Here For You

Losing Control

Upon reaching the shimmer, she found a hole-- more like, a rip in the stone wall exposing a football field. She didn't over think this, as enough confusing experiences had just happened to her. She climbed through the rip and stepped onto the field. After walking completely through, she turned around to see that the rip was now gone. Though, she slightly expected that to happened. She turned back to examine the field she was in. It seemed to be a high-school football field; the grass was plush and green, the white chalk lines seemed to be recently done, and not a spec of debris was to be seen; nor a person other than herself and someone sitting on the bleachers to her left. They sat on the highest seat and simply stared at an empty spot to the right of where they sat. It seemed off to her, but she had a feeling that she was supposed to be sitting there. She hesitantly climbed the stairs of the bleachers and sat in their field of vision.

"Excuse me?" She asked in a hushed voice as she was left slightly breathless from the smile that spread across their lips when she sat down; only adding to her sense of belonging here. Admittingly, she couldn't figure out if the person she was trying to talk to was a boy or a girl. They had short, brown hair, brown eyes, and a slightly masculine face, but their body and facial expression itself held enough of a feminine quality to make her question. Not that it mattered, really, but it threw her off. "You made it!" He spoke in an excited and cheerful tone, causing her to jump in surprise. She stuttered and stared at him, "U-Uh? What?" His smile got brighter, something she didn't think could happen.

His smile and voice seemed like it didn't belong though, as if it were mocking someone else's, but either way it drew her to him. She noticed something flicker in his brown eyes; a look a predator would give its prey before making the kill. He leaned in and kissed her without any hesitation. She didn't pull back, she didn't move; she didn't even question the motives. The kiss felt right-- like it was supposed to happen. Her eyes closed on instinct, only opening after he'd pulled away. Once they were open, she was shocked to find that she was in some sort of run-down circus tent.

The sense of impending rain left the air heavy as lightning flashed from behind the worn fabrics, sending occasional light through the dim tent. She was now sitting on the bleachers that would be inside a circus; old, rotting wood with stereotypical circus railings lining the sides and front of the bleachers. Three other bleachers exactly like the one she sat on lined all sides of the tent, having a pathway between each. The previously lush, green grass was now brown and beaten from years of wear. Two tightropes hung in the air, intersecting each other in the middle of the tent.

Just below the intersection, was a stool that the ring leader would stand on to introduce and conclude the circus; and standing on it was the boy she'd just been kissed by. He was wearing an old-fashioned ring leader's outfit and held a whip in his right hand. A wicked smile spread across his lips as he cracked the whip in sync with thunder from outside. Her first impulse was to jump up and run, but something froze her where she sat. A single thought ran through her mind on repeat; 'How can this be the same boy from before?' The boy held out his arms, "Hello and welcome to Circ de la Monstre!" His voice echoed as he spoke. "Today, I'd like to welcome a very special guest." He spun in a slow circle, talking to the crowd that wasn't there. He stopped once his eyes landed on hers.

"Stand for us, please." His voice continued to echo around the tent and in her mind; he had control of her. "Stand." He repeated, more violent this time; his smile disappeared as a manic gleam formed in his eyes. She gave in and stood, shaking from the weakness of the wood beneath her. Her mind was wiped clean of her own thoughts and memories. Nothing but his voice and images she didn't recognize took place of her own.