This story is about a circus group traveling around to reach their goal, which is to become an international famous group. Jake, a pyromaniac, is the main character along with his 2 friends, Terra and Nightshade. Terra is an illusionist who is obsessed with the holidays. Nightshade is a Jester who loves to play practical jokes on his foes as well as his comrades. They are partnered with Luke, the lion tamer who has a bit of a temper, and Hayden, a knife juggling toddler. Together they will fight until they have reached the end… and this is their story.
Chapter 1…
"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls…." shouted Nightshade. "We have a fantastic show in stored for you today! So for the opening act, put your hands together for Terra, the astounding magician!" The crowd went wild, jumping out of their seats and spilling popcorn everywhere. Terra entered onto the stage as confident as ever, smiling with her dark brown curly hair tied back into a ponytail. Her magician hat was tilted slightly and her red bow tie was as tight as ever. "Good Afternoon!" she announced. "For my first act, I will show you what it actually means to be one with the waters. Tehehe." She giggled. Nightshade walked out the red and white tent, discussing to the rest of the team the order of the show. "Up next is Luke, so get your lions ready."
"Whatever. I will just be happy when one of these damn things chews your head off." said Luke in aggravation. "Hey! We don't use that kind of language around here. For Pete's sake, there are children here."
"If you are referring to me, then you are sadly mistaken." sassed Hayden. Her blonde hair flowed down to her pink tu-tu. The light green bows in her hair matched her bright big eyes. "I have more maturity than most of you adults in here. Age is but a number. Do not underestimate me." She grabbed a knife and threw it at Nightshade's head, missing just a quarter of an inch. The Knife was now engraved into the wooden wall. Nightshade cleared his throat. "Well then, I do apologize." Luke laughed. "The brat is only 5. I'm surprised her knives aren't pink with a Dora the Explorer sticker on them." Hayden approached Luke while grabbing the knife out the wall.
"My skill is way better than some wannabe tough guy who plays with cats all day, don't you think?" She held the knife against his throat. Nightshade held Hayden back. "Hey, Hey, can it, you two. We cannot afford to lose another member here."
"Another?" Hayden asked. "What do you mean?" Everyone in the meeting room was quiet. The light shinned against the wood of the walls. "It's a long story that needs to be left in the past." said Nightshade. Jake entered the room, looking prepared to do his act. His flaming red and yellow hair spiked up towards the ceiling. His all black shirt complemented his pants with the fire design at the ends. "What are we talking about?"
"Well, we were just talking about the orders on today's show. Right now, Terra should be done, so now it's time for me to go and introduce Luke. Hopefully, he's still alive and not killed by Hayden" joked Nightshade. He ran out of the meeting room and into the circus tent. The crowd was going wild.
"That was surly something, am I right?" he asked the crowd. They started applauding for Terra. She gave them a bow and a bunny came out of her shirt. "Tehehe… I almost forgot you." She whispered to the rabbit. Terra grabbed the bunny and walked out of the tent and into the meeting room. "Now.. the moment you all were waiting for… Get ready for the Almighty Luke the Lion Tamer!" Nightshade shouted. The crowd began to laugh and point as Luke came out. He had a knife stuck in his hat. He walked beside Nightshade and whispered in his ear. "You are gonna lose one little girl tonight." He said.
Nightshade laughed and flipped out of the tent. His purple and green jester outfit seemed to be the perfect clothing for flips and cartwheels. As he entered the meeting room, Terra was telling the rest of the team how her performance went. "Tehehe. The crowd loves it when you get a volunteer to help you out."
"Are you always this cheerful and annoying?" Hayden asked. "Yes, but I must be extra cheerful and happy today! Its National Happy day!" she said with enthusiasm. "Every day is a holiday for Terra."
"It's true.." said Jake. "Last year, she wore a costume pertaining to every event that happened every day, including Father's Day. She dressed up as a dead beat dad." Terra started to bounce around. "Tehehe. On that day, this woman asked me on a date. She didn't know I was a girl until I told her. Later on, we still went on that date and she wanted to do some naughty stuff at her house. Tehehe" Everyone looked at Terra with discomfort except Nightshade. He was smiling like he suddenly got attracted to Terra. "What did you two do afterwards?" he asked with enthusiasm. Hayden threw a knife at him, hitting his jester hat off his head. "I think we can all agree that it is not of your concern." She responded. "Oh it's ok, Hayden. I shall tell him. She leaned in closely, looked into my eyes, and ….." Screams filled the circus tent.
"What's going on in there?" Jake asked. "We need to go and check it out" said Hayden. They all ran back into the circus tent to find the lions out of their cage, chasing down the people in the crowd. Everyone was running and screaming in fear. Kids were crying and Luke was standing in the middle of the scene laughing.
"This is too funny! Claw their damn heads off, my lions!" he shouted. "I guess we will be seeing him in the unemployment line" said Hayden. Nightshade grabbed a net and threw it on one of the lions. Hayden threw knives at the ground to prevent the lion from getting out of the net. The other lion was chasing after a dad and his daughter. He told his daughter to run while he sacrifices himself. The daughter wouldn't do it and she stood there by his side, crying. Jake took out a match and drunk a little alcohol. He lit the match and spited out the alcohol, causing a flame to shoot out in front of the father and daughter. It made a wall of fire so the lion wouldn't hurt them. Nightshade grabbed the other net and threw it on the lion. Hayden did the same thing she did with the other lion. Terra took off her hat and threw it at the wall of fire. Water came out of it, putting out the fire. The father and daughter was safe.
"That was some mighty fine teamwork, you and your staff got there." he said. "I thank you for saving my daughter and I. Here's my card." He gave Nightshade the card. "I am a show director in New York. Give me a call sometime and I will set you and your group a show." Nightshade smiled. "Thank you, sir. I will definitely give you a call later on." His daughter approached Hayden. "Would you like to play with my dolly?" she asked. "No. And in case you didn't notice, it's not called "dolly", it's called a doll, you pathetic excuse of a human life form." The director's daughter skipped away in awe, squeezing her doll until there was no oxygen in it. "My daughter seems to like playing with your little girl. What is this little angle's name?" the director asked.
"By the time I answer that question of yours, a knife will be engraved into your skull." Hayden sassed. Nightshade turned towards her. "Be nice for once. We need this show." Hayden huffed and sighed. She started smiling and acting cute. "My name is Hayden and I wove you!" she said.
"Aww! That's the cutest thing ever!" The director said. Hayden started to slide out her blade from under her tu-tu. Terra took off her hat and put it on Hayden, making her disappear.
"Tehehe. You owe me one, Mr. Shade." She giggled. "Anyways, we must be off to New York. Please make sure you give me a call." The director said. He walked off, holding his daughter's hand. The tent was deserted. Not a single customer was standing around. "Luke, put these lions into their cages and come talk to me afterwards." Nightshade insisted. He walked off into the meeting room. Hayden entered the tent, furious as ever. "What the hell was that for?" she yelled at Terra. "Someone's being a little naughty… do you want me to make the director's daughter appear?"
"Not even worth a fight." Hayden said. "Let's just clean this mess up and pack up on the train, shall we?" Jake asked. "Sure. Except for Luke, who has to stay here and talk to Nightshade. Tehehe." Terra bragged.
Later on, it was really dark outside and very cold. You could see your breath as you breathe. Luke was sitting against the train pretending he was smoking while Hayden was practicing her knife throwing skills. Terra was taking a nice bath inside the train and Nightshade was attempting to be a Peeping Tom. "Tehehe, scrub-a-dub-dub!" Terra sang as she splashed water everywhere. Jake was in his bed staring at the flame on the candle. "Pure beauty." He whispered to himself. He had a strong passion for fire. "Knock, knock!" said Terra, standing at his door with just a long shirt on.
"Oh, Hey Terra. What can I help you with?" he said, trying not to look down at her. "I came to talk to you. Have you ever all of a sudden liked someone and you were too afraid to tell them?" she asked, staring into his eyes. "I have. You must be experiencing the same thing. Just tell the person and I'm pretty sure they will like you back." Jake looked down at her. She noticed him staring. "Oh… I see what you are looking at. Should I put on some clothes?" she asked. "No, no. It's fine."
"Good. Can I sleep in here with you tonight?" she asked. "Sure." She snuggled with him, smelling like cherries and watermelon. "Do you see the candle's flame? It's just pure beauty to me. The way it dances at free will, the way it just continues without a care in the world… Oh. I'm sorry. I just get so fascinated with fire." "It's enjoyable to hear you speak." She stared into his eyes. Jake leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. "That was unexpected." she said softly. "Before I kiss you again, can I use your lip gloss?" Jake looked at her with confusion. "My lip gloss? Lip gloss is for women."
"Exactly, which is why I asked you." She said while giggling. Jake froze in embarrassment. "You think I am a girl?" he asked. "Of course because you are a girl. Tehehe" she kissed Jake. "I'm a guy.. not a girl." He finally said. Terra froze in discuss…. She got out from the bed and looked at Jake again. "This whole time… you were a boy? I'm so sorry." Terra ran out of his room, crying in tears. Jake felt like going after her, but he knew it would only make things worse. He blew out the candle and tried to get some sleep. The smoke from the candle filled the air in his room. The train started to blow its horn, signaling departure. The train started to move and they were ready to move on to the next state… New York.