The Accidental Siren

11.3 Carnival

It was only after the incident with A.J. that I realized the carnival had been evolving. An hour after we first arrived, the mechanical beast had taken its first flopping step from the primordial soup, evident in the new layer of afterbirth smeared beneath the gleeful façade. I noticed flypaper--black with dead insects--lining the inside awning of every game booth. Upon closer inspection, most of the insects weren't dead, but flapping and struggling, unsticking one leg only to discover their wings were also glued to the paper snare. I accidentally touched the bottom of a portable bench when I stopped to tie my shoe; the underbelly seethed with discarded bubble gum like rubber scales. And as we waited in line for the Tilt-a-Whirl, I spotted a loose panel at the base of the ride. Every time the carts completed a rotation, a rusty seam appeared between the red and blue panels, exposing the black innards, sputtering gears, and churning elbows that tilted and whirled the kids atop the machine.

Worst of all, my kinship with the great beast was beginning to seem like a ruse; I had the feeling of being watched, as if the tents, rides, and kiosks had eyes.

Again, we came across the row of goofy mirrors. The girls weren't with us the first time around so we stopped again to play. Kimmy looked like a troll with a frizzy orange mane. Haley held up her arms and I recalled a picture from my encyclopedia of a medieval device that pulled people apart at the seams. Livy didn't move, but scrutinized her warped reflection until Kimmy yanked her away.

As we said goodbye to our shape-shifting alter-egos, I discovered the source of my paranoia on the top step of the Super Slide. Four boys were leaning against the rails; coke-bottle glasses and rampant acne marked them as outcasts, yet their faces seemed vaguely familiar, as if they were enemies from a previous life.

I ignored them the first time; boys oogling Mara was nothing new. But twenty minutes later I saw them again, six of them now crammed two at a time at the top of the ferris-wheel.

Later, they appeared behind us in line for the swings. They were distracted this time, chattering amongst themselves, splitting their attention between the girl beside me and an elderly woman across the way.

It was them. It came to me in a flash; the face in the leaves, the body that fell at the sound of my father's gun; it was them, the ferrets, the boys on bikes and the boys in the trees; and not just the boys, but the women too! Four of them at least, perched throughout the park, inconspicuous without their purple hats, but un-missable with their beady eyes trained on Mara.

“It's time to go,” I said. “We need to get outta here. Now.”

*  *  *

“Hey weener-wrinkle,” said Whit. “I wanna ride the swings!”

“Not now,” I said.

“James?” Kimmy said. “Haley and I are gonna meet some friends--”

“Not now,” I said again and pushed Whit faster through the crowded midway. “We need to find my parents.”

“I swear,” Livy added, ”my brother is so flippin' weird.”

The giant mallard bounced on Mara's back as she jogged to keep up. “Can’t we stay a little longer?”

“Somethin's not right. I'm takin' you home.”

“But we're having a good time!”

“Listen to the lady,” Whit said. “The night’s still young!”

We emerged from the midway, passed the Gravitron and the mini roller coaster and found ourselves caught between the carousel and funhouse. “Crap!” I said.