Not the only one (Pennywise)

|17| The hot performance

You skipped along the road happily holding Penny's hand. He had turned back into his human form, smiling all the way next to you. Both of you were walking into town to look at the circus. It would be a lot of fun! At least you hoped so. You might even find some interesting things. You were walking along the Main Street as you saw a bunch of people heading one way. They were clearly walking towards something big, so of course it had to be the circus. You glanced at Penny and he smiled at the sight of the gigantic tent a few meters up front. The two of you made your way over and stood at the end of the line that lined up in front of the entrance. It wasn't long yet since you went early. You waited giddily for your turn and gave the cashier a few dollars as you entered with your tickets in hand. You gave Penny his and then made your way towards your seats. The circus was round, and had rows upon rows of seats. People were already seated around the big stage and you walked over to a spot in the front row. Your seat number was engraved into it and you smiled as you sat down. You sat there in silence until Penny spoke up. "You've really never been to a circus before?" He asked and you shook your head. "No. I never had a chance to do such. But it looks interesting so why not?" You said which made him smile. He wrapped an arm around you and you leaned your head against his shoulder. He had this nice smell of cotton candy and burned flesh, which mixed in perfectly with the aura around you. No wonder, they were also selling cotton candy in here. You couldn't contain your excitement and had a permanent grin on your face that didn't leave until the show began. Through the speakers a voice spoke up, that seemed to fill the whole tent. The entrance curtains lowered slowly, dramatically. Fitting perfectly to the voice. "I welcome everyone to our finale show! This will be a horrific, but also life time like experience for all of you! So with much delight, let me introduce our first act! She, who dances with fire!" The man spoke and as if on cue a woman walked onto the stage, dressed in a Victorian like acrobatic dress. It was fire red with painted on orange flames on the sides. Her make up made her eyes look like they were burning up in flames and her hair was also fiery red. You grinned as you couldn't wait for her to start her performance. She bowed to the crowd earning claps from the guests. She smirked and then music started playing in the background. She immediately began doing backflips towards the center of the stage, where a rope with a metal ring was being lowered. Suddenly, the ring bursted into flames, and without a care she dived backwards head first through it, landing on one feet on the other side. This earned more yells and claps from the crowd. Then, she stood up straight and walked towards the flames. You held your breath as to what was gonna happen next. She suddenly grabbed the ring and in a flash the flames burned out. She climbed onto it and sat in the middle, being raised up into the air. She dangled her feet as suddenly everything around her started to burn yet again. As if she had been startled, she jumped a little as the flames touched her dress. She was immediately lowered towards the ground and jumped off with an elegant flip through the air. She landed on her hands, walking around the stage in circles as her dress had fought fire. The flames got more intense and the only thing you could see was nothing but fire. Suddenly a person from backstage ran up to her with a bucket and dumped water onto her. As the flames were out she was wearing a completely different dress. This one was blue, and sparkled with fake diamonds around her neck. Her make up had also changed to a baby blue, drops of water painted onto her cheeks. With a smile she bowed to everyone and the crowd emitted in loud applause. You joined in, clapping like a madman. You had never seen such a thing before. It was awesome! The lights went out and she left the stage together with the personnel. "Now, wasn't that hot?" The voice from the speakers spoke again. "But now, let's continue with a more chilling act, shall we? Let's welcome the madman himself, Ryker the freak!" He said and as the lights turned on again, a figure was already standing on stage. The lights were emoting a dark, red color, making him look more intimidating than he probably was. You smirked and waited impatiently for what was to come next. Ryker raised his head, only to show that he only had one eye. Don't get me wrong, he had two eyes, but one was missing. His right eye socket had a scar over it and his other had an intoxicating green color to it. He grinned slowly, showing dark teeth. You tilted your head in curiosity as others cringed at his sight. Penny chuckled lowly and this made you smile. At least he was also enjoying this, even if not as much as you were. Then, the man dropped his coat to the floor earning gasps from the people around him. His stomach had a gaping hole in the middle, which you could literally see though. He demonstrated that it wasn't a trick for the eye as he reached through it and waved the people who sat behind him a hello.  some gasped in fear or disgust but you just grinned in excitement. "I'm Ryker! Born with less stomach and less an eye than all of you." He stated, and eerie music started to play in the background. He suddenly pointed towards a woman who was sitting in the front row. His bony finger made a motion for her to come onto stage. The poor woman gulped and was lead by personnel into stage, slowly, probably scared, making her way over. He grinned as she got closer and then he grabbed her hand, pushing it towards his stomach. She squealed in surprise but let him proceed in what he was doing. He slowly pushed her hand through the hole in his stomach, making her flinch uncomfortably. She was clenching her eyes shut, probably going though something she would've never expected in her life. He chuckled, and she could feel the vibration on her arm. He let her pull her hand back out and bowed to her as thanks. She hurried over to her seat, immediately rummaging through her bag for tissues. He laughed loudly at her reaction. "It's real folks, I have a hole more than you but still feel fine." He teased and everyone started clapping a bit unsure, but it was still interesting though. You felt your cheeks start to hurt from all the smiling and grinning, but it was worth it as you watched the next act play out.