Chapter Three

She sighed, trying to hold back tears. What she heard broke her heart. She didn't understand this feeling at all. Is this what being hurt felt like?

"Hey there, easy now. I don't dislike it, it's just not home. It takes time to get comfortable in a new place." I was in front of the mirror now, placing a scarred hand on the glass.

She gave a small smile before pulling her mask up and away from the rest of her face to wipe away the tears. Her eyes were black as coal, a small shine catching the warm glow of the room's light. With her mask pulled away from her face, it seemed her blood red hair fell down from the ponytails it was in. Her face was soft and almost doll-like, yet still seemingly alive in a way.

"Yeah, cute like I thought." I seemed to murmur without realizing it.

She returned the mask to its position which surprised the man.

"What, something I said?"

The carney girl shrugs before looking towards the opening. She kicks up her axe before swinging it towards her shoulder.

"We have company. And not the good kind." She says in a deep growl. 

"Get ready to fight!" She said, the eyes of her mask lighting up before she disappeared from the mirror.

"Gun it is." I said before following behind her.

After the long fight, it was over. Most of the kids went back to doing what they were doing before the fight. Giggling Rabbit was nowhere to be found. Deciding to go back to my tent, I figured this was as good a time as any to come to terms with what's gone on. Throughout the night, I tossed and turned. The girl's face was still on my mind. Finally getting up, I had decided it was about time to have a sit down and figure out the ins and outs of the place, along with talking to her more. Wandering the grounds, she was nowhere. Not in the mirror, not around any of the decaying tents. Where could she be?

"Hey ghost kiddos, where's Rabbit at? I wanna talk with her." I called out.

"She's asleep right now, brother." Michael, Charlie's little brother, tells him.

"Ah. So is it a rule not to go in her room, or do you guys just not go in there? Cause if it's not a rule, I'm gonna go check on her."

"Unless you want to be mauled by her big pack of hellhounds, I suggest you stay out." the boy said while doodling in the dirt with a stick.

"Ah, so she's got some pups. Well, tell her when she wakes up that I'm looking to talk to her." Michael's brother says.

''Ok. What are you going to do now? I know you're restless." He said, before getting an idea.

"Not sure. Climb in a tree? I'll figure something out."

"I could tell you how we all died." Michael said, dropping the stick.

"Morbid, but interesting. Sure, why not." I sat on the ground and looked at my little brother.

"Ok. You already know I died from leukemia. Anna, the little girl that visited me, died from a lung infection. Benji, the little boy that can spin his head, has a broken neck. Emily, the little girl that you first saw, shot by her parents. Janet drowned. Alex, suffocation via feathered pillow. Kaylee, the girl with brown hair, dropped out a window. Bella, she died after her father drunkenly ran her over in their driveway. Lizzy, another drowned victim. And finally, Tyler. He died from being pushed off a school roof by his mother for bad grades." He said calmly.

"That last one...that's fucked. Sorry you all had your lives cut short, but why haven't you all moved on?" 

"We don't want to. We are known as 'helpers'. We help other kids move on. I can't move on cause I am tied to you. If a spirit is tied to someone who was very kind to them, they can't go to the other side." He said, looking at me while a gust of wind howled through the empty grounds.

"Alright alright. Well, still you guys should be a bit more lively. You're kids, play and have fun. Advantage of being a ghost is you can't get hurt."

"We do. But when it's night, we usually don't because they patrol. Ghosts, kids or not, still get nervous or scared."

"They patrol?" I asked Michael.

"Rabbit's hounds."

I thought for a moment before asking him about the girl and why I could only see her in the mirror of my tent.

"Ah, okay. Oh yeah, what's with her and mirrors?"

"I'm not sure. You're better off asking Tyler."

"Helpful. She can just kinda show up in mirrors then?" the taller man said.

"Yea. But only to you. Not us since we don't care for them. They give us weird chills."

"Fair. Hopefully she'll at least let me know before showing up in it...the last thing I'd want is to be in the middle of changing and her show up."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Michael said while giggling.

"How so?" I said, his smile dropping.

"It's her dogs I'd be more worried about as they tend to be a bit aggressive."

"Eh, I'm not too worried. I've always been pretty good with dogs."

"I know that. You think I forgot?" He said with a grin. 

"I hoped you wouldn't. I'm sure after a while they'll warm up to me." I looked at the night sky before getting to my feet.

"Only time will tell I suppose." Michael told him before he picked up the stick again.

"It'll be fine. So it's about bed time for you all huh?"

My brother looks up at the sky himself and nods.

"Well good night lil bro, sleep well. Guess I'll go lounge in my tent or whatever."

"Night. Hope you can get some rest yourself."

"I'll try."

With that said, Charlie left his baby brother and made his way back to his tent. He tried his best to fall asleep and keep the girl from his mind.