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    Simon exhales loudly, in an effort to collect his wits. He stares up at where he assumes a ceiling would be. This is just too damn much. This place, losing Piper, that damn laughing head. They should have taken a plane. Then, they wouldn’t be dealing with this mess. Next time, if there is a next time, they’re taking the damn plane.


    Simon returns his head to a level position and glares at the mirrors surrounding him. The ringmaster’s shrill laughter vibrates his eardrums so violently that he fears they will burst. He reaches up to one ear, expecting to feel a warm trickle of blood. Nothing. Well, that''s good.


    Contemplating his next move, Simon glances from one mirror to the other. He takes a step toward a mirror to his right. The reflected image of the ringmaster, in this particular mirror, stops laughing and winks. The lips pucker and she blows him a sarcastic kiss. The laughter again, this time in earnest. Simon studies each reflected image. Stepping in front of the neighboring mirror, Simon leans closer and scrutinizes the face within.


    “Are you looking for something, Simon?” the head in the mirror mocks. “Perhaps, you believe your wife is in here? With me? I’m afraid she is not. She is with my dear friend, Percy! They are having a really good time!”


    More laughter. Simon is unbothered. He moves from mirror to mirror, searching for clues. His silence, and unconcerned attitude, strikes a nerve with the ringmaster. All of the mirrored images halt their laughter at the same instant, studying Simon.


    “What are you doing, Simon? What are you looking for?”


    Simons says nothing. He ignores the giant floating head in the mirror and continues to scrutinize the reflected images. Purple light appears at the seam of each mirror and the ground begins to tremble under his feet. Simon steels himself, refusing to be dissuaded from his task.


    “What are you doing, Simon!” the ringmaster’s many heads inquire in an angry voice. “What do you think you will find?”


    “Anything which will allow me to kill your crazy ass!” Simon barks. “You like that answer, you old witch?”


    The reflected head nearest Simon narrows it eyes, a smirk turning up one corner of its painted lips.  The voice which issues from the mirror is raspy and full of menace.


    “Old? I am not old. I am ancient. I was around long before your kind crawled from the muck. I will be around long after your kind is dust. You are nothing to me. You cannot kill me!”Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    “Then, why the hell do you care what I’m looking for? What does it matter what I’m doing? Just continue laughing your crazy ass head off…And let me do what I do. Don’t worry about me.”


    The ringmaster’s face contorts and her snakelike eyes flash from bright yellow to eerie purple. The light seeping from each mirror intensifies until it nearly blinds Simon. He uses an elbow to block the light from his eyes.


    “Impudent human! Always so stubborn and arrogant! Always have to have the last word! You will not find what you are looking for. I will not allow it!”


    Around Simon, the mirrors shatter one by one. Shards of glass fly through the air. Several large pieces bounce against Simon’s face, neck and arms—drawing thin rivulets of blood. Simon chooses to protect his face and neck, shielding them with his arms as much as possible. The mirror in which the ringmaster initially appeared, remains intact. She glowers at Simon from across the short distance.


    “You will not find her. And you will never leave this place.”


    With an angry growl, the ringmaster’s head disappears from the mirror. The mirror explodes, sending glass and metal into the air. Simon barely misses being impaled by a large shard. Darkness envelopes him again and Simon shakes his head in frustration.


    “Oh man!”


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    Piper is seated on the ground, knees drawn up to her chest, eyes and ears searching for signs she is not alone. A sound like a small explosion splits the silence, and Piper tilts her head to hear better.


    “An explosion? What could…? Simon!”


    Piper climbs to her feet and races, unthinking, toward where she believes she heard the explosion.


    “Oh no! Simon! Answer me! It’s Piper. Simon!”


    Piper blindly stumbles through the darkness. A snapping sound nearby draws her attention. Before Piper can react, a large net enfolds her body and she is drawn upward, kicking and screaming. The net eventually settles, but Piper continues to scream and kick. Judging from how fast the net was moving, and how long it took to stop, Piper assumes she is dangling from quite a height. She isn’t wrong.


    “Simon, I’m up here! Can you hear me? I’m up here!”


    Nothing. And then, shrill laughter—joined also by the odd hiccupping laughter of the clown.


    “Simon…I’m up here!” the ringmaster mocks in the pitch black darkness, her raspy voice full of bitterness. “I’m up here! Ha ha ha!”


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    “I’m up here!” the devilish clown chimes in. “How pathetic…How she whines and cries.”


    Piper’s body trembles with fear as the perilousness of her predicament begins to set in. Whoever, or whatever, these people are—they are definitely insane. And they have no intention of letting her or Simon leave here alive.


    “She is not my Alice, Master! But I think she will do. Can I kill the other? Can I keep her, Master? I will treat her nicely. She can be my new Alice.”


    “You will do as I say, Percy! Find the other. Bring him to me. It is time for the final test. Only the test can decide their fates. You know the way things are to be done.”


    “Yes, Master. I will find the other. I will bring him to you.”


    Although it is dark all around, Piper knows when the evil clown leaves. The clown’s oversized shoes scuff the ground, and his baggy clothes rustle noisily. He is going to find Simon. A test to decide their fates? What kind of test?