"On the DL for now. We'll have to work out your big debut. But behind the scenes...you're a Freak already."

Boneyard led me deeper into the colorful lair, a steady hand on my back. Another flap and we were in a small, rectangular room. A few chairs were set up almost haphazardly, and a large table stood in the center.

"That's our visitor's lobby, so to speak. Sometimes, we have especially rich clients or other Villains who want to talk something out professionally brought here, but this is the furthest they go. When they're ready, the Freak who let them in just pulls this cord, and...." she says and pulls the golden cord hanging from the ceiling, seemingly attached to nothing at all. The second she does, someone else emerges from the opposite tent flap.

"Then the big boss is notified!" the figure growls joyfully.

The man who stepped in was at least 8 feet tall. He had to duck to pass his hulking frame through, and even then, his width made that a challenge too.

His body was a grotesque sight. It reminded me somewhat of when a kid accidentally breaks his action figure and randomly repairs it with parts from another one, even though they don't fit thematically.

His right leg and left arm were absurdly swollen, the skin purple and missing in patches. But instead of the view of flesh and muscle, damp, greasy hair seemed to spill out from the wounds. The large boot on his right leg had its front torn to shreds by Velociraptor-like claws and the nails on his left hand were sharp, long, and bent in a similar sickle-like form.

His face, however, was affected the worst. The right eye hung semi-loosely from its socket, large and segmented like the compound eyes of insects. The right half of his nose was fully missing, as were the lips from the right side of his mouth.

That mouth was stretched into a painful-looking grin from which large and uneven fangs protruded. The hair on the right side of his head was wild and unkempt, and due to the enclosed space, its gentle, swaying movement could not be blamed on the wind. His right ear seemed ordinary at first glance, but sometimes thin strands, looking a bit like feelers, emerged from the ear canal only to quickly retreat again.

The left side of his face, on the other hand, was utterly unremarkable. A well-groomed haircut, clean shaven, even plucked eyebrows from the looks of it. Same went for the left side of his lower-, and the right side of his upper body.

"Just so you know, normally I don't show up this quickly. The alarm is in the bedroom.....my bedroom, that is, or rather my office, way in the back. But...uhm....this was rehearsed. We planned this. I planned this."

I slowly held out my left hand.

"The Haunting Nightmare, I presume?"

He grabbed it with his human hand and half of him smiled.

"The very same, but you can call me Haunt. Everyone here does. Come in. Let me show you around."

Without waiting for a response he turned and half-stomped back where he came from.

Boneyard, her hand still on my back, pushed me to follow.

"The boss isn't always like this. He's usually in a pretty bad mood. But he enjoys welcoming new blood, so enjoy it while it lasts." she whispered.

As we made our way down the short cloth hallway, some familiar smells entered my notes, competing within my brain for nostalgia.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Do you have carnival food in here?" I asked.

Nightmare held another tent flap open and after going through I saw a view that was a lot more on brand.

A wide, expansive room stretched out before my eyes, filled with countless different aspects of the stereotypical carnival experience. Love and Strength testers, Watergun and Duck Shooting games, rubber ducky fishing, and of course, food machines. There was a booth that made cotton candy, a candied nuts dispenser, a DIY Candied-Apple stand, and more.

"This our Break Room. Here we get games to relax and snacks to quell the little pangs."

As he said this he grabbed a soda from a cooler and began making a stick of cotton candy.

"It's all free, but if you take the last it's your duty to call the supplier and order a refill. It's usually a bit busier here but Twin is in her room, we're doing the tour, and most of the others are out and about."

As he ate, he seemed to only take bites with the monstrous half of his mouth.

"So, is that all you eat?" I asked as Boneyard took some Candied Nuts.

The boss chuckled.

"Oh, no. Every evening, if more than half the troupe is present, we have dinner together. Take turns cooking. There is a kitchen further down. If you want to eat something other than Candy for Breakfast and Lunch, or you're out of the tent at dinner time, you have to buy something outside like a civvie."

Boneyard nodded.

"We don't eat together very often...but it's always pleasant when we do."

"Speaking of the others though...there is something we have to do later....." the Nightmare mumbled before shaking his head. "But that can wait for now. Come, this way."

We walked through a few other rooms. One with a large screen and a computer, a small one with a large, round table, something that looked like a boiler room, and more, all surrounded by cloth tent walls and.....

"Can I ask a question? What's up with the floor? It feels like I'm stepping on quicksand ever since I entered this place."

The two stopped in their tracks and turned toward me, a bright smile gracing half of the boss' face.

"It's not quicksand. It won't harm you. As long as you're responsible that is."

I raised my eyebrow.

"And what does that mean?"

Nightmare grinned even wider and bent down onto his knees. He threw his arms up and jumped. When he landed, he sunk right into the ground up to his hips. I was about to ask Boneyard if we had to help him out of there when the floor corrected its position, and in the process catapulted him upwards until his head reached the soft ceiling.

"It bounces.....seriously?" I said, somewhere between stunned and annoyed.

"It does." the monstrous man bellowed from above, his third bounce by now, and landed back on the floor. This time, his legs were spread much farther apart. Instead of shooting him back up, the floor propelled him upward by maybe an Inch or two and he was safely grounded again.

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes until I spoke again.

"I know you guys have a theme but doesn't that go a bit far?"

Boneyard chuckled.

"The floor is not just like that for fun. It is a very useful and delightfully on-brand ....security system, of a sort."

She began making small hops down the hallway, not gaining nearly as much height as her boss, but being remarkably faster than she would be otherwise, even at a run.

"Using the floor efficiently is a matter of instinct." she said after she returned beside me. "We don't teach new members. If you are in here long enough you just get used to it. And as you can see, someone skilled at navigating the floor has a lot of strategic and practical advantages."

"But the best part is..." the Nightmare continued. "That any cunts who are trying to escape here, or take the fight to our turf, will be helplessly impaired and distracted just trying to get around. The floor is part of what makes the tents our sanctuaries. No one can get us here. And even those that do, like fliers, have their greatest advantage nullified as anyone of us can easily reach their height."

"I......I guess I'll have to get used to that..." I said as our group continued on. "Where exactly are we going, by the way?"

"Oh, just checking if you're really on the up and up. But I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." the Boss said as we entered a circular room with blankets, pillows, couches, and a myriad of other sources of softness strewn about.

In the middle of it, a man was floating.

"Master Controller, this is Zen. Before you, he was our newest addition. We hope you'll turn out just as invaluable as he did."

Instead of setting himself down, the man kept his cross-legged posture and hovered over to me. His eyes remained closed the whole time. He looked just as he did in the video I saw of him. Ratty jacket, shoulder-length brown curls, black shoes, and jeans. Nothing remarkable at all.

"I did not choose this Moniker for myself, but alas.....Greetings, my friend. It is nice to see you in person after hearing so much about you. I hope we can get along."

His voice was as calm and serene as his smile, not an ounce of force or aggression behind his words.

This was it. Even before I unlocked Full Possession, I hated meeting other people with mental powers. When I read someone's mind, they don't feel a thing. But if someone were to do it to me, I would have this indescribably uncomfortable sensation of my brain being poked and prodded inside my head. Us Mental types don't mix well.

But knowing you're being invaded gives you the opportunity to fight back, and that's why I was here.

I steeled my mind and raised my mental defenses, ready to intercept.

"Maybe you should open your eyes so you can actually see me." I said, trying to sound jovial despite my concentration.

His smile widened, just a tick.

"Believe me, I have already taken a good look at you."

He inched even closer, his nose almost touching my mask.

"Mallory."

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