Crimson Carnival

Chapter 1: Skin

“Let them know with all you’ve got, that you, are not, your skin”

-Skin, Sixx A.M.

Gravel crunched under my feet as I wandered along the dusty road, looking desperately around for a familiar landmark. The relentless sun beat down on me, and the lane was barren; no greenery to offer any means of shade. ‘I should’ve brought my umbrella and water bottle along.’ I grumbled to myself, my feet shuffling forward wearily as I glanced around once more. Was the heat playing tricks on my mind, or did I hear music? Hurrying forward, I came to a fork in the path, the music seeming to come from the left. Excited, I ran forward towards the sound of merry carnival music. I was so absorbed in looking for the source of the sound that I didn’t notice the sky darkening with every step I took, the temperature dropping slightly as I neared my destination.

Finding the fairground at last, I passed the abandoned ticket booth just as a light rain began to fall. I shivered. This place felt ominous, the music now lost in the steady pattering of the rain that was quickly growing into a downpour. Soaked and chilled to the bone, I looked around for shelter, spotting a caravan decorated with stars and moons just a few feet from me. Funny. I hadn’t noticed it till a second ago, but I could see no other shelter nearby. Shrugging, I sprinted to the caravan, trying not to fall. It was hard; I slipped a few times despite the place being so near.

The door was open, surprisingly, as though the place were inviting me in. Taking a step in gingerly, I glanced around as raindrops splashed against the stained glass windows. The caravan was dark, with hardly any light to brighten it up. Everything here was dusty; the shelves, filled with all sorts of strange creatures I had never seen in my life, the table, covered by a thick velvet cloth, even the floor. The whole place gave a sense of abandonment, as though nobody used it. Just as the feelings of uneasiness crept up on me enough that I decided to leave, a raspy voice rang out behind me.

“Might you be looking for something, my dear?” an old woman materialized from somewhere behind me, making me jump. She was dressed in a tattered purple dress, colourful beads stitched into it and dangling from her dark brown hair. The beads rattled and clattered, sounding remarkably like an army of skeletons marching and making the hair on the back of my neck stand up, my senses screaming for me to run as she made her way to the table and sat down, eyeing me with a spark of humour in her jet black eyes.

“n-no… I-I was just leaving…” I stuttered, taking a step backward. In a flash, she was up and in front of me, startling me. No human could move that fast, especially an old woman like her. The gypsy woman in front of me caught hold of my arm with a wrinkled hand, with nails so sharp they cut into my flesh, bringing with them a sharp flash of pain. “Now, now, it’s not polite to leave so soon, especially with a storm like that outside…” she smiled, revealing yellowed teeth that slowly elongated and sharpened until they resembled fangs, as her eyes lightened and changed colour, a light yellow taking the place of the midnight black irises of before.

As her transformation took place, I could only stare blankly in horror, but when she started to drag me into the shadows of her home, I reacted on instinct- and screamed.

Dropping my arm to clap her hands over her ears, the monster winced as my scream echoed off the walls. I slipped out of her grasp, running out into the pouring rain without a second thought. All I knew was that I had to get away from her, this menace disguised as a normal human.

Slipping in the slick mud, I would have fallen were it not for the strong arms that shot out of nowhere, catching me around the waist and steadying me. Looking up at my saviour, I realized with a jolt of shock that I knew him. Eyes as blue as the summer sky, with sandy blonde hair and a worried frown on his face that was quickly replaced by surprise. Ryo, my best friend of five years, was here, but why…? 

“Are you alright?” he asked carefully, glancing around worriedly. “I’m fine… but we have to run, there’s an old gypsy-” I broke off as I spotted her behind Ryo, my eyes widening in fear as he took my hand. “Follow me.” He pulled me along, running through the abandoned carnival as the first words of a spell filled the air.

The road seemed endless, the warmth of Ryo’s hand almost unnaturally hot in the freezing rain. A burning ache started in my legs, my breaths coming too slowly to satisfy my desperate need for air. Still I pushed on, as loud cackling echoed all around us, the sound drowning out the boom of the thunder. Up ahead, an ominous looking forest loomed, darker than the deserted fairground we had left far behind.

Dead leaves and twigs crunched beneath our feet as we sprinted through the dark woods like fleeing animals. Little by little, the horrible laughter subsided, and we slowed, the forest becoming eerily silent save for the quiet crackle of dead plant matter as we walked, still linked by our hands. The branches overhead seemed to wave threateningly, reaching out towards us like some bizarre many armed monster. The temperature seemed to drop with every step we took, and I withdrew my hand from Ryo’s, wrapping my arms around myself instead.

“Are you alright?” he asked, glancing down at me. “Y-yeah. I-I’m fine, thank you for your concern.” I whispered, casting my gaze toward the ground, trembling slightly from the cold. A sudden warmth enveloped me, as he draped his jacket over my shoulders. I nodded my thanks, not wanting to break the silence.

We continued on quietly for a while before he spoke. “How did you find that carnival?” he asked quietly, not looking at me. Before I could answer, however, he shoved me to the ground just as a bloodied dagger whistled past where I had been standing just a moment ago. I looked up in confusion- and screamed.

A bloody clown in a tattered, colourful suit and the ridiculous bright red rubber shoes shambled towards us, a sadistic grin plastered on his powdered white face. The red stood in stark contrast with the white, his coal black eyes glittering with a maniacal light. He raised another dagger, dulled by the rusty stain of dried blood as a spine-chilling laugh issued from between those scarlet lips, the laugh of a madman.

“Tsukiko, I want you to stay here, and not interfere, whatever happens, okay?” Ryo muttered, his blue eyes flashing crimson for just a second as dark, leathery wings sprouted from between his shoulder blades. I couldn’t help but gasp, taking a step back as the clown charged straight toward me, knife held high. I closed my eyes, waiting tensely for the pain that never came. Instead, I opened my eyes to see Ryo hovering about a foot off the ground, held aloft by his gently flapping wings. A hand gripped the killer clown’s throat, cutting off his air as he struggled and kicked to no avail. “You messed with the wrong people, bitch.” Ryo spat as he slashed the red haired horror’s throat with its own knife. The clown sputtered and choked, drowning in his own blood as dark red liquid sprayed everywhere. Gradually, his movements slowed, weakened, and he gave one last twitch before he went still, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

Letting the body drop limply to the ground like a lifeless doll, Ryo turned to me, blood dripping off his face in scarlet rivulets. All I could do was stare, a hand clapped over my mouth in shock and horror. He took a step towards me, looking hesitant. I backed away slowly, my gaze locked on his.

“What… are you?” I whispered, staring at his wings in awe. He noticed me staring, and retracted them quickly, staring at the bloodied soil beneath his feet. “I’m… a half shapeshifter I guess.” He mumbled. "I can shift into a half dragon form when in danger, but I can’t shift all the way into my animal like others can.” “All this time, and you never told me?” I asked accusingly, fear and surprise giving way to anger arising from the feeling of betrayal. “You didn’t have to know.” He muttered, not looking at me. “It would have put you in danger.” He added, quieter than before. “Danger…?” I was caught off guard by that answer, looking at him questioningly. “Yes.” He affirmed, his eyes showing just a glimpse of fear. “What kind of danger?” I asked impatiently. If what he said was true, then I wanted to get out of this gloomy forest as soon as possible. If anything, it seemed to have grown darker during our conversation, the branches seeming to reach closer than before.

In answer, he nudged the still body at his feet with the toe of his boot, as the crunching of footsteps on dead leaves rang through the dark woods directly behind me.