I was having a great time! Steve apologized for what happened and I invited him to the show. He bought the tickets for us and we met at his house to walk to the theatre together. When we got there, a tall man with yellow eyes in suit and a dark blue cape greeted us at the door. This guy was huge! I thought the man who gave me the flyer was tall, this man made him look trial-sized. He asked us if he had our tickets so Steve held up his, dumbfounded. I was frozen, staring at this man with my jaw hung open like an idiot.
"Do you have your ticket, Layla?" the tall man asked. I snapped out of my trance and pulled out my ticket when I finally realized.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" I demanded.
"I know lots of things," the tall man said, walking away. He disappeared around the corner and call to us to hurry, the show was about to start. Steve and I exchanged glances for a brief second and ran after the man. However, when we rounded the corner, the man was already down at the other end of the hall drinking tea! We ran down the hall to him and he asked for our tickets. We handed him our tickets and he hung them over his open mouth and dropped them in. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. He led us into the theatre and we found two great seats. We sat down, Steve laced his fingers in mine, and we waited for the show to begin.
The same man who took, and ate, our tickets walked to the middle of the stage and stood with his hands behind his back.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" his voice filled the theatre without using a microphone, "Welcome to the Cirque du Freak, home of the world's most remarkable human beings!" I looked over at Steve, who let my hand go, and he was at that edge of his seat. Literally, any further, he would've been on the sticky, popcorn covered floor."I am Mr. Tall, your host and the owner of this fine establishment," the man on stage introduced, taking off his top hat and bowing, "we have been in business for over 500 years! Our line-up has changed many times, but our aim to astound and terrify you never will." The crowd was eerily quiet as if they were debating whether or not to trust this strange man. "I'm sure most of you think our freaks are people in masks and harmless misfits, but this is not the case. Every act you see tonight is very real, those who are easily frightened should leave." I looked around with the rest of the audience. No one got up, but a few looked like they were thinking about it.
"You wanna leave?" Steve teased, "you too scared?" We laughed at the thought, we've seen the worst of the worst horror movies. Nothing scares us!
"Now, without further ado," Mr. Tall bellowed with a flourish of his cape, "Let the show begin with...the wolfman!" The room went black and a couple ladies screamed, but stopped when a spotlight focused on a cage with something very hairy in it. One of the ladies who were with the cage warned us to be very quiet. She held something in her hand that looked almost like a pentagram. The wolfman seemed to be in a trance of some sort as his head followed the pendent. The other woman open the cage door and the beast stepped gingerly onto the stage. No one moved, no one spoke, the only thing you could hear was the heavy, grunting breathing that was coming from the wolfman's nose. He followed the pendent through the aisle next to Steve and I. Steve dared me to pet him as he went by, but I didn't even dare to breath. My boyfriends pale arm stretched out and stroked the beast's fur.
"It's spiky," he explained quietly, "and it smells like motor oil." He held out his hand for me to smell.
"Ehh...it's more like burnt rubber," I replied. He sniffed again and agreed with me. all of the sudden, a woman a few rows down fell out of her seat with a loud thump. We all looked back at the wolfman and saw his head twitch. The women with him looked genuinely worried. The animal growled and let out a deafening howl and he sprinted on all fours to where the woman lay.
"NOOOO!" she screeched as it got closer. The
beast took her forearm into it's massive, fanged jaws and ripped off her arm from the elbow! Out of nowhere, Mr. Tall came up behind the wolfman and grabbed it by the throat, whispering into it's furry ear. It seemed to go limp in his grip. As the wolfman was taken to his cage a small, hooded figure approached the tall man with a needle and thread which he stitched the woman's arm up and she proceeded to leave the theatre.
"PLEASE FOLLOW OUR RULES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" he roared, "This is not a safe circus where nothing goes wrong! We cannot guarantee anyone's safety! If you cannot accepted that, leave! Leave now before it's too late!" If it weren't for the spider; I would've gotten up and left right then and there.
"Do you want to leave?" Steve asked. I could tell that he really didn't want to go.
"No way," I whispered back, "This is great!" I was pretty sure that he could see through me but I didn't care.
After the Wolf-man, there was Alexander Ribs who played music on his rib bones, Gertha Teeth could bite through anything, including metal, the world's fattest man, Rhamus Twobellies, the Twisting Twins, Hans Hands who could run on his hands, a Bearded Lady, and the Snake-boy. Steve said that the show was boring, but when I asked if he wanted to leave he said he didn't. Shrugging off his attitude, we continued to watch the show in silence.
"Mr. Crepsley and his performing spider, Madam Octa!" Mr. Tall announced. This was it, this was act that I have waited all night to see! A tall, thin man walked on stage with a flute and a box with a curtain over it. I finally noticed his hat that he tipped to the audience; red and black strips. He was the one who gave me the flyer! I turned to Steve to tell him, but he looked like he had just seen a ghost. His face was pale white and he was staring, intensely, at the performer. I tapped on his shoulder to get his attention but he swatted my hand away and shushed me. I turned to the man on stage to get a good look at him. He had a strange shade of orange hair and it was short, except for a section in the front; it was longer and slicked back. He had a long facial scar on the left hand side of his face that ran from his eyebrow to his chin. He was clad in all red with a long cape flowing behind him and sandals on his feet. I wish I could've gotten a good look into his eyes but I couldn't determine what color they were from where I was sitting. Overall, he was attractive, but very unsettling. I couldn't stop staring at him, but not like Steve, fear was in his eyes; in mine, admiration.
"Madam Octa is a truly amazing spider," Mr. Crepsley boasted, "she is both poisonous and intelligent." He opened the box with a key and out crawled a massive black spider.
"Wow…" I breathed. One of the women who came out with the wolfman lead out a goat to center stage. With a short tune from the flute, Madam Octa sprang from the table to the animal. She sank her fangs into the goats neck with an audible squish and in moments, the animal was dead on the ground.
"This flute is how I control Madam Octa," Crepsley explained, "she and I have worked together many years, but she is not my pet. If it were not for the flute, my life would be in danger." The goat's body was dragged away by one of the hooded figures as the man made Madam Octa dance at the edge of the stage. A few people let out small yelps, but Crepsley shushed them.
"Remember your previous warning," he warned. He beckoned Madam Octa toward him with a tune, "You are safe now." She crawled up his arm, to his shoulder, "Though, do not make any loud noises," he smirked as she tip-toed across his face, "if you do, she might come after me." He stuck his tongue out and the spider hung from a web attached to it. Mr. Crepsley, then, flung Madam Octa into the air and catching her in his mouth! Some girls were playing flutes on the side of the stage and Madam Octa spun a web across his open mouth and hung from it. She lowered herself into her cage and the man on stage licked his lips and swallowed the web.
"Delicious! Nothing better!" he announced, "Fresh spider webs are a treat where I come from!" Everyone cheered and clapped while the performer took a bow. It might have been my mind playing tricks on me but I could've sworn that Mr. Crepsley, while taking his bow, looked at me and winked. My imagination or not; I felt the blood rush to my face. I kept my eyes on the mysterious man and as he walked off stage he was glaring in our direction. I know it wasn't my imagination this time; I saw it! My attention was forced to my boyfriend who was muttering something about "finding a real one".
"Steve?" I wondered, "Are you okay?" I reached over and squeezed his hand.
"I'm fine," he replied after snapping out of his thoughts. I wasn't convinced but I let it go.
After the show, we went to the gift area where I bought some souvenirs for my 16-year-old sister, Annie. She deserved some after keeping it a secret that I was sneaking out and going to a freak show. 19-years-old and my parents would still ground me because it's "their house, their rules". Mr. Tall acknowledged us on the way out and we followed the crowd of people to the exit. Steve seemed distracted but I didn't say anything until he stopped and let go of my hand.
"Go back by yourself," he ordered.
"What!" I shrieked," If you think I'm leaving without you-" I was interrupted by his lips on mine; kissing me as if he'd never see me again after this moment. He let me go and I was rushed forward in the current of people; forced away from Steve. My Steve!
"I'll always love you!" he called to me.
"Steve!" I screamed back, "Wait!" Tears were threatening to spill over but I choked them back. All of the sudden, I was pushed into a doorway and the door shut in my face. I was trapped.
"Open the fucking door!" I cried, "Let me out!" I pounded on the door; tears fell from my blue eyes and I sank to my knees, hyperventilating. After a few minutes my breathing returned to normal as my panic attack subsided. I clenched my fists, brushed my long, auburn hair out of my face, stood up, and turned around. Stairs, where did they lead? I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I came to a door and ran, full speed, into it. It busted open and I was on a small balcony above the stage. On the stage, with his back to me, was Steve and standing in front of him was none other than…Mr. Crepsley!