Circus Summer (Circus of Curiosities Book 1) (19 page)

            Dr. Dex nods to Zachary and me. “Tonight’s performance really sparked an interest in them. Something about it caught their eye. They’re so used to seeing brutality and recruits killing one another, seeing the two of you caring about each other seems to have made them a lot more interested than they would be. It’s like, because they’ll never have those emotions themselves, they want to see more of it.”

“Good,” Mr. Niles says. “That means, Dex, that my son and Leela will both have to survive.”

It sounds like an order, but Dr. Dex shakes his head. “I’m not fixing it so that they will,” Dex says. “That would be too obvious. The Circus of Curiosities only works if I find the very best to head out to play their game at the Center.” 

            Mrs. Tattenbaum chimes in. “Dex is right. The winners must be worth their places at the Center, and the only way to ensure that is to go through with the tests, um, performances.”

            “Even if it places our children at risk?” Mr. Niles asks.

            “They’re all somebody’s children,” Dr. Dex says. “All of them. But for what we can achieve…”

            There’s another knock at the door…a knock that quiets the room instantly.  I have a feeling it’s not the server this time, and my stomach fills with a slight fear. What would happen to everyone in this group if the Invaders finds out about them? From everything I’ve heard, the Invaders are brutal, merciless, smart, and conniving. They will get a thrill torturing us.

Before Mrs. Niles could reach the door, Dr. Dex cuts in front of Mrs. Niles, opening the door a fraction. “Yes, what is it? You aren’t supposed to be here.”

            I recognize the voice of the woman who answers, because I’ve heard her before, speaking out in the darkness of the tents around the circus.

            “I can go where I like. Don’t forget your place.”

            “No, of course not. Even so, I didn’t expect to see you here, at a child’s graduation party.”

            “I was… interested. I wanted to see more. To understand. Not all of us feel the same, but I feel that if we study them enough, we might understand these strange behaviors of theirs. Now, do you have a report for me?”

            “Of course.” Dr. Dex steps outside, not even looking back at us. He shuts the door behind him and I find myself wondering not for the first time that evening, just whose side he’s on. He’s hinted at so much this evening, about wanting to get into the Center, about wanting to get close to the Invaders, about working against them, but he hasn’t said anything about his actual
plan
.

            And he hasn’t said anything about my mother either. I turn to Zachary then in the group, and he walks over to me, taking my hand. Thomas looks angry and frustrated, but he doesn’t come over to me.  He walks up to his mother instead.  “What’s going on? Why are we here?”

            Mrs. Tattenbaum puts a hand on Thomas’ shoulder and said. “I finally can tell you, Thomas, now that the Circus of Curiosities has reached us, and you’re old enough to know.”

            Thomas looks at me then. “Does Leela know what’s going on, too, or is it just me?”

            Zachary speaks then. “I just told her. She never knew.”

            “Who was that at the door, and why is the Circus’ ringmaster here?” Thomas asks. 

            All the adults exchange uncomfortable glances then.

            An awkward silence fills the room.

            Finally, Frank, my boss, the owner of Cliff View Restaurant, answers. “That was one of the Invaders, Thomas…who has taken over the body of someone who works at The Center, assuming their identity. We think the Invaders have slowly integrated into The United by assuming the identities of the most powerful people at The Center. There are some Invaders out in small towns like ours, but for the most part, they are power-hungry beings so they concentrate in areas where they can achieve the most power.”

            Thomas looks confused then. “Are you saying The United is run by our enemies, The Invaders, whom we’ve been fighting this long war against?”

            Frank continues. “That’s what we believe.”

            Thomas is scratching his head. “So the Invaders are not humans. They assume human shape, though, to function in our society?”

            “They’re not from this planet, Thomas.  That’s why they’re the Invaders. And you’re right. They’re not human.”

            “So that’s how we know who is human and who isn’t,” I say. “They can’t feel human emotions. Like they’re numb.”

            “Which is why they find entertainment in seeing people perform brutal acts. They understand death and destruction.  It’s what moves them to feel,” Mrs. Niles said.

            “So that’s how the Circus of Curiosities fits in,” Zachary said, more to himself. “Dex Hightower is using it to infiltrate into the Invaders’ Center.”

            “Perhaps,” Frank says. “We don’t know what his plans are for sure. He was going to explain it tonight, but that Invader showed up. Guess we will have to wait for another opportunity to find out.” Frank looks over at me then. “Now let’s not worry about that. Let’s let Leela, Zachary, and Thomas enjoy themselves tonight. Tomorrow’s another day of performances.  Tonight, is a day of celebration for Zachary and Thomas’ graduation, and for Leela and Zachary making it into the final performances.”

            With that, the meeting is over, and everyone heads up the stairs to the main rooms.  The music is blasting, and Zachary’s friends seem to be enjoying the large spread of food at the dining room table.  The adults head out to the patio area, and I’m alone with Zachary and Thomas, who is standing awkwardly next to me. Thomas’ face is still in disbelief, and I can understand how he’s feeling right now because at this moment, I’m feeling the same way.  Life as we’ve known it since we were children, will never be the same again.

Chapter 22

W
e lose more people over the next few days at the Circus. The performances consisted of working with wild animals, riding horses, trying to control beasts the way Carlita Montalban does. Somehow, we come through that without serious injury. Maybe that’s why we’re less careful the next day when there’s another bout of knife throwing as the main performance. It’s the same as it was when we practiced, hitting brightly colored target balloons and pieces of fruit balanced on each other’s heads or held in our mouths.

            I’m paired with Zachary for that, the way I was in practice. I’m so grateful for that, especially when he has to pluck an apple off my head with a knife at the same moment I take one from his. There is only a small change from what we did while we were training, but the change makes a huge difference in the difficulty, because now the target is moving as Zachary winds up to take his throw at me. I hold my breath and close my eyes.

            This is something we haven’t practiced, and I’m nervous for Zachary, and scared for me.

            I can see and feel Zachary concentrating as he aim and throws the knife. It hits the balloon sticking out of my mouth, and the crowd erupts into applause. We make it. I’m so relieved in that moment that I rush over to kiss him. As with the trapeze, the crowd seems to like that almost as much as the rest of the act. I guess we’re doing what Dr. Dex wants, too, though I’m still not sure if we should be. He hasn’t talked to us about his plans since we were in the basement of Zachary’s house.

            Not everyone is as lucky as us. The small, quick girl from school, Ginny, is partnered with a boy from out of town, and while that boy makes his throw, Ginny’s is off. Not by much, but it doesn’t need to be off by much to hit the eye. With the force we’re throwing knives, the boy is dead before he hits the ground. Ginny stands there, her hands over her mouth, looking so shocked. I have to look away, but when I do, I catch a glimpse of the people from the Center, the Invaders, and I can see the glint of enjoyment in their faces as they watch. It sickens me to the stomach, and I realize how much I hate these Invaders. The more performers die or are seriously injured, the more determined I am to reach the Center and to help the rebel group with their mission to expose the Invaders. 

            There are five of us now. Five of us, and just a couple of days of performances to go. I find myself thinking about that at school, at home, on my way to the tent. Zachary’s there waiting for me outside it. The moment he sees me, I know he can see how tense I am too, because he pulls me close, his hands drifting up to the knots of tension in my shoulders.

            “Relax. I need you to relax, Leela.”

            “That’s easier said than done,” I say. I look at him intently. “Have you
seen
anything for tonight? What are they going to make us do? Who’s going to die this time?”

            Zachary steps back, holding me at arm’s length. He looks so worried in that moment. “Leela, you’re too wound up. You have to relax or it could be the death of us.”

            “What?” I ask, my tension spiking with that. “What did you see?”

            Zachary looks grim. “We’re all going out of the circus today onto the beach. They have bleachers and stands set up on the cliffs so the circus goers can watch from there.”

            “The beach?” This is the first time I’ve been involved in something outside the big top, but I can’t help thinking back to the task Dr. Dex set one of the groups that wasn’t doing so well.

            “We’re going to be diving into the water and searching for something in the deep.” Zachary looks almost as worried as I am now. “It’s a dangerous spot. There are sharks.”

            I swallow at that thought. I’ve dived for oysters in the waters around Sea Cliff plenty of times. I should feel confident, but I also know that there are spots where it’s better not to dive. In the deeper water, it isn’t safe. It isn’t even
close
to safe. Even by the standards of the previous performances, this is dangerous.

            And I know why. “Today’s the last performance before they pick a champion in tomorrow’s performance,” I say. “There are five of us left. They plan on eliminating more than one today.”

            Zachary holds me tightly again. “This is the real test. The stuff in the circus; that’s just us. We can control it. We can make sure we don’t hurt each other. Out there in the ocean, it’s up to chance. I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you out there.”

He looks at me so intensely then, but I shake my head.

            “I don’t need your protection. I’m just as capable as anyone. Maybe more than you for this. Remember, I dove every day before this.”

            “I know,” Zachary says. He touches my chin gently, lifting it so that I’m looking into his eyes. “But I can’t help worrying about you, Leela. I tried to fight it at first, but you know I’ve fallen in love with you.” He kisses me then, tenderly. Almost sweetly. “If anything happens to you…”

            “I know.” I reach up to touch his face too, kissing him back for a moment. “But both of us have to continue.”

            “Maybe if I can convince the others to pull out, we don’t have to go through this,” Zachary suggests.

            I shake my head, looking over to the entrance, where Banford, Ellis and Ginny are all stepping out into the open air. They’re wearing swimsuits. “I think it might be a little late for that.”

            Dr. Dex follows them out, walking over to us. “There you are. I thought for a moment that you weren’t going to join in our newest performance. There are swimsuits waiting for you in the dressing rooms.”

            That’s what he says aloud. In my mind, other words come through.

            “You will be facing a dive today, and it will not just be sharks in the water, but mutants. The mutants will not harm you if you hold still. It is the fear and panic of their prey they crave.”

            As we head inside to get changed, it occurs to me that Dr. Dex has never helped us like this before. He’s never warned us about what might be coming. That surely isn’t a good sign about how dangerous this is. I’m still thinking about that when I look up to see a couple of the figures from the Center sitting in the stands around the big top, just watching us.

            More of Dr. Dex’s thoughts come into my mind. “They enjoy the dive the most, because there is the most potential for carnage and fear. Human pain and suffering is one thing that they can feel, and those only when other people around them are feeling them. I think they experience them as pleasure. It’s one reason why they insist on the Circus of Curiosities being what it is.”

            I look over at them. There’s a man and a woman, presumably the same two who have been around us so much. It’s a good thing they can’t pick up anything other than those emotions, because otherwise they would feel how much I hate them in that moment.

            “I’m sorry,” Dr. Dex says in my mind. “This is necessary to free us. Now, you must get ready. Remember your knife. You’ll need it for the sharks.”

            I go into the dressing room and change into the small swimsuit the circus has provided. It’s an ivory white bikini, trimmed with small shells. There’s a belt with a knife sheathed on it too. I strap it around my waist. I step out of the dressing room to see Zachary coming out too. He’s dressed in swimming shorts the same color as my costume. I think we both spend more than a few seconds staring at one another before looking away embarrassed and realizing that we have to go.