5.

At a carnival with which five friends have gone to, three took off into the House of Mirrors and something happens in there that completely duped Gary Arnold. Gary, Keith, and Alex all took off to the Mirror house as soon as they entered the carnival grounds. It was more Keith taking off with Gary and Alex not wasting any time in following on. This of course, gave Trebor and Alisha their moment to go play their water gun game. The other three had taken off so quickly that it left a sense of why bother giving chase? Those three will probably be like this the whole time they are on carnival premises so why not leave them to it?

Yeah, Keith got into that mirror fun house first, allowing opportunity to set something up.

'Where did Keith go?' Alex would ask Gary once they both were inside.

'The hell do I know' Gary responds.

Then comes the 'I'm over here ...'

Gary and Alex turn around to see Keith only he isn't quite where the other two imagine him to be. His reflection is right there within the nearest full-sized mirror and it comes across as such that surly Keith would need to be standing right in front of that mirror for his reflection to look so complete as it does but no, Keith is not standing anywhere close to that mirror.

Alex touches the mirror and sees his own reflection though Keith's is still there too. 'How's he doing that? How, the hell, is he doing that?'

'I have no friggen idea but however he is doing it, I wanna learn.'

Keith manages to do this within another mirror without his actual self being seen. Gary is amazed at this. He doesn't understand it and indeed that is exactly why it amazes him. This House of Mirrors moment, for some odd and peculiar takes him back to his earliest memory of being at a circus. He was six years old at the time and had gone with his family. What had intrigued him the most on the day were the clowns. He loved the clowns.

The trapeze artists were great, the magician was awesome, the strong man, he couldn't get over the size of the elephants, he had never seen an animal so big up close before. Yeah, he had been to the zoo before that but nothing as big as the elephants were anywhere near being this close to him but indeed the clowns, he loved the clowns.

There had been five clowns in all who throughout the show were sporadically coming out in twos and threes though there was one point where all five came out together and this was with the purpose of inviting ten of the attending children down and into the circus ring. Oh, the joy when six-year-old Gary heard them say they were looking for volunteers.

The joy and enthusiasm were so clear and obvious that Gary, in his own way kind of jumped out at the clowns without actually leaving his seated spot other than to get up onto his feet. There was no way they could not choose him to be one of the ten chosen children. It could easily be imagined that he would be devastated if he did not get chosen. The ten chosen children were to be taught a dance there and then to perform for the crowd which went as well as well could and Gary loved every second of it.

And why the House of Mirror's moment brought that memory back might be unknown, perhaps they both had the very same amazed fun attached to them or something along those lines. The joy and amazement though would soon receive a jolt for when the House of Mirrors were finished with Gary would notice that Trebor and Alisha were having somewhat of a moment, and he indeed saw him hand her a stuffed fluffy heart.

He would not say anything of such a moment though seeing that did hurt a little, more than a little in fact. It made his own heart drop a little. Why couldn't it be him handing her a heart? If he could physically give her his own, then he would in an instant.

When Gary gets into his own darkened room, the first thing he comes in contact with is a full-sized mirror and what he sees in it is the memory of Trebor having a moment with Alisha that year ago or so. Hanging from the left-hand side of the full-length mirror so happens to be an orange hat, a clown hat, the same kind of hat that the clown who chose him so long ago was wearing.

All that was missing from his moment of entry into his room number of choice is sound of some big top playing and perhaps the actual sight of a clown or a child dancing. Though indeed, he had only just entered that room, who says the music, or a clown or two, will not come? Now if there so happened to be an elephant hiding in the darkness of this room, then perhaps it would be quite likely that Gary may just pee himself with fear.

Considering the thoughts of a dancing clown, isn't such a thing quite familiar from somewhere other than a circus. The saying too ... addressing the elephant in the room ... ten hours can be quite a lengthy period of time depending on the circumstances within that time.

6.

During the summer of 2012, well from the beginning of the year more precisely but definitely summertime now more so with schools being done during the season months, there had been great worry through townsfolk. An ever-increasing count of child abduction cases on any day would be worrying and though none had been reported throughout town they were closing in with occurrences happening in neighbouring towns.

Yeah, cases at first being reported a couple hundred miles away had in time decreased to seventy fives away closing in on fifty miles away and of course if trends continued it would only be a matter of time before attempted abductions would be sneaking in locally.

Warnings were constant and worry ever growing. No child would be left to play outdoors alone no matter how close to home they were. Playgrounds would be constantly supervised. Local shopping areas and swimming pools would have extra security ... there certainly would be a war time feel all around town no matter what part of it you went to.

Something being taken as seriously as this would bring down the level of joy and fun about the place, but this is where people came together. People became determined not to have their lives interrupted so horribly when nothing has actually occurred close enough to really cause significant worry. Vigilance will remain though life does go on.

Keith, Gary, Trebor, and Alex already had been friends for some time so if they went anywhere then they did so together. They all were only ten years old during that summer though any potential child abductor or abductors would hardly go after four boys in one go. Still the town as a whole would be cautious. Everyone would keep an eye out and on any nearby child or children whether they be known to them or not.

Escourted by an adult until all four friends were together, even then it was difficult to let them be. No one could know for sure as to if any kind of attack would come to town and there is the want and need to let kids be kids, still it is all so very difficult. Kicking ball in a large open field with plenty of grown-ups looking on, didn't feel like fun at all. There is no enthusiasm, no energy, no fun, the four friends felt like they were doing something that they shouldn't but what really could they do to change things up?

The field they came to be in is indeed an open one, it's large and is encompassed by footpath and then road. Across one of the streets there is a white van with men outside of it looking as if they are workmen working on powerlines.

'Do you think that's how they do it?' Alex asks the others. 'Those workers might not be workers at all. They could be waiting for a child, any child to come close then ... bang ... they and the child are gone.'

'We could ask them' Keith says.

'Yeah, right' Trebor says, 'we'll just go up to them as ask if they steal children.'

'Why not?' Keith asks.

Of course, none of the other three can know for sure as to if Keith is messing or being serious. Keith begins to move by himself towards that van. The other three watch for a second or two waiting for the laugh to come, it's a joke, Keith is not really gonna do that, but it looks like he is. Those men may really just be workers but what if they are not? Not matter who or what they are, Keith isn't stopping.

'Keith, come on' Gary says. 'Stop your messing.'

'No messing here lads. I'm serious.'

Indeed, it looks as if he is. The other three begin to talk among themselves as to what they are gonna do about Keith but before they can come to a decision, something happens. There is a mother and daughter walking together on the footpath between the field and the road ... well a mother with two daughters, one of which is being pushed along in a buggy. This mother and two kids, they are not at all so far away from that white van. The older girl runs on ahead despite her mum's words to the contrary.

Two men instantly run towards that girl and grab her while a third man knocks the mother to the ground. Gary, Trebor, and Alex are all stunned to the spots they stand within though Keith is gone running. He had already made a start and is in no way going to just stop and watch on. If he can do anything then he certainly is going to try. As fast as he could he runs and manages to step in front of that van before it can move away.

One of those workers exits the van to tackle him and possibly grab him too. The other three aren't about to allow that to happen. Four friends are soon upon that van, doing all they can to prevent an escape. With the locality being on alert for more than a little while now, an abduction is thwarted.

The saved girl, as it so happens to be, is Alisha Kelly. None of the four friends knew of her before this day it would actually be when they jointly pay her a visit within a hospital that she would be accepted into the group. It would be during this hospital visit that the four friends would come to discover her name, and indeed adopt a girl to join them. The hospital visit, and brief stay being just a precaution, no harm had been done. A bond created to last a life-time. The length of life for this friendship ... well ...

Yeah, is a unique friendship, a special friendship, one that would under regular circumstances be an unending friendship. Thing is, what damage will be done to it due to a challenge the group will take on both as a whole and individually? Can they come out of the Flesh Factory as a stronger unit, or will the friendship be torn apart? Will there be total survival or with there be one or more losses?

Is the beginning of the end about to get underway or is the end of what began on that summer day in 2012 set to arrive when the sun goes down? Each of the five friends has yet to turn eighteen years of age so if survival comes and comes with financial reward, will they still remain a unit or will they begin to go their separate ways? Who, if any, will fail to come out of The Flesh Factory alive?