I run.
4
Danni
The world pivots asI frantically search for another exit. The sandy ground feels like quicksand beneath my feet. Laughter closes around me as I trip and stumble through the crowd, everyone rising from the bleachers to descend to the front of the ring. I search the sea of faces, screaming for help, but it’s like nobody can hear me.
An elbow collides into my back, shoving me to the ground on all fours. My wrists take the brunt of the fall. I hold still, pulling in deep breaths, grounding myself. I can’t escape if I don’t have a plan, and I can’t plan if my body is in flight mode. I need to think. I need to drown out the sensory overload—an impossible task when my brain desperately tries to piece this situation together.
I close my eyes and wrap my fingers around the dry sand within the ring, letting the tiny grains fall between the cracks of my fingers.
Breathe in—five, four, three, two, one.
Breathe out—five, four, three, two, one.
Before I can take another breath, the ground beneath me vibrates. My stomach lurches as if I’m trapped in a broken elevator.
The rumbling of the motorcycles gets louder. I grab my bag and open it, rifling through the contents until I grip the cold, wooden stake. I can’t leave. There’s no way out. All I can do now is survive and commit myself fully to the plan.
Get in. Kill vampires. Get out.
I empty my head of all the intrusive thoughts I had about the strange and beautiful man, choosing bravery over desire. I think of my mother and how her life was taken from me too soon. I think of the trauma I’ve suffered since then, all because of these vile creatures. I let years of suppressed rage flood my body, doing untold damage.
I slowly lift my head. A shift in the magic-filled air around me lets me know there is now a new center stage.
At first, I could barely make out the clowns’ features, their faces blurred from the speed in which they circled me on the motorcycles. But when one rides close enough to touch me, I can’t help but scream.
I notice its teeth first, filed to sharp points as it snaps its jaws at me. Then I see the large red eyes, similar to the vampires, but these are… something different. Unlike the mystery man and his blonde friend, there’s nothing behind them but rage and hunger. Flashing lights high above the ring illuminate a sheen of sweat across their dark green skin, revealing bone jutting through the rotten flesh. These creatures don’t seem to be able to speak, instead screeching and howling like something straight out of a zombie movie.
Is this the true form of the clowns?
I glance around at the crowd. They’re all laughing and pointing at the zombies as if they were just normal clowns performing a hilarious skit.
Why can’t they see them for what they are? More importantly, why can I?
“Kill her! Before she wakes the others!”
The creature circling me whips its head around. I follow its line of sight to see the tall blonde from before, yelling orders from the front of the crowd. This time, she’s alone. No sign of the mystery man and his captivating aura.
Wake the others? Did I already wake someone?
I keep twisting my head around, frantically searching the crowd for someone who looks as terrified as I feel. Finally, I find them. Three people stand away from the crowd, towards the edge of the tent. I don’t think about oncoming traffic or the sea of bodies standing between us.
I bolt.
My stomach flips as I dodge the bikes that refuse to relent. If anything, my running seems to urge them to go faster.
I try to tune out the snarls ripping from deep within their throats as I surge.
Just a few more steps and I’m at the edge of the ring.
I leap forward, soaring into the direction of the crowd, the stake still gripped in my hand.
A creature barrels right into me, knocking the wind out of me as I hit the ground. With my next breath, an ungodly scream rips from my lungs. The creature’s mouth twists into a cruel smile. It holds me down with wet, scaly hands, using unnatural strength to pin me to the dirt by my throat. Its hot breath smells of decay. Bile rises in my throat. Breath slips from my lungs. I shift my eyes to the side and see the stake lying within reach. I grab it, plunging the sharpened wood as deep as I can manage into thecreature’s neck. Thick, oily black blood sprays from the wound as the creature screams, releasing me to clutch its neck.
Using this as my opportunity to escape, I scramble away. The people I intended on reaching stand opened-mouthed on the other side of the ring. They were within my grasp just a few seconds ago; now it’s like the arena doesn’t want me to reach them. Or perhaps the creature’s strength simply put me back at square one.
The rest of the creatures on the motorcycles gather on the other side of the ring as well, forming a barrier between me and the handful of people who can clearly see through whatever magic is at play here. I glance to my left at the cycle the creature had abandoned to tackle me to the ground. I’ve ridden a motorcycle only once, and I wasn’t very good at it. Glancing up, I become all too aware of the vampires watching the encounter with bated breath.
