Cirque du Macabre (2)

An urban fantasy

Chapter 2: The show begins

It was Saturday night and the city crowd was thirsty for entertainment. The night clubs were booming with low-bass beats, lines of people waiting to enter, all dressed-to-impress. Odry pedaled through the crowded streets sobbing.

The blooming restaurant terraces full of costumers; the glasses clinking, people laughing, the smells of food both sweet and sour mixing together. Party limos rolling through the streets like giant caterpillars. All lights and sounds blurred past Odry’s teary eyes, just to get away faster, her escape stood ahead of her - the fair ground with the circus, flashing rows and rows of colorful lights, obnoxious party music, popcorn and cotton candy scents, all blended into a grotesque coctail of innocent, childish joy and intoxicating spectacle.

Odry pedaled through the streets like an alien, she did not belong among the flashing lights, the glitter and the party crowd. She was not an entertainer, and she did not yearn to be entertained.

The girl rode directly to the giant circus tent, dropped her bicycle and marched to enter the tent.

“Honey, you have to buy a ticket first!”

“What?! I don’t have any money!” Odry thought out loud. Her mouth was dry from the wild ride, she didn’t have a penny about her! People laughed at her, a whole crowd was waiting by the tent’s entrance to see the show.

The lady in the booth looked at her sympathetically.

“There’s still a half an hour until the show. Go, get the cash and come back! We don’t accept cards, cash only. The nearest ATM is by the mini market two blocks from here,” the kind lady pointed at the town the girl had just left behind. Odry nodded silently and turned to leave. She felt somewhat devastated; her chance to escape was destroyed by an obese, kindly-smiling woman in the tiny booth by the circus tent.

“Wait! This one is with us,” a familiar voice spoke to the cashier.

“I knew you’d be back, kid!”

Odry turned around - the wolf guy Mateo stood by the booth with a wide grin all over his face. He looked different, obviously getting ready to perform - there was silver and black glittering make-up around his eyes, he wore a slick, black-glittering costume, with a bare chest, which displayed his masculine torso openly. Odry blinked  - she had never seen a man wearing so much glitter. At least not within a few inches from her.

“Let’s not waste our f*cking time, after you, mademoiselle!” Mateo bowed and led her into the circus tent, with his hand around Odry’s shoulders. The crowd parted and stared at the two, murmuring.

The seats of the amphitheatre were slowly filling up with a popcorn-monching, selfie-taking, murmuring crowd. Odry had never been to the circus before - the tent was enormous, decorated with a swarm of light bulbs, fresh flowers, candles and shiny pedestals for the performers. All those electric lights; an alarming thought crossed her mind.

“Don’t sweat, we’ve Odry-proofed the f*cking generator. It should hold, as long as you don’t get too excited,” Mateo winked at her. The girl smiled back; he remembered her name.

Mateo glanced over the crowd and took a deep breath.

“She’s filling up good,” he noted, “it’ll be a full f*cking house tonight!”

He led Odry backstage. It was a completely different place this time. A whole pack of dancers were getting ready among the circus performers. Costumes, make-up, props - a chaotic mess of people stepping over each other, yelling, pushing. Odry felt dizzy from the whirlwind of colours and sights before her eyes. A light bulb flickered near her.

“Whoa, relax, kiddo! It’s normal, the usual rush. It’s all good!” Mateo noticed her excitement.

“Hey, she’s back!” Odry recognized Daffy only by her tiny voice. She looked truly magical - glittering green and yellow ornaments shone all over her body. It was hard to tell if that was a costume or body-art. The only real piece of clothing on her was a sheer cape on her back.

“What’s up, kid?!” Danny joined them - he had the voice of a tiny hoarse whisky drinker. His body also was painted with glitter, slightly darker than his sister, and he had the usual fuming cigarette in the corner of his mouth. Mat gave him a hateful stare, but said nothing. Odry was lost for words, in her slouchy T-shirt and baggy jeans she felt way out of place there.

“See you after the show, Odry!” Daffy waved as Mateo led the girl further and up the stairs.

“You’ll have the best seat in the house,”

They were high up above the amphitheatre, by the spotlights.

“Oh, no! Please, no! I’m afraid of heights!” Odry grabbed hold of Mateo’s hand.

“Are you f*cking serious?” he raised his thick silvery eyebrows, but still held her hand tightly. Odry nodded, a spotlight near her flickered.

“No sweat! Let’s get you back,”

She didn’t let go of Mateo’s hand until they entered the backstage again, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.

Daffy smirked at the sight of both holding hands.

“That was quick!”

“Pretty-eyes here ain’t thrilled about heights. She’ll stick closer to the ground tonight,” Mateo explained.

“Don’t give into his charms so quickly. Mat hates an easy prey,” Daffy leaned in and whispered into Odry’s ear. She smelled of hairspay and cigarettes. Bewildered, Odry frowned, but before she had the chance to answer, the lights in the amphitheatre went down low.

“Shush! Bastille’s on!” Mateo shouted at the crowd in the backstage room; the show was about to begin. He shoved Odry closer to the red curtains, open  in a gap to see the circus ring.

Odry imagined circus like she’d seen it in the cartoons or movies; a fat ring master with a funny moustache, dressed in a red, golden-tressed coat and a top hat. Loud, silly music, drumroll.

This was nothing like it. The lonely figure of Monsieur Bastille stood on a high black pedestal with a ray of a glittering blue spotlight illuminating him. Even standing alone in the vast empty space around him, Bastille appeared in control of the whole tent, the crowd was captivated by his low melodious voice resounding through the microphone, they followed every move of his hand. Odry was too overwhelmed after the events of the day, she couldn’t follow his speech, he spoke of elements, of fire and water, of darkness and the earth, of dance and of death as the only certain truth. He appeared both majestic and mysterious, he was a ring master and a magician without the top hat or a wand. Monsieur Bastille wore a smart, slightly glittering suite, no hat. When he spoke of fire, his palms casually displayed real blue burning flames, his every move was graceful. Odry was certain he had been a dancer once. The crowd froze in awe.

When he mentioned water, shiny crystal droplets ascended from his hands all around him. Slowly his performance was joined by music  - real orchestra played live, Odry hadn’t noticed them on the other side of the tent. Monsieur Bastille spoke of the darkness and monsters appearing in the light of the moon. The lights changed, the floor filled with artificial mist from the smoke machines, dancers seemed to jump right out of the mist.

“That’s my cue!” said Mat, and unexpectedly gave Odry a kiss on the cheek.

“For good luck!”and he dived into the artificial mist.

“Break a leg!” said Daffy.

“Or two!” Danny added grinning.

Odry wiped black and silver glitter off her cheek.

A game of lights, shadows, smoke and props created truly credible vision of a moonlit night. For a moment Odry forgot herself - she was somewhere else, transported to another space and time.

Mateo appeared from smoke standing on a dark pedestal. The spotlight loved him, displaying every muscle on his bare chest. Both magnificent and ghastly, he looked like a creature of the night - a dashing werewolf, his vicious sight searching for prey in the audience. The music intensified, Mateo jumped off the pedestal with a couple of somersaults and joined the band of aesthetic zombie-like dancers. The performance was both mesmerizing and grotesque, Mateo knew how to draw all eyes on him, the young performer had the skills of a gymnast. Suddenly the mood changed, a group of hooded dancers entered the ring with burning torches, they surrounded Mateo. All lights turned red, the group closed in on the wolf, they touched the ground - a burning ring of fire swirled around Mateo; the flames were high. The spotlights flickered; for a minute Odry looked around startled, but then she realized it wasn’t her fault, it was all a part of the performance. In the restless lights Mateo seemed to turn into a wolf, one minute it was him, the next - a large Predator. The public gasped, their phones flashed with a thousand pictures taken to share on social media the very next moment. Of course, the ones sitting closer to the backstage would have nothing to brag with - their phones had shut down from Odry’s nearness.

Mateo stood amidst the flames, he appeared frightened, but then the musical theme quickened, he ran into the fire, jumped, turned into a wolf in mid-air and landed on all four outside the burning ring. The people applauded and cheered. The wolf howled, but the dancers with torches kept coming at him, they touched the ground of the circus ring - the fire rose from it creating a labyrinth of flaming patterns. The Predator jumped, tumbled, rolled to get through the flames, the spotlights flickered - again in a flash it was Mateo, another flash, and the wolf turned up instead of him. The dancers moved gracefully among the flames. The Predator ran up a ramp onto the pedestal, the lights flashed once more - and it was a man again, standing in the light and breathing rapidly. The crowd cheered. Smoke and darkness rose around him. Another flash of the light and a wolf stood in his place. Then the animal dived into the smoke and disappeared. Bastille’s voice spoke again, it was a hypnotizing sound, Odry could listen to it all day. But unexpectedly, Mateo appeared near her from the smoke.

He was all sweaty, trying to catch his breath. He grabbed Odry on his way, squeezed her tight, the lights in the backstage flickered, he put her down quickly.

“You brought me good luck, kid! Was I good or was I good?! F*ck yeah!” Mateo exulted.

The twins ignored him. Both stood by the curtain, stretching their limbs, serious and focused, it was time for their performance. They sprung into the mist with a bunch of dancers, the lights had changed to green and yellow, the orchestra played a soothing theme, Monsieur Bastille spoke of the magical nature of the earth.

Mateo gulped water from a plastic bottle, then wiped the sweat off his face.

Odry stood staring at him, she was bewildered by the whole experience.

“Did you like it?” he asked with a childish innocence, looking at Odry’s reflection in the mirror, while he refreshed his make-up.

“It was amazing! How did you…?”

“Ah, you’ll find out soon. Let’s just say I’m a natural,” Mateo smiled in the mirror and Odry once again was suprised by his likeness to an actual wolf.

Meanwhile, the show went on, Odry peeked throught the curtains. It appeared like a classical circus act - the trapeze dancing. Both siblings stood balancing high above the ring. No safety net, no ropes, just the two of them dancing and doing acrobatics. A violin sounded a melodious tune, Odry’s heart sank - it was the vampire playing. He stood in the dim light of a lonely spotlight near the orchestra. Her and Tiff’s vampire.

Mateo had come from behind and put his arm around her shoulders; Odry nearly jumped up startled, a light bulb exploded in the backstage.

“It’s me, kid! You’re nervous as f*ck!”

Odry was about to shake his hand off; she hadn’t known him long enough to be so up-close-and-personal, but her attention was drawn to the act - both twins did a frightening trick; Danny balanced on one foot, he held Daffy with one hand, she stood up, both figures formed a single silhouette. Something was wrong. Danny’s hand trembled from the tension, he couldn’t hold Daffy, he lost his balance and Daffy fell. Odry shrieked, another light bulb exploded, Mateo squeezed her tight and gave a quick laugh.

“Relax kid, look!”

Daffy’s fall was suspiciously graceful and the music adjusted to it, she had nearly touched the ground, the public screamed, her back was turned to the viewers, then the thin vail came off and two large frail wings opened and fluttered like the wings of a dragonfly. They shone in the golden spotlight, tiny glitteting confetti fell from the ceiling; Daffy flew up, her transparent wings vibrated with a sparkle of green. The people cheered frantically. Danny dived down just as his sister flew up. He fell past her and did the same trick - transparent wings appeared under his cloak, he flew up. Both siblings did something resembling a dance in the air, with their beautiful wings fluttering rappidly, accompanied by the sonorous violin solo. The whole orchestra joined in, the siblings flew a few rounds above the amazed people, giving high-fives to children.

“Wow! It’s just… how?” Odry gasped.

“No big f*cking deal if you have wings,” Mateo grunted under his nose. Dancers ran backstage to change and the twins followed. The capes were on them once again, covering their backs.

“How did you…? How do you attach those wings, I mean… I haven’t seen anything like it!” Odry exclaimed.

“I bet you haven’t, kid!” Danny said grinning proudly.

“We’ll explain later,” Daffy took a water bottle.

“Nothin’ much to explain. A f*cking pixie, is a f*cking pixie!” Mateo seemed irked for some reason.

“Shut the f*ck up, bitch!” Danny retorted, he had once again lit a cigarette. Both boys jumped up ready for another fight.

“Not here! Not now, you idiots! You want Bastille to freak out like the last time?” Daffy yelled. The boys stopped, Odry noticed Mateo turn pale even under all the make-up.

“Just tell your f*cking idiot brother to stop smoking in here,” Mateo said with his back turned to the room.

The next performance had began. Odry didn’t even notice the weird girl Rouge leaving the backstage room, but there she was - in the circus ring, doing a truly strange, macabre dance. Her moves were abrupt and grotesque; she looked like a broken mechanical toy, stuck repeating the same moves over and over again. Odry shivered; she remembered Tiff tumbling down the stairs. What was Odry even doing here? Suddenly she realized how incredibly stupid she was - instead of making sure Tiff was alive and taken care of, Odry ran off to join the circus! She turned to leave.

“Where are you going, silly? The show isn’t over yet!” Mateo raised his voice.

“I left her there… I have to go back…”

“…there was no place in the world for her, they pointed their fingers at her and called her a witch….Poor soul  in search of escape from her fate…” Bastilles voice reached Odry’s ears, amplified by the microphone. She stopped; was Monsieur Bastille speaking to her?!

“Stay, Odry! Wait until the show is over. Bastille will probably want a word with you,” said Mateo.

Of course, it was just the part of the performance. Odry returned to look through the gap in the curtains. Mateo joined her, standing much closer than she would prefer.

The strange girl Rouge was standing by a large pole. The dancers swirled around it, tying Rouge to the pole with red ribbons. Props around her were made to look like firewood; it was a witches’ pyre. Odry’s eyes widened - she was overtaken by the terrifying sight; the dancers’ moves expressed ridicule, they pointed at the red-haired girl with their fingers. They took torches and touched the make-believe firewood setting it ablaze. The orchestra played a jarring theme, Rouge laughed insanely, with the flames rising higher and higher. Odry knew it was just a show, still she felt like the girl amidst the pyre. That would’ve been her fate some centuries ago. She was a freak, a witch and possibly, a murderer. Rouge’s laughter was amplified by the microphone, the public gasped in horror - the flames devoured Rouge’s red dress; her frail figure completely disappeared in the pyre. The lights changed from red to blue, the fire became a cloud of smoke. A pedestal slowly rose from the ashes - Rouge stood on it safe and sound. Her red dress had gone - she stood naked with red and black, glittering  body-art covering her skin. A lonely ray of spotlight illuminated her figure. Bastille’s  deep voice soothed the crowd.

“…and from the ashes we shall rise. The unwanted, the forgotten, the weirdos, the freaks. No fire can burn us, no water - drown us. We shall rise again as giants…”

The people cheered for Rouge. The lights changed; it was time for the next performance.

When Rouge entered the backstage she stopped staring into Odry’s eyes. The girl didn’t know what to say, the sight in Rouge’s bright blue eyes was eerily blank.

“That was very… umm….impressive. It really looked like you burned there,” Odry stuttered.

“I did,” Rouge replied. She walked past Odry, her wild, red hair had a distinct scent of smoke.

“Yeah, don’t mind her. She’s totally f*cked up. I mean, she’s brilliant, but she’s nuts!” Mateo gave a quick laugh.

The star of the next act was indeed a giant - Winnie walked through the circus ring and carried the whole world on his shoulders. Literally. An enormous construction fastened to his shoulders was made to look like a giant tree. The dancers, dressed as fantastic birds swung and danced on the branches. The lights flickered between the artificial leaves. The illusion was breath taking.

“We’re up next!” the twins joined the act, to Odry’s shock both once again flew into the air.

“It’s time for il finale!” Mateo also ran into the ring. Rouge followed.

The lights changed, now the tree was moving in the light of the moon. The body-art on the twins and dancers shone in the dark. Thousands of lights appeared in the tree like fireflies. Mateo ran up one of the pedestals. Rouge stood on another one. Monsieur Bastille appeared out of nowhere on the highest pedestal. Linden the vampire played a violin solo. The orchestra joined in.

“In the light of the moon our power shall be seen, we will dance for death and beauty, and the forgotten shall live forever…”

Mateo somehow became a wolf again, he howled to the fake moon, the twins flew up the music reached it’s climax and with it the tent sunk in darkness. The show was over. People applauded and cheered. Lonely rays of spotlight found the performers in the darkness. Bastille called them out by their stage names, they bowed to the wild crowd several times. Then the circus ring went dark again, the lights illuminated only the rows of viewers to help them find their way out.

Odry stared into the darkness. What the hell was all this? It had to be the weirdest day of her life; and she had seen plenty of  weird days.

Laughing and cheering voices approached her from the darkness. The performers and the dancers walked into backstage, with their arms around each other still exited by their success. Mateo wrapped his hand around Odry’s shoulders and pulled her along, deeper backstage.

“You’re part of the family now, kid!”

As much as she wished to push Mateo away, for a second Odry felt like a part of something greater. Something she was meant to be. Could this be the place she belonged, but hadn’t found it until now?