The Demon's Awakening

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“How did it go?” Clarissa asked her daughter who just arrived back. Myra was parking her car inside the car when she noticed her mother come out and stand at the porch.

“Bad, horrible!” She rolled her eyes and responded before getting inside the house.

“You didn’t get it?” Clarissa asked.

“Yup, I didn’t get it!” Myra replied, she drank some water and crashed on the couch. She was tired of driving for such long hours and now all she wanted to do was rest.

“Why? You can tell me the company you were applying for and I’ll tell your father about it,” Clarissa said.

“Yeah so he can scare them of so I can get a job, no thanks mama, I’ll pass. I want to go change and sleep so I’m going to do that,” Myra replied. She heard no more from her mother and even ignored the approaches she took.

Clarissa was a bit tensed, she didn’t want this all to work out this way, if it continued, there would be consequences. She wanted to bond with her daughter, she wanted Myra to listen to her and do what she wanted so she would be kept away from the harm running around in this town.

“Dean, we need to talk!” Clarissa said as she stepped inside the bedroom. Dean was getting ready for his work but when he saw the worry on his wife’s face, he stopped and turned his attention on her.

“What’s wrong?” Dean asked.

“Myra isn’t what we wanted her to be...” Clarissa trailed off with uncertainty in her tone. She wanted her to be something else...a better version of what she was seeing.

“Why? What’s wrong? She stayed with her grandmother for 12 years, we kept her far away from this toxicity, what else do you want?” Dean questioned. He wanted nothing else from Myra, he only wanted to cherish her and marry her off eventually. The duties of a father would then be completed, he’d never feel guilty about anything.

“Yes, I know but she’s acting different. This isn’t her home, she doesn’t takes us as parents, the distance ripped that apart from her and this all, is a mere act.” Clarissa explained. Her hand swung down to the corner of the bed, she tightened his fist and stood straight. Was she making a big deal out of something? Was she overreacting?

“No, Clarissa, why do you think that? Has she said something to you? Our goal was to keep her protected and we did. Yes, the bond has weakened but it will eventually grow back. She will respect and take you as a mother soon,” Dean said as he placed his arms on her shoulder to calm her down.

Clarissa narrowed down her eyes in sadness and thought about it for a moment.

“Why did we do this?” She whispered. She begin to regret the decision she made 12 years ago. “I lost my daughter to an illusion...to transparency.”

Dean cupped her face and got closer to his wife, she was thinking wrong and he needed to turn that around.

“No you didn’t. She’s right here...with us, safe and sound. If she stayed here, grew up here then she would be harmed, by unknown forces that are stronger than us. This town isn’t good, not for any of us. The quicker we get out of here, the better!” Dean explained.

“Then why don’t we leave?”

“Because this is also my home. I have duties here but once I come of retiring age, we will leave.” He continued. It wasn’t long till Dean Hawking would retire from his position and step down for good. He had planned out his entire life, and it was pretty simple and safe.

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There was a dirty basement a distance far from where Myra was standing, she was quivering while hearing the loud, ear—piercing screams erupting from inside the basement, it caused her discomfort. As she stepped closer, the voices grew louder, they begin to grip her from all the sides.

“Please, someone help me!” A woman screamed from the corner.

Myra walked towards the door and swung it open very gently. She recognized the place, it was very similar but she couldn’t understand where she had seen this basement.

“Who is there?” Myra whispered. She wasn’t ready to go inside and check out the screams. They were continuous and deathly.

“Help!” The same woman screamed again.

Myra stepped back at the sudden sound, but eventually she went inside like a storm entering a sunny day. Her boots clacked on the cold, cemented ground. She pushed herself into void darkness and kept walking until she didn’t reach the light.

“Please, help me!”

“Save me!”

“Myra, help me!”

Countless voices rose from all corner as she came under the light. Her eyes widened with shock as she saw people hanged to the wall, in shackles stronger than herself, they were being tormented and abused. Blood oozed out from their fresh wounds. It was a disgusting sight to look at but Myra couldn’t stop. She wanted to scream but that wouldn’t be helpful as she was the only person who wasn’t chained to the wall.

A moment passed by and she came back into her senses. The people in front of her continued to beg but Myra couldn’t do anything. Her hands were shaking and she was pulled back into the twilight.

Myra woke up gasping for air and choking. Her throat felt tightened, like someone had been here, choking her for several hours. She looked around and found no one.

Once she woke up properly, she got up from the bed and rushed inside the washroom.

Just a nightmare. Myra thought to herself as she looked down at the hand wash. She was terrified and her past was triggered. When she looked up at the mirror, she saw someone but as she blinked, the shadow disappeared.

Myra walked out of the bath room and wiped the water off her lips, she quickly dialed Bertha’s number and noticed the time which was around 7 PM.

“Hey,” Bertha said.

“Something is wrong....terribly wrong! And I mean it.” Myra trailed off.

“What happened?”

“You know I used to tell you about those nightmare and visions when I was small. Whenever I used to come here for a vacation or anything, I used to get these weird ass dreams.” Myra explained, hoping Bertha would remember.

“Yes, those haunting ones. You wrote about them in your diary, and I have that diary. What about it?” Bertha asked.

“I’m getting them again and they are worse. First the blood bath, the man on the road, the crow and right now I woke up from a dream. A terrifying dream.” Myra blabbered as she walked back and forth. She was thirsty and in need of more water but she needed to wait.

“What did you get now?”

“People chained to a wall, a familiar basement that I have seen in my life and they were bleeding out. One called my name but I couldn’t recognize him, none of them!” Myra explained.

“Have you been watching movies or anything?”

“No, of course not!” Myra grunted and replied to Bertha.

“Sorry, I just thought it could be an outcome of horror movies. Anyways, since you didn’t, what do you think is happening?” Bertha asked.

“I don’t know, I feel like someone is calling me for help. This town is calling for help or something. I’m not sure but I get these hallucinations and dreams only when I am here, not back in Redwick.” Myra peeked outside her window to make sure she wasn’t being stalked by anyone, thankfully she wasn’t.

“Did you tell your parents?” Bertha inquired.

“Of course not! I’m not some child that goes running to mommy and daddy because she has some problems. I’m 20 years old now, Bertha, I’m old enough to take care of myself. I don’t want my parents to be included in any of this.” Myra sat down on the bed aggressively and replied. There was anger and hurt in her whenever someone mentioned her parents.

Couldn’t she be an independent woman who could work things out on her own?

“Okay, I understand.” Bertha said.

Silence spread across the room for a moment then a thought sparkled on Myra’s head.

“Could you do me a favor and mail me those diaries that I wrote when I was young? I want to go through them and see what this is all about,” Myra instructed.

“Sure, I’ll send them to you!” Bertha said.

Suddenly the door of Myra’s bedroom bursted open and two kids ran inside and hugged Myra.

“Alex, Diana!” Myra said as she pulled away the phone from her ears and hugged her cousins.

“How are you both?” She asked.

“We are great, we are so happy that you are finally back!” Diana said.

Myra got down on her knees and pulled the both kids to her lap. She loved kids and spending time with them was the best thing ever.

“Hold up, Bertha, I’ll call you back later but mail me those diaries as soon as you can!” Myra said before cutting the call and returning back her attention to the two blond kids.

“Let’s go out and have fun!” Alex said.

Alex was a year younger than Diana, they both were close cousins and children of Dean’s brother, James who passed away a few years ago. They lived under their mother who had a good relation with Dean and his family.

“Sure! Go down and I’ll come in a moment. I need to freshen up,” Myra said.

The kids ran back downstairs to Dean and Clarissa while Myra got ready. She stripped away from her clothes and wore something new. The excitement pumped in her veins, she couldn’t wait to hangout with her cousins.

Once she was all ready, she grabbed her bag and went down.

“Hi, mama,” Myra said as she kissed her mother’s cheeks. The children were sitting beside Clarissa in the living room and they were watching cartoons.

“Did you get sleep?” Clarissa asked as she stopped Myra.

“Yes, I did. I’ll take them out and be back before dinner,” Myra said.

“Sure, drive safely and call me if anything happens.” Clarissa said.

Myra nodded her head and said her goodbyes to her mother. She took the kids to her car and then drove of from the house. Diana sat in the passenger seat at the front and Alex sat behind.

“Where are we going?” Diana asked.

“Hmm, tell me, I don’t know a lot about this place so what do you suggest?” Myra asked as she drove out from her housing society.

“There is a small festival, I wanted to go there but it is a little far,” Diana replied.

“What is the festival about?”

“It’s an Autumn festival with a lot of enjoyment and restaurants. There is also a circus but it’s sort of creepy so we can’t go there,” Diana explained.

“Why creepy?” Myra asked as she wrote down the name of the festival in her GPS. She needed a break and this was the best way to enjoy her day.

“Because people have mentioned weird things happening inside the circus,” Alex blurted out from the back.

Myra raised an eyebrow and looked up at the rear mirror. What would be weird in Miseburgh? She scoffed and thought to herself.

“Yes, you can’t really go in there without any invitation and to get passes, it’s really difficult.” Diana continued where Alex left off.

“Okay, let’s leave the circus aside and enjoy the festival. It’s a 20 min drive, how long do you think it’s open till?” Myra asked. She focused on the roads but also on the kids.

“It’s open till 1 AM and mommy has night duty so we are staying with you all day long,” Diana smirked and replied.

Myra laughed, “Well, that’s a good idea but we have to be home by 11 or else my mother will kill me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Aunt Clarissa, she loves me!” Diana winked.

“Okay, onto the Autumn festival!”

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The festival was bright, shining with golden and peach lights, the breeze was warm and leaves were falling down from the trees nearby. Stalls were scattered all around the festival, it was huge and filled with people walking here and there, buying gifts and playing games. The sounds of children laughing, parents sobbing about money and employees enjoying bought comfort to Myra.

It took her back to her childhood where she’d come with her parents every year to join parades, set lanterns later by midnight and then watch the fireworks set off.

The festival was packed with food, art, design, exhibitions, literature, local market, dance, music and the best of all, cirque du diable.

“Cirque du diable, that’s the name of the circus?” Myra asked as she folded her hands across her chest. The circus was by the end of the festival and there was no one going inside the tents, only people walking around it.

“Yes, that is the creepy circus.” Diana said while pointing at the large tents that could occupy at least a hundred people at one. Myra thought whether any one would be inside and whether they were selling the tickets.

“Seems interesting but let’s not think about it,” Myra shook her head and turned around. She looked up at the huge rides that were going high up and down. The children in the rides were screaming, some were crying and some were laughing. It was mixed emotions.

“Let’s go to the rides!” Myra pointed at the scariest ones. Scary rides took the fear out of Myra. If she could sit by a ride and not feel anything, then she considered herself strong.

“I want to go to that one,” Diana pointed at the worst ride in the festival. It was a circle ride that went straight up and twisted around before coming down.

“Well then let’s go,” Myra walked towards the ride while holding Alex’s hand. She stopped by the entrance and looked at Alex who seemed a bit shaken. “Do you want to go? It’s okay if you stay here and get some cotton candy,” She asked.

Alex thought about it for a moment. He was still an 11 year old boy. He didn’t have the courage Diana and Myra had.

“No, I’ll stay down. It looks too scary, I’ll go get some cotton candy while you guys enjoy.” Alex smiled at Myra.

“Sounds great!” Myra handed over a few dollar notes to Alex and he ran away to the food store.

Myra and Diana stood on the line of the ride and they waited for it to be opened. As soon as it was opened, she ran inside with her cousin and sat on the yellow colored.

“How do you tie this belt?” Diana asked as she struggled to get the belt.

Myra leaned forward and fastened her belt before returning back to her seat. She did her own and then waited for the ride to be filled by other people. There was an handle on both sides that the man instructed to hold just in case. The man checked each and everyone’s belt and then the ride begin.

“I’m going to die!” Diana exclaimed as soon as the ride went up and down. Myra clutched onto the handles tightly and felt the wave of excitement rush through her body.

The fear was inside her, she felt thrilled and terrified at the same time. The ride went up and down countless times, soon it begin to twist. During the whole ride, Diana screamed and so did Myra. However as the ride came to an end, Myra noticed a man, dressed in black.

He blended into the darkness but Myra could still see him. She removed the fear from inside her and looked closely to find out that he was staring right back at her. As the ride went up and down for the last time, Myra was confused. The breeze blew her hair back, and everyone around her continued to scream but she was silent.

Her gaze was on the man who was standing on the ground, by the ride and behind a tree. The way he watched Myra bought some discomfort and confusion. As soon as the ride ended, Myra jumped out and headed to the direction where the man was standing.

“Where are you going?” Diana grabbed Myra’s hand and stopped her. She couldn’t either understand the confusion behind this all.

“I’m going to go see someone, you go find Alex and I’ll be back in a minute.” Myra quickly responded and moved away from Diana as fast as she could.

She rushed towards the tree but the man was gone. Her eyes wandered around the entire festival and she couldn’t see him anymore. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the circus and the door of it being opened by guard for someone who looked really familiar to the man she saw earlier.

“Excuse me,” She said as she ran towards that direction but it was to late, the door for the circus was closed and the guard standing outside wasn’t going to allow anyone to come inside.

“Woah, wait, do you have a pass?” The guard questioned Myra.

Myra shook her head at her response, “No, but I need to see that man who just went inside.”

“Sorry, Miss but this circus is restricted to people who have passes or tickets only.” The guard clearly said.

“But...where do I get the ticket for the circus?” Myra asked.

“Go straight and right, you’ll find a small place where a man is selling tickets to the circus.” The guard explained while showing Myra the directions. She nodded her head and went to where the guard had instructed. She found a small stall by the end where it stated Cirque Du Diable.

Myra desperately wanted to get the tickets to the circus, she wanted to see the man who was staring at her earlier, it resembled someone who had interrupted her dreams and life earlier.

“Myra,” Someone called her from behind. She pulled herself out of the blue and turned around to find Alex and Diana together.

“Oh,” She whispered to herself and went to them. What was she thinking? She needed to give attention to her cousins and think about them as well.

“So what do you guys want to do now?” Myra asked.

Alex was busy melting the pink cotton candy in his mouth and Diana was enjoying some chocolates that she got from the food stand.

“I want to go to soft play,” Alex exclaimed as he pointed at the huge soft play area which was guarded from the outside. There were only children inside the area, and it was sealed.

Huge air inflated balloons were on the ground along with many other rides for kids. It was a colorful scene that the kids enjoyed going too.

“No, that’s for kids!” Diana blurted out. She wasn’t a kid anymore, she thought of herself as an adult who wanted to go for dangerous and scary rides but Myra wasn’t going to allow that.

“That’s a good idea, Diana and Alex, you both should go there and I’ll come after an hour.” Myra said to the kids as she placed an arm around them.

An hour was far more than enough for her to go in the circus, see that man and learn about him before going back to get her cousins from the play area.

“But Myra, it’s for kids and where are you going?” Diana questioned.

“I’m going to go buy some things and shop. I’ll be back in a hour and then we can watch fireworks and set off lanterns in the air. Don’t worry,” Myra explained.

She handed the kids to the woman who was taking care of the kids inside the soft play.

“Please write your name and number here,” The woman instructed before giving a paper to Myra.

She wrote her name and the number and paid the full amount to the woman before leaving for the circus.

The weather was chilling and the winds were growing stronger. It was 9:30 PM when Myra stopped in front of the stall where she could find the circus tickets.

“Hello, how many I help you?” The man sitting inside the stall asked.

“I want a ticket to the circus,” Myra responded as she handed him her a $100 note. She looked around to find the line completely empty. The location of the stall was void and away from the crowd.

“How old are you?” The man asked.

“20,”

The man further went ahead and gave her a slip of the terms and conditions and what Myra could possible see inside the circus. It went on something like this.

Cirque Du Diable

Not an ordinary circus. Not for the light hearted. Not for people under the age of 18.

An Identification or driving license card must be submitted, it can be collected after the circus ends. The circus is free of cost but whatever inside may cost [money, etc.]

Video and photography is strictly not allowed. If found, there’ll be serious consequences which may result into injury or trauma.

Sign the leaflet to constant keeping whatever happens inside the circus as secrecy.

Tell no soul.

Myra read the leaflet and she sighed the paper immediately as she could. She handed over her I.D. Card and the man gave her the entrance ticket. She didn’t care about whatever was written — for most of it, she didn’t even understand what it all meant, all she wanted to do was see the man and talk to him.

Myra headed over to the circus and handed the ticket to the guard. The guard scanned the ticket and allowed Myra inside the circus. At first, it was completely empty. For a moment, Myra thought she was pushed into an oblivion.

“Hello?” She whispered. It was silent and her own voices echoed back to her. Myra stepped forward and came inside a room — more like a stage.

She furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion and went inside the room where the stage was. There was an audience, a very small audience of at least 30 people. The people were quietly looking forward at the stage, they didn’t even blink neither spoke a single word.

As Myra looked forward, she saw a normal circus with a clown showing some tricks but she couldn’t understand the reaction of the audience. Why was it so motionless?

They all seemed like deceased people hanged up to chairs but that wasn’t the truth, the people were alive but they acted different.

Myra rolled her eyes and moved away from the stage when she couldn’t find the man in the audience. She knew that man came inside this circus so where else could she find him?

As she kept walking further, it become brighter. A few candles hanged from the wall but that was all. There was nothing else — no doors, no rooms, no furniture and no people.

“Excuse me, miss.” A man called Myra from behind.

Myra froze on her steps, she wondered who was behind her. Everything in the circus was odd and she wouldn’t be surprised if some beast came from behind and attacked her. She scoffed at that thought and turned around to see a young man. His attire was normal — like humans. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and a pair of black jeans. His eyes — however were an unusual shade of blue.

“Are you lost?” The man asked as he came closer to Myra.

“Yes,” Myra gulped and looked down to her ticket. What am I looking for again? She thought to herself and then continued. “There is a man who came inside this circus like an hour ago, he was wearing a long black coat and that’s all. I couldn’t make out anything, do you know who he is?”

The man had a moment of horror, his face hardened as he was pushed inside a suspicion.

“No, I haven’t seen him.” He stated clearly. “The circus is this way, if you’d like to join, please do. The exit is that way,” The man pointed at the door which could lead Myra outside.

The sudden change in behavior caused Myra to raise an eyebrow. She was assured that this man knew that man or else he wouldn’t change his tone so quickly.

The man waited for Myra to make a choice and she choosed to leave the circus. There was nothing she could get from here — especially if she had a suspicious man on her back.

Myra walked back to the crowd and blended in but then she tempered about her I.D card that she had given to that man outside the circus.

She quickly ran back to the area and looked around for the stall. The stall’s light were switched off and there was no one inside.

“f**k, no!” Myra groaned under her breath and looked inside through the dark mirrors. How could she possibly get her ID back if the man was gone?

Myra’s phone begin to constantly ring for the next few minutes.

“Hello, mama.” She picked it up and finally answered the calls that she was getting.

“Where are you? It’s 10, when will you come back and why weren’t you picking my calls?” Clarissa bombarded her with endless questions that Myra wasn’t in any mood to answer.

“I’m with Diana and Alex at the Autumn Festival, we will leave in 30 minutes and I’ll be home before 12 o’clock.” Myra explained quickly.

“Autumn festival? That is literally out of Miseburgh! Come home quickly,” Clarissa yelled.

Myra bit her lip and she nodded her head, “Yes,”

She closed the call and switched off her phone before shoving it inside her bag. When where her parents going to understand that she was no longer a child?

As soon as Myra turned around, she came to face to face with the man sitting inside the stall. A gasp escaped from her lips and she was about to scream but she didn’t.

“Why are you here?” The man asked as he unlocked the stall and went inside.

“Because I didn’t like the circus so I wanted to come back and collect my ID,” Myra responded.

“Is that all?” The man asked as he pulled out her ID card from the drawer.

“Yes, I just don’t like shows and all. It was a mistake,” Myra tried her best to act real but the man knew that she was putting up an act — anyone could tell it by looking at her.

The man handed the ID card to Myra and she took it immediately. She was done with being freaked out for one day.

“Could I know who owns the circus?” Myra asked, she wanted to know about it so she could write an article for it. It would go viral in a second and news companies would be eager to hire her. Everyone wanted interesting stories and news.

“Mr. Xalroth,” The man responded.

“And where can I find him? Does the circus continues till the end of the festival?” Myra questioned.

“You can’t find him anywhere, he lives in secrecy and yes, the circus will go on till the festival ends.” The man replied with no emotion in his tone. “What’s the sudden interest? I thought you didn’t like it,” The man continued.

“Just like that, I’ll think about coming again, next time.” Myra smiled and then walked away from the stall.

The circus was a whole different thing and the man who went inside the circus was a different thing too.