The Freakshow Massacre

8.

Claudia kept her eyelids shut as tightly as she could.  She could hear a soft rustling sound coming from a distance.  The sound was the curtain being gently opened.  Somebody was pushing the curtain to the side.  Claudia surmised that it was most likely the clowns, peering in and staring at her and her friends.  It was almost as if she could feel their vicious eyes piercing into her soul...the consequence of which sent an arctic ice-cold shiver down her spine and made her shudder.  She was terrified that those flagitious, inhumane rancorous clowns would realise that she was awake and that they'd do something to hurt her again.

The clowns began to converse.  At first, their voices were toned down to a faint volume; therefore, she couldn't exactly make out what they were saying.  However, the volume of their voices increased rapidly when Pinky suddenly exclaimed,

"Why can't we go in now?"

"Because it's more fun to see them awake and afraid; while they're practically begging for mercy." Penny replied, in a calmer manner but just loud enough that Claudia was able to decipher their content and distinguish the interlocutors.

Penny chuckled as she and the rest of the pernicious group pushed the curtain back into place before waddling away.  The only sound which filled the large tent at that instance was the malign noise of the clowns' elongated shoes slapping against the ground as they left.  Loud at first but due to obvious autosomal dominant spinal muscular atrophy, every step they took announced this condition in their lower extremities.  With every step they took away from the big-top, their sounds grew distant...until it was quiet.

"Guys?" Marty whispered.

Claudia, Stanley and Marcia sat up and looked over towards Marty, waiting for him to continue.

"Maybe we should try and run away now,"

"It's not safe right now," Claudia disagreed.

"It never will be safe," Marty stated.

"But we can't go now...they're in the big tent behind that curtain."

"How do you know that?"

"I heard them.  Besides, where else would they be?"

"What if they went outside?"

"There's no reason for them to go outside."

"So, you're just making assumptions,"

"Yes, I am, but so are you."

"Look, you guys can wait here and pretend to be unconscious.  I'll try and get to the car and get help.  I can get my phone and call the police."

"You're just going to leave us?" Marcia asked.

"I'm not leaving you; I'm going to come back." Marty elaborated. "Besides, I don't know when we'll have another chance to try and get out of here.  And you guys don't want to come with me anyway.

"I think we should just wait until a more appropriate occasion avails itself." Claudia explained. "I know what I'm talking about; I've tried to escape multiple times!"

"But we have to take every risk that we can."

"Marty, if we try now...we'll probably stuff it up.  I know that they're in that big tent.  I can feel it.  If we try and escape we'll just end up being tied up again."

"It'll be fine," Marty said, trying helplessly to reassure his friends.

He took one last anxious glance at his friends; who appeared to be even more frightened and trepidatious than he was.  He forced himself to look away, even though he was terrified and fretful, and started to trudge over towards the curtain.