Disclaimer: I don't own Cirque Du Freak, and I never will with this sort of attitude!
Review comments:
Valentine: Heh… wow, thanks, I'll keep writing this then
Biolightning: I'm happy people like it, ever since I read the series, I've always wondered that too, then I found this category on fan fiction and looked at all the ones that included Annie, but none of them went the way I pictured it, so I got stuck writing my own
TV Chick: Please review again and tell me what's inconsistent about the story, I want to make it as good as possible and your comment will probably help
To those of you who read this and didn't review: It' ok that you not review, but it kind of hurts my feelings, I mean, I'm using up my time writing this for your enjoyment and I would like to know what you guys think, so I'm not forcing you to review, but just commenting on you not reviewing…
She couldn't concentrate the rest of the show, her thoughts were on her brother. Was that him? It couldn't. But his name… his appearance. Listen to yourself, people don't just come up from the grave.
It was as if her mind was battling with itself, giving her such a headache. After 'Darren's' act was Rhombus Two-bellies, then last was the twisting twins. She snapped out of her trance as she noticed other people getting up from their seats, talking among each other about the dull ending, Annie was still too distracted to notice the giant snake behind her, ready to strike. The people around her turned and screamed, running away, but Annie didn't know why they were doing this. Then she noticed they weren't staring at her, they were staring behind her. She raised an eyebrow and slowly looked behind her shoulder, seeing the giant serpent.
She couldn't scream, she was too frightened. Staring wide-eyed at the creature, she stared at the creature and backed away…
-Backstage-
The crew of Cirque Du Freak always loved the ending of the show, the audience thinks it over and start walking away, then BAM! They are face-to-face with a huge snake, that was Evra's act. To go and ward off the snake, which happened to be his very tame pet, and reveal himself to the audience as a snake-man.
Darren stood, watching as Evra jumped out. Evra's family was right beside him, his three children always loved to watch their dad frighten the audience. Darren stood and continued to watch and laugh, which brightened up his mood a little. He noticed that the snakes 'main target' this show was a girl in the middle row, she looked oddly familiar, but Darren shrugged off any ideas and laughed again.
After Evra was finished with his act, Mr. Tall came out onstage and told everyone that the show was over for real this time. A lot of the people who were still in the audience clapped and whistled, then started talking eagerly to their friends about the real ending. Backstage, Evra came back and took a bow as the stage crew clapped.
"Great job tonight, honey," Evra's wife said to him, walking up and kissing him.
"Yeah, dad, I'm going to be just like you when I get older!" his son, Shancus, said, jumping up and down eagerly. Darren just smiled as shook his head.
Evra turned to Darren and said, "You know, that one girl…" he looked out to the main stage where the stage crew were cleaning up, "She looked a lot like you, in my opinion, same eyes, hair, everything."
"Yes… I suppose," was Darren's only answer, looking blankly off into the distance, "Hey, I'm going to go explore the town a little, you guys take care."
Darren waved goodbye to Evra and his family and went to his small room were a hammock was set up for him, he needed to find something to wear that made him look un-noticeable, "Ah ha…" Darren said, pulling out a large coat from his bag. He swung it on himself and made for the exit.
He walked out from behind the old theater where the Cirque was staying and started to walk down the street, in the shadows.
-With Annie-
The end of the show had given her quite a scare, she thought she was snake food until a mysterious person in a cloak came out and captured the snake, then the cloak fell to reveal a man covering in scales, wearing only a pair of shorts, showing that he had scaled all over his body.
She was slightly embarrassed when she let the theater, how she had gotten tricked in the last act. She had stayed a bit longer in the theater, seeing people who she guessed worked for the Cirque, clean up, then something clicked, she was going to ask for a job at the Cirque.
Making sure no one was around on the street, she walked through a back alley to get behind the theater, it was quite a hard job to stay quiet too, having to walk around and move away bundles of trashcans. But finally, she was looking up at a large trailer with a small, golden plate on the side of the door that said, "Mr. Tall"
"It's now or never," she whispered to herself, slowly walking up to the trailer and was about to knock…
But right as she had her hand inches from the door, it swung open to produce a smiling Mr. Tall, "Come in, come in," he said, baking up and leading her into his office, she looked around nervously as he motioned her to sit down, as she took her seat, Mr. Tall started talking again, "So, Miss Shan, I see you want a job here at the Cirque…"
She raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that, and my name?" she asked, trying to push the fright out of her voice.
He chuckled a little then stared down at her, "I know a lot more about you then just your name, and I know why you want a job here, but let me make it clear that this isn't the best life someone can choose, in your position, since you couldn't do anything as a performer, you'd have to either help make meals for over a hundred people a day, or perhaps do the laundry of those hundred people… by hand."
She smiled, "Yes, that's what I can do, I'm a very good cook, I'd be able to help with the cooking and dishwashing maybe?" she asked with hope in her eye.
Mr. Tall grinned too, "I usually say no to job offers, but kid, you've got spunk, just one other thing though, we don't pay our workers, we give them free food and a place to sleep, also you get to travel around the world," he said, opening the door of his office for her.
"I'm not interested in the pay…" she said, walking out the door and turning back towards him, standing on the stairs.
He grin grew, "I already know that," he said, "Be here tomorrow morning at around eight, when you get home pack some of the stuff you'll need and prepare for a hard day's work tomorrow…"
-At The Schoolyard-
Darren clung to the bar of the gates of his old school, staring at the old soccer field he used to play in, picturing his friends playing there without him, then he remembered how long he had been gone, "They've all probably got kids of their own now…" he said to himself, taking one last look at the school before heading off again, he started to wonder where they had all ended up, well, he already knew how Steve had grown up, but what about the others? Tommy? Alan?
Then he started wondering about his parents and how much pain he had brought them, "I probably ruined their lives…" he whispered, "All because of Steve." He grimaced at the memory, he had abandoned his old home, his friends, his family, just to save Steve's life, and how does Steve repay him? By swearing to kill Darren and killing Darren's mentor, Mr. Crepsley. He tried to fight back tears as he leaned against the wall of a shop. That wasn't the best place to stop, the lights in the shop were still on.
Darren breathed in slowly as he pushed off the wall and regained his composure. Inside the shop, he could here someone whistling, normal humans couldn't have heard that, but he could, using his ultra-sensitive vampire ears. Due to curiosity, Darren looked up at the shop sign. "Kick Boxing!" it said. The lights in the store went off as a figure came out and locked the door, still whistling. Once the lock had clicked, the figure noticed Darren staring at the sign.
"Isn't it a little late for someone as young as you to be wandering the streets alone?" he said with a chuckle, "Or are you just THAT interested in joining kick boxing?"
Darren looked over at the man, he was probably in his middle twenties or something, he was in good shape and was carrying a box full of gloves, "Oh, sorry, I just… got lost, It's the first time here," he said, lying.
The man chuckled again, "New to the neighborhood I see," he said, putting out his hand and Darren shook it, trying not to break any of the man's bones, "Call me Tommy, I run this old place, if you're interested in joining, come see me."
Tommy turned away and started walking back towards his house as Darren walked walking the other way, "Can't make contact with other people…" he muttered repeatedly to himself, speeding up his pace, "Can't make contact with other-" then it hit him like a lead balloon as he suddenly stopped in his track, "That was Tommy…" he whispered to himself, "That was Tommy!" (A/N: If any of yall remember, in the first book, when they were deciding how to split the tickets, Tommy suggested kick boxing for it, but they refused because his dad taught him kick boxing and he was really good at it… anyway)
It was still sinking in, "That was Tommy, I can't believe it," then he thought of something else, "…and he didn't recognize me." How could one of your all time best friends forget your face, especially the face of a loved on who died! 'Was I just forgotten about in this town? If I call an old friend and say 'this is Darren Shan' will they just say that I have the wrong number?'
No… his friends would never do that, it was dark, Tommy probably couldn't just see him, but… what if. Darren pushed these new thoughts out of his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets, continuing his walk back to the Cirque, he didn't want to run into any more people, but what he didn't know what that over the next few days, a lot of old friends and enemies would be returning…
A/N: So, how do you like the second chapter. Hm… I'm kind of stumped about what should happen later in the story, so if you want, review and tell me what you think should happen.