Escape from Doom! (Mr. Tophat)

Chapter 8

"If you're so worried about that young girl, then why don't you leave her alone? If you're so worried about that young girl remembering you and the carnival, then stop invading her dreams and tormenting her. Speaking of that, I didn't appreciate what you had done to me in her dream, just to get a reaction out of her," Amani said while rubbing her neck.

"Oh, it was one time that I snapped your neck in precious little Rachel's nightmare. It's not like I pull you into every single nightmare that I give Rachel. Most of the time I usually leave you out of them," Mr. Tophat said. "Speaking of nightmares, I'm going to say this once; stop going into Rachel's dreams and telling her to warn her little classmates to stay away from the carnival. Why concern yourself with kids anyway, Amani? Wouldn't you feel so much better if those kids were to come to the carnival and enjoy their stay here with us?"

"I know exactly what you're trying to do. You're trying to manipulate me into being a good girl and go along with your plan. But I don't want to see innocent children turn into mindless zombies, to help you capture more children. And if you don't want me ruining your plans, then set me free. All I have wanted since that night. All I want is to be able to rest peacefully," Amani said.

"No! As long as the carnival is around, you are to remain here by my side. Not even death will keep us apart my love. And sooner or later, you will begin to see things my way. You will come to realize that everything I do, it's for the sake of the carnival...for us," Mr. Tophat said while walking over to Amani, gently placing his hand on her hip, looking deep into her eyes. "Without you around to help me run the carnival, it would mean nothing. This carnival is something you and I can bond over. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

"What I want is a loving, caring husband. Not some crazed man who is obsessed with keeping his nightmare carnival open; as well as kidnap kids to be turned into zombie slaves. But you have proven to me that you only care about this damn carnival. I want no part of this nightmare," Amani said.

"Amani, if you want out of this hellhole punishment, you will stop fighting this. Give in and everything will be fine," Mr. Tophat said.

Amani shook her head, turning away from Mr. Tophat. "Please don't make me do this. Please. I only want to keep myself and not bother with anyone else. I'll behave, I promise."

Mr. Tophat placed his cane under Amani's chin, forcing her head to face him. Do what is right, Amani. The sooner you give in, the sooner you can come out, and enjoy tonight's festivities along with the rest of us. Stop fighting Amani. Give into the power. Don't make me run this show all on my own."

"Alright," Amani said void of any emotion as though she was in a trance.

"Good girl. My beautiful star is ready to come out and put on the most amazing show tonight," Mr. Tophat said, removing Amani from her punishment.

Bartholomew stood there watching Amani's every move trying to figure out if Amani was truly in a trance like state, or if she was faking it, trying to fool Mr. Tophat into thinking that she was under his control.

Mr. Tophat noticed the way that Bartholomew was looking at Amani. "Bartholomew, why on earth are you looking at Amani like that?"

"How can you be sure that this woman isn't playing you for a fool? How can you be sure that she isn't waiting for the right time to destroy all the hard work that you put into making this carnival a success," Bartholomew questioned.

"I can assure you that Amani is genuinely going to behave and do her part to make sure that everything goes smoothly. You can rest assure she will do ash she's supposed to do," Mr. Tophat said before he turned his attention to Amani. "My dear, why don't you go ahead and get ready for the show tonight?"

"Alright dear," Amani said before making her way to Mr. Tophat's tent that she shared with him. Mr. Tophat watched as his wife walked to the tent until she was out of sight.

Mr. Tophat then turned his gaze back to Bartholomew with a smirk on his face. "Still having doubts about my ability to control my darling wife?"

"That small act is not enough to prove to me that she won't ruin this. I plan on keeping a close eye on Amani, just to make sure that she doesn't snap and start destroying everything that we have worked so hard to achieve," Bartholomew said before walking away from Mr. Tophat.

You'll see for yourself Bartholomew; Amani will prove that she is capable of being a good girl; who will listen to everything that I tell her, Mr. Tophat thought to himself.

Rachel jumped awake, glancing over at the clock, noticing that she had slept a little longer than she had wanted. Shoot, I have to sneak out and meet Graham. I don't want to be late and have him think that I'm not interested in meeting his friends, Rachel thought to herself.

Rachel jumped out of bed, grabbing what she needed, before she snuck out of her room, hoping that her mother didn't catch her sneaking out of the house. If her mother caught her sneaking out, Rachel would be in a world of trouble. Rachel looked around, noticing that the living room lights were off, telling her that her mother was in bed.

Rachel let out a quiet sigh of relief, as she snuck to the front door, quietly opening the door, before she snuck out, shutting the door behind her. Rachel waited a moment or two to see if her mother heard the front door opening and closing. When Rachel realized that her mother wasn't going to wake up to check on her, Rachel wasted no time in making her way to the spot where Graham told her to meet him.

Rachel reached the meeting spot, looking around for any sign that Graham was there waiting for her.

Did I make Graham angry by showing up a few minutes late, Rachel to herself as she looked down at her watch.

As Rachel was glancing down at her watch to check the time, Rachel felt something being placed over her head, causing her to start freaking out. Rachel felt the person shove her forward, causing her to move in the direction that the person wanted her to walk in.

"Where are you taking me? Please let me go. I won't tell anyone about this," Rachel begged before the burlap sack was removed from Rachel's head.

Rachel took the opportunity to look around at her surroundings, noticing that there was a fire in the middle of what looked like a camp. Rachel's eyes then moved to all of the figures that had black robes with hoods covering their faces, so Rachel had no way to identify who each figure was.

"Who are you guys? What do you want from me? Is this some sort of sick joke," Rachel asked, growing annoyed with the figures standing in front of her. "If you don't tell me what you want from me, then I'm leaving."

"Don't leave," one of the figures spoke up.

Rachale recognized the voice that spoke up. "Graham?"

All of the figures groaned while having a few choice words that were said to Graham as they took their hods off, revealing Graham and the rest of his friends.

"Sorry guys. I didn't think she would recognize my voice," Graham said.

"What is this place," Rachel asked again.

"This is where we hold the midnight society meetings," Graham said, earning a glare from his friends.

"Well, the cats out of the bag now," Kiko said.

"Why am I here," Rachel asked again.

"Graham is the reason you're here," Kiko explained.