This is part two in a three part serial. You can find part one here:
@tabzjones/a-short-horror-story-in-three-parts-part-one
This story contains mature language and subject matter so if you are squeamish, it may not be for you. It is after all, written in a world created by the master of horror, Clive Barker.
source: screenshot of Peloquin from the movie Nightbreed
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100260/
Side Show Part Two
The interior of the tent had been painted. It showed scenes from other times, on other continents. Beautiful murals of fantastic creatures and lush forests. Annie felt like she'd stepped out of her own life and into somewhere else. Somewhere darker, more sensual. Somewhere very old, very primal, and yet, she was more comfortable than she'd been in years. She sighed and turned her attention to the small figure in the high backed chair.
"Welcome child. Please sit down. Would you like me to read the cards for you? I can tell you your past, present or future. Perhaps there is a question you need answered? I can consult the cards and see if there is an answer to be had."
Annie's eyes rested on the well-worn tarot deck on the table. An intricate pattern of Celtic knots wove across the back of the cards. If she looked hard enough, Annie swore she could see something moving in and out of the knots. She blinked and it was gone.
"N-no, I don't think so." Annie felt light headed, like she'd had too much to drink. Except she hadn't drank in years. She hated the loss of control with alcohol. She couldn't ever lose control. It was never good to let people see too much of the real person under the mask. That's how they got to you. Let them see your weaknesses, and they had you. They could make you do anything. Just ask her dad. He'd known just how to manipulate her.
Grandmother saw the girl start to sway. This was not good. She had to be stronger than this. Something wasn't right. She rose from her chair and led the girl to the one that sat opposite hers at the table. "Please child, you look like you could use a rest. You've been running a long time haven't you? Rest for a minute."
Annie sank onto the wooden chair. What did the old woman mean? She hadn't been running anywhere. She laid her head against her arm on the shabby table cloth. Maybe she could rest for just a minute. Just until the air stopped spinning.
The night was half over and Peloquin was already more than ready to get out of the damn steel cage. He paced back and forth and strained against the chains whenever some silly natural got up the nerve to get a little too close to the bars. Grandmother said, "put on a good show. Scare 'em a little. That's what they come for." She didn't know how close he came every night to giving them more than a little scare. Some nights it was all he could do to fight the beast inside him. It wanted meat dammit! He could feel the hunger rise every night.
Tonight it seemed worse than ever. He saw the three women walking towards the row of cages. He could smell them from fifty yards. Innocents. Especially the brunette. She smelled like chocolate and musk. The beasts roared in his head. Without thinking, he pulled a little harder against the chains than he should. The bolts in the floor of the cage groaned under the pressure. He could almost reach her. She stepped so close to the bars, so secure in her innocent belief that the chains were real. Her wide eyes took in the monster in front of her. Wonder tinged with fear, and underneath it, the sexual heat that Peloquin's Nightbreed Gifts stirred in his prey.
If her friends didn't drag her away now, she would be dinner, and the old lady be damned. The red head seemed to sense that something wasn't right. She coughed and grabbed the brunette by the arm. "Come on Sammy. Let's go find Annie."
Peloquin growled and tested the chains again as the red head pulled the brunette out of reach. They walked away arm in arm with the shorter blond that was with them. So close! He growled again and leaned back against the back of the cage. The naturals had better clear out soon. And he hoped Dani was up to a rough night because he had a feeling she was in for one.
Stephan watched the three women walk away through wolf eyes. He too could smell them. Like delicacies in one of those fine restaurants he'd heard about. But where Pel had homed in on the brunette, Stephan had his eye on the fiery one. She reminded him of the women of the tribe of naturals in his home forests of the past. Copper curls and pale freckled skin sweating in the wane moonlight as he fucked them while his pack mates ate the men. The women's screams of ecstasy drowning out the terror of the men. Her kind would always go for the beasts. It might be a few hundred years later, but that kind of stock didn't change. He raised his muzzle and scented her again. Marking the trail. He'd find her after they were done tonight. He didn't give a damn what Grandmother said. He'd been good for too long. She was just too tasty to pass up.
The performance went off without a hitch. A good time was had by all the naturals and Daryl had enough money from this one night to get them new tires for two of the trailers, and maybe a pint of something for himself. He had a good working relationship with old J.D. Maybe he'd see if he could slip a pint in under Grandmother's nose. It wouldn't be the first time. He pulled the lid of the cash box open and began counting the night's haul. He looked up when a small shadow fell across the table. Grandmother stood there.
"Daryl, I need you to do something for me. You know I don't like to ask you to do it. But you see those three young ladies over there?" She stuck a bony finger out towards Sammy, Haley and Lisa where they stood talking to Dani. Explaining that they couldn't find their other friend. "I need you to make them forget that their friend was ever with them tonight. In fact, it might be a good idea if you made them forget her all together."
That last remark took Daryl by surprise. Grandmother never asked him to mind wipe a natural. She knew how much he hated doing it. It reminded him too much of where she'd found him. Chained in the back room of a dirty little pawn shop, being used to mind rape naturals for money. His keepers would make him tear some one's mind apart to get all their dirty secrets, and then wipe their memory that it had ever happened. Just so they could black mail the poor stiff later. But nobody could wipe his memories. Too many dirty, filthy naturals' secrets were forever etched into his head.
"Why? I don't wanna." He didn't go against Grandmother, but he couldn't do it. Not to those pretty girls. What had they ever done to nobody? He shuffled his feet under the table and fiddled with the coins in the cash box. Anything to keep from looking Grandmother in the eyes. He couldn't ever deny her anything if he looked her in the eye. She had that way about her.
Grandmother sighed. She was afraid he'd say that. "Daryl, look at me." She stepped forward and laid her hand over his on the table. "Please? It's very important to me."
That did it. Daryl looked up into her watery blue eyes and caved. She'd done it again. He'd do it, but he wouldn't like it. He never did. He pushed back his chair and stood up. He closed and locked the cash box and stuffed it under the stack of old magazines in the basket next to the table. He picked up the basket and dropped it just inside the door of the trailer as he walked past.
"Oh Daryl, thank God." Dani was relieved to see anybody that might get these girls off her back. She had plans, and they didn't include listening to these three whine about a fourth girl being missing. She saw Peloquin stalk across the yard to his trailer. He looked pissed, or hungry. Either way, it made her wet just thinking about it. "These girls say they're missing their friend."
"She came in with us." Sammy turned to look up into Daryl's near black eyes. "Annie, she's the one who paid you for us when we came in." Sammy tried to flash him a smile but he could see the worry in her eyes. Maybe it would be a good thing to make her forget her friend. He didn't like the worry lines on this one's pretty face. The other one, the one with the bright red hair, she looked like she could tear someone apart. The little one with the yellow hair just kind of stood there. Worried, but unsure what she could do. He liked her the best. The quite ones were always nice to him.
"I don't remember miss. I see a lot of people when I take the money." Daryl turned and touched her hand. She smelled like chocolate. The pretty little one took a step forward and smiled up at him. She must have found her courage.
"It's ok if you don't remember her, or us. But maybe you could help us look for her?" Her smile widened, blinding him for a second. She offered him her hand and it was more than he had hoped for. He touched the back of her hand and she too stood there, looking up into his face with wide eyes.
The red head was a smart one though. "Hey, what's going on here?" she stepped up in his face, pushing the smaller blond back a step. "What'd you do to them?" She reached up to grab his collar. It was her mistake as his hand closed over her wrist. Now he stepped back and dropped her wrist. Three pretty faces looked up at him with wide blank eyes.
For just a second he looked down longingly at the little blond. He could have had some fun with her. He could have made her believe anything. Even that she was his. So many games he could play with her. But Grandmother wanted them gone.
He took a second to look deep into the eyes of the brunette. He planted the memories like Grandmother wanted. Erasing any trace of the tall blond from her memory. He did the same to the red head. But when he came to the little one, he hesitated. Why couldn't he keep this one? He could erase her from their memories too. Just this once, use his curse for himself.
Dani broke his thoughts. "Uhhh, Daryl? what's going on? Why'd you trance 'em? You know Grandmother doesn't like it." She'd never seen Daryl use his gifts. It was creepy the way the three girls stood there. Eyes blank and staring up at him like there was nobody home. And the way he was looking at the short blond girl was even creepier. She'd seen that look before. In Stephan's eyes when he looked at her. She shivered and crossed her arms over her chest. It wasn't cold tonight, but she felt a chill all the same.
"Grandmother told me to do it." Daryl said as he gave in and erased the little blonde’s memory too. Maybe someday he'd do it. He'd find one that looked at him like Dani looked at Pel and he'd keep that one.
Daryl led the girls back to the gate and released them from their trance. They woke to him ushering them past his table and trailer. He mumbled something about "thanks for coming." and near shoved the red head in the direction of their car. She shook her head as if to clear it and then linked arms with the brunette, heading for the gray sedan. The little blond looked up at him like she wanted to say something, then thought better of it and caught up to her friends.
Daryl turned back to see Grandmother standing in the opening of her tent. She waved at him and turned her back to go inside. His shoulders drooped under their own weight. He was really gonna miss that little one. Someday....
Stephan stood, leaning against the RV and watched the red head leave with the others. He'd seen what Daryl did. A handy trick that. He wished he could figure out a way to get Daryl to do that to Dani. He could make her choose Stephan instead of Peloquin. It didn't really matter though. He'd have her anyway. Let her fight him. It made him hard just thinking about her under him, every tight little muscle fighting him. Let her claw and bite. It would do no good. He'd push so deep inside her she'd forget all about "lizard" boy.
Speaking of the devil, Peloquin slammed open the door of his trailer and stood there, arms crossed, and leaned against the door jam in the dim light. Glaring at Stephan, while waiting for Dani to finish up. One of these nights the mutt was gonna get too big for his britches and try something with Dani. Pel could smell it from here. Stephan sniffed around Dani's ass like a lap dog. Fuck him. No, better idea. He whistled at Dani. He'd fuck her instead.
Dani heard Pel whistle at her. Any other girl might get pissed at that. She thought it was funny. If it made him feel better to think he was in control, well so what? She'd give him what he wanted, only because she got her's too.
She turned away from Daryl and near ran the fifteen feet to Pel's trailer. She hopped up the steps and threw herself at him, literally. Pel stuck out an arm to grab the door while catching her with the other one. Hunger and pure sex shined in his dark eyes. Finally! He growled and slammed the door closed.
Stephan watched Dani make a fool of herself and growled. Even a bitch in heat had more control than she did. He pawed the ground with one booted foot and thought about interrupting the laughter and growls he could hear from across the clearing. Fuck 'em both!
He turned back to the RV just in time to see Daryl duck into Grandmother's tent. Now why in the hell was there still light coming from it? Grandmother should have been in the RV already. Half asleep and sipping her nightly tea.
Dammit! He wanted to sneak off after that red head and he couldn't do it with the tattle tale still up. Daryl would make damn sure he never had any fun if he could help it. The boy needed to get laid in the worst way. It might improve his disposition.
He covered the distance between the RV and the tent in a few long strides. He pushed the tent slit out of his way and stepped inside. He stopped short at the scene that played out in front of him.
To be continued....
This "short" story is actually well over 7,000 words so I am breaking it up into 3 parts. This is the unabridged version, not the one I was forced to submit for the anthology, which was much shorter and I felt left many crucial details out of my story for the sake of word count.
***This story is based on the world created by Clive Barker in Cabal and the movie, Nightbreed. That world and his characters remain his exclusive copyright, all other material in this story is mine, and as such remains copyright Tabz Jones all rights reserved. This work may not be duplicated in anyway without express written permission from me. ***
I welcome feedback and constructive criticism as always. I will post the next installment soon, that is if y'all want it. Let me know in the comments =D
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as always, be nice to each other♥
~Tabz
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