The Devil's Carnival

Welcome To The Show

Mina spun around to see the ring master standing behind her. As she stood staring at the strange man she could feel his eyes draw her in. The longer she stared at him the more she felt herself lose control. “No...” She had an argument somewhere in the back of her mind but that one word was all she could manage. It was as if this strange man had put a leach on her very soul and she couldn’t resist. “Please, let us entertain you while you wait for you rescue.” Something about how he said rescue and the smirk that followed made Mina shiver. “I insist.” Mina was powerless and now she had lost her voice as well. The ring master hooked her arm into his and led her to the entrance of the tent where the nightmare on stilts still beckoned the rest of them closer. Powerless, Mina followed as she was led into the tent. Momentarily she glanced over her shoulder and hoped that someone would come to her aid but to her horror she saw the lot of them slowly follow. Much like her they seemed to be in a trance. “You won’t regret staying.” The ring master smiled as he glanced down at her. She found herself wondering if maybe she was just over reacting just a little, if her own insecurities were getting in the way of her common sense. “Never once has anyone left here willingly.” What he said did unsettle her just a little but she wasn’t given the time to question what he meant by it. The ring master let go of her arm and as they walked into the tent. Mina had never been to any kind of circus or carnival, her fears not allowing it, but she never thought she would find herself smiling. Several spotlights illuminated the dark tent which had a pavilion around the edges to give the best possible view of the night’s entertainment. In the centre were several stallations and several wires ran the diameter of the tent high above the ground. The sight wasn’t that extraordinary but it still left all of them struck. Music from an organ that hadn’t seen a tune up since its inception filled the air as several three foot tall clowns scurried out from the other side of the tent much like a small hoard of roaches would when disturbed. Laughing just a little manically they danced up to them and took them by the hand. Their small hands were freezing and as for the rest of the little nightmares their multi coloured onesies were dirty and were covered in several suspicious stains. Even that wasn’t enough to stop them from following as the tiny clowns led them to their seats at the top of the pavilion. Danielle swapped seats with Michael so she could sit next to Mina. The both of them were sceptical of the whole situation but somehow were powerless. “This isn’t a good idea.” Danielle declared just as the lights went out. Everyone but Brian was more than a little uncomfortable and Mina was bordering ever closer to terror. As they sat waiting for the show to start Mina found herself looking around the tent for the ring master. Why exactly she wanted so badly to find him was as much a mystery as why they all sat so compliantly when they should be with the bus. Bob nervously adjusted his glasses every few minutes, no doubt thinking the exact same. Even the boys who so badly wanted to give the impression of just how tough they are weren’t fooling anyone. They were as uncomfortable and shaken as the rest of them. “This is a bad idea.” Looking over at Danielle as she spoke Mina saw the fear building in her eyes, as it was in her own. She had wanted to offer some kind of reassurance, what exactly she had no idea but she never got to it. The overhead lights flared to life and after briefly dancing over the small audience focused on a lone figure in the centre of the tent. The ring master stood smiling at them with both hands resting on his cane. The same demented organ music picked up just a little louder as the ring master raised his hands, removed his hat and bowed. His hat still resting on his heart, assuming he had one, he looked up to address his fidgety onlookers. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the greatest show on earth.” The ring master proclaimed as several of the tiny clowns appeared out of thin air from somewhere behind him. Their laughing resonated through the tent and over the music that grew evermore unsettling by the second. Mina was ready to leap to her feet and run but right at that moment the ring master looked right at her and she settled down. She was terrified but something in his stare forced her compliance. Hoping to find some kind of reassurance that she wasn’t the only one who wanted out she looked over at Danielle. She had the same kind of look that the rest of them had, a look that made it clear they were in no hurry to leave. Her own fear shot right through the roof of the tent as a small smile crept on to Danielle’s face and she heard Brian softly laughing. Bob had shared her reservations from the start. He had been more so against following the lights than any of them but now he just couldn’t remember why he had been so sceptical. He also couldn’t remember why he had been so disturbed by the friendly creatures in their bright clothes and funny makeup. They were so entertaining. Actually, now that he thought about it, all the attractions had been. There was just this tiny little snag in the back of his mind that persisted. Something that warned him he was either forgetting or neglecting something but it wasn’t enough to really make him worry. The ring master raised his came and slammed it down on the ground. On cue a light flared to life high above the ground and focused on a young woman, thin as a crow and dressed in bright baby pink, bright dirty pink that is. She bowed and blew kisses into the audience as she braced herself and leaped from the platform. There were gasps from her already unsettled audience as she fell through the air. Out of nowhere a tall slender man dressed in black and hanging by his feet reached for her and grabbed her by the waist. Gracefully the two glided through the air before he let her go and she grabbed on to a silk lifeline.