"I feel like there are two types of people in this world. The ones that get over their grief and move on, and the ones that descend into some sort of endless misery."
{Reid from Criminal Minds}

//

"Mommy, Mommy!"

She chuckled. "Alright, dear. I'll try and win this bear for you, but trust me, I'm not that good at carnival games."

"I believe in you, Mommy." I spoke, a smile etched on my face.

Three tries and she still couldn't do it. She sighed and picked me up. "I'm sorry, Kieran. Looks like we're going to have to try and get that bear another time."

I frowned and wanted to start crying, but Gramps came and I reached for him. He picked me up out of my mom's arms and grabbed a coin from his pocket. He looked at me and smiled. "Your Gramps is a pro at this."

"Which bear do you want?" He questioned, signaling to the machine full of bears.

"That white bear with the blue overalls."

He moved the joystick over and pushed down on the red button, making the claw drop down into the bears. It grasped the white bear and picked it up, dropping it in the hole. I squealed. "Thanks, Gramps! You're the best!"

He chuckled and sat me down so I could retrieve the bear from the machine. I cuddled it in my arms and squeezed it tight. I glanced over at my mom who was chuckling and shaking her head. "You spoil her to death, Dad."

"Hey, technically, you're not called a grandparent if you don't spoil your grandchildren." Gramps spoke while giving me a peck on the cheek.

He was carrying me again and my mom sighed. "Which ride should we go to next?"

"I really like the House of Mirrors." Gramps pointed towards a tent and I repeatedly shook my head no. "Why not?"

"I'm scared of that."

"Ki, it's just a house full of mirrors."

"Yeah," My mom scoffed, "with creepy music and people hiding behind the mirrors. It's no place for a kid, Dad. Kieran is terrified of going in there."

Gramps sighed. "Fine, but when you get older, we're definitely going to the House of Mirrors."

//

I WOKE UP in a puddle of sweat. Ever since Gramps died, I've been having constant dreams of him, my mom, and me, going to the carnival. It's nonstop.

Pony shot up and glanced at me from across the sofa. "Kieran, are you okay?" He whisper-shouted.

Pony and I were sleeping on both of the sofas. He was on the one across from me, and even though I protested and told him he could sleep in his bed, he declined. Soda kept trying to get me to sleep in the bed, but I kept saying no and he gave up. 

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I just had a bad dream."

"Oh, okay." He mumbled and laid his head back down. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

We're breaking into the carnival.

All of these crazy thoughts kept creeping in my mind like, What if the killer is there watching us? What if someone catches us? What if we get arrested? What if we're too late and Derek dies?

I shook away the thoughts and stood up, walking into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. I opened the fridge and got out a bottle of water, chugging almost half of it down. I saw a figure in the doorway and jumped, spilling water all over me.

"Soda, you scared the living hell out of me!" I whisper-shouted, causing him to laugh.

"Sorry, I just came in here to get a drink." He apoligized and got out a bottle of water, drinking it.

When he finished, he sat it back in the fridge and sighed. "I'm sorry about everything that's happened, Ki. You don't deserve any of this."

I chuckled, but it came out more as a scoff. "You don't even know half of it."

He knitted his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

The words in red on my door came back to my mind, and I instantly shook my head. "Nothing. Nothing at all." I spoke and walked past him, making him even more confused and worried.

He sat beside me on the couch. "Kieran, something is wrong. What is it?"

Someone you love dies. Someone you hate also dies. Someone goes missing. Someone shows up. One person gets involved. One person wishes they didn't. One person gets stabbed. In the end, there's only six people standing. There's eight people in the gang, including, Kieran. So, who goes down?

The words kept flashing in front of me, all in the color red and I felt myself getting sick. I dashed to the bathroom and threw up, Soda running after me and holding up my hair. 

I stood up and wiped my mouth off. "That's what was wrong. I just feel sick all the time." I lied and was thankful I threw up to make him believe me.

"Oh, well I'm sorry you don't feel well, Ki. You tell me if you're not getting any better, alright?" He asked, but it came out as more of a demand.

I chuckled. "I promise, Soda."

He walked back into the bedroom, leaving me standing in the bathroom. I glanced in the mirror and cringed. I looked absolutely atrocious. My eyes had multiple bags under them, my face was ghastly pale, and I basically was just a walking zombie. I trudged back over to the couch and collapsed on top of it, immediately dozing off.

//

"KIERAN?" I HEARD a voice call. They started shaking me, and I groaned while sitting up to look at the culprit.

"Dally?"

He chuckled. "You know it. Anyways, I was wondering if you and Pony wanted to come to the Nightly Double tonight with me and Johnny?"

The carnival. Derek. Lead.

I sighed, sadly. "I'm sorry, Dal. I wish we could, but Pony and I have to go visit Derek at the hospital. I haven't been feeling well and Derek demanded me to go see him. Plus, we offered to help him out at the hospital."

I felt absolutely terrible lying to Dallas. We were just as close as me and Pony. He had a look of disappointment on his face which made me feel even worse. "Well, I hope you get to feeling better. See you later, Ki." He got up and started to leave.

"Thanks, Dally. It means a lot." I smiled and watched as he turned at me and walked out the door.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall. It was morning, which would be the perfect time to break into a carnival. "Pony?" I called, hoping he would answer.

"Hmmm?"

"It's perfect timing to go."

He sat up and stretched, sighing. "I feel bad about not going to the Nightly Double with them."

"You heard that?"

He nodded and I buried my face in my hands. "I don't know if I can keep lying to people, Pony. It kills me. I hate lying to people I care about."

He moved over to my sofa and wrapped his arms around me, comforting me. "Kieran, you're doing the right thing. Just keep in mind that you're doing this to keep Derek and the others alive. You are saving lives, even if you are doing something bad along with it."

I took a deep breath and slowly nodded, standing up. "Alright, let's get ready to play some games."