Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 39
Another tent, previously unvisited. Decorated in the Gothic style. A table for several people has already been served. Candles in heavy antique candlesticks. Red tablecloth. Red walls of the tent. Light darkness. The setting is intimate.At the sight of the space for a joint dinner, Lis swallowed convulsively. The state in which she was, even deja vu could not be named. Pure memories, but not hers. The most recent concerned just those captive teenagers. All you had to do was close your eyes.“ Four teenagers and a woman in a strange disproportionate dress are sitting at a table. From their hunted faces and bruises on the faces of the guys, it is clear that they are prisoners. Captives who did not succeed in their attempts to escape. The girls are dressed in dresses not for their age. One of them reminds me of Zoey, barely conscious, rubbing tears down her face. Tight blond curls and a baby face reinforce the image of helplessness.Last try. A girl with aquamarine eyes, whose face is u
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 40
“You wormed your way into my memory. It can be said that I heard the echo of your nightmares this night! He spoke so fluently that it seemed impossible not to believe him. “Still, I’m not proposing a massacre!” My circuses continue to live. As you noticed in the morning, the difference between bobbleheads and freaks is not great, but still there is an important difference! Artists receive deformities for their vices. And serving the Circus becomes their payback. Is it so disgusting to punish those who deserve it? There are no good people in this city!“What about the teenagers you kept here? Lis tried to wriggle out of his arms, clinging to her memories. What were their vices?However, it turned out to be impossible to escape from the grip, which seems friendly only with resigned submission, but in fact is not inferior to a bear trap in terms of strength. The air began to sparkle with tension as she felt his breath on her cheek.We all make mistakes, don't we? - from his close presenc
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 41
“Vulture,” hissed the Fox, trying to control the pain and keep outwardly impregnable. - Scavenger!For some reason, the legs themselves began to measure the distance between the walls of the tent, the voice became more insinuating, and the posture was proud.- Grave thief. "The dead don't need treasures," is that what you said?From the sudden change of image, the weirdo stared at the Fox with a glazed look, dropping a chicken leg from his hand. When the girl took a step towards him, he jumped back with a squeal, as if he expected her to at least punish him.He left his family to die of hunger. And he spent the loot on good food, corrupt women, booze and gambling! - with a venomous grin, the Fox looked at him carefully, considering him for the first time, not as a terrible creature, but as an image invented by the Man for punishment. With a smooth gait, she slowly approached him. - It's a good mask! Ideal for you. Do you justify yourself at night while everyone is sleeping? Do you kee
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 42
The wrists are tied with a tight clothesline. Again the same nightmare about drowning in the bathroom. Doomedly I press my cheek to the edge of the tub. The real world is not much better than the world of my nightmares. There is no desire to fight. I'll just wait until it's over and maybe wake up.A middle-aged woman with a dry, unkind face appears. Now she reminds me a little of Claudia. I involuntarily begin to fidget, lips whispering the words assigned to the role of this victim. It's probably a good thing that I see the nightmares from the faces of the victims. If I were in the role of maniacs, I would quickly go crazy. Perhaps my subconscious is saving me this way, rearranging the roles.– So it is necessary, the sun, – hands fall on my shoulders.I close my eyes. Now everything will end.However…A sharp jerk down under the water, which has become unpleasantly cold. The wrists are untied. I can control my body without being shackled by chains or a nightmare scenario.Around the
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 43
But the main action takes place not in the heat of battle. A grown-up girl with aquamarine eyes stands in front of a man. She is again out of place in a formal dress. The girl herself is disheveled and exhausted. The man is completely in his element. Predator movements, imperious voice, seductive notes. There is an offer to join the Circus in exchange for saving everyone else. Yes, the years go by, but the methods do not change. Again, dirty blackmail and a game on the girl's nerves. However, boldly looking into the slits of the Mask, she refuses.- What a disappointment! - despite the image of the imperturbable Dark Lord, the refusal responds with a painful prick.Then, having taken the disagreement to heart, the Man makes an even more obscene proposal to the accompaniment of the increased screams of the girl's friends.“You will live your worthless life and after death you will join us as a freak!” Choose or all your friends will die! - a wave of burning hatred becomes a bold allusi
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 44
- No, nothing like that. On the contrary, he became friendly . He helped with Mary and Dary, talked to me without a clear desire to bury my body under the Hellebore as soon as possible, - Alice answered, feeling a strange desire to straighten her hair and check whether everything was beautiful with her face.She was careful not to lie in the hope that honest answers would convince the Man not to violate her personal space.- Interesting. I have nothing to do with this. This is your job, young Witch! he smiled slyly. "Do you want to confess something to me?"- I touched him yesterday, or rather he me ... it doesn’t matter. I saw his memory. But not like yours. Only pictures, fragments, like a mosaic. Now I barely remember what I saw yesterday, - Fox caught herself in an unexpected phenomenon. - But yesterday I told him in full who he is and what he deserves.“You shouldn’t be ashamed of this,” looking at the girl blushing with shame, the Man seemed pleased, like the cat that got to the
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 45
V The second night repeated exactly its predecessor. The beginning nightmare, this time with a lobotomy, instantly ended with a dash through the ice barrier, after which, with the Mask of the Man on her knees, Alice found herself alone in a clearing under the stars. In this realm of dreamless sleep, she mentally tried to tame the memory of others still spontaneously surfacing in her head.However, attempts to curb foreign memories led to the opposite results. Awakening Lis met in a broken state. The man was not in the tent again. Spots danced before her eyes, turning into another frightening scene from his life when she closed her eyes for more than a second. With difficulty, she forced herself to stand up. Every step, every movement seemed like an incredible feat based on overcoming oneself.“Apparently, this is how my stay at the Circus will alternate: either everything is fine, or immediately very bad! - Through the hum of voices from someone else's memory, she thought, putting her
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 46
"I hope you're happy!" she thought angrily, pressing her back against his back. For mutual convenience, the Man chose a chair without a back.“Try practicing voice suppression. At their core, they are just a part of obsessive memories, like a melody that eats into the mind and does not want to leave! he suggested, feeling her displeased fuss on his back.“It’s like I became part of the Siamese twins!” Lis muttered. – But you can rejoice, Man, even in theory I won’t be able to plan something against you!"You didn't mean to!" he replied mockingly.“I didn’t mean to, but now I won’t!” she nodded. - What will happen in the evening?“You will see how the Circus really works. What happened yesterday is just an attempt to play for time. Decades drag on. It makes no sense to give a show every day, and you have to look after other candidates for a long time, ”she visibly tensed. The man gently nudged her with his elbow. “Today all you have to do is look carefully and describe everything you s