Tales of Gloomsdale #4: The Horror of the Big Top

Chapter One

I stared around glumly at the colorful tents and stands set up in the usually empty field. The cheerful music and scent of cotton candy was making me sick. Being at the circus was the last thing I was looking forward to. I'd rather be indoors working on my models and sculptures, especially on such a hot day.

"Hey, Kyle, do you think there are any lions here?" my older sister Rachel asked me.

"Lions?" I repeated in alarm.

"I mean, of course there are. It's a circus, after all," Rachel said. "There's probably lions and tigers crawling around in the tents, jumping through hoops of fire in front of huge audiences."

I shuddered while Rachel grinned. She knew I was afraid of large animals, and most other things. She was always trying to scare me. She was actually my half sister. I had started living with her and her mom a few years ago – she was my mom as well, but sometimes it was hard for me to think of her like that. Then again, it was even harder for me to think of my dad as anything after he just left me.

"Do you think there are any horses?" Rachel turned serious. She loved horses, and spent most of her time at the stables. "Remember the show I was in recently? I won second place. I would've won first if my horse wasn't being so difficult."

"I fell asleep halfway through," I admitted. "It was so boring."

"Or did you faint in terror?" Rachel teased. I was slightly afraid of horses as well, ever since I had fallen off one the one time Rachel convinced me to try riding.

"Even if there were, you wouldn't be able to ride them," I retorted. I glanced around at the brightly colored tents, staring at the large one in the middle towering over the others. The big top, probably. "Has the circus ever come to town before?"

"No. Never," Rachel admitted. "I'm not surprised. It's so bright and cheerful, and Gloomsdale... isn't."

"No kidding," I agreed. The bright colors stuck out among the grey streets and dark houses. Our town really lived up to its name.

Rachel grinned at me. "Kyle, did I ever tell you about the shop just a little way down the street? It's filled with dangerous objects. My friend bought one, and do you know what she said?"

I groaned. She was always trying to scare me with stories about the town as well. I was glad I hadn't known her all my life. I had heard about every eerie story and dark rumor of Gloomsdale, as well as from the other residents. I still wasn't sure whether there was any truth to them.

"I know about that shop," I said, trying not to appear scared. "The dark, small one next to the theatre, right? I even went there once."

"Really?" Rachel looked surprised. "What did you buy?"

"Well... nothing," I admitted. My friends had dared me to go up to the front door and knock, and I had. Then I had run away right after the shopkeeper showed up and glared at me.

"Try to enjoy it while it lasts, kids," Mom instructed. "It's not often such attractions come to our town."

I watched as Rachel's younger cousin, Manuel, ran over. He was staying with us on his birthday and the circus happened to be in town at the same time, so Mom made all of us go.

"Auntie, can I get cotton candy? Can I?" Manuel pleaded.

"Manny, you just had some," Mom groaned.

"And I think Kyle has some stuck in his hair." Rachel glanced at the back of my head.

I rolled my eyes. "Ha, ha. Very funny, Rach."

But as I reached my hand up, I was alarmed to feel the sticky confection clinging to my curly brown hair. So that was why the scent of cotton candy was making me sick. I thought I had felt something before, but dismissed it as the heat. I struggled to pull the pink fluff out while Rachel stifled a snicker. Mom handed me a paper towel.

Manuel giggled. "You didn't even notice, Kyle! You were too busy eating."

I glowered at him while flicking a chunk of cotton candy at him with the paper towel. This was my first time meeting him, and I was grateful I didn't usually have to deal with siblings or cousins. It was almost enough to make me wish I was back home with my dad. Almost.

"You learned that from me," Rachel accused. "Remember when I put a bug in your hair?"

Manuel stuck his tongue out at her before glancing down at the cotton candy that landed on his shoes. He raised his head to glare at me while trying to kick the confection off his sneakers, tears welling up in his eyes when it remained stuck.

"Serves you right," I complained, flicking more of the sticky confectionary off his hands. He raised his hand to both pull more cotton candy out and shield his eyes from the beaming sun. It was hard to enjoy the circus with how hot of a day it was.

"Kyle, he's only seven. And it's his birthday," Mrs. Turner admonished while reaching down to wipe the cotton candy off Manuel's shoes with more paper towels. "Let him have fun."

"Ruining my hair is fun?" I griped. "We're at the circus. How much more fun can it get?" He couldn't help sounding sarcastic as he said that.

"His dad, Uncle Joe, went missing for a long time," Rachel whispered to me. "He just returned recently, and has been acting weirdly. It's no wonder Manny's been acting out."

I had heard about that as well, how Rachel's uncle had showed up from the dark, empty woods near the back of town. Even that place was rumored to be cursed as well, before suddenly becoming shrouded in sunlight and reported animal sightings. Joe had apparently insisted that he had witnessed strange creatures who lived inside, and they weren't sure whether he was hallucinating.

I watched as Manuel ran over to one of the full-length mirrors on display. He stuck his tongue out and made faces, enjoying the way his reflection shifted and lengthened in the glass. Rachel came over as well, standing next to Manuel while observing her own warped reflection. Manuel struck poses and accidentally hit Rachel in the face, causing her to shove him. He responded by tugging the bandana attached to her long brown hair, pulling it free from the strands. Rachel snatched the bandana from him before whacking him over the head with it.

While they fought, I tried to search for somewhere to wash the rest of the cotton candy out of his hair, or at least find some shade. I winced from both the sticky feeling and the blazing heat. I had forgotten to bring my water bottle, and Rachel wouldn't share hers with me. I'd rather be indoors right now, playing with my Dominos that Rachel always teased me about. I could spend hours at a time with them, but I couldn't bear more than a few minutes at the circus.

I raised my head at the sight of water spraying through the air. The mere sight was so refreshing that I headed in the direction of the stall. Several little kids were aiming brightly colored water guns at a row of clown heads set up underneath shelves of toys and stuffed animals, trying to shoot water into the wide red mouths. One little boy started crying because he hadn't won any prizes, and his twin brother had already won three that he was proudly showing off to the others.

"Don't worry, Jason. I'll share with you," he assured, a mischievous smile crossing his face as he aimed the water gun at his brother. "I'll share this."

Jason let out a shriek as his brown curls, much like mine, got wet, before shoving his twin over. They started fighting on the grass while the other little kids began shooting their own water guns at each other. I approached the squabble, wondering if I was desperate enough to ask if they would spray me. I glanced down as one of the water guns landed on the ground in front of me, wondering if I dared to pick it up.

I glanced over as I heard more shouts nearby, except more frantic. I was alarmed to see a pair of older boys fighting as well near the shooting stand, one around my age and the other around Rachel's age. The older one with an Afro was tall, dark-skinned, and strong-looking, while the younger bronze-skinned one was much shorter and scrawnier. Their fight looked a little more serious, so I wandered closer out of curiosity.

The older boy was lifting the other one up, a furious expression on his face.  The younger boy tried to kick and push him away, but he was too strong while tightly gripping his sides. I winced in sympathy. The same thing often happened to me in school. Then I watched in shock as the older boy raised his large hand and wrapped it around his neck, causing him to start choking.