Cirque Periculum

Chapter 6.1

"Come on Connor, we don't want to miss the train!" Adam exclaimed, racing through the crowd with his small bag of belongings.

"Hold on Adam, I'm coming," Connor said groggily, still half asleep. He hadn't slept well the night before. Visions of Mr. Salem coming into his tent to seek revenge troubled him most of the night. With that on his mind along with a prophecy foretelling his demise, it was enough to lose sleep over.

Even with the prophecy's warning of choosing the gift of flight, Connor was still torn. He didn't want to start spending more time with Mr. Salem, but he certainly didn't want to hurt anyone by choosing flight.

Riley pulled him out of his thoughts by running up behind him and tugging his arm.

"You're still stuck on that prophecy?" she asked.

He forced a smile. "Do you really think that's surprising?"

"No, I guess not," she frowned. "But that doesn't mean you have to obsess over it."

"I am not!" Connor exclaimed. "If I did that we wouldn't have any fun on this trip.

"Dang right," Adam piped in. "I need to have fun. It's been so boring around here."

Maybe for you, Connor thought.

The train whistled as they boarded. Their bags were small, so as they sat down they put them under the red leather seats. Connor noticed a few other passengers in their car, but they were all performers that he didn't really know that well. Connor and Adam sat next to each other with Riley across from them.

Not long after they were settled in their seats the train started moving. Connor drifted in and out of the conversation, still drowsy from his rushed awakening. Meridian walked through the car door at the front of the car and waved as she passed by. Just as she reached the other door Mr. Summertin opened it. Meridian let out an audible yelp before turning scarlet red and rushing past him. Connor could hear the other passengers in the car restrain their laughter in the otherwise awkward silence. He clenched his fists and glared a particularly close man, who immediately stopped snickering when he made eye contact with Connor.

Through all of this, Mr. Summertin continued walking, a small smile touching his otherwise expressionless face. He winked at Connor as he passed before exiting the door Meridian had just come through.

As soon as the door slid shut a group of performers started laughing and talking boisterously about the exchange.

"What was all that about?" Connor asked Riley.

Adam looked at him with big eyes. "You mean you don't-"

"I'm not sure. They've always acting strange around each other," Riley said.

"Are you serious? You really don't-" Adam tried.

"Really? You know, I've actually noticed a few times where they're super awkward around each other," Connor said.

"Guys, I know-"

"I really haven't-"

"GUYS IT'S OBVIOUS THEY LIKE EACH OTHER!" Adam shouted. The entire train car got quiet. Connor and Riley stared incredulously at Adam before doubling over with laughter. They whole train car joined in, and Adam even chuckled a little although he didn't understand.

"You didn't have to yell," Connor said between laughs.

"Well if you let me get a word in," Adam muttered.

The laughter died down pretty quickly after that. Everyone turned back to their groups and Riley stopped coughing from laughing too hard.

"So how did you find out they like each other Adam?" Riley asked.

"It's pretty obvious," Adam said, rolling his eyes. "I'm surprised a mind reader couldn't pick up on them."

"Hey, it's not like I read everyone's minds all the time! That would give me a headache," Riley sniffled.

"Are you speaking from experience?" Connor chuckled.

"Yeah," Adam said," I don't think you've gone a day without looking at my thoughts. You know how paranoid it makes me?"

Riley laughed. "I'm getting inside your head, mwahaha."

"I still don't trust it," Connor said "I never know if it's safe to think with you around."

Riley rolled her eyes. "When do you ever think?" She laughed. "I know I'm going to regret this, but there's a trick that can help you figure out if a mind reader is reading your thoughts or not."

This immediately caught both of the boys' attention. "Really?"

"Well for one thing the mind reader has to be looking at your eyes, unless they're super advanced."

"So I'll just never make eye contact with you or Amanda ever again," Connor said, laughing.

"You don't have to be looking at them; they just have to be close enough to see the whites of your eyes. It's harder than you think."

"Sounds easier than sending ultrasonic waves out and receive them again," Adam muttered.

"Is that what you're doing now? That's cool!" Connor said. He had learned about ultrasonic waves one day at school. He enjoyed thinking of how entertaining echolocation would be. With the perspective he had now, it would come in pretty handy with his flying.

"I get solid shapes now. I can almost reach from one end of the train to the other," Adam said proudly.

The three of them continued comparing their abilities (Connor always had the upper hand since he had two to compare) until the lunch cart came through. The lady pushing the cart was one of the workers that always brought the food to the eating area back at camp. She was dressed in all grey, just like the others, and silently handed each of them a sandwich and a bag of chips.

"Thank you," Connor said when she gave him his. She returned this with a very odd look of surprise and scurried away.

"That was weird," Connor said, unwrapping the sandwich.

"They're all like that," Riley said. "I was told they can't talk at all."

"That's strange."

After they ate, the rest of the trip hurried by with more talking and laughter. What felt like a short time later the train whistled and Connor could see a city from his window.

Skyscrapers poked up from the horizon, glistening in the afternoon sun. Trees came in and out of view, zooming past and occasionally blocking the city from sight.

"That must be Dallas," Adam said, leaning into Connor to get a better view. "Look at all of those buildings!"

Just then a short man walked through the sliding door. He wore overalls and a conductor's hat. "Just wanted to let you know we will be arriving in about thirty minutes," he said. He didn't wait for a response, bowing slightly before walking to the other sliding door and going through to the next car.

"I can't wait!" Adam exclaimed, grinning. "This is going to be so fun."

"It's not as fun as you think at first," Riley said. "We have to set up camp before we do anything else. And then we have to set up the circus. I'm guessing the train isn't going to be close to the carnival grounds, so we'll all be sleeping in tents."

"That's what we were doing already. How's that bad?" Adam asked.

"It's not bad. It's just not fun," Riley responded.

"Well even with all that, I'm excited," Adam said, leaning to the window again.

The train whistled again a half hour later and slowed as they approached the station. Connor stood up and went to the car door, Riley and Adam following behind him. He opened the door just as the train came to a screeching stop and the three of them tumbled into the hallway, spilling over each other and laughing.

The sunlight spilled out of the already open train door, flickering from the crowd of people pouring out.

"Come on!" Riley exclaimed, untangling herself from Adam's and Connor's limbs and stood up. Adam and Connor followed her out into the station.

***

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