Circus of the Dead: Book 1

by Kimberly Loth

  He holds me tight across my lower back where the tiger didn’t scratch me, but the slices burn, and blood trickles down over his hands. I’m in too much pain to be dead.

  Footsteps jar the earth around me. “You found her. What happened?” Luke asks. I squeeze my eyes shut. This is awful. I’ve been trying so hard to avoid him, and he found me anyway. Maybe my mystery savior will make sure I don’t go with him. He can get me on a ferry out of here and to a hospital. Surely Mom and Dad won’t make me stay here after I’ve been attacked.

  I open my mouth to speak, but my voice won’t work. Damn Benny.

  “I don’t know, but she was in with Fiona. She needs to get to Ruth.”

  Luke presses a finger into one of the tiger scratches, and I cry out.

  “I told you to stay put,” he growls. Then he hoists me up out of the arms of the man who saved me and flings me over his shoulder. So much for going home. My whole body trembles with the pain.

  “What are you doing?” Every step he takes jars my back, and I crane my head around to see if I can find the blue-eyed savior, but he’s gone.

  “I’m taking you to the nurse.”

  I clench my teeth with every bounce. Relief washes over me. At least I’m alive, and I have a good reason for going back to California. I’ll find a way to contact Mom, and she’ll get me out of here.

  As he walks, all I see is the dusty ground, muddy shoes walking by, and used plastic silverware. A pair of dancing shoes comes into view, and Luke skirts around them. I follow the shoes up the legs and to the leotard of the body lying on the ground. A knife protrudes from the chest, and blood pools around it. I catch sight of the girl’s face.

  It’s Shelley. The one who helped me find Luke.

  I beat on Luke’s back. I’ve never seen a dead body before. Bile rises in my throat, and my heart pounds. Why is she dead? Who killed her? What is this place? “You have to stop and help her.”

  Luke pauses for a half second next to her and then continues. “She’s gone. You’re not. Someone else will take care of the body.”

  Shelley is real. Her death is real. This much I know.

  My breath catches. I almost died in that tiger cage.

  Luke flips open a tent flap, and I wrinkle my nose. The whole place smells like cardboard boxes plus a weird kind of incense.

  The floor is plastered with a dirty vinyl that looks like a chessboard. I’ve always hated chess. The rules don’t make sense to me. Dad likes to play and tried to teach me, but every time I thought I had a handle on it, he threw another new rule at me.

  “Oh, goodness, what happened here?” a squeaky voice asks.

  Please don’t tell me I’m about to have my scratches stitched up by a kid. This place doesn’t smell like a medical tent should, of antiseptic and latex. But it looks like a doctor’s office complete with gross pictures of internal organs hanging on the wall.

  “She got stuck in a cage with Fiona.” Luke’s voice is rough, but there’s an undercurrent of worry.

  “How?” the voice squeaks.

  Luke shakes his head, and his five o’clock shadow scratches my leg.

  I wish I could see her face. If she is under the age of twelve, I’m making my uncle take me to a hospital. Shouldn’t he? My back is sticky with blood. Surely, I need stitches. Plus, after this, I’ll need a therapist for the trauma.

  “Lay her down here,” she says. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she’s only six.

  I’m deposited rather roughly on a cot. I swivel my neck around. The woman staring at me doesn’t look a day under a hundred. Her watery eyes rake down my back. Geesh. Can she even see? This might be even worse than the twelve-year-old kid I envisioned.

  She squats down in front of me, dressed like a nurse from WWII movies. “I’m Ruth. What were you doing with Fiona? You know she’s a deadly animal, right?” Ruth cranes her neck around, and I want to slap her. Of course I know she’s a deadly animal. I’m not stupid.

  I swallow. I don’t know how to explain my suicidal tendency to climb in a tiny cage with a tiger.

  “I was just going to feed her. Benny told me she was safe.”

  “You were with Benny,” Luke barks.

  I swivel my neck around to look at him. “I didn’t know he was a murderous freak.” I give Luke my best glare, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

  Instead, he lets out a stream of curses and kicks the ground. Then he crouches down next to me. “Next time you see him, you stay far away.”

  I prop up on my elbows and wince. “Excuse me. There won’t be a next time. I am leaving. Get me out of here.”

  Both Ruth and Luke stay silent, and neither moves. I push up on the bed, but my back screams, and I collapse.

  Ruth pats my shoulder gently. “We’ll get this taken care of. Just hang on a few.”

  I can only see her wrinkly knees as she bustles about, opening cabinets and setting down bottles. It sounds as if she’s shuffling a deck of cards, and the noise grates on my nerves. Luke stands and taps his toe.

  “Would you relax?” squeaks Ruth. “You’ll be here for a while. Sit down.”

  Luke’s dirty jeans move into my sight, and he sinks onto an old rickety chair. He crosses one leg and taps his fingers on his toes. Blood or something equally foul spots the bottom of his boots.

  “What else did you do with Benny?” Luke asks. I can’t tell if he’s fishing for information or just making conversation.

  “We went and saw that horrid snake show, and then we visited Lorena.”

  “You saw Lorena? Please tell me you didn’t let her read the cards.” His voice has risen three octaves.

  “Why else would I go to a fortune teller?” Besides, I was trying to hide from him. But I couldn’t very well say that.

  He seems different now. Maybe he was just shocked to see me and needed time to get used to the idea. Or, maybe he’s just crazy. He can act all nice now, but I’m not going to forget that he totally manhandled me and locked me in his creepy shack boat.

  Ruth pours an acrid smelling liquid on my back, and I hiss. It stings.

  “What card did you draw?” Luke asks, his voice trembling.

  I snort. “The eight of swords or something.” Both Ruth and Luke suck in a breath, but I choose to ignore it. “This is a messed-up circus, by the way.”

  “Circus of the Dead didn’t clue you in,” Ruth clucks and dabs my back with a cloth. The pain isn’t as smart anymore. The bed underneath me is wet with sweat, though.

  Luke doesn’t say anything for a long while. He shifts his legs and crosses them the other way.

  “Luke, can you take me to the airport? Obviously, Mom misunderstood about you needing help and everything.”

  Luke taps a finger on his knee. “I don’t know. After I thought about it, it might be nice to have you around for the summer. I haven’t seen Tara in a very long time, and I didn’t even know I had a niece.”

  “So why did Mom think you needed help?”

  He wiggles his knee. “I have no idea. I haven’t talked to her since before you were born. You could help me out with the big cats, though. I’ll not say no to an assistant.”

  “Um. One of those big cats just tried to kill me. I’m not going anywhere near them again. This makes no sense.” It sounds like he and Mom haven’t even talked recently. I don’t know why my parents sent me out here.

  “I know. Why don’t we try calling your mom later, and we’ll see what the mix-up is all about.”

  “Yes. That’s a good idea.” I’ll tell Mom how I almost died and that Luke doesn’t need help, and she’ll fly me straight home. Then, I’ll spend the whole summer working at the ice cream shop in the afternoons, hitting the waves in the morning, and sitting around beach bonfires at night. I can’t wait to get home.

  “We’ll have to find you a houseboat. Mine is too small for more than one person.”

  I grit my teeth. “I’m not staying here. You can’t make me.”

  “On this island, right now, I’m the closest thin
g you have to a parent. You’ll listen to me and stay until we get things figured out.”

  “You know, I thought earlier that you were trying to get me out of here.”

  “I was. But things are different now.”

  A monkey shrieks, and we all jump. Luke chuckles, but I don’t find it amusing. Maybe the monkey just got eaten by an alligator or Fiona.

  “How?” I ask.

  “I told you. I’d like you to stay for a bit.”

  Okay. He’s insane. For real. “But Benny tried to kill me. As soon as she’s done sewing me up, I’m outta here, and you can’t stop me.”

  Luke leans forward, his grimy face only inches from mine. I recoil from the smell.

  “And how exactly are you going to get off the island?” he asks.

  “I’ll take the ferry.”

  He laughs, and my stomach sinks. “The ferry only runs on circus nights, and we only do those twice a month. You’re stuck for at least another two weeks, and even then, I know the ferry master. I’ll tell him you can’t leave.”

  Two whole weeks avoiding murderous psychopaths. No way. “Fine, I’ll swim. The ride over wasn’t that long.”

  Luke laughs again. His breath in my face is like rotting feces. He’s psycho. I’ve got to get out of here.

  “You go right on ahead. Those gators will do more damage than my Fiona did.”

  I should’ve thought of them and the cottonmouths.

  Ruth tugs at my skin, but I feel nothing. My brain races to make sense of this horror show.

  “What do you do if there is an emergency?” I ask.

  “We call the police just like anyone else. They have boats they bring out to us.”

  Ugh. This wasn’t going well. “Okay. Call the police and ask them to bring me back. I was almost murdered.”

  “The police aren’t going to do anything.”

  I take a couple of deep breaths. Can I wait until the next ferry? I guess as long as I stay away from tigers. And gators. And snakes. And Benny. I’ll just hide in whatever house they put me in until then. In the meantime, I can figure out how to contact Mom and Dad. Maybe I’ll only have to be here a couple of days. Surely, Mom will see reason.

  “Fine. But I leave in two weeks then.”

  Luke rubs his chin. “Maybe.”

  Ruth runs a soft rag on my back. “All done, dearie. Don’t go pissing off Fiona again. You’ll have scars, but they should heal quickly.”

  Luke helps me up, and I follow him gingerly out of the tent. The circus smells different now. Less like junk food and more like rot. The tents have lost their luster from the night before. Luke walks next to me, and I can tell he’s taking care to go slowly. I cannot figure him out. We pass a tent with a massive pair of red dice stitched on the side. A corner of one of the dice is peeling away.

  A cat rushes in front of us, mouse in his mouth. My stomach growls, and I wonder if it’s safe to go searching for food.

  The ground is still muddy, and it’s starting to bug my toes. Everything about this place makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

  “Luke,” a voice booms. “How is your guest?”

  The blood drains out of Luke’s face.

  My savior stands there, and I take him in now that I’m not delusional with pain and my brush with death. He is tall, with a polished old-fashioned suit and a top hat, but it’s so polished it looks as if it has just come off the runway. It’s custom-made for sure. He is beyond handsome, more so than I realized when I fell into his arms. He’s the kind of guy that makes me miss my wave when I’m surfing. I swallow, not able to speak. His features are chiseled, and he has brilliant blue eyes and soft, flowing blonde hair. Where Benny is dark, this man is fair. They couldn’t be more different. His broad shoulders are covered by his coat, but I can tell he’s built underneath there. He’s young, maybe only a few years older than me, but has an air of authority.

  He’s the kind of guy I wouldn’t mind giving my first kiss away to. It would certainly be memorable. And what a story. I may have to be here for two weeks. Might as well take advantage of it.

  Luke tugs on my wrist and pulls me closer to him. Ugh, he needs to take a good hot shower.

  “This is my niece. She’ll be leaving when the next ferry comes in.”

  A crow flutters by and knocks the guy’s hat askew. His face falls for a second, but he catches himself and straightens his hat.

  “Oh, no, I insist she stay. I’m Samuel.” He holds out a hand, and I reach to shake it, but he grips my four fingers and places a kiss on my knuckles. “Beauty like yours doesn’t come to our circus often. Perhaps you will join our show.”

  My stomach drops out. Yes, I will join the show. I will do anything for this gorgeous man.

  My uncle rips my arm out of Samuel’s grip. “She will do no such thing. She’ll be gone on the full moon.”

  Samuel laughs, an infectious kind of laughter that makes me want to join in. He swings his walking stick in a circle. “Oh, no, she’s not. She drew the eight of swords.” He turns on his heel and saunters away.

  And I can’t help but stare at his behind.

  Chapter Seven

  Luke’s jaw is tight as we march back through the circus. He moves faster now, and I have a hard time keeping up. Gone are the bright colors of the night before. The tired, dilapidated tents are back. They are all covered with a layer of dirt, and no one is around. I walk past a cage, and a monkey jumps at the bars, snarling at me. I move to the other side of the path and peek inside some of the tents as we pass. They are empty. There is no other side of the island. This is where the circus is. I wonder how they got it set up so quickly.

  Surely a bunch of people work here. But where are they all? Maybe they leave the island. It’s as if everyone from the night before just disappeared into the swamp.

  So. Weird.

  A hush has fallen over the clearing, but it’s not a peaceful hush. It’s more like the quiet before the storm when you know something horrible is about to happen and you can’t do anything about it.

  We weave through sad looking tents, and just before we escape into the forest, we pass a couple of picnic tables with a group of people. One guy wears a skewed orange wig, and they all have remains of white paint on their faces.

  “Whatcha got there Luke?” Orange wig calls out.

  “Just my niece.”

  The man takes a long drag on a cigarette and blows it out. “The acrobats are going to want her with losing Shelley and all, but we could use another clown.”

  Luke tugs me closer to him. “She’s not joining the circus. And if she does, she’ll work with me.”

  Orange wig stands up and stalks toward us. “You think you’re better than us, don’t you? Just because you work with the animals. You’re not, you know.”

  Luke takes a few steps back. “I know. But I could use an assistant.”

  The man frowns and sits back down. “Whatever. She’s too pretty for us anyway. Samuel will want her in something sexier.”

  I’m not joining their circus and certainly won’t be wearing something sexy. I’ll be gone in two weeks max.

  Luke pulls me onto the path, and we disappear under the trees. The whole conversation gave me the creeps. The branches and Spanish moss reach out to brush my shoulders. Even though daylight has returned, it still feels scary and dark. We hit the fork, and Luke takes off down the other one. A raccoon darts out in front of Luke, but he doesn’t stop. Raccoons can have rabies, right? What if there is another one ready to jump out and attack me?

  I follow Luke anyway. This path leads to a wooden walkway that opens to a weaving set of docks with thirty or so tiny houseboats tied up and crammed together. Luke stops in front of a dingy white one with Shelley painted on the door in black blocky letters.

  No way. I just saw her sprawled out on the ground, her skin pale and her eyes glassy. I cannot sleep in her house. My stomach lurches.

  “She just died.”

  Luke shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. “So s
he won’t be back. For all intents and purposes, this is yours now. I’ll let you sleep for a little bit, and then I’ll show you around. I’ll ask Fred to paint your name on the front door.”

  “Is there another boat I can stay in? One that is not the home of the girl I just saw dead on the path.”

  “No.” Luke chuckles. “I don’t know if you realize this or not, but people die here all the time. You’ll get used to it.”

  “What if I die?” I glance down into the water. A face looks up at me, and I jerk my head back up. I’m just imagining things.

  “Don’t you worry. We’ll get you out of here, and until then, I’ll make sure you’re protected.” He can’t be with me twenty-four seven. Is he going to walk around holding an umbrella over my head to keep the falling snakes off? Will he make sure I don’t step on an alligator? No way. He can’t protect me. He’s nuts. Plus, he can’t exactly protect me from himself, and he seems just as much a danger as anyone else.

  “How?”

  He shuffles his feet. “Don’t worry about it.” He pushes the door open. “Make yourself at home. I’ll get your bag.”

  He leaves, and I peek inside, trying not to be too weirded out that I’m staying in a dead girl’s boat. Right now, I need sleep so I can figure out how to escape, even if I feel like this is totally morbid.

  “You taking Shelley’s place?” A familiar whistling floats through the air. I jerk around. The ferryman stands on the porch of the boat next to mine. Of all the people on the island, I get stuck next to him. No way. He’s a creepy old man who probably stalks pretty girls like me.

  “It’s just temporary.”

  He chuckles. “That’s what they all say. I’m Elias, by the way. Shelley was a pretty neighbor, but you’re prettier.” He gives a toothless smile. “I’ll come visit ya later. Get to know ya better.”

  I ignore him and step inside. I let out a breath and hope to hell there is a lock on this thing because I don’t want to find Elias sneaking into my boat at night.

  The shack smells musty, like it’d been empty for a while. Even though the sun is up, every curtain is pulled tight. Probably because of Elias. I fumble around and find a light switch next to the door, but it doesn’t do much good. The boat is still pretty dark. I let my eyes adjust.