Circus Monster

Mutation: Detachable Limbs~
The reader can have any part of her body be removed and be reattached without a problem. Sadly, she needs stitches on her body in order to hold her together. She also has small horns protruding from her forehead and her skin discolored from a natural skin tone.

~~~

"Time is dead and gone
Show must go on
It's time for our act

A small girl, around the age of seven finds herself being pushed towards the center of the circus ring. Thousands of people sitting in their seats awaiting the next act, only to find a small girl climbing up the trapeze ladder. Some gasp at how small she is and others begin to clap in excitement.

As she reaches the top, she notices her partner isn't in his position. She looks down at the ring master, only to notice he's no longer there. "He must be looking for him." Hands shaking and mind in a spiral, the girl struggles to stand. Her music begins to play and her body freezes. She can't begin without her partner.

"They all scream at me
They cannot see
This curtain hides me

Hollering can be heard throughout the tent as the song continues to play, but not a single movement comes from the child. Her head hangs low as she brings to cry. No one could see her as her hair shadows her face like a curtain at the end of a play; never revealing what happens behind the acts.

"An amazing gift
So quick and swift
You were amazing

Looking up, she throws herself into the act. Her tiny arms dangling upside down as she begins. Shouts of excitement exude from the crowd as the child preforms. Her flips and twists begin to get faster and faster as her music picks up speed. Thoughts of sharing this performance dance in her mind as she continues without him.

His blue hair and happy grin making her frown. He was always so happy, yet he was always treated so poorly by the customers. They always enjoyed his act, but treated him like he was a freak, a beast, a monster. And yet he acted as if it never affected him. He always cheered his little 'libeling' up, but never opened up to anyone.

Maybe she did something wrong and that's why he wasn't there. Maybe it's all her fault that he's not here to preform. Memories of him teaching her and showing her different maneuvers plays as the song comes near an end. He was so skilled and talented. As she finishes, the child finds herself standing straight up with her hands above her head and a fake smile on her face.

"By myself I can't
They start to chant
Why are you not here?

As she makes her way down the impossibly long ladder, she notices the ringmaster coming towards her. His face holding a scowl so terrifying, the girl can only shiver as she walks words him. "Where is her?" He huffs, glaring at the small child. "I don't know, sir. He was supposed to preform with me, but he never showed. I'm just as confused as you are."

A deep sigh of exasperation leaves the ring leader's lips. "He's not in his trailer, nor is he here with you. He must have ran away with that no good cripple. Go up and preform again. We have to keep the audience entertained." He points out, turning his attention back to his missing member. "But, sir! They're waiting for the Nightcrawler! I cannot do his tricks!"

The ringmaster ignores the girl and makes his way to the center of the ring once more. "Ladies and Gentlemen, due to some unforeseen circumstances, our next act will not be performed by the Nightcrawler, but done by his young apprentice, The Living Doll, whom you have already met tonight."

Disappointment sets in as the crowd begins to holler in anger. "I paid good money to come and see one act and you tell me it won't happen?! What is this?! What a rip off, I'm leaving!" "It's one act, Jim. Calm down." "No, they said they had the German phenomenon coming and then they just cancel it? I'm not having it!" Many others seem to agree with the boisterous man and leave along with him.

Only three or four hundred people were left in the crowd, chanting for Nightcrawler. The little girl began to shrink away from the center. Fear settling in as the chanting grew louder and louder, until she couldn't take it anymore. She ran out of the tent in tears.

"Grinning at me
I lay on my knees
They want to hear me
Why can not 'he' see

The young girl sprints to her trailer, locking the door as she lets reality sink in. Her knees hit the floor and her hands furiously wipe her makeup off of her face. "If the Mr. Ringleader can't find Kurt, then he's really gone. He left me." Her tears begin to cascade down her face as her heart can't take the pain. Her cries seem to draw more of her fellow members to her home; silently listen to the child's heart broke pleads.

A loud knock then catches the whimpering child's attention. "Little Doll, I need you. The performance is not over yet. We still have customers to entertain." Little steps make their way to the door. The moon light from out of the trailer shines on the poor girl's face, revealing her distraught expression. "I can't preform like him, sir! H-his abilities are impossible for me to mimic." The ring leader shakes his head adamantly.

"You are just as talented as him, if not better." Shaking her head, she tries to explain how he could teleport, but the ringmaster ignored her and continued to speak. "You have learned from him since you were small. I am sure you will do fine." He then proceeds to pick the small child up from her spot on the floor and quickly takes her to get her make up redone. "Please be quick. The show must go one." He tells the makeup artist, as well as the little girl.

"I want to see you
I need to see you
I have to see you
What happened to you?

"Where is Kurt, Ms. Szardos?" The dark haired woman smiled sadly down at the small girl. "He has left with a kind man who has promised him a better life." The Gypsy's hand brushed through the child's hair, trying to reassure her that everything would be ok. The makeup artist worked quickly to fix the little doll's face paint. She then picked the child up and shooed both her and the Gypsy away. "Ms. Szardos, I want to see Kurt."

"Darling, sweet little darling, he's gone. He's no longer here." The fortune teller spoke, frowning at the thought. "He's in safer there then here." "B-but, I need to see him! I have to see him! I didn't get to say goodbye!" The child cries, but her face was held up by the black haired woman. "Dear child, don't ruin the makeup. You're almost done for the night. Go finish up and then we may talk more." Margali, the Gypsy, then rushed the child along to the show tent.

"We get up on stage
They jump to enrage
Why are you not here?
Why is 'he' so near?

Shouts and screams of anger can be heard as the little girl makes her way to the trapeze. The ringleader attempts the calm them down, as well as give the child a pep talk. His body closer to her than she feels comfortable with as he begins to speak. The words seemed to be drowned out by the shouting from the guests.

"'He' wants me to sing
I just can not bring-
I say 'he's' not you
What else can I do?"

"Let your body do the singing, alright. Tell them a story they will never forget." He speaks, catching the girl's attention. She nods and quickly begins to climb, attempting to escape the man's presence; not that she scared of him. "He's not Kurt. He's trying to make me replace him, but I'm nothing like Kurt. Kurt is really good at trapeze. I'm just a child."

As the music begins, she starts her act.

Singing it's silent song of misery
A monster lies trapped in it's own nightmare

Ten years has passed since Kurt disappeared and the little 'liebling' had been traveling with different circus groups all around the world. He current ringleader was an American jerk who treated her even worse when he found out she was a mutant. The circus group she was originally with loved her dearly, despite her being a mutant, but this group was very different. They despised mutants and made sure she knew her place.

Due to her mutation, she was forcefully retired from trapeze and forced to figure out her new talent, or else she would become a paid attraction; caged up to show off to the public as a 'CIRCUS FREAK'. Not a soul in the group tried to help her figure things out. She had to hand sew her limbs together when the fell to often and practice trapeze in secrecy.

Until the ringleader found out.
He immediately had the girl thrown into the cage for disobeying him. "Maybe this will help you to learn your place, Freak! I run this show and my rules are set in stone. You listen to me and me alone. Not sit and rot."

'He' is a tyrant
It lets out a plea
Why did she have to leave it all alone?

As the days past, she was shown off to the world as an absurdity to the customers of this hellhole she calls home. She pleads with the people to leave her alone, but the ringmaster would glare her down until she was silent. He'd later teach her 'manners' but threatening to turn her in for the government to play with.

Silently, the girl falls asleep. Tears rolling down her discolored cheeks as memories of Ms. Szardos and Kurt roll through her dreary mind. The Gypsy woman had stayed with their original circus while she let the young child be bartered off to the American circus, knowing the future that laid before the girl. Kurt left so long ago, all she remembers is his face; nothing more. This only makes the girl cry harder in her frigid sleep.

Bound to sing for us
A worthless monster
It never sees us
It despised us

The next morning was one the young teen would never forget. She wakes up and immediately moves towards the furthest edge of her cage, attempting the stay as far from human contact as possible. The comments people made about her appearance made her shake in fear, as well as disgust. "It never looks at us. It hates us, doesn't it? Wants to kill us all with her Frankenstein like body. What a worthless being. Never moving, never speaking. Does it even eat?" A man asks.

"Maybe she can't talk! Maybe she can only sing?!" A little girl shouts, looking into her cage. "Ms. Monsterlady, can you sing for me?" The teen's eyes widen as she turns to look at the child. "Please, Ms. Monsterlady?" The child pleads. "Sing for her, freak!" The father yells, making the teen flinch.

Lying so useless, we start to holler
"Hey! Get up you worthless Circus Monster!"

"Sing for my daughter you useless, circus freak! Do something! Sing for her! Get up you worthless Circus Monster!" He shouts, causing more people to surround her and chant along with the man. Soon enough, the girl begins to have a panic attack. Her breathing quickens and her heart begins to race. She can't think straight as everything around her starts to swirl. She starts to sweat and curls up further into her corner.

Then a voice breaks through her mind. "Hello, child. It's going to be alright. Just breathe and calm down. You'll see that you are no longer in that dreadful cage. You are safe, now." She doesn't visibly seem to acknowledge what was being told to her, but mentally she attempts to calm down. Her eyes are still shut tight, but she senses several people surrounding her. This only causes her more stress and her state to only worsen.

"Please, leave the child to us two. You all head on while we help her." The majority of the room seems to clear out and her mind seems to settle down. "Child, everything is alright now. No one is here to hurt you. We are here to help." But before anything could happen, the girl passes out from the stress and fear coursing through her.

"Kurt, please take her to her room. We will help her further when she wakes."
"Yes, Professor."

~~~

Word count: 2,180

(Well I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading! Part two will come out sometime in the future!)