Blood Circus

Chapter 14- Deadly Aim

The gun sat innocently on the desk.

" Looks like a shooting game."

" One player, too."

" But what does this have to do with finding the number?"

" It's a test. I'll do it." Liam gave no protest to this. Sylvia had spent years on her aim, and as a result, rarely missed. If the game was for aiming, she was their best choice.

She walked over to the desk and picked up the gun. It was a basic handgun, similar to the two she had already. She took the ammo clip. Six shots. That was all she had. She would have to make sure not to waste any. The moment the clip clicked into the gun, something jumped up from under the desk. Sylvia felt something clamp around her ankles and she looked to see two metal restraints holding her firmly on the ground. She tried to move, but the clamps kept her from going anywhere. She looked at the vampire who had been hiding from them. He was smiling at her. His afro was more than twice the size of his head. He wore a tacky Hawaiian shirt, the bright colours contrasting with his dark skin tone.

" Hello, cutie!" he had a heavy Jamacian accent. Although she hated to say it, he did fit your stereotypical regge singer. She hated stereotypes, especially when she had heard her fair share of blond jokes. It was amazing how many people thought she was dumb because she was a blue eyed blond girl.

Behind her, Liam called her name worriedly. She turned her head to look at him.

" This won't take long. I'm fine."

" Are you sure?"

" Yeah! Just stay back." She gave him a reassuring smile before returning her attention to the vampire. As soon as she faced him, her reached up and placed something around her neck. She slapped at his hand, but he still managed to get some sort of metal collar on her. She suddenly knew how that lion must have felt.

" Let me tell you the rules, Hunter chick." That 'chick' at the end made her tempted to shoot him. She had the gun in her hands after all...

" Basically, this is the shooting range. You got six shots, make 'em count. Shoot the black targets. Now here's the catch! If you miss a target, or shoot a red target, that collar will give you an electric shock. Three shocks will stop your heart!" He cackled as he stepped out the way of the shooting range. Sylvia held up the gun and focused.

The first target popped down from a gap in the ceiling above the long range. It was just a black silhouette of a person's upper body printed on a board. Without hesitation, she aimed and shot it directly where the heart would be. The target quickly retreated back into the gap. She waited patiently on the next target.

1...2...3...4...5...the next target dropped from a gap further away from her. Another black one, so she shot and hit again, this time in the head. The second target retreated. Five seconds between the first two targets. Two shots fired. She had four left. No doubt the next target would come faster, and probably be red. She dropped her guard a little.

1...2...3...4...she was right. A red silhouette dropped down next. She ignored it. The next board would be faster, and could be either colour. She was expecting some sort of twist soon. The game was too easy so far.

1...2...3...two boards came out from the gaps. One moved left, the other mover right. They were moving fast. She manged to shoot one through the chest, but the other disappeared before she could get it. As promised, a shock sent it's way through the collar around her neck. She cried out as the searing pain rippled through her body. It hurt, bad. The shock only lasted a second, but her neck felt numb from it for a few more after. Eventually, she managed to hold the gun up again, and prepared for the next boards.

But her head must have taken a bad hit from the shock. When the next two targets came down, she didn't realised until after she had pulled the trigger that the targets were red. She swore, but it cut off when the electricity shot through her again. It was more painful the second time. She could feel her hair starting to stand on end. She doubled over for a moment, feeling dizzy. When she did manage to stand up again, she could hear the vampire cackling, enjoying his twisted game. She held up her gun and tried to focus. But her vision was blurred.

The target came down at the very back of the range. Her blurred vision made it too hard to see, but if she missed this one, the next shock would kill her. She had no choice but to aim and hope she hit it. She was shaking as pulled the trigger. The gun fired it's last shot.

She waited as the target returned to the gap. Nothing. Then she heard the vampire speak through gritted teeth.

" Damn! Lucky shot, Hunter. But if you thought this was a fair game, you were wrong!"

He reached to press a button on the desk, which she guessed would give her an electric shock whethere she missed or not. She had known this wouldn't be a fair game from the start, but the shocks had took their toll on her. She didn't have enough energy left to stop him. At that moment, she called for Liam to help her.

Her vision was getting worse. She was going to pass out. But before she did, as she fell onto the desk, a blurred figure flew forward and punched the vampire. She heard the vampire say something.

She blacked out as the figure leaned over her.

When she woke up, she wasn't at the shooting range. In fact, she didn't know where she was. As her memory of what had happened returned, she say up straight. Her first thought was Liam. She saw him kneeling next to her. He looked relieved to see her awake.

" You're okay! Thank God! You had us worried for a minute there!"

" Us?" He nodded to something behind her. She turned and saw a figure leaning on the door to wherever they were.

Damian.

Her mind hit a rock. Too many questions filled her head. Where are we? What is Damian doing here? Did they get the next number? She looked back to Liam and waited for an explanation. He caught on quick.

" Right. Well, when you started that game, Damian grabbed me. I wanted to help you, but he told me to wait here. He left me here, and when he came back, he had you." She turned to Damian. He shrugged.

" Sorry I wasn't faster. But when I did get there, you were already out. I killed Dan, the guy with the Afro, and carried you back here. I also managed to grab this for you." He handed her a piece of paper. It was exactly like the one she had got from the lion. Bold black marker created a shape on one side.

8.

Liam took the note from her hands and folded it in his pocket with the other one. She stood up, and nearly fell over again but Liam managed to catch her. It took her a minute to find her balance again. Happy that she was okay, Liam let her go and she looked at Damian.

" Two down, two to go. Any idea where the next number is?" Liam was confused for a moment, then realisation crossed his face. He pointed at Damian.

" You threw that paper plane at me!"

" I wasn't aiming for you, but yeah I guess I did."

" Sylvia, you knew? Why wouldn't you tell me?!"

" Because if the vampires found out he was trying to help us, they'd get mad at him." She heard a sigh from Damian.

" Doesn't matter now. I'm sure I saw them take another number to the water ride. Let's go." She nodded. But her mind caught on those first words. 'Doesn't matter now'? Something had happened, she knew it. But she wasn't going to pressure him into talking. If he felt like it, he'd tell them in his own time. Also, she wasn't really interested in stories. All she wanted to do was get out of there as soon as possible. So they slipped out of the strange room and back into the circus.

Only two numbers were left.