Cirque Periculum

Chapter 7.2

Largo's act was next. Everything went dark as drums began to beat again.

Over the noise, Mr. Summertin's voice came on over the speaker, "NEXT WE HAVE PERICULUM'S STRONGMAN, LARGO!"

The drums grew louder as a single spotlight appeared on Largo, and the tent erupted in laughter.

Largo wasn't the typical size or shape of a strong man. His wiry frame lacked the muscle a strong man requires, but Connor knew that with his gift he could win an arm wrestle against an elephant.

He wore a red speedo, and a black vest covered his otherwise bare chest. The music ended as he reached center stage.

"Hello everyone," Largo said, his voice a little deeper than one might expect from such a small frame. "Before I start my act tonight, I need a little warm up. But before that, I need a big, burly volunteer."

Hands shot up and Largo picked one after a second. The man walked onto the stage, flexing his muscles and making a show for the audience. Connor laughed at the size difference of Largo and the man. He knew who was stronger.

"Thanks for coming down. What's your name?" Largo asked.

"Jack," the man said.

"Is that like Jack the Ripper?" Largo joked. The audience chuckled. "Anyways Jack, I need your help warming up. Will you hand me that bar over there?"

Jack walked over and picked up a bar that looked like it could be used for bench presses. He picked it up with ease and walked back over to Largo.

"How heavy do you think that bar is Jack?" Largo asked.

"Fifty pounds," he replied, shifting it around in both hands.

"You hit it right on the nose. Now I'm going to step back and I want you to throw it at me. Can you do that?"

Jack nodded, trying to contain a smile. It was pretty obvious he didn't think that Largo could catch it. Still, he went along with it.

When Largo nodded, Jack threw the bar to him. Largo caught it, falling onto his back.

The audience laughed, but it turned to amazement as he held the bar above his head and spun it like a baton. He stood up, still spinning the weight. He spun it around his neck a few times, and the audience gasped. He rolled it back to Jack, who jumped over it and let it roll into the side of the stage.

The audience cheered.

"Alright Jack, thank you. I'm all warmed up now. You can go sit down," Largo said, his breath steady. "Now, I wanted you all to know that every weight used tonight is real. Jack helped show you that. But now comes the real challenge. Bring everything out please!"

A bunch of the gray workers came out rolling bench press weights and a red bench with a back that was at a forty-five degree angle. Connor chuckled as some of the workers came out dressed in bright outfits similar to his. They lined up around the perimeter of the stage as the rest of the workers filed back through the exit.

Music started to play again, the deep drums vibrating the tent. Largo sat down on the bench, and then flipped over so his feet were hanging above the raised part of the bench.

It took five of the brightly dressed workers to carry over the bar laden with weights. Connor thought that the bar looked as if it weighed two hundred pounds, but he wasn't sure.

The workers hefted the bar up and laid it on his outstretched feet, letting go once it was balanced. Then another set of workers brought a bar with just as much weight and placed it in Largo's hands.

Two of the female workers grabbed onto the bar that was balancing on his feet and spun around it until they were sitting on either side.

A male worker stepped onto the bar in Largo's hands and climbed onto the higher bar in between the two others. The last three workers got into a formation and lifted the last female up, who was then lifted above the male worker and into a handstand.

After this the two workers left on the ground ran to the other side and climbed on the bar in his hands. The girl balancing in a handstand rolled down so her ankles were held up by the last two workers.

After a moment of stunned silence, the audience cheered. Connor himself had a hard time believing what he was seeing, and he knew what Largo's gift was. He couldn't imagine what was going through the audience's heads.

The lights went out, and Meridian flew back over to Connor.

"Are you ready?" She asked, "because we're next."

Connor felt like he was going to be sick as he floated down to his platform. His heart thumped almost as loud as the drums in Largo's act. He stood there waiting, trying to remember how to breathe.

A light shone on him, blinding him as Mr. Summertin's voice boomed in his ear.

"NOW I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE THE HIGH FLYERS OF PERICULUM, CONNOR AND MERIDIAN!"

Connor forced himself to smile and wave, but he felt sure that the audience could tell that it wasn't genuine. He looked across the chasm of black and found Meridian, who smiled and gave him a thumbs up. He grimaced back, swallowing his fear. Grabbing the trapeze and nodding at Meridian, he jumped off the platform and swung into the air.

I'm going to be fine. This is fun! And I don't have anything to worry about with my gift.

He reached the top of the arc and flipped around. At this point his smile was genuine. Using a bit of his gift, he flew up to a sitting position on the bar. The audience cheered.

You haven't seen anything yet.

After he reached the top of his arc, he pulled himself into a standing position on the bar. He stumbled a bit, making the audience gasp, but he flew up an inch and corrected himself.

Once he reached Meridian's side again, he let go of the ropes, allowing himself to jerk forward and fly back to his side upside-down. He grabbed the bar between his feet, flying forward so he would spin back to a sitting position before flipping back to swinging by his hands.

The audience clapped and cheered again. They were all a dark blur to Connor though, so he didn't pay much attention. He just kept smiling.

Once again reaching Meridian's platform, she jumped off to swing next to him. They looked at each other and nodded before he let go of his bar and grabbed on to Meridian's ankles. They sped up, leaving Connor's empty bar behind. The audience cheered again. After a few swings, Connor jumped back on his bar, speeding up and flying up so his path was opposite of Meridian's.

Here's the hard part.

He reached the top of his arc and used the momentum to flip into a handstand, pushing his bare feet against the ropes. Meridian jumped onto his trapeze underneath him, propelling them forward. Meridian brought her feet to the bar on the outside of his hands and let go, swinging upside-down. They held this position as they swung back and forth, propelled only by their gifts.

Connor's arms began to feel the strain. He tried to lighten his load with his gift, but it didn't help.

He felt himself wobble, and Meridian jumped off just in time. As he continued in his handstand, he glanced up at his platform and saw a figure standing there. Right after he noticed the person, he felt a tingling on his feet.

He looked above him just in time to see his ropes char and snap.

He felt himself falling, and he panicked. His gift didn't seem to work.

Through his flailing he saw a figure flying towards him. Screams filled his ears, but they seemed muffled.

A blanket of blinding white light passed under Connor, and he blacked out.

***

Don't forget to vote! Thank you :)