You enter the circus tent, doesn't look all that different from any other. Bright and colorful. You notice something in the corner as you approach something that feels weird. You checked the corner, and you found nothing. You check again, nothing. You check again, nothing. Again, nothing. Again, nothing. Again, again, again, again, again- "for sure, without fail, certainly, something wonderful wil̸̜̟͕̘̙̯͕̥̩̓̓̇͆̔̐́͝l̸̲̱̬̞͈̜͚̻̳̘̖̻̓̊͊̏̕ happens. Believe me, this i͔̠̖̠̱̟̦͍̿̐ͩͦ́ś̜͙̗̖̜̘͝ ̱̲͓̹̾̄̄̀ẉ̳ͧ͛́ͨ͟ó̡͙͓̦̫̖͙̻ṟ̷̯̊͒ͬt̞̖̰͚̯͐̃̍̐̀h̓̆͏̗͖͚͍̫̺̣̝ a lot more than you paid f̙͈̲̆̚͜o̵̬̺͇̱̾ȓ̼̮̻̫͔̅͟. that's i;̷̢̢͕̗̱̘͕̮̝̪̥̭͂̽̊͑̊̇̆͒͑̓͋͛̓͋'̴͔̥̌͋;̸͙̽͋̇̽'̷̡̹͎̍̊͝;̸̣̞͈̖͈͙̮͖̰̫̺͚̂̄͌̍̉̒̓͊̋͆̽̓ͅ'̴̦̤̙͔͓̰̲̟̻̖̳̤̤̄́̌̕̕:̸̡̨̓̎̒̄͒̓̆͆͋̾̀͌͘"̶̡̏̈́͂̀̏̿̈́̓͒̈́̑̔͝͠:̸̛̤̦̣̖̐"̷̨̧͍̯͉̭̪͔͕͉͖̈́͂̐͋̽̍̉́̄͐̔;̵̥̘̣̠͙̩̓͋̈̂̎̑̊̍̓̇̓̈́̓̚͘'̴̡̢̜̪̙̮̝̗͇͍͎͔̻̩͖͐̾͊;̸̡̥͠ -- Anon Guest
The carnival was fun. Everyone agreed. The circus tent and its colourful satellite attractions were awesome. The problem was... nobody could remember a single thing that happened inside any of the tents. They spent their money. They went in... and then they were walking away with happy hearts, some fatigue, and no memory of what occurred within.
It was so very good. Everyone agreed. Well worth the ticket price. Everyone said so. They were primed for a good sleep and then they'd go again tomorrow. And again tomorrow. And again tomorrow. And again...
Everyone said it was great in there, except for Aena, who was always weird. They were the one who always announced when the things everyone liked were 'problematic' and spoiled people's fun by pointing out sexism, racism, exclusionism, ableism... the list went on. People rarely expected much joy out of Aena. They liked very strange things.
She did not like the circus. She said it was ugly. She said it was "eating the life around it", whatever that meant. Aena said the weirdest stuff, sometimes. Make that all the time. She's even started telling us about people who never existed. It's really strange. We'd lock her up, but we're all going to the circus tomorrow. Everyone's tired after all the fun they have in the circus. Too tired to do anything else but dream.
We're happy to go to the circus. It's such fun. All the bright colours and exciting things in there are worth everything. Every cent we have to spare. Every thing we own. Every milliliter of our bl... What was I talking about? It's worth it. It's worth everything.
It's worth the walk, even though it's getting harder and harder to walk all the way to the circus. If I gave them my house, I could live there with them. It's not like there's much in it any more. All I'm left with are the one set of clothes I wear and the one mattress I sleep on. They say I'm ready to be a part of their circus. I'm so excited.
Tomorrow...
Tomorrow I will go.
Tomorrow I will stay.
Tomorrow I will be a part of the circus.
That's what I believed as my head sank into the bare mattress as the sun went down. In the middle of the night, I was woken by a huge explosion and the light of a distant fire. Then I woke up again as I realised...
I was filthy. I hadn't bathed in weeks. I had barely eaten in more than that time. I had been wearing the same set of clothes, day and night, for over a month. I had given away everything I had. I was covered in sores. Scars. Marks from the things that had...
Even now, the thoughts skittered away from being made solid. It came in patches. Glimpses. Smells and sensations.
They had tickled as they bored into my skin with the mouths on their tentacles...
The screams of those who only Aena had remembered.
They giggled as they told me to forget everything about the people they were finally devouring...
The actual taste of what I had thought at the time to be corn dogs and spun sugar.
They had told me that they couldn't let anything go to waste as they fed me that foul effluvium by the spoonful...
The grinding noise as they turned the stripped bones and teeth into fuel for their horrible engine of illusions.
Open your mouth and close your eyes, and I'll give you a good surprise...
I pulled myself out into the street. Wounded. Bleeding. Aching all over and sick inside as I remembered.
Aena had been right. More than half my neighbours were gone. I had lost a dangerous amount of weight. I had lost half my teeth.
A monstrous creature with a permanent rictus capered miserably down the street, and its head exploded as a shot rang out from the rooftops. Aena shinned down a drainpipe and busied herself, cutting something out of the remains so another figure in full Hazmat could incinerate whatever it was.
They held the flamethrower on it so long that the bitumen underneath bubbled and turned into a small slick.
Aena noticed me. "Oh good. You're awake. The good news is that you're immune to the Carnivorous Carnivals now. The bad news is that you're in no shape to take anything on. A team will be along shortly to help you.
Tears as another memory made an impact on my heart. "I let them eat my daughter. I let them eat Lindsay."
"They'd have been eating you next," said Aena. "There's some who are naturally immune, but they still need waking up. I had to get a team together before I could act. This one was a Queenmaker colony. Tough to eliminate. Here's your cleanup team. It's going to get better, I promise."
As the song said, it can't get no worse.
Kind people in hazmat suits took me away from the scene of the crime. Placed me gently on a stretcher and wheeled me away from the wreckage of the little village that had almost been eaten off the map. Fluids and a sponge bath and clean scrubs made the world a little more tolerable. Antibiotics meant that the sores would heal in time.
There were very few people left. According to the experts teaching us about the Carnivals, the one they were still eradicating was about ready to take on a full town. Five towns later, and it could threaten an entire city.
I'm immune to them now. They're teaching me how to fight. The strategies they use to hunt them. They're asking me to fight with them.
Of course I will.
For Lindsay.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / nito]
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