Black Circus

Yura

Yura kicked a pebble aimlessly hoping it would land several feet away before having to kick it again. He missed.

Yura sighed. He dragged his feet along the muddy path and shoved his hands in his pockets.

He wondered what he was even doing in the woods at the ungodly hour of 7 in the morning. The birds chirped tunelessly and the glimmers of sun rays managed to seep through the thick tree branches. It was all so clichéd it almost annoyed him.
The air smelt damp due to the storm last night. Yura liked storms. They weren't frightening. They were fascinating.

He trudged along the muddy path until he reached the warehouse. Another clichéd thing.

The odds of finding an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the woods.

But for once, it didn't annoy him. It was clearly very old- full of dust and cobwebs and mold that grew in the corners- and whoever had been there last had taken all of their belongings with them. That was a shame. He had hoped to discover old treasures hidden in the drawers or under the mattresses- lockets with pictures of once loved ones or unread suicide letters or weapons used for murder. It was all so childish. But he loved exploring. Of course, he'd never admit that.

The rusted door creaked as he pushed open the warehouse door. He winced. The whole space smelt of a strong perfume mixed with the damp forest musk. The rotting wooden floor had been covered with several pieces of newspaper, a torn game of twister and a patched quilt. It wasn't nearly enough to cover the fairly large area of the warehouse. A few plants had manage to grow through the wood flooring and a ring of pebbles surrounded each one.

Yura's face scrunched up to express his freaked out-ness despite there not being anyone in sight to acknowledge it.

There was a slight thudding of footsteps that came from the corner of the room.

"Took you long enough."

The voice resonated through the warehouse. A figure stepped into view. Her ashy hair was badly cut short to about her jawline and Yura could make out tufts sticking out on the sides. She wore loose sweatpants that barely reached her ankles with a few holes along the sides and an ancient, long sleeved Hello Kitty shirt that had a large red 'X's on Kitty's eyes and across her face. Her face was round with a slightly pointy chin but what stood out the most was her eyes; big and blue but also drained with dark circles accentuating them.

She was the strange girl he had met earlier.

Her face was pulled up in a irritated scowl. Her childish features did not match her booming voice. She was probably younger than he was.

It was then that Yura realized that one should begin to get suspicious after meeting a strange little girl three times before and making conversation without her mentioning her name, let alone age. Especially if that strange little girl invites you over to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the woods. He hadn't said that enough times. He still didn't make a run for it though he knew he should.

Yura glanced at the door. It hadn't slammed shut yet like in the horror movies but his OCD wanted him to close it anyways. He didn't want anymore insects getting inside. He already felt squeamish by the snails.

She stepped towards him and scanned him up and down. It was so awkward but strange tuft girl didn't get the message.

What the hell. Stop.