“Babe? Babe, wake up," Piper whispers.

Simon forces his eyes to open. He is greeted by only darkness. Piper’s breath on his right cheek is the only indication she is there.

“Oh, man. Babe…Piper, what happened! Jeezus! My head feels like someone has been playing tennis with it. Where the hell did that maniac woman go? That…That…Whatever. What was that, an ogre? A hag? Goddamn that was one ugly bi—!”

“Simon, quit it! Okay. Please. I don’t…I don’t know what that was. What she is. All I know is she tapped that damn cane of her's and we ended up in here. Wherever…Here…Is.”

“I am so sorry, Piper! I thought walking would be a better choice than sitting on the side of the road. I was wrong. I cannot believe this bullcrap. What exactly did we just see?”

“Something…Weird. And creepy.”

“Yeah!” Simon readily agrees.

Climbing to his feet, Simon pulls Piper into a tight embrace. He tries forcing his eyes to adjust in the inky darkness. Even so, he is unable to see anything in the pitch black surrounding them.

“Put your arms out, Piper. Try to find a wall. We can ease along it until we reach a door. There has to at least be a door.”

“Okay.”

Several moments pass, in which Simon and Piper feel around for a wall, a window, or a door—any door. They are forced to stop when their endeavor proves to be fruitless.

“How is this possible? How big is this room?” Simon groans.

“I don’t think it is a room,” Piper says, fear in her voice. “Remember what was outside the tent? The blanket of darkness you almost fell into? I think…That’s where we are.”

“Blanket of dark—,” Simon begins.

Loud barking in the distance causes Piper to grip Simon’s forearm. Simon wraps an arm around Piper’s shoulders and draws her against him, straining to hear.

“Dogs? Why would there be dogs?”

The barking gets closer and Simon tilts his head in order to figure out which direction the sound is coming from. It seems to be coming from all directions at once.

“Oh, man! This ain’t good, babe.”

The clamor of claws scraping across a hard surface soon accompanies the insanely loud barking. Simon squeezes Piper tighter and closes his eyes. The soft cry which escapes his wife’s lips nearly breaks Simon’s heart. Whatever the hell is going on, one thing is true—he has failed her.

“I love you, Piper.”

“Simon, I need to tell—,”

“Piper?” Simon hollers into the darkness, no longer feeling the pressure of his wife against him. “Piper! Piper, what are you doing?”

Spinning in a slow circle, Simon tries to pinpoint where Piper has gone. The barking has also ceased, replaced by utter silence—and darkness.

“Piper? Oh, jeezus! What have I done? Babe, where are you?”

Simon stops yelling as something brushes the bottom of his leg—above his right ankle. Remaining completely still, Simon waits or it to happen again. And it does. Whatever brushed him lightly the first time, it goes in for a second pass—more forcefully this time.

“What the hell?” Simon says, looking through the darkness at where his feet should be. “What the freaking hell?”

A loud hiss fills the darkness and Simon is hit from behind. Simon sprawls onto what he can only assume is the ground. Rolling onto his back, Simon struggles to see what attacked him. However, the creature stays out of range. Only the loud hisses the creature makes clues Simon in that it is still there. The unseen creature circles Simon’s prone body several times before seemingly melting away into the darkness. Simon makes his way to a standing position.

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“Piper?” Simon resumes yelling. “Babe?”

“I’m here,” Piper replies.

In the darkness, a wide grin overtakes Simon’s face and he breathes a sigh of relief. His heart hammers in his chest and he reaches a hand out in front of him.

“Babe. Thank goodness. Keep talking, so I can find you.”

“I am here!” Piper’s voice says again, this time from another direction.

“What? Babe, stay there. Don’t move. I’ll come to you.”

“Come to me? I am here,” Piper’s voice says from a third direction.

“No. I am here,” another voice and direction.

“And here.”

Simon’s stomach leaps and he tightens his jaw. Clenching both fists at his sides, Simon briefly closes his eyes.

“This isn’t happening. Hell, nah. This isn’t happening. Piper? Honey, where are you? If you can hear me, follow my voice. Come on, baby. Aw, damn! This is messed up!”

A glimmer of light far off catches Simon’s attention. He stumbles toward the tiny light source, one hand outstretched to catch himself should he trip on an unseen obstacle. Arriving at the object, Simon finds himself in front of a glowing mirror. Reflected in the mirror, floats the head of the ringmaster, eyes shut as if she is fast asleep.

Simon backs slowly away, his brow creased with apprehension. The ringmaster’s yellow eyes draw open and she looks straight at Simon. Narrow slants resembling the pupils of a venomous snake lock on Simon and stay there.

“What? You’re not having any fun, Simon?” the ringmaster’s head coos in Piper’s voice. “We can’t have that.”

All around Simon, mirrors rise up seemingly out of nowhere. In each mirror floats the ringmaster’s laughing head. Simon gazes around in utter terror—not for himself, but for Piper. What has this crazed maniac done with his wife?

========================================================================

“Simon?” Piper yells, climbing to her feet. “Simon!”

Placing both hands in front of her face, Piper backs into the surrounding darkness. She takes a moment to gather her courage before once again attempting to find a wall, door, or window. A faint scratching, to her left, and Piper angles her head in that direction. Shuffling now. The sound of someone dragging their feet upon the ground.

Piper stays quiet, listening as the shuffling gets closer. A faint light appears a few meters in front of her, and a gaunt figure melts out of the darkness. As the figure gets closer, Piper recognizes it as a circus clown. The clown is dressed in a clown suit of various shades of purple, even the hair sprouting from its goofy hat is purple. The shoes on the clown's feet are the source of the loud shuffling--being easily ten sizes too large.

The clown approaches at a slow gait, studying Piper with keen interest. Piper still keeps silent, carefully observing the clown as it gets closer.

"Alice?" The strange clown inquires in a scratchy voice, tilting its head awkwardly. "Is that you, Alice? What are you doing down here? Did you forget something the last time?"

Piper's mouth twists into a scowl of displeasure. She takes a backward step, away from the insane clown figure. The clown simply takes two steps forward. The clown's eyes narrow and its purple-colored lips turn downward with disappointment.

"You're not, Alice! What are you doing here? I shall bring you before the Ringmaster! You will not get away!"

"Don't you dare come near me...You freak!" Piper yells, yanking off one of her shoes and brandishing it. The other hand, she balls into a tight fist. "Come near me...And I'll kill you!"

"Oh. Will you?" the clown says in a mocking voice.

The clown chuckles softly, hiccuping noises interrupting his maniacal laughter. His shoulders heave up and down as he slowly circles Piper. An eerie purple glow emanates from the clown's eyes, making him look even more manic and crazy.

"You will kill me? I think not! It is more likely the master will deal with you. You are not my Alice! You should not have come here. No matter. You will never leave."

Quick as lightning, the shuffling clown lurches at Piper. Wrapping both hands around her throat, the clown squeezes hard. Not hard enough to break her neck, but hard enough to cause slow asphyxiation. Piper tries to inhale but finds her airway blocked. She drops her shoe and uses the same hand to claw at the clown's offending fingers. The other hand, she slams into his temple again and again. The clown only laughs more insanely, maintaining his hold on Piper's throat.

"Hmmm. You are not my Alice. But maybe...You will do."

Piper's eyes widen and she grows more desperate, dizziness from lack of air starting to set in. She uses both hands to claw at the clown's eyes. Sticking one long nail into the inner corner of the clown's right eye, she pushes down and to the side. A soft squishing sound reaches her ears as her nail goes into soft sclera.

Pain causes the clown to bellow, but he only tightens his grip of Piper's throat. She twists her fingernail in harder and jiggles it around, destroying more of the soft eye tissue. Blood runs over her fingers and Piper struggles to remain conscious, disgusted and exhausted from oxygen loss.

With a loud yelp, the clown releases Piper and shoves her away. Piper sprawls backward on the floor, gasping loudly for air. A few feet away, the clown stands holding its face, blood running between his middle and index fingers.

"My eye! You destroyed my eye. Alice would never have done such a thing! You will not escape. I will kill you. But, first...I will kill your lover. I will make you watch. You will see.

The clown shuffles away, muttering loudly the entire time. His words sound as if he is communing with an entity Piper cannot see. Piper climbs to her feet and watches the clown go. The faint light which accompanied the clown fades away and Piper is once again surrounded in darkness.

"Oh no, Simon. Simon...Where are you?"