The whole troupe was in the big top having a feast and celebrating. Paul was having a grand time watching some of the others bobbing for apples. After seeing the twins turn down the chance to get an apple, he turned to Beth. "Come on, love. I know you can snatch an apple with that mouth!"
Beth laughed and decided to have a go at it. She quickly pulled her hair back and dunked for an apple. But try as she might, she was unable to catch an apple. She pulled up and gasped with a laugh. "Looks like there are some things I can't do." Meep walked up with a towel and handed to her. Ever since the incident with the police, he had been sticking by Beth's side like a magnet. The only time she ever seemed to have away from him was when she went to bed with Paul.
Suddenly, Dot shouted, "STOP! STOP IT! What is wrong with you all?!" After a moment of silence, she continued to rant. "Can't you see how much pain Jimmy's in? This is wrong! We shouldn't be acting a fool when we need to practice and work hard for the show today."
"Show?" Paul questioned.
"It's Halloween." Eve said.
"No freak performs on Halloween." Ethel said walking in from outside. "Any idiot knows that."
"That's not fair. They didn't know the old superstition." Jimmy said in the twins' defense.
"It's not a superstition." Ethel said back. "It's true."
"What is?" Bette asked.
"Why we don't perform on Halloween. On accounts of Edward Mordrake." Eve explained.
"Who?" The sweet twin asked.
"Edward Mordrake." Ethel said. "Aristocrat who lived in the middle of the eighteen hundreds. He was heired all kinds of titles. Could've been a duke or a lord or some shit if things had been different. Things are never different. An Englishman of noble birth, Edward was a young man with fine attainments. He was a scholar. He was a poet. Musician of rare ability."
"So what was wrong with him?" Dot asked.
"He had another face on the back of his head." The bearded lady explained. "Hideous as a devil. No one else could hear what it said, but it whispered to Edward incessantly Of things only spoken of in Hell. He tried to kill it. Many times in many ways. But it wouldn't die."
"So what happened to him?" Dot asked.
"He went mad." Ethel said. "His family had him committed to the crazy house at Bedlam. Truth be told, they were only too happy to have the family freak banished from sight. In the crazy house, he wrote poetry. Worked on an unfinished opera. Anything to keep his mind off the demon whisperings. But he never got any relief. It was telling him to do thing. Commanding him. He felt hopeless. That is, until Bethany Simon started working there."
"Who's that?" Beth asked curiously.
"She was a nurse. She saw how the patients were being treated and did everything she could to make it all right. But the day Edward laid eyes on her, the evil voice of the demon was silenced. She was the most beautiful woman he ever saw. He did all he could to show her that she cured his ailment. He wrote plays that Shakespeare would have envied. He wrote her a piece he played on the piano. He often referred to her as his Angel. He was in love with her."
"Did she know?" Bette asked.
"Yes. And she fell in love with the man who was kind to her and wrote the play and the music. She loved Edward fiercely. So much so that she wanted to help him escape. But one day, she ran the fingers of her left hand through his hair and the monster bit one of her fingers off, the ring finger to be exact. Her screams horrified Edward. Realizing that the demon would even hurt his Angel just to torment him, Edward escaped that very night. He left without telling Bethany."
"Did she ever see him again?" Beth asked.
"I heard she tried to search for him. But Lord knows what happened to her. Poor girl went missing years later." Ethel sad.
"What happened to Edward?" Dot asked.
"He ended up where we all do. At the freak show. They billed him as the Two Faced Prince. And he'd show off all the refined skills he'd learned as the scion of one of England's grand families. And then he'd take a bow."
"And he was happy?" Dot asked. "He'd found a home with others like himself."
"There was no one like Edward." Ethel said grimly. "But he wasn't happy. One Halloween night, Edward snapped. He murdered every freak in the troupe. And then he hung himself. Legend has it that even in death, the demon face was smiling."
"So, we don't perform on Halloween night out of respect?" Bette asked.
"Out of fear, darling." Paul corrected. "If any freak performs on Halloween, they summon the spirit of Edward Mordrake and his demon half-face."
"Once he appears, he never leaves alone. That whispering face will choose one more freak to take with him back to Hell." Ethel finished before taking a gulp of wine.
"What a bunch of bunk!" Jimmy exclaimed. "What are you tryin' to scare them for?"
"It's not bunk. It's true." Ethel countered. "I can swear to it. In '32, when I was with Barnum, they made us perform on Halloween. Well, something visited the circus grounds that night, 'cause the next morning, Clyde Hendershot, the astounding human cannonball, all three feet, four inches of him, was found hanging in his caravan. His head twisted clean around. His dead eyes staring backwards. A smile on his face. Just like Edward Mordrake's second face." She then lifted her glass back up to take another gulp but Jimmy was having none of it and slammed it on the table with a glare.
"Enough." He seethed.
Ethel just took the glass back and gulped the last bit of alcohol all the while staring at her son. When she put the glass back down, she stood and walked away. Jimmy followed and they proceeded to bicker back and forth. Beth paid no min to it and stepped a little closer to Paul. The air seemed to thicken with awkwardness after Ethel and Jimmy argued.
Later on, a car came by and dropped off a young blond girl. Beth didn't really know why a girl with no freakish quality would come by here. She carried a suitcase and a large purse. Jimmy led her to Elsa's tent, and when he came back, Beth came up and asked, "Who was that?"
"Fortune teller." Jimmy answered.
Beth started to chuckle. "Okay. All of us having something physical for people to gawk at, I can understand. But a fortune teller? C'mon, Jimmy. Don't tell me you don't smell something fishy here."
"She ain't no gypsy, but she seems like the real deal to me." He answered.
Beth let out a sigh. She knew there was no convincing Jimmy anything different when got a look at a pretty face. But she did start to feel bad for Dot. The girl was totally smitten with him and here he had his eyes on a girl who seemed totally normal. This would crush poor Dot. She decided to leave Jimmy to his thoughts on the girl and went to the costume tent. She already had plans for the night and no phony fortune teller would ruin them. She found a black burlesque outfit that she wanted to wear for Paul and surprise him with tonight. While he was out finishing his supper, she changed into the outfit and wrapped herself in a black silk robe. She was very happy.
Paul walked in and saw his lover sitting seductively on his couch. She gave him a sultry look that told him everything she planned to do to him. She then stood and walked up to him. "Tonight, I'm gonna make you scream my name." She whispered as she untied her robe. Letting the robe fall, she enjoyed seeing Paul speechless as he stared. But there hazed bliss was interrupted when someone knocked on their door. Paul turned to the door a bit annoyed while Beth was quick to robe herself. When Paul opened the door, Beth heard Eve outside say, "Elsa wants us on stage."
This confused Beth. "Why would Elsa want you guys on stage on Halloween?"
"I don't know, love. But I hope it's not the obvious answer." Paul said before kissing her cheek and leaving for the big top. Beth decided to change and go to the big top herself to see what was going on. As she neared the tent, she could hear music.
In the land of Gods and monsters
I was an angel
Living in the garden of evil
Screwed up, scared, doing anything that I needed
Shining like a fiery beacon
Beth entered the big top and stared at the stage and couldn't believe what she saw. Elsa had Eve, Paul and a few of the dwarves playing music while she sang.
You got that medicine I need
Fame, liquor, love, give it to me slowly
Put your hands on my waist, do it softly
Me and God, we don't get along so now I sing
The tattooed lady neared the stage slowly with a few tears falling from her eyes. As much as she loved listening to Elsa sing, she knew this was a bad omen for the troupe.
No one's gonna take my soul away
I'm living like Jim Morrison
Headed towards a messed up holiday
Motel sprees, sprees and I'm singing
'Oh yeah, give it to me this is heaven, what I truly want'
It's innocence lost
Innocence lost
She continued to cry, silently praying for Elsa to stop performing. But she soon noticed Elsa's gaze fixed behind her. Beth dared not turn around, afraid of what she would see.
When you talk it's like a movie and you're making me crazy
'Cause life imitates art
If I get a little prettier can I be your baby?
You tell me, "life isn't that hard"
Elsa looked back and forth between what she had her sight set on at the back of the tent and Beth. And she had this confused look on her face. But she never faltered from her song.
No one's gonna take my soul away
I'm living like Jim Morrison
Headed towards a messed up holiday
Motel sprees, sprees and I'm singing
'Oh yeah, give it to me this is heaven, what I truly want'
It's innocence lost
Innocence lost
Beth felt like someone was staring at her from behind. She was too scared to even attempt to turn around. That is until she heard what felt like a whisper behind her right ear: "My Angel." She quickly turned and saw nothing. Nothing but a thick fog flowing on the floor.
She quickly climbed the stares to the stage and went to Paul. "Can we go back to the trailer? I don't wanna be out here." She said nervously.
Paul quickly stood and followed his young lover back to his trailer, never noticing the angry glare from Elsa. As they entered the trailer, began to search for a wife beater to sleep in. Even Paul understood. After having been made to perform on the one holiday they knew to never perform on, even he just wanted to curl up on his couch and sleep till morning. Once they were both stripped down to just a shirt and their underwear, they curled up together on the couch and held each other close. "Can I do anything else to help, Beth?"
She let a few tears fall before answering, "Just hold me close and don't let go until morning. That way I know you're still with me." She answered as she pulled closer to her.