The entry fee was a few bucks, and a step inside the little area they had claimed already put me on edge. There was no name to this place nor could a name be found on their old school looking posters or anywhere in this old looking place. The place had the look of fading paint with wood and rickety metal making up the makeshift carnival. There were a few rigged games that took a morbid apperance, definitely rigged but people played anyways. A few freaks who worked here wandered about in their dull attire that fit right in with the place's look, dull eyes in the smiling faces as they managed the grounds. John, Dave, and I weren't interested in the little bits that came together out here, we all looked over towards the big top looking tent.
The tent was faded reddish-brown, long worn and faded by pounding sunlight, yet the thick canvas kept out prying eyes. This wouldn't be a concern if it weren't for the fact this group only started up a short while ago, making the ancient appearance a bit suspicious. The crew seemed to be lost in the twenties, back when the equipment and tent were probably still a new bright red and the details not faded. We approached slowly towards the structure, noticing that security had watch so no one could try sneaking past the tent.
At the flap leading inside stood a figure in black and neon green, smiling cheerfully at us. She had cat ears perched atop her head that occasionally twitched with a matching tail swinging back and forth behind her, both dyed a bright blue. "Hello!" She smiled, no sense of volume clearly in place for her. "Would you all like to see the freak show?"
"They still have freak shows?" John asked, seeming a bit unnerved by this.
The girl nodded. "Yup! In fact, if you want to see it starts soon. You can wait by looking at all the different oddities." She pulled the flap to the side, inviting us in. Another flap was inside, like this space was a waiting area and past that was where the show was, shelves of strange things in jars along the edges of the small space. "Come in!" She smiled a fanged smile.
She reminded me of Nepeta, and I could have sworn Nepeta said her sister ran away with some dangerous mystery man. Of course, when dealing with hybrid trolls everything was dangerous, and for a moment I wondered if her top hat was more for look or hiding horns. She eyed the three of us eagerly with slitted olive cat eyes before we slowly entered. "Oh, mister with the shades, it's really dark inside so it would be better viewing if you took your shades off."
The three of us entered, flap fluttering closed behind us and leaving us in the dim waiting area. The shelves had the strangest things in them, some live specimen, but mostly they were very dead. The two tailed cat hissing at us through the jar and the scorpions under the black lights of the area were to the right and the piebald cardinal was to the left. Amongst them were deformed dead animals, random inanimate objects, and a rack of vials labeled blood, the vials sickeningly being many different colors. I hope they got the poor fools' consent to get those.
"Hey, you kids." A fellow by one of the flaps called. His slicked back hair brought the word tool to mind instantly. "You wanna see the show, am I right?" We all exchanged looks before hesitantly nodding to the guy. "Right this way." He held open the flap. We entered slowly, spotting a kid completely submerged in the water, hair floating out around him. The tank was set up near another flap, which I'm guessing we have to wait for.
The kid in the water tank grabbed our attention though. The tank looked like an oversized bottle, cork jammed in the top like they had to seal him in. Fine sand was at the bottom with what seemed to be seaweed growing out of it, one of the boy's finned feet slightly hidden by it. He was curled up in near fetal position with his arms to his chest and legs slightly extended, in nothing but a pair of swim trunks floating in the middle of it. He was stock still, gills on his sides exposed and finned wrists as well, ear fins ever so slightly poking out from his hair. If it wasn't for the slow rise and fall of his chest you wouldn't think he was alive at all, a peaceful expression on his face.
"Amazing, eh chief?" The man asked with an upturned lip. "No worries, he's alive, he's just never awake when he's on show."
"Why?"
"He wants to take part, but he isn't so big on the lack of clothes, so he lets us put him out for the show if he's asleep. We tell him the good things people have said later, but he just gets too anxious every time he tries staying awake during this." He shook his head. "Quite a shame actually. He's embarrassed by his mutation. Can't blame him though, I felt the same about my self a while." He flashed a shark toothed smile, gaining some amazed gasps from the people near the flap we came in through, before his gaze went to a voodoo doll dangling in the corner. "The show's starting soon, go get yourselves some seats." He held up the flap for us and the few others who had come over here.
Past the flap was some rows of bleachers in a circle. The black metal framework that held up the tent was exposed, the inside material of the tent a familiar shade of purple. Something felt off and for a moment I almost turned around to leave only for Dave and John to give me a concerned look. "You alright there? If you're too scared you can wait outside." John offered, almost seeming like he was taunting me.
"I'm not scared. Something just didn't feel right about this place." I grumbled, quickly following them as we headed to one of the further back rows. The crowd was scattered through the seats, excited and anxious murmurs of anticipation going around until the lights flickered out. The dim lights slowly came back on, two uncomfortably familiar faces staring at the crowd from the center, the ringleaders both dressed in black and purple with the white face paint.
"Welcome." Gamzee's aged voice called out. I recognized him immediately, like it hadn't been over twelve years since we had seen each other but maybe a month at most. They both had the out of control hair and the captivating purple eyes, their tall thin forms back to back. I was horrified, and if it weren't for the amount of people here I would probably go down there and find a way to get them to tell me what happened to Kankri. I shoved my balled up fists into my pockets, hoping they didn't notice me.
They trotted out some kid with crazy strength, another with butterfly wings, some one with who could talk to animals, but as they started getting rough with the people they brought out I started slipping from anger to disgust. One girl was dragged out on a chain by shackles, an actual heavy duty metal chain attached by locked cuffs, as the lights flicked off and the girl's skin glowed. She lunged at them a few times, fangs bared as she tried getting them, only getting gasps and a surprised shriek from the crowd before they roughly dragged her back out again.
I was shaking by the time they finally started drawing to a close, by the time they said they were on the last one. "We save the best for last ladies and gentlemen." Gamzee smirked. "A mutant amongst freaks, an outcast amongst the unbelievable, we have a treat for you all in the audience. He's fierce, a blood thirst carnivore, feared and dangerous..." The cloaked figure they dragged out was panting as they fought back, strong enough to require both the Makara brothers to work together to chain the figure in place. The unkept claws of a troll showed from under the cloak, sharp and long, and the Makara brothers both grabbed the edge of the fabric's hood eagerly.
"... living off of human flesh." Kurloz uttered in a low voice, soft yet reaching everyone's ears and crawling up their spines. "There is no name we have for the mutant." They both pulled back the hood to reveal Kankri. He looked so beaten down, something daring to snap at the brothers that held him captive now with his glowing candy red eyes. His disguise wasn't up, skin slightly grey and horns clearly visible in his head of ginger hair with black ends, his fists clenched as he still fought against his restraints. The pendant he wore was definitely gone, and gashes on his cheeks dripped his candy red blood down his face.
He gritted his fangs against what was probably a lot of pain, held where he was by thick chain. I froze,terrified by what they had done to my brother. How many were here with consent was slowly becoming painfully obvious, and not in a good way. I felt like I was going to be sick, but I sat completely numb the remainder of their chatter. I don't even remember when it ended and they dragged him off because I blacked out. The next thing I remember is John and Dave shaking me in hopes of snapping me out of it.
"Karkat! Karkat, are you awake?!" John was shaking me.
"Did you say his name was Karkat?" Gamzee was leaning over me with concern on his face. I just barely started getting a grip on myself, realizing I had passed out in the bleachers and now had Gamzee leaning over me close enough he might recognize me.
I sat up and moved back from him, not exactly happy with the psycho. "It's a nickname, you know, joke about cars and cats involving me for some stupid reason. Because I'm named Carol, which basically means my parents are idiots because that's a kind of singing. And starts with Car." I stopped talking to cease the flood of nonsense from my mouth.
Gamzee gave a slight smile. "I guess it's good that you're awake. Quite a shame Carbro, I thought you might have been a friend of mine. You just looked so familiar I could have sworn we met before somewhere."
"Nope, I have never seen you before."
"Here, as an apology on my part for your mind all up and making you faint, how about I show you around? I could show you around where most people can't go."
"I have to start heading home unfortunately."
"No worries my brother." Gamzee pulled tickets out of his pocket, black unlike the purple ones at the gate," You and your friends can just come back tomorrow when it ain't a school night. I could show you around then."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah bro, completely sure. I'll see you tomorrow." He helped me up, and with that tucked the tickets in my pocket. I had no clue what to say to him, but he smiled at my confusion. John and Dave took sides, making sure I didn't fall as we got down the steps, off of the bleachers and left the tent, heading off the fair grounds and back home.
"What the hell was that?" John asked after we were far enough away from the carnival. "You just fainted in the middle of a carnival."
"The ringleaders are the Makara brothers." The two froze. "They must have branched off from the dark circus to start their own carnival, start getting ready to take their dad's place probably. At least half the freak show wasn't there by choice, but that's sort of expected with Makaras." I looked at them, and honestly I wasn't surprised to see the scared expressions. "You guys changing your minds?"
"Are you sure those are the Makara brothers? Mr. Makara doesn't exactly seem the parent type or even the type to take time from his psychotic freaky carnival to raise kids."
"Their Kurloz and Gamzee Makara. Gamzee is seventeen, Kurloz is twenty-five. They've done odd jobs from running a hole in the wall shop to where they are now, gathering up freaks and weirdos all the way. The probably got all those people on their own, which would have been difficult had Mr. Makara not trained them as well as he did." I turned to them only to see the color had drained from their faces. "You guys are having second thoughts?"
"We definitely are having a meeting tomorrow."