I twisted my hair into a ponytail, tucking it under my cap and lowering the brim. Then I took a final look around the room full of strangers, wondering which of them would help me escape, and which would try to kill me.
“Welcome to Glam Brawl! Tonight’s special is the girl from another dimension versus the defending champion, Luna!” A female voice blared out of the microphones.
I scanned the glass arena. I saw Deco and Lola strapped in the front row seat, their face horrified and screaming. But I could not hear them. The lights were so bright. My heart pumped faster. I feel the blood rushed throughout my body. In front of me, a skinny but muscular girl stood. She seemed to glow from within.
“Luna,” I whispered.
My body ached. I wanted to go home and crawl into my bed and sleep for years. But I knew that was not possible, especially not when Deco and Lola were still in danger.
Ok, let’s back this up a little. Shall we rewind this a bit?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When I saw the poster, I could not fathom the joy inside of me. The poster reads:
THE CIRCUS IS IN TOWN! FEATURING THE FLYING RICHARDSON! ONE DAY ONLY!
I always wanted to go to a circus, ever since I was a kid. But every time I would be alone in my house while other kids absorbed the fun. This time, I was going! And, the Flying Richardson, oh god, they are like the most famous circus family! I started running home, a huge grin on my face.
Ok, so you might ask who was this 17 years old loser? Well, I am Aleksandra Brennan. The name Aleksandra came from the Greek, which I think is pretty cool. Apparently, it means something like the defender, or helper of mankind. Ha-ha, my parents probably knew I was a fail when they first held me. They probably gave me such a powerful name due to the fact that I needed all the power and courage I could get. I was a shy, dependent girl (the one that was going to be living with her parents when she was an adult, yeah, that kind). You could normally find me in my room, on the computer, twittering or tumblring. Yup, I am a sore loser.
I arrived home and screamed – really out of breath –, “mom, can… I go…to the circus?”
“Oh of course! I thought you will never leave your room. The circus is a great idea for you to explore the world,” my mom said behind her office door.
“Ok, thanks,” I said as I run upstairs.
My parents and I were really close. They worked in the government with stressful jobs. I tend to be ignored but I liked that. I had a good life compared to all my relatives, but sometimes I hate my life. I was not smart like my parents. Yes, my mom went to university when she was 15. And look at me, 17 and could barely pass a physics test. Like I said, I was a complete loser.
I took off my black tank top and slided into my favourite baggy top (gotta hide my pudgy figure). The summer here in Maata was hot. The sun burned down on, often sucking the air out of me. But when 75% of the year, you were freezing your butt off, warmth was something of a luxury to most.
I ran downstairs, half bumping into daddy. “Hey daddy, can I have some money fooor the circus?” I asked with a twisted, duck mouth, squinted eyes and a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, go to the kitchen cabinets. I’m pretty sure there is amount of change there,” He replied chuckling, getting my reference of Dean’s face from Supernatural.
In the next 10 seconds, I grabbed $30 from the kitchen cabinets and ran out of the house. I was panting when I arrived in front of the circus entrance. Circus music blasted from the surround sound. It was 4 in the afternoon, some families were leaving for home, but most teens were still here. I handed the $12.95 to the lady at the ticket booth, and exchanged for a grounds pass. She was a very skinny lady. Her hair was bright red, not the ginger red but like red lipstick red. Cool.
I walked passed the gates and immediately don’t know where to go or start. The Flying Richardson show does not start until 6, so I have some time to look around. I started in the House of Mirrors. It was a very cool experience other than the fact that I bumped into the mirrors a couple of times.
Next I went to the Daredevil Den. There were human cannonball, fire eating/breathing/dancing, knife throwing, magic shows, sword swallowing, and strongman. I left after some of the disturbing acts like sword swallowing. I did not have the stomach for it.
After that I went to see some animal acts. They were cool but I was waiting for the Flying Richardson. The circus got crowded after 5:30. So I decided to go sit in the grand tent where the Fly Richardson would be performing. The tent entrance fee cost an extra $7.95. Inside, the tent was a classic red and yellow. The air felt warm but with the occasional cool breeze that was brought in by the opening of the door slit.
I picked a seat in the middle front. There were already a lot of families here. I was not the type of girl who liked to explore but with the entrance fee $7.95, I might as well took a sneak peek at the back. I walked off the bleachers, and headed towards the back of the tent. I was nervous and wondered if trying to look normal made me more suspicious. Suprisingly, no one stopped me.
I breathed a sigh of relieve when I entered the back. The sight surprised me. There was no one there, no performers, staffs, not even a piece of furniture. It was getting close to performing time but why was the back so empty.
I walked around the back, peeking through every curtain, but there was nothing. I decided to walk back to the front where the performance was going to be, thinking this was just some circus thing. As I pulled the curtains where I entered, I knew something was wrong. The air felt different, goose bumps started to form on my arms, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
The tent was still the tent but something was really different. The bleachers were empty, and a group of people stood on the stage, arguing. How come I didn’t hear them arguing? Then, bang, bang! Bodies fell. A bolt ran through me. Sounds seemed to amplified. I heard crying, running, shouting. Blur.
I saw a shadow ran out of the tent. Why couldn't I make out who it was? My body moved, ran on to the stage. In front of me was a pile of bodies. My shadow casted on the mess. Two children looked up at me with tears running down their cheeks. Two adults’ bodies lay motionless under the bright lights. A red puddle formed around them. The Flying Richardson.
“Mommy, daddy, wake up,” the two youngsters cried out as they held their parents. I stood there, not knowing what to do. I was not the social type and a murder?! How should anyone react to that?
I bent down lifting the heads of the new two orphans with my hands and said, “I am so sorry.” Tears swelled up in my eyes. Pain, hurt, and guilt. If only I was here a little quicker. If only I had done something. Maybe the outcome would change. But secretly, I knew I was not strong enough to change what just happened.
I removed the two children’s hands from the parents and tried to get them up, get them out of here. Perhaps the murderer would come back and finish the business.
“Come on, let’s go. There is nothing you guys can do. It is not safe here.” I said gently.
Deco, the older of the two, let go of his parents and said coldly, “I’ll revenge what this world had done to you.” I could tell that he was not crying; anger radiated from him. I was scared. The power that this newly orphaned 9 years old shown was what I could never had been able to produce in my 17 years.
“Come on Lola, let’s go.” Deco said to his sister. The little 5 years old was still crying and trying to wake her parents. That broke my heart. Tears again ran down my cheeks, but I knew I had to be strong, for them.
I picked up Lola, who was still crying, and followed Deco out of the tent. I did not know why they trusted me, but they did. I was a stranger to them. But there seemed to be a type of bond that brought us close to each other. Just then, I made a promise that I hope I can keep; I was going to protect them no matter what.
As I stepped out of the grand tent, I knew I was not in Maata anymore. The air was chilly but warm at the same time. It was like a fairytale, the ones that you dreamed of when you were a little girl. Everywhere seemed to be bright, and happy.
It was midday. The air smelt fresh. You would think that unicorns would come just around the corner. It almost made me forget what I had just been through, and what the world had lost.
“This way,” Deco said walking in the opposite direction I was heading. The surroundings had seemed to sucked me in to a trance. I shocked my head and followed Deco.
We arrived at a trailer. The plate on the trailer said “NightStar”, one of the performers of the circus. I guess we couldn’t go to the Flying Richardson’s trailer since there was a possibility that we might get ambushed.
A little whimper escaped Lola, whose head was resting on my shoulder. We got into the trailer. And it was beautiful, magnificent. The interior was like the pictures I saw on TV about the universe. Stars shines, and planets rotated. I guess this was why NightStar was called NightStar.
“Who are you?” Deco’s serious voice broke my fantasy about the universe. Ok, I guess he doesn’t trust me after all. I was used as a tool only.
“I am Aleksandra, Aleksandra Brennan. I am from Maata. But trust me; I am not going to hurt you guys.” I replied, understanding why he was so concerned.
“You don’t suppose to be here.” He said harshly.
“I know,” I said sounding like I was the nine years old who just lost her parents, and not the 17 years old I actually was.
“Where is this place?” I asked, half not wanting to hear the answer.
“It is another dimension. You kind of stepped into this one when you…” He broke off. When I sneak to the back of the tent.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s get out of here,” I said. But how? Then I saw Deco get into the driver seat. I almost screamed at him, but Deco said, “it’s alright, I know how to drive.” The way he said it made me believed he did. I did not complain and put Lola, who was asleep, on the bed in the trailer.
The trailer buckled to life when Deco turned the key. And just liked he said, he did know how to drive. In fact, he probably drove better than most people…in my dimension.
I walked up and sat in the seat beside him. I sat there in silence, don’t know if I should talk or not. In the end my curiosity got to me.
“Who are you?” I asked softly.
“I think you know, I am Deco Richardson” he said not looking away from the road.
“Oh,” I just said, even though I had billions of questions still in my head. How did you how to drive? Why was your parents killed? Are you ok? How do you get out of this place? Where are we going? But I did not ask any of them, not because I knew it wasn’t the right time, but because I knew the answers to all the questions I had. I was here before, but in another life time.