He looks sad for a moment, and he breaks eye contact looking away.
Nyet. No. If I find cat, I won’t hurt. then, quietly There’s been enough hurting.
He quickly composed himself and his stern demeanor returns. You must go now. You, your friend, the short boy in corner. You must leave circus. You should not return.
What do you do?
"Yes sir! Thank you!"
And Maggie hurries towards the exit. Where has Holly gone off to?
Steve's face turns red at the word "short." He stifles his question about the "hurting" and scurries off after Maggie. He keeps his eye out for Fatou and Hollie before heading towards the exit.
Fatou gives the interior of the trailer one more look, wondering where Holly is hiding, before jumping down and following after Maggie.
Holly quietly leaves her hiding place, and siddles behind Fatou. she waits for the securty to finish escorting them, quietly picturing the cover of Holly Elton, and The Case of The Sinister Circus
After they are alone, Holly turns to the others. Somethings wrong in there. we should find out what.
The fire eater watches you all file out of his trailer and security escorts you out. There’s some conflict about throwing kids out into the night, but since you arrived without parents there’s little they can do (the 80s were a different time)
By the time you’re back to your bikes, it’s nearly 8:40.
How do you get home now? The streets are better lit, but quiet streets will get you home by 10 and the expressway will put you home around 9:10.
The gorge will be very dark, but you’ll be home before 9.
How do you get home?
Fatou puts her flashlight onto the handlebars of her bike and clicks it on. "Did someone say they needed to get home quick?"
By the time all are out, Maggie is trembling in fear. "I-I've got to get back home. By the expressway, I-I don't wanna fall in the gorge and break a bone. Anyone coming?"
"I'll go by expressway too," Steve answers quickly, relieved to have an excuse not to go by the dark gorge.
The Expressway bisects Perkins and makes it easy to get across town quickly...but there are lots of busy intersections and narrow bike lanes. Still, it's well lit and well paved.
Everyone taking the expressway home, please give me a diff 4 flight roll.
C'mon guys, it'll be fine, and the gorge is faster Holly says pulling her bag up over her shoulders
Anyone taking the gorge home, give me a diff 8 flight roll, and let me know who is taking which route.
Fatou follows along behind Holly, casting her light ahead, and avoiding the edge of the gorge.
The gorge is darker than you expected it'd be, with thick clouds obscuring the moon. The tracks are rough and there are rocks and holes all around. You both crash your bikes after just a short ride. Holly's tire is bent pretty badly and it hurts just a little to put weight on her right ankle (but not so much that she can't walk). Fatou's bike is fine, just a little scratched up.
Steve rides back with Maggie on the expressway, and gradually becomes less fearful.
"What a disappointing circus," he says, back to his usual self.
"Holly! Are you alright?" Fatou gives the bike's bent wheel a critical eye. "We can both ride my bike, if you pedal. -but I think that we will have to leave yours behind. This is nothing I can fix in the dark." The quiet of the gorge is impressive, and Fatou's flashlight bounces and darts around the deep pit looking for options.
Still spooked from the hide-and-seek, Maggie slips in a ditch. "Ow, ow, Steve, wait! Wait a second! Yeowch!"
S!~! Holly says, getting up on her feet I'll drag it back tomorrow afterschool she joins Fatou on her bike, as they both get back.
Fatou squeaks when Holly curses, but otherwise follows suit.
On the ride home, Fatou can't help but break the silence. "That map had our street circled, Holly. Our actual street. I can read maps. What did that man want with our neighborhood?"
There was something Fishy there. they kept talking about people getting hurt, and not liking what they did... or are going to do. She says Do we know how long they are going to be in town? We could try to sneak in tomorrow. Holy says, knowing she can sneak out.
"You sure found exactly the spot to ride your bike into," Steve grumbles. "Here, let's get back on the road before it gets too late," he says as he pulls Maggie out of the ditch.
The first thing you notice when you ride into your neighborhood are the flashing red lights, reflecting off of the billowing smoke. When you emerge on your street, for a horrible moment you think that it’s Maggie’s house ablaze, but then you see that no, it’s Mr. Wilkins. The house is gutted, the engines putting out the last bits of flame.
Mr. & Mrs. stand on their driveway watching the fire fighters work. They’re at First relieved then concerned when they don’t see Maggie.
What happened? asks Mr. Taylor. Where are the others?
What do you do?
As you start biking again, you see the boy standing under a streetlight across the street. He looks like he’s shouting, but it’s silent.
What do you do?
"We took a short cut home. Is Mr. Wilkins going to be okay?" Fatou tries her best to look innocent. Even still, her eyes stray to her own house, suddenly concerned for her ma. These sirens must have her scared senseless.
They look nervously at one another. You should ask your mom about that. says Mrs. Taylor. You took a short cut...but where is Maggie? Is she alone? asks Mr. Taylor.
Fatou, your mom is watching the fire from her living room window. Holly, your parents are on the lawn.
"She went with the Divin boy!" Fatou calls back, already running to her house. She leaves her bike with Holly.
Fatou was in trouble, she knew. She didn't know exactly what kind of trouble, but she had to prepare herself. If she wasn't careful, her mother would never let her leave the house again. She didn't know why she had been so reckless(14)- so negligent(18). Why would ma know about Mr. Wilkins? Dirty stockings one night, wet ones the next, she was spiraling out of control! This was a disaster. Thank goodness she would be disciplined before this foolhardy(19) behavior affected her grades. ... Kooky? Two k's is eight points, but that's not quite the right word, but foolhardy would require at least two tiles on the board, and unless I'm playing on 'fool' that won't-
Fatou reaches the door and ducks out of her backpack to get her keys...
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Your mother seems more concerned than angry, though that might pass soon enough. She hugs you close.
I did not know where you were! I was so very worried. And then when the fire trucks came and they took the old man. I just didn’t know what happened. Where were you?
Oh, I'm getting into trouble.
Maggie halts her bike with a sharp brake, calling at the kid. "Hey! You need a lift to the city? Come, we won't harm you!"
He turns to look at you, surprised that you can see him. He speaks frantically but no sound comes out. He waves his arms trying to get you to come over to him.
Maggi moves closer, reaching out to the kid with a hand. Something is unnerving her, but she can't just leave him there...
"Can you understand me? Get on the bike and we'll go home."
Steve's eyes widen with renewed uneasiness when he recognizes the sad boy.
"Are you sure we have to help him?" Steve asks, keeping his distance.
He reaches his hand out too, and your hand passes through his. It’s like moving through a thick mist and your hand feels cold to the bone. He looks at you in horror and fades away in front of your eyes.
What do you do?
You witness all of this.
What do you do?
"I guess we don't have to, then?" Steve takes Maggie's hand and tries to pull her in the direction of home.
"DID YOU SEE THAT?" yells Maggie. "He... it... STEVE! How can you be calm! Are we going crazy?"
Steve breathes slowly, trying not to show his fear. "I saw that twice now. Fatou said it was an optical illusion, but maybe she'll believe you more than me. Let's go back home; it's already late." He tugs on her arm again and begins to run.
"Yes, let's."
Maggie pedals as fast as she can towards home.
You bike the rest of the way back, arriving a little while after the gorge kids. The fire is nearly extinguished and there's a corpse under a blanket being loaded into an ambulance.
Maggie's parents rush over as you enter the court.
Maggie! Your friends arrived and you weren't with them, we were so worried! Where were you? demands Maggie's mom.
Steve, your mom is nowhere to be seen.
Maggie gasps as she sees the smoke rising from Mr Wilkins' place and the ambulance. "Sorry! But it's them who were early, I'm not late- not that late! I just slipped on a mud puddle and scratched my knee, so I had to go a bit slower."
She shows her knee, rough from the ditch.
"What happened here? Is that- is that Mister Wilkins?"
Your dad tries to step between you and the stretcher.
I'm sorry Maggie...there was a terrible fire next door. Mr. Wilkins...he didn't make it. The fire fighters think he fell asleep smoking. The fire started in his bedroom. Come on...let's go inside.
He leads you into your house.
Fatou wrings her hands. "It was only some acrobats and trained animals, ma. It was fun, and we got home safe, but when I saw the lights I was so scared. Do you think this was because I was out late? Did I hurt the old man?" Reverse psychology. Establish innocence. Show guilt for something that could not be your fault. She will be too concerned with reassuring you that you didn't kill Mr. Wilkins to scold you. Fatou bites her lip and looks close to crying.
That sounds like a diff. 6 charm roll to me.
Steve stays only for a few moments to look around at the commotion outside. Afterwards, he unlocks the door to his house and walks inside to check if his parents were inside safely.
They are asleep in their room. The sounds of the fire apparently didn’t disturb them, nor did your absence.
Steve begins to feel afraid again to find himself the only person awake in the house, especially after having seen the crying boy in the expressway. Since he doesn't think his parents care to be disturbed from their sleep, he opens the front door again and gets closer to the ambulance and the other kids.