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Laurent looked over the old man’s shoulder and asked, “What is making all that cacophony outside?”
Mr. Grey’s eyes bored into Laurent with a visible anger that made Rex’s rage practically innocuous. “The rumor that you and your idiot brother have lost control of this circus completely! Thanks to your gross incompetence, there’s a full-fledged uprising happening outside. They’re already tearing down most of the tents.”
My heart swelled with pride. Jiang’s revolution was underway! The distant sounds and shouting grew closer to us and I couldn’t help the smile that took hold of my lips.
Rex cracked his knuckles. “Looks like I’ll have to deal with them.”
As he attempted to walk past Mr. Grey, the old man caught him on the chest. “Don’t bother... I’ve already made my decision about you.” His eyes traveled from Rex to Laurent and finally, to me. “Allof you.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded.
“You know exactly what,” Mr. Grey answered, even though I still had no idea.
“Now, see here, Mr. Grey,” Laurent objected, his expression growing more panicky as he raised his hands. “Let’s not do anything rash.”
“After what’s going on outside, you have the gall to even suggest I not do something rash?” Mr. Grey yelled. “Not to mention your abject failure to meet the season’s quota?” Then he shook his head as his jaw tightened. “I have been too lenient with you already.”
“You don’t speak for all of our investors,” Rex challenged.
“I do,” Mr. Grey said. “And we all concur in this decision.” He held up his pocket watch, which showed one minute before the next hour. “At the stroke of ten o’clock tonight,” he said, looking up at all three of us, “all the contracts of the entire troupe ofCirque du Noirare permanently and with prejudice herewith terminated.”
I noticed the hour on the pocket watch was nearly ten o’clock when...
***
Suddenly, without the slightest warning, everything was… different. One moment, I was standing in Laurent’s office with an angry mob fast approaching; and the next, I was outside on the grounds of the abandoned tents. Everything I saw around me was bereft of people, lights, or any signs that human beings were ever gathered here. It felt as if I’d been ripped out of my surroundings and then dropped in a barren landscape ofCirque Du Noir, minus all the people. I felt as though I were the last person on the face of the earth. But in the nefarious darkness, the looming presence of the circus itself still hovered over me, as if it were ready to crush me any moment. My panicky thoughts spurred me to make a run for it.
Dashing from tent to tent, I kept calling the names of Jiang, Vernice, Bernice, Laurent, and Rex as I fought to understand what in the world had just happened. I would have been glad to see anyone I knew. But the shadows concealed no people, they were just as empty as the pathways I traversed. Even the big top was nothing more than an ominous structure that seemed to be waiting for someone to put it out of its misery.
Despite how long my search remained fruitless, I persisted anyway. Surely, I couldn’t be the only one left atCirque du Noir.There had to be someone left who could explain what in the world had just happened. But after every empty tent I scoured, my glimmer of hope dimmed a little more.
I lost count of all the tents I inspected before finally falling on my knees as my despair drove all hope from my heart. I couldn’t weep because I had no tears left to shed. Instead, I clutched my sides and began rocking myself back and forth as I searched for a plausible, rational explanation. But there was nothing.
Hearing a set of footsteps in the distance, I looked up but didn’t move. I couldn’t see anyone and half wondered if the sound had just been a figment of my imagination. But when the steps continued, I had to smile as I rose to my feet once more. I didn’t care who might be coming closer. As long as another human being were here, it was enough. I ran as quickly as my legs could carry me towards the source of those steps.
Getting closer, I heard something that instantly slowed me down—a jingling noise that could only come from metal. I knew that sound, because I’d heard it before. My parched mouth got even drier when the figure suddenly revealed himself, stepping out from behind one of the tents until he stood right in front of me. Ned drew his gun and aimed it right at my head.
For several long seconds, all I could see was the barrel of Ned’s revolver as he cocked back the hammer. A shrill, hair-raising whinny rent the silence and Ned looked away from me momentarily. I had just enough time to duck around the nearest tent. The blast of a gunshot rang out a second later, and the bullet whizzed past my head. I kept running away while five more shots became audible, each one missing me by inches.
I had to find a place to hide, and none of these tents would do. Spotting the ebony caravan on the perimeter of the grounds, my heart raced with hope once more. I ran towards it, dodging in a zigzag manner to avoid being hit by one of Ned’s many bullets. But the next shot was close enough to crease the back of my neck. The caravan seemed so far in the distance. I knew I couldn’t outrun a bullet, so I darted around another tent.
I risked taking a peek behind my newest cover to be sure I wasn’t directly in Ned’s cross-hairs. The cowboy was hot on the pathway, his gun held loosely at his side. Coming directly towards the tent I was hiding behind, his eyes moved from side to side. I waited until he looked away to make a break for the next tent over. With a running dive, I managed to roll under the tent wall and get inside.
Crawling on my hands and knees, I vigorously scrambled towards the exit, my ears straining for the jingle of spurs close by. To my dismay, Ned was coming around the tent, heading straight for the entrance. Flattening myself out, I carefully slid under the tent wall. Once outside, I caught sight of Ned’s back before he reached the entrance. While he carefully inspected the tent without going inside, I prepared to run to the caravan ahead of me.
Quietly and carefully, I edged my way around the side of the tent until I heard the entrance flaps being pushed aside. With a silent prayer for help, I ran as fast as I could towards the ebony caravan. The tent flaps were violently yanked open once more, and a pair of gunshots followed. The first bullet struck the dirt ahead of me, but the second scored my right arm, making me cry out as I slapped my other hand over it.
I stopped crying quickly but the pained sound I’d just made continued, though it wasn’t coming from me. I looked back at Ned, who was just as puzzled as I was. But he swiftly forgot his confusion and aimed his gun at me. The cry was heard again, followed by the hard pounding of hoof beats. The pale horse nearly stomped on Ned when it appeared out from nowhere, as if having just ridden in on the air. Ned’s revolver was knocked away in the unexpected charge, and he cried out with pain. No pain for the horse, however, as it reared above Ned to prevent him from seizing his gun again.
I saw my opportunity and fled the scene, running as quickly as my legs would take me. Tearing off a strip of my costume, I wrapped it around my arm to staunch the bleeding. I had to trust my equine savior to delay Ned long enough for me to reach the caravan.
***
I was utterly exhausted by the time I reached the front entrance of the ebony caravan. It was hard to tell which body part hurt more, my lungs or my legs. At least, the bleeding on my arm had stopped, but the pain refused to leave.
I forgot about all that, however, when I saw something that I’d never seen on any of my previous visits to the caravan: the front door was wide open! The light inside was as bright as it was under the big top, except much more garish in sickly red and green hues.
For a moment, I hesitated and wondered if I dared to go inside. But the jingle-jangle of Ned’s spurs fast approaching was enough to make up my mind for me. Whatever awaited me inside the caravan could be dangerous, while Ned’s gun meant instantaneous death.
