Hello again! I know this chapter is short but....yeah. xD Just enjoy it. You'll see more of why Ray is homeless and why the hell she freaked out at the end of the last chapter. I personally liked this chapter a lot, for some reason. Maybe because Mr. Crepsley greatness is in this one. xDDDD

PLEASE ENJOY! 8D

Summary: Ray is just your normal, average homeless teenager who attended the Cirque Du Freak with her friend one night. Deathly afraid of snakes, she feinted at the sight of the last performer and winds up in the care of the Cirque. Offered a place in the Cirque, she becomes friends with one Darren Shan, but is afraid of his snake-skin best friend. Guilty of her fear of him, she tried to be friends, but how can someone as physical as Ray be a friend to someone who she is afraid to even shake hands with?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has come out of the wonderful mind of Darren Shan. All I own are the OCs here and the little plot that has developed.

Chapter 6: Anything Can Trigger The Pain

Ray was laying in her bed which was covered with a green sheet patterned with pink flowers. She had her math text book open in front of her and she was writing in her notebook the problems she had to finish for the next day. Her hair then was short and spiky in a tomboy-ish style, which conflicted with the girly sight of her room. She just so happened to love her room.

She frowned when she heard a thumping down stairs, followed by a crash. She bolted from her bed and ran to her door and she shrieked when she heard a scream. It was her mother. Ray bolted from her room and down the hallway, reaching the stairs. She printed down the stairs and into the living room, and she was horrified at the sight.

Her father was laying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, his long red hair mixing with the blood that gushed from his slit throat. Ray took a step back away from her father's body, her eyes wide. She looked around the living room and she saw her mother, who was dying slowly from the slit on her throat. There was a man mounting over her mother, and he was raping her dying body…

"Ray, please! Stop crying!" Evra said desperately, torn at the sight of his friend sobbing into her hands. Her body was shaking violently and her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

Darren grabbed at Ray's wrists and she started shrieking at him, flailing her arms around to get out of his grip. "No! Don't touch me!"

"What is going on here?!" Came Alexander Ribs, followed by Cormac Limbs and Truska.

Evra was panicking, not sure on what to do. He, being the only one to successfully communicate with Truska, told the woman to get Ray some water. She quickly left the tent, cringing at the cries of the red head.

"Leave her alone! Don't touch her! Mommy! Mommy!"

"Ray! It's me, Darren! Snap out of it!" Darren shouted at Ray. She seemed to be in a whole other world. She would not stop screaming and crying, and she was still fighting her hold from Darren, who was holding her tightly by her arms then.

Truska came back to the tent with a picture of water and Evra quickly grabbed it from her. He then splashed the cold water on Ray and Darren, and that coldness seemed to snap her out of her terrifying flashback.

"Darren…?" she asked, looking at the younger boy with wide, blue eyes. She was shivering from the cold water. She looked around and she saw the worried faces of her friends and she moaned slight, covering her face. "I am so sorry!"

"Little-Bit…why were you freaking out?" Alexander asked. Cormac and Truska stood beside him, also wanting an answer.

"It's a problem I always had since…my parents were killed." That brought a bout of coldness into the small tent, but Ray continued. "Sometimes…I have hallucinations…I hear things, or I see things. This time…I saw the man who killed my parents. He…he uh…He was raping her…while she was dying…and he came after me and…"

"No! He didn't!" Cormac yelled, while everyone else froze. They were a bit relieved when she shook her head no.

"He tried…but I ended up running away. And I just on running, and running…and running…" Ray trailed off and she hugged her knees to her chest.

"But…what triggered this hallucination…?" Alexander asked softly. "When dealing with such a trauma, I have heard that even saying the wrong thing could cause one to happen."

Ray cringed, and so did Evra. Ray shook her head and sighed. "Just…I want to be alone…" she said finally. The troop took that as a sign and they filed out, casting her worried looks. She managed to give them all a thank you before they gone.

"Evra, wait." Ray said, before Darren and Evra could leave the tent. Evra nodded at Darren and he left. Ray sighed at the guilty look on Evra's face and she stood up, stumbling a bit, and she went to Evra. "Don't feel guilty…" she said, grabbing a lock of Evra's hair between her fingers.

"He said…he also told me that he did not like it when I was afraid of him…"

Evra cringed. "I'm so-"

"Shut it! I said it was not your fault." Ray exclaimed, giving him a stern look. Evra took a step back and Ray ran her hand over her face, taking a deep breath. "I will see you later, when we leave, okay? I'll be fine." she gave Evra a smile before shooing him out of the tent. Ray heaved a sigh and she laid herself on her hammock. Well great, just what she needed. A breakdown in front of her good friends. "Fuck my life." she muttered.

~Later~

Darkness had just came, and Ray, Evra, Darren and Mr. Crepsley stood just at the edge of the settlement and Mr. Crepsley was looking down at a grinning Ray.

"I never said you could come, Diana," he said to the girl.

Ray only grinned. "You're not the boss of me."

Darren snorted a laughed. "Please, Mr. Crepsely? I want her to come too."

"Me too." Evra said, glancing at Ray for a second before looking at the tall, scarred man.

Mr. Crepsley look over the three young ones and he sighed. "Very well, she may come." He rolled his eyes at the three. "How old are you, child? Twelve?"

Both Darren and Evra snorted in laughter as Ray gaped up at Mr. Crepsley. "I AM SIXTEEN!" she hollered.

"Really, giving your size, I would say you were Darren's age."

"I AM NOT SHORT, LEECH!"

That sent Darren and Evra into another fit of laughter as Mr. Crepsley stared at Ray bewildered. Darren had told him that Ray knew what the two of them were. He would think that she would be a bit more wary around them, and not dumb enough to insult a vampire.

"See, Mr. Crepsley? She would be a great person to bring with us," Darren said, grinning.

Mr. Crepsley shook his head and sighed. "Let us just go now. We are wasting time." he said.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Tall and the rest of the Cirque and they were on their way.

"Will you be able to carry the three of us when you flit?" Darren asked, and Ray raised an eyebrow at the word.

"Flit?" she mouthed to herself.

"I have no intention of flitting," Mr. Crepsley said.

"Then how are we supposed to travel?" Darren asked.

"Buses and trains," he answered simply. He laughed a bit that Darren's face. "Vampires can use public transportation as well as humans. There are no laws against it."

"I suppose not."

The four went into the town and to the train station and they waited for the train. While waiting, Ray looked over at Mr. Crepsley and at Darren. "Hey…you guys have fangs?" she whispered, in all seriousness.

Mr. Crepsley snorted and Darren grinned. "Does it look like it?" Darren asked. He blinked when Ray grabbed his face and pried his mouth open. "Then how do you drink blood?" she asked. Then she noticed the guilty look on Darren's face again and she frowned. Why the hell was everyone looking so guilty?

"Well…we cut the skin a bit, and drink from there," Darren answered in a whisper.

Ray thought back and remember the random, healed scar on her arm and she jumped back from Darren, staring at him with wide eyes. She was angry at him, more surprised and…okay, she was pissed off and she felt a bit scared. "Dude…" Ray whispered before she scowled at him. She figured there was a reason he had to do it. It was the night that those thugs came. Maybe the small town was being alerted by them and it wasn't safe for Darren to go and drink.

But still, Ray shuddered. Her friend had her blood. That was the creepiest thing in the world. Ray looked at Darren before reaching out and smacking the back of his head.

"Don't do it again."

~End~

Yeah, I know that it's short. I apologize for that, but hey, what the hell? xD I hope you all enjoyed and PLEASE! Review. 8D