A Queda - The Fall
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Thread Topic: A Queda - The Fall
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★ A Queda ★
➳ This is where I will post the story I am currently writing
➳ Please do not post. If you wish to send in feedback or criticism do it here or here
➳ If you any questions, ask in the threads listed above. Reference pictures of some of the characters are on page 6 here -
Chapter One Blackouts
He didn’t know how he got there. He was wearing a velvet red coat, with golden lining which he had a feeling was actual gold. It was a coat a ringmaster might wear. He felt a hat sitting on top of his dark curls – at least, he was pretty sure his curly hair was dark. He didn’t want to check in front of all these people. He was pretty sure he was supposed to be impressing them. Entertainment? Something about money?These blackouts had happened often. Afterwards his hands were red raw from… something. Leather, perhaps. But why was he handing leather so roughly?And his performers looked jittery. As they walked into the ring for their cues, he thought he could see a hint of fear in their eyes. Then their face lit up with a bright smile. He couldn’t figure out whether it was fake. This business was very often fake, but for some reason he felt something more genuine about his workers. But the more he watched them, the more he felt as if that wasn’t a good thing.For a split second he panicked. Was he supposed to lead these people? Or be one of them? It must have been a bad case of stage fright. He wasn’t sure if there was a routine he needed to remember. Some kind of performance or musical number. Was he supposed to sing?But then he remembered his name.Gloria Thorn.If one name could loom large in the world, strike fear in the bravest of people, it was his.Gloria Thorn, the mysterious man with the red and white striped tent set out in one of the only fields large enough in… Melbourne? No, it was Las Vegas. He had to remember that. Gloria Thorn, the founder of this marvel. His name was praised in newspapers. His face was plastered on posters, his back to the camera. His arms were raised, a cane with a gold top in his left hand. In the background were his performers hanging from ropes and harnesses, with fire and ice and purple smoke emitting from their hands and curling around them. It was sinister if looked at for long enough, but to most it was a harmless circus company, one with tricks and pranks seemingly advanced than what was common. Advertised in bright red ink was, ‘A QUEDA, THORN’S MARVEL!’He had hated the last name Thorn. He certainly had his thorns. But that wasn’t important right now.He overlooked his audience with a devilish grin, stood atop a 4-foot high podium. His performers were all around, swinging from ropes and summoning fire and ice and making vines grow from the ground in a ring the size of 4 classrooms. His audience were seated in seats angled up, so it looked like the people up the back were looking down at him. All he could see were their mouths. They were all grinning, so it looked like they were staring right into him, enjoying his pain he hid from the outside so well. -
The back of his neck tingled with sweat. His heart pounded against his ribs. But with the smile he wore, with his left eye rolled back into his head, and his other glimmering a dark red, he looked more menacing than nervous. It was what his audience loved so much. The way his circus was so different from the outside. You’d never see anything like it anywhere else. It was the fascination that made people stare at the extraordinary, and that was a perfect way to describe the environment Gloria had created.So why did Gloria have a sinking feeling in his stomach, like it was twisting and tying itself into a knot?‘My beloved audience,’ he said. His voice was deep but not bass, and had a strange sound of both an ominous and welcoming tone, but nevertheless the crowd cheered.‘I’m afraid this brings our brilliant show to a close,’ he continued. The words poured from him, like he’d said it a million times before. ‘But my brilliant performers and I deeply appreciate having you all here tonight! Please, tell your friends and family what a marvellous…’ Flames danced across his fingertips. Fire shot out towards the audience but changed into a bouquet of exotic flowers and landed in a redhead man’s lap. Gloria’s smile wavered, but only for half a second, and he continued ‘… time Thorn’s Circus has given you! Come again soon!’The lights shut off. It took for the count of 5 for them to come back on, and when they did, Gloria and his performers had disappeared. All that remained were the flowers the audience threw onto the stage afterwards. A pain for the cleaners to clear up later.
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Gloria had remembered everything by the time he was backstage.He wiped the sweat off the back of his neck with a stained white towel, then chucked it to the corner of the room. He walked past his performers – his performers – with newfound confidence. He strutted with his chest puffed out slightly, chin up. When he got to the end of the room, he turned around to face his workers.There were 21 in total. 13 performers, 6 stagehands, and the other 2 were… unimportant. Those two weren’t present at the moment. ‘Juno!’ Gloria shouted, eyes falling on a young woman. She was pretty, with pale skin and white hair falling down to her waist. ‘You came on 5 seconds late! Do you know how important every minute, every second is in this business? Crucial!’Juno’s head hung as she walked out of the room. Most performers averted their eyes as she walked past. There was a large crack coming from the other room after a few moments, the one Juno had walked in. It almost sounded like a whip. -
Gloria watched the performers, as if looking at something to shout about. His eyes narrowed, which only made him more scary. His left eye was rolled up in his head, only just visible. When his eyelids slit it looked like he had no left eye at all. After a few moments, he seemed satisfied and walked out of the room, the same door Juno had taken.Another crack.≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫Juno went to bed with a bleeding arm and several bruises. The room she shared was with a teenage boy, about 15 or 16, though Juno hadn’t bothered to ask. She sat on her bedroll. It wasn’t very comfortable, but better than the floor. The teenage boy lay unconscious on his.Juno had decided to call him Somnus. It meant sleep in Latin (don’t ask how she knew), and it seemed to be the only thing this kid did. His breath was shaky and Juno was sure he looked more pale than he had the night before. He’d appeared a week ago, and he was alive. Juno wasn’t sure if that scared her or not.She ripped the sleeves off her last spare shirt. She hoped she wouldn’t have to again, but she couldn’t leave her wounds open. Blood trickled down her arm. It didn’t hurt as much as last time, but she still had the scar. It was hard to cover with stage makeup.She wrapped the makeshift bandage around her cut and used the other sleeve to wipe the blood off her arm. Gloria couldn’t kill her, Juno knew that. He could hurt her, cut her, knock her unconscious. But Juno knew he couldn’t afford to lose her; or any of his performers, really.She changed out of her costume. It was a light blue and silver leotard, with a small skirt. It was long sleeved and the sleeve hooked around her thumb, but the fabric was thin. It didn’t do well against the cold, and it was very cold in Vegas at night. Especially in winter. They’d move again tomorrow. Juno might wake up in Europe, or, with any luck, Melbourne. Victoria. Australia.Juno pulled her now sleeveless white shirt over her head. Red bled through her sleeve/bandage. Somnus stirred.Juno snapped her head towards the teenager. He looked like he was about to wake up. His forehead was covered in sweat, his black, curly hair was drenched. His nose was slightly crooked, Juno noticed. His short nails were painted red with cheap polish.The boy took a shaky breath, then went still. He was still alive. But what was he doing here?And… Juno was sure his face looked familiar. Who the heck was he?
-
Chapter Two I spend fifteen hours nowhere
It was the end of the world.At least, it was for me.‘What do you do?’ I asked my cousin.He looked up at me. ‘But it isn’t.’‘It is,’ I insisted. ‘America has exploded. What do you do, Errick?’[indent][indent]The boy stared at me with his dark brown eyes. Like me, he had dark brown hair, except I wore box braids and his hair was curly. His skin was a slight lighter brown than mine, but otherwise we looked pretty similar, despite the 8-year age difference.‘We both die. We’re in America right now, dummy.’I sighed. ‘Errick, you’ve got no imagination.’Errick shrugged. ‘How would it even explode anyway? It’d cause a lot of damage.’‘Exactly. The end of the world.’We were sat on the living room floor. The TV blared some My Little Pony movie I’d grown bored of within the first 5 minutes. Honestly, who even watched that? It made no sense, and in the real world happiness and friendship meant nothing. But my little sister watched it with great interest. I had no hope for the younger generation.Errick scrunched his nose. ‘I don’t get it.’I rolled my eyes. ‘Of course you don’t.’
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I, Joi Kendrick, was a god.OK, not really, but sometimes I liked to pretend I was. My family is from Africa, and, I’ll admit it, we weren’t particularly well-off. And so I was Joi, the goddess of… well, stuff. I’d been a goddess for about a year now and I still hadn’t figured that out. But I figured it wasn’t important, as long as it kept me going. If I believed I could do great things, I presumed I would. Just keep going, and everything will turn out great.I spent most of my time in the library. There were a few community libraries in New York, but my favourite was The New York Public Library. First off, I didn’t need to pay to get in, which was obviously a plus. I didn’t have an allowance, and I hated asking my dad for money, so I didn’t own a library card. I’d sit in the corner of the library, wedged between two bookshelves, where nobody would notice a slightly pudgy teenage girl. I had heard of claustrophobia, but I was pretty sure I had whatever the opposite of that was. I liked tight spaces, and I found that where my shoulders fit, the rest of me could probably fit too. The best part was that there was nobody else in said tight spaces. I knew where to look to be alone.I was sat between the non-fiction aisle and biology, reading A Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. It was a fairly old copy, with the original cover and slightly yellowing pages. I’d found under the science fiction shelf, which was strange, since it was such a good book. There were two names in the card taped to the back of the book. The first was a name she couldn’t pronounce. The surname wasn’t even that bad, but the first name gave her eyes a seizure.Seriously, who named their kid Bartholomew?The second name interested me. Gloria Thorn. I was certain I’d heard that name before. Probably some guy on TV. But Thorn was a strange surname. Bartholomew’s was worse, though. Boatright must’ve gotten him bullied in school. I felt for that dude.I’d read of people in libraries. One book I’d read was about a boy who was in love with a girl who was an intense bookworm, and so borrowed all the books in the library he knew she’d like so that his name was in the card at the back. The girl eventually noticed, and they fell in love, and blah blah blah. I didn’t want a boyfriend, but I’d imagined I’d find a best friend or go on an adventure based on the names in the card. New York was great, but nothing ever remotely adventurous happened for such a popular city in America. -
The most exciting thing that would happen to me was getting lost in the city. But Google Maps worked too well for that to happen, which was frustrating. Stupid Google. I snapped out of my thoughts when I realised I’d read the same line five times. I knew I’d heard the name Gloria Thorn. It was on the tip of my tongue, but the memory was too far to reach. It was like my brain was doing this just to infuriate me. My subconscious must’ve been laughing at me.I put the book back in the shelf. I wedged it between the back of the other books and the wall so it wasn’t visible, and I was sure it would be there tomorrow. I exited the library and walked down the street. I was pretty sure the apartment was straight ahead. And by that, I was pretty sure it was definitely not the way to her apartment and was hoping to run into a kid with magic powers or a talking dog. Those things seemed to happen a lot, according to Disney.But when I wandered around for ten minutes and found no talking animals, I sighed and headed back to the apartment. But on the way home, I really did get lost. I didn’t think it would, but that irritated me. I passed an alley and came to a field I was very sure wasn’t supposed to be there. There was a large tent set up, like a circus. It was dark out, yet it was lit up inside like a huge lamp. I turned around and walked back the way I came, but after a few twists and turns I found herself back at the field. There were no open fields in New York, especially in Manhattan, that big. I should’ve been excited such a strange occurrence had happened – to me of all people – but it only made me uneasy.There was something about that tent I didn’t like.Though my common sense screamed at me not to, I walked towards the tent. It was large, but just a bit smaller than a school building. The exterior was striped red and white. Loud cheers and laughter came from inside. I saw silhouettes soaring through the air. I checked my phone. It was only 6 o’clock. It wasn’t like a circus was any dangerous. What could possibly happen to a 15-year-old at a kid’s show? I could tell Mum Google Maps was playing up if I took too long to get home.There was no door. The fabric curved like two curtains, so you could just push through. Not very good security, but very good for me.I pushed open the fabric, just enough for me to peek inside. My jaw dropped. Inside was not a measly kids circus. There wasn’t even a clown.I watched in shock as a person flew through the air. Initially I thought the stranger was a trapeze artist, but there were no ropes. She simply flew, a flock of birds in her wake. A man lifted a large tyre with no problem – which fascinated me, since he wasn’t even buff – and rolled his across the ring, A gymnast jumped atop the tyre and cartwheeled as it rolled. I noticed a young boy juggling red-hot fireballs. He couldn’t have been older than 9, if that, and wore a stained button up smock and brown slacks. Most of the performers weren’t even wearing costumes, just simple shirts and plain pants or skirts that billowed in the wind. A young woman with white hair was summoning ice. Frost cracked on the ground underneath her, and her fingertips glowed with a whiteish hue.I was fairly certain these weren’t just tricks. It couldn’t be! Just creating these things in film used tons of CGI, but somehow these people were creating such realistic tricks on the spot. I was pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to be possible. There must’ve been an underground team working on the frost underneath, or possibly some kind of optical illusion. But the ground was dirt and seemed very solid, and optical illusions were usually blurry or unfocused. No matter how many times I blinked and focused my gaze the scene didn’t change. There was one man in the centre of it all. He wore a red velvet jacket. His slender fingers were adorned with ruby and diamond rings, excepting his ring and middle finger. His top hat had a red ribbon tied around the bottom. His curls were a dark brown and his skin a ghoulish pale. He was skinny and tall but not lanky, and in fact his movement was graceful. He might’ve been handsome if his left eye wasn’t upturned into his skull. And yet there was something about his presence drawing me in, inviting me to take a seat and watch the show.
-
There was a large audience gathered, cheering and shouting and laughing each time a new trick was conjured. All the seats were taken, yet I spotted multiple people standing, squished between rows and other people. If this show was so popular, how had I never heard of it?Without wanting to, my legs dragged me in. I walked in and stood next to a teenage boy in 19th-century style clothing – a beige newsboy cap, brown vest, rolled up pants and knee-high socks. I didn’t pay him much mind, but for a second I wondered what kind of kid in New York would be wearing such ugly clothes.He seemed to be staring at me, too. ‘Why on Earth are you wearing pants?’ he asked me, looking horrified.I glared at him. ‘What’s so wrong with that?’ What a weirdo.He didn’t reply, so I turned my attention back to the performers. It struck me how similar to a normal circus (or, as normal as circuses get) this was. There were jugglers, strong men – and women, for that matter –, acrobats, trapeze artists, and a charming ringmaster. Except the jugglers juggled fire, the strong men and women lifted cars (how did a car get inside the tent?), the acrobats twisted their bodies in ways that shouldn’t be possible and the trapeze artists flew without ropes. In only a few minutes, the ringmaster raised his hand. ‘Thank you, thank you, my beloved audience,’ he said. His deep voice made the back of my neck tingle. It didn’t exactly make me uneasy, but it wasn’t too welcoming, either. ‘I’m afraid this brings our brilliant show to a close. But my brilliant performers and I deeply appreciate having you all here tonight! Please, tell your friends and family what a marvelous time Thorn’s Circus has given you! Come again s-’‘It’s you!’ I exclaimed, shouting out before I could stop myself. Thorn’s eyes – or rather, eye – fixed on me. For a second, I thought it was red. Then my cheeks flushed an even brighter red.‘Who am I?’ the ringmaster asked. His expression hadn’t changed, he was grinning, but it made me uneasy. All eyes in the tent were fixed on me. I couldn’t figure out the expressions of the performers – pity? Fear? – but I refused to break my gaze off Thorn.‘Gloria Thorn,’ I said, trying to stop my voice quavering. I hated when all eyes were on me. ‘You- You borrowed my book. The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.’Gloria watched me closely. I thought his smile wavered, but he just stared at me. After a few seconds of deadly silence, he laughed. The audience chuckled.‘Silly girl!’ he said. I guessed he would’ve ruffled my hair if he was close enough. ‘I’ve never heard of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. I doubt there’s even such a book!’My face burned. ‘B-But-’‘Oh, the youth of today,’ Thorn chuckled, turning away from me. The adults of the audience laughed. Small children shouted indignantly at their parents. ‘Really, it’s refreshing to see such... small, imaginative minds!’
-
Small minds? I stared at him. The boy in the wrong century stared at me. ‘But anyway,’ Thorn continued. ‘This concludes my wonderful show. Be sure to come again soon!’I thought the ice woman – the one with white hair and frost at her feet – shook her head at me. It was only later I realised what she was trying to tell me. And was that a bandage on her bicep? I’d only just noticed it. The white fabric was stained dark red.Dried blood.I shivered. I wondered how a cut as large as that could be accidental. What had she done to herself?I realized I had zoned out, and most people were leaving, chattering about strange teenage girls and acrobats and other marvels. The weird boy next to me was gone. I sighed and followed the crowds of people. ‘Such an amazing show!’‘Quick, too!’‘I wonder where that girl’s parents are?’‘No doubt they’re embarrassed!’The performers were walking off the stage. Gloria Thorn stole a glance at me, the grin wiped off his face. He seemed to decide something before resting the cane he didn’t need on his shoulder and following his crew behind the striped curtain. I wondered what was behind there.Once out of the tent and away from the crowds, I pulled out my phone and nearly shouted out in alarm. It hadn’t been a quick show. It was 9.47.AM.It had only been sundown when I’d arrived. How had more than twelve hours passed?![/indent[[indent]I quickened my pace until I was sprinting down the street, doing the maths in my head. 15 hours. And 47 minutes. 48. That’s how long had passed. I could only imagine how much trouble I’d be in. I was certain it’d only been a few minutes. 20, at the most. But even that was hard to believe. How long had the rest of the audience been in there?As I pushed through the crowded hallway to my apartment, it struck me. That’s what the ice woman had been trying to tell me.It was a warning. Leave before it’s too late.
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Chapter 3Physics is a lie
Was I dead frightened?Yes.Terrified.I tried to open the door to my apartment, but it was locked. I knocked desperately on the door. ‘It’s me, Joi!’ I exclaimed. ‘Let me in!’My knees knocked together. My hands were sweaty. My shoulders relaxed when the door opened. My mother stood in the doorway.My mother was in her mid-thirties. She married at a young age to avoid going poor. Her parents had a lot of debt to pay off, and when they died it was pushed onto her. Now we had a lot of debt to pay off. Her box braids were died into a bun, and she wore a bandana. Her skin was darker than mine, but other than that we looked pretty similar.She grabbed my wrist and pulled me in, then slammed the door behind me. ‘Where were you?’ she snapped. Her accent was thick African. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere! We were all worried sick!’‘I, er, lost track of time,’ I mumbled. It was true, but that was the kind of excuse people used when they came home half an hour after curfew. 45 minutes, if they were lucky.Not fifteen damn hours. ‘Fifteen hours?!’ my mother exclaimed. ‘Fifteen hours and you didn’t notice it was dark outside! Where on earth were you? Have you been drinking?!’Under different circumstances, the accusation would’ve been funny. But I probably would’ve said the same thing if my kid had disappeared overnight.‘No, mama,’ I said, putting my hands up. ‘I was just at a circus. You know, Thorn’s Wonder or something like that?’She stared at me, probably deciding what mental hospital to put me in. ‘Joi, you’re speaking nonsense!’‘Look it up! It’s really popular and-’ I cut myself off when Mama put her hand up.‘No more talk about this Thorn circus.’ She grabbed my hands and pulled me into a hug. ‘I’m just happy you’re alright, love. I’m also very mad, but that’s not important. Never do that to me again! You scared the heck out of me!’That made me smile. My mother smelt like fresh bread. I hoped that meant snacks. Mama was the best baker.‘Sorry, Mama,’ I said.She paused, as if expecting something more from me. ‘Well? What were you doing all night?’‘I told you, I was at Thorn’s Wonder! The sketchy circus down the road!’Mama obviously didn’t believe me. She looked at me like I’d said “I was just at a friend’s house!”. That would be surprising for two reasons: me having a friend and the fact a 15 hour playdate might be pushing it.‘Joi, what on earth are you talking about?’My mother knew about everything. I was pretty sure she’d Googled every single topic in the universe, because nobody knew that much about everything. When she started blasting Tate McRae, I was concerned. Lucifer certainly didn’t like it.He also didn’t like when I called him Lucifer instead of ‘dad’, but I didn’t think of him as my father. Even if we were biologically related.I just sighed. ‘Never mind.’
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
Naturally, after spending 15 hours at a non-existent circus, I was very tired. I probably should have thought of that before I did. But I could’ve sworn it was a maximum of 20 minutes. Maybe 30. Time flies when you’re having fun. -
I collapsed onto my bed, which was littered with scrunched up pieces of plastic and foil. Naturally, my bratty stepbrother had chucked all pieces of rubbish he could find on it, so it was like being curled up in a blanket of trash. Technically, I was curled up in a blanket of trash.‘Julian!’ I shouted, sitting up. The brat’s head poked in from behind the doorway. ‘What’s up?’ he said. I wanted to punch that smug grin right off his face. His blond hair was slicked back, and he wore his school uniform. He went to this posh private school. I went to the public school down the road.‘Did you do this?’ I demanded, holding up a Snickers wrapper.He gasped in mock offense. ‘No, of course not! Why would you think that of me?’ he said with the most stupid pout I’d ever seen.‘Why would I not?!’Julian smirked. ‘Whatcha gonna do about it, Joi?’I scowled. But he was right; there was nothing I could do.‘Fine! Just go away, will you?’Julian chuckled and left. I pushed all the wrappers off my bed and onto the ground for the ants, then lay down and stared at the ceiling. Then I took up my phone and typed up Thorn’s Circus into the search engine. The only thing that came up was an Australian circus founded nearly 20 years ago. I scrolled through the website but found nothing about Gloria Thorn.So I’d spent all night at a circus that didn’t even exist. No, that wasn’t possible. Or I was just delusional. It could be that too.
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
A few weeks had passed, and things had pretty much gone back to normal. The kids at school mostly left me alone, and the teachers didn’t pay me any mind. I had almost forgotten about Thorn’s Circus until I saw a flyer in the library.THORN’S CIRCUS! COME AND FIND YOUR DEEPEST DESIRES.Then the classic poster advertising the circus, the silhouette of a man with his arms spread out, holding a cane, and the silhouettes of performers. There were four performers, even though I’d seen many more. A boy playing with fire, a woman flying with a flock of birds in her wake, a strong man (who looked like he was flexing and was making me feel bad about my slightly pudgy figure) and a man with smoke emitting from his hands. I took the flyer and stuffed it in my backpack.I knew it was real!
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
Naturally, I planned to go to the closest show. But this time, I would be prepared. I would tell my parents I’d be at a sleepover and to text me at 10am. That way I’d be alerted when the night had passed.A smart plan? I thought so too. In fact, I was quite proud of myself as I walked out of my house that evening. The show was in the same place as before, an impossibly large clearing for New York. Usually, they were taken up with markets, stalls, and vehicles when all the parking spaces were taken up. But the space was occupied only by a large red and white striped tent, with vaguely humanoid silhouettes dancing in front of the light and a sign above the doorway: THORN’S SPECTACLE.I wondered why the name kept changing. It could be Thorn’s Wonder, Thorn’s Circus, Thorn’s Spectacle… It was like when I had to decide on a title for my English assignment. I couldn’t decide so I would constantly change it. But Gloria Thorn himself was the most professional and praised showman alive – no way he had trouble deciding on such a simple thing.
I peeked inside. Most of the same performers – perhaps some new acts from the month I’d spent away from it – the cheering audience, the cold biting my skin and the simultaneous heat burning my eyes. It was a bizarre display in that tent, but one I couldn’t look away from. It was breathtaking.My legs drew me into the tent, seemingly involuntarily, and I perched myself onto the arm of a seat closest to me, eyes glued to the spectacle. It had probably only been thirty seconds before the performance ended, and Thorn addressed the audience the same way he had before. ‘Thank you, thank you, my beloved audience,’ he spoke, voice somehow amplified by the large tent. I began to note everything. The way his curly hair seemed to flow in the non-existent breeze, the way I could see through the nearest performer’s smile. Was that fear in the little boy’s eyes? ‘I’m afraid this brings my exceptional show to a close. But my brilliant performers and I deeply appreciate having you all here tonight! Please, tell your friends and family what a marvellous time Thorn’s Circus has given you! Come again soon.’And with that, the lights turned off. It was only five seconds (I counted) before they turned back on, and Thorn’s Crew™ had disappeared. I checked the time on my phone. What had been 30 seconds to me had been 30 minutes in real time.I had plenty of time before I had to go home. Why not explore more? It was probably a bad idea, but I was curious. The main reason for many of my moronic feats.As the audience began to file out of the tent, I slipped through the large crowd and found myself standing in the ring. I was completely alone now, and the silence made me uneasy.The ground was dirt and gravel, which crunched under my shoes as I walked around. I couldn’t find any backstage, or any trapdoor under the ground. Where had so many people disappeared off to?I was about to give up and follow the crowd outside before I quite literally fell through the ground. -
Chapter FourI'm not dead. Damn it.
I am not exaggerating.The ground began to crumble, cracks running through and breaking the dirt in huge chunks under me. I, frozen in my shock, took a few seconds to regain control of my legs and take a step backwards. I watched in horror as the floor completely collapsed, falling into the large hole under New York, and taking me and the tent with it.
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I may have blacked out a couple seconds. Maybe minutes. Possibly hours. When I woke up, a young boy was standing over me, maybe 7 or 8. He had light blond curls and a pale face.‘The dead girl’s awake!’ he shouted.I was pretty groggy, and my head hurt like hell, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t dead. I attempted to pull myself into a standing position, but I became aware of the sharp pain in my everything. I groaned and lay back down.I was in too much pain to turn my head, but I heard voices to my left.‘If Thorn finds out about this, we’ll be the dead ones,’ a gruff voice mumbled.‘Shut up, Bug,’ the young boy said, walking away from me. The only sound I could make was a squeaky gurgle. A woman with dark brown, flowing hair looked down at me, a little too close for comfort. I nearly choked on her perfect locks.‘What’s your name?’ she asked me. Her voice wasn’t gentle. She spoke to me the same way Lucifer spoke to me when I did so much as existed (which was something I couldn’t help, by the way).‘Joi,’ I managed to croak, after much gurgling and choking, which wasn’t humiliating at all.‘No, your name.’‘Joi.’‘Alright, Happy,’ the girl said, standing up. As she moved away from me, I could take a better look at her. Her hair was brown, and white bird wings stuck out of her head, with thoroughly traumatised me. This was probably the reason I had to roll over and puke. -
The little boy wrinkled his nose. ‘Are you sure that’s a girl?’The feather hair girl watched me closely. ‘I mean, the 2000s are rather strange. Perhaps that is how girls act now.’‘It might be a greeting.’‘Most likely.’‘Should we do it back?’The puking had somewhat cleared my head, and I managed to sit up without dying a painful death. I looked around. We were in what could’ve been a bedroom, had there been beds. Instead were three bedrolls and a couple possessions scattered around. I was on the ground, facing three people. One who must’ve been Bug, and good god he was buff.‘Please don’t,’ I mumbled, rubbing my back.Feather Head Girl eyed me, either with disgust or curiosity. Probably disgust at this point.‘You greeted us all over my costume.’‘Sorry.’The boy cocked his head at me. ‘You fell from the ceiling. Are you a new performer?’‘A what?’ I asked, half paying attention. I was more focused on trying to get my limbs to work.‘A performer. That’s how Bug started.’‘I smashed the wall. Big difference,’ Bug grumbled. I was scared he was going to smash the boy with his massive fist, but to be honest the kid was also starting to annoy me.'Are you guys part of the circus?’ I asked, attempting to stand up. I stumbled but managed to, with involuntary help from Feather Head Girl’s shoulder. She looked thoroughly annoyed, but I had more pressing matters to think about.‘We are. And you are?’ she said.‘I just told you. I’m Joi.’She scoffed. ‘Not for us. Thorn finds out we didn’t immediately report you and we’re dead meat.’I raised an eyebrow. ‘You mean Gloria Thorn?’Feather Hair Girl nodded. ‘Yeah, him.’ She paused for a moment, looking me up and down. I must’ve looked like a hobo, but at least box braids mostly stopped my hair getting too messy.Finally she spoke again. ‘My name’s Dove.’I resisted the urge to burst into laughter. Partially because my ribs hurt and partially because she may have stabbed me if I did. ‘Dove? Is that ‘cause of the hair?’The boy sn-----ed. Dove’s nostrils flared.‘Don’t you dare, Happy.’I grinned. ‘I won’t, I won’t. Does everyone use literal naming here? Lemme guess, Bug is secretly a cockroach?’I think she was considering stabbing me, but then she cracked a smile, which I wasn’t sure scared or relieved me.Before Dove could respond, a woman poked her head inside the room. Her air was flowing and white, which looked way too bright compared to her tanned skin.‘Dove? You’re not planning the murder of Queda, are you?’Dove rolled her eyes. ‘She’s got a name, ice princess. Happy, meet Juno, who decided to call you Fall.’ How sadly ironic.
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Juno looked at me. Her eyes were an icy blue, and she wore a white blouse that may have once had long sleeves, but looked like they’d been ripped off. ‘Happy? That’s your name?’I rolled my eyes. ‘It’s Joi.’‘Same thing,’ Dove grumbled.Juno studied me for a moment. ‘I prefer Happy. Come, we must find a solution for this strange… incident.'
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‘Sorry, could you explain that again?’ I asked, feeling my headache grow worse.Juno was showing me around. The annoying young boy, who’s name I’d learned was Blaze, had decided to follow us around after Bug suggested he keep us company. I was pretty sure the guy just didn’t want to deal with him. Blaze didn’t talk much but offered his expert opinion occasionally.Juno sighed. ‘You fell through the ceiling, and absolutely destroyed Dove’s dressing room.’ ‘Which is why she hates you,’ Blaze put in.‘Thanks,’ I muttered. ‘So, where are we again?’‘Thorn’s mansion. Or rather, his basement,’ Juno responded, picking at one of her nails. Juno was a tall woman. She looked about in her late 20s, and probably had little to no experience talking to kids. She seemed very indifferent about this whole situation.‘Big basement.’Juno nodded.‘And this is where you disappear off to after every performance? How the heck is that even possible?’ I questioned. My head began to spin, which didn’t help process any of this.‘Yeah,’ Juno said. ‘And… we don’t know.’‘You don’t know?’‘Mhm.I must not have looked bewildered enough, because Juno said, ‘You said the floor in the tent just started crumbling under you? That shouldn’t happen. It shouldn’t be possible. Unless…’‘Oh, great,’ I grumbled. ‘There’s always an unless.’Juno chuckled. ‘Someone may have let you in. And the only one who can do that is Thorn.’ -
I frowned. ‘Why would he do that?’Juno seemed to think about that for a moment. ‘I have no idea. But he’d be the only one who can let you in and out.’‘Can’t I just sneak through the door?’Juno just laughed. ‘You think you can just sneak through the door? How stupid do you think Thorn is? If that was possible, we would’ve left this place years ago.’‘So… you don’t want to be circus performers?’ I asked, not quite catching on.‘We used to. Not anymore,’ Juno said. She didn’t elaborate, so I didn’t ask. Plus, I had more things to worry about than a couple sob stories.‘Right. So, how can I leave?’‘You can’t,’ Juno said simply. ‘It’s not possible.’It took me a few moments to fully process that. ‘I’m stuck here?’Juno nodded. ‘Yep. You may as well get used to it here, kid, because you’re not leaving any time soon.’I stared at her, my mouth open slightly. ‘How are you so okay with this?’‘Oh, I’m not. But there’s nothing we can do about it,’ she said, leading me through the halls, past rows of doors. Finally, we came to an end in the hallway, and she opened the door. The room was empty and smelt like it hadn’t been opened in years.‘Here’s your new home,’ Juno said. ‘Bathroom’s three doors to the left. Come to me if you have any questions. You may as well get yourself acquainted with some of the performers.’ I had many questions, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. Juno gave me a stiff pat on the shoulder, before walking away.Blaze looked up at me. ‘You’re going to hate it here.’‘Thanks,’ I grumbled. ‘The thought hadn’t occurred to me.’
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(Note: I made a mistake in the first post. Reference images for important characters are in page 13 of the linked thread. Thanks <3)
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