The Blame Game

Chapter Two

"Oh, sure whatever. Or you know, we could just go on it and you could stand down here on the ground and be a boring-cat." she chirps. I try not to let the comment irritate me.

We walk around for a while, not entirely sure what to do. I feel extremely guilty, because I know that they desperately want to go on the rides. I try to say that I don't mind waiting for them, but I hate dishonesty, and so the words won't come to my mouth. Then I see something that might put a smile on their faces.

"Hey, what's that?" I ask, pointing to a large poster tacked onto one of the large billboards that are all over the carnival. We swerve towards it in curiosity, and as per usual, Li is at the front of the pack, towing Alaska behind her.

"There's a magician performing live later on tonight! I guess that's him." She says. There is a picture of a handsome young man with defined cheekbones and wearing a leather trench-coat. He is holding fire in his hands.

"I think I know him." April says slowly. "Yeah, yeah I do. He's that guy off that show. You know, the show about that thing and he does stuff? Brodie, you know the one I'm talking about right?"

Personally, I have no idea how anyone could possibly know what she talking about, but Brodie nods enthusiastically. Sierra rolls her eyes and looks away.

"He's pretty famous, too." Brodie adds, and then points to the poster excitedly. "Dudes, no way! It's free entry!"

Everyone starts chattering amongst themselves excitedly. "So? Who wants to come and watch it with me?" I ask. Everyone yells their excitement, except for Alaska.

"Don't you want to go, Alaska?" I ask her.

"Nah, it's not that. I do want to go... It's just that it seems too good to be true, you know? I mean come on. A super famous magician performing for free at a carnival in a small town? There's gotta be a catch." she reasons.

"Aw, come oooon, Alaska! Stop being such a boring-bum!" Victoria whines. April and Brodie crack up laughing, and I join in. I'm not sure whether she does it on purpose or not, but there is no denying that Victoria Travis is a funny person.

"I'm going! Sheesh. It's just that it seems too good, you know? That's all." Alaska defends herself.

Sometimes I wonder how Victoria ended up being in our group of friends. I mean, she is one of the most popular girls at Deadwood High. She can have her pick of friends, and she chose us. I suppose we're just lucky she's a social bug.

"Hey, did you feel that?" Sierra asks suddenly. Everyone turns to look at her. She is staring up at the sky. "I think it's going to rain." she says simply.

I follow her gaze, and sure enough, dark clouds are quickly gathering overhead. A strong wind is coming; I can see the trees in the far distance swaying violently, and then my hair is whipped back as the gusts of wind sweep through the carnival.

"Must be some kind of freak storm or something." Alaska suggests.

I look around the carnival. The crowd is filing out rapidly, people rushing back to their cars, their arms hovering above their heads, trying to shelter themselves. A few small drops of rain and the crowd is running for their lives. How pathetic. The rain starts falling more heavily, and the clouds roll in faster, blotting out the sun. The carnival is plunged into darkness as the sun is snuffed out by the black clouds. A bolt of lightning zigzags from the sky for a split second, and a few moments later a thunder clap fills the air.

"Shit. Guys, my phone just died. Can I borrow someone else's to call my Dad?" Brodie asks.

We all agree that it's best we go home, so everyone starts contacting their parents. I get out my phone and start texting Mum, and then I notice that my phone doesn't have reception.

"Guys, is it just my phone, or does no one have reception?" I ask.

"It's weird. I know for defs that I had reception before because I texted my sister and asked her to pick me up at eight tonight. You know, after the show would've finished." Victoria said.

We stand there in the rain for a while, unsure of what to do. Then a man runs out of a big top and starts running towards us.

"Come inside! You'll catch yourselves a hell of a cold if you wait out here!" he yells.

We have no choice really, and we're grateful for his help, so we quickly follow him back to the tent. As we enter, I notice the same poster from the billboard is on a stand outside the tent. I guess this must be the magician's performing space. The inside somehow looks a lot bigger than the outside. It's been set up so that there is a performing ring right in the centre of the tent. Around the ring, rows upon rows of chairs have been set out for the crowd to sit in. Right at the back, there is a van with it's rear bumper facing the front entrance of the tent and the back doors of it are open. A young person is pulling things out of the back and setting them down in the performing ring. I can't tell if they're a boy or a girl because they're wearing a clown costume; cray red hair, white face with bright red cheeks, diamonds painted over the eyes, and a big red nose. They're wearing baggy hoop pants and a white singlet and white gloves. They look very impressive.

"This is... Clown." The magician says, waving at the person. It stops what it's doing and makes an incredulous expression. I would too. The least the magician could do is remember their name. Who knows what he'll put that poor clown through.

"Come, take a seat. I'm going to head out for a moment. I need to find cellphone reception so I can contact the emergency services. I'm worried that lightning will strike the main power source and put us into darkness. You stay here with Clown, I won't be long." the magician says quickly.

He looks really stressed, and worried. I would be too, I guess. We all nod and he runs out, yelling something about a phone and a tent. We all sit in silence, not entirely sure what to do. I watch the clown as it moves around, still setting up the ring. I wonder if it's not quite right in the head. Then it leaves, muttering something about leaving a prop in the other vehicle.

"Hey, have you guys heard the one about the-" April starts. And then the power goes out.

I stand up in terror. I hate the dark. Someone screams, and my blood runs cold. Who was screaming? I look around, squinting in the darkness.

"Who was that?" someone yells.

"Everyone turn on their cellphones!" another person.

"Why?" that was definitely the first speaker.

"For light you idiot." they say, and then a light flares into life as they turn on their cellphone. It's Alaska. The other speaker was Brodie.

I look around again, making sure everyone is okay. My heart beat slows slightly as I manage to calm myself again.

And then I start panicking again.

Because Sierra is missing.

A/N; So, where do you think Sierra has gotten too? Leave your answers in the comments box, and don't forget to share :) I'm not sure why everything is in bold, I can't seem to be able to change it back to normal, so sorry about that :(

-Thanks so much, and don't forget to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments!