Guard and Scythe

Burning Flowers

"Mr.Briscoe," Mickenna seethed, her voice hissing in disgust just saying his name. I began to cry again, falling into a heap onto the ground.

"We warned you; the circus wants something of you. You should be thankful you're not even a part of the main act," the boy Arny says bitterly, coming to sit by us too. He takes my arm, and inspects it in a very medical fashion. He's so close to Reese that Clarissa can reach over and rest her head on his shoulder. He doesn't move, or react at all to the girl's head touching him.

"You're fine. The bruises and scrapes'll heal themselves in a couple weeks," he assures me. I don't say anything, not even a thank you.

"The Circus is actually just a crazy man's way to make money off of child protitution, molestion, and torture. People pay good money to watch us burn," he says bitterly. So this is what happened to all of them?

"The Circus itself moves from city to city, across the country, always looking for a new audience. We usually stay in abandonned buildings, and other low key means of shelter. Not that Mr. Briscoe is concerned about our comfort, at any rate." Already, just hearing that man's name sends shivers of fear crawling up my back.

"You might think you're scared now, but just you wait," he said ominously, leaning in closer. His brown eyes were not soft, but menacing, like an angry bull.

"Don't say that Arny! Don't!" Mickenna yelled at him angrily, putting her hands over my ears. I pushed her away.

"I want to leave. I want to find my Momma!" I cry throwing my arms around myself, creating an invisible wall between me and them. Mickenna looked at me sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry Trisnae. Pretty dolly's like you never get to leave," she said. I ignored her offering her hand for me to take. I clutched my fists tightly at my sides, till my fingers began to hurt from digging into my palms.

"Mr.Briscoe is coming," Blane said, warning us just like he had yesterday. The other children did not run, but formed a protective barrier between me and the door. The naked terror was frozen into my facial expression. If someone had shook my hard enough, I'd shatter into pieces.

The door creaked open. Mr.Briscoe stood on the threshold, holding a lantern and thick rope.

"Get up you useless brats. I don't tolerate lazy children," he said loathingly, walking into the dark room. We all just stared at him for a moment, then one by one, they all got up, and allowed themselves to be tied to the rope.

Mr. Briscoe walked over to were I lay in the corner.

"Get up you b***h," he said coldly, snatching my wrists, and harshly dragged me across the floor, and tied my hands to the end of the rope. Slowly, I pulled myself up off the ground. I didn't dare look anywhere but at my feet. My shoulders were curled in feebly.

He brought us down the long narrow hallway again, and into another room, lit only by the sun coming in from small windows near the cieling. At least fifty other children were here, all of them also tied together with ropes and chains. They were all freaks, broken children without souls. None of them looked up when we entered the room.

We were passed a plate with rotten fruit and stale bread by a large man, with a belt of knives hanging from his waist. I ate, but couldn't taste anything. My tongue and lips were too numb to acknowledge anything I put in my mouth. My stomuch squirmed with the usual displeasure I got from whenever I had eaten old trashcans along the sides of allys.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" the man yelled at Chip, who was on all fours, sniffing the man's pockets. "Someone get this freak off me," He called out in a bored manner, smacking Chip upside the head harshly with his big meaty fists.

Chip whimpered, but made a lunge for his pants pocket again, this time successfully ripping it at the seams, so a fresh biscuit fell onto the floor. Before anyone could react, Chip dashed over and ate the bread roll in one bite.

The mans face grew blotchy red with anger.

"Why you little b*****d!" he cried pulling a mysterious bottle out, and sprayed it onto Chip.

Chip fell backwards howeling in the most inhumane pain immaginable. Acid was beginning to eat away at the flesh on his face! I felt as if someone had punched my in the stomuch.

Chip continued to moan in agony, clawing at his face, as the acid burned away the flesh, and dropped to the ground. The man laughed cruelly, spraying Chips again, this time getting his hands.

My head began to feel dizzy, and the world started to spin and become fuzzy.

"STOP IT! STOP STOP STOP!" I screamed. The man looked at me, astounded. Then he became angry.

"Shut up you brat!" he yelled at me with hatred

He pulled the bottle out and tried to spray me. I had moved so quickly, he only had gotten the palms of my hands.

Oh the sheer agony! It was a pain unimaginable, undescribable! I watched through my shilled howeling as the skin fell off, and the new flesh was eaten away. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't hear Mickenna calling out to me, trying to protect me, when even she knew there was nothing in her power she could do to stop this unbearable pain.

I watched her face, as she held me close, the others gathered around too. I saw her lips say my name, "Trisnae!" one last time, before I slipped of the edge of an invisible cliff, and fell into the darkness.