[loosygoosy007]

This one's a bit longer than the rest. I couldn't stop writing in this chapter because I got so into it. Enjoy!


She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, easing her mind. It was the first time she had ever tried to walk across a trapeze, and she was high above the ground. The worst part was the net to save her was thirty feet below her.

"Come on, honey, you can do it!" a woman shouted from below.

The spotlight was shining in her eyes, and she felt the fear come back to her.

Everyone's watching me, she thought, I can't do this.

She opened her eyes again, determined. She stood taller and put her hands out at her sides, parallel to the ground. She had done this flip many times on the ground and even on a balance beam, but she had never done it so high in the air before.

She quickly pushed her upper body forward and flipped. She kept her eyes opened as she flipped over, watching the world go upside down. She kept her feet pointed as she prepared for her landing. She did not have her hands to help her balance, because it was a no-handed flip.

As she felt gravity pull her back down, her feet felt for the thin rope. Her right foot landed first, confidently on the small rope. She was almost there. Her left foot felt for the rope as she brought the rest of her body back to her original position. Her left foot stumbled, and she felt her body lose control.

She gasped, scared, and so did the little crowd watching her below. She waved her arms around a little bit, then regained control of her body. She stood up tall, her arms proudly in the air in victory. She then walked back over to the other end of the trapeze. She stepped on the solid floor and then started to walk the long ladder down to the ground thirty feet below.

On the floor below, people were applauding her. She was smiling as she climbed back down the stairs. When she reached the ground, people were around her, patting her on the back.

"Good job, honey!" the woman said, "You did great!"

The girl smiled, pushing her flaming red hair out of her face.

"I agree," the ringmaster said.

The crowd parted, letting the director of the circus through.

"That was well done, Christine," he said, "You are doing superb on the trapeze. Perhaps you should consider changing your role in our circus."

The ringmaster exited the circle, and the rest of the people crowded tighter around the girl.

"Did you hear that, Christine?" the same woman said, "He wants you being an artist, honey!"

"Yeah, I heard, Mom," Christine said, "And I can't believe it, either."

The two laughed in delight. Christine and her mom walked away from the crowd of performers and outside of the performing tent. Outside, many other performers were warming up for their time in the ring.

Christine looked at the other performers, reminiscing how she came to where she was. She was only a toddler when her mom had joined the circus, bringing her along. She never knew her father, and her mom never mentioned him at all.

When she was little, her mom would tell her stories of the circus and how she came upon it. Christine always looked up to her mom. Some knew her as Glenda, but the audience always knew her as The Bearded Lady.

One would think that an average girl would be embarrassed of her mom being The Bearded Lady. Christine, though, was anything but embarrassed. She was proud of her mom, and definitely proud to be a part of the circus family. It was all she had, and it was all that she stood for.

Christine and Glenda made their way over to their tent. Inside, two other girls Christine's age were doing their makeup.

"Well, I have to go," Glenda said, "My time to practice is soon. You girls have fun."

"Okay," Christine said, "Thanks, Mom."

Christine grabbed a stool next to the other girls and picked up a makeup brush. She started to do her makeup, which was very elaborate. Normally, it took her an hour just to place it all correctly on her face at the perfect angles.

Christine found herself spending a lot of time in the makeup tent, especially before performances. All of the women had to do their makeup, and it took them all almost as long as her to put on her makeup, sometimes even longer. This was also the costume tent, where the costumes were designed and made. Christine liked this tent a lot, because it allowed her to spend a lot of time with her women performers and her friends.

"Hey Christine," the girl at the mirror beside her said. She was about Christine's age and had short brown hair, just covering her ears in length. "How was the trapeze work?"

"Oh fine, Melinda," Christine replied, picking up an eye shadow pen, "Curtis saw me do a no-handed walkover."

Melinda immediately turned to Christine, a huge smile on her face.

"Are you serious?" she asked, excited, "What did he say?"

"Well," Christine said, smiling, "He said that I might want to reconsider my role in the circus."

Melinda waved her hands around in excitement.

"Oh my gosh!" she said, "This is so cool! You'll be moving up soon, I guarantee it!"

"I don't know," Christine said, looking over her shoulder at another girl that was at another mirror. The girl was doing her makeup, a frown on her face. She had long, silky blonde hair and was about the same age as Christine. "I doubt she'd let me be a trapeze artist."

"Oh," Melinda said, glaring at the girl, "Victoria. Gosh, that girl annoys me. She thinks she so cool because she's been doing the trapeze for forever."

"Well, it is cool," Christine said, sighing, "What I would give to be a trapeze artist-"

"You? A trapeze artist?"

Christine looked over her shoulder. Victoria had somehow found a way into their conversation. Christine turned back around, ignoring her.

"Maybe," Christine said.

Victoria laughed, and then brought her face next to Christine's so that she could see her reflection in the mirror.

"Who said you could be an artist?" Victoria asked.

"Curtis did," Christine said, "Possibly."

Victoria looked at them, a smug look on her face.

"I doubt he'll go through with it," she finished, "Besides, you do so well at your job already."

Victoria looked at them, smirking, and walked back to her mirror. Christine and Melinda just looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"See," Christine said, "And that's why I'll never be an artist."

"Don't listen to her," Melinda said, "She just thinks she's the queen bee. Curtis has the last say in everything, and if he knows you like I do, he'll let you do it."

Christine sighed, picking up her eyeliner.

"I guess so," she said.

"Hey," Melinda said, "Let me help you with your makeup."

"Shouldn't you be working on yours?" Christine asked, "Normally it takes you twice as long for you to put yours on than it does mine."

"Well, that's clown makeup for you," Melinda said, sighing, "But hey, you've got it easy. Anyways, I have something to tell you."

Melinda pulled up a stool and sat beside her.

"What's up?" Christine asked, facing Melinda.

Melinda formed a goofy smile on her face.

"Guess who I just got a letter from?" she said, her smile widening.

Christine's eyes went wide in excitement.

"He wrote to you?" she asked.

Melinda nodded, smiling.

"Goodness, that's the second time this week!" Christine exclaimed, "What did he say?"

"He said that he misses me and is really excited to see me perform when we get to San Diego," Melinda said happily.

"Well, that's our next stop, isn't it?" Christine asked.

Melinda nodded excitedly.

"Well, you don't have much longer to wait now, do you?" Christine said, finishing up one half of her face with makeup.

"Yeah," Melinda said, dreamily, "I can't wait to see him again."

"What's his name again?" Christine asked.

"His name is Peter," Melinda said, "And we were dating back home before I joined the circus."

Christine recalled when she had first met Melinda. It was about a year ago in San Diego, Melinda's hometown. Melinda had gone to see the circus, and she had shown some interest in joining. She was doing well in school, and her parents decided to let her try it, since they knew she could get into any college she wanted if she ever decided to go. Melinda had to leave her hometown and her friends, as well as Peter, her boyfriend for a year. Christine and Melinda met shortly after that. They became friends immediately, and they have been friends ever since.

"You know, we really need to find you a guy," Melinda remarked.

"Uh, that's okay," Christine said.

"No, seriously," Melinda said, "You need something to occupy your time with."

"Melinda, I'm plenty busy with my job, thanks," Christine replied.

"Oh, come on!" Melinda said, "You know you want one."

"Sorry, but none of these circus guys interest me in the least bit," Christine said, rolling her eyes.

"You haven't even given them a chance!" Melinda exclaimed, "What about Greg?"

Christine sighed.

"Don't get me started on Greg," she said.

"Come on!" Melinda said, "The guy's been watching you on the trapeze all day! He even came in here and asked me where you were this afternoon."

"Well, you can tell him that I'm not interested," Christine said, putting down her mascara. She had finally finished her makeup.

"Just give him a chance," Melinda said, "Just one. If you don't like him, I'll stop bugging you. Deal?"

Christine sighed.

"Fine," she said, "But for the record, I'm doing this for you and not for him."

Melinda smiled and hugged Christine.

"Thanks," she said, "I know you'll like him."

"We can only hope," Christine replied, smiling.

The two girls headed outside of the tent. Melinda walked towards her trailer, and Christine towards her and Glenda's. They still had yet to get into their costumes for the show, and their dress rehearsal was in an hour.

"See you in a few," Melinda said.

Christine nodded and went inside her trailer. She went to her closet and quickly found her costume. She put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. Her costume was turquoise blue and purple, shimmering in the light. The material was also stretchy, perfect for her performance.

Christine sighed and sat down on the floor. She started to stretch, which she knew she would need. It took her a half an hour to stretch and prepare for her performance. After all, contortionists had to be very, very flexible.

She heard a knock on the trailer door. Christine got up and opened the door to find Curtis, the circus ringmaster.

"Hello Christine," Curtis said, indicating the walkway behind him, "May I have a moment?"

"Of course, sir," Christine said, following Curtis outside.

Christine walked beside Curtis, feeling uncomfortable because all of the circus members were staring at them.

"I'll just get right to the point," Curtis said, "I'd like you to do the show tonight, Christine."

"But sir," she replied, confused, "I already am doing the show."

"I don't want you to be a contortionist, Christine," Curtis said, "I want you to be an artist."

Christine looked at him, surprised.

"But sir, I don't even know the routine," she said, "And-"

"Brittany fell off of the trapeze during practice today and broke her wrist," Curtis explained, "She cannot possibly do the show tonight, and I need a replacement for her."

Christine looked at Curtis.

"But Brittany does a solo performance," she said, "And it's really complicated and-"

"Don't worry," he said, "You're doing your own performance, so you can make it up as you go."

Christine thought to herself about this. Even Victoria didn't get her own solo performance; she had a performance with another artist.

"You'll do fine," Curtis said, "I saw you today, and you're a natural. I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I didn't think you were qualified for the job."

Christine sighed and nodded.

"Okay," she said, "I'll do it."

"Thank you," Curtis said, "Now, you can keep your makeup on, but you'll need a new costume for the show. You can use Brittany's."

Curtis handed her Brittany's costume, which was probably the most beautiful and elaborate costume in the entire circus. It was long-sleeved and a metallic silver, shimmering in the sunlight. The top of the costume was connected to the pants at the bottom. The entire costume hugged its wearer tightly, and two pieces of fabric hung from the wearer's fingers down to the bottom of the pants, outlining the artist's arm and leg lines. Christine took the outfit with pride.

"The only catch is that Brittany doesn't use a net when she performs," Curtis said.

Christine froze.

"No net?" she asked.

Curtis nodded.

"You mean no net to protect me if I fall?"

He nodded again.

"Okay," Christine said, "As long as I'm comfortable enough after rehearsal, I won't use a net."

Curtis sighed in relief.

"Thanks again, Christine," he said, "Now go change, and I'll meet you in the ring. Rehearsal starts in five."

"Okay," she said, running off to her trailer.

Christine quickly ran to her trailer. Glenda was there, watching the news.

"Listen to this, honey," she said as Christine entered.

Christine looked at the screen and saw what looked like meteors landing.

"In Indonesia today, residents experienced meteorite showers and exposure to cosmic rays from the sun due to the weakening of the Earth's magnetic field," the reporter said, "Luckily, the storm lasted for only a few minutes, and most people are safe. The Earth's magnetic field has recently been weakening. We all are at risk. Use caution today and tomorrow, because exposure to this storm could be deadly."

"That's odd," Christine said, "Luckily it wasn't near here, right?"

"Yes," Glenda agreed, "Well, nothing to worry about. As far as I'm concerned, we're nowhere near Indonesia."

They smiled at each other and headed to the performance tent for dress rehearsal. They were almost there when Christine was stopped.

"Christine," a woman said, sitting at a small table, "Come."

Christine walked over to the woman. She was middle-aged and wore a turban around her head. She wore a dark purple robe and a lot of jewelry.

"Hey Natalia," Christine said, sitting across from the woman.

Natalia was a fortune teller, and she was very successful. She had been doing her job for years.

"I have seen something today in my crystal ball," the woman said, "You have a bad fortune ahead of you today, my dear."

"Well, that's not good, is it?" Christine said, "I'm subbing in for Brittany for the performance tonight."

"Watch your back, my dear," Natalia said, "You have something terrible in your future."

Christine got up and walked towards the performance tent, startled. She shook her head as she caught up with Glenda.

"What could possibly go wrong?" she said, shaking her head.

***

"Okay, so tell me again why we're going to the circus tonight?" Kyle asked Shane Radcliffe.

"Duh," he said, "To check out the hot chicks in the circus!"

Kyle nodded his head, smiling.

"Right," he said.

It was about five minutes before eight, and the circus was about to begin. Kyle followed Shane and his buddies into the tent. It was a packed crowd, yet they still managed to find seats.

Kyle and his friends moved over people. Kyle accidentally bumped into someone, who stood up beside him.

"Sorry," he said, looking at the person.

Kyle immediately froze. It was Matt, and sitting next to him was his mom.

"Sorry, Matt," he mumbled.

Kyle quickly moved away from Matt and his mother and back towards his friends. He hadn't seen Matt all day, and Kyle clearly knew why this was. Matt probably stayed home from school so no one would find out about what happened yesterday. The same thought had crossed Kyle's mind, but luckily, he had made it through school without any odd transformations.

Kyle sat down beside Shane just in time to see the ringmaster appear in the center of the ring.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" Curtis said, "Welcome to our performance! There will be one minor change in the program tonight. The soloist on the trapeze will be Christine Connors instead of Brittany Winters."

Backstage, Christine gulped at the sound of her name. Melinda put her hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you'll be fine," Melinda said.

Christine nodded nervously.

"Let the show begin!" Curtis said.

Fire sparked, and twirlers came out, throwing flaming batons in the air. Elephants paraded into the ring, carrying ladies standing gracefully on top of the Elephants' backs. Clowns jogged in, juggling, and the acrobats flipped off of platforms and onto the ground. The audience watched in awe at the opening performance of the circus.

Meanwhile, Christine climbed up the stairs to the highest platform of them all. She reached the top and was breathing heavily. The spotlight would soon be on her, and she was very nervous.

While Christine tried to calm herself, Greg was taming a lion down below. She watched him, trying to understand why Melinda would want her to date a lion tamer. She smiled, shaking her head.

"And now," Curtis boomed, "Introducing our star trapeze artist, Christine Connors!"

The spotlight quickly moved onto Christine. Her silver costume shined brightly off of the light, and her long red hair was outlined against the brown color of the tent.

The audience applauded and looked up at her. Shane whistled at her, and his buddies laughed quietly.

"Dude, she's hot!" Shane whispered to Kyle.

Kyle punched him in the shoulder, telling him to be quiet.

"She's beautiful," Kyle whispered in agreement.

"She will be performing without a net thirty feet below her!" Curtis said.

Christine gulped, and the audience gasped in surprise.

"Once again, give a hand for Christine!" Curtis said.

The audience applauded. Christine took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her music came on, and she started to move gracefully across the trapeze. She used an old trapeze trick, looking across her and not towards the ground. This helped her to somewhat forget about the people staring at her and the long drop below her if she fell.

Christine was flipping and landing perfectly on the trapeze. The audience roared in delight. Christine smiled. She was almost finished.

Just as she was about to do her final walkover, the tent lifted off of the ground and blew away. The audience screamed, and Christine wobbled on the trapeze. She waved her arms frantically and regained her balance, quickly walking to the safety of the platform. The wind wasn't helping her balance, because it was roaring with intensity and speed.

Christine looked up at the sky as she safely reached the platform. She could see the moon, and she could see what looked like reddish-brown rocks heading towards them in the distance.

The meteor shower, Christine thought.

Christine shouted below to the other performers.

"Get out of here!" she yelled, "A meteor shower is coming!"

They nodded and ran away quickly.

Christine tried to move, but the wind was forcing her to her knees on the platform. She shouted to the audience below.

"Move!" she said, "You're all in danger!"

Suddenly, cosmic rays started shooting down from the sky. The people below screamed, and Christine ducked on the small platform, trying to avoid the rays.

Below, people were frantically running around. Kyle stood up in the crowd, looking around. A meteor was about to hit, and it was small in size. A child was standing right below it.

"Move!" Kyle shouted, running towards the child.

The child stood in awe, staring at the meteor. Just before the meteor struck, Kyle transformed into a cheetah. He somersaulted below the meteor and grabbed the child, putting them on his back. He ran away and dropped the child back into his mother's arms, transforming back into himself. The woman looked at him thankfully. Before she could say anything, Kyle ran back into the chaos to try to save more people.

Meanwhile, Christine was still pinned to the platform. She looked up at the sky, raging with rays and meteors. A meteor flew towards her and barely missed her, knocking down the trapeze and shaking the platform. Christine screamed and covered her head.

Kyle looked up at her and started making his way towards her. A ray shot down from the sky and hit Christine, sending her flying off of the platform. Christine felt the ray shoot through her, and she cried out in pain. White streaks appeared in her hair from the high amount of heat, and her eyes turned almost completely white. She looked around her and squinted. She felt herself stop falling, and she looked below her. She was about foot off of the ground, and she was floating in the air. Christine looked below her in surprise and dropped herself to the ground. She landed on the floor, and her eyes turned back to their normal color.

Kyle rushed over to her and knelt beside her. Christine looked up and saw him. She sat up quickly, and her head was pounding, aching from the hit. She could barely move.

"Are you alright?" Kyle asked her.

"I think so," Christine replied, holding her head.

Kyle helped her up, and Christine stood. They looked around them, and everyone was still running frantically. As soon as she stood, Christine ached all over. She winced and moaned, lying back down. Kyle helped her back down to the ground.

"Stay here," he said, "I'll be right back."

Christine nodded and lied on the ground, her head still pounding. She watched Kyle run off into the distance, and she closed her eyes, passing out.

***

Matt stood in the middle of the crowd, looking up at the sky. He looked down at his palms. The lightning bolts were still in the middle of his palms.

"I wonder," he said.

Matt put his hands out to his sides and lifted his palms towards the sky. He closed his eyes, visualizing the storm and a clear sky. He grimaced in pain, feeling as if a lot of weight was being thrust upon him.

Suddenly, the meteors froze in their path and started moving backwards. Rays stopped shooting down from the sky, and the clouds cleared. Matt screamed in pain as the meteors disappeared, and the moon appeared back from behind the clouds. People stared at Matt and looked back up at the sky. They applauded him, then quickly ran away and back to the safety of their homes.

Matt looked around him and saw only one person still remaining. Kyle was staring at him, his eyes wide open just like they were when he first discovered what had happened to him. They both looked around, and then back at each other.

Kyle suddenly remembered the trapeze artist and ran towards Christine. Matt followed him and they both knelt beside her. Matt put his finger to her neck to find a pulse.

"She's fading fast," he said.

[DeathBySquirrel]

It's a great story so far, And I have read the other three chapters, and I'm wondering, how many "Outcasts" will there be!!?? o_0 Anways, great story although I think, from the context, you might have the trapeze (The swinging bar thing) confused with a tightrope...

[Corneac]

It seems with every passing chapter I like this story more and more. Perhaps it's me enjoying your style of writing or perhaps it your original plotline drawing me in hook, line and sinker. I could again comment on how much I enjoyed your story from a mechanical pint of view, how it is all interlinked and flows so easily. But I the thing that really stuck out to me was the interesting development of your characters and their relationship with other characters.

Your storyline as well has developed beautifully and drawn me in as well as any published novel could have, I'm questioning what will become of the character and their new found abilities. With the introduction of this new character...how many outsiders are there? With they start some crime fighting clan with secret identities? I also liked the whole circus saga...very original. Great chapter

[Kitzwa]

I enjoyed it, although every time you mentioned the trapeze it bothered me because I think you confused it with the tight rope. I also wonder how nobody noticed Kyle turn into a cheetah to save the little boy. And how can a circus tent just blow over lickedy-split. Don't get me wrong, I liked the story, in fact, I'm eagerly awaiting the fifth.

[Odanion]

Ok, I am not saying this is a bad thing...actually this is my most favorite chapter of all of your work so far...but I have seen some error that I am going to explain what and why to help you out.


"Oh my gosh!" she said, "This is so cool! You'll be moving up soon, I guarantee it!"

(The hole, she said is not important to say as the reader allready knows who is talking)

"I don't know," Christine said, looking over her shoulder at another girl that was at another mirror. The girl was doing her makeup, a frown on her face. She had long, silky blonde hair and was about the same age as Christine. "I doubt she'd let me be a trapeze artist."
(Christine said, looking ...could be easier as just ...She looked over her shoulder....As yet again we allready knew who was talking)


"Oh," Melinda said, glaring at the girl, "Victoria. Gosh, that girl annoys me. She thinks she so cool because she's been doing the trapeze for forever."
(She thinks she so.......should be She thinks she's so.........or She thinks she is so)


"Don't listen to her," Melinda said, "She just thinks she's the queen bee. Curtis has the last say in everything, and if he knows you like I do, he'll let you do it."
(Melinda said...in the middle is unnescesary, we know who is talking so we don't need the split up in the middle of the sentance)


"Shouldn't you be working on yours?" Christine asked, "Normally it takes you twice as long for you to put yours on than it does mine."
(Yet again, Christine asked is not needed...."Normally it takes you twice as long for you...." Should be something more like. "Normally it takes you twice as long as it does for me." It lets the sentance flow a little smoother)


The two girls headed outside of the tent. Melinda walked towards her trailer, and Christine towards her and Glenda's. They still had yet to get into their costumes for the show, and their dress rehearsal was in an hour.
(They still had yet... Should just be....They still had to get... The whole 'yet to', makes it almost sound as if you are dubbling the sentance structure)


"Okay," she said, running off to her trailer.
(She said, running... Would sound better as: "Okay." She went running off to her trailer.)



Kyle looked up at her and started making his way towards her. A ray shot down from the sky and hit Christine, sending her flying off of the platform. Christine felt the ray shoot through her, and she cried out in pain. White streaks appeared in her hair from the high amount of heat, and her eyes turned almost completely white. She looked around her and squinted. She felt herself stop falling, and she looked below her. She was about foot off of the ground, and she was floating in the air. Christine looked below her in surprise and dropped herself to the ground. She landed on the floor, and her eyes turned back to their normal color.
(She was about foot....is missing the a before foot........The first part of this sentance repeats her....he looked up at her and ran towards her....try not to repeat a word, it makes the sentance sound more like droning than story telling)




Matt stood in the middle of the crowd, looking up at the sky. He looked down at his palms. The lightning bolts were still in the middle of his palms.
(Palms was reapeted here...try to keep that down....use: He looked down, the lightning bolts were still in the middle of his palms. for example.....it makes the sentance seem shorter and more fluent)


The whole she said, he said, bob said can mostly get left out as the reader can mostly tell who is talking (I had the same problem myself) and once you leave it out, the story seems to get shorter, but in a good way

Overall this is one hell of a good story and I cannot wait to see more and more of this stories development so keep updating


P.S. (I hope my words have helped you and not made you think less of your writing, I am merely trying to help you make the best of your allready good work)

[Randomgold]

First of all, this is a fine series you have here, and I'm very much enjoying it. In this chapter though, there are a few things I think you could improve on. My biggest problem is the changing into a cheetah. He's only changed once, and then by accident, so how is he suddenly able to do this at will? Maybe you could have a scene like with Matt, where he considers his options, then tries changing. Also, I'm just wondering what electric powers have to do with reversing a cosmic storm, but that's something you could consider revealing in a later chapter. Good luck, and keep going with this.

[timtornado3721]

Haven't read #3, can't seem to find it yet but I'll keep looking. Definitely turning into a good story.

I found it hard to imagine the cosmic rays and what they looked like. Perhaps, like the aurora borealis or a beam of light like a rainbow? And when the tent is blown away by the storm have the wind be blowing a hundred miles per hour or more because a meteor shower is bound to cause some sort of high speed winds.

Maybe Christine is trying to hang on to the safety platform, it gets blown over soon after the tent is gone and while in mid air she gets hit with a cosmic ray, then lands. Because the way I read it, she was on the platform for almost a half minute, maybe you could cut that down and describe the meteor shower while shes in the air.

Something else, you never really described the meteors as they fell and hit the earth. No matter what, a meteor if it hits the earth will cause a crater, whether a mile wide or just ten feet. You also didn't describe any of these impacts as they fell. Maybe you could add that to the story?

With a little more work this will turn out great. I really can't wait for #5.