Chapter 7

Chapter Seven
The Bridgewood Asylum was established in the early fifties, but was shut down in the later seventies due to a large fire. The Jeffery Kinney Asylum was the home place for mentally sick people afterwards. The asylum as enormous, a grey brick walled facility that filled an entire twelve acres, plus more. The area had been litered with beer cans and snack bags; the walls had graffiti spray paint of words like, "Hell-House" and "Help me!" Each window was heavily barred with rusty iron bars and the windows were tainted black due to the smoke in the fire. There were a few patches of grass, but whatever was once green had turned dead white. Most of the yard surrounding the area of the asylum was made of cracked concrete.

People, mainly young teens, stood around the facility talking to one another or chatting on their cell phones. A red neon sign with yellow letters hung over a pair of double doors that read: Carnival Rouge. Loud demented carnival music played from scattered speakers around the asylum. There were a few staff members dressed in hideous costumes and would jump out to scare some of the teenagers.

A clown, covered in blood and holding a bloody butcher knife, would walk behind an unsuspecting person. He stood seven foot tall, aided by stilts. When the person would turn around, he would let out a shrilling laugh that pierced through the night sky. With his long limbs, the clown would run away, laughing.

Another staff member, dressed in a butchers outfit with a metal cage over his head, would walk about with a belt holding all sorts of bloody knives. His overly large belly would bounce as he hobbled over to young teen girls and stare at them, licking his fat lips.

A scarecrow, a werewolf like monster and a man covered in tattoos and piercings would jump out of the darkness, follow teenagers without a sound and grab people with sinister delight.

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Richard stood out of the passenger side of the black car that Chloe drove. His lean frame was covered with a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt hidden under a brown flannel cover shirt all under a casual brown leather jacket. His eyes were covered with the thick pair of black plastic framed glasses and his brown curly hair swayed in the fall wind.

Chloe stood out, dressed in a green skirt that was partially hidden by an overly large t-shirt that held the image of a rock band singing. Around her torso was a black sweater that had a matching hood and ran down to her knees. Her long blond hair was straight and held back by the same black band she wore before. Instead of her green glasses, Chloe wore her contacts, which brought out her greenish blue eyes. Her lips were covered with a thin layer of gloss and her eyes were painted with a light shade of black.

The back passenger door opened and Martha stood out. Her red hair sat on her shoulders with a heavy curl. Her eyelids held the shade of purple and her lips were covered in a faint red. She wore a slimming black dress that ran down to her knees and just under her skirt was a black fishnet stockings. A pair of black boots ran up to her knees and around her upper body was a slimming motorcycle jacket.

"It looks like an intro to an Insane Clown Posse concert." Chloe started, have disgusted with the look of the asylum.

Martha nodded, watching the fat butcher lick his lips at a Latino woman dressed in provocitive clothing. "I don't know what that is, but if it is as disgusting as this, I will turn it down anyday."

Richard's worried eyes looked around with a forced smile. "Well, they seem to be having fun." He turned his gaze on the girls beside him and behind him. "Can't be too bad."

The clown laughed as he ran away with a young man's cap in his hands. The young man gave chase, yelling curse words at the clown.

Martha sighed and folded her arms across her chest as she walked around the car to stand by Chloe. "Let us locate your friends. That will ease the tension."

Chloe looked around the small crowd and stammered. "Uh ... Let ... Me ..." She turned and held a finger up to Martha. "Give me a sec." With hestint eyes, Chloe turned to go into the crowd.

Martha watched Chloe with confusion before leaning over to Richard. "What is going on?"

Richard sighed and watched Chloe. "She likes to act like she has a lot of friends, but she doesn't. She knows many names of people, but no one spends time with her."

　

The red head turned to her cousin with a smile. "Except you."

Richard nodded. A smile formed on his face he glanced to his feet. "The first day we met, she asked if I have been welcomed to the country. I told her no. She shook my hand and said that she was glad I came to Bridgewood." He returned his twinkling eyes to Chloe returning to them.

Chole waved her arms and shrugged. "I guess they didn't show up."

Martha smiled to the fake smiling Chloe. "It isn't a shame dear, we can have more of you to ourselves."

With each girl on each of Richard's arms, Martha on the right and Chole on the left, the three started to the enterance of Carnival Rouge.

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The first room of the asylum was the overly large lobby shaped in an oval. The dome like ceiling had a large handmade painting of heaven. The heavenly painting was of clouds and angels flying about over a blue sky. White mansions sat protruding out of the sky and in the center of it all was Jesus standing next to a lion and petting the mane of the mighty beast. Red colored Christmas lights hung around the dome and lit up this crackling painting.

The walls of the lobby were painted with glow in the dark paint. This paint was in many forms of cartoon devils and monsters. These drawings were lit up with black lights that sat around the lobby.

In the center of the lobby was a handmade, poorly constructed, stage made of black cloth sprinkled with glitter.

The crowd gathered into the area. Those that did not come in quickly were forced by the staff members outside. About sixteen, including Martha, Richard and Chloe, stood in the lobby as the metal doors behind them slammed shut.

Martha turned and watched as the tall clown and fat butcher placed a thick chain through iron rings weilded into the doors. The two monsters then clamped the chains tightly with three combination locks.

Loud, demented, carnival music surrounded the lobby as a spotlight hanging down from the ceiling blasted a light down on the stage. The black curtain drew back and a figure that was once hidden by the curtain emerged.

The figure was a tall, very skinny man. His frame was cloaked in a heavy black Catholic priest like coat. His skin was a lush red and his face was the same. His left ear held metal rings and his nose was long with a curve at the end. On his deep red forehead was a knife scar in the shape of an X. His eyes were a bright glowing yellow and from just above the scar were two long sharp, ivory white horns.

He waved his hand which held long fingernails. His face seemed calm. "Welcome ... To ... Carnival Rouge." The devil said in a sadden, sing sing like voice. There was a hint of an Italian accent in his voice.

The music stopped as he folded his arms across his chest. "It is a perfect place to rest in peace." He smiled and exposed a set of crudely yellow sharp teeth. "Of course after a little torture here and there." He took in a deep breath and gave a lazy look to his eyes. "I am your host, Louise Diabolo and I assure you what you will experience tonight is real. There are no gags and no tricks, all is real here."

Some of the people in audience laughed and rubbed their cheeks.

Louise gave a sinister smile. "They laugh at this, Scarecrow Jack."

Out from behind the devil host jumped out a skinny framed man, dressed in blood covered brown jumpsuit! His face was covered with a white bag pulled tightly across his face. A cartoon like face with a smile was drawn on the bag and a tanned straw fedora sat on his head. Covering his hands were blood soaked work gloves and a machete sat in its sheeth hanging on a thick brown belt around his skeleton like waist. "Say what now!!" His voice sounded cracked and crazed.

Some the women in the audience gasped, even Chloe grabbed tightly to Richard's arm.

Scarecrow Jack stared at the audience and rotated his body without moving his head. "Well, that spins me around."

Chloe gave a short nervous chuckle at the thin Scarecrow Jack.

Richard looked down at Chloe next to him and smiled.

Scarecrow Jack turned the drawn eyes of his mask to the ceiling. "Can you believe that, Pale-Face?"

From the stage, the spotlight ran to the ceiling and centered on a little girl, no older than ten, sloly decending down from a large red hoop suspended by old pullies. She wore a white ballerina tight suit with a missing skirt. Her extra long hair, which passed her hips, was braided and paper white. Over her face was a porcelain mask designed to look like and innocent girl with rosey cheeks and red lips. The only this missing from the mask was the eyes, which were to black holes. The loop gently sat the silky white haired girl onto the stage. She planted her slippers onto the floor and walked off the loop with intense grace. Slowly and quietly, Pale-Face walked over to the side of Diabolo and stood hunched. Louise placed one of his red hands on her head and stroked her hair.

Louise's yellow eyes stared at the audience. "You have already met Caged Bill and High Laugh."

Martha turned to the butcher and clown behind the crowd. The clown hissed with laughter and the butcher let out a loud burp.

"And our little hound Marcus, who roams the outside of the carnival, making sure no one leaves." He gave a horrible smile. "Tonight will be your last on earth ... I am so glad you decided to share it with us." He patted the top of Pale-Face's head. "If you can make it to my room, then you shall win the prize."