Circus Of The Death (ABrokenWorld#1)

Chapter 5

The Hunt
On whom are you betting?

Niko and Dex exited the circus tent and stepped out into the starry night. The interior of the tent had been pierced by shimmering spotlights, which sent their colorful rays into the darkness, bathing the surroundings in a magical light. Despite the external grace, the thought of venturing into that tent filled Dex with a sense of unease. The chaos and potential danger weighed heavily on his stomach. Yet, the radiant spectacle of the circus was overshadowed by another place—the amusement park. It stretched majestically before them, its colossal attractions towering like giant monuments. Food stalls were brightly lit with colorful signs, while the loud music from the smaller rides filled the air, and enticing aromas of freshly prepared food wafted through the air. However, it all felt like a ghost town—there wasn't a soul in sight.
"Where is everyone?" Niko asked, looking around with concern. Dex just shrugged and entered the amusement park, but he always stayed hidden behind stalls. He hadn't forgotten that they were still being hunted, even if it felt like no one was here. He stopped when he felt a tug on his sleeve, turning to see Niko hiding behind him. "What are we actually looking for?" he asked. Dex retrieved the piece of paper and read aloud:
"Red and round, though not very small, Brings joy, sometimes pain to all. On the clown's face, it's often seen, Makes some folks smile, stand and glean. It often hides another nose, The true identity usually in prose. With laughter and jokes, it brings delight, Can you guess what I am? Guess, oh guess, today's the night."
"Do you already know what it is?" Niko asked curiously.
"It says it's on a clown's face, and it's red. So it's probably just a clown nose," Dex explained, and his friend nodded in understanding. "But I don't know where to find one."
"Hmm... maybe we can find it safely, but with my item, I'm also not sure," Niko read from his paper:
"In my hands, firmly held, With buttons and sticks, all sealed. I control the virtual world, Get ready, that's what counts, pearls. Through me, you explore distant lands, An adventure that you enjoy, understand. With me, you fight against monsters and bosses, Can you guess who I am? Find out, no time for dosses."
Dex thought for a moment and then said, "A controller. A video game controller... where can we find one?" Niko just shrugged. Dex sighed, "Let's just continue..."
Both of them flinched as they heard a loud bang followed by exaggerated laughter. Dex looked around in shock and spotted a person dressed in colorful clothes with a wide grin, pointing a weapon at them again. "RUN!" Dex shouted, and without waiting for Niko, he took off. "Run as far as you want, you can't escape me!" the deranged person laughed, then another gunshot rang out. Dex instinctively ducked down further and ran faster. He heard Niko behind him; luckily, nothing had happened to his friend.
Suddenly, another person appeared in front of them, wielding a knife and charging toward them. Dex and Niko came to an abrupt stop. Without waiting for another second, Dex veered to the right and ran between two stalls. He glanced back, and his breath caught; Niko was gone.
He stopped and wanted to run back to his friend, not caring if he was out of breath, but he had to get back to Niko. However, he noticed that the stand he was near started to wobble. On top of the food stand stood the woman with the shotgun, her red eyes gleaming in the darkness, greedily fixated on Dex, as if he were fresh prey.
Here, there were only psychopaths. Why did he take that ticket? Maybe his head would have exploded, but then it would have been over quickly, and he wouldn't have to run from crazies. The woman shot at him again, narrowly missing his arm, but his sleeve now had a hole. He couldn't go back; he would be risking his life if he did. He turned and kept running, past stalls and attractions, but the woman didn't give up.
She jumped to each stand closest to her, following Dex and shooting at him whenever she saw him. His legs were already aching, and mud clung to his shoes, causing him to slip occasionally. His chest hurt. His stamina was running low, but he noticed in his peripheral vision that it wasn't just the woman chasing him; others were too. Their laughter echoed through the entire area; for them, it was just a game, a game of tag.
Dex tried to squeeze between two food stalls when he heard another gunshot and then felt a searing pain in his leg. He wanted to scream but held his mouth shut. He had been hit. She had hit him. He looked down at his leg, and his dark pants were slowly taking on a reddish hue. The wound burned when he put weight on his leg. He looked back and saw the woman right on the stall behind him.
"Aww, does your little leg hurt? I'm so sorry," she taunted him with a grin, reloading her shotgun. Dex had to keep going; he limped past the stalls, much slower now. He began to sweat, and the wound pulsed with every step he took.
He stopped behind a stall, out of breath. He couldn't go on. He had to give up. These people just wouldn't quit. Maybe Nico was already dead. How could he leave his best friend alone like this? He felt a void in his chest; he had wanted to go through the game alone from the start; he had wanted to abandon Nico from the beginning. How could he? But it had sounded right in his head at the time. He was a bad friend, and he admitted it.
No... he couldn't give up.
He had joined this game, so he had to win it. Nico couldn't be dead. He believed in his friend; they would both make it.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
He waited behind the stall, and when the woman with the shotgun was right above him, he began to wiggle briefly. He quickly bent down, ignoring the pain, and crawled under the stall. Fortunately, it was secured with small wheels; otherwise, Dex wouldn't have had a chance to hide. Slime dirtied his clothes, but he ignored it. He watched as several people passed by the stall, laughing and whispering to each other. Dex didn't dare to make a sound; if they caught him, he was surely dead. The stall moved again, a sign that the woman was gone, and after some time, their laughter faded. Dex sighed in relief; he had a brief moment to rest.
But how would he find the hidden object with his injured leg? It would make the search much more challenging, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he lost. He felt the cold ground beneath him and how the mud was draining his energy. The fresh wound burned even more because of all the dirt on it. He had to clean it and get it bandaged; otherwise, the wound would become infected, making the search even harder. He was tired, but he couldn't rest; every second counted.
He wanted to crawl out from under the stall when he abruptly stopped; blood-red eyes were staring directly at him from the darkness. He had been discovered.

Panic surged through Niko as he saw the man with the knife running towards him. He immediately turned and ran as fast as he could. The wolf boy glanced back for a moment and noticed that Dex had disappeared. Had he run in a different direction? The only one chasing him was the man with the knife. He tried to grab Niko, but Niko evaded his hand.
Niko quickly veered around a few attractions, but the man didn't give up. He spotted a small carousel merrily spinning around, illuminated by colorful lights. A crazy idea crossed his mind – maybe he could distract the pursuer with the lights by getting on the carousel.
Various figures on poles, which riders could mount, adorned the carousel. Niko sprinted towards it, with the man right behind him. The brown-haired boy darted agilely between the figures. The man repeatedly attempted to attack him with the knife but kept missing Niko. However, Niko could feel the wind from the blade passing close to his face. His pursuer growled in frustration because he had a harder time navigating between the figures due to his broader shoulders, and his knife got stuck in some of the poles and figures.
Niko seized this opportunity and prepared to jump off the carousel when it suddenly jolted and began moving much faster than it should. He nearly stumbled but managed to grab onto one of the poles just in time. Why was the carousel suddenly moving so quickly? He started feeling dizzy, and if he didn't get off it soon, he was afraid he might vomit.
"You won't get away from me!" yelled the man, who Niko had almost forgotten about. Niko held onto one of the carousel figures. His pursuer had an entirely white face, as if he were wearing white makeup. Suddenly, the man charged towards him. Niko had to react quickly, but jumping off at this speed was too dangerous. He didn't want to land on something and hurt himself, but he had no choice.
The man raised his knife, ready to strike at Niko. Still gripping the carousel figure, Niko knew he had to make his move. He couldn't stay on this spinning carousel forever. Just as the man lunged at him with the knife, Niko leaped from the carousel.
For a brief moment, Niko felt like he could fly. He felt the wind rush past him and saw the lights painting the darkness with colors. Then, he slammed onto the hard, muddy ground. It wasn't a perfect landing, but he was safe, for now. He slowly sat up, his entire clothing covered in mud, but that was the least of his concerns, as something else had captured Niko's attention.
The carousel's light show had piqued his interest. It was spinning faster and faster, and he could already feel the wind on his skin. The music grew louder, almost hurting his ears. The carousel kept spinning faster. Niko was both fascinated and worried. Had his pursuer already jumped off the wild carousel?
Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound, and it grew louder. The roof of the carousel started to tilt. Niko shielded his face with his hands as he heard a mighty crash. When he removed his hands, a colorful mess lay spread out before him. The once-intact roof now lay destroyed and dirtied on the ground. Broken figures were scattered here and there, and sharp shards lurked like dangerous traps everywhere. Most of the lights had given up, and the once cheerful music had transformed into a gloomy, menacing cacophony resembling a murder scene.
There was no sign of his pursuer, so Niko got up. He had to keep moving; he couldn't afford to dwell on someone who had tried to kill him. However, one thought still echoed in his mind: Where was Dex?

"An accessory for the head, it keeps me secure, I won't fall off. Whether sun, rain, or snow, I'm with you, you always see me. What am I?"
A chilling shiver ran through Kira's body as she read this sentence. It triggered a memory, a memory that Kira had buried deep in her mind so she would never have to think about it again. But now she was trapped in a terrible game, all for the sake of having her wish granted. She clutched the paper close to her chest. She had to win. This was her only chance to finally end the game and start her new life.