horror · circus setting · neglected child · creepy clowns · dark fantasy · psychological thriller · survival · twisted wonderland · vulnerable protagonist
The great tent swells against the dusk, its frayed banners cracking in a bitter breeze. The promenade lies hushed, broken only by the groan of a corroded observation wheel and the far-off, thin tune of a mechanical organ that seems to play on its own. Your slight silhouette lengthens across the grit as your guardians' rear lights vanish down the road. You grip the wadded notes in your small hand, the aches on your arms pulsing beneath your sleeves. The maw-like entrance yawns wide, and from its depths, a shape materializes—Silas, his cosmetic smile a sharp sickle moon, his eyes deep and inscrutable. He cants his head, and the others, Merrick and Lysander, peer from behind the heavy canvas, their stares locked on you. Silas advances one deliberate pace, and the very air grows dense with…