III

Rayne makes a disturbing discovery and the plague doctor is unmasked.

For the next hour Rayne was pulled around to various vendors advertising and selling their wares.  Ari was particularly interested in a booth run by a rather busty dominatrix who was selling a variety of items from sex toys to edible body paint.  As she browsed Rayne glanced around the carnival, turning back to see the vendor eyeing his every move.  She was beautifully built, her sharp jaw accentuated by her makeup.  Her lips were painted black, and her eyeliner brought the edges of her eyes into sharp, cat-like points.  The leather one piece bodice she wore barely covered her intimate areas as it pulled her midsection in tight, giving her torso the shape of a ‘V’.

“Why the long face, Sugar?” She said.  Her voice was deep yet elegant.  Rayne’s eyes widened a little, and he choked on his words as he stuttered.

“O-oh, it’s nothing.  I’m fine, thanks.”  Ari appeared beside him and grabbed his arm, smiling at the vendor as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“We may have to come back later, the show is about to start!”  She pulled at Rayne’s arm as the dominatrix nodded, winking at him as they stumbled quickly towards the large central tent, where a crowd pulsed at the entrance.  “This is so exciting.”  Ari said, her voice quivering with anticipation.  They finally passed the opening as the crowd slowly sifted through; a heavy earthy smell assailed his nose.  The inside of the structure seemed much larger than what the outer view suggested; rows upon rows of seats rising upward, alive and throbbing with excited bodies, writhing against the black velvet backdrop.  Their voices congealed into a steady drone; hypnotic, yet unsettling.  As Ari scouted for the perfect seat Rayne walked behind her slowly, noting the large wooden stage, gray with age and wear as if the carnival had been in business for years.  At its center was a large mahogany chair, the back stretching upwards to a ridiculous height, the image of a smiling jester carved into the top.  Ari serendipitously found a seat on the second row directly facing the center of the stage and quickly ushered him to it, plopping down onto the wooden seat with an expression of triumph.  Her eyes glittered with wonder as she took in the scene.  The lights that illuminated the inside of the tent began to slowly dim, the crowd hushing slowly as they watched their view fade into darkness. 

A loud sound, like the mixture of a grungy guitar and a siren, pierced the darkness.  A few people screamed; Rayne only tensed.  Murmurs flowed over the crowd as a flickering glow grew against the curtains on either side of where the large chair sat.  Emerging from the darkness on either side were two women wearing nothing but a metal fan on their backs, pointed tips aflame, attached at their waste.  The fans stretched outward and high above their heads, shaking with their steps.  A couple of men from the crowd cat-called as the women slowly tread towards the chair, their faces frozen in a solemn expression like stone; the shadows beneath their eyes were harsh beneath the light of the flames.  Their movements were elegant and incorporeal, like spirits gliding above the stage; and, as they turned, their bodies folded at their waste in a bow causing their breasts to fall like soft stalactites and shake with their controlled breaths.  The loud sound echoed through the tent once more; however, the crowd remained silent, transfixed on the women before them.  Rayne’s eyes darted across the stage looking for someone else to enter.  There was movement to the left and a flowing darkness that stood out against the slightly illuminated curtains.  A glint of the flame against dark glass flashed as the flowing darkness moved towards the center stage.  His heart fell into the pit of his stomach as the half illuminated form of a plague doctor stood between the women and before the mahogany throne.  The crowd murmured once more as one of the women reached beneath the chair and pulled out a black megaphone, which she gave to the dark figure before returning to her bow.  It raised the black cylinder to what would be its mouth as the lights began to slowly fade back into existence.

“Welcome,” the voice was the b*****d child of a gurgle and a growl, an obvious attempt at masking their actual voice “to the Carnival Macabre!”  The crowd cheered.  Ari clapped, nudging Rayne whose face was set into a focused, alert state.  “My friends, I see that we have a lot of normal people here tonight.”  The crowd booed.  “Perhaps they wished to grab a taste of something they would never have a chance to taste otherwise!”  The crowd roared in approval.  “A taste so addicting, it leaves you wanting more…like the first taste of blood to a killer.”  The crowd calmed a little as the speaker looked around.  “But I see some…” Although the black glass of the eye holes that set deep within the dark gray mask made it impossible to determine where the speaker cast their gaze, Rayne knew and felt that the gaze lay on him and Ari. “I see some who have already tasted the blood, who have seen the darkness…those who live the darkness.”  Rayne shifted in his seat.  “But tonight, everyone lives the darkness that is carnival macabre.”  Arabian music began to play as the masked figure turned and took its seat on the throne, the women who opened the show removing the fans from their waste in a hypnotic dance.  The show stretched on for an hour, featuring fire dancers, sword eaters, snake charmers, and freak shows.  At the end, as the crowd slithered out to enjoy the rest of the carnival, Rayne and Ari walked arm in arm out into the middle of the midway. 

“Let’s see what we can get into.”  Ari pulled the brochure from earlier out of her back pocket and unfolded it.  “There’s a Hall of Oddities just around the bend over there.” She pointed past the main tent where the midway curved off to the left forming another row of tents, games, and attractions.  Rayne offered a small smile and bumped Ari with his hip.

“That sounds like it would be fun.”  Ari’s eyes glistened with hope that maybe finally, he could only assume, that her husband was actually lightening up and getting into it.  Rayne knew how to put on a clever ruse.  Ari, in her excitement, took it to be genuine and grabbed his hand as she briskly walked towards the other end of the carnival.  The line for the Hall of Oddities wasn’t very long, presumably because everyone was riding some of the staple carnival rides that were littered around the grounds and the fact that you can walk through at your own pace.  The attraction was set up in a similar tent as the rest of the carnival; however the tent was long and curved at several different places before coming to an end a good football field’s length away.  The inside was illuminated by black lights, and Ari’s white bodice glowed like a beacon as she entered.  Scattered throughout it were displays guarded by black velvet ropes, fluorescent lights illuminating them and the gold placard that explained the no doubt manufactured origin of these grand and atrocious oddities; however, one thing seemed out of place.  At every station, directly beneath the posts each placard was on, was a censer with an earthy, aromatic billow of smoke escaping the wire topped container.

“What’s up with all the incense?” Rayne was suspicious as he stepped to Ari’s side who had already bolted to the first of the oddities.

“Atmosphere?” Ari shrugged as she leaned forward to read the placard.  “These mermaids were captured off the coast of Cancun, Mexico in 1976 on an offshore expedition by S.E. Dellinger and crew.”  Rayne was observing the display as she read, impressed at the artist who very accurately molded the male and female upper-bodies and faded them into the tail of a dolphin.  The eyes were white with death which he felt was a good touch for the type of carnival this was.  Ari looked up and examined the display before scrunching her nose.  “Kinda gross looking” she mused.  “I like it!”

Display after disturbing display of well crafted humanoid monsters met them as they traveled deeper into the tent; the Mothman of Azerbaijan, the Gemini Twins, and even the Spider-woman of Borneo.

“I’ve never heard of any of these” Rayne whispered into Ari’s ear.

“Well, that’s the point isn’t it?” she questioned.  “It can’t be special if everyone has heard of it.”  Ari turned to look at another display.  She was right; he was so immersed in his unfounded fear that his reasoning skills suffered greatly.  As Ari eyed a shrunken head with three eyes, Rayne moved over to a parallel display.  The smoke from the censer beneath it had waned, and only a faint smell of it remained.

“The Satyr of Yellowstone” he whispered to himself.  “Found dead in the forest of Yellowstone National Park in 2009.”  Three years ago, this half goat, half man was allegedly discovered with no news coverage or reports across any of the conspiracy websites.  “This is such a load of bullsh-” the rancid smell of rotting flesh drifting into his nostrils stopped him dead in his speech.  He turned his gaze back to the display, examining it with great detail; from the ear of the satyr fell a maggot, which writhed as it hit the soft ground below.  His eyes widened and before he could calm himself down he turned, grabbing Ari’s wrist and quickly making way to the exit.

“Rayne” Ari bellowed as she struggled against his pull.  “What the hell are you doing?”

“We need to leave” his breathing was heavy.  “Now.”  As they entered the midway, Ari forcefully pulled away from him, her eyes dark with anger. 

“What the f**k is your problem?” she forced the words through her clenched teeth.

“I got a whiff of something dead, Ari” he said, pointing towards the tent.  “It came from that Satyr display in there.  The incense thing, it was barely smoking…I think it being used to cover something up.  There were maggots falling out of its ear”

“All of that for a damned worm?  You’ve gone completely mental.”

“I want to leave.” His voice dripped with apprehension.  Ari huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

“You’re really bothered by this whole thing aren’t you?”  Rayne nodded weakly.

“I honestly think that something weird is going on here” he began.  “Call me crazy but I think that those things in there aren’t just wax figures.  They’re too immaculately detailed, too real.  That undeniable smell of death in there makes me think that…”

“It makes you think what, Rayne?” she interrupted.  “It makes you think that those statues in there are made from real people?”  He looked at her, his eyes pleading at first but falling in defeat.  When she said it out loud he realized just how crazy everything sounded.  Tears welled up in his eyes now, his apprehension breaking down into sadness.  He saw by the look on Ari’s face that her night was on the verge of being ruined, and it pained him to know that he was the cause of it all.  Ari noticed a single tear fall down his cheek, mingling into his beard.  Her anger turned to sympathy then, and as she placed her hand on his cheek she kissed his forehead and pulled his head to her bosom. 

“Sweetheart, don’t cry please.”  She lifted his head and looked deep into his amber eyes.  “Let’s just go take a look through the vendors again.  Maybe buy a few things?  I saw a nice pair of handcuffs with that dominatrix lady.”  She winked and bumped him with her hip.  He let out a small laugh and scratched the back of his head.

“How about we grab something to eat first?”  Ari nodded with a smile and they walked towards the area of the grounds where the food vendors, rides, and games lay scattered haphazardly.  The two of them eyed the menu of one of the food vendors, and made their choices; Ari ordered a corn dog, Rayne a slice of pizza and one drink for them both to share.  Rayne pulled out his wallet and prepared to pull out money but before he could, a gloved hand fell firmly onto the window sill of the vendor station.  His heart plummeted as he came face to face with the plague doctor.  In a soft voice very unlike the one before, they spoke.

“This is on me, Jace.”  They said, removing the mask and gloves and tucking them beneath their arm.  The woman beneath was a middle aged woman, her face oval shaped and her hair a platinum blonde.  Her ruby lips curved into a smile as she reached up to grab their drink.  “Let’s take a seat shall we?”  The three of them headed to the nearest table and sat down, Ari and Rayne on one side, the woman on the other.  Typical of Ari, she took a large bite of her corn dog and spoke.

“Thank you for paying for this.”  She chewed some more then swallowed.  “For a second I thought that Rayne was going to pass out.”  The blonde headed woman looked to Rayne, whose face flushed red with embarrassment.  She let out a giggle and placed her hands before her on the table, her fingers delicately intertwining.

“Now why would he do that?” She queried.

“Well you see,” Ari retorted “My husband here had this crazy idea that you were some sort of criminally insane nutcase using actual humans for your displays in the Hall of Oddities.  Crazy, right?”  Rayne kicked her beneath the table and mumbled under his breath.

“Ari, shut the hell up.”

“Indeed, such a crazy notion.”  The woman said, never taking her gaze from him.  “What a vivid imagination you have.”  Her voice was sultry and as smooth as silk.

“Yeah, he’s a lead character designer for a movie studio just down the road from here.”  Ari took a sip of their drink and sat it back down so Rayne could quickly snatch it up to take a sip himself.  The woman seemed impressed and reached out to touch his hand.  The coolness of her touch sent shivers down his spine, goose pimples rising across his arms.

“I could use someone like you.”  She purred.  Rayne’s stomach turned a little as he took another sip of his beverage.

“So, why the gesture of kindness?” he uttered, his amber eyes calculating.  “Was it just some random act of kindness or do you have some sort of ulterior motive?”  Ari choked on her corn dog.

“Rude.”  She said, her mouth stuffed with half chewed food.  Rayne rolled his eyes and locked his gaze back on to the woman.  The corners of her lips curved upward into a sharp smirk.

“Well first allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Sylvestra, proprietor of the Carnival Macabre.”  She bowed her head as she spoke, as if she were preparing for a performance after a brief introduction.  She looked back at Rayne and smiled.  “The reason I offered to cover your meal is because I wanted to show my gratitude for your patronage tonight.  You see, I was afraid that no one from the counter culture would be here on opening night and to see the two of you up front made my night much better.”  She stood from the table and looked around the carnival for a brief moment before returning her gaze.  “I’m afraid that the normal people here don’t necessarily appreciate the beauty of the strange and abstract.  I feel that their attendance is just to say they did something wild and out of the ordinary; to fill a void that once consumed them before continuing on with their boring lives.”  She sighed and looked longingly at the two of them.  “How I wish I could make you a part of my permanent collection.  People like you are a rare and beautiful thing.  No matter, enjoy your meal and remaining experience at the Carnival Macabre.”  She sashayed away from the table and out into the crowd, replacing her gloves and mask as she walked.  Ari nudged Rayne with her elbow.

“See, nothing to worry about.”  Rayne scoffed and shrugged his shoulders.  “I’m starting to feel a little weird though.”  She lifted her hand and placed it on her forehead.  “I’m feeling kind of lightheaded.”  Now that she mentioned it he was beginning to feel the same way, his vision blurring and his eyes beginning to sag under the weight of his eyelids. 

“Yeah” he said, disoriented.  “I’m feeling a lit-”  The last feeling to run through his body was the pain of his head crashing hard against the ground beneath him.

Reviews

[Strigoikillerr]

“How I wish I could make you a part of my permanent collection." Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! Creeeeepy!!! Lol I'm loving this story.