Sawblade circus

Chapter Twelve

They were all settled in when their grandmother called them in to dinner. It was silent until Annabelle spoke up. “Grandma?” “Yes?” “I’m sorry for being rude, but I know you know about the circus.” Her grandmother looked at her plate. “We have a friend there, he told us the Ringmaster does bad things…” “The Ringmaster?” Their father interrupted. “Does he have blackened skin around his eyes?” They both nodded. He looked towards his mother. She sighed. “He’s gotten out then.” “I know about him, he murdered all those people and was sent to jail, but then he somehow got out.” Nathan said. “I know, I was the one who arrested him.”Annabelle gasped.

He shook his head. “After what I saw, after what he let happen…I had to quit the force. I couldn’t bear to see anything like that ever again.” Their dad put his face in his hands. “Dad, tell us, we’re detectives after all.” “It was July 21, 1971; I was dispatched to go to the woods, the squad telling me something bad happened at the circus. I thought that someone had just got hurt, it was worse than that. When I got there, there were cops surrounding the whole place. They were looking for the Ringmaster, said he wasn’t anywhere to be found. All the acts were going crazy, there was blood all in their cages, and dead bodies of poor people.

They…they were feeding people to the acts.” Nathan couldn’t believe this. “Every one of them?” “Yes, they needed to eat people, it was the only thing that they wanted to eat. I went to look into one tent, and was horrified by what I saw. It was a testing lab of sorts, it had test tubes and syringes. They cop said that the acts were test subjects, they weren’t born like they were, they were tested on. A few of them were actually like they were, born that way, but turned cannibalistic. I heard a noise then, behind the tent in the woods. I went out and saw him standing there. Just looking at the moon.

He turned when I told him he was under arrest, and he smiled. “Fine, but I’ll just get back out anyway.” He said, and apparently he wasn’t kidding.” “Oh my god.” Annabelle said. “So…Snakey…eats people?” Her voice trembled. “Maybe that’s why he wanted us to come back on the thirtieth, it might be the day he feeds them all.” “He always feeds them near the end of the month.” Their grandmother said then. “How do you know?” She sighed. “I used to be one of them.” “What?” Nathan and Annabelle said at the same time. “Yes, I used to be one of the acts, I escaped before they started to make me eat people.

When they first tried to feed me, I refused, but I saw all the rest of the acts devour their victims alive, without remorse or guilt. I was sickened by the sight. After they saw I wasn’t going to eat, they called the Ringmaster in. When I refused to eat even on his command, he got angry. Everything about him changed then, his eyes pierced red and his voice, I’ll never be able to forget it. He beat me so much they had to cart me off to the hospital. That’s when I took the chance to run off.” “What’s wrong with that man.” Nathan said, angered. “He’s a demon, thats what’s wrong with him. He takes people and transforms them or find mutated people and puts them up for show for his own amusement.” “That explains why he’s so creepy, and evil.”

“That’s it, we have to help those poor people! Especially Snakey, we saw him get beat up!” Annabelle said, standing up. “The thirtieth is Friday, we’ll have to wait.” Their grandmother said. She sat back down and nodded. “Why did he make you and act grandma?” “Because of my eyes, and voice as you saw and heard. That’s why I wear contacts, so if I ever did meet him again I could say my eyes turned back to normal.” They finished their dinner and went to bed early that night. While in their room, Annabelle woke Nathan up. “Come on,” She said, “We’re sneaking out. I’m not waiting till Friday to save my friend.”