We bring you the circus. The pied piper, whose magic tunes lead children of all ages, from 6 to 60, into a tinsel and spun-candy world of reckless beauty and mounting laughter, whirling thrills, the rhythm, excitement and grace of daring and blaring and dance, of high-stepping horses and high-flying stars. But behind all this, the circus is a massive machine whose very life depends on discipline, motion and speed. A mechanized army on wheels that rolls over any obstacle in its path, that meets calamity again and again, but always comes up smiling. A place where disaster and tragedy stalk the big top, haunt the backyard and ride the circus train, where death is constantly watching for one frayed rope, one weak link, or one trace of fear. A fierce, primitive fighting force that smashes relentlessly forward against impossible odds, that is the circus. And this is the story of the biggest of the big tops and of the men and women who fight to make it the greatest show on earth.
July 6, 1944 dawns a hot, humid day in Connecticut. Elena and her brother Jeremy are anxiously anticipating an excursion to the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus, which is playing in Hartford. This is a special treat for the siblings as World War II is still raging in Europe.
The temperature hovers in the nineties, and the circus grounds are stifling. The area smells of hot canvas, hay and animals. There are circus vendors milling in and around the lines of ticket buyers. They're selling balloons of all colors, fake monkeys made of brightly dyed pink and blue rabbit fur.
Elena wants one but there is no extra cash for such frivolous things in her family and she knows better than to ask. As they wait in line to purchase tickets, her legs start to wobble and the edges of her vision gets spotty and black before she collapses to the ground.
Miranda drags Elena to a shaded area, and she lays her down next to an auxiliary tent on the grass amid the tent ropes. As soon as she opens her eyes, her mother goes to fetch a lemonade for her.
"Thank you," Elena smiles and sips it down, her eyes noticing Jeremy kicking the dirt in his boredom. After she feels better, they stroll around outside. They see the animals, the cotton candy and the other refreshment stands. Sometime later the three of them go inside the main tent.
"Look at the crowd," Elena remarks, her eyes wide and full of wonder.
"I think we should sit down lower in case you faint again," Her mother points to a spot in the about a third of the way up. Sitting down, Elena can hardly contain her excitement, her foot is bouncing against the metal footing of the bleachers. The anticipation is a nervous kind of energy. It tingles through her like electrical sparks on the way to the ground, gathering in her toes.
Suddenly the ringmaster appears and everyone stands to applaud when the show finally starts and it's magical.
In the center of the "big top," which shelters the mammoth three-ring circus, brass horns blare to the rhythmic beat of a huge bass drum. The Ringmaster cracks his whip, and with leotard-clad trapeze artists swoop above him, and colorful clowns begin to cartwheel around him. The atmosphere is charged with excitement.
No matter where she looks, something is going on. The band is playing lively music, vendors are hawking their wares of pink cotton candy, peanuts, popcorn and gaudy toys, which all hold a special attraction to both Elena and Jeremy. Her mother relents and buys them a cotton candy to share. She pulls a piece off and stuffs it in her mouth. It's light and airy and delicious.
"Look Elena," Jeremy tugs at her blouse, pointing to the ring with the tigers.
"Look there," she points to "The Wallendas," who are up on their perches ready to start their high wire act. Elena looks at her mother when she dabs the beads of sweat from her forehead. She's already forgotten that she fainted earlier. Jeremy jumps to his feet when a couple of people walk by in front of them.
The Gilbert siblings are watching with rapt attention when suddenly, about 20 minutes into the start of the circus, there is a collective cry, and people are pointing towards the other end of the tent. A lick of flame is racing up towards the top of it.
"It's probably part of the show," Elena says, absolutely mesmerized, watching as it spreads.
The band changes its tune to the "Stars and Stripes Forever," the traditional call to alarm in circus jargon. Screaming and pandemonium break out and Elena is quickly unaware of her immediate surroundings. She looks around, startled to see that her mom and Jeremy are nowhere in sight. They must have jumped down through the bleachers, six feet to the ground but she doesn't see them.
In shock, Elena stares at what's in front of her. The scene inside the tent is total bedlam. People are screaming, crying and running from the tent to escape the inferno. The fire intensifies and makes a tremendous whooshing sound. Flames shoot high above and into the sky, thick black smoke billows over the scene, staining people's faces. Flaming bits of canvas waft over the panicked crowd, burning them. It isn't until she feels the intense heat on her back that she knows she has to find a way out... or die.
People are stampeding. Men and women are throwing wooden chairs in the air, hitting others and knocking them down. Others are screaming, being pushed down and trampled. It is chaos and confusion. They are being pushed in every direction, she finds herself all alone, completely separated from her family. She cries for them but can't see even a trace of them. With dark, acrid smoke filling the tent, she can hardly see an escape route. Terrified and alone, she doesn't know which way to turn. Fear billows out of control when she finds herself pinned against all these people. In the grip of silent panic, her eyes are wild and dilated. Sweat completely covers her body and her heart feels like it's going to explode.
Grown men are frantically jumping over women and children in a panic to save themselves and their families. The flames, the smoke, the screaming, the horrible feeling of being crushed by all the people makes her belly churn so chaotically that she can feel the bile burn at the back of her throat.
What will she do? Frantically she looks for her mom and Jeremy, but she's too small to see over the thick crowd. It is pushing Elena so hard that she almost falls down and beneath their thundering feet. Somehow she holds tight to whoever is in front of her so she won't fall to her death. The horror and fear of being burned or trampled to death are poking at her insides, intensifying her terror. Suddenly she finds herself on her hands and knees, crawling under and over some hot poles that look like big cages. She keeps going trying to find a way out.
"Please, please someone help me."
Miraculously she finds an opening where the tent is torn. It takes a moment for her to realize she's outside and able to breathe fresh air.
Suddenly a man, Damon, picks her up and runs with her to a safe distance.
"Thank God," he breathes, his chest heaving with exertion.
As soon as the last syllable escapes his lips, she finds herself interlocked in a kiss. The tender touch they share makes the chaos around them disappear. There isn't anything else in the world except an unquenchable flame and thick black smoke. Something about this feeling makes Elena believe that everything will be okay.
When they part, he stares at her for a short moment and she knows exactly what he's going to do.
"No Damon, you can't go back, it's a death trap," her shaky voice pleads, gripping his shirt so tightly that her knuckles whiten.
"I have to," and after one more quick kiss on her forehead, he runs back into the inferno.
I hope you liked the first chapter of this short story. Eva and I are working very hard and writing everyday. I do post spoilers on my scarlett2112 facebook page if you're interested in seeing peeks at stories that are coming. "South of Santa Fe", "The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia," and "Endless Summer Nights" to name a few.
We can never stay away from here for too long.
Thank you Eva. You're the best, Your constant support, encouragement and willingness to leap with me when I come up with these ideas means the world to me.
Thank you to all of you. You're the best of the DE fandom.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this newest historical jaunt for Damon and Elena.
Have a terrific day and weekend. We'll see you next week with chapter two.