Bound By Sin And Blood

Alaric -Circus

Dinner that night was delicious. The stew porridge Mother made, despite there being hardly any sophisticated or exotic seasoning or ingredients in it, I loved. We savoured every bit of it because we enjoyed it and moving forward we were definitely going to eat a better and balanced diet. The news about the promotion, and the news about the circus were in the air, and Avelina wouldn't let us rest. The heat from the fireplace made the house warm and cozy. In the midst of it all, I still felt it. Not even once did I stop feeling it.

We had barely started eating when Avelina immediately gobbled up her food and announced, "I'm going to the bathroom," then ran off to the bathroom to have a bath and change into clean clothes. When she finished, Mother also went to the bathroom to have her bath, while Father went back to the couch and sat there, bringing out a cigarette, but he did not light it. I remained sitting on the floor by the kitchen, eating my food. Not because I couldn't finish it, but because I was in a state of mixed feelings. I was happy about Father's promotion and I was also happy about our outing. Yes, I was excited but I could not express how excited I was.

Nothing suspicious happened that night. There was no robbery in the next buildings or within our neighbourhood. We didn't hear any gunshots or alarm. Even old Fred's dog seemed to have gone to sleep. But that smile made me restless. I sat there, toying with my food, while Father used that moment to rest and dozed off.

Just as soon as I cleared the dishes, Avelina came skipping. "Papa, let's go," she said as she began spinning around in her patchwork dress. She looked brighter than ever, beautiful in her stitched-up dress dancing in the room, without any concern for that evening. Her world seemed to wash up on me for a moment as I caught myself smiling. She smiled as she tugged at the hem of her dress. I was done with the dishes when Mother came in and we set off from the house.

As we walked down the street, the old streetlights buzzed overhead, blinking and unreliable. Avelina moved in short bursts. She ran forward, then ran back, jumping into my arms, trying to lighten my mood. I wasn't frowning, but I wasn't there in the moment either. Father hung his cigarette on his ear, and he and Mother walked behind us, while Avelina and I walked in front of them.

"Alaric, catch me," she said, running and jumping on me again and I caught her.

"You will injure yourself," I told her.

"No, I'm not going to injure myself. You are with me. I'm not going to injure myself, except you don't want to catch me."

I smiled. This time, it wasn't forced.

"Do you think they will have a fire act? Margaret said they had one last year. The man put the whole flaming torch in his mouth. His whole mouth, Alaric. Can you imagine that?

I was carrying her at that point. I responded while I dropped her.

"Hm, yes, I do."

"Hm? That's all? The man swallowed fire and you're just saying 'hm'?"

Mother told her, "Avelina, stop running ahead like that."

"I'm not running. I'm walking fast. It's different, Mom," she said, pouting.

Father interjected supporting her, "There is no difference, Avelina. She's just excited. You guys should not kill her vibe."

"Alaric, do you think we're late? I think it was supposed to start by seven. What time is it now?"

I gave her a playful knock on the head. "You don't know the time. You can barely tell time, and you want to know what time it is? Well, I don't know the time either."

"How don't you know? You've been awake this whole time doing nothing."

As she said that, she ran away from me, knowing I was going to grab her and knock her head again.

Mother said, "We're not going to be late. Don't worry."

While we were walking, I kept getting lost in thought with the conversations blurring away in my ear. Mother and Father had to call my attention more than once, and if not for Avelina's running back and forth, I would have been completely lost in my thoughts. I was observing the surroundings. I couldn't see anything beyond where the light reached. Still, I kept looking. For nothing in particular. Maybe for people. For movement. I didn't know what I was expecting to see.

Old Frank's warning came to my mind again. It didn't come gradually but rather I suddenly remembered how he said it, the way his eyes were serious. Back then I had convinced myself he was just an old man with his fears but here in this empty street it didn't seem irrelevant again.

I kept walking not saying anything.

As we walked, barely noticeable but with my paranoia I did. I noticed a leg. Just a leg. It seemed like someone was lying down up ahead. I couldn't see the person clearly, only the leg on the floor. The rest of the body was hidden in the darkness beyond where the streetlight reached. Maybe someone drunk. Maybe someone who had fallen. I told myself those things. I convinced myself with reasonable things.

But something about the angle of it was wrong. Something about the stillness of it was wrong. A drunk person shifts. A person who has fallen tries to get up, or at least moves. This leg was just there. Like as if it had been placed.

Immediately, I called Avelina back without explaining why. She had run a few steps ahead and I grabbed her hand, maybe too firmly, and held it. I began walking faster.

"Why are you walking faster?" she laughed, stumbling slightly to keep up with me. "Oh, looks like you finally have the joy to come to the circus."

I didn't answer her. My attention not leaving the leg.

Or where the leg had been.

The street lamps illuminated only a shallow part of the road, and as I focused on that spot, that exact spot whoever it was, whatever it was, I suddenly didn't see it anymore. It wasn't hidden, nor was anything blocking my view. It was simply gone. As if it had simply decided to be somewhere else. My breathing paused for a second. I didn't hear any noise. No dragging, no footsteps, nothing. But it was gone, and the silence that surrounded that fact was the worst part.

Fear gripped me. Real fear, not the anxious, uncertain feeling I had been carrying all evening. This was different.

I immediately began scanning the road ahead. Left. Right. The dark parts between the lights. Nothing moved that I could see. But I had the distinct feeling, the horrible feeling that something had moved. And that thing was close.

My grip on Avelina's hand tightened.

"Alaric, you're holding too tight," she said, pulling slightly.

I loosened my grip but didn't let go.

Father had the cigarette in his mouth now, and he reached for his lighter. That small, ordinary sound, the scrape of the flint, felt very loud in that moment. The flame caught. And in that brief, small light, I saw them. Not clearly, but I could discern shapes, figures standing where figures had no reason to be, in the darkness without light, standing so still in a way that people standing casually are not still.

Then the street lamps died.

All of them. At once.

Whatever dim, unreliable light we had been walking under was gone. Just like that. The moment I lost that streetlight, everything went darker than I expected. The cheers and shouts from the circus resounded from ahead, distant and completely disconnected from where we were standing. That entire area ahead was bright and full of noise. But here, it was none of those things.

I opened my mouth.

"Father, wait –"

Crack.

That was the next thing I heard, like something snapping. A wet sound followed.

"Oh my God!" Mother screamed.

In the little light left, I saw Father's body drop to the floor. One of the figures lunged at him and sank its teeth into his throat as his body jerked, sucking his blood in a slow agonizing death.

Mother rushed forward, even though she could barely see. "Leave my husband!"

"Father!" I screamed.

Avelina didn't understand what was happening, but she screamed too.

"Henry!" Mother cried.

Then she screamed again.

A totally different scream this time.

"Mama!" Avelina shouted.

"Mother," I yelled.

Then there was total darkness.

I couldn't see anything. Whatever light we had vanished. Avelina tugged violently at my arm.

"I can't see! Alaric!! I can't see!"

I heard a chilling voice sounding in the darkness. "Such warm blood."

It sounded human, but wrong.

Then Mother screamed my name.

"Mother!" I said.

"Where is she? Where is Mama?" Avelina cried.

I heard a thud. Another figure lunged. I felt the movement despite not being able to see. Mother had managed to bring out her lighter and light a match. And in that brief light, I saw only her eyes as she looked directly at me, never had I seen my mother in so much fear and pain.

Ending the moment, a figure descended on her and ripped her throat open. Blood as viscera splashed on my face while her limp body just stared at me.

I couldn't do anything. I was shaking. I felt something warm trickle between my legs. It was then I realized I had pissed my pants.

"You are shaking, Alaric what's happening," Avelina said. She was shaking too. She was crying, hugging my arm and clutching into me desperately.

I held her firmly.

Everything happened so fast. Before I could gather the courage to carry her and try to run, even though I knew it was impossible, my ears began ringing. Something had hit me. What it was, I didn't know. I only felt myself drop to the floor.

I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I couldn't tell her it was okay.

I heard Avelina shouting my name and then her voice turned into a struggle, and gradually became distorted. Then I heard her no more.

Mother was the last I saw that night. Avelina was the last I heard.

I couldn't help but wonder, even as everything was leaving me, even as my body stopped being mine, why life was so cruel. We never got to enjoy the benefit of Father's promotion. Not even one day of it. Could not even a poor family like us, a family that had seen more tough days than good ones, enjoy just one moment of happiness? Just one night? Was that too much?

That was my last thought.

Then my world went blank.