Mm. so that last chapter was fun, wasn't it? LOL well this one is like a little break ^^

review please!

CHAPTER 6

The performers returned to their rooms to rest for the night. A bunch of strong, burly men covered in hair began the cleanup of the bodies and blood. Sickened, I couldn't stay any longer. I sprinted to my room, slamming the door behind me.

I collapsed onto the bed and shut my eyes tight, attempting to block out the ghastly images that continued to rampage my mind.

Before I knew it I had slipped into an uncomfortable sleep.

***

The next morning I woke to the sound of several voices in the hallway. With a groan I rose from the bed and rubbed my eyes, when it dawned on me that I must smell pretty terrible. I brushed it aside as I stepped toward the door and flung it open.

At least a dozen people were chatting happily as they passed, hands full of plates and glasses. The plates were stacked with pancakes and bacon and toast, which made my stomach growl hungrily.

Right as I set foot into the hall, something skinny and long wrapped itself around my ankle. Fearing it was a snake, I relaxed when I saw it was only a vine; a vine that was alive! I looked up frantically and locked eyes with a girl at the bottom of the staircase. She had curly brown hair with a daisy-chain crown and sported a flower-printed summer dress. With the peace-sign necklace, she looked like a serious love child. Her emerald eyes drilled into me as she stepped closer and closer.

"Hello," she said. Her voice was sickly-sweet, like a waterfall of melted chocolate. "My name is Juniper, but you can call me June."

"You…control plants?" I asked cautiously.

June flashed another dazzling smile as the vine traveled up to my waist. "Mhmm…"

Lynne sidled up next to us. "Don't flatter yourself. She'll chase after anybody." He sauntered away snickering.

His laugh morphed into a yell of surprise and a loud thud as he hit the floor. Now it was June's turn to cackle.

Turning her bright green eyes back on me, she inched closer, wrapping her fingers in my jacket collar.

"Juniper."

The affection in her eyes was replaced with annoyance.

"Yes, Marisa?" June said through gritted teeth.

"Shouldn't you be getting breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure? I hear the syrup is freshly made, today. You know how rare that is."

June seemed to have an internal struggle happening, but finally she released me. With a last envious glare at Marisa, she stalked off like a small child who was heading to a time-out session. Now that she was out of the way, I could see Marisa. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a purple sweater.

"What's her problem?" I asked.

Marisa sighed. "She's jealous of me because she believes she's 'in love' with Lynne, but people say Lynne likes me."

"He does."

"Possibly. Anyway, would you care for some breakfast?"

I nodded and she led me to the door nearest the stairs. The room was bigger than I imagined; there were about 4 dining tables and a countertop full of food. A door directly across the carpeted floor must have led to the kitchen.

I stacked a plate high with pancakes and drowned them in syrup. I earned a lot of suspicious looks and I glanced around to find Marisa talking to Dr. Payne, so I headed to a fairly empty table.

I cut out a piece of pancake and put it in my mouth. Just as I started to chew, it turned slimy and mushy. Gagging, I spat it out onto the table. Worms!

Loud guffawing erupted from the other end of the table. I angrily looked over to see a few teen guys laughing their heads off at me.

I stomped over to them and they mockingly cowered in fear of me.

"Was that your doing?" I demanded.

The tallest guy—obviously the leader of his puny gang—merely replied, "So what if it was?"

I reached out to pound my fist on the table, but he must have thought I was going to hit him. He got a strange look in his eyes, and suddenly I couldn't breathe or see. I brought my hands up to my face and felt solid rock.

As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. Gulping in air, I didn't bother moving as the guy stood and advanced menacingly.

"I wouldn't mess with me, if I were you," he sneered. I was about to point out that he was the one who had messed with me first, but stopped when I realized I couldn't move. The ground below me had magically changed into quicksand, and I was already knee-deep.

"I can morph matter to my will. I can change the air you breathe into lava. I can change your brain into a firework. I could do anything I wanted…"

Now I was waist deep and still sinking.

His gaze snapped up and he immediately backed off. The sand switched to a puddle and I stepped away fearfully.

"Marisa," he said, his previous snootiness gone. He was all smiles now.

"I see you've met Darren," she said.

"I…Yes. He's a very fine boy," he replied, only with a touch of sarcasm. Marisa rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the cackling bunch.

"I think you've met enough people for now," she said when we were back in the hallway.

She pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Well…There is someone who said she wants to meet you. She makes it her duty to become friends with everyone."

"What's her name?"

"Jenn. You saw her perform last night."

Again she pulled me by the arm, but only a couple doors down.

Marisa knocked gently and I heard a high-pitched, "Come in!" return from the other side.

She shoved the door open and led me inside.

The bed had a Hello Kitty comforter and some anime pictures hanging on the walls. Sitting cross-legged on the pink bed was a girl with long black hair. Despite how tiny she was, she appeared to be maybe 14 years old. I recognized her, alright. She was the one who had fried people with her hands!

She sprung to her feet and skipped over to me, holding out a hand.

I didn't shake it.

"So you're Jenn?" I asked tentatively.

Her head bobbed excitedly. "You must be Darren!"

I nodded.

"Oh!" Jenn exclaimed, running over to the bed and picking up a piece of paper she had been writing on.

"I've written another one! A sonnet this time. I think it's my best one yet!" She grinned happily.

Marisa grabbed the paper and read it quickly while I read over her shoulder.

In neat handwriting, it read:

Can you hear the screams in the pitch black room?
Or see the blood drip down bright red?
Don't they realize that this is their doom,
Unless they all think this is in their head?
This freak show is different from the rest,
For you can't mock or jeer at our defect.
The pleasure for us is the very best!
It's your suffering we want to detect!
Don't run, don't cry, for we must stay hidden.
This is our home and we love it this way,
For the acts you see here are forbidden.
That's why we execute you right away!
This is Cirque du Nuit, such a bloody sight!

This is Cirque du Nuit, circus of the night!

Marisa's eyes shone with delight.

"Jenn, I love this. It's amazing." She smiled softly.

"It's good," I commented.

"You feel up to performing again tonight?" Marisa asked Jenn as she handed the sonnet back.

"Definitely!"

I cringed at her enthusiasm, considering it was enthusiasm to kill people, really.

"You're doing the show again tonight?" I asked.

Marisa nodded at me while advising Jenn on a costume then ushered me out the door with a quick good-bye.

"I'm really busy so just do whatever, I guess." She walked away without another word or so much as a glance at me.

I stared at her retreating back blankly.

Awesome. Ok. So that was a pretty good chapter. Wait til you see whats next tho XD

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