“I knew it was real!” I interrupt triumphantly. “There are just too many weird and unexplained things that happen.”
Eric rolls his eyes goodnaturedly. “If they break the laws or get seen, they’re incarcerated until we come back. Then they get shipped home the minute we return, and since many of those offenders are just going to be punished once they return to their own home planets, it’s in the best interest of the alien nations to keep their citizens in line. It’s one of the reasons we’re on Earth quite regularly, while most planets only get a visit once or twice a year. We play somewhere on Earth every couple of months.”
“So now, we get to the circus.” John rubs his hands together in glee, stealing back control of the conversation. “Our greatest pleasure. The dome is part of a bigger spacecraft. It detaches and lands wherever we are going to perform. Anything we need during the show, the mermaid tank for example, gets transported between the mothership and the dome. It appears in what looks like a flash of light and smoke, but in reality, it’s beamed down by a teleporter, ‘Scotty’ style. Another flash of light, and it’s returned to its place on the mothership when it’s done.”
My mouth drops open in shock, and my nose wrinkles.Huh, that was not how I thought it would happen. Oh well, it’s still freaking exciting.
Feeling restless and overwhelmed by all the information, I get up and wander to the window. “From the outside, the dome looks like a fabric tent, but when I tried to touch the side, it was like there was a force field stopping me from making contact until I pushed hard enough to make it through. And what’s going on with the inside? It’s quite obvious it’s not a normal circus tent. It’s more like an arena. How is it that people think it just appears overnight? I mean, it has a freakingelevator!That certainly doesn’t happen overnight.”
“Ah yes, the dome would have read your DNA before it allowed you through,” says John. “The dome has the capacity to appear however we want it to. An illusion, you may say, or a mirage. As for when they come inside, the smoke we use throughout the performance is created to make them forget about those sorts of questions. They only walk out remembering how good the show was. Earth is the only place we actually have to use that smoke.”Holy shit, I didn’t really think there were drugs in the air.
I turn back around to face them, and the surprise on my face must be evident.
“Yes,” says William, “you have so much to learn over the coming year. But I think it’s time for a break. It’s a lot to take in, and I can see you rubbing your temples. Do you have a headache?”
The pounding in my head has returned full force, and I realize he’s right. I’m rubbing my temples, and the lingering echo of pressure at my fingertips tells me that I must’ve been doing it quite hard. I guess the emotions and the revelations have just been too much for me. “Yes, I’ve gotten them all my life, but they’ve been getting more and more frequent.”
William, Eric, and John frown at each other, eyeing one another like they’re having some kind of mental communication. Honestly, they very well could be. Who knows what other tricks they have up their sleeves?
“It is possible your physiologyneedsyou to drink the water from Skar. Your mother drank it all through her pregnancy and regularly had supplies delivered when you were first born. It’s possible that you’ve been in withdrawal since her passing, and that could be why you’ve shown no signs of powers,” John muses.“You will need to make a decision soon. Eventually, the headaches will become too much. Your brain could swell, causing you to fall into a coma. In fact I’m surprised it hasn't happened sooner. You’ve been incredibly lucky.”Well, fuck me, Gramps, way to terrify a girl.
“For now, let’s get you settled in a room. You can freshen up, have a rest, and then join us for dinner in the dining room. Most of our performers and support staff stay on the ground while the show does, so we have bedrooms set up and a communal dining and living area in the dome. The mothership is much larger, with separate suites for everyone as well as various communal areas, so you’ll have more privacy once this leg of our tour is done. We spend a lot of time on the ship, and it’s large enough that people usually have no problems. As expected, with so many people living together, tensions can get a bit high, but we try to keep the drama at a minimum.”
They all stand up, so I follow their lead and walk over to my luggage, grateful for the emotional break. Just as I go to grab the handle, it starts to hover in the air. I turn around to look at my grandfathers, receiving a wink from Eric. “Why work harder when we can work smarter?” he laughs. John opens the door, and we walk out into the corridor with my luggage floating behind us until we reach the elevators I’d used to get up to the executive suite. Stepping in, William takes out a card, swipes it, and hits the button for the first floor.
“All living areas are on the first floor, only accessible with a card. This is a private elevator for staff, but sometimes people get nosy and try to figure out how we do things, so they snoop around. This is to stop them from accessing the first floor and ground floor where all the equipment and tech is kept. If they get on this elevator, it will only take them to the second floor. The public have their own bank of elevators near the entrance to the dome.”
The elevator dings right before the doors slide open. Stepping out, we turn left, heading down a corridor with a few people milling about, all of whom seem to pause. My grandpas don’t even pay attention, quickly striding off down the corridor. I hurry after them, but my heart is pounding, and I can feel my cheeks heating up with all the extra attention. Holding my head high, I follow them and my floating luggage.
Most people resume what they’re doing, but down the corridor a little bit, I notice a man and a woman unabashedly watching us. She has shoulder-length, curly red hair, with freckles and brown eyes and a slender build that I envy. As a ‘wannabe gymnast,’ I always wanted to be slim, but unfortunately, I ended up all tits and ass. I’m happy now, but my fifteen-year-old self wasdevastated. Like the woman, the man has freckles and curly red hair, but his is cropped short. He’s also on the slender side, though part of that could be due to his height. The two of them look similar enough that I would put them as possible siblings, including the fact that neither of them looks thrilled to see me. In fact, I would say they both look angry for some reason. Their foreheads are creased in frowns, and her lips are turned up in a sneer while his purse like he’s tasted something sour. My grandpas stop when they get to them, pausing in sync.
“Ah, Phillip and Fiona,” John says as William and Eric move to the side to let me through. “I’d like to introduce you to our granddaughter and your cousin. This is Lila Jenson, and she’s joined us to learn the ins and outs of the circus.” Fiona and Phillip both try to quickly put pleasant looks on their faces, but I’ve seen the truth already. They don’t want me here, I can tell. John turns to me, gesturing at the troublesome twosome. “Phillip and Fiona oversee and perform in one of the animal acts. At the moment, we have dinosaurs from the planet Reccedea with us. Humans believe the act uses animatronics, but in reality, they are living, breathing animals. We’ve taken care of them at our zoo on Skar, raising them and training them for this show.”
I think my eyes are just about popping out of my head at this point.
“Holy shit! Real dinosaurs? That’s freaking amazing. Are they similar to the ones from Earth’s history?” Phillip and Fiona both get smug looks on their faces, literally looking down at me as if my excitement marks me as a stupid tourist.
“Yes,” sneers Fiona in a whiney high-pitched voice, “but better. Your dinosaurs were primitive beings.Oursare much more advanced than that.”
“Yes, the T-rex allows us to ride on his back,” chimes in Phillip.
“Wow, are they kept here or on the ship?” I ask, looking around. They both erupt in peals of laughter.
“Why would they be kept in the staffing accommodations?” asks Phillip. “They’re kept in a secure facility on the ship and beamed down at the start of their performance.” Fiona sniggers, sharing a nasty side-eye with her brother.
“Imagine if they were kept down here and got free! The humans would be in a huge panic.” Looking thoughtful, she shakes her head, turns to me, and says, “You’veso muchto learn.” Well, ok then! Pretty sure we’re not going to be besties or anything. So much for making a home with my new family. At least the grandpas seem alright so far.
Sensing tension, William interrupts. “Phillip and Fiona are your grandma’s sister’s grandchildren. This is their first rotation with the circus since they’ve been living on Skar and training the animals at the zoo. They also help out if any of the other acts need assistants.”
Ahhh, so they aren’t as experienced as they make out, and they’re not part of the actual Adams family line.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I lie, using all the skills I’d normally channel when I was the new kid. Got to try and make an effort even if they do rub me the wrong way. They both nod their heads, but their eyes narrow when the grandpas move off down the corridor again.
Still following them, I realize we are steadily moving around in an arc.Duh, Lila, you’re in a dome. How else would you get around?John, who is in the lead, stops in front of door number 101. “This is your room while we’re in the dome,” he says to me. William pulls a card attached to a lanyard out of his pocket and hands it to me. Looking down, I discover it has my name and photo with CEO printed underneath it.How did they get my photo?
“This is your pass to everything,” he says. “It allows you unlimited access to all our systems. You are the only other person who has a pass like this apart from the three of us. Once people get to know you and see you around, they may come to you to gain access to the teleporter room to go up and down.”Teleporter? Holy crap.It’s like I’m in a movie, and my head feels light for a moment. I slowly reach for the offering, feeling like this is a moment that will change everything. I can’t believe they’re trusting me with so much so soon. How do they know I'm not going to run off and expose them to the world?
William must be able to see it on my face. “Even though you’re family, and we hope that trust is something that will build between all of us, the lanyard has been spelled. The minute you grabbed it, it activated, and now you won’t be able to use it for anything that will negatively impact the circus. There was also a gag spell on it, so you will not be able to talk about it with anyone either.” A primal rush of indignant anger flows through me but then just as quickly recedes. Of course they need to protect themselves. Blood relation or not, they don't know me from the next human. I nod to him in acceptance, and a look of pride flashes through his eyes.
