Here's Chapter 3 for you, it was a little rushed so I hope its ok! Please read an review!!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Darren Shan Saga, but Brackens dale is mine!!!

"Dear Owner of Circo de Bestia,
My name is Annie Shan, I am 12-years-old. I am writing to enquire whether you know of a freak circus similar to your own, named Cirque du Freak. I am searching for my brother, Darren Shan, and have reason to believe he has joined this particular circus. I desperately need to find him and would be grateful for any information you have. Please could you contact me via this telephone number:

01445 394416

Yours Faithfully

Annie Shan"

I knew he probably wouldn't know the Cirque du Freak but I was willing to try anything. This person may even know the owner and be able to send me in the right direction. It was a long shot, but it was possibly my only chance of finding Darren. I decided not to mention that Darren was believed to be dead by everyone accept Steve, who had now told me that my brother was a vampire. It would sound like a completely made-up story to anyone who read it. It was just simpler to say I was searching for him.

The next couple of weeks brought no luck. I had heard nothing from the Circo de Bestia and was thinking of writing to another freak circus, but sure enough I received a phone call from a man claiming to be the owner of Circo de Bestia. My heart leapt when he announced this. Maybe he would know something about the Cirque du Freak, anything at all would help. He spoke in a deep, mysterious voice, which sent an ice-cold shiver down my back. He said that his name was Mr Grefan and that he was a friend of a man named Cormac Limbs who supposedly worked at the Cirque du Freak.

Questions spurted from my mouth at once. I was sure this would give me the key to the location of the freak circus. I asked him if he knew where they were playing, he replied that he had watched them perform just outside Brackens dale, which was about 60km from my hometown. I felt a wave of excitement flood over me. I knew I had to get to Brackens Dale, but it would be tricky. For one thing, although my father didn't really pay me much attention, he would surely notice I was missing.

I thought about possible ways of sneaking out and then decided on a plan. That evening I asked my dad if he would give me £100 for a school trip. When he heard the amount strong swear words flew from his mouth, but he finally gave in after a lot of persuasion and flattery. I told him it was a trip to Brackens Dale Activity Centre and we would get there by train. It wasn't strictly a lie!

I began to worry about what school would do when they found I wasn't attending, this story would give me enough cover for a couple of days, but if my search took longer, I would be in serious trouble. I knew if I was to get away with it, I had to keep a low profile. If the police got involved, everyone would be on look out, including the media. However I decided to worry about that when I came to it.

My father was drunk most of the time, so unlike normal parents wouldn't care about the lack of information about the so-called trip. The next morning, I made an early-start, telling my Dad I had to meet the rest of the class at the train station. I set off with just a single bag with a change of clothes, money and food. A mixture of excitement and angst overwhelmed me. I didn't know whether I would find Darren, but I was full of hope as I boarded the train full of people travelling to work.