Circus Extravagansicus

Chapter 1

A small man stood in front of Pip. Dressed head to toe in black, Pip could not see the figure’s face. A horrific mask hid it underneath a pointed hood. Pip Rickett felt as though he looked at Mister Punch centuries after he had died. Skeletal features were exaggerated. Perfect white teeth were exposed in a crescent. The manic grin was petrified between a large hooked nose and pointed chin. Cheeks rounded the bottom of black eye holes which added a certain charm to this otherwise grotesque face. The late Mister Punch shook his head

“Pip!” A young voice called out. The word pulled Pip back to reality. Pip Rickett was suddenly reminded of where he stood. The crowd was dense. He caught a glimpse of shaggy blonde hair when Alex grabbed his uncle’s shoulder, “I wasn’t sure if I’d find you."

“Well you did,” Pip answered. He turned back to find the masked figure but could not see him. There were too many people. The large man searched his immediate area. There was just a mass of souls. Most looked lost as they walked nowhere in particular. Some stood still. Other, less concerned faces shouted out words of support and help. He straightened his back to enforce his control of the situation. “Here I am.” The men studied each other for a moment.

“You look--” Alex began. A large woman cut off the sentence as she barged into him.

Pip ignored the comment. He needed to make sense of where he was. This place was unfamiliar. While it felt like an open market, this was not Africa. There was no sunshine, no breeze. Just a stifling sensation created by too much humanity. The worst part was that Pip had forgotten why they were there. Or even how they came to be there. The only thing Pip Rickett could be certain of at that time was that it was real. He had never been so aware of his existence. He felt fresh. His skin felt so clean that it gently tickled. It was an unusual but natural sensation.

A short distance away Pip saw a white statue. It depicted a partially dressed man. On his head was a winged helmet and he gripped some sort of stick in his hand. Pip felt a hand grab his own. He turned to find its source with natural terror. Then he remembered. It was the woman with purple hair. Her brown eyes smiled at him from between two bodies.

 “Let’s get out of here,” Pip shouted to Alex, “To a quieter place. We need to get things straight.”

“Too right,” Alex agreed.

Pip turned away from his nephew and said something to a small woman with purple hair in front of him. When he started to walk, Alex followed. He had been under Pip Rickett's care for the last seventeen years. During that time he had learned to obey his uncle and listen to every word he said. More often than not, his life would depend on it. That moment was no exception. While he had no idea who the short woman was, if Pip trusted her then Alex had no reason not to.

Away from the crowd that gathered by the statue Alex kept up with Pip as best he could. The square did not get any quieter as they crossed it. Small groups of lost looking individuals followed one or two guides like tourists in an unknown city. Trains of people crossed Alex's path but he managed to weave in and around them to keep his pace. It was one group who stopped completely that caused Alex to panic.

Although he would never say it, Alex was scared. He did not want to be separated from his uncle in this place again. When Pip had disappeared earlier Alex had felt alone. He felt vulnerable. This was not a place he recognised. He did not know his away around these streets. Fear bubbled inside his gut but he did not know how to deal with it. His uncle had always taught him to face his fear, to turn that feeling into adrenaline and use it. Lions and rhinos could smell fear. They would use it against him if he did not have control of it.  But there were no wild animals around here. None that he was used to anyway. Alex saw three bull in the archway of a building. Except they couldn't have been cattle because they stood on two legs like men. Two of them walked away. Alex was scared.