The Autumn Circus

WARNING: The following story contains violence, murders, and mild language (Heck, Hell)
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NOTE: AaaAAaa I’ve been wanting to write this for quite some time and I finally finished it! :D  My story includes one of my most preCiOuS OC’s, Kira. Please do not steal them or anything. Updates on the story are whenever I feel like it, hopefully daily. Enjoyyyyy!
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Also please tell me if there needs to be anything fixed or whatever, I always appreciate some constructive criticism!
WRITTEN BY: ☀ 73
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It was nighttime, but the Autumn Circus lights lit up the sky. Children were running around, hurrying to the rides or pointing at things that interested them. Adults and older children were chatting together, sitting inside of the tent or wandering outside. The sounds of laughter and chattering excitement surrounded the area, and the smell of corn dogs, popcorn and other fair foods filled the chilly air. I peeked out from the large, red and white tent, observing my surroundings. It wasn’t often crowded around here due to the lack of rides, entertainment and the occasional lions that wandered around here sometimes. But Soren, the Ringmaster, finally had enough money to buy more attractions and make the fairgrounds safer, and tonight he was hosting a grand reopening for the circus. 
Soren was a friendly man, and took care of me and my friends well. He was also quite cheerful most of the time, despite whatever bad thing happened. He’s always wanted a crowd like this, and so did I. 
As I peeked out of the tent, my eyes darted from one thing to another. The food stands were filled with people, and others lined up for rides. There were several standing inside the tent, but only staff or my friends. I would have been chattering happily with adults or handing balloons out to children, but I was staring intently at the trailer beside the tent. It was lit up with bright neon lights, and it was detached from its truck. 
Although there were many trailers parked around the fairground, they didn’t ever park outside the tent. Two men stood next to the trailer - one whom I recognized as Soren with his long orange-red hair and stubble beard, but the other was unfamiliar. He had uneven, messy crimson red hair, and wore a suit and blazer just like Soren. But what really caught my attention to this strange guy was that he had ears - cat ears. And a fluffy tail. When he noticed that I was staring at him, he narrowed his amber cat-like eyes at me and I quickly stepped back into the tent. 
Why was he here? I thought Soren had said he didn’t have room for any more of them - or us. You know, freaks. Soren prefers not to call us that, saying it is too harsh. Usually, people like us would be in a freak show, money being made off of us. But he brought us into his circus, which I was grateful for. I can’t imagine living in a freak show for the rest of my life, with how horrible the ringmasters treat others like us. But Soren treated us like actual people. He calls us special. I suppose we are special, in a way. 
But did Soren change his mind? Maybe he decided he needed another special member for the circus, or maybe this guy was only staying temporarily. 
Someone called my name in the back of the tent, and I ducked under the folds of the red-and-white cloth and looked behind me.
“Jewel, hurry up!” said Marty, one of my closest friends. “Showtime’s in a few minutes!”
I hurry over to him, and he leads me behind one of the curtains. Several others were behind it as well, getting ready for the show or practicing some stunts. Marty gives me a stern look, although I didn’t do anything wrong. I guess that’s how he’s always looked. “What were you doing?”
I brushed a strand of white hair out of my face. “Do you know who Soren was talking to?”
Marty gave me a confused look, his violet eyes narrowing. “I don’t think that’s important right now. We need to hurry up.”
But I could tell he was slightly curious by the way he kept glancing back at the entrance of the tent, and how he furrowed his brows. Maybe we could talk about it later, but for now I just needed to get ready. 
I tied my snowy-white hair up into a ponytail and dressed into my sparkling aqua suit. It was a bit scratchy due to the sparkles and sequins, but I managed to deal with it. I heard people chattering loudly behind the curtains, getting louder by each minute, meaning they must be getting ready to watch the show. Excitement built up inside of me, and I turned to face Marty, who was wearing his black suit and had his dark hair up in a bun. He was a little older than me, and way taller - I think 6’1. I looked like a little shrimp as I stood beside him, comparing his height to mine. 
I heard Soren’s booming voice outside, introducing the crowd to the Autumn Circus. I shifted my weight anxiously, waiting for the signal. Marty glanced over at me. “Ready?”
“Ready,” I repeated, taking in a deep breath. As soon as I heard Soren call out the signal, the curtains spread apart and bright lights shone down on us. Everything felt slower, but also faster at the same time. Me and Marty cartwheeled over to Soren, as well as the others behind us. Cartwheels always made me dizzy. But I managed it. 
The rest of the show was spent on us doing tricks, showing our special talents, and taking short breaks in between. I finally mastered my ability to turn fully invisible, with slight hiccups that hardly anyone noticed. Marty, however, definitely had the best act. He was able to lift himself a few inches in the air without difficulty. Marty had telekinesis, which I thought was super cool. All I had was invisibility. Yea, you might think it’s cooler, but I want to be seen by others. It’s sort of uncomfortable for everyone not to notice you. 
At the end, Soren had us all bow, and the crowd whistled and cheered for us, and the tent echoed with the sound of their thunderous clapping. I don’t think I had felt this happy in my life. Or not that I could remember. My memory wasn’t all that great.
I was expecting Soren to send us back behind the curtains, but instead, there was a long pause. I glanced at Soren, wondering why he wasn’t speaking. But before I could ask him, I noticed someone coming from the entrance of the tent. It was the same guy from earlier, I realized. What’s going on?
Soren didn’t signal me or the others to leave, so I just stood there. I glanced at Marty to see his reaction. His mouth was zipped tight and a concerned expression was displayed on his face. I could tell he was suspicious. 
The guy stopped beside Soren, and I cautiously scooted a few inches away from him. I avoided eye contact with him, but I didn’t even need to try. He was ignoring me as if I wasn’t even there. 
“Thank you all for coming out tonight to the Autumn Circus,” Soren called out to the crowd. “As you all know, tonight is the grand reopening. Me and my troupe couldn’t be more happier for this. With all the money we’ve earned from your support, we have been able to buy equipment, improve rides, and hire more members. Once again we thank you for coming to our grand show. The next show will be tomorrow at 8:00 PM.”
So far, everything seemed normal. But who was the guy standing beside Soren, and why was he here? I was pretty sure he would explain after thanking the crowd and stuff, but he didn’t. He just turned around, signaling for us to go back behind the curtains. The group members hesitated, but followed Soren. The unknown guy followed as well.
“Do you know who that was?” Marty asked me as soon as we reached the curtains.
“I asked you the same question earlier,” I pointed out. “Of course I don’t know who he is.”
Marty frowned, then walked away to the other group members. I looked around and spotted Soren, who was speaking to the mystery guy. This is my chance to find out what’s going on. I thought, walking over.
The guy noticed me and immediately halted the conversation he was having with Soren, who turned around and beamed at me. “Jewel, you did such a wonderful job tonight!”
I nod my thanks, then asked, “Not trying to be rude or anything, but who is this?” I point to the guy, who stared at me calmly with his narrowed amber eyes.
“Oh!” Soren says, as if he completely forgot that he was there. “This is Kira. He’s been looking for a circus group-” He doesn’t use the word freak show either because they're usually pretty rough around this area and treat it’s members horribly- “for a while now, and he originally came from a freak show, but he was able to escape here. Of course, since we now have enough money to support the group, I decided we might as well add in another member. The more the merrier, right?”
I glanced from ‘Kira’ to Soren, not sure of what to say. “Alright - so he’s officially staying here?” I managed to say. 
“Yep,” Soren replied happily, wrapping his arm around Kira’s shoulders. I could have sworn Kira flinched, but maybe that was just me. “Why don’t you introduce him to the others, now that he’s gonna officially be part of the group? And you could probably move his stuff to the guest tent.”
Before I could say anything, Kira interrupted. “There’s no need for her to waste her time on me. I can do that myself.” 
Soren hesitated, but nodded. “Of course! After you're done, you can come out to the trailer to finish our talk.” 
I watched as Kira walked away, wondering what they had been talking about before I interrupted. But that was none of my business. I decided that I should go outside, get some fresh air, talk to some people, and grab something to eat. I deserved that after a long day. I shouldn’t be worried about Kira or anything, I guess. He seems nice and respectful, and as long as Soren trusted him, I did too. 
* * * * * * * 
I must have fallen asleep or something, because when I woke up, the sun was halfway to its peak in the cloudless blue sky. I looked at my surroundings, noticing how high up in the air I was. How did I get up there? I honestly can’t remember - I just remembered being extremely tired and my eyes had blurred a lot. Perhaps I’d accidentally sleep walked here. I remember Marty telling me that I had sleep walked before. The chiIly wind swept by, making my hair whip into my face. I was leaning against the edge of the passenger car at the top of the ferris wheel. I observed the ground below me, noticing that most of the people from last night had cleared out to go back to their homes. A few people remained here, going to see some attractions or riding the roller coasters before they had to go back to their places. 
The ferris wheel wasn’t moving anymore, so I assumed whoever had been working at it had fallen asleep or something because most of the workers weren’t supposed to leave until 3:00 PM. As I was figuring out a way to get down from my spot at the top of the wheel, I felt a strand of my hair being tugged. I looked over the edge of the passenger cart again and spotted Marty far below me.
“Need some assistance?” He called up at me.
“Nah, of course not. I can just jump off here when I feel like it!” I called back, making sure there was a hint of sarcasm in my voice. “Wanna come up here and enjoy the breeze with me?”
I was pretty sure Marty just rolled his eyes at me. “One sec, let me go get Tempest.”
I leaned back in the passenger cart. “Take your time, I have all day,” I shouted, then tilted my head towards the sky to make shapes out of the clouds. To be honest, it was pretty peaceful up there. The only thing was that I was slightly worried that something might break down and I’d fall to my death. I still don’t really trust the rides, despite them being fixed and repaired. 
Soon I heard something clattering below, and I glanced over the edge of the passenger car to see Tempest trying to climb up the ferris wheel. But because it was made of metal, it was hard for her spiky skin to pierce into it to give her a good grip. 
“What are you doing?” I called Tempest. 
She glanced up, but nearly slipped and had to grab hold of part of the wheel quickly. “I’m going to help you get down!”
Tempest definitely wasn’t afraid of heights - heck, she probably wasn’t afraid of anything. Sometimes I wish I could be like her - except without the spiky skin - because the only thing I wasn’t afraid to do was talk to people. I loved people. But I didn’t like taking huge risks that had to do with heights. 
Tempest was finally able to climb to where I sat in the passenger car, out of breath. “Please don’t get stuck up here ever again.” 
“I’ll try,” I told her, standing up, only being supported by my wobbly legs. “Uh - how am I supposed to get down?”
Tempest pointed one of her long claw-like fingers at the outer rim of the ferris wheel. “Just put a foot there, then slide down the pole thingy. I’ll be right behind you to support you. As soon as we’re closer to the bottom, Marty will be able to lift you down safely.” 
I nodded and reluctantly put a foot down on the outer rim of the ferris wheel, clinging onto the edge of the passenger car for dear life. Tempest, however, balanced on the rim as if it were as easy as standing on solid ground. I slowly let go of the passenger car and carefully went into a crawling position on the outer rim. I grabbed onto the pole below me and wrapped my legs around it, then slid down. It was sort of like one of those poles that firefighters used, but slightly tilted. And a little thinner. And… higher above ground. 
I saw Tempest at the corner of my eye, climbing down the pole with ease, then placed her feet at the bottom of her pole, ready to catch me if I fell. Although I was pretty sure her spikes would make an uncomfortable landing if I did fall. I finally made it onto the inner rim part of the ferris wheel when I heard someone shout from below. It made me lose my balance, and I toppled off the wheel and screeched. I was suddenly halted in mid-air, only a few inches from the earth. My heart pounded in my chest, so hard that I almost thought that it would bleed. 
Marty paused his telekinesis, and I fell a few inches and hit the ground. He ran over to me, helping me up.
“I’m… never riding a ferris wheel again…” I managed to wheeze when I caught by breath.
I noticed someone else came up behind Marty. Kira. 
Marty glared at him. “If you hadn’t yelled, she wouldn’t have almost broken her back.”
Kira held up his hands. “Hey, I didn’t mean to alarm her. I was just warning -”
“Don’t make up a stupid excuse, you need to start clearing up your big brain before you screw up.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Kira apologized, crossing his arms as if he wasn’t in the mood for an argument. “But she would have fallen anyway with the inner rim so close to collapsing.”
Me and Marty glanced over at where I was standing before I fell - the inner rim was cracked, and looked as if it could fall apart at any moment. Actually, now that I had a better view of the ferris wheel in daylight, I could see that the whole thing looked as if it would fall apart. 
“Why does anyone even ride these things?” I mumbled mostly to myself.
Marty and I glanced back at where Kira was to make a retort, but he’d disappeared. Tempest came over to us. “I’m so sorry! I should have caught you, but I got distracted….”
“It’s fine,” I told her, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder, but I remembered her spikes and quickly let my hand drop to my side. And even if she didn’t have spikes, I would have to stand on a chair to even reach her. She was taller than me, and even taller than Marty. I think the smallest ones in our group were the furry twins, Rocket and Jet. They would have to stand on several chairs to reach her height. 
Tempest went quiet for a moment, then asked, “Who was that guy that came over to you guys?”
I gave her a confused look. “Didn’t he introduce himself to everyone at the circus?”
Marty shook his head. “He went right back out to the trailer as soon as the show was over.”
“But Soren told-” I was interrupted by Soren’s anguished cry.
We ran to where the sound came from and spotted Soren, who was trying to stamp out a fire at the back of the tent. Instead it spread further, catching onto the tent and sending smoke into the air. Marty and Tempest ran over to help, but all I did was stand frozen, wondering what started the fire.
Rocket and Jet rushed out of the tent, with the other group members following close behind. 
Kira ran over as well, halting to see the fire, and ran to the front of the tent where the trailer was parked. He came back with a fire extinguisher, tossing it to Marty, who caught it with telekinesis. He was able to put the fire out before it spread too far. 
We all just stood there for a minute, as if waiting for another fire to start, before Soren breathed, “Who set it on fire?” he looked pointedly at the Furry Twins.
“It wasn’t us, we swear!” Rocket and Jet burst out at the same time. 
Soren glared at them - it wasn’t often that he got mad. So seeing him like this was sort of scary. “Enough with your pranks, get back inside. We’ll talk about this later.”
“But we just said-”
“Just go!”
The Furry Twins were about to protest, but thought better of it. They went back into the tent, their heads hanging. I shifted my weight uncomfortably, not really sure if I should say anything or just keep silent. 
Finally, Kira said, “I’ll go and make sure they didn’t set up anything else hazardous.” 
Soren nodded. “Good idea. Everyone else, get back inside. You can practice before the next performance tonight.”
Me, Marty and Tempest walked in together silently, wondering what had just happened. 
“It couldn’t have been Rocket or Jet,” I said. “They looked like they were telling the truth. And they wouldn’t do a prank this dangerous.”
Tempest shrugged. “Maybe it was an accident.”
“Maybe,” I said, “But still. They were inside when Soren found the fire.”
“Forget about it, that’s not important right now,” Marty told us. “Let’s just go practice.”
I hesitated, but decided it was best not to argue. The fire had been put out, and it was no big deal anymore. But I was pretty sure that someone else - or something else was the cause of the fire.
* * * * * * * 
   A few days passed, and the Furry Twins were still reluctant to admit that it was they who set the fire. I still believed they were innocent, but didn’t say anything about it. Soon the whole incident was forgotten - and another thing happened that caught us by surprise. We were preparing for another show, and Marty and I were chatting together outside. We tried to get Void, another one of the troupe members who was the oldest of us and he always seemed to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, to go outside with us, but he was afraid of the light, so we just let him be. People were starting to arrive at the fairgrounds, buying tickets for rides and eating fair food. I avoided the rides because I was afraid they’d break down or I’d get stuck on one once again.  
Marty stopped by the cotton candy stand, eyeing the fluffy pink candy, a spark of curiosity showing in his violet eyes. 
“Want me to get us some?” I asked him.
“N-no, they look disgusting.”
“Suuuuure,” I teased him, rolling my eyes, and I said dramatically, “Oi, can I get a large bag of your finest cotton candy?”
The man in the trailer chuckled and nodded, grabbing one of the bags and handing it to me. And because I was a troupe member, I wasn’t required to pay, but I decided to give him a few coins anyway. I held the bag out to Marty, who hesitated.
“It’s really good, trust me. And if you don’t like it, we can just give it to Void or Tempest when we get back.”
Marty took the bag reluctantly, tearing off some of the fluffy candy and stuffing it in his mouth. He made a weird face, something between disgust and enjoyment. Or perhaps both.
“What do you think?” I asked, smiling.
Instead of replying, Marty glared at something behind me. I looked around and saw Kira, who was minding his own business, eating cotton candy. He casually sat on the Hit-The-Target stand’s counter, and the man behind the counter looked slightly annoyed. 
“Why are you so grumpy around him?” I asked, and Marty blinks as if he’d forgotten I was there.
“He just…” Marty started, then shook his head. “Whatever. Nevermind.”
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused, but shrugged it off. “C’mon, let's go back into the tent.”
I led him to the tent entrance, looking over my shoulder to see Kira now standing near the ferris wheel, observing it from a fair distance. He didn’t seem too off or suspicious to me, if that’s what Marty thought of him. 
“Actually, I think I’m gonna go grab more cotton candy,” Marty muttered. 
“I thought you didn’t-”
“I changed my mind,” He said flatly, then turned away from me, leaving me. 
I watched him go, then turned back to the tent and sighed. Marty was definitely one of the most complicated troupe members here, and the strangest. I’d never understand him. But now… He was acting a bit weird. Weirder than normal.
As soon as I entered the tent, Tempest rushed over to me. “Do you know where Soren is?”
I almost fell backwards trying to avoid her spikes. “Uh - oh, no - um - why?”
Bubble, Tempest’s girlfriend, replied, “We haven’t seen him all day, so Tempest was worried that he’d been murdered or something.”
Bubble was one of the troupe members, and Tempest had been pretty close to her since the summer, when they admitted they loved each other. Her style, which contributed to her name, and almost everything she wore was a bubble/circle shape. Bubble was also the most protective of us, and whatever concerned anyone else officially became part of her business to investigate it. 
“I did not!” Tempest protested. “But what if something happened to him?”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen Soren all day either. “Maybe he’s somewhere on the fairgrounds.”
“That’s what I said,” Bubble rolled her eyes at Tempest, who gave her an offended look. But concern showed in Bubble’s face. 
Before they could argue, we heard a large CRASH, and several shrieks erupted from outside the tent.
Me, Tempest and Bubble ran outside to see what was going on, and let me tell you, we were not prepared for what we saw. The ferris wheel had collapsed - well, not entirely. The only thing standing was the inner rim and whatever was left to support it. The passenger cars and outer rim had collapsed, and several nearby stands were crushed under the metal wheel. I could see people struggling to lift pieces off of the people who were riding the ferris wheel. Many were standing at a good distance from the scene, shooting pictures or watching in horror. 
Tempest ran over to help people out of the wreckage, Bubble following close behind. I looked around to see what had caused this - at first, I figured it might have been because the rides weren’t built properly, or they still weren’t safe or something. But something else happened.
I searched around to see if any of the group members were on the ferris wheel when the incident happened - the Furry Twins, Tom, Azul and Monica were all on the ferris wheel or near it, but appeared to be just fine. Kira, Soren and Marty were missing, and Void was inside the tent when I had last checked on him. He must be wondering what the noise was - knowing how paranoid he could get, I decided I should tell him what was going on and assure him that aliens weren’t coming to abduct us. 
I went to the back of the tent, where I last saw Void. The lights were off, just how Void liked it. It was dark enough that I didn’t notice the dark shape lying on the floor when I first looked around. “Void, you here?” I called. No reply.
I looked around for the light switch, which was to my right. I knew he would hate it if I turned it on, but I wanted to make sure he was here. When I flicked the light switch on, I was finally able to make out things better in the dark. I was finally able to make out Void’s lifeless body laying on the floor. 
I didn’t scream or shriek or call out for help - I just stood there, motionless, not sure if what I was seeing was real. There was a huge slash on his eye, and red-blue finger-shaped marks shown on his neck, as if someone had tried to suffocate him. I walked over cautiously, getting onto my knees and checking Void’s pulse. I didn’t feel anything - nothing at all. 
I started to panic, and thoughts rushed through my head like a waterfall. Did he have a heart attack? Did someone try to murder him? Was the murderer still here?
I didn’t hear Tempest call out my name, and only when she screeched in horror did I notice that she was there.
“What the hell!? What did you do to him?” Tempest shrieked at me.
“No!” I choked out. “I - I just found him-”
Bubble rushed in to investigate the noise, and gasped as soon as she witnessed the scene. “Someone get help!” she called out, alarming anyone within hearing distance. She rushed over to where I was kneeling beside Void and checked his pulse. 
“I - is he still alive?” I whispered.
Bubble went silent for a minute, and I felt the tension pressing on me. “There’s a slight pulse. If we can get a medic quick enough, he should survive.” 
I nodded, my eyes blurred with tears. Who the heck would have done this?
Kira was the first to hear Bubble’s call and skidded to a halt when he spotted us. “What happened?”
“Quick, grab a medic!” Bubble told him urgently.
Kira hesitated, then ran out of the tent. For a second I wondered if he was fleeing a crime scene, and he was the cause of this. But then he came back with a med kit and several people after a few minutes, and they all gathered around Void and pushed me, Tempest and Bubble out of the way. I protested, but Kira explained before I could ask what all these people were doing here.
Kira turned to us. “They’re doctors, don’t worry. All trained in this sort of stuff. Did any of you witness anything strange about Void, or was someone hanging around the tent?”
We shook our heads. Kira frowned. “We’ll figure out what happened later. You three can help the others out with the ferris wheel.”
We hesitated, but listened anyway. We headed outside and helped people out of the wreckages of the ferris wheel. 
Marty and Soren were still nowhere to be found. I wondered if they had anything to do with anything that just happened, but I didn’t have any evidence to prove that. Maybe it was all just from bad luck. And they would never do anything to harm anyone - right? As I questioned the countless possibilities in my mind, I saw Marty come up to me at the corner of my eye.
“Did anyone get hurt?” Marty asked, catching his breath. 
“Yes,” I replied bitterly. “Where were you? You just left-”
Marty blinked. “Oh no, do you think I was the one who did all this?”
I didn’t answer him.
“I swear it wasn’t me,” Marty told her, and by the tone of his voice he seemed like he was being honest. “I was just following Kira. He was acting suspicious.”
“He was trying to help us fix up Void just a minute ago!” I growled at him. 
“Maybe he’s just trying to cover up his actions,” Marty protested. “And he was looking at the ferris wheel intently, as if waiting for something to happen. Do you think that’s just a coincidence?” 
I opened my mouth to retort something, but realized it did seem sort of strange. I bit my lip. “Well… It could be.”
“Well - It wasn’t me.” Marty muttered.
“What the heck happened?” I heard Soren say behind me and Marty, his voice filled with disbelief. 
“The ferris wheel collapsed-” I started, but Soren was frantically talking to himself in a rushed, anxious tone. 
“Soren!” I barked at him, which is something I would never do. But this was an urgent situation. 
Soren paused, realizing that he’d been muttering to himself. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said the ferris wheel collapsed, and Void was found injured in the tent. And where were you?”
Soren flinched at the news, but didn’t give me an exact answer. “That’s not important. We need to fix up this mess and make sure Void is alright.”
I opened my mouth to ask him where he was again, but decided that it wasn’t any of my business. But I had a feeling that I’d have to get involved in his business if anything else strange happened again.
* * * * * * * (To Be Continued)
Category:Original Stories
Category:Fiction
Category:Literature