Carnival World Boxed Set (Episodes 1-3) Page 5

“I’m sorry, is that too much work?”

  Maddie saw things were getting heated between the two boys. “The pavilion has a fence around it. We could probably close it off.”

  “The others got there first, if you hadn’t noticed,” Ryan scoffed.

  “So what? Ask if we can join them,” said Justin.

  “I’m not asking Darien Burton for anything.”

  “Not even if your life depended on it?” asked Maddie.

  “Because it kinda does,” added Justin.

  “Hey, if you want to join Darien and his little ‘Let’s Wait for Somebody to Rescue Us’ Club, go right ahead,” said Ryan.

  Justin muttered, “That’s not sounding like such a bad idea.”

  Maddie agreed with her brother, but she didn’t want to offend Ryan. She liked him. There was something about him that pulled her in. He kind of had this bad boy aura. She didn’t think he was a bad boy right now—that was obvious with all his geek talk—but she believed he had the potential to be bad ass. And that turned her on.

  “Let’s not fight, all right? Come on you guys,” said Maddie.

  Her brother cooled off a bit. She could tell by the way he relaxed his shoulders a little. “All right. So what do we do now?”

  “We need to get one fire going, at least. It’s dark and that dog could be prowling around anywhere,” said Ryan.

  “Great. You got any matches?” asked Justin.

  Ryan shook his head “No. You?”

  “Nope,” said Justin.

  Maddie avoided both their gazes but Ryan’s eyes were on her. “Well?” he said.

  Her brother waved it off.

  “She doesn’t have any-”

  Maddie shoved her hand into her jacket pocket. She took out a half-empty packet of cigarettes and a pink lighter, a rubber band wrapped around both.

  Justin gaped at her. “Are you serious?”

  “Don’t have a cow,” said Maddie.

  “Don’t have a cow? You’re sucking on cancer sticks and you’re telling me not to have a cow?”

  Ryan shuffled off to one side and picked up some grease-soaked pizza boxes to use as kindling while Justin continued to lecture her.

  “Where did you even get these? You’re underage. Whoever sold this to you is in a lot of trouble.”

  “God, will you just let it go?”

  “Smoking? How could you do this to yourself? How long have you been smoking?”

  “How long have mom and dad been talking about a divorce?”

  That shut him up. Justin knew how much their parents’ impending divorce affected her. She hated the thought of her family breaking up.

  Ryan glanced up at the two of them, then got back to work on the fire. “That’s started. We’ll need a lot more wood for the other three. Maddie, can you stay here and move the food in closer?”

  “I’m not leaving her,” said Justin.

  “She’ll be fine. Just stay close to the fire. No animal will come near you,” said Ryan.

  “Just go already.” She waved her hand at Justin.

  “Come on. We have to get as much as possible while we still can,” said Ryan.

  “We’ll talk when I get back,” Justin promised.

  As soon as Ryan and Justin tromped off to search for more firewood, Maddie exhaled. That had gone about as well as she had feared. After Justin was gone, she fished a cigarette out of her pack and lit it. The nicotine flooded her system and soothed her. She took another drag and let it out slowly. She knew smoking was bad for her. Their uncle had died two years ago from lung cancer, but there was nothing she’d tried that gave her the release she needed like cigarettes.

  Then she heard the growl right behind her and choked on the next drag as she screamed.

  They heard Maddie’s scream all the way at the pavilion.

  Summer jolted to her feet. “Was that a scream?”

  Darien looked almost sick to his stomach. “We should go see what’s going on.”

  “Darien! You’re not going out there!” Nicole shouted.

  Another scream tore through the air.

  “They may be hurt!” said Summer.

  “Who cares?” asked Nicole.

  “Now is not the time, Nicole!”

  “Oh, you have something to say to me?”

  Summer took a step toward Nicole, wanting desperately to slap her across the face. “I have a lot of things I want say to you, as a matter of fact.”

  “All right! Cool it! I’m going to take a look,” Darien said as he ran out of the pavilion.

  “I’m coming with you,” said Summer.

  “I’m not.” Nicole crossed her arms over her ample chest.

  Summer glared at her. “You stay here and watch out for Sam.”

  Sam perked up. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I just have to go with Darien to make sure the others are okay.” She glared at Nicole again. “You better watch him.”

  “I will. What do you take me for?”

  Summer could have given her a long list, but she didn’t have time. She really didn’t want to leave Sam with Nicole. Summer couldn’t think of a worst person to take care of her brother, but there was no other choice. She didn’t want to take him into a possibly dangerous situation.

  Summer quickly hugged him. “Stay close to Nicole.”

  Then she hurried after Darien.

  Darien and Summer ran hard. Darien’s heart pumped faster and harder. Excitement surged through him, just like before a game. The adrenaline kicked in. Fear melted away along with hunger and thirst. The world narrowed to just a few thoughts.

  Run fast.

  Kick ass.

  This was what Darien lived for. That moment when he could just run and throw and forget everything. He could forget how his dad was a colossal jackwad. He could forget his doubts about his future. Whatever was in his way didn’t stand a chance right now.

  Then they came to the carousel, Darien halted in his tracks and most of the bravado leaked out of his pores.

  He saw Maddie stumble between the merry-go-round horses, and the dog behind her. But it wasn’t a dog. It was a monster. It was like nothing he’d seen back home. Darien froze. He felt sick inside. The burst of adrenaline had completely vanished.

  The ugly, mutated thing growled and slowly advanced on the poor girl.

  Summer caught up with him and she gaped as well.

  “Look at that thing.” For a moment, he couldn’t act. It was all true. They had fallen through a warp or down the rabbit hole or something. They were nowhere near home. There was no help coming for them. Ryan had been right all along.

  The dog snapped at Maddie. She screamed and backed away. “Help me!”

  “It’s okay, Maddie,” Summer yelled.

  The urge to turn around and run ate away at Darien’s nerve. His hands shook. It was the adrenaline, but he couldn’t deny it was also fear that coursed through him.

  No cops were coming to save them. There was no help just around the corner. Not unless they helped each other.

  Darien took two steps forward. The dog barked at him. Its teeth gleamed like knives. He halted but he didn’t back down. He couldn’t. Not now. He remembered the sticks back at the pavilion. He had left them behind because he hadn’t found any that would make decent weapons. Now Darien wished he had brought something. Anything in his hands would have made him feel better.

  He heard shouting just as Ryan and Justin ran into view.

  “Maddie!” Justin screamed.

  He rushed to his twin but Ryan pulled him back right before the dog could turn and bite his head off. It turned back to the terrified Maddie.

  “We have to work together,” Summer said.

  “Have to distract it first,” Ryan yelled. “Grab torches!”

  Darien saw the fire nearby. Jumping into action pushed the fear away and the excitement of the moment kicked in. It was time to get down to it.

  The dog continued to stalk Maddie. It was toying with her. Darien would sw
ear it was grinning as it crept closer to her, snapping its steel-like jaws.

  Darien and Summer each grabbed a torch. Ryan had his iron bar ready to use. Justin moved behind his sister, ready to grab her. Ryan nodded to Darien. This brought Darien back to playing on the football field. They were adjusting as a team. Working together for a common goal. Instead of scoring touchdowns, though, they were trying to save a life.

  “We got this. Go!” said Darien.

  Ryan darted to the side, trying to get behind the creature.

  Darien took a deep breath. He had never been this scared in his life. The intensity of the situation rivaled anything he’d experienced before, more than any game he’d ever played. He and Summer charged forward with their torches.

  “Hey! Over here!” Darien yelled.

  “Get out of here!” screamed Summer.

  The dog snapped at them. Its slobbering jaws were like a bear trap. They snapped shut less than a foot from Darien’s outstretched arm. Every fiber in him wanted to flee. But he forced himself to stay. He stayed next to Summer and together they waved their torches at the beast.

  The thing roared at them and lurched forward. Its attention was now squarely on Darien and Summer, exactly as planned.

  Come on Mulvaney.

  He saw Ryan approach from the other side. The skinny kid made almost no sound. Darien had to admit he was pretty stealthy. As the beast advanced on Darien and Summer, Ryan snuck up behind it. He raised his bar and-

  SMACK!

  He brought it down on the creature’s back. The sound of its spine breaking echoed in Darien’s ears. It set his teeth on edge and made his gut roil. The monster howled in pain.

  At that moment Justin sprung forward from Darien’s left side and grabbed Maddie. Together, they scrambled off the merry-go-round and away from the dog.

  Ryan hit the dog in the head again, then jumped off the ride.

  Behind them, Maddie cried as Justin hugged her. Darien and Summer burned the thing with torches. Darien heard the wrinkled skin sizzle when he struck it. The smell of burned meat filled his nostrils. Ryan hit it again with his iron bar. There was a sharp crack and Darien knew more bones snapped. The dog yelped and finally limped away in obvious agony.

  Darien watched it flee past the old tents and carnival rides to where the parking lot should have been. Its pained cries died out slowly. Finally he felt able to let out a long, tense breath.

  “What the hell was that thing?”

  “Still think we’re in Kansas, Dorothy?” Ryan sneered.

  “Jesus, Mulvaney, don’t start.”

  “I’ll start it and finish it.”

  “Both of you knock it off,” Summer chided them. “We have to see if Maddie’s all right.”

  Darien and Ryan backed down but still eyeballed each other. Darien had no intention of fighting, but he had to put up a show. Despite being in this place, Darien still felt like he had to be the big man. Someone had to take charge, and he’d be damned before he let the freakshow do that.

  The three of them checked on Maddie. She had calmed down and stopped crying. Summer put an arm around her. Darien felt a twinge of jealousy. Part of him wanted to cry, to let it all out. It wasn’t fair. They were stuck in monster land. But he had to keep strong. Coach always said that when things were at their worst, that’s when real men stepped up. Darien had to step up. He could just imagine what his father would call him if he found out that Darien hadn’t stepped up. Coward. Weakling.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Summer asked Justin.

  “I think so. She’s just scared out of her mind. Mads, you all right?”

  Maddie managed to nod.

  He brushed a hand over her curls. “Scary, huh?” He found a pack of cigarettes on the ground and offered her one.

  “Thanks. But I think I’m going to quit,” said Maddie.

  “How you doing?” Ryan crouched next to her and gave her a small smile.

  Darien felt like he wanted to hurl. Maddie was making her goo-goo eyes at Mulvaney again.

  Darien was just about ready to relax when he heard Maddie ask, “Did you get both of them?”

  No one spoke. Darien finally said, “What are you talking about? There was only one.”

  Before she could reply, his guts twisted. He knew what she was going to say.

  “No, there were two of them.”

  Darien felt sick inside. Everyone else looked the same way.

  “Are you sure?” asked Ryan.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  Darien’s first thoughts were of the pavilion and whom they had left behind.

  Summer’s eyes widened and she put a fist to her mouth. “Sam!”

  Nicole and Sam sat on one of the benches inside the pavilion. Nicole wanted to be bored with their situation but the reality was, she was scared out of her mind. By complaining about the dirty surroundings and the company they had to keep, she was trying hard to convince herself that she wasn’t in a strange world that didn’t make sense, that she was just at a really crappy carnival babysitting a little kid. Darien promised them that help was on the way, and that Ryan was full of it.

  So she figured if it turned out to be otherwise, it was all Darien’s fault.

  A loud pop came from the fire and Nicole jumped up. She saw Sam staring back at her. Embarrassed, she sat back down.

  “You think they’re okay?” asked Sam.

  “Huh? Yeah. Sure, kid. I’m sure everything is fine.” Although she didn’t really believe it herself. But what was she supposed to say to him? Hey little dude, we’re lost in some interdimensional time warp and we’re never going home and we’re going to die.

  “My name’s Sam, not kid.”

  She smiled at him, not really sure what to say to that. She was an only child. She didn’t have any experience with little kids.

  “Do you hate my sister?”

  The question caught her off guard and she fumbled to say something. “What? No. No. Why? What did she say about me?”

  “Nothing,” said Sam.

  But it was clear to Nicole that Summer had said something. Probably called her a bitch.

  Nicole pondered how to tell Sam that she really didn’t have anything against Summer. But Katie Parsons thought she was gross and whatever Katie thought, that’s how things were. How could she explain that to a kid who watched cartoons and still believed things like “just be yourself” and “honesty is the best policy?”

  Summer was honest in school and she was herself. And look where that landed her. At the bottom of the high school social ladder.

  Nicole picked her words carefully. “Look, high school is a big place. You can’t be nice to everyone. You only have a limited supply of nice.”

  He scrunched up his nose. “That doesn’t sound right. I’m nice to everyone.”

  “Yeah, I bet you are.”

  Sam kicked at the ground. She thought maybe something else was bothering the kid. Nicole didn’t press him, though. Because honestly she really didn’t care. She had her own problems to deal with.

  “Something happened to me,” he said. “Summer said I dreamed it. Do you think I was dreaming?”

  “I think I’m dreaming right now and I just can’t wake up.”

  She looked around the ruined pavilion now devoid of other people. It was the most truthful thing she had said so far today. There was no harm in telling Sam. It wasn’t like he mattered at school or in her social circles. He was a safe zone, so to speak. Nicole suddenly felt as if she could breathe easier.

  She looked at Sam and nudged him with her elbow. “So tell me what happened.”

  Sam told her his whole story. Nicole listened to the very end, didn’t interrupt and didn’t ask him any questions until he’d finished. She was proud of herself for actually being attentive to him. Normally, she’d zone out when someone was telling her something, especially if it had nothing to do with her.

  “This carnival person told you we need to go to Warren?”

  Sam nodd
ed.

  “Why would he do that? Warren’s where all the criminals are at.”

  Nicole’s mom had been paranoid about even driving near the town of Warren. Nicole made sure never to tell her that she’d pen-palled with one of the inmates before.

  Jake had been his name. He was serving two years for burglary. Nicole figured that wasn’t too bad. It was just stealing stuff and not hurting someone.

  On a dare, she’d visited this website for cons to find women to connect with. Katie was the one who egged her on, naturally. And she’d found Jake. He was cute, so she thought, why not? She’d written to him for about two months and then stopped when he told her he wanted to see her when he got out.

  Nicole had freaked out and stopped writing. Jake was due to get out of jail in three months. Her stomach rolled over just thinking about it. She ran a hand over her belly as Sam kept talking.

  “I know, but he told me if we don’t go there, bad stuff is going to happen.”

  Nicole smirked. “Ha. What could be worse than being stuck in this craphole?”

  A noise reverberated through the pavilion. It sounded like metal hitting metal.

  Nicole sat up straight. “What was that?”

  Sam grabbed her arm.

  They waited, holding their breath, but nothing jumped out at them. No other sound came. Nicole relaxed a little. It must have been something rotten falling over. She glanced down at Sam.

  “I’m all for getting out of here, but I don’t think following something you dreamt is a wise move.”

  “I told you, I didn’t dream it,” said Sam.

  He let go of her arm, then dug in his pocket. “The Barker gave this to me because I did so good at the game.”

  Nicole looked at what he held in his hand. “A compass? How is that supposed to help?”

  “Maybe it points to where we need to go,” said Sam.

  She shook her head. Part of her wanted to believe Sam. At least that way she could be sure there was a way out of this place. But this was too crazy.

  “You have a really great imagination. Maybe you should be a writer when you grow up. If we ever get out of here, that is.”

  “Why won’t anyone believe me?” asked Sam.

  “Because you’re like what, ten?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Little kids are infamous for making stuff up.”