him," He assured her, "Just keep your distance."
Jo snorted, "That's comforting." she murmured, sarcastically. She glanced down at Harkat, and the little person gave her a sinister grin, gripping Darren's hand tight. She didn't like the look of this...thing. It was very disturbing, with it's sharp teeth, yellow eyes, and grey skin. Worst of all was that she didn't know what it was.Not understanding the creature made her even more nervous - she had no idea what to expect from it, but, at this point, she did know that it wanted to eat Ruz, and that was enough to scare the shit out of her. She loved her dog dearly, and who's to say that little Harkat wouldn't take a bite out of Ruz - or her! - while she slept?
"Hey," Darren nudged her gently with his elbow, looking worried, "Don't worry about it. You're with Superman, remember?"
Jo released the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, tearing her eyes off of the disturbing creature to smile up at Darren, and nodded, "Right."
I'm gunna stop chapter 1 there. Let me know what you think, please!!!