Okay, so this is a Darren Shan: Cirque du Freak Fan Fiction. Darren doesn't come in till later on, just to clear the fog if you get confused, it will first say the person who is speaking name and then it will be from their point of view. For example:
Ashley:
I strolled down the dark alleyway, Lorna beside me. I tremble at the thought of murder and death.
"Ashley? Are you ok?" she asks, pure fear in her voice. I swallow hard and nod slowly. We shouldn't have gone to that party, but then again, our popularity did go up slightly!
Lorna:
Ashley is as pale as a ghost. We link arms and she's cold to touch, even though it's a hot summers night. I think about what happened a couple hours ago at the party. Guys, knives, sirens, screams. It all still seemed to rattle inside my head. As we briskly walked through the dark alleyway, I felt a small knot fold in the pit of my stomach, and very faintly anxiety gnawed at my insides.
It would be longer of course, I try to keep each chapter to one person. You get my drift anyway, don't you? Ah well, if not just read on, and try to follow. Enjoy!
Chapter One
THUMP
My eyes flutter open. The house seems strangely quiet. I slowly pull off my duvet and walk upstairs to Mommy and Daddy. The door was left open, I sneak in, and hide in the gap behind the couch, giving me a good view of what's happening. A tall shadowy figure is bending over Daddy, I listen to the quiet gulping sounds it makes. It stands up, turns towards me and I watch it's bright blue eyes glisten in the moonlight. And his cropped blonde hair messy around his thin face. "Ahh, very refreshing." and he wipes the red stuff from around his mouth. He walks around the end of the bed and does the same thing again, once he's finished he comes over, and sits on the couch, his slender figure right before my face. Something tells me not to breathe. Seconds pass like hours, I clutch Cat even tighter. The man gets up and leaves without a word. I slid out from behind the couch. I stand before them, Cat falls from my hands, "Mommy? Daddy?"
Heather
9 years later…
My alarm clock vibrates off the table. I groan. I get up, find it, and turn it off. I shuffle into the bathroom and wash my face. I look in the mirror, I see a tired face with a mane of brown hair. I look for my brush and I rake it through my mane. I tie it back into a high pony and get changed into my gym uniform. Up at 7:30 on a Saturday morning for school, perfect, just what I need.
I run two laps around the pitch, and shove my gum shield into my mouth.
"Orla, right wing, Heather, you take the left." says Coach. I nod and jog into place, a cold breeze wanders throughout the air. I shiver. The whistle blows and the ball is hurled towards me, I dribble up the pitch and pass it to Orla, she passes to Hazel and we score. We head back to the 50 yard line and start again, except this time, the opposing team has the ball. I tackle into a big girl, with cropped blonde hair, and bright green eyes, I slam my hockey stick into hers and I nab the ball. She comes after me, a fierce look on her face, she gets ready for a tackle, but I hop the ball over her stick. She stands up shocked and confused, I skid around her and take the ball and pass it to Rachel, we score again.
Half Time. It's raining. And I'm wet. Were up 5-0 to us, the girl I tackled seems to hate me, she keeps trying to find a soft spot in me.
"Great work guys, keep it up." we put our sticks into the centre.
"On three…" I start with a smile, the rain belting down in tiny pellets. "Three!"
"RATHDOWN RULES!" we all yell and we raise our sticks into the air, ready for victory.
The blonde girl looks at me with daggers in her eyes, I quickly glance at my watch, 10 minutes left, and we're winning. I tackle her and snatch the ball, I sprint up the pitch with the ball against my stick. I pass it to Orla, as I stand up, the blonde girl slams into my side, knocking us both down, I hear a snap inside me and I scream in pain. I sit up, tears flowing down my face, a time out has been blown.
I feel sick, I sit up, but I flinch from the pain. There's a crowd around me, Coach crouches down beside me, "Heather, are you alright?"
I can't say anything, my mouth won't open. I shake my head and I cough into my hands. i feel thetears run down my cheeks. It really hurts, I look down at my hands… they're covered in blood. Everything fades away…
I wake in a cramped dull room, with pipes lining the ceiling and walls. There are two wide windows with thin white curtains, they flow with the wind. There are three other metal famed, white sheeted beds in the room with me. I see a blue synthetic curtain between the window and my bed, there's a telly on a support in a corner. On the bedside table is a bunch of heather in a vase, tied with a blue ribbon. There are about five cards, my retarded phone, and a small green box, about the size of my hand.
I reach for the box with my good hand, because my other one seems to be in a cast. I pick up the green box, and open it, a solid black necklace was tucked in neatly inside the box the necklace was a pure thin black square, with a crown cut out of one of the edges, I wondered what it was made of. It reminded me of a puzzle piece. I pick up a glass of water and drink it absent-mindedly, I read the small note inside the box. It said:
Heather,
when you get this, you are probably awake by now. You're probably
Wondering why you are in hospital, if nobody tells you what going on,
Don't worry, I will.
This little necklace was your Mum's, I thought that now was the right
time to give it to you, your mother was a lovely lady, and your father,
was a kind-hearted, funny bastard! They both loved you remember that,
even though you barely knew them.
If something unusual comes along,
I will explain. Hope you like the gift! Wear it well.
L C.
I stare at the note with the box open on my lap. L C? Who the heck was that? I don't know anyone by the initials of 'L C'! Though, it was nice of this person to give me something that my Mum owned. I slip the note into a flap in the box, and pull out the necklace, I shines in the sunlight. I undo the clasp and put it on. Then I remember; I am in a hospital. I fall back on my pillow in disgust. Then I flinch the pain in my chest. I look down my shirt, and notice bandages around my torso. I lay my covered up hand across my stomach, and notice two other people for company.
There was a boy, fifteen by the looks of it, and he was texting on his phone. And beside him was an old black man, his deep set wrinkles seemed to smile at me, and his strongly built body, was being tended to, his head turns towards me,
"Hello, miss, finally awake are you?" his voice was like smooth English velvet, yet, it was strong and kind. A wall of big pearls laid between his lips, and his white hair, reminded me of the white capped waves in Wexford. I smile back.
"Thanks." I reply. He stares at me in confusion as some nurses finish on him.
"What are you in for?" he asks, his voice was a strong English accent. I shrug.
"I can't remember, I don't even know how I broke my arm." I say looking down at my lap and fiddling with some loose threads. There was an awkward silence, then the boy speaks up.
"What your name?" he asks, his accent was English too.
"Heather, em… sorry for asking, but… where am I?" the other two laugh. Great, I'm stuck in a hospital, with two males that I barely even know, laughing at me, bring on the Sarcasm!
"Well? Where am I?" I repeat. The old man stops and apologises for the two of them.
"You're in London child! Ever been here before?"
I stare at the two of them. London? But… but… how? A young lady walks into the room, she's wearing a pale green uniform, the one you see on Scrubs. And she's holding a tray full of food. The smell of pancakes drifts into my nose, I clutch my stomach as it growls like a monster inside me. The nurse laughs, it was a bright laugh, and it really cheered me up for some odd reason. She tucks a nut-brown curl behind her ear and lays the tray in front of me.
I dig in hungrily.
"How are you feeling Hon?" she asks. I swallow down some pancakes and reply.
"Much better thanks. What's your name?" I listen to the cheerful laughter again.
"I'm Jo, and I'll be you're nurse!" she replies, her dark, catlike eyes lit with excitement. I smile as I finish my first pancake. I wash it down with apple juice. I lay down my knife and fork and look at Jo.
"How long have I've been asleep?" I ask,noticing that my voice has gone sad all of a sudden. Jo is sitting on the end of the bed and she shifts nervously.
"A while." she replies. I feel the tension between us. I give her a puppy dog face, hoping that it will work. She caves. "Four Months, but you're a special subject."
"Why?"
She gives a nervous laugh.
"I'll tell you later, just rest for now, okay? Okay. I'll check up on you tomorrow. See ya later, Heather!"
And she rushes out the door. I twiddle my new necklace and I feel hot tears well up in my eyes. I blink.
"I just wanted to know why."
I've been counting the weeks since I woke up, and since then, relatives have been in and out, visiting me. I still don't know Why I am a 'Special Case'. My grandparents brought my laptop over so I could email my friends. I open my Video Call and see if anyone's online… no one.
"What's wrong Loper?" asks Oliver, (I found out the blonde fifteen year old boy's name!) and he walks over from his bed and sits beside me. I shift uncomfortably.
"Oh, it's nothing, I was just hoping that some of my friends would be online, that's all." I reply, trying not to sound disappointed. I close over the laptop and place it on the ground, I yawn. Oliver looks concerned.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" he asks, I gaze into his deep, deep blue eyes, he smiles, I smile back.
"Yes" I start, he gives me a look.
"Maybe…" I try again.
"Fine! No, no I didn't! You happy now?" he laughs, I stare at him. Once he's finished cracking up he asks;
"Why?" I think long and hard about it, finally, I have an answer.
"Insomnia." I reply with a cheesy smile, he ruffles my hair and head towards the door, "Do you want anything?" he asks, I nod.
"Can I have a Mag?" he nods, and walks off with a smile on his face.
I'm in the room alone. It's so quiet ever since Demitri left, the old man was always thinking of ways to cheer us up, with tales of the wars in Iraq, and that he was a volunteer and such. I miss his big pearly smile, and white-capped head, I didn't care that he was black, he was fun to be with.
Oliver comes walking back in with a smile on his face, I smile back at the fifteen year old.
"Did you get my Magazine?" I ask. He shakes his head.
"No. but I did get you something." he replies, I feel the excitement bubble and boil inside my stomach. I jump onto my knees. He looks shocked. I stare down at myself, nothings wrong, I'm just kneeling up straight. Wait… I'm kneeling up straight! Yes!
" Loper! You're doing it! You're kneeling up!" he exclaims. "Can you walk?"
First he goes over to his bedside table and puts the thing that was behind his back in it without me seeing it. I scowl, but smile again when he turns around to help me. He puts one hand under one of my arms, and holds the other one while he supports me. I hoosh off the bed and he helps me to stand up, I wobble for a couple of seconds but then I gain my balance. Oliver is still holding my hand, then Jo walks in looking at a clipboard, she looks up and he face lights up completely.
"You're standing!" she exclaims. Oliver lets go of my hand and stands in front of me, about a meter away. I take a small baby step and I nearly topple over, I see that Oliver wants to come and assist me, but he goes against his will and just stays there, looking worried. Jo is amazed about my balance. I regain my balance again and shuffle over to him, once I'm at him I fall into his arms and smile up at his smiling face.
Half an hour later I'm walking and jogging up and down the ward. I laugh with pleasure as an old lady walks by, she smiles and keeps walking. I went down to the little newsagents with Oliver, to get a chocolate bar. I've changed out of the smelly sick green hospital pyjamas and into some old jeans and a t-shirt that is five times way too big. I pulled on a pair of slippers on my feet so I wouldn't hurt them on the way down. I nibble the chocolate bar while reading the magazine when Jo comes in again.
"What is it?" I ask, putting the magazine down. Jo smiles and holds up her clipboard, it shows a date that's circled; October 23rd. That's two weeks from today. "Well?" I say, raising an eyebrow.
She squeals and hugs me. "It's the day you get to go home!" and she lets go of me. I stare at her blankly. I can't go home now! The person in the note said that I would find out everything that I needed to know! I still haven't figured out why I'm a special case! I forget about that and I scream with joy as Oliver walks in, "What's wrong?" he asks, I run up and hug him. When we break I look up at him, a tear slides down my cheek and I smile. "I'm going home!"
I asked her again, she said no. I asked her again. Same answer; "NO!" I asked and asked and asked, all I got was the same answer; No. I'm going home in three days, and I want to find out now.
I'm eating dinner when I see Jo, with Mac, the newbie. She twiddles with a nut-brown curl and smiles. I shove some chips down my throat and nearly choke on them, Oliver pats my back and I'm back to normal, I gulp down a glass of water and shove my leftovers in the bin. I've prepared for this all night, I'm going to ask her why she can't tell me, I don't care if I'm disabled! I just want to know what the hell is going on! I stroll over to her table, determined to find out, I feel the knot in my stomach start to swell as I draw nearer. I take a deep breath.
"Jo, can I ask you something? It'll be really quick. I promise." I splutter, I feel like a babbling moron. She smiles sweetly. "Of course! What is it Hon?"
I scratch my head. "Can I ask you in private? It's kind of personal." she nods and I pull her over to a corner. She looks a bit nervous. I hesitate.
"Ok, here it goes, Why won't tell what the hell is going on? All I want to know is; Why am I a special case? Am I disabled or something? I just want to know!"
Jo looks both scared and worried. I cross my arms. "Well? Are you ever going to tell me? I've been stuck in this rotting hole for five months now! And that's all that's been on my mind! Why won't you tell me? Are you scared or something? I know the truth hurts, but nothing can hurt me now!" I shake with rage, she looks sorry and scared, like I'm the bully and she's the little school girl.
"I'm s sorry but I can't tell you." she sighs.
"Why!" I yell, I feel so frustrated, why won't they tell what happened when I was asleep for four months?
"Because I srtictly swore not to that's why! Now stop bugging and accept it!" and she storms off. I stand there shocked, it was a simple question, why can't it be answered?
I walk back up to my room and sit on my bed, I pull off my shoes and climb into the now comfortable bed. I gaze at the alarm clock on my bedside table, it said 6:53 pm. It was early but, I needed thinking time. I turned over and gazed out the window, waiting.
I shove a sandwich down my throat, and lug my suitcase downstairs. Oliver comes running after me.
"Loper! Wait!" he calls, almost tripping at the bottom of the stairs, he was leaving tomorrow, I look into his sad blue eyes, but he holds a smile to cheer me up. I put my suitcase down, and run over into his arms.
"I'll miss you." I whisper into his ear, a tear rolling free. He looks down at me, "I'll miss you too, Loper." I feel more tears coming on, I try to smile but fail miserably. "Give me your arm." I sob, and I pull out a pen from my back pack. I scribble down my number and email. He smiles at me, tears welling up in his eyes. "To stay in touch." I mumble. He hugs me and twirls me around. "I came here to say goodbye, and to give you this. He pulls out a beige rabbit teddy, with a big blue bow around it's neck, it was holding a heart saying:
I love you
He leans down and kisses me softly on the lips, that's when five screaming girls come crashing into my little dream. "Heather!" they scream, and I turn around in utter shock. They stop suddenly before me.
"Who's this?" asks Hazel.
I scowl.
"No questions now, as you could clearly see I was saying goodbye. No go wait in the car with Nana and Granddad. Got it?" They all nod and run back making kissy faces back at me. I feel my face burn bright red. I turn back to Oliver, his straw coloured hair falling into his deep blue eyes. I hug him again, and he kisses me once more.
"See you soon." he cries, waving back at me, I step out of the automatic doors of the hospital and wave back, tears flooding out of me. Then I get tackled by my five best friends. I still clutch onto my beige bunny.
"What's the bunny's name?" asks Camilla as she helps me up. I hadn't thought of that. We get into the van, and I look at the shrinking figure in the distance, waving. I smile.
"His name is Loper."
Orla
ONE YEAR LATER. . .
"Happy Birthday Orla!" screams Heather, and she jumps onto me, I wake up with a jolt. I try to shove her off. She laughs. "Orla, you know all to well, that nobody can shove me off them once I'm on them!" I laugh with her and eventually she gets off. There are presents on my bed, and the others are finally waking up. "Huh? Heather? Where did you go?" asks Hazel, still half asleep. Heather hangs upside down off the side off the bunk bed, pyjama top flying up in her face. "I'm Here!" she smiles. I get off the bunk bed and help her down. I notice the long scar she got from the broken ribcage last year. I shudder from the thought. I remember that very day…
Heather dribbles up the pitch and the blonde girl chases her like a rodent, with hatred in her eyes. Heather quickly passes the ball to me, the blonde knocks her over and I listen to the screaming and tears. The ball knocks off my stick, I drop it limply and stumble over to her. The blood, the tears, it was all so scary, watching your best friend get so seriously injured.
I shake back to reality and Camilla gives me a knuckle touch. I smile and she hands me a present, "it's from all of us!" she says, but Heather butts in.
"Except me, 'Cause I didn't pay…sorry!" Heather gives me a squeeze and I forgive her. I open the box that Camilla handed me. It was small and round, and bright yellow which I didn't expect. I get a group hug from them before I even open it. I undo the ribbon and open the small box, inside was a necklace with a series of charms on it, there was only four because Heather didn't pay and/or bought a charm, and Anna moved to the Middle East a couple of months ago.
On the necklace is a horse shoe obviously from Hazel, a music note from Rachel and a little monkey from Camilla, the last one was a paintbrush.
"Who's the paintbrush from?" I ask, I watch a smile spread across each and every face in the room. The Heather tackles me with a hug. Laughing like she usually is.
"Happy 13th birthday!" she laughs, then I find myself laughing with her. When she gets off me she rummages through her bag for something, and hides it behind her back. Camilla, Hazel and Rachel look really confused, I don't think that they knew about this.
"Okay." starts Heather. "I didn't tell anyone about this cause I wanted it to be a surprise!"
We all stare at her blankly but she stills holds her bright smile. "Tomorrow morning, on my birthday," she continues. And she stops to build up tension.
"HEATHER!" we scream at her, she laughs.
"Tomorrow, we are all going to London!" and she whips out five plane tickets. We scream and squeeze her to bits and we run downstairs for breakfast.
"Come On! Get your asses up here!" shouts Heather, I hate being up this early in an airport, but then again, Heather was the one who got us the tickets to London! Camilla and I run across the gate, with Hazel and Rachel tagging along behind us.
"Passports?" asks Heather.
"Check!" we reply and we hold up our passports.
"Boarding Passes?"
"Check!"
"Underwear?" says Heather, We all look around in confusion. I look down my pants, to see white underwear on.
"Check!" I laugh and we head up to the lady and we give her our boarding passes, she smiles at us as we walk down the two flights of stairs, and outside onto the platform. I look at the giant RyanAir plane and watch Heather and Hazel running ahead, and Rachel and Camilla behind them.
"No Fair! It's MY Birthday present!" and I run after them.
"But it's my Birthday today!" laughs Heather as she runs up the steel stairs and onto the plane. I drag my bag up behind her. "So!" I giggle while I pant for breath, the others are laughing.
"I am officially One more year older than you! I'm 14!"
We sit down across two aisles and stare at her.
"Oh my God… I'm 14! Woo!" exclaims Heather. This is going to be one of the best flights of my life.
We land half an hour later just outside London, and when we've checked through. I see a young man in probably his late twenties, with a blonde haired girl beside him. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a cap, a corduroy jacket and a tee. All of it designer. I noticed the Abercrombie logo on the jacket. You could see small brown curls just under the cap, and his bright blue eyes shined, while his skin was sallow. The girl beside him was probably his girlfriend.
"Philip!" screams Heather and she drops her bags to run over to him.
"Heather!" he screams back and he twirls her in the air. "Who's my favourite niece?" he asks his shiny white teeth spreading into a smile.
"I don't know… baby Ella? Sophie? Chlodah?" she replies obviously acting.
Philip gives her a noogie. "You Silly! Am I your Uncle Philly or not?" we pick up Heather's bags and trail after her, nervous yet excited.
The blonde girl comes over to us and smiles. "So you must be Orla," she says, pointing to me.
"Hazel." she says, pointing to Rachel. We laugh.
"I'm Camilla!" laughs Camilla. "but you can call me Millie."
"I'm Rachel," Rachel starts. "and she's Hazel. Don't worry, we get mixed up all the time!"
"Yeah." continues Hazel. "Me and Heather get mixed up all the time, even though that she's about half a meter taller than me, she's tanned, I'm pale and freckly, she has boobs, I don't, her hair goes down to her shoulders in gorgeous, thick deep brown layers, while mine is almost bleach blonde naturally, and her eyes change colour, from grey, to green, and to deep sea blue, while mine are stinky hazel brown!"
"Did I hear someone admiring me?" says Heather, coming up behind the blonde lady. She smiles and the lady smiles, "Maybe, we like your bleach blonde hair, small figure, freckly face and big hazel eyes!" says Heather, giving Hazel a hug.
"I forgot to introduce myself, I am Safaya, and that's Heather's uncle Philip. Heather? How are you feeling, since last time we met? Does anything hurt? What about the scar?" says Safaya, starting to fret. Heather and Philip laugh. I can see why Heather said that nearly every single relative worries about her except her uncle Philip. We're joining in with the laughing.
"Safi, I'm grand! I was hanging off Orla's bunk bed last night, and anyways, where's my birthday present? Today is my birthday you know!" and all seven of us drag suitcases behind us, out the automatic doors, our laughter hanging, and our smiles wide.
We arrived at the apartment in central London, at around Tuesday 27th of May, 2010, lunchtime, i.e. Heather's 14th birthday, with her loving uncle, in London, at lunchtime, where there's food. Ha. Can't wait to see this! We go to our bedrooms, dump our bags, then go out for a lunch.
We pass all the big brands, the small black taxis of London whiz by, and there are people everywhere. We stop into Harrods and go for a look. "Come on Millie!" shouts Heather, "You too Orla! I've been here before. We're going to the top; the children's floor!" and she legs it up the escalators, trying not to bash into busy English shoppers. Millie and I laugh and sprint after her, leaving Hazel, Rachel, Safaya and Philip there pissing themselves laughing.
We go through two double doors and it opens up into Toy Heaven. Small helicopters are buzzing in the air and sometimes crashing into the odd parent. There are little kids picking up toys and begging. We go through the arch to the gadgets section, where there are pen lasers, older boys, and more robotic toys. "Duck!" shouts Heather and a Frisbee skims over our heads. Heather goes over to the teddy section, and stops at a beige bunny with a blue ribbon around his neck. "Heather." I start and I put an arm around her shoulder.
"He was the best boyfriend that you ever had!" jokes Camilla.
"Hey!" moans Heather. "He wasn't my boyfriend, he was my guy friend, there's a difference!"
"What's that?" I ask.
"A guy friend is a guy your age that you hang out with, kinda like a gay best friend, but without the gay part."
"oh"
"and a boy friend is a guy that you love and snog and stuff, Oliver just gave me a small goodbye kiss. Is that so hard to take in? a guy friend can give a goodbye kiss to the girl he likes when she's heading back to Ireland, so there."
"Ok! Ok! He's not your boyfriend, you're just his girlfriend!" laughs Camilla. Heather blows her top and chases Camilla around the whole floor. I wait for a while, I sigh. "Come on Orla," I tell myself. "Let's go get Dinky 1 and Dinky 2!" and I sprint in their direction, when I reach the huge double doors, a sharp pain hits me where my birthmark is, on the back of my shoulder. I bite my tongue and keep going.