Dark Woods Circus

The Dark Woods Circus

Prologue

How much longer will it take until I go insane? Better yet, what will be the last straw that will push me over the edge? Will it be the constant ‘disciplining’ techniques that the Ring Leader uses on us all? Or will it be the screams of the suffering and already insane performers of the circus? No, the one thing that might seriously push me over the edge is the damn clicking of the train as it rides over the rails. It might not seem much to normal people, but to us, so much more lies behind this one simple and consistent noise.

Chapter One: My Rotting Paradise

“Children! Put down your books and play things and put your shoes on. We are leaving in five minutes.” The high pitched screech that fills the air can only belong to the Orphanage Owner, a sharp featured woman with graying black hair held tightly in a bun. Nobody knows her true eye color because she always keeps ebony spectacles glued to her nose. Well, not literally glued, but that is a theory that my sister, Diamond Hakuro, came up with.

“Come on Ruby, let’s go get our shoes,” says Diamond while pulling me away from the demon in human skin. We leave the rotting play room so that we may retreat back to our slightly less decaying room. Our afternoon dresses catch on the back of our heels and drag across the dusty floor, gathering dead bugs and dust bunnies. I stare at the walls as we walk by, my eyes following every crack and discoloration. When I turn back, a flash of color burns brightly in the dull hallway, and that one bright flash of color instantly breaks through the dense atmosphere.

The bright color that contaminates my sister’s hair is something like a brown but with a red glare to it. It would be open to interpretation on what color our hair is closer to, so people just call it auburn, which is fine by us. Though we may be twins, there are still trifling differences like the way her hair leans towards the red side of the spectrum while the brunette coloring is more prominent in my hair. Our eyes, though they are both an ocean blue, also have a shading issue since hers are noticeably darker than mine. The last error in our similarity is our height. Though we are both sixteen, born on the exact same day and only an hour apart, Diamond is two inches taller than me.

Sometimes, we believe it is the height difference that affects our personalities, which are completely different. Diamond reminds me of a blazing fire, one that thrives on the attention of other people. The more attention she receives, the brighter her flame shines. The saying, ‘if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned’ is something my sister must live by, even if she doesn’t realize it. She’s very over0protective of me, so I have no worries about bullies or teasing from the other orphans. Still though, because of her over-bearing behavior, her strengths are my weaknesses.

Quiet, shy, timid, or how every many other synonyms is me. My quiet nature tends to leave me forgotten on many occasions, including during the feeding period. That’s probably the number one reason I am so skinny; I am forgotten so I don’t eat. Some of the kids realize this and try to sneak out food for me when I am sleeping or playing by myself, but if the Demon catches them, they are put in isolation for 24 hours.

“Where are your shoes?” asks Diamond as she searches the large room, filled with bunk beds lined against the walls. I shrug my shoulders and try not to choke on the smell of cooking meatloaf in the kitchen next to us. When we come back from the circus, we will be able to eat before we are sent to bed at eight. “Found it!”

I follow Diamond’s voice to the other end of the room to see Diamond giving me a sympathetic expression.

“The rats chewed a hole in your shoe. Do you want to wear my shoes instead?” she asks before she starts to kick off her own shoes.

“It’s okay. I can wear those shoes,” I assure her, taking my weathered, dirt brown shoes from her. Our hands brush against each other and I savor the soft curves, like heaven held tight in a safe made of skin. The Demon barks something along the lines of ‘everybody is going to leave you Hakuro sisters!’ but we kind of tune her out. That’s one of the many rules you must follow to live semi-peacefully in this institution.

I follow Diamond back down the dreary hallway, focusing on the floor this time, taking in the small details there. Fortunately, the floor isn’t as bad in condition as the walls, not including the two inches of dirt. Why must everything be two inches? I think to myself, now glaring at the floor with fury.

A dull rectangle of light illuminates the ground, making me look up without the glare. That small sliver of light that I barely see sends a breath of warmth through my body.

“Single file line!” snaps the Demon, and I place myself in front of Diamond so that I am not constantly trying to look over her shoulder. Diamond reaches forward and grasps my hand lightly, an assuring smile on her face.

As we walk out onto the tattered concrete, I notice the grass on the edges wilting and dying as if they have been completely forgotten. I can’t help but feel a pang of worry, but Diamond squeezing my hand easily helps me to brush the feeling aside. I look up to find something to brighten my thoughts, only to face the last of the red-orange sun as it disappears over the hills.

Chapter Two: The Circus

Gnarled trees wrap around each other as if they are seeking warmth and surround us in the frigid air of the night. I look up, seeking comfort in the stars, only to see thick, black cotton balls drifting hazily across the sky. As a last resort, I hug my arms close to my body and rub them up and down, hoping to create some sort of stimulated warmth.

“The cracking leaves and sticks on the path sound like breaking bones,” Andrew, the boy walking in front of me, whispers to his friend. His buddy shoves him lightly, an unreadable expression on his face.

Where are the lights? I ponder silently, looking around for any sign of the circus. Diamond sets her hand on my shoulder as if she had read my thoughts, a comforting look lined with worry on her face.

“A few more steps!” cries the Orphanage Owner, her heels clacking noisily against the frozen dirt beneath her feet. This sudden proclamation allows me to let out a breath of relief, a wisp of frozen air follows suit.

A few more steps further and I began to hear light-hearted voices along with a music box playing an upbeat tune.

“Come one and come all! Welcome everybody to the Dark Woods Circus! Inside of these tent flaps, you will find some of the world’s most amazingly disgusting monstrosities! Or if that isn’t to your taste, then you may find yourself enjoying beautiful young girls with extrodinary appearances like giant angel wings! Tonight, you will be able to hear our lead performer, Angel, sing as she dances gracefully. That isn’t even the best part! Not only will she be singing and dancing, but she will also sprout angel wings like the monster she is!” I can hear the barker advertises loudly, and I turn to face him, only to see him clad in bright colors like red and yellow.

As we walk past him, he turns his head to watch Diamond and I walk into the tent. An uncomfortable rock settles itself at the bottom of my stomach as I easily decipher his expression. It’s something like a mix of interest and greed, like the look men give to woman that they want. I turn to Diamond to see if she has caught the look, but her face is full of wonder as the lights and sound entice and lure her into a trance.

The walls are a dark blue and black, completely opposite of the cheery music ringing within its walls. In each corner of the tent, wooden benches of maybe four yards rest in sets of eight rows comfortably, already filling with people. The only thing that lies in the performance area is one small circular stage, wide enough for one person to stand on top of, but only shoulder-width in circumference. In each corner of the top, a spot light is placed, all of them directed at the centerpiece.

We finally take our places in the far corner, though I’m unsure if we are in front of the stage or behind it. The wooden bench creaks beneath our added weight, and I can feel some of the splinters sticking into my skin, but those small details are nothing new since I live in a place just as rundown as this.

Everybody in my group sits silently, even though the people around us laugh joyously to each other. I don’t know what is inducing our silence, but it could be that most of the people here happens to be of middle class or because we are all afraid that the Demon will give us a sharp look then deny us food later. No matter the reason, I just can’t find myself coming up with any words to exchange with Diamond. In fact, I can’t even muster up the energy to just give her a look. All I can do is sit there and stare at the small, wooden stage sitting in the middle of the room.

“Welcome everybody to the Dark Woods Circus,” says a dark and deep voice that doesn’t belong to the barker. Everybody looks around to try and find to whom the voice belongs, but the tent suddenly becomes pitch black. A few younger kids, including some from our group, begin to scream from fear or surprise. “Now is the moment you have been waiting for all night… Introducing, our first act, Angel.”

Then the lights pop back on and standing on top of the circular stage is a gorgeous young girl whose face is completely blank. She stands there for a moment, one of her hands raised over her head, the wrist bent at an angle, her other arm pressed against her stomach, until the music box starts to play. Her first movement is a quick twirl place until she leaps gracefully off of the platform. As she jumps though, large white wings sprout from her back and unfurl to surround her body like a cocoon.

Feathers descend from the wings and lightly touch the ground, only to be kicked up again when Angel begins to start a dancing routine around the entire area given to her. When she begins to sing, goose bumps erupt on my body and cold chills run down my spine. She has a beautiful voice, but the pain is so heavy in her tone, that I can feel my heart squeezing. Diamond nudges me and I realize that she can feel it too. But when I look to the other people, they are all smiling and watching with awe, completely unaware of the density of her voice.

“I can’t breathe. I’m going to get a breath of air,” whispers Diamond, quickly standing up and leaving without even asking permission. The Orphanage Owner doesn’t even notice, as she is just as hypnotized as the rest of the people. But when I look to the other kids in the orphanage, they all look uncomfortable and very much aware. How is it that we are the only ones that feel this?

Twenty minutes later, after another performer is introduced, I realize that Diamond still hasn’t returned. I look around desperately, hoping to see her walking back or sitting somewhere else in the sections, but my twin is nowhere to be seen. I pause for a moment, panic rising in my body. If I got up though, the Orphanage Owner might see me and get angry.
I inwardly curse myself for being so timid, but after another ten minutes pass of Diamond not returning, I force myself out of the seat and dash towards the flaps. Luckily, nobody screams at me to stop, but I do feel the eyes of my peers on me as I leave. I can even mentally feel them begging me to come back so that we don’t have problems with the Orphanage Owner.

The minute that I find myself out into the darkness, a sharp gust of wind attempts to push me back into the tent, but I fight against it. Instead, I begin shouting my sister’s name at the top of my lungs. I highly doubt the brain washed people inside of the horror house will hear me.

With no response to follow, I decide to push outside my comfort zone and start to wander directionless around the tent in hopes that Diamond will hear me on the other side. As I am rounding a corner, I end up tripping on something that causes me to completely lose my balance. I crash to the ground, causing the frozen earth to attack my skin, ripping away at the sensitive layer to find it’s treasure underneath.

I force myself to get on my knees and wave around emptily in the dirt until I find what I tripped on. An object that feels just as course as my shoe brushes beneath my fingertips, causing me to jump out of my skin, but once I realize that it is in fact not alive, I pick it up. A shoe attached to an overgrown root to a tree? I lean the shoe towards the light source in the tent and it takes me a few seconds until I realize that this is my sister’s shoe.

Red alarms screech in my head, but I sit there paralyzed in fear as a shadow is suddenly casted over my body. I stare at the thick shadow, unsure of what is creating it, until I see multiple body shapes combined in one.

I sharply turn around to see the barker sandwiched between two burly looking men, a satisfied grin on his face.

“I was wondering when the other one would come out to find her sister,” he says, snapping his fingers which I can infer that the snapping is a signal because the men suddenly grab at me. I try to lash out at them, but a starving and scrawny sixteen year old stands no chance against two grown and heavily muscled men.

Each man has one of my arms, lifting me easily into the air so that I am doing but kicking my legs worthlessly. My heart pounds rapidly in my chest, sounding as if a drum is being banged on by a teenage boy with anger issues. My breathing becomes erratic and uneven as the paralyzing fear of the situation slowly begins to creep in.

“Wh-What are you going t-to do to m-me?” I stutter helplessly, tears stinging the corners of my eyes and eventually becoming too full to stay in their duct, leading them to pour down my face.

“Isn’t it obvious? You and your sister are both going to become part of the circus.” Then he is pulling me away deeper into the murky shadows and no matter how much I tried to scream, nobody can hear me over their own capricious laughter.

Chapter Three: The Train

At this point, the rawness in my throat from the shrill cries of help, became so unbearable that I am no longer able to scream. My arms begin to ache from their death grip and I’m absolutely positive that there will be large burly bruises in their wake. I force my head to look up when bright lights breaks through the trees and break though my closed eyes. When my vision adjusts to the lights, I see a worn down black train sitting quietly on its track.

“Welcome to your new home,” chuckles the barker, his perverse grin still in place. The sight of the haunting train is enough to make me struggle again. Even now, in this situation, I find myself staring at the diminutive details.

The train itself must have been black, but the long travels have left the pain chipping and dulling. Elongated scratches that were not done by nature forces are carved all over the train, all of them unfathomable and seemingly ominous. In the hushed night, I can hear aggrieved moans and whimpers resonate through the air.

The barker steps up to one of the cars and grabs the handle, easily sliding the door on its hinges so that a dark room is revealed to me. I can’t see anything inside except for swirling shadows that may or may not belong to small insects living in the corners.

“This is your new room. You will be staying here until we decide on what your performance will be and how you will be changed to fit your position,” the barker notifies me and then snaps his fingers again, leading to the men heaving me haphazardly into the train. Stars burst in my vision when my head connects with the ground, a crack like a whip noise to follow in pursuit.

By the time I can see straight again, the door had been closed, causing me to be submerged in darkness. I lie there silently for a few minutes until I can finally get my body to move so that I may test the door. Just as I forecasted, the door is locked into place to the degree it doesn’t even budge a centimeter.

I go to scream again, but I am only met with a breathy squeak that I predict to be my own voice. So, instead of screaming, I result to bashing my fists against every single metal wall until somebody heard me. I beat my fists against the metal wall until almost every single inch of my hands are bleeding profusely and I am sure some of my fingers are broken.

Finally, I stop the banging and just press my head against the wall, silent sobs racking my body. It’s when a new banging noise echoes in the air do I realize that the person causing the banging is my sister. Every night at the orphanage, we would tap our fingers against the wall in our own morse code to communicate with each other.

After a few bangs from her, I just drop to the ground with relief. I’m not relieved that she was kidnapped, but more so that she is alive and that she is also going to be with me. For what feels like an hour, we bang against the walls just to hear the comforting sound. Eventually, her banging stops. Either she is suffering from too many injuries or that she is just as tired as I am.

Soon, I just drop to the bitter ground, blood slowly accumulating on the floor from the deep wounds on my hands. As I stare up into the nothingness, I begin to envision many different ways that Diamond and I will be able to escape. It is because of these hopes that I eventually lull myself to sleep.

Chapter Four: Becoming One of Them

In the midst of the next morning, I awake from my heavy slumber to hear a weird clicking noise. It takes me being thrown from my spot on the ground to realize that the train is moving. I take a moment to wonder if it is actually the morning since there are no windows in the room, only the complete darkness that I can’t even see my own hand in front of my face.

After being rolled around a few times, I lodge myself in a corner with my hands placed carefully on my lap. All I can do is sit there in the darkness, the pain in my throat becoming much more evident as my other senses slowly start to blossom. My hearing must be becoming the most prominent because it seems as if the clicking of the wheels against the rails seems to be getting louder.

A few hours later, I can feel and hear the train start to slow down, causing my heart pace to start speeding up. When the train comes to an eventual stop, my heart almost freezes in its place. I listen carefully as the doors to the train cars are slammed open, and the deep voice from the night before is also heard snapping orders left and right. One by one, the slamming gets louder, causing tears to once again fill my eyes.

“Take that one to the surgery cart number one and then take the other one to surgery cart number two,” demands the deep voice as the lock clicks out of place to my door. When the door is slid open, I squeeze my eyes shut expecting light, but only darkness leaks into my car. I barely have time to register what is happening as the two men from early jump into my car and grab me in the exact same position. Without another glance to me, the man moves on, leaving only a shadow in his previous presence.

The two men drag me out into the even colder air, and then start to pull me towards the front of the car. A few feet in front of me though, I see a familiar burst of red hair. I try to call out to Diamond, but my voice is still scratchy and rough, so only a whimper is heard. All I can do is watch as the two men struggle with my fighting sister, both of them trying to get the girl into the car. Eventually, they get tired of her persistence and one of the men knocks his fists against the side of her head.

A hoarse cry escapes my lips, but I am unable to do anything as they open the door to another car and shove me inside. Once I am inside, a new set of scrawny arms grab at me and yank me forward onto a semi raised metal table, and then the arms are strapping me down. I snap my head back and forth as quickly as I could, trying to take in the creepy hospital scene around me, but a man with only one eye suddenly looms over me, a needle in his hand.

Without saying a word, he smoothly slides the needle under my skin and presses down on the edge, forcing the clear liquid to empty its contents into my blood stream. I try to scream again, but a sudden dizziness fills my head and my eyelids become exceedingly heavy. As my eyes close themselves, I can see the man pulling out an extensive and very jagged knife.

When I wake up, it feels as if my body had been dipped in fieriest part of hell. I open my mouth to scream, but a cloth is shoved deep inside, preventing any noise. I snap my head left and right, but all I see is the small hospital room decorated in surgery tools and body parts in jars. I search desperately for a way to ease the pain, but the more I struggle, the more pain that is brought onto me. Eventually, I manage to calm myself just enough to stop trying to escape the bonds.

I try to force my head up to see my body, but a new onslaught of pain is brought upon me, so I just drop my head against the table and wait for somebody to enter the car. Finally, probably hours later, the door is opened to reveal a man with a grinning face.

“You are awake! I’m glad! The last time we tried this on somebody, they died during the surgery. Then another time, they died when we actually tested out their new skin! I hope you will be a different case my dear!” says an old hoarse voice with excitement. While I try to decipher what he meant in my head, the man steps up to me and pulls out a match that has been lit. I watch through hazy eyes as he grins and then drops the match on top of me.

In the next instant, my entire body explodes with fire. A new hell of pain courses through my body, causing me to let out a blood curdling scream that I didn’t even know I could do. The sensations become over whelming as I feel the skin burning, blistering, melting, and furling over. I’m going to die! Screams in my head over and over again and it seems almost hours later do I realize that I am still alive and my skin is still intact.

“It worked!” cries the old man before he suddenly dashes out of the car, leaving me alone to wallow in pain. Only, I wasn’t wallowing in pain, because there was no more pain to spare.

I stare at the ceiling, trying to calm my hiccupping and heavy breathing but failing miserably. Even though the pain had completely disappeared, the gut wrenching memory of the previous even is still very much fresh in my mind.

Chapter 5: The First Show

The car door slams open, dragging me out of my depressing state. My head, no matter how many times I slam it against the metal wall, is made out of some sort of rock hard plastic that allows me to feel the pain, but prevents me from actually causing harm. I drag my dreary eyes up to see a shadowed man standing there, a grin plastered on his face.

“It’s your time to shine Diamond.” I stare at him with confusion, knowing that the name he had called me is in fact my sisters, not mine. “That’s your new name. Forget everything of your past and follow me as I lead you to your new job.” He turns sharply on his heel and I follow without a word. If I tried to fight, the four men surrounding me would most likely pound my face in since they know that I harm cannot be done to me.

“Where is my sister?” I manage to mutter, staring down at the ground to avoid any eye contact with the threatening man.

“I am the Ring Leader and you will listen to everything I say. You are going to walk into that tent after the scene with Raven and Angel and you are going to stand on that platform. While you are standing there, Snake is going to come out and set you on fire. You will stand there and you will not make a noise. If you do, you will punished. If you move from that spot, you will be punished. If you try to run, you will be put in an isolation tank and punished over and over again until you become a mindless zombie. Understand?” I clench my teeth in an attempt to stop myself from saying anything and just force a curt nod instead.

The Ring Leader shows me where to stand and has one of his burly guards stand there with me. We stand in silence until a girl walks up to us and stands in front of me. I look down at her back to see two deep slits on each shoulder blade with red blistering marks to surround them. Before I could say anything, I realize that this girl is Angel, the girl I saw the very first night before all of this happened.

She turns slightly to me and gives me an empty nod before turning and opening the curtain, the sound of the Ring Leader’s voice resonating over the sound of the cheering crowd. As she starts to dance, my heart speeds up once again. The thought of being set on fire causes me to start trembling. A few minutes later after the bit with Raven and Angel fighting, the man is pushing me through the curtain.

“And now! Presenting our two newest additions to the circus, Diamond and Snake! Diamond with her skin made to protect her body from harm, but not from pain! And Snake, a girl who can stretch and extend her skin body at impossible angles! For this newly tested act, one sister will set the other on fire!”

Hushed gasps fill the tent as I walk nervously to the stage, until I realize that the person setting me on fire is going to be my sister. I turn sharply to see her walking shakily towards me with a torch in her hand. Her eyes are puffy red as she constantly mouths apologies to me. As she inches closer, my body begins to lock into place on top of that damned platform. As soon as she is in front of me and everybody is leaning in closely, she apologizes to me one last time before she presses the torch against my skin. Like gasoline on a stick, my body erupts into a giant fireball. Once again, the feelings from before rip and shred through my body, but I manage to bite my lip to keep the sounds in.

The next few seconds are a blur because Diamond lets out a scream and throws the torch at the tent walls, instantly catching it on fire. When the fire dies on my body, Diamond grabs me and quickly drags me away from the scene in hopes of escaping.

Chapter Six: The Escape

Once the pain is officially gone from my body, I manage to pull my own weight as Diamond and I run as far away from the Hell Holed Circus. Multiple times, one of us would fall over from the weakness in our bodies, but every time, we would help each other up. The sharp twigs and pointy plants that littered the ground and stabbed into our feet couldn’t stop us. The frigid air that stings every inch of our bodies, threatening to give us hypothermia, couldn’t stop us. Lastly, the small supply of oxygen entering our system will not stop us from getting away.

Though, we are both unsure of how far we are getting away because it is once again, the middle of the night. Not only that, but large storm clouds are gathering over our heads, threatening us to return to our personal hells or else the hell will be brought to us. Once we actually stop to get a much needed breath, a low rumble is heard around us and then an extreme ambush of rain suddenly strikes us.

Only harsh breaks come to us and eventually, we start crying and holding each other in despair and fear. Diamond is apologizing about everything, especially for setting me on fire and for leaving the circus alone. I have no reason to apologize to her, so I just remain sitting there in a now forming puddle beneath us, listening to Diamond’s breaking voice. An even louder crack of thunder bellows above us, signaling us to keep moving.

I manage to be the first one up so that I can help Diamond to her feet. Though she is a shaking mess, the mental scarring very evident in her eyes, the fire is still there, just waiting to be mended.

“Let’s go,” I whisper, pulling her along with me as we take shaking steps even farther away from the tent. Eventually, Diamond finds herself in front of me, leading me towards a safer place. That is, until she completely disappears from sight in a nanosecond. I stand there stunned until I realize that there was a drop off and that we were currently standing on the edge of a cliff.

Before I could scream out to Diamond, I am being roughly grabbed by very familiar grips. Once again, I begin to struggle while crying out for the well being of my sister.

“Looks like Snake fell to her death. Oh well, at least we still have Diamond. The audience loved you, you know. It’s a shame most of them died in that little fire your sister caused, but there will be more. Let’s go, and don’t forget, you will be punished for this,” says the Ring Leader behind the men who are captivating me.

“No! She can’t be dead! It’s not possible! Diamond! Diamond!” My screams could be heard by the nonexistent Gods in the heavens, but of course, they choose to ignore my desperate pleas. Instead, they just send another clap of thunder so that they don’t have to listen any more.

Chapter Seven: Insanity

Bang. Bang. Bang. Those noises sound so foreign to my ears. The damned clicking is still going, so why is there banging? Bang. Bang. Bang. I drag myself across the floor littered with hay. Since I’ve been a good girl, they have been rewarding me with food and hay and even a potato sack to use as a blanket!

I press my head against the floor and realize that the train is slowing down. Excited thrills race through my body when I realize we will be able to perform again.

“Diamond! Diamond! We get to perform again today!” A cheery voice echoes off the walls, that cheery voice belonging to me.

“You better do well today or else Ring Leader will be strict,” a sharper voice that also belongs to me snaps.

“Of course Diamond will do well. She has been training very hard and Daddy will be proud,” a calmer voice that is the third voice that comes from my mouth assures with a smile.

“Don’t call him Daddy. That sounds weird,” my stricter voice states, a disapproving tone in her voice.

“Guy’s calm down. I will do fine,” I assure all three of them, rolling around on the ground with glee. When the train finally comes to a stop, everybody in my head starts talking at once, making it extremely difficult to hear the orders coming from Ring Leader. “Everybody be quiet!” I hiss, instantly shutting up the noises.

“Get everybody out of the cars and into the ambulances provided! Find and arrest the man responsible! Look for the girl who responds to the name Ruby!” Shouts a man that definitely isn’t Ring Leader.

“They are going to capture Ring Leader!” Cries the calm voice, a hint of desperation in her tone.

“Then they are going to take us in for testing! Diamond, we need to get out of here!” My stricter voice orders, forcing me to look around the desolate room.

“I can’t escape,” I mutter, pressing myself against the wall as tightly as possible. When the door is opened, a bright light that sears my vision causes me to scream. “It burns! It burns!” We all scream, scratching at our eyes.

When the strangers started to grab at me, everybody told me to fight them off and find Ring Leader.

“Stop fighting! We are trying to help you Ruby. Your sister has been trying to track you for months and now that we found you, you can finally go home,” says the man from before, but I fight even harder.

“We are home! The circus is our homes! Let us go!” All four of us screech at him until he calls in his buddies to help him remove me from the car. When they pull me outside of the car, I am still fighting desperately, scared out of my life, trying to go back to the darkness. The darkness is a safe heaven. The shadows will protect me! The coldness will keep me together, in one piece! They are going to kill me! All of us!

Eventually, they get tired of dealing with me and do to me what the bad guys did to somebody I barely remember a long time ago when she struggled. The man brought back his fist and connected it with the side of my head.

Though they ended the circus permanently, the circus will go on, inside of my head, for the rest of my life.

Chapter Eight: Conclusion

Diamond stares at the train that had made her the monster she is today. Neither is she human, but neither is she snake. She remembers every little detail from when she was locked in that car, even if it was for a few days. Then after her almost death experience of falling into the ocean, she dedicated the rest of her life to finding her sister.

Diamond runs her hand over the smooth exterior of the car that she had been placed in before she calmly walks over to the car where her sister was found. For a few seconds, all she could do was stare astonished at the exterior state of the car.

Deep gashes were dragged across every single corner on the outside and inside of the car, dried blood filling each crevice. For a moment, Diamond couldn’t decide what to do. She didn’t know if she wanted to scream her heart out to the world or cry in silence for the next few days.

I’ll visit Ruby’s grave. Diamond eventually agrees, turning away from the throat constricting sight.

The very first day that her sister woke up in the hospital, she went crazy and stabbed herself in the neck with the IV that was lodged into her arm. Every time the doctors tried to stop the bleeding, she would threaten them with a needle until eventually, she bled to death. Diamond never got the chance to see her sister, but deep down she was relieved.

The sweet smiling image of her shy sixteen year old sister is the image she wants to remember for the rest of her life, not the monster the circus created.

As Diamond walked away from the train, the sun began to rise behind it. Instead of turning around to look at the sunrise, Diamond made sure to keep her eyes set forward, so that she never had to look back, ever again.