CHAPTER 2: The Troupe  

She smelled fresh air. She rubbed herself to see if everything was in place or if it hurt anywhere. Everything seemed oddly okay. She looked behind her. The entrance was still there. From the outside, it looked like the same Box of Madness from which she had entered. How could an entire maze fit inside this small box-like space? It was impossible! Very paradoxical.

Her gaze took in her surroundings. She was in an amusement park, much bigger and with more rides than before. There was a merry-go-round with horses, a huge Ferris wheel, gun and dart games that won you stuffed dolls and puppets, a hall of mirrors, a haunted house, an outdoor high-rise roller coaster with very steep twisting tracks, popcorn stands, cotton candy, balloons, and much more.

The lighting from the rides made it look alive, even though it was dark and there wasn't a soul around. Surprisingly, all the games seemed to work.

All around, the amusement park was surrounded by pointed bars, topped with barbed wire. It reminded her of a military camp. On one side of the iron circle was a large, imposing, barred, closed gate. In the center of it all was a circus, but not like the one she had been to with her brother before; it looked much bigger and more stately. Its awning was striped red and white, tying in beautifully with a long, narrow red carpet from the entrance to the gate.

At the entrance of the circus, she saw the well-known clown looking at her as if waiting for her. She ran to him, afraid of losing him again. As soon as he saw Madalen running toward him, he entered.

Reaching the outside of the circus tent, she pulled open the striped curtains to step inside. Her eyes blinked rapidly for a moment. The inside of the circus was very different from what she expected. She was enchanted by its uniqueness; it might have been the first time she liked the decor of a circus. In the middle of the stage was a crystal circle with a reddish-black, smooth surface. Straight ahead, a wooden stage could be seen, like those used in musical and theater shows. All around, almost up to the wooden stage, were red velvet-covered seats. There was nothing poor about the decoration of this circus compared to the one before. Everything was clean and sparkling as if it were brand new, like it had never been used! It was incredibly fancy and gorgeous.

The clown appeared on the wooden stage, coming out from the left side, behind a black curtain. He stood in the middle of the stage, staring blankly at Madalen.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Madalen asked, clearly puzzled.

The clown remained silent. Suddenly, six more clowns appeared from behind the black curtains on both sides. Everyone wore masks. She recognized them! The one on the left had purple hair.

"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked again, horrified.

The clowns all bowed in unison.

"We are the family of circus artists. Welcome!" said the middle clown with white hair. He was the one who had been following her all this time.

"So, you can talk! I thought you were deaf and dumb," she quipped, getting defensive. "And why did you take my cell phone?"

The clown took off the mask.

"Excuse me, but I had to get your attention somehow."

A strange, charming, sly smile appeared from behind the mask. A young man with slightly squinted, deep blue eyes, accentuated by black eyeliner, showed his face. His white hair didn't age him at all; he looked about twenty-five. She was sure it was his natural color.

"Why did you need to catch my interest?" she asked.

"To bring you to my circus, of course."

"Your circus?" She glared at him as if she didn't believe him.

"Yes, I am in charge of the circus, and these are my partners." With these words, one by one they took off their clown masks and revealed their faces.

"Let me introduce you," said the white-haired young man. He pointed to the first in line, who had purple, short hair and wore a white suit with a black jacket, accented by a purple carnation in the left pocket.

"This is Purple. He is our wizard!" he emphasized.

Madalen noticed that Purple looked the biggest and tallest of them all. He had a somewhat oblong face, with strong cheekbones. His lips were thin, almost a line, which didn't look bad under his straight nose. His eyes were a bright, pale green, almost unreal. His face betrayed mystery.

The white-haired man then pointed to the one next to Purple with green hair that fell on one side of his face like a fringe. The rest of his hair was short, just reaching his neck. He wore a green blouse with black tribal designs. Around his neck was what looked like a scarf with strange curved patterns in shades of brown, resembling scales. A belt tied his black pants, which ended in black leather shoes. Madalen could make out the dark brown color in the eye she could see. The other eye was hidden behind the fringe, with a small scar protruding up to his nose. She wasn't sure if the scar extended over his hidden eye or if it was all distorted. It was clear he wanted to hide it so no one would see. His face showed something guilty.

"This is Green. He specializes in snakes."

Only then did she notice that the "scarf" around his neck was actually a snake! The circus didn't seem to have any other animals. On the other hand, she wasn't sure.

He then pointed to the one next to Green, who had pink, slightly spiky hair. He wore a colorful jacket and plaid pants with brown and orange squares, along with funny orange shoes. He seemed to be the youngest of the bunch. He had a very sweet, childish face: a small nose, soft pink, pouty lips, and big honey eyes.

"This is Pink. He's our clown," continued the white-haired man.

"I thought you all were," Madalen commented.

"Only when necessary," he answered with a sly smile. "Beside me are the twins, Blue and Red. They are our acrobats and specialize in knife games," he smirked, "they love them!"

Blue had short blue hair, while Red had short red hair. Their hair was spiked, making their heads look like hedgehogs. It would be very difficult to tell them apart if it weren't for their different hair colors. They had the same greenish-yellow eyes, the same nose with a cute little curve, eyebrows that formed a sharp angle at the end, the same long narrow lips with a slightly thicker lower lip, and the same tiny mole at the bottom of their right eye. However, she might be able to tell them apart by their expressions. Blue exuded coldness, while Red looked slightly angry. They both wore tight black leather pants and tight red and dark blue tops that accentuated the stripes all over their bodies.

Last in line was a young man with very close-cropped blond hair, wearing an orange-red tight tank top that accentuated his sturdy frame and dark gray pants. He seemed quite collected and withdrawn compared to the rest. His eyes were downcast. She couldn't easily make out their color, but she was pretty sure they were a very light brown. His eyebrows were two sharp, even curves, and his nose was gracefully curved. He always looked like he was deep in thought.

"And this is Yellow. He does really hot stunts," the white hair man giggled. He probably meant fire stunts.

Madalen looked at them all quizzically. She noticed that they were all seemingly charming after all, and certainly, the white-haired one stood out with his charm.

"Really now, those are your names?" she asked ironically.

"We all have nicknames. I imagine you do too. And if you don't have one, we'll find you one."

"And let me guess, you're White?" she asked.

The young white-haired man gave a crooked smile.

"You can call me that if you want, but I prefer Jio," he said playfully. "And yours, Miss?"

"Mad…"

She quickly realized she didn't want to introduce herself by her nickname and hastily added, "…alen."

Jio seemed to understand the short pause and let out another crooked smile. "I can tell it flatters you."

She paid no attention to his compliment.

"Now to say that it was my pleasure would be a lie..."

Jio laughed.

"It was our pleasure though. Right, guys?"

Everyone nodded, some smiling. They seemed surprisingly pleasant, even though the first impression was somewhat negative.

"What do you want from me? Why did you bring me here?"

"You are our lucky visitor for this year," Jio said with a smile.

Pink took out a bell and shook it. Din din din.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled.

"Every year we have a visitor."

"But I didn't come on purpose."

"Yeah, that's how it usually goes."

He spoke in riddles, which irritated her.

"I'm sorry, but you brought me here. I don't want to join any circus!"

"Why? Don't you like shows?"

"Not at all!"

Jio's eyes sparkled. "Then why did you go to that one, since you don't like them?"

"Because of my brother. It was his birthday, and the tickets were a gift from a clown," she reluctantly explained.

"Interesting! Right, guys?"

Everyone burst out laughing.

"What is interesting?"

"You," he smiled at her with a charming smile.

"Look, I don't want trouble. I want to get out of here!"

Jio adopted a mock distressed expression. "Oh, I'm sorry, but you can't."

"Why?"

"How can I tell you? Um… you're trapped here!"

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes rolled so hard she thought they might pop out.

"See for yourself."

He held out his hand, beckoning her out.

Madalen didn't stay longer; surely they all seemed absolutely crazy. She ran off the stage, heading to the amusement park entrance with the double-barred gate. It was closed. She pulled so hard, she thought she would dislocate her arms. But the gate wouldn't open. She panicked. She was trapped inside the amusement park with seven crazy clowns! There was nobody around. She would have to wait until the next day when the gate would be opened for the world to enter... But who was to tell her that they wouldn't force her there? She didn't know what to do.

Madalen sat in front of the gate with her head bowed, muttering curses.

"It won't open, no matter how long you wait," Jio said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Madalen jumped as soon as she heard his voice.

"It will open in the morning. People have to come, don't they?"

"Yes…" he took a moment to answer as if he was thinking about it. "But even if it opens, you won't leave."

"You can't keep me here by force!" she complained. Jio started to leave, then turned his face to answer her.

"Did you see anyone holding you?" he flashed a sarcastic smile.

"You know what I mean!"

"You are tired. I suggest you come to sleep and in the morning worry about your escape."

"No thanks, I'd rather wait until dawn!"

"As you wish," he said, leaving without further ado.

What the hell had happened? What did all this mean? Why her? Her thoughts tormented her. She couldn't understand how on earth she had gotten herself into this situation. She had a bad feeling it was going to get even worse tomorrow. She didn't know why, but Jio seemed certain that she wouldn't be able to get away. However, he did not force her, nor did he chain her, which seemed strange to her. If the gate opened, what would stop her? Maybe she was overthinking it...

The night seemed endless to her, and of course, she couldn't sleep, nor did she want to. She looked at the sky but saw no stars. It was covered by a veil of gray clouds, but it looked like fog. Little by little, the sunlight came out and the fog disappeared. All she could see were thick, gray clouds hiding the sun. And yet, something seemed unfamiliar; as if there really wasn't a sun, as if the light was coming from somewhere indeterminate. It was strange, but maybe not as much as what had happened to her so far. The invisible sun was the least of her worries. When night turned to day and she could see without a trace of darkness, she got up and stood at the gate waiting for it to open. That's when she saw Jio coming.

"It won't open yet," he said briskly.

"And when will it open?"

"Depending on our moods. We may welcome people in the morning, at noon, in the evening, or throughout the day."

"And what does it depend on?"

"I've told you, on our mood."

"Are you in the mood today?"

He smiled at her. "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?"

"Are you so sure you're going to leave?"

"Yes!"

"Okay then, listen to what we're going to do. I will organize a show for you as a welcome, and after the show, you can, if you want, leave."

"Do you think the show will change my mind?"

"Who knows?"

"Can't you just open the gate now, and I can come another day?"

Jio laughed. "You're funny, but no, it's not possible."

"Can you at least give me my cell phone?"

"Trust me, where you are, you don't need it."

"I have to call my brother and my parents. They will be worried sick."

She had been very worried about her brother, but she believed that the police or her parents would have found him and he would have gone home. Now everyone would be anxiously looking for her.

"You don't have to worry, trust me."

"How can you say that? You have kidnapped me! Don't tell me you brought my brother here too?" she froze in place. "If you did anything to him, I will…"

"Madalen, calm down. Only you are here. Your brother is fine, I guarantee it." He paused. "And I didn't kidnap you, you followed me," he said with a wry smile. She was seething inside, but said nothing else. She sighed and followed him into the circus.

"Well guys, we have a show today," Jio said to everyone. Everyone celebrated.

"Finally some action! I was bored for so many days because you weren't in the mood," Green complained.

"Not that kind of show, we wouldn't want to scare our guest," Jio said, gesturing to them. Everyone seemed disappointed. Madalen didn't understand what he meant. "We'll open in the evening," he continued.

"What? The evening?" Madalen complained.

"Yes, that's the time," said Purple.

Did she have another choice?

"Get ready while Madalen rests in her room," Jio said.

"My room?" she asked.

He smiled at her and told her to follow him. They entered the Box of Madness. She saw the rooms with the colored doors again.

"This is where the troupe rests," he said, but Madalen already knew that. "My room is the last one, at the end of the corridor with the white door."

Next to Jio's room was a brown door, which she hadn't seen before. It was as if another room had appeared out of nowhere. They moved towards it.

"This is your room. I made it especially for you," he said, opening the brown door and motioning for her to enter. When did he catch up and make it? she wondered.

Madalen entered hesitantly. It was a large room with a door to the left that looked like the bathroom. It had no other doors or windows. It was just a large space decorated like a checkerboard, as were all the rooms and corridors. The color of the tiles was a much lighter brown than the door. They didn't look out of place. In the middle of the room was a huge double bed with transparent, sugar curtains and next to it a nightstand. Left and right on the walls were wardrobes and a mirror.

"It's a little tight, but if you want us to add anything else, you can tell me," Jio said.

"Why did you make a room?"

"I'm a good host," he winked at her. "You can rest until the show starts."

Madalen didn't speak. Jio left and she was alone in the strange room, decorated like a chessboard.

She lay suspiciously on the bed after checking it to see if it was safe. The mattress was soft and did sink in, but not too much. She lay down, looking at the ceiling. She wasn't sleepy at all with the tension she felt. But her body definitely wanted to relax. She couldn't sleep until she left that place…