Circus Of The Death (ABrokenWorld#1)

Chapter 3

Clown

The clown is the most important meal of the day

"That's the best circus ever!" Niko exclaimed excitedly like a little child. Dex grinned, "Yeah, it's not bad." "Not bad!?" Niko replied indignantly, "Did you see what all happened there?" Dex hushed his friend, "Be quiet! There are other people around." Niko sat back with his arms crossed.

Then the music for the next show started. "Hello, hello, ladies and gentlemen!" someone suddenly announced over the speakers, and that's when Dex noticed a brightly dressed person entering from the audience. Due to the red nose, Dex immediately knew who this person was. The clown. Brown hair, white skin, colorful clothing, and the familiar red nose.
"I hope you're enjoying the show," he said again, receiving cheers from the audience in response. "That didn't sound very enthusiastic, louder!" The cheering grew even louder. Some of Dex's classmates started shouting, acting quite childish. The clown laughed enthusiastically, "How wonderful! I'm Twisty the Clown! It's time for my show, and for that, I need a few people from the audience!" He began to move around, with some people pointing or shouting to get his attention.
Dex tried to make himself inconspicuous, not wanting to be chosen. Twisty walked past him, and Dex sighed in relief. However, the clown suddenly stopped and pointed at Dex, "You there!"

 The brown-haired boy felt the spotlight shining on him, almost like the sun. Everyone in his class was staring at him, even Niko. "Come on! Go ahead," Niko encouraged him. Dex didn't want to, but with his entire class cheering him on and Twisty looking expectantly at him, he stood up and made his way down. When he stood next to the clown, Twisty put his arm around Dex's shoulder, and they moved forward.
"Why are you here?" Twisty suddenly whispered in a normal voice, a voice that sounded just like Dex's. Hearing his own voice coming from someone else was unsettling for Dex, or was he just mishearing things? "W-what do you mean?" he stammered, not sure if this was part of the act. "You shouldn't be here. Did he give you the ticket?" Ticket? What ticket? Dex wondered, but then he remembered how Casper had given him and Niko a ticket. In response, he just nodded, feeling Twisty's grip on him tighten.
As they stood by the stairs leading to the stage, the clown said, "You're going to run to the back now and try to get as far away as possible." The brown-haired boy looked back and saw an opening in the tent leading outside. The blonde rabbit guy was blocking the opening, watching Dex intently. When Dex looked back at the clown, he gave him a pleading look. Maybe all of this was part of the show, Dex thought, and he took a few steps back. Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind and pushed him onto the stage. He heard applause from the audience, but Dex was too confused to react.
"I'm sorry if my actors scared you," said a voice next to him, it was Casper. So, he had pushed him up there. Twisty, who was staring at both of them in shock, quickly got to work getting more people from the audience. When he finally had enough, Casper left the stage. Dex found it odd, was that really part of the show, or did Twisty genuinely want him to escape?
Once Twisty had gathered enough people from the audience, he performed a few tricks that everyone had to mimic. Of course, not everyone managed to do a wheel as perfectly as Twisty, but the audience had something to laugh about.
After the bows, everyone returned to their seats. Dex was still wondering what had just happened. Was it really just a show, or had Dex done something wrong, and that's why Casper had intervened? Maybe he would meet Casper again and ask him then. "You were great, Dex!" Niko smiled at him when he sat down. "Uh, thanks," his friend nodded, but kept his eyes on the stage. Niko immediately noticed that something was off. "Everything okay?" "Yeah, sure, it was just a bit much for me," Dex replied. Niko didn't believe a word of it, but he didn't press further.
After a few more performances, Casper returned to the stage. He grinned and looked at the audience, his red eyes gleaming in the light. He adjusted his hat and began to speak. "I hope you enjoyed the circus. It makes me happy to still see people who believe in magic," he chuckled, "I think you're all just waiting to finally go to the amusement park, but unfortunately, tonight is the last night our beautiful circus will appear." Dex was confused.
The last time? But the poster said the circus was brand new. The crowd sighed sadly. "That's why I've chosen six people to participate in an exciting game," Casper grinned, staring directly at Dex. He got goosebumps from those red eyes. "I don't want to keep the suspense any longer, so enough with the explanations," he raised his hand, "Let the game begin!" He snapped his fingers.
And then,

blood.