Hey Nan!  I found your thread!!  Anyway, here goes...

Mindy's mom was nowhere to be found.  "Mom!!" the eight- year- old singer screamed.  She was only wearing half her stage makeup and could not find the pretty clip for her blond hair that went all the way down past her knees.  Her makeup artist, Gani came up to her, "Honey, she went to the doughnut shop."  That was Mindy's mom alright, getting Mindy fame and then blowing an intense amount on exquisite food.  That was why this stadium was booked for tonight's concert- so Belinda could have the best gourmet doughnuts. 

Mindy walked back into the dressing room and allowed for herself to be pampered.  After her stage make-up was fully on, her hairdresser came over.  The clip was put in and Mindy's hair was hairsprayed.  She turned from the mirror to thank the hairdresser.  "Thanks, Missy..."  It wasn't Missy.  "Hey you're not my normal hairdresser!" "Yeah, I'm a contortionist," the strange girl said, "I'm looking for a missing circus tent.  Have you seen it?"  "Um, no," Mindy said.  "Well, if you see it, or just want to run away and need somewhere to go, call me," the hairdresser/contortionist said, handing her a card.  "Kay," Mindy said, than ran to the stage.  "Creepy," she muttered.

Rhyanna shivered. Where was everybody? She looked around the empty field.

"Nissa?" she called into the darkness. Why oh why had she listened to them? She shouldn't have stayed behind. "Anybody? Runaways?" she sobbed. Just because she had gone through a lot didn't mean she wasn't a five year old.

Slowly,she got to her feet. She called again, to no answer, then she ran in the direction she thought the Runaways had gone. She ran for hours, until she realized they were too far away for her to ever catch up to. 

"May I help you, little girl?" she heard a man say behind her. She turned and saw that he was old and bent.

"Uhhh..." she said, not knowing if she should trust this man or not. "I....am lost."

"So I see." he grinned toothily. Where do you want to go?"

"The circus. Is it near?" she asked. He nodded and pointed to a road."Thanks!" she cried, turning to the man. In his place was a tree, with one craggy branch pointed down the road to the Runaways.

The small girl ran down the winding path. She still didn't know if this was the way to her friends, but it was all she had. And to the question of how a man could turn into a tree, she couldn't wrap her mind around that. So she decided to stop and rest.

Her favorite thing to think about while resting was that day, that day that changed her life. When she was three, Rhyanna's parents left her to the Loftman's Institute for the Ridiculously Psychic. You should be wondering why then, she didn't know how men could turn to trees. It is the same reason a young child cannot do long division. Anyway, when she went to the school, she learned, for she was ridiculously psychic, that the kids were to be used as spies for The Psychic Spies Youth association (PSY). So, she ran away. She saw that a circus was coming  to town, and joined a group of performers called The Runaways. After years of mind reading, she still didn't know where her parents were. 

Rhyanna sighed. Being lost was so... lonely. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, little girl, but I may be of assistance," the tree-man said.

"Umm... ok...ack!" she said as he grabbed her by the neck.

"Disclose the location of the Runaways, pronto," he hissed. She whirled around and stared at him.

You are not an old man. You are who you mean to be she thought to him. With a sigh, the man shrank down to the size of a small boy. The boy looked up at her hopefully.

"Wh-who are you?" Rhyanna said. "I've never seen transforming kids before!".

"All recruits for PSY must be able to do over sixty transformations, and I'm supposed to kidnap you and the Runaways for the team. I'm Nate, and I don't want to.".

"The Runaways are always looking for people like you! Come on!" Rhyanna said, rushing down the path.

"But this isn't really the way to the circus! It was just a trap, remember?" Nate cried.

So the two children stood in the dark forest, listening and looking for the circus

Mindy was tired of waiting for her mother.  She had been waiting at the arena for five hours.  "Boris!" she shouted to her bodyguard/manservant,  "My phone?"  Boris handed her the phon.  She took the business card out of her pocket and peered at it.  Weird.  It looked blank.  "Circus people and their tricks,"  Boris muttered,  "Miss, it's in invisible ink.  Let me see."  Boris took the card and put it under the lamp.  Now it said "Nissa the Contorionist, Head Runaway,  Big Top Circus Co.,  887-009-3909 ext. 0999."  "Wait, Nissa gave you this?" Boris asked.  "Yes, why?" Mindy replied.  "Um, well she's my long lost sister,"  he said, "Probably thinks I'm dead now."  "Oh, wow; Boris and Nissa contotionists extrordinaire." Mindy thought aloud.  "Well, she knows me by a different name.  And it didn't exactly go that way.  Anyway, if you're going to run away to her circus, can I go with you?" he asked.  "Yeah, sure," Mindy said absentmindedly.  In her head she was thinking about going away from fame.  Would she really mind?  No.  Mindy was strong. 

She flipped her phone open and dialed the number.  "What is it?  I need to go somewhere?" Nissa asked.  "Hi.  It's Mindy, the pop star you asked about the tent?  Ya, I want to be one of those people who helps dogs do tricks in that circus you're in."  Mindy said rapidly.  "Oh, um, yeah, I just realized I had a little more time..." Nissa replied mischeviously.

"Guys? Where'd you go?" Rhyanna looked around. She had just been with them a minute ago. She turned to ask Nate if he saw where they had gone, but he wasn't there.

"We're here..." a soft voice in the woods called. 

"What? Where?" she spun around.

"We're here..."

"Nissa? Nate? Anyone?" she ran blindly into the woods.

"Rhyanna... step behind the tree... don't make a sound..." The voice sounded menacing. Rhyanna was too scared and lonely to notice.

"I'm here! I'm coming for you! Don't go away!" she cried, running behind the tree. But there were no Runaways. No Nate. Just the creepy tree man.

"Betcha trusted me..." he cackled. He touched his finger to her arm, and she was knocked out.

When she awoke, one thing dominated her mind. Where is Nissa? Where is anybody? A tall, thin man, probably a kid in disguise, stepped in the room. 

"Now, Rhyanna, you have two options. Join us and reveal the Runaways, or you can forget about leaving this room... ever." He grinned, but there was something sad in his eyes. A lost childhood, or hope.

"I-I don't know where Nissa is. I can't tell you, even if I did," she said. You will let me out of this place. You will never bother the Runaways again.

"Nice try," he said, "but hypnosis won't work on me.".

"Oh, Nissa! Help!" she wailed.

The small girl crumpled. It's one thing to hypnotize an unprotected common joe, but a trained anti-hypnosis master? Even a 35 year old wouldn't be able to do that.

The man picked her up. He dragged the limp body into a small cell. He locked the door, and looked uncomfortable for a second. 

"Look, I really- just don't reveal anything when the Headmaster comes to question you. Try to contact Nissa. If I stay any longer, I'll get- nevermind. Gotta go." Nate, or the Tree Man ran off.

Nissa... help. Am in 6th cell, 2nd floor. Get runaways. Need help. Scared. Tree Man. Help...  Rhyanna tried to send the mental message to Nissa. Over and over, the same words, Help... help me...

"She's ready, sir! Cell 123298, Floor 2. Do you want to see her, sir?" the Tree Man asked.

"Yes... she is the young one, no? Ah... then she is weak, Nathaniel? I trust you have taken care of that." the dark, cloaked man cackled.

"Yes, Headmaster." 

"Good... very good... soon we will have the Runaways... my brother's children....".

PS: this is getting creepy! Yay!

An electric warning signal rushed through Rhyanna's body as the cloaked man approached. He smiled, but fakely, cruely. He unlocked the cell, and for a fleeting, hopeful, moment she thought he was a nice man, bringing her back to her sister and friends. But he quickly shut it again.

"You are small, Rhyanna. If you joined us, I could train you to know everyone's intentions, their entire life story, in a blink of the eye." he said. The child hastily shook her head, knowing from her psychic sense that this was not what Nissa would want.

"I won't do what you say! I am a Runaway, and Runaways don't do what mean people tell them to!" she yelled.

"Ah, young one... you have much to learn, Rhyanna... but first must know your past..."

"I do! My parents sent my to your dumb school and I ran away!" Rhyanna said, in an angry, dangerous tone.

"But don't you want to know why? Why did your father, my brother, leave you and Nissa and Carter for an evil academy when he knew I was...leader of it..." he cackled.

"I DON'T CARE!!!!" wailed the five year old.

"Oh, but you do... you care more than words can tell...and I can tell it to you, as soon as the others get here...and they are coming. Even you should sense that." he grinned.

"I..I...want Nissa." 6th cell from left, Nissa. PSY headquarters. In woods.