Hello my friends! Here is the first official chapter to "Cirque de Nightmare"! A BIG special thank you to those of you who reviewed- deltagirl74, Shadow Huntress, Godisgood3, guest, and Demigoddess2012! I hope you enjoy! As always, let me know what you think so far and what you think is going to happen in the next installment! :D Love always, fuchsia light.
1. THE NIGHT TRAIN
Sylvester and I traveled for two days on foot, resting during the day and walking at night. Our plan was to make it out of Mississippi by the end of the week and head west towards the hot plains of Texas. It was already proving to be a long and perilous journey. Several times we were forced to change our path, and by twilight of the third day, I had come to the realization that we were lost.
"Well the sun sets to the west, doesn't it? That means we're headed in generally the correct direction…" Sylvester tried to assure me, but I was exhausted from walking all night and not in the mood to hear reason.
"We are completely lost." I sighed, sinking down against the stump of an oak tree. "We're almost out of water, I smell like a garbage bin and I'm being eaten alive by mosquitos."
"Fear not, Mary Alice. We should rest here for a few hours." Sylvester curled up beside me in a patch of soft grass. I looked around. We were hours into the wilderness, so I was not concerned about being found by anyone. The woods stretched for as far as I could see in every direction, and it only made me feel more hopeless about our situation.
"We're never going to make it to Texas." I muttered, digging into my backpack and pulling out what was left of our fresh water. My dry tongue was barely quenched by the few droplets I allowed myself. The rest of it, I dumped out on a thick leaf for Sylvester to drink.
The sun was just beginning to rise, lightening the color of the clouds but not yet appearing over the horizon. The sky was still dark enough to close my eyes and rest with the imagination that I was a normal girl, going to sleep at a normal hour.
Just when I was about to doze off, I was awoken by a low rumbling sound. The ears on top of my head twitched curiously, and as I glanced down at Sylvester, I saw him stirring as well.
"What is that?" I asked myself, getting to my feet. The ground below began to vibrate, sending chills up the back of my spine. "Is it an earthquake?"
Seconds later, the rumbling had become so loud that I was forced to cover my ears with my hands. At the same time, I spotted movement from behind the trees. After throwing my backpack over my shoulder and scooping Sylvester onto my shoulder, I ran towards the cause of the noise. To my surprise, there was a massive train rolling straight through the middle of the woodlands. If it hadn't have come through, I wouldn't have realized there were train tracks there at all.
I stood in the tree line as the train rumbled past us. It did not whistle. There was no light from the engine. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought the train was a figment of my imagination; a play of the shadows. My cat-like eyes allowed me to see the graffiti on the cars, even through the darkness, and they were moving slowly enough on the tracks that I was able to make out what kind of art it was.
On one car, an advertisement read: "SEE MAN TURN INTO BEAST BEFORE YOUR EYES". On another car, "THE WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN". Some of the cars had no words, simply bright streams of color and pictures of balloons, animals, and men with top hats. After watching several of these roll by, I saw a line of car-sized cages with different animals: lions, tigers, elephants, and horses to be exact. By the time the animal cages had turned back into passenger cars, it had dawned upon me exactly what I was looking at.
It was, more or less, a circus train.
"Amazing..." I cooed, watching car after car soar past us. "Imagine that, a circus train all the way out here?"
"They're probably traveling to a larger city." Sylvester noted. "I've only heard stories about it on the street. They say it never stays in one place longer than a few days, then it moves onto another big town further on."
I pursed my lips together, watching the train roll on as Sylvester spoke in my ear.
"Do you think I could live with the circus?" I asked suddenly, looking at him. The cat on my shoulder looked horrified.
"Why would you even consider it? I heard they keep lions and tigers in small cages and beat them with hot sticks. Call me crazy, but that sounds a little too familiar to me." He was referring to the cage he was kept in during my father's experiments.
It sounded cruel, and Sylvester was probably right, but it seemed like the opportunity was waving right in front of my face. If I didn't take the chance now, who knew if I would ever get a chance like it again?
I had only been to a circus once or twice when I was a little girl. It seemed like a millennium ago when I was walking from tent to tent, gripping Momma's hand to my left and munching on sweet cotton candy to my right. I remember the lady who rode the elephants and the man who did magic tricks, but the things that stood out most of all in my mind were the strange people I saw wandering around. There was a large woman with a long beard, two conjoined Siamese twins, and even a man with a lizard tongue. Momma told me to stay away from them and we went to ride the kiddie rides instead, but I always remember wondering what was wrong with those poor strangers.
"But maybe I could fit in there..." I suggested, thinking about those people.
"Yes, maybe if you want to have children pointing their grubby little fingers at you all of the time instead." It was clear where Sylvester stood on the matter.
The train continued to roll by, as if it was never ending. I stood quietly for a long moment, wondering if the train would ever come to an end, but as far as I could see into the woods, the cars continued to rumble past. I held my breath and gripped the straps of my backpack, preparing myself to run.
"Are you crazy?" Sylvester demanded, digging his claws into my shoulder. "You're really going to try and jump onto a moving train? A circus train at that…" I wasn't about to wait for him to finish lecturing me. The train wouldn't go on forever, and if I didn't act soon I would miss my chance. I emerged from the tree line, holding my breath and making a break for it.
Jumping onto the train was not as easy as I had expected it to be. It was moving just fast enough that I was out of breath trying to keep up with one of the carts. I extended my hand out in attempts to grab onto the back of one.
"Mary Alice, you're the craziest human I've ever met!" My cat companion yelled, no doubt struggling to stay latched onto my shoulder. "You're never going to make it!"
Even with Sylvester shouting doubt in my ear, I was determined. If I could grab onto the frame of one of the cars, I could pull myself up and stand on one of the hitches that held the cars to one another. With the train continuing to speed past, I glanced back and realized the caboose was in sight. This was my last opportunity.
I lunged.
To my surprise, my fingers found the metal railing that framed the caboose. With every aching muscle of my body, I thrust myself over the rail and onto the safety of the platform. There was a door behind me that led into the train, but I was forced to lean over the railing to catch my breath. I could feel Sylvester's tiny heart pounding against my shoulder.
"Crazy," he panted, "Absolutely crazy."
For several minutes I stood on the back of the train, watching the endless tracks run what seemed like forever. When the sun rose over the horizon and began to shine into my eyes, I decided to step inside.
The car that I had stepped into was empty. There were two benches on either side to sit down and a sliding door that led further into the train. I slowly made my way towards the door.
"Are you sure you want to barge in like this?" Sylvester meowed cautiously.
"Stop doing that."
"Hm? Doing what?"
"Doubting me." I pulled up the hood of my jacket and took a deep breath before opening the door.
Before I had taken one step through the doorway, I was thrown backwards into the caboose and knocked to the ground. My elbows broke my fall, making them ache uncomfortably. Sylvester had leaped off my shoulder before I hit the floor and was standing stiffly a few feet away from me.
"Who the hell are you?" The man who had spoken was huge. He had short brown hair and a square jaw on a body that was bigger than I had ever seen in my life. As he towered over me in an intimidating way, the words I attempted to speak were caught in my throat. "When did you get in here? Have you been riding with us since Jacksonville?"
"What's going on, Emmett?" Another voice called from behind the giant, this time that of a softer tone. "Oh? Who is this? A little girl?"
I began to sit up slowly, focusing my eyes on the skinny boy who had appeared behind my attacker. He had light auburn hair that was swept upwards in a fashionable fauxhawk. His expression was much more gentle than Emmett's.
"M-my name is Mary Alice…." I stuttered, hoping that staring at the younger boy would save me from the intimidation of locking eyes with the large man. "And I'm not a little girl…"
"You're smaller than my arm." Emmett laughed and it echoed through the train. He turned his head to look at his smaller companion. "Can you believe this? She must have snuck on in Jacksonville." His strict gaze laid on me once more. "You're a long way from home."
"I'm not from Jacksonville." I told him, finally climbing to my feet. Even standing as tall as I could, Emmett was right. I hardly came up to his stomach. The boy behind him was significantly shorter, but he still stood a few feet taller than me. "I'm from Biloxi."
Emmett laughed again, but the other boy stayed quiet.
"How old are you, like twelve?" he snorted. "Whatever boo-hoo problems you have, suck it up and go home."
"Excuse me!" I snapped, clenching my fists at my sides. "I'm sixteen, thank you, and you've got no business being rude to me!" I wasn't about to inform him that I didn't have a home in the first place.
"That's my job, sweetheart. You've got no business being on this train. The boss ain't gonna like this one." Emmett reached out and grabbed the fabric of my hoodie, tugging me towards the door he had just shoved me out of.
"Let me go!" I shouted, fighting him. His fingers were tightly in my jacket, and while I struggled to break free from his grasp, my hood fell down my neck and revealed the large black ears atop my head.
"Emmett, wait!" The shorter boy raised his hand and the grip of Emmett's hand immediately loosened. "Look."
I shifted uncomfortably as both of them stared at my ears. I twitched them slightly, proving to them that they were real.
"What are you?" The large man asked in a hushed tone, crouching down in front of me. His entire demeanor had changed from threatening to full of concern, and I could finally see directly into his eyes.
"I'm just… just Mary Alice." I answered nervously, taking a step away from him.
"She's one of us. I knew her aura was different." The auburn-haired teen fixed his bright green eyes on me and motioned for me to walk towards him. I did.
"You've got to be kidding. There's no way in hell Aro is going to be okay with this." Emmett muttered. "Another mouth to feed on this train to hell? You know he's going to kill us."
"That's Emmett." The thin boy introduced me, setting his hand on my shoulder. His touch was surprisingly calming. "He's a bit of a hothead, but he'll grow on you."
"Sure, make me sound like the bad guy." Emmett's laugh echoed through the empty car. "That's Edward Mason for you right there. Nicest guy you'all ever meet until you get him drunk. Ha!"
The two of them laughed loudly, and I had a feeling the static of the situation had let off.
"My name is Mary Alice Brandon." I introduced myself for the third time, pulling my hood up again.
"Three first names? What a mouthful. How about we just call you one of 'em instead?" Emmett chuckled.
"I guess Alice is okay." I decided, using the nickname my friends used to call me. Soft fur brushed against my ankle and I nearly jumped. "Oh! This is Sylvester."
My feline companion leaped onto my shoulder and stared at the men in front of me.
"Are you sure you can trust these two fools?"
"You brought your pet?" Emmett sounded perplexed.
"He can understand you." I warned him, crossing my arms defensively. "He's not my pet, he's my friend, and I can understand him too."
"Fascinating..." Edward cooed with a smile. "How did this come to be?"
"It's a long story..." I told them, shifting my feet. "But I've been walking since last sunset... do you think we could rest first?"
The two boys glanced at each other.
"We've gotta take her to the boss." Emmett said uncertainly. "He'll be pissed if we don't."
"Surely we can wait until she has rested." Edward argued. "Come with me, Alice. You can rest in our room."
Emmett didn't seem to argue with his shorter companion, so I followed the two of them into the next car.
The next couple of cars were used for storage. There were vintage style cotton candy and popcorn stands pushed up against the wall and surrounded by boxes. There were many props like giant hoops and costumes, as well as wheels upon wheels of rope.
I stopped in front of a large billboard-sized sign that was black with stark white lettering and read the words out loud.
"Welcome to Cirque de Nightmare, where all your fears come alive." There was a shiver down my spine that I tried to ignore. "That doesn't sound so bad."
"Are you kidding me? That doesn't sound like a circus. That sounds like the summary of a horror movie!" Sylvester hissed. "You don't know anything about these people. You certainly can't trust them."
Sylvester was interrupted when Emmett slid open the door to the fourth car, revealing a much different environment. There was dim light coming from the candles that burned on either side of the wall. Two beds of hay, one much larger than the other, were placed to one side of the room. Each had some ratty blankets and a worn out pillow, but both looked comfortable compared to the places I had recently been sleeping. In a weird way, the room reminded me of a comfortable barn.
"Home sweet home." Edward extended his hand towards the beds of hay, offering them to me. "You can make yourself comfortable. At noon we will wake you and take you to Aro."
I leaned down in the smaller nest of hay, which was no doubt Edward's bed. Sylvester dismounted by shoulder and settled down beside me.
"Will your boss let me stay?" I asked quietly, looking up at them from my spot on the ground. From where I lay, Emmett's face was a mere shadow.
"We don't know yet." Edward furrowed his brow. "We normally don't take on strangers. If you're lucky, he'll like you enough to keep you around."
"And if I'm not lucky?" I asked.
"Then you better hope he's nice enough to slow the train down before he throws you off." Emmett finished, leaning against the wall. My eyes widened.
"Would he really...?"
Edward sighed and gave Emmett a warning glare. "Rest easy, Alice. Aro has been desperate for a new act. You might be just what this circus needs." He smiled reassuringly at me. For some reason, I wasn't so reassured.
I woke to loud arguing nearby. I could see Sylvester next to me, but by the position of his ears I was certain that he was alert as well.
"-since Jacksonville?"
"No, she said she jumped on in Biloxi."
"I thought you said it was a kid-"
"She is."
"What kind of kid can jump on a moving train?"
Before I could eavesdrop further, a pair of large men burst through the door. By large, I mean not quite as massive as Emmett, but still large enough to be double my size. One of them had short dark hair and the other with chin-length blonde hair that appeared from outside their matching dark cloaks.
I bolted into a sitting position, dusting hay from my jacket as if it was going to save my appearance.
"Is this it then?" The blonde one said coldly, standing in front of me and staring down at me with dark eyes. I glanced aside as Emmett burst into the room behind them.
"Ahem, Caius, this is Alice." he announced.
"You didn't tell Aro? Why?" The other tall man demanded, approaching me as well. I was cornered between the two of them.
"Well we were going to-" Emmett began.
"It seems to me that you don't take your position very seriously." Caius cleared his throat. He seemed to be much older than Emmett, maybe in his mid-forties. "You're supposed to be preventing this sort of thing from happening."
"I take my position very seriously." Emmett defended himself, cracking his knuckles. "Look at her, she's just a kid. What did you want me to do, throw her off the train?"
"Maybe." Caius sneered. "You, get up."
Before I could climb to my feet, the blonde man grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and yanked me upwards.
"Wait!" Another voice quickly piped in. I recognized the voice as Edward's. "I've already spoken to Aro."
All of us turned to look at Edward with large eyes. The men had obviously not expected him to speak up.
"Well?" Caius prompted.
"He wants to see her immediately." Edward stated carefully from the doorway. I looked at his eyes hoping for reassurement, but the auburn-haired teen looked uneasy. The rough grip on my jacket loosened.
"Very well."
Sylvester sat at my feet, and I could tell he was unsure of what to do.
"You stay here." I told him gently.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Even if he doesn't let me stay, I'll come back for you." I pat his head and straightened up, walking towards the doorway that Edward stood in. The two men stared at me coldly as I passed them, but Emmett and Edward both smiled at me. I could definitely tell who my friends would be.
The train was about fifty or so cars long. We walked through many rooms, but I lost count because I was so enthralled in everything I could see. Just when I thought we would have to walk through the animal cages I had seen from the tree line, Edward stopped in front of a large elegant looking door.
"Aro is waiting for you." he said cooly, resting his hand on the doorknob. I was waiting for him to speak words of comfort, but that was all he had to say. Before I could speak, Edward opened the door and nudged me inside.
The room was empty except for what appeared to be a single dining table. It was set for two, which made me wonder if their boss had expected my arrival. Although I wasn't sure what I was expecting from this man, it definitely wasn't a formal dinner.
"Ahh, you must be the young runaway." Aro's voice was smooth like silk. He sat on the opposite side of the table with his elbows resting on the tablecloth, fingers linked beneath his chin. "Come, come. Have a seat."
Uncomfortably, I made my way over to the table and sat down. Now that I was close to the man, I could clearly make out his defined facial features. He was an older man, yet there was not a wrinkle on his skin nor a blemish on his face. His nose was long and sharp, and I realized quickly that his eyes had not been a play of the light- they were red.
"What's your name?" Aro inquired, picking up a bottle of (champagne? wine?) and pouring an identical amount into two glasses.
"Mary Alice." I answered quietly. "Er, Alice."
"The pleasure is mine. I am Aro. As I'm sure you have deducted, this is my circus." Before I could answer he continued, "Have you ever seen our circus perform?"
"No." I held the glass he handed me in shaky fingers.
"What made you decide to hitch a ride on our little express?" he asked, narrowing his ruby-colored eyes at me. I swallowed hard, setting the glass down without taking a drink.
"It was more of an accident." I told him. "A last minute decision."
"Ah. A spur of the moment choice. Let me warn you, Alice, those are not always the best decisions to make." Aro's voice sounded taunting and polite at the same time. "This is not a normal circus."
"Cirque de Nightmare." I quoted. "It doesn't exactly sound like a picture-perfect circus to me."
Aro smiled, but did not laugh.
"One of my employees says that you are special. Would you mind showing me what it is that makes him say that?"
Aro's demonic eyes were fixed on me, making me more nervous than I should have been. Then again, it was only the second time I had revealed my deformation to anyone. I pulled down my hood, revealing my inhuman ears. My tail poked out from behind me. Aro stared at me for a long moment before speaking.
"Is that all?" he smiled.
"Yes."
"You don't have any special talents or skills?"
I shook my head, waiting for him to say more, but the red-eyed man merely shook his head and sipped his beverage.
"Alice," He finally began, "If I let anyone with an abnormal appearance on this train, my family would go hungry and we'd look like fools. There's nothing terrifying or even remotely creepy about a tiny girl with cat ears." I felt my ears flatten against my head as he spoke, feeling slightly more ashamed of them. "I'm afraid there is no room for you here." As if on cue, the door behind me slid open and the same blonde man from earlier stepped into the room, silent as a snake. Caius grabbed my arm, pulling me out of my chair and letting it fall loudly to the ground. As I struggled in midair, Aro stood elegantly and cleared his throat.
"Curiosity killed the cat, Alice." He laughed in a sadistic way and motioned for his henchman to carry me away. "Throw her off."
I gasped and struggled harder, but Caius was too strong. He dragged me to the side of the room, where he slid open the door that opened to the outside.
Is this really how I'm supposed to die? After all of this? I thought to myself, grabbing onto whatever fabric and flesh I could to keep from being pushed out the door. I could feel the wind rushing through the doorway, pushing my hair back and chilling me to the bone. Not like this!
The moment that Caius threw me forwards, something inside of me snapped. There was a burst of energy in my veins and in complete desperation, I grabbed onto the edge of the doorway. My legs flew out from underneath me and I was stuck in a completely horizontal position against the wall of the train.
Wind was blowing harshly in my face, making it difficult to see with my watery eyes. My fingers were wrapped so tightly around the edge of the door that even when I thought about letting go, I couldn't.
Sylvester is still on the train! I realized, gripping the steel. I can't leave him behind!
In a quick and swift movement, I bent backwards and swung my legs over the top of my head, locking them around the same slab of steel that my fingers were gripping. In a complete backbend, I was able to finish my mid-air somersault and land safely back inside the door.
Half expecting to be grabbed once more by Aro's henchman, I extended my sharp nails and slashed in every direction, managing to cut the skin of Caius' arm before running past him. It wasn't until I had made it across the car to the opposite wall that I realized what I had just done.
My knees buckled out from underneath me and I fell down against the wall, panting hard.
"Now hold on…" Aro was smirking with content. "I thought you said you didn't have any talents or abilities?"
I glared at them both and tried to catch my breath, but my heart was pounding out of my chest.
"I didn't think I did." I finally choked out, resting my head against the wall of the train. By the smile on Aro's face, I assumed that I was out of the fire- for now.
What did you think? Alice has officially met Emmett and Edward... although you don't know too much about them yet. ;) Aro is as creepy as always, but it's quite suiting for him to be the ringleader, don't you think? Don't you guys worry, Alice will meet Jasper soon enough! :D Keep reading! Here's a preview from the next chapter!
2. THE MAGIC, THE MERMAID, AND THE SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN
"She's beautiful…" I had never seen someone so gorgeous in my life. Rosalie couldn't be compared to magazine or runway models. She had the sort of beauty that needed no touchups or photoshop. I was in awe staring at her flawless perfection. Even with the thin wall of glass between us, we fixed eyes on each other and couldn't seem to turn away. She smiled at me with teeth like pearls and eyes brighter than the water she breathed. After what seemed like ages, Rosalie turned away, swimming to the far corner of the tank and resting in a bed of coral. Her long shimmering tail sprawled out in front of her, reminding me that what I saw was not completely human. Her beauty, I realized, was her irresistible charm. Emmett had warned me of such.
"She's really wonderful." He sighed from beside me. "But as you can see, she's limited. Imagine living your life out of a fish tank…"