Katie Spencer: Case #7 - Carnival of Danger




CHAPTER ONE

Katie Spencer sat in the passenger seat of the red Ford Mustang convertible as
it sped along Route 68, her long blonde tresses flowing in the wind of the
warm July day. Sitting next to her in the driver's seat, Jake Perry turned to
her briefly and gave her a quick smile. It's been over two months since his
release from the juvenile detention center and the happy couple had been
making the most of it. Katie did eventually come clean about Jake to her dad,
and although, as predicted, he didn't like Jake at first, Jake did his very
best to assure him that he had indeed changed his ways and was very serious
about getting his life back onto to a better track.

Jake eased the car, which he borrowed from his older sister, into the
makeshift parking lot at the immense open field of Ingram Park, which had been
marvelously transformed into the Dunne & Duffy traveling carnival, making its
debut in this region of the country. Shutting off the engine, Jake leaned over
to Katie and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Well we're here, so let the
fun begin," he said.

Katie stepped out of the compact red car and stood in her white canvas
sneakers on the dirt surface of the field. She extracted a pink scrunchy from
her small purse and pulled her long hair back into a simple ponytail. "Hey, I
like it when your hair is down," Jake said glumly.

"I know, but since I've let it grow longer, with this heat today, it's making
my shoulders and back sweat even more so."

"Ah, that's okay ... with or without a ponytail, you still look gorgeous," he
said warmly and wrapped his long arms around her narrow waist.

Just then, the roaring sound of a motorcycle engine approached them. The two
young lovebirds turned to see Mike Pulaski pulling in next to them with Stacey
Campbell riding along on the back of the massive black Harley-Davidson bike.
Swinging the kick stand down, Mike stepped off and then assisted Stacey off
the bike as well. The two former gang members gave each other a quick manly
hug as they were glad to see each other.

"Nice entrance, Stace. You definitely fit into the role of biker chick
extremely well," Katie commented on Stacey's rather risqué appearance, which
consisted of a yellow camisole top (showing the slightest promise of
cleavage), form-fitted white knee-high capri pants, and yellow mules with
three-inch spiked heels. She sported a gorgeous bronze tan, which her
naturally slight olive complexion no doubt helped, and she even had some
highlights done on her long dark brown hair, which was a first for her.

"Thanks, and you certainly look lovely today. I can see that Jake has had a
positive effect on your wardrobe," Stacey announced at Katie's choice of
attire. Wearing a pink short-sleeved cropped top with a faded blue denim
miniskirt was a definite new look for her as Katie was now enjoying being more
feminine in her everyday appearance.

Mike turned to greet Katie and was also taken aback by her new look. "Whoa,
Katie ... you look great! If I wasn't dating Stacey, I'd have you riding on
the back of my bike."

"Hey ... watch it there, bucko," Stacey spoke up, giving Mike a stern glare.

"Thanks for the compliment, Mike, but I already have my knight in shining
armor," Katie said as she hugged Jake again, giving him a quick peck on the
cheek.

"Okay everyone, let's all have some fun today!" Jake exclaimed as the foursome
walked along the dirt path to the expansive carnival up ahead.

CHAPTER TWO

Jake plowed right into Katie from behind with his bumper car. She jolted in
her seat and turned to see her boyfriend give her a wicked smirk. "You think
you're pretty clever, huh? Well try this!" Katie suddenly accelerated in
reverse and rammed him in the side. The force was so strong that it almost
caused Jake to fly off the small car.

"You can be quite the competitor when you want to be," he said to her.

"Get used to it. I don't like to lose," she replied in a playful tone.

Just then, Jake was hit simultaneously from both ends as Mike and Stacey snuck
up on him. "Hey, no fair, Katie distracted me!" he yelled at his friend.

"All's fair in love and war," Mike said as he and Stacey exchanged a quick
high-five.

Katie smiled at seeing Stacey and Mike laughing together. While Stacey was in
the hospital for her injuries from that awful truck crash, Mike was there
tending to her every need. When she was released, Mike helped her get through
her traumatic experience and the two became a genuine couple. Stacey did have
one condition however, that Mike quit his ties with the gang and cleans up his
act, which he wholeheartedly did.

Katie's momentary pause allowed Stacey to sideswipe her. "Hey, what happened
to the girls against the guys, traitor?"

"You just sat there with this blank stare, I couldn't resist it. Anyway, let's
go get Mike, he hasn't been hit yet," Stacey said with this devilish grin on
her face.

"You know you can be pretty scary when you want to be, Stace."

"I know, but Mike actually likes it. Says it helps keep him on his toes."

"Hmmm, maybe I should try that with Jake. He certainly could use some more
straightening out."

The two girls laughed and rode off to ambush the unsuspecting Mike.

After everyone had enough of bumping around, the foursome proceeded in the
direction of the huge carousel. "Ohhh, a carousel," Stacey beamed. "Mike,
let's go on it together."

"What ... ? I don't do the carousel," he replied back with an irritated tone.

"Aww, come on, it's not that bad. You're still worried about your 'macho'
reputation?"

Mike looked at Stacey with a troubled look on his scruff face, not knowing
what to say next.

"It's okay, Stacey. I'll go along with you," Katie spoke up, and took Stacey
by the hand.

"We'll meet you over at the shooting booth, okay?" Jake called out to them as
the two girls headed for the carousel, then gave Mike an annoyed look. "What
the hell's the matter with you?"

"What? So I didn't want to go on the carousel with her, big deal," Mike said
all defensively.

"Listen, Mike. If you want to make your relationship with Stacey to work,
you're gonna need to learn the word 'compromise.' Believe me, I know."

Mike looked at Jake with a somewhat embarrassed look. "I guess you're right.
It's just that I'm kinda new at this whole relationship thing."

Jake placed his hand on Mike's shoulder. "Hey, join the club. C'mon, let's go
shoot some ducks. I'm sure winning a stuffed animal for Stacey will help
smooth things over."

As they both headed over there, an elderly-looking man selling balloons
suddenly approached them. "A word of advice young gents. I'd keep my eye on
your two lady friends over there. Pretty girls have a way of vanishing in a
place like this. You all have a nice day now," and with that he walked off,
tending to a group of kids nearby for some balloons.

"What the hell did he mean by that?" Mike asked all perplexed by that bizarre
comment.

"Ah, don't worry about it, the old geezer's probably inhaling too much helium
if you ask me," Jake responded dryly. "Besides, I don't have to really worry
about Katie for she knows how to take care of herself."

"Maybe I should go back to the carousel, see how Stacey's doing ... ?"

"Listen to yourself, would you relax. There's like a thousand people here.
Nothing is going to happen to the girls."

HAPTER THREE

A thunderous kaleidoscope of music blared from the speakers of the carousel as
Katie and Stacey enjoyed the ride. There was something almost magical about
the carousel that always intrigued Katie ever since she was a little girl. She
kept fond memories of her and her mother spending the day at the city zoo and
going on the carousel there; it was always the highlight of her day.

Stacey kicked up her feet and cheered alongside Katie as the horses they rode
on moved alternately up and down. The ride was packed full of laughing kids,
some with their parents. The one element that Katie did notice was the absence
of any adult men on the ride, with the notable exception of fathers with their
children.

"I think I can see why Mike didn't want to come along with you!" Katie said
over the music to Stacey.

Stacey nodded back to her, "Yeah. I guess you can take the man out the gang,
but you can't take the gang out the man."

"I'm starting to notice that myself with Jake sometimes. I guess it's one of
the minor downfalls of dating former gang members."

"Yeah, but that's only out in public. Mike can be really sensitive in private
when he wants to be."

"I wonder if this is what marriage will be like," Katie spoke out.

Stacey had an alarmed look on her face, "I sure hope not. Otherwise, I'd have
to marry someone like Bobby Conner!" Bobby Conner was the local nerd.

"Oh come on, Bobby isn't that bad," Katie said in his defense.

"Really, how would you like it if he brought along his pet tarantula on your
date?"

Katie's face turned very sour, "Well, since you put it that way ... " They
both then laughed out.

Katie casually turned her head towards the crowd of onlookers. Standing off to
the side of a group of people, she spotted this tall clown standing there,
looking at her. As the carousel turned, Katie got a better look at him. His
face had this twisted smile, like the Joker from Batman, which made the hairs
on the back of her neck stand on its end. What creeped her out even more was
that he kept his gaze on her as she started to turn away from him. Once she
lost sight of him, she urgently tapped Stacey on the shoulder.

"What?" she asked a bit annoyed.

"Did you see that clown standing over there?" Katie asked pointing in that
direction.

"Ah ... no I didn't," Stacey said as she continued to enjoy the ride.

As the carousel made its way back to where clown stood, Katie noticed that he
was now gone. She quickly scanned over the entire courtyard of people walking
around, but saw no sign of that mysterious clown ...

CHAPTER FOUR

As the day progressed, Katie still couldn't but feel spooked about that clown
she saw earlier. Every now and then she would look over her shoulder,
wondering if he was lurking about, but there had been no sign of him since.
Jake had taken notice of her behavior initially, but dismissed it when Katie
said it was nothing.

Stacey held Mike's hand firmly and smiled at him as her other arm was grasping
a blue stuffed elephant that he managed to win after five attempts at the
shooting gallery. She soon spotted a stand for cotton candy. "No visit to the
carnival is complete without some cotton candy. Oh, Mike can we get some,
please please please!"

He reached for his wallet after rolling his eyes at Jake. "Sure, anything for
my sweetie."

"You're the best!" Stacey said, giving him a big kiss on his cheek. She chose
the largest size in the color pink.

"Hey Mike, that's a good color for you. It goes really good with the redness
of your cheeks," Jake said teasingly. "Owww!" he yelped as Katie elbowed him
in the stomach.

"Actually I think I'll have one too ... in pink," she said giving Jake one of
her famous glares.

Jake looked over at Mike who replied back at him, "Hey join the club."

As Jake placed his order, Katie heard something close by that caught her
interest. She turned and saw a man who appeared to be in his sixties calling
out the name, "Rachel." Going over to him, she politely asked, "Excuse me sir,
but is everything alright?"

"Oh ... I seemed to have lost my granddaughter. She went to go use the
restroom, but no one saw her in there," he replied as his voice sounded very
worried.

"Can you show me where the restroom is?" Katie offered.

"I'm not sure how that will help, but okay, I'll show you."

Jake approached with her cotton candy in his hand. "What's going on, Katie?"

"This man apparently lost his granddaughter, Rachel, and I'm going to check
out where she was last seen."

Jake went up to her and spoke softly, "You promised me that wouldn't go around
trying to solve anymore mysteries. That was one of the things I told your dad
that I would do."

"Look, I'm just a concerned citizen trying to help out someone who's in need,"
Katie shot back at him and went with the old man. "Hold on Katie, I'm coming
with you," Stacey said, handing her cotton candy and stuffed animal over to
Mike. Both guys looked at each other dumbstruck holding pink cotton candy.
"How do we get ourselves into this ... ?" Mike asked bewildered as they
grudgingly followed them.

The man described his granddaughter as twelve years old, long auburn hair,
short height like Stacey (without the heels), wearing a pastel green shirt and
white shorts. Arriving at the restroom, the girls went inside. The restroom
was an actual building that was maintained by the park. Stacey's stiletto
heels clicked noisily against the tiled floor of the ladies' room, which was
empty at the moment. "So what exactly are we looking for?" Stacey asked as her
face cringed at the slight stench of the room in the warm humid air.

"Something that tells me that Rachel was here ... " Katie's voice trailed off
as she focused her attention to the line of stalls along the wall. After
checking each one carefully, plus the door to the utility closet which
happened to be locked, Katie looked disappointed.

"The girl is twelve, she probably decided to ditch her grandfather and do
something on her own. I mean I've done that before with my grandparents,"
Stacey said wanting to get out of there.

"I guess you're right. There's only one way in and out of this place, and I
can't see anyone taking her without someone noticing."

After they had left, the door to the utility closet slowly opened. That very
same clown that Katie saw before stuck his head out and silently nodded in
approval. He then closed the door back and laughed sinisterly at young Rachel
sitting in the corner of the small closet, bound thoroughly with rope and
tightly cleave-gagged with a red polka-dot scarf, whimpering softly as she
looked back at her captor with frightened tear-streaked eyes.

CHAPTER FIVE

The next ride that Katie wanted to go on was the big Ferris wheel located at
the center of the carnival. Stacey bowed out for a change for she was too
afraid of heights and that wheel looked high enough for her. "Mike and I will
go do something else while you two lovebirds enjoy your ride," Stacey said as
she and Mike walked off towards the other end of the carnival.

Stepping inside the cozy seat for two, the ride soon started making its
circular motion up and down. The very top of the Ferris wheel offered a
spectacular view of the park and the surrounding countryside. "I know that
Stacey has a fear of heights, but she doesn't know what she's missing!" Katie
exclaimed at the breathtaking sight around her. Jake held onto his girl
tightly as he too was enjoying the ride.

After going around and around for fifteen minutes, the ride stopped
momentarily to begin letting passengers out. Katie snuggled in Jake's chest
and sighed quietly. "I'm so lucky that I have you in my life," she spoke
softly. "Same here," he replied just as sincerely. Katie turned her face to
his and kissed him passionately on the lips.

"Would you two like another ride?" a voice announced suddenly. Katie and Jake
were startled from their bliss as they noticed that it was their turn to exit
the ride. A couple of kids with their parents were giggling at Katie's and
Jake's obvious embarrassment of the situation.

After leaving the Ferris wheel, Katie saw something of interest""a magic show
being performed. "C'mon, I want to see this," she said and pulled at Jake's
arm to 'Armand's Magic Performance.' The modest seating capacity was
practically full, so Katie and Jake had to sit at the rear while the show
played.

" ... And now for my next trick, ze great Armand vill now make a person
disappear!" the tall man dressed in the classic magician's garb announced with
a rather poor European accent. "I need a beautiful volunteer in ze audience.
You my dear ... " he pointed to a girl seated in the front row. She slowly
stood up and walked up to the stage. Katie could tell that was she was about
her age and was indeed very pretty; long blonde hair with a model's figure
clothed in a cute short floral print dress. A woman appeared from the left
side of the stage, rolling in a tall wooden cabinet and placing it right next
to Armand.

"Now my dear if you vill please enter ze enchanted box," Armand said and
motioned the teen girl inside. Once she stood in the narrow confines of the
box, the assistant closed the door and locked it. The sound of a loud drum
roll was then heard over the speakers. "And now I vill say ze magic phrase,
"Abracadabra, Alacazam, Hocus Pocus, Whalaa!" he shouted with a wave of his
magic wand.

The assistant opened the door and sure enough the box was empty. The audience
applauded at the clever trick. "Zank you, zank you ... As for making her
reappear, zat is something zat I still have a little trouble doing on ze
stage. You young man ... " he motioned to the boy who sat next to the girl,
"You vill find your lady friend safe and sound at ze concession stand enjoying
a hot dog on us. Again my apologies." The crowd cheered again.

"That seems kind of strange not being able to have her reappear back in the
box ... " Katie said over the thunderous clapping. Over in the far corner of
the tent Katie's eyes flashed as she spotted that creepy clown again. She
immediately got up from her seat and dashed over to him. Seeing her head
towards him, the clown swiftly stepped out of the tent. Katie reached to where
the clown had stood a moment ago and exited the tent only to find him ...
gone, again.

Jake soon appeared from behind her with a confused look on his face. "What the
hell's going on ... ?"

Still seeing no sign of him around, Katie responded uneasily, "I don't know
... but I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this place ... "

CHAPTER SIX

While Katie and Jake were off having fun on the Ferris wheel, Stacey and Mike
decided to go and check out the House of Mirrors. Stepping into the makeshift
structure the interior looked much larger than it appeared from the outside,
because the multitude of mirrors gave the illusion of a much larger space
inside. There was a plentiful array of mirrors to choose from, some made you
appeared taller, some shorter, and there was those that had you look as though
you just came out of a taffy puller.

Stacey noticed that for the moment it was only just the two of them inside, so
her mischievous nature took over. Standing about twenty feet from Mike, Stacey
casually stepped out of her heels, planting her bare soles on the cheap
carpeting of the floor. "Bet you can't find me!" she suddenly yelled out as
she dropped her stuffed elephant and took off running.

Mike was unprepared for Stacey's little game, but he quickly gave chase after
picking up her belongings on the floor. "You're on ... and when I find you, I
get to pick the next attraction we get to do ... !" he shouted out.

"Okay, but if I get out of here first, then I want an even bigger stuffed
animal of my choosing ... " she replied back from somewhere within the
seemingly vast sea of mirrors.

The house was actually an intricate maze with many dead ends and practically
every inch of wall space was covered with mirrors. What Mike thought was
initially an easy task at finding Stacey proved to be much more difficult as
he was losing his sense of direction. At one point he saw Stacey up ahead and
ran for her only to discover that it was just a reflection of her, but from
where ... ?

Every now and then Stacey would giggle a little to tease Mike as he was no
doubt growing more frustrated. She figured that this was good for his
character, letting him know that he can't always win. She stopped for a moment
to catch her breath when she heard a soft laughter close by. "Mike ... ?" she
said softly thinking it was him, then suddenly gasped at the sight of a tall
clown nearby, and just as quickly as she saw him, he vanished just as fast.
Stacey started getting a little scared. "Okay Mike ... I give up, you win!"
She waited nervously for him to answer back, but didn't hear a peep. "Mike,
c'mon this isn't funny ... " she said only with more urgency now. Just then
another evil laugh was heard and it was louder. Stacey saw that clown again in
the mirror and she bolted down a hallway, trying to find the way out of there.

"MIKE!!" she screamed out at the top of her lungs. Rounding a corner, Stacey
slammed right into that very same clown. He quickly grabbed a hold of her arms
to keep her from escaping. He had this wickedly evil looking grin that scared
the bejesus out of Stacey. She struggled with the tall colorful figure, but
his hands were like a vice grip against her skinny little arms. Her legs,
however, were still free so she swung her left knee up and slammed it right
into his groin. The clown didn't even budge from that, he just glanced down at
where he was struck then looked back at Stacey with a nod of disapproval.

Stacey stood there with a stunned look on her frightened face at what she just
witnessed. Just then another clown, a smaller one, emerged abruptly from
behind her and forced a yellow scarf into Stacey's open mouth. "Mmmmmphhh!!"
she shrieked as the scarf was being tied roughly at the back of her head,
snagging some of her long hair in the process. After he finished gagging her,
the clown then grabbed Stacey's arms to behind her back and wrapped rope
tightly around her wrists, binding them.

Stacey noticed the smaller clown producing another piece of rope no doubt to
be used in tying her feet. The taller clown had let go of her momentarily and
Stacey reacted quickly to that by ramming her petite body into the smaller
clown, knocking him off balance into his taller friend, thus toppling both of
them to the floor.

Stacey immediately ran from them in the direction she prayed was the exit of
this horrid place. "HMMM ... MMMMMMMM!!!" she cried out through the cloth that
filled her mouth in the hopes that someone might hear her and come to her
rescue. She heard yet another laughter that seemed to be coming from
every-where now. In a panic, Stacey glanced over her shoulder to see if either
of them was following her when she suddenly tripped on something and fell to
the floor on her left arm with a THUD! "Mmmmphhh!" she grunted out as pain
shot up through her arm.

Looking to see what made her fall, Stacey let out another muffled shriek at
the sight of Mike lying face down unconscious. She moved one of her legs over
and kicked at him urgently in a desperate attempt at trying to wake him up,
but he didn't even stir for he was totally out cold. Just then up ahead,
Stacey saw those two clowns again advancing on her. Realizing that Mike wasn't
getting up, she tried to get herself back on her feet. But before she got the
chance, the taller clown quickly tackled her face down. A knee was roughly
placed on her back, digging painfully into her spine. Stacey frantically
kicked out with her legs in an effort to break free, but the smaller clown
held them down and wrapped the other strand of rope around her slender ankles
effectively binding them as well.

Then in one swoop, Stacey's diminutive form was effortlessly lifted off the
floor as the taller clown scooped her up in his large arms. The smaller clown
then retrieved Stacey's lovely shoes lying next to Mike and gently placed them
back on her small trembling feet. Her dark brown eyes began to tear up as she
was being carried away from Mike who still lied motionless, totally oblivious
that his beloved was being snatched right in front of him.

After walking a little ways down, the smaller clown pushed at one of the
full-length mirrors and it swiveled ... revealing a secret passage. He turned
to face her with that demonic smile of his and let out this shrilling cackle
that sent shivers down the core of Stacey's spine. Her eyes were petrified
with absolute terror as she was being carried through the darkened opening to
some horrible unknown fate. Once they were all through, the mirror then sealed
itself shut, and all was still in the House of Mirrors ...

CHAPTER SEVEN

Looking around to where Stacey and Mike had gone off to, Katie saw this
blond-haired boy walking aimlessly around yelling out the name, Jessica. She
quickly recognized him from the magic show whose girlfriend had vanished in
one of the acts. She noticed him approach her with a look of panic in his blue
eyes. "I remember you from the magic show, have you by any chance seen my
girlfriend? That magician said that she would be waiting for me at the
concession stand, but when I got there she was no where to be found!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I haven't seen her ... " Katie said with a little
uncertainty.

"She wouldn't run out on me like that. I'm going back to that show and demand
that they help me find her!" and with that he ran off.

Katie was now getting really disturbed by what had been occurring; first a
missing girl in the restroom, and now another girl vanished from a magic show.
She then noticed Jake with this look of concern on his face. "What is it?" she
asked him.

"It sounded so stupid at the time ... " he spoke. "When you and Stacey were on
the carousel, Mike and I ran into this old balloon guy. He told us that pretty
girls have a way of vanishing here. I thought he was crazy ... I mean who
would say something like that?"

Under normal circumstances, Katie would've agreed with him, but after what she
witnessed that crazy statement may in fact been a warning. Her green eyes then
grew wide with fear.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked.

"I just got this really scaring feeling about Stacey ... we have to find her."

"How?... We don't even know where they went."

Katie grabbed her cell phone that was strapped to her belt and pressed a
button. After waiting several seconds she hung it up with this agitated look
on her face. "Just great, I can't get a signal out here. We must be too far
away from any towers." Her eyes then lit up. "We'll split up to search for
them; we'll meet over at the carousel say in thirty minutes."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa ... You think I'm gonna let you just walk around all by
yourself when there's some nut out there taking girls left and right?"

"This carnival is huge and we can cover a lot more ground if we split up. You
know I can take care of myself," she spoke sternly at her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I know ... " he replied softly realizing that she was right. "You be
careful okay, don't go anywhere where there's no people around."

"I will, I promise ... " she replied and stood on her toes, giving him a big
kiss on the lips, then took off.

"Thirty minutes and not a second late!" Jake yelled out as he too walked off
in a different direction. He began wondering to himself if leaving Katie all
alone was really a good idea ...

CHAPTER EIGHT

Katie searched worriedly for her friends, hoping that they will instead find
her. She noticed all around her the laughter and smiles in people's faces as
they enjoyed the many attractions this carnival had to offer, but Katie knew
there was something else behind all the fun and amusement that was apparent,
something darker and sinister was at work for she was determined to get to the
bottom of it.

After searching in vain for a while Katie checked her watch and noticed she
had ten more minutes before she needed to check back with Jake. I wonder if he
had any better luck at finding them ... As she turned in the direction of the
carousel, Katie noticed an old man selling some balloons to a little girl with
her mother. She recalled Jake mentioning about such a person giving him that
creepy warning. Katie wondered if maybe this man knew what was going on around
here. Seeing that there were plenty of people around her, she approached the
old gentleman. "Excuse me ... " she spoke kindly as he was finished with his
latest customer.

"Yes, can I help you ... a balloon for the pretty young lady perhaps?" he
replied very graciously at her.

"No, thank you ... I'm actually interested in some information though."

"Oh ... ?" the old man said, raising one of his grayed eyebrows.

"I seem to have lost my friend and we don't know where she had gone to, it was
like she vanished into thin air," Katie explained, hoping to arouse his
curiosity.

"This friend of yours, she by any chance wouldn't have dark hair, small
height, and wearing a little yellow top with short white pants?"

Katie's eyes bugged out at hearing him describe Stacey to a tee. "Yes, that is
her! Do you know where she is?"

"I saw her and her gentleman friend heading over to the House of Mirrors. That
place always gave me the willies, all those mirrors with their reflections
staring right back at you ... "

"Well, thank you very much for your help," Katie said relived and began
walking off.

"Hold on there young lady," the man said, which Katie turned back over to him.
"Please have a balloon for your friend when you find her." He grabbed a large
bright pink one and handed it to her. "You have a nice day now."

"Thank you again," Katie said as she took it and trotted away. She felt good
that there was at least one decent person in this strange carnival.

It wasn't long until Katie found the House of Mirrors. Upon reaching the door
she noticed there was a sign that said, "Out of Service." Not taking the sign
seriously Katie tried the door, but it was locked. He did say that he saw them
heading over there, so they probably went somewhere else ... Katie felt
disappointed for she was no closer at finding Stacey than before.

She began walking off dejectedly to meet Jake when she heard a faint noise
like someone crying. It was coming from the far side of the structure. Katie
cautiously walked over there, being mindful of someone possibly sneaking up on
her. "Hello ... is everything alright?" she said to the quiet resonance of
sobbing. Katie then heard this soft hissing sound and noticed that her balloon
was growing larger until it suddenly popped spewing out this green-colored
mist all over her. She coughed as the fumes entered her lungs. Very quickly
her vision began to blur and her head started to spin. She started running
off, but her legs gave way as she collapsed to the ground. I have to ... get
out of here ... have to get help ... Crawling her way out slowly, she felt
something press down on her hand and noticed that it was a very large red
shoe. Looking up through the drug-induced haze, Katie could barely make out
the twisted smiling face of that clown staring down at her before she blacked
out ...

CHAPTER NINE

Jake waited anxiously at the carousel for ten minutes had transpired since
they were supposed to meet. Pacing nervously he cursed at himself for letting
Katie talk him into going off on her own for he was afraid that this would
happen. Standing there he felt stuck between a rock and a hard place for he
could choose to search for her, or risk missing her if she returned while he
was gone. He never felt more helpless than ever before.

"Jake ... " a voice called out in the distance and he turned to it seeing Mike
approaching him. He ran over to his friend and noticed the guilt-ridden look
on Mike's face. "Have you seen Stacey?" he asked in desperation.

"No ... Katie and I were out looking for you two. We had split up and were
supposed to meet back here, but she hasn't returned yet."

Mike looked even more upset at Jake's news and sat down on a wooden bench.
"What happened?" Jake asked with deep concern in his voice.

"We went into that Hall of Mirrors and Stacey wanted to play hide-and-seek, so
I played along. After a while searching for her, I suddenly started to feel
lightheaded and I must've blacked out. When I woke she was no where to be
found ... " Mike said gravely.

Jake was getting really scared now for Katie. He noticed to his surprise
during the search that there was no police presence around at all. It figures
that when you do want the cops around they're nowhere to be found. Getting a
sick feeling in his stomach that Katie wasn't coming back, Jake got up. "Come
on, we're going to have a talk with whoever's in charge of this carnival, see
if we can get them to help with the search, not only for our girlfriends, but
for two others that have vanished as well."

"You mean there's another girl missing besides the one from the restroom?"
Mike asked all surprised.

"Yes, and I'm afraid more will be unless we find the person or persons
responsible," he spoke with such conviction in his voice that it amazed Mike
for Jake was typically more mellow in his demeanor.

"I'm right behind you," Mike said as he closely followed Jake, "and God help
them if they laid a hand on Stacey ... "

Jake felt exactly the same way Mike did, and prayed that Katie (plus the rest
of them) was still alive and close by, for he can't bear to lose her, not like
this ...

CHAPTER TEN

Katie's eyes slowly fluttered open. She felt a splitting headache and a sour
nausea in her stomach. Those sensations had been the first senses to return to
her since whatever gas had been in that balloon had denied her of
consciousness. She tried to reach for her sickened stomach and her throbbing
head, but her arms wouldn't work right; she fully opened her eyes to see what
was the matter ...

She was sitting down on a wooden floor with her back against a large pole of
some kind, her arms wrapped painfully around it with her wrists tied tightly
to it. She felt her bare legs were also fastened together at the knees and
ankles with coarse rope causing to irritate her delicate skin. As she
struggled to get loose, Katie bit down on a pink strip of cloth wound tightly
around head and tied securely above her ponytail. Opening her mouth wide, she
tried to dislodge the gag with her tongue, but the tip of it stuck out through
the sopping fabric as it kept sliding off.

Seeing that there was no way she was going to get free of the ropes that held
her, she gazed around the small dimly-lit room she was in. To her horror she
saw Stacey sitting at the other end tied up in the exact same manner as she
was. Her head was currently bent down as though she was sleeping.

Hearing the sounds of weeping, Katie turned to her left and noticed another
girl tied to a pole matching the description of Rachel from the restroom. The
young girl had been crying so profusely that her polka-dot cleave gag was
soaked with saliva. She looked up at Katie with absolute fear in her big hazel
eyes.

Another noise was heard and Katie saw to her right the other girl from the
magic show, Jessica. The stunning, athletically-built blonde was struggling
fiercely against the ropes that held her to another pole. "Hmmmmmm ... Mmmmmm
... " she tried to say to Katie through the bright blue scarf fixed tightly in
her mouth.

Stacey then lifted her head up and noticed that Katie was now awake. Her brown
eyes were pleading at her best friend for she too had been crying abundantly.
"Haaaaaa ... Aaaaaaa!" she cried out in frustration as she also couldn't free
herself.

Katie tried her best to stay calm in this terrifying situation. She knew that
Jake was looking for her at this very moment and she needed to maintain faith
that all of them will be rescued soon. Her mind started racing with all
possible motives ranging from ransom to white slavery that would explained
their baffling captivity.

Katie didn't have very long to ponder on her predicament as the sounds of
someone approaching were soon heard. All four of them cried out urgently in
muffled groans through their respective colored gags in the hopes that it was
someone coming to save them.

A long curtain draped over at one side of the room parted open and that evil
clown that the four girls knew all too well stepped inside followed by that
magician Armand. Jessica looked up at him sternly with her sparkling blue eyes
remembering that cabinet she was in and how the floor dropped out right from
under her flip-flopped feet, then being seized by two clowns, one of which
knocking her out with some strange green gas.

A third person then entered the already packed room; he was tall, dressed in a
red overcoat, white pants with black riding boots, and a black top hat on his
oval-shaped head. He carried a long black cane with him. Looking at the four
frightened girls writhing on the floor he smiled broadly as he appeared
satisfied. He stepped over to Rachel and placed the tip of the cane under her
chin, lifting up her trembling head to face him. The young girl couldn't bear
to look into his cold eyes as she diverted her attention to Katie instead. If
she weren't tied up, Katie would wallop that guy for frightening that poor
little girl.

Stepping away from Rachel the man walked to the center of the room while the
other two villains stood idly by at opposite corners. "Ladies, allow me to
introduce myself, I am your host, the Ringmaster," he spoke with a friendly
sounding voice that it made Katie a little unsettled. "Now I'm sure you're
wondering why you are all here. You four lovely girls will be the main
attraction for tonight's big show." They all glanced at each other quickly
with confused and shocked expressions on their distraught faces. "Each of you
will participate in a separate act, giving your lives for the sake of
entertaining our audience here today. For there's nothing like genuine raw
emotion to liven up the performances." Katie couldn't believe what she was
hearing. What kind of insane carnival is this place ... !

"Showtime commences in just over an hour and preparations are now being made,
which means each of you needs to be in proper wardrobe pronto." He stepped
back over to the curtain giving his 'guests' one last look. "I can tell by the
look of each of you that this show will be better than the last one. Break a
leg, girls," and with that he and Armand walked out of the room leaving that
menacing clown behind. Last one before ... How many girls have they abducted
and murdered? Katie could no longer remain calm now as she pulled her strained
arms in a frantic attempt at breaking her hands free. The clown laughed evilly
at the four prisoners struggling in futility as he revealed a metal tank under
his large multi-colored coat and turned a knob on top releasing that green gas
into the small room.

Katie held her breath as the fumes began to spread eerily like a snake
slithering. Rachel was the first to pass out as head slumped down. Stacey then
dozed off as the gas overcame her. Jessica looked at Katie as her lungs began
to ache from the lack of oxygen she was depriving of them. She was a member of
her high school's swim team and was good at holding her breath, but she knew
that she couldn't last much longer for the gas was still seeping out of the
tank. As her round face started to turn blue, Jessica opened her mouth letting
in a breath of air through the confines of her gag, then quickly passed out.

Katie was still straining in her attempt at holding her breath. She saw the
clown standing there patiently wondering why these girls find it necessary to
resist when there's no escaping the inevitable. Feeling that her lungs were
about to burst, she opened up her nasal passages and the gas started to
prevail over her like before.

Her last thoughts were of Jake when she was on the Ferris wheel feeling safe
and secure in his strong arms, wishing that she would be able to feel like
that again ...

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"What do ya mean there's nothing you can really do about it, our girlfriends
are missing!" Mike yelled at the Ringmaster who sat quietly at attention in
his small office inside one of the numerous trailers parked at the edge of the
carnival.

"As I said before no one here in the Dunne & Duffy Carnival was in anyway
responsible for the disappearances of your two lady friends. Now if you'll
please excuse me I have a show to host," and with that the two large men
standing behind Jake and Mike promptly escorted them out.

"This won't be the last time you'll be hearing from us!" Mike yelled out at
the trailer as dusk was settling in. "Give it a rest Mike, they're not going
to cooperate willingly," Jake spoke surprisingly calm despite the fact that
Katie was still missing.

"How could you just stand there and not argue with that jerk about helping
with the search?" Mike asked frantically.

"Because I know that they're involved with what's happened to the girls. And
since we don't have any proof to support that, they're not gonna do a damn
thing," Jake spoke matter-of-factly to his upset friend.

"My sentiments exactly ... " a voice spoke out revealing to be Rachel's
grandfather accompanied by a boy that Jake recognized as Jessica's boyfriend.

"You're the guy whose granddaughter vanished aren't you?" Mike asked the old
gentleman who at the moment had a troubled look on his elderly face.

"Albert Farnsworth," he said, extending his hand to shake both Jake's and
Mike's. "And this young fellow here is Scott Emerson."

"Yeah, from the magic show," Jake said. "I'm Jake Perry and this is my friend,
Mike Pulaski."

"I couldn't help but overhear that your two girlfriends are missing as well,
I'm very sorry. Looks like we all have something in common now," Albert said
solemnly.

"So you agree that this carnival was responsible with the abductions of our
females?" Jake asked Albert.

"At first I thought that Rachel ran off, she sometimes will do that, growing
into a teenager I guess makes young people do crazy things." Jake and Mike
knew exactly what he was talking about. "Anyway, when I couldn't find her I
thought that some pervert here went up and snatched her, you hear about it all
over the news young girls being kidnapped. But when I asked someone with the
carnival to help they didn't seem too interested in my problem, now that's
strange."

"I'm beginning to suspect that everyone here in this crazy carnival is in on
the disappearances one way or another," Jake guessed.

"It looks like it's up to us to find them then," Mike spoke up.

"The four of us don't stand a chance against a whole carnival population,
we're going to have to get the police involved," Albert suggested.

"How, we can't use our phones way out here," Scott spoke up for the first
time.

"It looks like one of us is gonna have to drive to the nearest town then,"
Jake said looking at Albert who nodded in response.

"But who's gonna go?" Mike asked.

"I'll do it," Albert offered. "I'm the oldest one here, and I think the police
will be more inclined to believe someone of my age than yours ... no offense."

"Hey none taken. I don't do well talking with the police anyway," Jake replied
dryly.

"Okay so how long is that gonna take?" Mike asked impatiently.

"The nearest town is about ten miles, figure if they respond right away, I'd
say about forty minutes," Albert calculated.

"Forty minutes, they could dead by then!" Mike screamed as Jake calmed him
down. "Go ahead Albert, we'll continue our search in the meantime," Jake said.

"Good luck," Albert said, "and please find Rachel."

"Thanks, and I will," Jake spoke with sincerity in his voice.

Albert ran off for his car while Jake, Mike, and Scott walked back towards the
carnival. "We'll split up and meet back over at the carousel in forty-five
minutes for the police to arrive, you got that Mike?" Jake said as he knew all
too well about Mike's rebellious nature.

"Yeah, I got it ... " Mike conceded.

"Okay, good luck to all of us then," Jake said, and they all went off in their
separate ways.

As Albert reached his car in the parking lot, he heard a noise from behind
him. Seeing that it was nothing he turned back to his car and saw this tall
clown suddenly standing right in front of him. Before Albert could do anything
a spray of green mist shot out from the clown's red carnation on the lapel of
his colored coat right into the old man's face. He coughed at the fumes then
collapsed to the ground.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mike walked slowly along the main dirt path with his head down in deep
depression. He searched frantically up and down the expansive carnival, but
could not find his beloved Stacey; it was like she vanished right off the face
of the earth. Mike was beginning to suspect that she might not even be at the
carnival anymore. Looking at the now darkened massive forest in the distance,
he felt a chill run up his spine wondering if maybe she was out there
somewhere, buried in some shallow grave ...

Mike wiped that thought right out of his mind for he needed to believe that
she was still alive. Even though that it has been three months since the two
of them had been a couple, Mike had grown very affectionate towards Stacey,
and not just because of her gorgeous looks (which he couldn't ignore
completely), it was her spirit that really impressed him for she was truly a
one-of-a-kind person, and he didn't know how he could go on without her.

He glanced at his black watch and noticed the time; it was five minutes before
he had to report back to Jake for the police to arrive. Refusing to go, Mike
kept on with his search for he knew that the cops would not allow him take
part of the rescue operation, which was something that he had to do for he
could not rest until Stacey was found one way or the other. He couldn't
understand Jake's attitude on this, back on the old days he'd be doing the
same exact thing by not waiting for the police. Being incarcerated had made
him a little soft.

A crowd of people was making their way over to a large tent for some kind of
show being performed. Among them Mike saw a girl from the back that had hair
just like Stacey's, even the same highlights. A surge of adrenaline rushed
through him as he hastily made his way over there trying to get a closer look
at her to see if it was in fact Stacey. He pushed his way through the tightly
packed crowd while not trying to be rude. He could see the girl entering the
tent and lost sight of her. "Stacey!" he yelled out, cutting his way through
to the entrance.

Upon reaching it, Mike looked around frantically but could not find her among
the multitude of people taking their seats. He suspected that it wasn't her in
the first place, just wishful thinking. As he turned dismally to exit the
tent, the lights inside started to dim and a voice roared out through the
speakers overhead, "Ladies and gentleman, the Dunne & Duffy Carnival presents
to you the great knife thrower, Senor Poncho Delavega and his lovely
assistant, Magenta!" The audience applauded loudly towards the stage in the
center of the tent. Mike took a casual glance as he was about to leave and saw
the said knife thrower dressed in a classic-styled Mexican outfit complete
with large sombrero. Over at the other end of the long stage stood a large
circular disc and fastened to it was the female assistant, her arms and legs
were stretched out towards the edge, even her head was fixed to it as well.
She was dressed in a shiny tight magenta jumpsuit (hence the name), knee-high
black boots, and wearing a black mask over her eyes. Her hands thrashed wildly
as though she was trying to unstrap herself off.

Mike looked at the shapely assistant's face and to his astonishment,
regardless of the mask she had on, he recognized that it was actually
Stacey's! Her adorable brown eyes were etched in absolute fear as she looked
around the crowd of onlookers, as they were no doubt oblivious to the peril
she was really in. Mike noticed that small Mexican dude picking up one of
several throwing knives; the sharp steel glistened eerily against the
spotlight shining down. He then pressed a switch and the disc that Stacey was
bound to began to rotate. Mike rushed to the stage as the thrower hurled the
knife right at Stacey; the steel blade embedded itself deeply in the wooden
structure, missing her abdomen by mere inches. Senor Poncho grabbed another
knife to throw when he saw that the disc had stopped spinning. Looking
confused he turned to where the switch was and saw this fist come slamming
right into his face, knocking him to the floor.

The crowd responded with an audible gasp as they watched what was quickly
happening. Mike then ran over to Stacey and removed mask from her pretty eyes;
she looked very happy to see him. He noticed that her mouth was sealed shut
with a wide strip of clear tape, no doubt selected to make it appear that she
wasn't gagged. "Mmmmmmmm!!" she uttered through her closed lips as Mike
reached for her gag. He peeled the tape off with one quick swipe. "Owww!" she
cried out.

"Sorry," he responded quickly as he unfastened the leather strap pressed
firmly against her forehead. Stacey's eyes then grew wide and she screamed,
"Look out!"

Mike turned around just as a knife struck his leather jacket, impaling him to
the disc. He tried desperately to remove the jacket off as he saw Senor Poncho
grab another knife, smiling devilishly at him. But before he could throw it
two men from the audience suddenly tackled him down. Another man approached
Mike and removed the lethal knife from his jacket. "Thanks a lot," he said and
continued on freeing Stacey's bonds while the good Samaritan helped him.

Stacey stepped down onto the stage, her ankles wobbled momentarily in the
four-inch spike heels of the boots she was forced to wear. Mike took notice to
her new sexy outfit, but now was not the time. Stacey hugged Mike tightly.
"Are you alright?" he asked looking carefully into her face, which she nodded
quickly indicating that she was now.

As Stacey let go of him, Mike looked angrily at the hole in his jacket. "Damn,
this was my good jacket."

"Be glad that's all he ruined," Stacey retorted for she was happy that they
were both alive.

Mike looked around as if something was missing. "Where's Katie, and the other
girls?" he asked as he did not see them.

"I don't know where Katie and that other girl are, but I remembered hearing
about where they took Rachel," Stacey said.

Just then a group of men entered the tent. Mike looked at them and could tell
that they were affiliated with the carnival as they were dressed like the old
Keystone cops, a comical rendition of the carnival police force if there ever
was one. He noticed that they stared directly at him and Stacey.

"There's the criminal, get him!" one of the cops shouted and they all rushed
over to the stage. Mike grabbed Stacey's hand and the two of them ran off the
stage towards the rear of the tent. As the 'cops' reached the stage, the men
in the audience that helped held them off until Mike and Stacey could escape,
which they did through a small back door.

Once they were far enough from the tent, Mike then led Stacey in the direction
of the carousel when she stopped him. "No, we're going the wrong way; we have
to save Rachel first."

"Okay, tell me where she is, and you head over to the carousel, Jake is
waiting for us there because the police on their way."

"Uh, uh ... I'm coming with you for only I know where she was taken," Stacey
gave her boyfriend one of her stern looks.

"Women ... " he muttered softly to himself, "Okay lead the way, but I want you
to follow my lead, I don't want to see you get hurt."

Stacey nodded readily and the two ran off to rescue another damsel in distress
...

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Jake stood idly by in front of the carousel for the second time today, looking
anxiously at his watch; it was now fifteen minutes past the deadline he
declared. Scott paced around close by with a worried look on his handsome
features as he couldn't find his darling Jessica.

"Where are the police, they should be here by now," Jake exclaimed with an
irritated tone.

"Your friend Mike hasn't shown up either," Scott observed.

"That's something I would've expected from him," he replied knowing deep down
he felt the same way for he didn't want to abandon his search for Katie.

"How much longer are we going to wait?" Scott asked urgently as Jake looked
helpless at the moment.

"Why are you young folks standing around here?" a voice called out and Jake
spun around seeing that old balloon guy standing in front of him, only he
wasn't holding any balloons this time.

Jake eyed him suspiciously as the kindly-looking old man spoke, "You're
wasting your time waiting around for the police to show up."

Jake walked right up to him with an angry look on his face. "Alright old man,
if you've got something to say, then say it!"

"I can tell you first that the police won't be coming," he replied calmly.

"How do you know that ... ?" Scott stammered in shock.

"That's not important right now, what's important is that both of your lady
friends are in danger and need your help."

"Where are they, tell us if you know!" Jake screamed out.

"Relax young man, I'm here to offer some assistance," he replied calmly again.
"Your lady is with that magician," he looked over at Scott, "and yours is at
the safari," he said to Jake.

"Why would you help us?" Jake asked still with some suspicion.

"I have my reasons ... but you're wasting precious time for your ladies don't
have very much of it left."

Jake gave the old man an appreciative nod, and then he and Scott quickly took
off to their respective destinations before it was too late ...

Meanwhile at that moment, Katie blearily woke up from her second little
slumber with that same awful headache and nauseating feeling in the pit of her
stomach. She hoped that that mysterious gas didn't have any toxic effects. It
was dark all around her and she was lying on her stomach. The ropes and gag
were still fastened on her and this time she felt a scratchy material
enveloped completely around her as she quickly realized that she was placed in
some kind of large sack.

She tried urgently to get herself out of it, but her bound feet could not
break through the opening for it was tied shut. "Aaaaaaaaahhhh!" Katie cried
out through her nasty gag in the hopes that someone would hear her and free
her. Instead the reply she got was a low growling sound of some large animal
nearby. Katie's eyes opened wide with fright upon hearing that, and tried very
slowly to crawl away from the source of that threatening sound, but she soon
hit a solid wall of some kind, blocking her escape!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The Ringmaster stood atop a small pedestal with a megaphone in his hand.
"Ladies and gentleman, children of all ages, the Dunne & Duffy Carnival
welcomes you!" The sound of thunderous applauding echoed throughout the
massive tent. "For our first act, we proudly present to you the Vaudevillian
Clown Troupe performing their skit of ... The Perils of Penelope!"

The sound of old-time music from the silent era of movies began playing over
the speakers as the said group of clowns entered the center ring of the tent.
Rachel Dawson was being dragged by one of the clowns dressed in the typical
garb of a dastardly villain of the era, pulling a strand of rope tied tightly
around her narrow waist pinning her arms to her sides. The cute
twelve-year-old was clothed in a period dress of the silent era, complete with
a bonnet placed on the stylized curls that were done on her long, auburn hair.
Her face was painted to that of a clown, and her drenched gag was replaced by
a strip of sticky tape with sad clown lips painted over it.

Rachel fought with every step she was forced to take as the clown kept pulling
her towards a large piece of wood lying horizontally. In a flash the young
girl was bound to the wooden beam by a very long thick strand of rope wrapped
multiple times over her slender body. Rachel wailed through her tape gag, but
the audience took her panicked cries as just part of the show as they
continued to cheer on.

The two villain clowns laughed sinisterly at the helpless Rachel (or to the
audience, Penelope), and one of them pulled a lever, which made the beam she
was one start to move. Rachel realized that she was on a conveyor belt and
looking up to where she was headed, her hazel eyes grew wide with terror as
she could see a large circular saw buzzing ominously at her. She shrieked in
terror and tried desperately to get herself loose of the ropes that cocooned
her to wood beam she lied on.

Just then two more clowns entered the circle dressed as Keystone cops coming
to save the fair Penelope from certain doom. Rachel looked hopelessly at her
would-be saviors, knowing deep down that it was all just part of the act for
no one was really coming to her rescue.

Mike and Stacey entered the huge tent and began looking around. "Okay, now
where is she?" he asked her expecting an answer.

"I said I knew she would be at the big tent, not where in it," she retorted
back. Seeing the clown show in the distance, Stacey pointed, "Let's try over
there."

Heading towards the center of the tent, the two actual rescuers got a closer
look at the show being performed. "Oh my gosh ... that's Rachel on that beam
about to be cut!" Stacey shouted.

Seeing the four clowns play fighting it out, Mike figured he could take them
on long enough for Stacey to free Rachel. "When I distract them, you get
Rachel out as quick as you can, got it?" he said to her.

"Yeah, just keep them distracted long enough, okay?"

"Hey, it's me ... " Mike said humorously and made his way to the clowns while
Stacey carefully walked around the perimeter of the large circle. She suddenly
felt a hand on her small shoulder. "What are you doing here?" a burly voice
spoke.

Stacey turned and saw this large man with tattoos all over his body standing
over her with a critical look in his blazing eyes, which gave her the creeps.
"I-I was just heading over to the trapeze for my act," she replied quickly,
using her skimpy costume as a diversion.

"Well get going then," he grumbled loudly, and Stacey happily obliged as she
got as far from that scary man as her high-heeled boots would take her.
Hanging on one of the wooden poles holding up the tent was a fire axe, and
that gave Stacey an idea ...

Mike decided to use a more subtle approach on the dimwitted-looking clowns
instead of resorting to brute force. Walking casually up to them, one of them
spotted him. "Who the hell are you?" he asked flabbergasted while the other
three took notice to him as well.

"I'm part of the act, didn't they tell you?" Mike responded confidently as the
four clowns still stood puzzled. "It's like this ... I'm the real hero of this
show and my partner and I are here to rescue the girl."

"What partner ... ?" another clown asked even more confused.

"That ... " he replied and pointed to where Rachel was located.

Turning, the clowns saw Stacey approaching her with the axe in her hand. "Stop
her!" one of them yelled and the four started to rush for her, but Mike leapt
on top of them knocking all four to the ground.

Rachel was crying profusely as the large saw began slicing the beam in half,
and soon her as well. She then heard this noise coming from next to her and
saw to her relief Stacey hacking at the rope that held her. "Don't worry,
Rachel, I'll get you out of here real soon," Stacey said still chopping away
at the thick rope. Rachel's eyes suddenly grew wide and she let out a muffled
scream. Stacey heard her and saw Rachel's frightened eyes gesturing from
behind her. Looking around her, Stacey saw that large tattooed man again
advancing on the petite girl with an angry look on his painted face. Stacey
stood there holding the axe up defensively.

"Got lost on your way to the trapeze?" he said harshly.

Stacey carefully looked up then immediately swung the axe to a nearby pole and
chopped the rope that was tied to it. All of a sudden, a large net came
falling down on top of the tattooed man. He thrashed violently to break free,
but the more he struggled the more tangled he got.

Stacey quickly went back to freeing Rachel and finally sliced the rope clean.
The long rope unraveled from Rachel as the young girl quickly hopped off the
beam just as the saw would've reached her dainty feet. She peeled the tape
from her mouth and took in a good breath of air. "Thank you so much," she said
to Stacey, hugging her tightly.

"You're welcome, but we're still not out of the woods yet," Stacey replied as
she saw Mike wrestling with those four clowns.

Mike was like a man possessed as he fought with them, not letting even one of
them come to where Stacey was. He heard a loud whistle and turned to see
Stacey waving with Rachel standing next to her. Smiling to himself he began to
get on his feet, when all of a sudden he heard this soft buzzing noise getting
louder. Looking up to where it was coming from, Mike saw these two small
remote-controlled biplanes bearing down on him rapidly. One of the planes
began to fire on him, and Mike cried out in pain as BB pellets struck his leg.
Stacey went to rush over to him and he noticed that. "No, stay where you are
... I'm okay!"

The clowns fled as the planes circled around again, making another dive
towards Mike, however, this time he was ready as he took off his leather
jacket and threw it over one of the planes as it passed by low over him. Mike
struggled with it as he swung it around and let go of the jacket hurling it
into the other plane, sending both crashing into a large pile of hay at the
far end of the tent. The small explosion triggered a fire, which started to
spread rapidly throughout the large tent.

People screamed as they rushed out of their seats and towards the exits. Mike
then ran over to where the girls were. "You're hurt," Stacey said inspecting
his injured leg tenderly.

"I'll live," he quipped. "Come on, we have to get out of here right now!"

Rachel screamed as Mike and Stacey saw the tattooed man free of the net,
blocking their way out as the tent was becoming engulfed in flames!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jessica McKinnon sat nervously in a wooden chair. The beautiful blonde was
dressed in a lime green one-piece swimsuit with matching slippers on her feet.
Her mouth was gagged with a clear strip of adhesive tape pressed over her
lips, and she wore a straight jacket, which wrapped her long arms tightly
around her waist.

She could hear the magic show being performed and the people applauding
nearby. Jessica so desperately wanted to run out onto the stage and to the
audience for there was safety in numbers, but the tall clown that had knocked
her out before stood next to her to ensure that she stays put. Jessica looked
fearfully realizing that there was no hope for her in sight.

Scott remembered where the magic show was and noticed that the evening
performance had just started. He ran for the tent hoping that he wasn't too
late ...

Armand's sexy assistant walked over to Jessica and nodded to the clown
guarding her. Jessica was lifted to her feet and forced to walk to the stage.
"Mmmmmmmmmm!!!" she cried through her tape gag knowing her end was
approaching.

"Ladies and gentleman of ze audience, for my next act I vill have my lovely
assistant attempt to escape from a tank full of vater vile securely tied."

Jessica stepped on the stage, but just as she saw the audience seated, a black
hood was quickly placed over head surrounding her in darkness. The clown
placed leather cuffs firmly around Jessica's ankles, which had a steel cable
attached to them. The winsome blonde was then hoisted off the ground by the
cable and hung upside down. She thrashed about in her bound state as she was
being positioned over to the tall tank, then felt herself being lowered head
first into the cold pool of water.

Scott entered the tent and saw the act performing on stage. He could tell
right away that the girl being lowered now waist deep in the water was in fact
Jessica. He needed to reverse that cable that was submerging his girlfriend to
her imminent death.

Panic initially overcame her as she first noticed the water seeping through
the hood. Jessica realized what was happening and plugged up her nose as she
refused to die, but if no one will save her then she was only just delaying
the inevitable. She tried desperately to get loose of the straight jacket that
held her, but it wouldn't budge as it was on too tight. Even though the
situation looked absolutely grim, Jessica somehow knew that she needed to hold
out at least for a little while longer.

Once she was fully submerged in the tank, a black cloth covered the entire
tank. The audience watched in awe waiting for the lady to come out unscathed.

Scott snuck into the backstage of the show trying to find the mechanism for
the cable. He saw up ahead a woman who was dressed exactly like Jessica
nearby, and guessed that she was to replace his girlfriend after she was ...
Not wanting to think that, Scott then saw a man seated at a winch that was
connected to the cable! Grabbing a fire axe nearby, he cautiously approached
the unsuspecting man and whacked him over the head with the wooden handle; the
man collapsed to the floor unconscious. Scott turned a knob and pulled on a
lever, which started the winch to wind the cable back.

The audience reacted as they saw Jessica's wet legs rise up from the top of
the covered tank. Armand noticed that also and sent the clown to check it out.
Seeing the winch activated, the clown went to shut it off when Scott appeared
from behind and lunged the flat end of the steel blade right into the back of
the clown's neck, sending him falling down on his pasty white face. However,
the clown managed to reach out with his long arm and turned off the winch,
thus stopping the cable.

Jessica was relieved when she felt herself being pulled out of the water,
figuring that she was going to be saved, but for some unknown reason the
ascension stopped and she was beginning to strain from holding her breath for
she only had maybe a minute left before she would surely drown.

Scott ran into the stage with the axe in his hand and went to take a swing at
the tank. However Armand stopped the boy by grabbing his arm holding the axe,
the Magician tried to twist his arm in an attempt to disarm him as he wrapped
his arm around his neck from behind. Scott fought with the evil magician as he
saw that clown coming right for him. Knowing that every second counted, Scott
swung his foot backwards into Armand's shin and the magician released him as
he yelped in pain. Scott then ripped the black cover off and lunged the axe
with all of his might against the smooth surface of the tank three successive
times. The clown was almost upon him when the glass of the tank began to crack
from the gash made, and suddenly the water sprayed out with such pressure that
it slammed the monstrous clown into Armand and both of them was hurled off the
stage and into the first two rows of the audience.

Scott quickly activated the winch to lower the cable down further until
Jessica was lying on the soaked floor of the tank. Running to her, he pulled
the hood off her head and peeled the tape from her mouth. Her eyes were closed
and she wasn't breathing. Scott immediately began administering CPR on her for
he had received training on it at his high school. "Come on baby, breath ... "
he said urgently as he continued desperately to revive her. Suddenly Jessica's
mouth opened and she coughed up a mouthful of water. She slowly opened her
eyes and saw Scott with tears in his eyes smiling back at her. "Thank God, I
thought I lost you ... " he said softly as Jessica began to cry in his arms,
thankful that she was alive.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The sound of beating drums amplified over speakers was what led Jake to the
safari tent. Stepping inside, he could tell that the show hasn't started yet
as it was deserted save for the short man dressed in an African safari outfit
standing in a mock setup of a jungle habitat. A large sheet of Plexiglas
separated the habitat from the audience seats, which were empty at the moment.

Something in the far corner of the habitat that was partially hidden under
some faux palm leaves caught Jake's attention as it was a large burlap sack,
and it was shifting as something ... or someone was trapped inside! He got a
really bad feeling that that someone in there was actually Katie.

Jake needed to move fast if he wished to spirit Katie out of there before
whatever animal was going to appear through the steel gate near where that bag
was located. A solitary door was all there was that led into the habitat.
Hoping that it was unlocked Jake proceeded over to the door and tried it. As
luck would have it (or perhaps fate), the door slid opened. The safari man
noticed Jake entering with an alarmed look on his bearded face. "Are you
insane man, the lion show is about to begin, leave quickly before you get
yourself killed!"

The lion show ... ! Now Jake was even more terrified, not for himself but for
his dear Katie who was completely helpless against a man-eating carnivore.
"I've come to rescue my girlfriend, who's tied up in that sack behind you,"
Jake said without beating around the bush figuring the direct approach was the
best option.

The man looked nervous at Jake's proclamation as he knew that he was just
exposed. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, there's no girl in there,
just some animal for Simba to snack on ... "

Jake felt very angry towards him referring to Katie as some 'animal'. He then
rushed the man who tried to stop him, but Jake easily pushed him aside as he
went for the sack, which was now writhing. Approaching it Jake heard the
unmistakable sound of Katie's muffled cries coming from inside. Just then the
steel cage opened and soon after Simba the lion walked gracefully into the
habitat. Jake wanted to scream as he stared directly into the large cat's
piercing yellow eyes for he never felt what real fear was until that very
moment.

The safari man ran quickly from of the habitat, closing the door behind him.
Jake backed away slowly never letting his eyes off the huge cat. His foot then
stepped on something and he quickly noticed that it was the man's bullwhip,
which he must have dropped on his way out. Bending ever so slowly, Jake
grabbed the whip and stood right back up just as slow. Katie had heard the
lion's presence and she lied very still as not to alert him.

Simba lifted his nose and sniffed the air; he turned around and made his way
over to Katie. Jake's heart sank as the lion smelled the bag while Katie was
trembling in absolute fear inside. "Hey, over here!" Jake yelled, and the lion
turned back to Jake with a low growl. Raising up the whip, Jake snapped it at
the lion, trying to get him to go back into his cage. Simba was irritated by
the sting he received on his large nose, and instead went to rush at Jake.

Jake backed away fast to another portion of the habitat and found a small
chair; grabbing it he shoved it into Simba's face and snapped him with the
whip again. The lion retreated this time as he was apparently hurt by the
latest strike of the whip. The lion moved to where the door was and that gave
Jake the opportunity to reach for Katie. He slowly made his way to her while
still keeping the chair raised and the whip ready. Simba just looked at him as
Jake bent over to the sack. Katie squealed at Jake's touch figuring it was the
lion again. "It's only me, Katie ... I'm getting you out of here," he spoke
quietly and proceeded to lift her up and place her on his shoulder.

Once she was resting on his broad shoulder, Jake stood up again, still not
taking his eyes off the lion. Now for the tricky part, getting through that
massive cat to the door. Jake did consider hiding into his cage, which was
right behind him, but then they both would be trapped. It was either getting
through that door or being eaten alive. Jake gulped as the situation didn't
look good for he only had one free hand since he needed to hold up Katie with
the other. He decided to use the whip since he had the best success with it so
far.

Jake walked confidently towards Simba, letting him know that he wasn't afraid
for he was determined to get Katie out of there, even if it meant giving his
own life in the process. Simba moved away from the door towards his cage a
little wary this time as he noticed the whip dangling in front of him. Jake
tried one last time to drive the bag cat further away and lunged the whip at
him again striking his face. Simba roared loudly and he began charging the
frightened Jake who was making a mad dash for the door. As if every-thing was
moving in slow motion, Jake turned the handle and opened the door. He leapt
through, throwing Katie off him, which she landed on the hard wooden floor.
Jake frantically crawled his way out just as the lion slammed into the door
causing it to close shut.

Jake lied there for a moment bathed in sweat and breathing heavily while the
muffled roars of Simba trying to get out was heard. Katie mumbled softly and
Jake went over to her untying the rope that sealed her in the bag. Removing
the sack from her, he saw her looking at him with petrified tear-filled eyes.
He pulled out the pink cloth that cleaved her mouth and hugged her tight.
Katie cried as her whole body was trembling. "Shhh ... it's okay now ... "
Jake soothed softly at her.

"Oh, Jake ... I thought we were both going to die ... " Katie said between
sobs.

"Listen ... " he said lifting her chin gently to meet his eyes, "You're not
losing me that easily." And with that he planted his lips to hers and kissed
her warmly.

Walking outside the tent, Katie's legs were still a little weak from being all
scrunched up in that bag. "I'm curious, how did you know where I was?" she
asked him.

"It was that crazy old balloon man of all people. I didn't trust him at first,
but he seemed sincere to help."

"Wait a minute, an old balloon man was responsible for my abduction. The
balloon he gave me was laced with some kind of knockout gas."

"Maybe there's more than one of them. Anyway we need to find the others, and I
don't know where to start looking," Jake said all worried.

"How about over there ... " Katie spoke, pointing to a thick cloud of black
smoke rising up from the big tent in the distance ...

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The smoke inside the tent was getting really thick making breathing more and
more difficult. Looking at the big tattooed man blocking their escape, Mike
noticed another person walking through the smoky haze. Stacey and Rachel
gripped each other tightly in alarm as they recognized that it was the
Ringmaster. He stopped next to the tattooed man with a look of fury in his
cold eyes. "Look what you've done, my glorious carnival being reduced to
rubble!" he shouted over the blazing fire around them. He raised his cane and
unsheathed it revealing a thin metal sword! "Now you will all ... die!"

"Go ... get out of here the both of you," Mike said to the girls.

"No ... I'm not leaving without you!" Stacey shouted back.

"Get Rachel out of here, I'll be right behind you ... I promise," he looked at
her with a slight smirk on his grimy face.

Stacey and Rachel fled while the tattooed man quickly gave chase. Mike saw
that and tried to stop him, but the Ringmaster ran over to him, Mike was
barely able to avoid the slashing sword aimed at his throat. As the ringmaster
thrusted the sword to his chest Mike stepped aside and grabbed the wrist of
the Ringmaster with both hands, trying to disarm him. However the Ringmaster
used his free hand to punch him hard in his gut. As Mike gasped for air the
swordfighter pulled free from his grip. Mike tried to step back but the
Ringmaster stabbed the sword deeply in his upper thigh. Mike howled in
agonizing pain as he felt the steel pierce his flesh. With a twisting motion
the Ringmaster pulled the sword out of the wound and Mike dropped to one knee.
The Ringmaster kicked him hard in the chest and Mike fell on his back. With a
sadistic smile on his face the Ringmaster placed his boot on the throat of
Mike to keep him pinned down as he raised his sword and prepared to plunge it
into his chest. In a last attempt to survive Mike grabbed a fistful of sand
from the ground and hurled it at his eyes. "Aaaaahhh!" he cried out and
stepped backwards as Mike tried to limp away as fast as he could.

Stacey led Rachel by the hand as she maneuvered around burning pieces of
fallen debris. They needed to get out fast for the tent was going to collapse
at any moment. Stacey suddenly tripped as the pointy heel of her boot broke
off. Rachel went to help her up when she saw the tattooed man advancing on
them fast. Just as he was practically upon them, he suddenly heard a loud
whistle from out of nowhere. He stopped momentarily and turned to where it
came from, when all of a sudden ... WHAP! The brawny man fell face down on the
ground in serious pain.

The girls looked up and saw Jake standing over the man with a heavy wooden
beam in his hand. "Jake!" Stacey yelled in relief. Jake rushed over to Stacey
and helped her up. "When are you ever gonna learn to wear practical shoes," he
said noticing her footwear mishap. "Hey, they put these on me!" she said in
her defense as Jake hustled her out of the tent with Rachel following close
behind.

People were standing far enough from the burning tent watching in horror, as
the flames grew larger. Among the crowd were Scott and Jessica, and they
rushed over to Jake, Stacey, and Rachel who were coughing, expelling the smoke
from their lungs.

"Are you guys alright?" Scott asked with concern. Jake nodded back in reply.

"Mike's still in there!" Stacey yelled wanting to run back in, but Jake
stopped her.

"Katie?!" Jake shouted looking around as he had her remain outside, but the
teen sleuth was nowhere to be found.

Hearing her name, Stacey asked, "Where's Katie, is she okay?"

Looking ominously at the blazing tent, Jake's eyes went wide with fright as he
realized where she went off to. "Oh, God ... she's in there ... "

Limping his way through the conflagration all around him, Mike coughed as he
choked against the thick, blackened smoke. Not able to maintain his stamina
any longer, he collapsed to the ground as the lack of oxygen to his brain was
finally taking its toll on his strength. He hoped that Stacey and Rachel made
it out okay. I'm sorry ... Stacey, he thought woefully as he began slipping
into unconsciousness.

The Ringmaster wiped the last of the sand from his eyes and saw Mike in the
distance lying motionless. He smiled wickedly as he walked over to him with
his sword pointed out. "I should've had you killed when we had the chance for
you've proven to be a most difficult nuisance." Standing over Mike's inert
form, he raised his sword, preparing to skewer him right in the back.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, the Ringmaster felt something strike against his
back causing him to fall flat on his face and lose his sword. He quickly
turned his head around and saw Katie standing there with this stone cold look
on her face. Looking rather surprised at seeing her, he began picking himself
back up, but Katie rushed right over to him and kicked him hard in the face
with her sneakered foot. He fell again this time on his back. Seeing his sword
lying on the ground next to her, Katie grabbed it and shoved it right at the
Ringmaster; the sharp tip only inches from his dirty, sweaty face. The look of
fear came over his eyes as Katie looked as though she was going to thrust that
sword right through his skull. "You've destroyed so many lives," she seethed,
"and you deserve nothing less than death." The Ringmaster waited nervously for
what was likely coming next, but instead she pulled the sword away from him
and tossed it aside.

Taking her inability of killing him as a sign of weakness, the Ringmaster
smiled wickedly as she just made a fatal mistake. Suddenly the creaking sound
of wood breaking was heard overhead as one of the main poles holding up the
tent began to fall. Both of them looked up and Katie quickly dove out of the
way as the flaming pole came crashing down right where the Ringmaster laid.

Picking herself right back up, Katie grabbed Mike, hauling up his massive body
to his feet. He stirred in delirium at Katie's touch, and smiled weakly as he
laid his eyes upon her. "Mike, you need to help me move you, I can't pull you
out of here all by myself," Katie said urgently as she started dragging him
slowly. "Think about Stacey, she's waiting for you right outside." The mere
mention of her name got Mike's adrenaline pumping and he began moving his
aching legs.

The entire tent began breaking up all around them now as the two made a hasty
sprint for the narrow exit up ahead. Stepping out into the cool night air, the
tent finally succumbed to the extensive damage caused by the fire and
collapsed unto itself.

Katie and Mike lay there as people rushed over and helped them get farther
away from the burning remains of the big tent. Stacey ran to Mike in her bare
feet and knelt down, cradling him gently in her arms. "You're late!" she cried
out, and kissed him hungrily on the lips.

Katie smiled at seeing them together again, then saw Jake approaching her and
ran over to him hugging him tightly. "You always have to be the one that saves
the day, don't you?" he said wryly.

"You know me, I don't like sitting at the sidelines," Katie responded jokingly
despite the fact that she almost got herself killed.

"I thought I lost you once before, and then I almost lost you again ... " Jake
spoke very seriously now as he looked at Katie longfully.

"I'm sorry I scared you like that ... really." Pausing for a moment, she
continued, "You know, I forgot to say thank you for saving my life."

"You already did when I first saw your eyes." The two then kissed each other
so deeply like there was no tomorrow.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Katie, Jake, Scott, Jessica, and Rachel all sat together on a long bench as
they watched the firefighters put out the last of the fires from the
smoldering remains of the big tent. Each of them was very grateful that they
made it through this nightmare of a day. EMT's took Mike to a nearby hospital
for his stab wound and smoke inhalation, and Stacey had practically fought
with them so she could accompany him there. Fire officials were very glad to
hear that the number of fatalities was just only the two that got trapped
inside the tent, for the body count could've been much worse.

They all just finished giving their statements to the police who were also on
the scene. Katie had learned that the old man that helped them spilled out
everything about that maniacal carnival to the authorities. He said that he
was tired of the bloodshed and the lives that were devastated by what the
Ringmaster and his fiendish cohorts had done. The police had to summon extra
wagons just to arrest all the conspirators.

"Anybody here lose a grandfather?" a deputy asked kindly as young Rachel's
eyes lit up at seeing her grandfather trailing just behind him. "Grandpa!" she
beamed, and ran as fast as her small legs would take her, throwing herself
into his waiting arms. Albert held his granddaughter so tightly that he didn't
want to let go. He glanced up at the four teens seated and mouthed the words
'thank you' to them, which they all graciously nodded back in silent reply.

"I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I sure could use some serious
rest after all this rescuing," Jake said, which all present were in complete
agreement.

"I will say this," Jessica announced, "I will never go to another carnival
again, at least one that has a magic show."

"Just don't volunteer to go into the box, that's all," Jake quipped.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't," Scott replied heartily, holding
her hand firmly.

"Who would've ever thought that an innocent activity like going to a carnival
would end up like this, we were all very lucky," Katie said bringing everyone
back on a more serious note.

"Hey, we stopped them," Jake spoke up, "I say we enjoy our lives and move on,
for you never know what tomorrow may bring ... "