Circus, Part One

The light rainfall over the carnival grounds thinned the crowds, sending more of the people scattering for their cars. But not Monica and David. They were on their first date, and laughed as the rain fell around them. They ran underneath the canopy of a game booth, laughing as they brushed the water off themselves. The person manning the booth, a sallow skinned youth with a snake tattoo circling his bicep and a few too many piercings in his face, watched them both from his place leaning against the wall behind the counter, a slight scowl on his shaggy features.

“You all wanna try your luck?” The man asked, motioning to the six metal pines stacked upon each other in a pyramid. “A dollar for three throws. Knock ‘em all down and you get a free tickets to the haunted house ride in the park.”

Monica’s breath caught short at that, knowing how hard it was to get into that ride. Unlike all the other rides in the park, entrance into the haunted house was something you had to win from the games scattered around the carnival. A friend of hers said she’d gone through and couldn’t sleep that night from the things she saw, it was that scary. Monica turned and tugged on David’s coat, catching his attention.

“I really want us to go into the haunted house! Win tickets for us?” She pouted, causing the young brunette to melt in the palm of her hand.

The blonde bombshell was well aware of what her looks did to the opposite sex, and how well she could use her looks to take advantage of her string of boyfriends and dates. Many of them didn’t even feel taken advantage of, seeing as she let them have a free grope during the goodnight kiss.

David was yet another that couldn’t resist her charms. “Sure, I can knock down those pins, easy.”

The man behind the counter smiled as he took a five dollar bill from David, sliding fifteen little green tennis balls up onto the table for him to use. They were worn and stained, some with teeth marks from some animal having chewed on them. David picked one up and threw it almost casually at the stack of pins, pegging the bottom pin in the center, sending the pins flying about and making the worker look on in amazement.

“Hey, being the first string pitcher for the college baseball team makes you a dead eye for games like this,” David said as way of explanation. “Now two tickets for the haunted house please.”

“Two tickets for the young winner it is! Do you want to try and use any more throws for some of our fabulous prizes?”

“No thanks man, I already won her a little koala bear earlier tonight.” David said with a smile, motioning over to where the small plush toy was being hugged by Monica.

The carnival worker pulled two passes from his vest, each bearing a picture of a dark house with lightning crackling behind it. “You know where it is?” He asked.

“Yeah, back of the park right?” Monica interjected, smiling at the thought of going to the attraction.

“Yeah, back of the park… you can’t miss it.” The man said, smiling a smile full of yellow teeth. “You kids have fun, and be safe.”

“You too sir, thanks for letting us play!” Monica said as she dragged David back out into the drizzle, both of them dashing towards the back of the park, laughing.

The man moved to begin putting the pins back into place, shaking his head. “Hope you guys make it out alright. House hasn’t claimed anyone yet.”

-*-

The haunted house wasn’t visible from the entrance, a stand that sold a variety of small trinkets and gadgets, run by a bearded man wearing a colorful jacket and top hat. With pale skin and raccoon eyes, he looked spooky enough himself, especially with the way he would grin and cackle at nearly every sentence he said.

“Tickets please,” He said, holding out a hand ending in long fingers, with even longer nails.

David held up the two tickets, showing them to the strange man, who snatched the from David’s grasp, his sunken eyes going over the rectangular tickets carefully before looking up with a smile.

“Good enough… now, have either of you heard of our haunted house before?” He asked, smiling even wider as the two teens shook their heads. “I see. Well first you must sign a release to not hold us liable for injuries or disappearances.”

“Disappearances?” David repeated as he took the three page contract from the man, clicking the pen to where he could sign.

“We have genuine ghosts and ghouls within the confines of our house. I’d like to insure that we aren’t held responsible if you do something so foolish as antagonize them.” The creepy man replied. “They can be quite sensitive, you see.”

“Alright…” David said, sounding unsure as he signed his name in the three requisite spots.

“Now, will you be purchasing any items to appease the spirits, or draw them out while you visit our cursed plot of land?”

“Items?”

The man swept his hand over the glass counter, showing cubes of cooked meat and toys, chicken bones and rope, garlic strands and silver crosses. “It’s always a good idea to go prepared when entering a haunted locale. The tickets give you two a pair of flashlights to be able to look around in areas that are darker than normal.”

“It gets dark in there?” Monica asked a slight wavering tone to her voice.

The man nodded. “The first part of the house is a maze where we have the spirits of five clowns trapped all victims to a fire that happened some years ago. We know that toys tend to keep them from becoming too aggressive, though that only lasts so long. The best advice I have for anyone going through the attraction is to go through faster than the spirits can keep up.”
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