Cirque du Macabre

Chapter 4

The Sisters

Jessica was a perfect daughter, but never a perfect sister.

'Not so pretty. Overrated. No longer pretty', Krystal thought as she stabbed her sister's chest for the umpteenth time. The blade was silver shiny no more –marred with the burst of redness that was so thick –the same bloodline that flowed within Krystal's (prettier, always prettier, right, sister?) body.

The younger Jung had followed her sister –been following her ever since she heard of her sister's and Jonghyun's plan to elope. Good thing Jonghyun finally saw the light and left Jessica –Krystal wanted to save him from the horror of seeing his bloodied secret fiancée. Krystal honestly thought that she was considerate. Hmm, why couldn't Jonghyun see it?

The forest was tranquil and silent. So silent was it, that the sound of pierced flesh echoed in the darkness of the night. But Krystal knew there would not be anyone to disturb her little bonding time with the dear sister. The eyes were looking up at her –wide and bloody, and dead. Krystal snorted. She did not understand what Jonghyun saw in Jessica.

But blaming it on Jonghyun did not serve justice its purpose. Jonghyun was too nice, too kind to be the cause. He was just bewitched, just another victim of a fake girl with a plastic face and a rotten heart. Jonghyun was not the only one, Krystal understood that. Just how many people were deceived by Jessica? Their parents? Their brother? The world? Sometimes Krystal wondered how could something that was blatantly, obviously only a bundle of lies and deceit be praised too much by the world. It was disgusting. Had they never seen the way Jessica treated her? Underestimated her? Stole the love from her parents, from her brother, from Jonghyun? Had they all been blinded by her pretty, plastic face and the perfect girl facade that Jessica skillfully displayed?

It was not hatred, Krystal supposed. She did not exactly hate her sister. She just wanted justice. It was just about setting things right –helping the world see that underneath a pretty shell, a corrupted soul was laughing.

'Still too pretty', Krystal thought and wondered how could someone so plastic and dead still look so (artificially) pretty.

With an axe she stole from the nearby hut, Krystal swung the first hit to the neck –severing the first among several pieces of meat she would butcher that night.

"That's a lie!" Krystal screamed at the moving corpse.

Jessica scoffed. Unladylike, but Krystal never deserved to see the good side of her anyway. "It's not, and you know it," Jessica spat –a rage was building inside her no longer beating heart. "You, of all people, know it best. You were the one who killed me, mutilated me, and scattered my body pieces around for wild animals to eat."

Krystal's vision went blurry. Her eyes stung, her heart wept. "You're my sister!" she shouted. "There's no way I could have done something so hideous to –"

"Oh, stop it, Soojung!" Jessica interrupted. "Do you know what I hate the most about you?! It's the way you play victim. You've always blamed our family, always blamed me –thinking that our family is ruined. But you know what?" Jessica laughed bitterly. "Our family is never ruined, Krystal. We were all happy. You were the only one not and you were always like a sore thumb sticking out."

Krystal said not a word to Jessica, but continuously chanted a whisper to herself. Wake up. This is a nightmare. She's lying. I couldn't have done that. Wake up.

Jessica snorted. "There again. You're playing victim again, aren't you?" she rhetorically asked to the girl who was crying on the ground. Looking down from her poised standing posture, Jessica added, "You always think I am the fake one. You always consider yourself a saint, a savior. You were envious, weren't you? You were envious when we were all genuinely laughing, and all you did was sulking alone in the corner, realizing that you could never be a part of the family?"

Was it true? Was she never a part of the family?

But even if it was true –

"I love you, Jessica..." Krystal said with a begging voice. "I couldn't have –"

"Do you hate the idea of your ugly, corrupted self so much that you'd rather lie to yourself?! That you denied to yourself the crime you committed to me?" Jessica scoffed. "No. No, Krystal. I wouldn't allow you forget your sin. I wouldn't allow yourself forget the beast you kept in your heart."

"I wouldn't have done it, Jessica..." the younger Jung persisted. A thought popped in her mind and she tried a new argument. "I was looking for you. I was trying hard to prove to people that you were still alive, that you would come back with us. I care for you, don't you see?! Why else would I venture in some weird forest and get into this dangerous circus and –"

"Well, about that," Jessica said with a mild chuckle. "Aren't you a fool one?"

"..."

"Perhaps... it's a good thing that you're trying to assure yourself you didn't kill me. It makes it easier for me to lure you here," Jessica spoke with a smile that was nearly tender, nearly grateful.

Krystal stuttered. "I-I don't under –"

"Except when one is dead or when one possesses a will to kill themselves, no one can come into this circus uninvited."

Krystal blinked. Jaejoong and Heechul's words returned back to her memory.

"Only those who are already dead or want to die can come here uninvited," he told her.

"You came here uninvited. Either you already died, or you wanted to die."

Oh, God.

"I-it was you," Krystal stammered. "You invited me here."

"With the help of your denial, of course," added Jessica. "Oh, Krissy. If only you admitted to yourself that you killed me, you wouldn't buy all those mental persuasion I sent you. You would have realized that I was already dead and that there was no point in looking for me," Jessica smiled. "See? If only you weren't such a hypocrite, you could probably still be out there and continue your victim acting flawlessly."

Krystal clutched her head again. "Impossible... impossible..." she trailed.

Jessica took a step forward. "Heechul wants to give you a painless death? Bull. I won't have it that way," she said as she pulled something from the pocket of her white dress. "You need to feel what I felt, Krissy."

Krystal stumbled back upon seeing the silver blade held firmly in her sister's hand. "J-Jessica? D-don't do this."

"Oh, Krissy," Jessica cooed. "When I asked you the same thing, what did you tell me?"

"Die, Sister."

Jessica swung the blade to the direction of Krystal's head.

Ah.

If I had killed you once, why couldn't I do it again?

Jessica was beautiful, but Jessica had always been weak.

Krystal screamed in rage as she stopped Jessica's hand midair, forcibly took the blade from her grip, and without waiting for another second, stabbed it to her sister's stomach (again).

"Die, you die, Jessica!" Krystal screamed.

Rotten flesh was no match to the livings. Decaying muscles could never compare to strong, living ones.

"I hate you, I've always hated you!" Krystal hysterically shouted as she stabbed her sister again and again. "You took everything from me! You took our parents' love, you took our brother's love, you even took Jonghyun's love! They are mine!"

Blood seeped out of Jessica's lips and her face scrunched up in imaginable pain (you thought you would get used to death, sister? Perhaps. But you could never get used to pain). "Krys –"

"I hate you!" Krystal screamed; tears were drenching her face and the demon she knew she always kept at her heart was supporting her. It whispered her a sweet lullaby, a sweet assurance (I'm right behind you), and Krystal knew she had nothing to fear. "Die as the ing, ugly corpse here! Die and never return!" she shouted without any remorse as she laid the last fatal stab onto Jessica's skull.

Jessica laid unmoving.

Krystal shuddered –never in her life that she trembled as much as she did then. Her sister's blood was splashed onto her face, onto her shirt. But she could wash them. She could hide the evidence again. For now, she just had to –

Run. Run before Jessica comes back to life. Run before Heechul returns. Run before any other creature found her.

So with light feet, Krystal quickly pushed her body up and ran out of the main tent. It was still dark, and the crowds were still there. But the creatures of the dark cared for nothing, cared not for her. Krystal glanced around trying to find the Red Door.

There it was.

With the fastest speed her legs allowed her to, with breaths ragging, Krystal ran towards the door. Her palm kneaded the door knob and she pushed it open. She thought she heard angry roar from behind her, but she did not have any time to look back. In a split of second, she threw herself to the other side of the door, and slammed the red door closed behind her.

The scenery around her suddenly changed.

No longer was there the festivity of the absurd carnival –what was there was dark forest nearby the tranquil lake. There was no laughter of the Undead, only the sad cries of the cicadas.

Krystal ran out of breath, but then, she dared herself to look behind.

The Red Door was no longer there to be seen.

With a bitter laugh and cynical tears, Krystal wailed –joining the cicadas in their cries.

Rot there for all I care, monsters.

Krystal did not exactly remember how she could get out of the forest and get back on the main road. She vaguely remembered the voice of local people and the hiker groups who helped carrying her to the nearest hospital. She said not a word even when the medics and the local police questioned her. Perhaps along the way she fainted.

When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she realized was the sterile scent.

Jaejoong?

With an abrupt movement, Krystal immediately got up.

"Krystal! You're awake, dear?"

Her eyes were nearly terrorized when they looked at the other's eyes. 

"M-mother?"

"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Her mother cursed her as she pulled Krystal into a painful hug. "I've lost Jessica, I couldn't possibly lose you. Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?! Don't you ever do that again!"

"Mother, what –"

"Krystal still needs rest, dear," came her father's voice. "Let her rest," said her father as the man looked at his now only daughter. "You've got a lot of explanations to give, young woman. But for now, I am glad you return safely."

Krystal stammered. She looked around and realized that she was in a spacious, private hospital room. A lump was stuck in as she began to remember what happened.

What she had done.

With crying face, Krystal muttered, "Jessica, Mother. Jessica, s-she...I-I'm sorry, I couldn't save her."

"Ssh, it's alright dear. So long that you are alright –"

"I wanted to save her..." Krystal sobbed. "I-I wanted our family to be happy again. I-I thought I could still save her, b-but –"

"We will be a happy family again, dear. I promise you that," muttered her mother through bleary eyes and ruined make-up. "Yonghwa will also come home. We will start anew. We will build our family again. Everything will be alright."

Krystal was lulled to believe it –wanted to believe it.

But then she remembered her mother was the politician's wife –and she always recited lies so naturally.

"Hey."

It had been almost a week, but Krystal was still forced to stay at the hospital. The doctor found no actual harm or injury to her body, but they insisted that her internal organs might have been infected by some local virus. As a precautionary measures,  they insisted her to prolong her stay. During her stay in the hospital, Krystal did not have many contacts with the outside world, so it came a little bit as a surprise when she saw his figure coming from the doorway.

"Jonghyun. How could you –"

"They couldn't find any evidence to prove I was involved in your sister's death," Jonghyun said as he dragged a chair and sat next to Krystal's bed. Scratching his head, he continued, "And I think the police found that your sister might not be the only girl missing in that area possibly killed in the same way. Numerous other reports show that there's been a series of killing towards girls fitting Jessica's description. They're chasing after the serial killer now."

Krystal was silenced, but she slowly raised her hand to pat on Jonghyun's hair. "You don't look fine. You haven't been eating much, have you?"

Jonghyun chuckled bitterly. "I miss her, Krystal," he admitted, his voice never sounded as broken before. There was a smile that he maintained tight –so tight, it was not appropriate. Jonghyun noticed the questioning look on his childhood friend's face and he tore his gaze away. "Your sister might have been bossy and spoiled, but she was a nice girl. I loved her. I truly loved her. If I had known that it would be my last time seeing her, I wouldn't have been so harsh on her and –"

"It's not your fault," Krystal interrupted.

Jonghyun tightened his fist and gave a hollow laugh. "You're so strong. You must have loved her as well, must have missed her hundreds time more than I do, b-but –"

"I'm not strong," Krystal admitted as she looked to the view outside her hospital room. There was a lie, a memory of terror, a paranoia that Krystal kept in her heart –that would continue to chase her even years and years after. "Jessica knows that. But I know she won't want to see me waste my life. And this, living,  is the least I could do to honor her."

"I know you're right, but still –"

"Time will heal, Jong," assured Krystal. "Jessica's death has not been easy for you. It definitely isn't easy for me too. But eventually, we will be able to move on."

"I don't want to move on," persisted Jonghyun. Goodness, there were so many things of Jessica in his mind, in his heart. She still left her toothbrush in his apartment. Her perfume still lingered on his bed. Her high-pitched voice was something he would not be able to forget. Jessica had always been a part of his life, a part of his life that he could never let go. "I don't want to forget her –"

Krystal chuckled softly. "The girl Jessica was would not allow us to forget her," she reminded, and even Jonghyun had to smile a bit at that. "We will treasure her," she said as her eyes continued to cast a look outside.

Jonghyun had no choice but to agree. "She will always live in our memories, won't she?"

"Always," Krystal promised, and a silent tear fell from her dark brown eyes.

Jonghyun continued to stay by her side for the rest of the evening in the hospital room. Or at least, until the nurses came to the room again, giving the sixth reminder that it was way past the visiting hours and Jonghyun had to go. The young man looked reluctant, but Krystal's drowsy eyes and yawns (the medicines were taking their effects on her again) convinced him otherwise. With a soft smile and a fond rub on Krystal's hair, Jonghyun slowly walked out of the hospital room.

Krystal fell asleep not so long after.

But her sleep was never peaceful, never proper.

Jessica haunted her in her dreams.

Why did you kill me, Krissy?

Krystal woke up with a scream.

Her eyes were wide in terror –nearly expecting herself to see the gruesome festiveness around her; to see the undead corpses, to see the morbid doctor, to see the psychotic circus players, to see her smiling sister.

But there was none.

She laughed to herself in the hollowness of her hospital room.

Was this the price she had to pay for killing Jessica? For burying the truth? Would she be haunted by these guilt for –

No.

There was no guilt. There was never any guilt. Jessica was wrong. Krystal never played victim –she had been a victim all along, and she had every right to take back what was hers.

Even if she had to be haunted by the same dream (same deadly eyes, same sad scream over and over again), be it. There surely would be a price to be freed from a psychotic that her sister was. If this was the price she had to pay to have a perfect family, to have Jonghyun, then Krystal would not have it any other way.

So Krystal laughed.

Rot there alone, Sister.

Krystal laughed so hard that she started to cough.

Something uncomfortable was in . She forced herself to cough harder, to let the lump out.

Her palm was open when she finally coughed it out.

(Blob)

Her eyes widened.

Blood.

"W-what the –" she stammered, but couldn't even finish her words because her coughs worsened. Krystal nearly choked herself when the muscles of pushed something out again –and it was slimy, it slipped through her lips.

Her taste bud sensed something unpleasant.

Rotten piece of meat.

Krystal shrieked and immediately threw the disgusting, bloody brown lump off her palm. She wanted to scream and call for the nurses, but something more was trying to get out of her body.

"W-what's h-hap –"

"It's your rotten organs," said the man who was not supposed to be there. Krystal looked up and saw the hollow-looking Jaejoong standing next to her. There was nothing sympathetic in his cold eyes when he spoke to her, "I told you to escape the door before midnight. Your body is at its limit now."

Krystal could not hear much, nor could she see much. There was dampness on her eyes, that were not tears, but fresh trickle of blood. Blood coming from her eyes, from her nose, from her ears...

"N-no –" she muttered, unfinished again, because she just had to vomit something out again. Another piece of meat, another piece of her rotting self.

"Been missing you, Krissy!" a cheerful voice exclaimed behind her and Krystal did not need to turn around to know that it was Nana speaking "Urgh, that's kind of ugly. But don't worry. Jaejoong will make you pretty again. And even when your body will continue to rot for the rest of your time, you will always be pretty! And we're going to be neighbors!" she giddily muttered.

Then, before Krystal could stop it, Nana, with her little arms and monstrous strength, pushed her bed forward.

"W-wait, Nana?!" Krystal shrieked. She looked around and screamed. "Nurse! Doctors! Please help!"

But Nana continued to hum a song, oblivious and deaf upon Krystal's pleas of help. The bed was pushed ahead towards the darkness –where what waited there was only...

The Red Door.

Jaejoong walked calmly to the Red Door to open it. Nana's cheerful song was not finished even as she pushed Krystal's bed closer to the door.

"N-no, please, no!"

But Krystal's screech was inaudible –Nana had always been a loud hummer.

(And the Red Door swung close)

"Whatever you're thinking, young man. Don't."

Jonghyun tore his attention from the sight of the forest entrance. His red eyes warily glanced at the middle-aged hiker who stared at him rather persistently. With an irritated scowl (after all, when did Jonghyun last sleep?), he retorted, "What?"

"You were thinking of going into that forest, weren't you?" accused the hiker. "Don't. Lots of people go missing there. Most recently, two sisters went missing there. Well, I heard the younger one did come back, but she went missing again. They must have taken a liking to the two sisters."

Jonghyun frowned. "Who are 'they'?"

"Don't know. Don't want to know," said the hiker with a shrug. "Something unkind, I must say. Something unholy, I can only say," he replied. Sighing up and looking at the setting sun, he then told Jonghyun. "You'd better go back. It's getting late."

"Wait," Jonghyun insisted; his eyes were still transfixed at the deep, dark forest. "I-I think I heard something... noisy inside. Like a ... joyous celebration. P-perhaps my girlfriend and her sister are –"

"What they celebrate is not what we would celebrate, young man," answered the hiker.

"But –"

"And if I were you," the hiker interrupted. "I would not want to lure them to invite me there."

The warning was final –this, Jonghyun understood. There was self-detest that was coiling in his stomach. Something that was akin to pity, to regret, but most of all, shame.

The hiker decided to turn his back, when Jonghyun cried and let his knuckles punch the nearby tree.

Krystal woke up to the noise around her.

It was noisy, it was festive. Her eyes were still a bit drowsy, but the voices were loud and so loud, she just had to wake up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now, the latest, newest addition to our circus! Don't take your eyes off this sight!" Heechul roared happily to the audience, who responded with equally energetic roar.

Krystal widened her eyes. There were thousands of people looking at her and she did not need a second reminder to know where she was at.

The Circus.

And she was at the center stage.

Her instinct told her to run again, so she added muscles strength to her legs. She was about to get up –but something was pulling her down.

She was tied.

Or better –

She was sewn to something.

"Hello, Krissy," Jessica's voice echoed right next to Krystal's ear. With dread, Krystal looked to he left, only to be greeted with a smiling Jessica. Her blood was washed off, rotten skin was replaced with silky smooth, powdered skin, and a joyous smile graced her face. "We'll be together forever now."

And with horrid eyes, Krystal's sight fell to her left arm –sewn, stitched together (connected in an unbreakable bond) with Jessica's right arm. Jessica grinned (Now, we are one); Krystal screamed.

But her scream was nothing in comparison to the explosion of the audience's excitement.

Heechul, basked in the spotlight, continued to introduce his latest collection.

"What you will see is the marvelous sight of the beautiful, the undead, Siamese sisters. And they will kill each other and still look beautiful! Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to Jessica and Krystal!"

The audience cheered again and Krystal tried to run –but no matter where she would run, Jessica would never, ever leave her side.

"Well, you heard the boss," muttered Jessica as she pulled a dagger with her free left arm. "Now. Can I kill you first this time?"

The End

A/n: Thank you for reading, all! Thank you for the commentators as well! And of course, to my old readers for "welcoming me back" (though, really, I have never really been on hiatus, hehe. My previous fics are just in different genres). Now I will go back to lurk at the shadows of this site again.