Page 18 of Circus From Hell

A scream cuts him off.

“What was that?”

“It sounded like a woman.” He walks to the end of the alleyway, and I rush after him.

“Wait, Micha. Be careful.”

He makes the decision to turn right, and I’m hot on his heels, feeling like there are eyes on me under the shadows of night. When the screaming starts again, lasting a second before abruptly cutting off, I latch onto Micha’s arm like a protective lifeline. He looks down at me, eyebrow raised and smirk lifting, but I ignore him, focusing on my uneven breaths as we turn another corner.

The screams may have ceased, but there’s something else now, and Micha forces the both of us to a sharp stop as we turn a corner. The alleyway is nearly pitch black, but as I look down and my eyes start to adjust, I can see a moving silhouette. But it’s not that which scares me. It’s the noises.

Squelching. Snapping. Growling.

I’ve never heard noises so animalistic.

My feet are frozen on the spot, and I don’t have a clue as to what Micha and I should do here. Someone sounded in pain and scared, but that’s no human at the end of the alley.

Fear forces me to take a step back, slowly tugging Micha with me, but I stand on some sort of wrapper, and a loud crinkle fills the air. My whole body goes rigid; Micha’s does the same. The squelching and snapping and growling cuts off immediately.

Silence.

That’s worse.

Because that means we’ve been heard. And that thing knows we’re here.

“Do you see that?” Micha whispers, the noise muffled from barely moving his lips. At first, I can’t see anything, but when I narrow my eyes, I know exactly what he means.

Green. Distant and shadowed, but it’s growing slowly, closing in, the neon shine getting bigger.

And I’d remember that colour anywhere.

Oh shit.

Next comes the jingle of bells. Faint but memorable. Terrifying.

“Fuck this.” Micha quickly pulls out his phone, turning on the flashlight and shining it down the alley.

My heart drops to my feet.

There’s a dead body slumped against the wall, torn to pieces, with a face so marred it’s unrecognisable and shredded long dark hair. It’s a scene from a horror film. Blood and flesh litter the floor and walls.

And then there’s her.

On her hands and knees. Blood covers her face, dripping from her jagged bared teeth. Her black jumpsuit blends into the shadows, but her blue skin reflects with a shine.

Her nails scrape against the stone floor as she crawls forward, eyes focused on us with rapt, unwavering attention. A long, forked, pierced pink tongue creeps out her mouth, a hiss accompanying the jingles of bells as she stalks towards us.

There’s no warning before she darts forward at an inhumane speed. Micha grabs me by the shirt and drags me back as he turns to run, but I trip over the stone floor and land on my ass, eyes wide as I stare at the incoming threat.

“Arlo!” Micha’s scream fades to background noise as I scramble backwards, eyes never leaving her green ones. My back slams into a wall, and my heart bottoms out once again.

Trapped.

She keeps crawling forward, coming into the overhead light as she jumps forward to land directly in front of me, her knees at my feet.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.

The bells jingle again as she tilts her head to the side. She reaches a hand forward, placing it on my leg, using it to pull herself closer, slithering up my body.