Carnival Souls

Abandon All Hope

Owen felt punch-drunk as he continued to follow Lira, his head swiveling continuously from side to side as he tried to make sense of everything. But how could he make sense of a place like this?

Finally, he stumbled to a halt, lowered himself into a crouch, and placed his face in his hands.

"It's not real," he muttered, shaking his head. "It's not."

A pressure on his arm signaled Lira trying to get him to move. He wanted to swat her away, to tell her to leave him, in the hopes that this might be a nightmare that would go away if he just stayed still and quit thinking.

As though he had spoken aloud, the pressure disappeared. Owen looked up to find Lira walking away again, slipping between more of the strange beings. Suddenly afraid at the fruition of his wish, Owen rose to his feet and bolted after her.

"Decided I was better company than the spirits?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Spirits?" he repeated.

"Yes," said Lira, spreading her arms wide in a gesture of mock greeting. "Welcome to the Spirit World. Abandon all hope ye who enter here."

Owen couldn't tell if she was trying to make a joke; there was no inflection in her voice and whatever emotion had been in her eyes before had flickered out. Her shoulders had slumped forward and even though she was moving at a decent pace, there seemed to be a cloud of fatigue hovering over her.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Owen demanded. "Am I on one of those prank shows? 'Cuz it's not funny."

"It's not a joke," replied Lira softly.

"Will you stop being so damn cryptic and answer me?" Owen yelled.

The pair stopped at the base of the funhouse, which seemed to be avoided by the "spirits" or whatever they were. Lira sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose like she was dealing with some overactive toddler. Owen's anger grew.

"Now I get why she wants kids," Lira muttered so quietly Owen almost missed what she said. Before he could retort, Lira silenced him.

"Listen and listen closely. Everything you see and hear is real. You are not dreaming. You are not hallucinating," Lira looked around to make sure no one was within earshot and then lowered her voice. "You have been tricked here and now you're a captive. Bebinn owns you. You cannot escape, you cannot go home. Accept that now and it'll make things a lot easier. I don't know why she picked you, but she did. It's best to just do what you're told from here on out."

"You expect me to just accept all that?" snapped Owen, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "To throw up my hands and question nothing? I have a family, a brother who needs me."

"You think I don't?" asked Lira, her eyes narrowing. "I was taken when I was twelve-I haven't seen my family in four years. I probably won't ever see them again. Just like all the other kids who get lured here."

"Lured here by you!" Owen yelled, the realization crashing into him. "You're the one playing the music. How many others have you stolen from their families?"

Owen reeled backwards as Lira struck him. Though the hit itself didn't hurt, he cheek stung where her nails had caught him. Her eyes were lit with a wild anger and her lavender-tipped hair seemed electrified in the dense air.

"You just got here," she snapped. "Don't presume to think you know anything. Especially when it comes to what I do." With that, she turned on her heel and stormed into the fun house.

By the time Lira made it to the top of the stairs, the burning in her hand had subsided and feelings of guilt were stirring in her stomach.

What had come over her? She was not a violent person and had had many kids scream worse things at her when they had come to the same realization as Owen. It never seemed fair to her that they should blame Lira rather than Bebinn.

Don't shoot the messenger, Lira thought to herself. Or in this case the musician. She only did what she was told lest she end up like Baleros.

Once, in the early days, after she realized the truth about what she had been brought to do, Lira tried to refuse to go back out and play.

Not only did Bebinn strike her again, Lira was locked in a cell beneath the funhouse for three days without food and only a cup of water. By the end of the third day, Lira was so delirious with hunger, she would have done anything Bebinn asked. Except Bebinn made sure that Lira understood what it meant to refuse her.

By means of whatever otherworldly power the witch held, she forced Lira to play continuously for another three days. She played until her fingers bled, until the sound of music echoing in the small cell very nearly drove her mad and she agreed, sobbing, the next time Bebinn came to see her to do whatever the woman wanted.

That same night, Atlas had prepared some kind of mineral soak for Lira to submerge her hands in. It stung and made her cry anew, but after a while, it stopped hurting and her skin had knit itself together again.

"It could be worse," Atlas had said, cleaning away the bowls while Lira inspected the new, shiny pink skin at her fingertips.

"Worse?" Lira had asked, incredulously.

"You could be one of them," Atlas had said, nodding towards the wall to indicate the carnival on the other side.

"Who? The Spirits?"

"No, the children."

"Why?" Lira had asked in alarm. "What happens to them?

Atlas had shrugged, as stoic as ever. "I'm not entirely sure," she had said. "But they don't ever come back." The other girl left the room, somehow leaving Lira feeling even worse.

Now, Lira went to the balcony of the funhouse where all the lights were still winking as far as she could see, and looked down to see Owen still standing there.

"What does he know about any of this anyway?" she thought angrily. With a last look at the lost boy, she turned and went in search of Atlas.

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Hey everyone! Sorry for the long gap between updates, I've been traveling and haven't had much time to write. Consequently, I wrote this chapter rather quickly and I'm not sure I'm in love with it. If you guys could tell me what you think, I would really appreciate it! :)

I know I usually switch between perspectives for each chapter, but this one has both Lira and Owen because of how I want the next few events to fall.

Happy reading! :)