Burlap

Prologue

This is my newest story, and I'm extremely excited about it! It's a horror story with a dash of romance, but the romance isn't the main point. 

Any feedback is HUGELY appreciated, and wanted very badly. Read, enjoy, vote, and comment! 

Have fun, and try not to get dragged into the madness. :)

PS. The program I use to write on doesn't transfer everything correctly every time. So, some of it may seem a bit off kilter, but rest assured I'm working on making sure it all comes out right. 

The heat from the spot light seared my skin, though it was set up on the ground at least thirty feet below where I hung upside down from my knees on the swaying swing. The trapeze act came just as naturally to me as my own acrobatic and contortionist acts, which boded well- extremely well- for Ellie, who normally took to the high flying swings and tightrope I would be adding to my performance set that night. Angry with her fire eating lover, she’d taken to the bottle without a care in the world for the duty she held to the show, and for the third time that summer, I’d been assigned her part as well as my own.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Robbie cried from the center ring to my left, his black velvet top hat and sequined red coat catching every stray beam of light that bounced around under the big tent, and sending them flying off in every direction as he paced before the crowd with perfected, exaggerated movements, “If you’ll direct your attention to our furthest ring, you’ll see our magnificent! Wonderful! Outstanding! AMAZING! KATE the GREAT swing from a terrifying height- with no safety net- and fly through the air as if she had her own set of beautiful feathered wings! Please, bring a thunderous round of applause! For the BEST performance you’ll see of such an otherworldly and beautiful routine! I present to you, as is my greatest honor! KATE THE GREAT!”

I didn’t look to the crowd that screamed and cheered my name in an excited and deafening burst of clapping hands and stomping feet. Instead, my gaze focused solely on the tight, taut fabric of the ceiling on the big top. The air rushed through the few shorter strands of my hair that had escaped the severe bun I had gathered my dishwater colored locks into at the beginning of the night, causing them to whip against my cheeks as I moved, still upside down, high the air. In one smooth, fluid moment, I grasped the bar attached to the ropes and dropped my legs out into the splits before using that momentum to swing back up into the seat.

That tiny move, which was really only a basic maneuver, caused yet another wave of applause, and I couldn’t help but feel somewhat cynical. These people weren’t really excited. They were all caught up in the magic and the grandeur that Robbie had created throughout the night, pumping them up and raising their expectations to near ethereal heights so than any tiny movement swelled the happiness inside them so much, they nearly burst from it. It didn’t matter that I was just another human who had trained for countless hours, putting my body to it’s most insane limits to be able to perform. To them, I was an otherworldly creature born with this amazing ability; a freak for their entertainment.

Just as Robbie wanted it to be.

With a deep, shuddering breath, I banished the demeaning thoughts, shoving them over the stone and mortar wall I’d built in my mind for the things and ideas I didn’t want escaping. I had no time to dwell on any of it. My own act- or rather, Ellie’s act- waited for me.

I only barely caught sight of my ringmaster’s wide, Cheshire Cat grin before I dropped down from the bar completely, catching my swinging body with just one hand on the smooth wooden bar, the momentum of the flying swing jarring my body for the briefest moment. With all the instinct of a seasoned circus performer, I allowed my muscles to mold themselves into the movement, gaining more and more force as I hung on, knowing that to fall would be to die.

The crowd gasped collectively, echoing my thoughts in an almost comical manner.

I grasped the bar again with my other hand and twisted myself around to face the center ring. Gregory, Ellie’s partner, watched me with cold cerulean eyes as I swung through the air, his black hair swishing against itself from his own upside down perch on the swing opposite me. Were it not for the sake of the performance itself, I had no doubts he would let me fall, if only to see my eyes widen in fear before I ceased to exist. Luckily for me, the act meant everything to them. More than even my torture would mean.

The drum roll began just as I hit the peak of my backward swing, the top of my head nearly brushing the faded yellow and red fabric of the tent ceiling. The anticipation was nearly tangible as each member of the audience shifted forward in their seat, entranced by the elaborate show.

Gregory and I both locked gazes as we flew through the air, his arms outstretched as I came rushing forward.

The timing isn’t right for this one, I whispered to myself inside my head, as the swing reached its opposite peak and dropped into the back swing again, the spotlight coupled with the sticky summer air feeling as though it would boil me alive.

Three more swings, with the drum roll growing louder and quicker with each height peak the swing hit, and the fates finally gave me my opportunity. An eerie quiet nearly suffocated the entire mammoth of a tent as my fingers left behind their grasp on the now naked bar. With a hint of my own amusement, I took the time to flick the smooth wood with middle finger, relishing the feeling of pure adrenaline and weightlessness as I hung, suspended, in the air.

Time slowed to a near stand still while I maneuvered my body into the forceful momentum my jump had gifted me. The rust colored sand of the ground flooded my vision as my body flipped upside down, my legs snapped open in a vertical split and my arms straight above my head.

Or maybe they were straight below my head, because of the mid-air flip. Funny how I managed time to ponder such a thought as I careened through the open air, liberated and powerful.

Powerful.

Robbie stood below me, turning to watch my flight as I got closer to ending my upside down journey toward Gregory’s grip. His midnight colored top hat slid back on his head, revealing his equally dark hair that matched the masculine stubble peppering his jawline. Even his mouth was slightly open with awe, though he had been the one to train me for so many years.

This is where I have control. This is where no one can touch me. I am powerful here. I am the only one with any say here.

A child-like giggle burst from my throat, escaping my lips before I could stop it. I felt a startling, solid crack in my mental wall that served as protection from all the evil things in the world.

No.

With a forceful shake of my head, I brought myself back from that dangerous perch of insanity and chastised myself for allowing it to happen. Letting my guard down was bad. Dangerous.

Gregory’s strong, giant hands gripped mine hard, shattering any semblance of madness that could have possibly escaped through the crack in the wall I had been weak enough to let appear. My chest rumbled with the impossibly loud roar of the crowd as the entire tent shook with their enthusiasm. With his hands gripping my wrist, I fell back into normalcy, away from the frightening freedom flying through the air had given me. With that freedom came the hope of Power, and Power only destroyed everything around me, acting like my own personal savior, though I knew she was dangerous and wrong.

“And, there we have it, folks! The amazing KATE the GREAT!” Robbie cried out below us as Gregory brought us back to the tall podium, from which I would climb down and begin signing autographs and chatting with bright and happy members of the audience. Something I had absolutely no interest in doing, but that Robbie had required of all his performers.

After all, we were magic and wonder, and what the crowd wanted was to get just a touch of that. To go home feeling excited and joyous, brimming with awe at our amazing feats. The closer they could get to us, the happier they were.

Except, if any of them knew about how close they’d been to being witnesses of something incoherently horrible, I had no doubts they would have only wanted to run as far away as possible, never looking back, lest the madness behind the magic catch up with them as well.