It's terrible thing to feel lonely. To once be a part of something but have all ripped out from under you. You never see it coming and you wish it never had. Well, I've felt this way pretty much all my life. I guess I should start at the beginning huh? Maybe that would help. For starters, my name is Shancus Von and this is my story.

My life started out alright I suppose. I had two loving parents and was an only child. But I didn't spend as much time as I would've liked with them. You see we're different. We are members of the Cirque D Freak. It's a touring freak show, I love it. My Dad is a Snake-man and my Mom can detach her ears and use them as boomerangs. I think both of them are pretty cool. I'm boring you aren't I? Sorry about that, it's an annoying trait I have. I guess you could say the trouble started when Dad's old best friend Darren Shan came back to the Cirque. We were doing just fine until then.

Now, you should know that I was named after Darren. Apparently he's a Vampire Prince and is hunting for someone called the Vampaneze Lord. Dad and Mom didn't want me to know this but I have a way of just hearing stuff that I'm not supposed to. The first thing I did when I learned was to tell Urcha.

I haven't mentioned him yet have I? Urcha is my little brother. I have a little sister too, her name is Lilia. Ok back to Urcha. We're best friends in addition to being brothers. I feel sorry for him sometimes though because Lilia and I inherited Dad's scales but he didn't. He was normal. I felt envious of him for the same reason. He could leave the Cirque and fit in to society. Mom could too if she kept her ears attached. But Dad, Lilia and I couldn't, we look too different.

I'm getting off track again, sorry. I told Urcha everything I learned and the little rat ran and told Mom. So of course I got in trouble for it. I had to wash all the snakes the next day. But that was okay, it gave me time to think. I thought about Darren Shan. I just had a feeling that something was going to happen while he was here. Dad sometimes says that I'm too mature for my age. He always gets a far-away look in his eye when says it, like he's remembering something or someone.

While I was washing, this lady passed right by me. She had thick yellow ropes around her body and two different colored eyes. I didn't care about that, but I got a bad feeling around her. She seemed dangerous in a way. I shivered involuntarily when she looked at me. She kind of reminded me of Mr. Tall though. Oh, Mr. Tall is the owner of the Cirque Du Freak. He's nice and I really like that he saved Dad from an evil circus ringmaster.

After a little while, I heard someone walking towards me again. It was the same lady and she was moving fast. Over her shoulder, I could see someone following her. It was Darren and a few dozen feet behind him were two other vampires and a little person. I wasn't sure what they were up to, so I paid no attention to it.

A couple hours later, I saw the four of them trudge back into camp. The lady was with them and I was thankful. They were covered in blood and I had a feeling that not all of it was their own. When they passed my family's tent, I knew I was right. Some of the blood was purple and I knew that vampires had red blood.

My Dad left the tent to go talk to Darren and the others. When Darren threw his hands up in the air, I saw his thumb was bent funny. Like someone had reattached to his hand weird. I couldn't see much more because Mom made me go to bed. Oh well, I'll ask him about it tomorrow.