I HAVEN'T CRIED IN years because, well, crying really wouldn't make a difference. I was stuck in this situation no matter what I did. Of course, that didn't stop the tears from falling; actually, it made even more tears fall. For a second there was only silence, and I thought those two had left, not that I had much time to think about them, since Frequency's voice filled the surrounding room.

“So, not trying to be rude, Ring, but can you stop crying? I kind of need to run something that's by you.”

At the sound of his voice, my tears dried up almost instantly. I'm not sure if it was because I was feeling embarrassed or maybe because having a friend around, even if he wasn't here in person, was comforting. I wiped the remaining tears from my face as I glanced around, expecting his face to show up on a TV or something like that. Frequency has the ability to use frequencies to control technology. To lessen his impact, the Nightmare Master put him to sleep, forcing him to use his frequencies to spy on people, among other things.

Frequency runs every bit of technology you see, from the nightmare eye in the sky to even everyday devices that people use. He controls every bit of it, but even with all that control, he's not in control. The Nightmare Master forced him into a coma and hid him in the middle of Nightmare Land so he could use his frequencies. He gets released like us, but it's not exactly the same. He's still stuck in a coma, but he's able to use his frequencies however he wants during the month he's free.

Plus, he has to run an obstacle course through his mind, and supposedly, if he beats it, he'll wake up from the coma. I have a hard time believing that's actually true because, well, it just sounds a little easy compared to what the rest of us have to do. Not that I'm saying he hasn't suffered; all of us have suffered under the Nightmare Master’s control. It's just when something seems easy it actually really isn't when it has to do with the Nightmare Master.

“You won't find me; I'm actually in the speakers at the moment. That's actually what I wanted to run by you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.

“Well, I tried to do what I usually did and hack into the TV and camera systems with my frequencies, and for some reason it's not accepting them.”

“So… what does that mean?”

“It means that the Nightmare Master has somehow altered the technology is frequencies where they don't accept mine. I have tried nothing else, but I have a feeling these speakers and some radio frequencies are the only frequencies I can get into.”

I mutter a few choice words under my breath directed at the Nightmare Master before I asked. “Can you try hacking into them?”

“I can try, but one wrong step and, well, I could cause damage or activate something that I shouldn't It would be much better if I could do it while I was awake. Not only do I have more control over my frequencies, but they're also stronger.”

I snorted. “And who exactly do you expect to wake you up? Since it's obvious, you can't do it yourself, or you would have done it by now.”

“Maybe we can help.” A voice spoke up before Frequency could.

I spun towards the voice, surprised to see that the two from earlier were still here with me. Since they had said nothing, I assumed they had left.

“You still have people in there with you, Ring? The circus is about to close for the month. You need to get them out of there.”

I bit back a sigh of irritation because I knew exactly what he meant. He was suggesting that I needed to use my charm on them to get them out of here before the circus closed, trapping them inside. Pushing away that irritation, I flashed them my usual charming grin, staring right into their eyes as I spoke.

“It was so nice meeting you too, but unfortunately, you need to leave. The circus is about to close.”

I can hear my charm ability oozing out into my voice, but despite that, neither of them moved to leave. Though they looked at me like I had two heads.

“Did it work?” Frequency asked since he couldn't see.

“No,” I admitted with a frown, wondering what the hell was going on.

After a minute something clicked and once again I was cursing out the Nightmare Master underneath my breath.

“I'm assuming that means you figured it out?” Frequency asked amused somehow having heard me.

“Yeah, they're wearing bracelets that make them immune to my charms. The nightmare Master had Invent make them after learning from some clients that I would make them leave using my charm before they could touch me. Until they take those bracelets off, they're immune to my charms. I completely forgot about it.”

“Look,” I stated with a sigh, directing my words at the two in front of me. “You really should leave because I can guarantee you do not want to be in this circus when it closes.”

As soon as that last word left my lips, the lights flickered off, surrounding us in complete darkness for a second before the red backup lights flashed on. As usual, these red lights cast an ominous glow on the surroundings.

“Frequency?”

“Yes?” he asked.

“Please tell me you're messing with the lights again.”

“No, definitely not messing with the lights. I'm not even sure I can anymore. Why?”

Before I could answer his question, there was a knock on the door that was thankfully closed before an eerie voice asked. “Ringmaster, are you in there?”

I instantly held my finger up to my lips to tell the other two to be quiet. Some part of me hoped they would not come in here and instead would just continue on by. Thankfully, Frequency didn't speak either, understanding I must have been quiet for a reason.