Page 23 of Circus From Hell

“Sssstay quiet,” she whispers, her tongue rattling and her hands coming up to cover our mouths. She’s pressed up as close as she can get, her chest against our shoulders. “Calm down. Ssslow down your hearts. Or I’ll eat you.”

The reminder of what we saw in the alley does the opposite of calm Arlo down. His broken whimper behind her palm is nothing short of terrified.

Her eyes glow brighter as she looks at Arlo, her tongue sneaking out and drool leaking from her mouth.

“Come out, come out, dead girl,” the booming voice calls, making my heart lurch. She snaps her head to look at me. She looks like she did in the alley. Feral. Hungry.

Oh fuck.

Arlo doesn’t stand a chance of controlling his fear, and she looks about two seconds away from eating us despite the fact she didn’t seem to truly want to before.

It seems like it’s up to me to sort the shit, as per.

I take a huge gamble and grip her wrist. She hisses, jerking her hand away.

“His dick saved him last time, huh?” I whisper, repeating what Arlo told me she said to him. I reach my other hand down to feel him, finding his stomach and descending until I reach his cock. “If you promise not to eat us, I’ll let you suck his cock.”

Arlo whimpers again, thrashing his head from side to side, but the offer hits its mark, and her stitched smile pulls wider. “Sssuck it?”

“Yes, suck it. Not bite. Not eat. Suck.”

Arlo shakes his head enough for her to remove her hand. “What the fu— No way! Her teeth, Micha.”

“But you’d let her suck your cock if she didn’t have those teeth, right?”

She looks at him expectantly, and Arlo flicks his eyes between us numerous times. “Well, I-I don’t— Fuck, Micha, you know I would, but⁠—”

“Perfect. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

The way she turns to me has got to be the creepiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. Slowly, so slowly I can’t even tell at first, she twists her neck, blinking like I’ve asked an impossible question.

“Come out, Karma! I know you’re in here!”

I peek through the stalls, seeing a clown in a black and white jumpsuit circling the show ring. My stomach plummets.

I detest clowns.

My instinctual fear makes my hands shake. Unwanted memories I forced deep into the depths of my mind replay like my own cursed movie.

Control your fear. For Arlo’s sake.

When the clown shouts again, I stare at my little stepbrother to remind myself of how far I’ve come. I’m not that little boy anymore.

“Karma? Now!”

Karma grinds her teeth, the noise of them clicking together making me cringe. She doesn’t like this guy.

“Karma?” I whisper, snatching her attention. “He’ll see your eyes. Keep them on Arlo.” She doesn’t answer, but she turns to face him, giving the cracks in the benches and the wandering clown her back.

I don’t think she knows she’s leaning into Arlo, her mouth slowly parting to reveal her teeth like she’s about to eat him.

I take another huge gamble.

Grabbing her chin, I shove her jaw closed. “I told you to suck his cock, Karma. Not eat him.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

KARMA