Tales of Gloomsdale #4: The Horror of the Big Top

Chapter Thirteen

He just stared at me in the same way he had when I first saw him in his costume, before having the decency to look sheepish as he lowered his gaze. I gritted my teeth as he spoke. "Kyle... I didn't expect to see you here. I was just checking this shop was a last resort before I was about to head back..." He trailed off.

There was another awkward silence that was broken this time when Mr. Dubois spoke. "It isn't him, is it?" he asked. "I didn't think it looked like him, even if I haven't seen him in a while.

I shook my head, still surprised he had actually tried to look fir me. "No. It's... somebody else. Somebody else who works at the circus," I couldn't help adding.

To my surprise, Mr. Dubois looked relieved. "Well, that's a good thing. The ones who Javier keeps held under his command will be eager to defeat him as much as you and your friend are, won't they? They'll probably be happy to help, if your friend is too afraid."

"I'm not so sure about that," I scoffed. "He seems perfectly happy about his new life."

"That isn't true," Ben protested. I stared at him.

Mr. Dubois quickly slipped into shopkeeper mode, which was easy for him now since he had already seen two customers today. "Good evening, sir. How may I help you?" I could tell he missed saying that. That was probably why he had opened the door.

There was a brief silence as Ben scanned the shop, looking almost as surprised by the items on display as he was to see me. I supposed I couldn't blame him. "This is an... interesting shop you've got."

"What would you like to buy?" Mr. Dubois was clearly relieved it wasn't Alvarez. I couldn't help being as well. At least my dad wasn't as bad as him. The only glowing red object he had was his clown nose.

I realized I should speak up before he got too sidetracked from our task. "You... you have to help us," I managed to get out, immediately regretting it as my dad turned to look at me.

"With what?" he asked in confusion. "What are you doing here, Kyle?"

"What are you doing here?" I retorted, unable to prevent myself from getting sidetracked as well. "Aren't you supposed to be with your girlfriend at the circus?"

He had the decency to look ashamed. "Well, I was... but then I realized you were missing, so I had to find you."

"Really?" I asked incredulously, not believing he would willingly leave the circus to find me.

"Well, Antonio was missing as well," he admitted sheepishly. "And Mr. Alvarez wanted me to find both of you."

"I figured," I scoffed.

"But I still would've come," he insisted. "He asked Rosetta to find you, but I volunteered instead. He always makes one of us do any work required outside of the circus."

"Really?" I asked, not sure how to feel about that. I was slightly relieved that the ringmaster wasn't after us as well. "Isn't he afraid you'll try to run away or warn someone of how he treats you?"

"No, we know what'll happen if we do," he said bitterly, before freezing. "I shouldn't have told you that."

"I already know," I admitted. "Antonio told me."

"You do?" he exclaimed. "Why would he do that? He knows there's no point telling anyone." He glanced around the shop. "Where is he, anyway? I was worried about him as well. Javier won't be happy with him, even if I tell him to go easy on him."

I heard more thumping from one of the shelves. I felt bad for Antonio. He was probably too terrified to leave, thinking my dad would drag him back to the circus.