And off he ran into the night.
Chapter 25
Josh's situation had worsened far more than he'd ever anticipated. He never thought he'd be wishing to return to his father's beatings and the cruel treatment of his brothers and sisters. He found himself weaving through the streets of Faraway, looking for a remote location to hide. From his crummy foster family. From the social worker who'd ultimately take him to an orphanage. From the police. And worst of all, from a family of whackos. Josh was convinced he'd narrowly missed being murdered and placed inside the cave of doom. He was a realist, and in such, he knew it made perfect sense to pick him to be a murder victim. Who would miss him? Except, he wasn't particularly interested in being anybody's death experiment.
It was past two a.m. when Josh gained entry into a vacant house. The place was dirty and dilapidated looking as though it hadn't known the presence of a human in decades. But it was full of the life of the abandoned. Skittering spiders inhabiting dusty webbed corners. Rats racing between the shadows along the floor. And the whisper of stories untold. Josh shivered as he crept up the creaking flight of stairs, feeling forlorn that a place like this would be the only place he could feel safe.
He found a room off a long dark hallway that contained peeling paper and an old striped mattress propped against the wall. He pulled it down to the floor and dropped exhausted onto it. A cloud of dust rose up around him and he coughed and fanned it out of his face. Once the dust settled, he too settled back onto the musty mattress, his hands propped behind his head. He lay staring up at the cracked and stained ceiling, thing of so many things that he essentially thought of nothing at all. In no time, his eyes drifted closed and he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
He woke with sunlight streaming across him and sat bolt upright on the bed, wide awake. His sleeping mind had revealed the answer to him. It was the last day that Carnaval de le Nuit would be in Faraway. He would make his way to the carnival and throw himself on the mercy of the carnies. He would beg them to take him away with them. This was it. This was his last shot at fleeing his awful existence and building a real life worth living.
And if they refused, he would simply end his own life.
***
Josh found his way into the carnival once again under the blazing heat of the summer sun. He stuck to the shadows cast by the tents, trying to stay somewhat cool, and also avoid being seen. He wasn't really worried anybody would notice him, but on the off chance any of the Bar family was there, he wanted to remain as hidden as possible.
He once again observed the magical carnival performers. When he caught sight of a beautiful fortune teller, perched in a red and white striped booth, he stopped to watch her for a while.
She wore a provocative silky purple gown. Long shining black hair flowed down to her waist and swished prettily against her olive skinned face as she moved, speaking and smiling at her querients as they took their seats in front of her. She had kind eyes.
When the line of people looking for her advisement finally cleared, Josh took the seat before the beautiful gypsy. She gave him a smile.
"I need help," Josh said quietly.
She smiled wider and extended her palm. "Five dollars, child, I will help you."
Josh dropped his eyes, blushing furiously. "Uh, that's… Not what I mean. I don't have any money."
The woman's smile faded but she pondered Josh for a long time. "What is it? What's the matter?"
"I… I want to join the Carnaval. I want to come with you when you leave."
She sighed and reached across the table to pat Josh's hand. "Oh dear one, you can't do that."
"Please!" Josh said, his voice rising slightly. "Listen, no one will miss me. No one will come looking for me." The woman gave him a look of concern, but said nothing. He continued. "My whole life, I've been beaten and tormented. Nobody loves me. No one on this planet. I'm not safe here." The woman's face revealed that her heart was breaking for him. He began to think perhaps she was an authentic fortune teller. Perhaps she really could feel his sorrow. He pressed on. "If I stay here, they'll just continue to hurt me. Please, please, I beg of you. Take me away from here."
After another moment the woman rose. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
Josh waited anxiously fidgeting in his seat. His eyes darted around nervously expecting to see Mrs. Bar at any moment. Finally she returned with a gigantic muscular man who wore an epic handlebar mustache in tow. Josh's heart sped up and his hopes crashed, assuming he was about to be tossed out of the carnival.
"I'm Boss," the man said gruffly. "What can you do?"
Once again Josh blushed and his eyes dropped to his lap. "Well, I… Um…" He didn't really know what to say. He mustered as much courage as he could and returned his gaze to meet Boss's eyes. "I can learn."
Boss grinned, revealing a row of silver teeth. "That's a good answer son, follow me."
***
Carnaval de le Nuit and its members transformed Josh into exactly what he'd always envisioned for himself. They trained him, gave him strength and he was soon in perfect physical condition just like the rest of them, with rippling biceps and six pack abdominals. He got tattooed and pierced by the carnival's incredible artists. He was given a stylish haircut and an outrageous new wardrobe. And, fittingly, he was taught the art of escape for entertaining crowds.
His new family accepted him warmly and lovingly. They gave him all that he'd ever lacked and he finally found a place to flourish. He had an exciting and happy life, traveling all over the country.
Which brought him to his present conundrum, sitting in the library and staring at the computer screen. Faraway represented his old family. He had information that could help them, and he struggled to decide whether or not he should go forward, or just go on living his Faraway free life.
After much consideration, he logged off the Internet and resolved to forget all about it.
Part VIII
Adrift
Chapter 26
Jennifer Tide came from a family comprised of a busy, widower father, his beloved mother who lived with them, and five older sisters. Their dad was a powerful man who was rarely home as he worked, and traveled for work almost all the time. His mother had moved in years back when their own mother had passed away. And four of her sisters were grown and out of the house, leaving only she and her sister Adrian behind.
The family of women was one of traditions, strange though they may be. Grandmother's rule was that each girl must wait until age fifteen to start dating. At age fifteen, Grandmother gave the birds and the bees talk to each girl, and then took her to pierce her ears before bestowing upon her much more freedom to explore the world. Jennifer hadn't been crazy about the ear piercing idea, but it was just a thing that they all did. Like some sort of symbolic rite of passage.
Jennifer had loved Eric Prince long before turning fifteen. She'd had grandiose visions of a new world with him upon her fifteenth birthday. But the day had come and gone, and she remained just as invisible to him as always. She did absolutely everything she could to make him aware of her affections, to no avail. His girlfriend, Stella, was undoubtedly a nice girl and Jennifer certainly didn't want to be known as a boyfriend thief, or to hurt Stella's feelings. But she felt that Eric would soon realize they were meant to be and that Stella would understand.
However, year fifteen came and went and by the time Jennifer turned sixteen, she was despondent over being ignored and passed over by Eric.
When she discussed the matter with her older sisters, they had a wide variety of advice that ranged from decent, to really really bad.
Adrian's advice was to just grow up and date somebody else.
"Just be yourself, love," said her sister Amanda.
"Why don't you sleep with him?" her sister Maggie had advised.
"How 'bout you spread rumors about that girl he goes with?" said her sister Tammy.
"Just bother him until he notices you!" her sister Elizabeth recommended.
Sometimes the adv
ice and observations of her sisters made her wonder what sort of people she was related to.
In the end, there wasn't really anything that Jennifer could do to win Eric's affections. He was devoted to his girlfriend Stella, and seemed not to notice Jennifer was even on the planet. So, Jennifer pined away growing progressively more down and depressed over time.
Which is why, when she found out that Eric and Stella were missing, she completely came undone.
***
Jennifer's family didn't send her back to school when classes resumed in the days following the murder of the Rampion's and the subsequent disappearance of two more Faraway teens. For one thing, her grandmother was terrified to send her out of the house. And, the poor girl was absolutely despondent.
She was so upset that her father stayed home from work, and all her sisters returned home to try and give her comfort. Everybody had comforting things to say, but Jennifer could not be consoled. In truth, the family worried in whispers that she could not be left alone for fear of suicide. They'd had no idea how deep her feelings for Eric really were.
On day two of the Tide family's bedside vigil, her grandmother entered her bedroom clutching an envelope.
"Look, Jennifer," grandmother said cheerily. "A letter's come for you! Would you like to read it?"
Jennifer answered by rolling over in bed and ignoring her.
Grandmother took a seat on the bed next to her and put her hands on Jennifer's shoulder. She gently pulled her granddaughter back to face her. "Please, darling," Grandmother whispered. "Just read it. It may make you feel better!" Jennifer continued to be unresponsive. "Please," Grandmother said again, tears pooling in her eyes. "Come back to us, Jennifer."
Her grandmother's worry and sadness finally broke through Jennifer's cloud of depression. She took the envelope and studied it for a moment. It was addressed to her, without any return address. Her curiosity was piqued. For the first time in several days, Jennifer recalled that she was alive. She tore open the envelope and withdrew a single sheet of lined notebook paper.
Jennifer gasped, and after reading the short note, she met her grandmother's eyes.
"What is it, dear?" Grandmother asked.
"My friend, Zoe. I need to go see her," Jennifer answered, throwing back her covers and lurching out of bed.
Chapter 27
Jennifer's father agreed to drive her to the juvenile detention center where Zoe Locke was housed. Naturally, he found it odd and perhaps a bit troublesome that Jennifer wanted to visit an apparent juvenile delinquent. But, he was so glad to see her spring back to life, that he didn't question it, nor did her require her to show him what the letter had said. He simply waited for her to get dressed, and then they set out together into the snowy, grey day.
Mr. Tide escorted her inside and spoke with a person at the front desk. The guard signed Jennifer in, gave her a brief pat down, and then instructed Mr. Tide to wait in the reception area. The guard opened a doorway to bring Jennifer back. Once inside, the door swung shut with a bang, and then a metal gate slid over it with a cold clank and click. Jennifer startled at the unsettling sound of it.
Soon, she found herself seated at a table across from Zoe Locke. Despite the fact that her classmate had been locked up for several weeks, and she wore a drab grey jumpsuit, Jennifer thought she still looked quite pretty with her shining, golden hair. But her wide blue eyes looked shadowy and haunted.
"Zoe!" Jennifer exclaimed quietly. "Are you OK?"
Zoe shook her head. "I'm not OK, Jennifer," she whispered. "Not OK at all. And neither are our classmates, I can pretty much guarantee it."
Tears sparkled in Jennifer's eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked with a trembling voice.
Zoe leaned in close as she could to Jennifer without drawing attention. "Jennifer, everybody here thinks I'm nuts. Everybody. Or they think I'm lying to try and get myself out of trouble. But I swear, I SWEAR that I'm not. Will you please believe me?"
Jennifer repeated the text of Zoe's letter in her head for the hundredth time. She stared into Zoe's eyes. She hardly knew Zoe at all. And of course, it was pretty well known fact the girl was a thief.
But this was the absolute first that Jennifer had heard of anybody knowing a single thing about the disappearances.
"Yes, Zoe. I will believe you."
Zoe closed her eyes for a moment, as though attempting to compose herself. When they opened again, she looked Jennifer squarely in the eyes. "Jennifer, when I broke into the Bar family's house, the night that I got caught… I accidentally found something very, very disturbing."
Jennifer's heart began to accelerate. The Bar's? She had not expected to hear this at all. But then Benjamin Bar popped her into her mind, in all his infinite strangeness. He was spectacularly good looking, rich, and popular by default because of his mother's well-loved status in the school.
And yet, now that she thought about it, nobody really liked Benjamin. There was just something odd about the guy. She didn't know what Zoe was about to say, but, it already had a ring of truth to it.
"What was it?" Jennifer asked.
"They… They came home unexpectedly. I found out later that the game I thought they'd been going to got canceled and they'd simply turned straight around and come back home." Zoe dragged a great, ragged breath and then continued. "So, I had to hide. It was dark, and their house is huge. Like, a mansion. I was all turned around. Somehow I ended up in the basement."
Zoe stopped as though unable to go on. Jennifer saw a look of fright pass over Zoe's face. She dared to reach over and pat Zoe's hand.
"It's OK," Jennifer encouraged. "I'm here. I believe you, Zoe. Please go on."
"Jennifer, it's them. The Bar's. They're the killers. They have a torture chamber in their basement."
The wind rushed out of Jennifer and she sat back in her chair.
"There wasn't anybody in it then," Zoe rushed to continue. "But there was blood. And cages. And… And… It was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Then, when people started disappearing, it made me think my breaking into their house… Triggered something."
"We need to go to the police!" Jennifer exclaimed.
Zoe vehemently shook her head. "I've talked and talked and TALKED to police, Jennifer. They won't listen."
"Then what do we do?"
Zoe leaned close once more, leveling a piercing gaze on Jennifer. "You have to get me out of here."
***
Though Mr. Bar was commonly thought of as the richest man in Faraway, Jennifer's father was certainly no slouch. Mr. Tide was so authoritative in his day to day life, Jennifer thought of him almost like a king.
And a king can make things happen.
As soon as she and her father were in the car, she pleaded with him to get her friend Zoe out of lock up. Mr. Tide was baffled, as he'd never heard Jennifer mention this girl before. But, he trusted his daughter, and he saw a desperate pleading on her face. He agreed to do what he could to help.
He made some phone calls and found out that the only reason Zoe had not been released with probation was that her mother refused to take her back. He did a little more digging and found that Zoe's mother wasn't an exemplary parent, and that Zoe had no previous history of any sort of tomfoolery. Plus, she was still recovering from a broken leg she'd sustained the night of her apprehension. Mr. Tide saw a picture of a neglected child who'd made a mistake as a cry for attention. His lawyer was able to pull some strings, draw up some paperwork, and get Mr. Tide appointed Zoe's guardian.
By sunset, Zoe Locke was released from juvenile detention on Mr. Tide's recognizance.
Part IX
Lost
Chapter 28
Hanley and Giselle Durand had always been aware of the rumors that circulated about them.
There had been a period in their childhood when police had recovered them both wandering lost in the Faraway Forest, and had returned them to their home numerous times. Each of the three incidents had been during the winter when they were five yea
rs old. In each case, they had been in the forest for several hours and some passerby would spot them and then they would be returned. The police assured their father they were going through an unruly time, to just be patient and keep a close eye on them. And it would pass.
But, the rumors went that, in fact their father and step mother couldn't afford two rambunctious twins, and that together the parents had plotted to set them lose in the forest and let the frigid winter weather take care of the problem.
The truth of the matter was somewhere in the middle.
Hanley and Giselle were far from unruly as children. Though it was true their little family was dramatically poor, they were raised until aged three by an adoring father and a lovely, mannerly mother. But, when their mother passed away, their father had felt desperate about his children being left motherless. He'd remarried quickly without appropriately getting to know his new wife first.
Despite the wonderful manners and calm demeanors of Hanley and Giselle Durand, their step mother could not stand them. She resented seeing the image of their deceased mother in their shining raven hair, their piercing brown eyes, and their flawless pale skin. She resented that most of the family's meager recourses went to the betterment and care of the children. Frankly, she resented that all her new husband could provide her was a small, shabby cottage in the woods.
So, the new Mrs. Durand hated Hanley and Giselle.
The full truth was that Mr. Durand had no clue that his new wife was sending his children into the snowy forest alone, after he left for work at the local factory in the morning. Additionally, a side of her he did not see came out in his absence. She was vicious to her step children. Screaming, shoving, smacking, and hating them. After the third attempt to let them wander lost until they froze to death failed, Mrs. Durand gave up on that plan. Little Hanley and his sister Giselle had been too terrified of the unpredictable woman to let their father know that they'd actually been forced into the woods. But, because he continued not to notice the problems going on beneath his own roof, the children became cold and hardened.
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