3. Chapter Three

Freak - Sub Urban

Crowds of people fill the field as we make our way towards the huge striped tent at the end of the line. I scan the array of people, finding myself met with more familiar faces than I expected. Yet, none of them so much as acknowledge me. Naomi laughs, clearly sensing my confusion as she locks arms with Claire and me.

"Remember, never mention who or what you see here tonight, girls. What happens at Cirque Du Désir, stays at Cirque Du Désir," Naomi says as she nods towards the circus. Her face brims with excitement as she guides us to the lineup of people buying tickets to enter. "Tonight is going to be a night we'll never forget. I promise."

"I don't know if I should be excited or terrified by that statement," I admit with a smirk following her lead. Claire laughs, clearly finding amusement in the unease I feel about this mysterious place.

Up ahead, clowns with chilling face paint wander about, scoping out the lineup for the night as they whisper back and forth. A lump forms in my throat as one of them locks eyes with me. He's tall, with a worn costume that"s covered in stains and tears. His shoulder-length blonde hair is greased back and as he saunters closer to us, I can spot his stubble poking through the layers of caked-on makeup coating his face. In his hand, he carries a bunch of colorful balloons floating up to the night sky. Something about him seems eerie. Like a child's biggest fear reincarnated.

I watch, unable to blink as he stops abruptly, and whispers something into the other clown's ear causing him to turn and look at me. This new clown has short curly dark hair that peeks out from beneath a short top hat. His face is painted white, with a thick blue outline around his mouth giving the illusion of creepy-looking lips pulled into a twisted expression. Black vertical streaks cross his eyes and a big red foam ball sits on his nose. They have a sinister look about them that turns my stomach. The tension grows and my heart races as the clowns make their way past us and toward the back of the line.

"Ah don't worry bitch. Once we get some vodka into you, you'll forget all about your worries-"

"And morals," Namoi adds, cutting Claire off. We all burst out in laughter. I hope they're right. I deserve to have fun. Letting loose for a night never hurt anyone, right? The closer we get to the tent, the louder the music becomes. The beat of the bass vibrates through my body as we reach the ticket booth.

"Step right up ladies, and prepare to be seduced by the darkness! Welcome to Cirque Du Désir, where lust wears a twisted mask and desire dances with the devil. This is not your average love story; this is a dark circus of pleasure that will leave you breathless, longing for more, and questioning the very nature of your own depraved heart. Here in Cirque Du Désir no desire is frowned upon or turned away. We cater to all without judgment. Are you ready to have your wildest desires come true?" A dwarf man greets us from the small wooden booth. He's dressed in a fuzzy brown monkey costume, complete with a child-sized hood pulled up over his head with two little monkey ears.

"Hell yes, I can't wait for this!" Claire shouts excitedly.

"Three tickets please kind sir," Naomi responds, clearly giddy to get inside. A smirk forms on her lips and she unlocks arms from us and opens up the small clutch in her hand. "Tonight is on me bitches. So you can remember it was me who gave you the best night of your fucking lives," she adds, handing him three hundred dollar bills.

My jaw drops as she clicks her clutch shut. "Three hundred dollars? Are you insane?" I don't care what this place is, or what they do. There's no way a ticket is worth that much cash.

"A small price to pay for everything we're about to experience, trust me. We're allowed to record and take videos inside, right?" Na0mi asks with a flirtatious tone.

With a devious grin, the small man replies "Oh but of course, my dear. In fact, we encourage it," he explains, handing three black and white tickets toward us.

"Perfect!" Claire declares as she snatches the tickets from the man"s hands. "Let's get inside, I can't wait to see this shit. Thanks, little sir," she adds, offering the dwarf a wink before leading Naomi and me towards the entrance of the big top tent. I find myself intrigued by what wonders await us on the other side. From the videos I watched on the way here, I have an idea of what to expect and I'll admit, it does look like I'm in for a wild night. But it's the man in the mask from the videos that has my interest. Something about him I can't explain. I can't help but hope that our paths cross tonight.

As we approach, a man dressed as a mime on stilts, with a painted white face and thin black eyebrows, lifts the large striped flap of the tent. With an enthusiastic smile, he gestures for us to enter, guiding us through with his arm.

"This is it! Remember, what happens here, stays here. Don't be slimy bitches."

"Whatever, Claire. Everyone knows you're the slimy one. I mean why else do you wanna make videos if not to use it for your benefit later." Naomi scoffs. "Let's just promise to keep anything that happens with the three of us a secret. Fuck everyone else, leave them to their own demise."

"Agreed," Claire adds, applying a thick layer of sparkling red gloss to her plump lips.

"Okay, deal." I agree. I mean, how bad can shit really get tonight. I watch as the girls enter ahead of me. Pausing, I take a deep breath to ready myself for the chaos I know is to come. I deserve this. I deserve a good fucking night. The mime clears his throat pulling me from my sad attempt at an internal pep talk. Lifting my eyes to him, he nods his head towards the entrance to hurry me up. "Right, sorry," I whisper, before quickly rushing through the raised canvas flap and inside the big top tent.

Once inside, I'm hit with musty and damp air. I continue down the dark narrow passage, making my way towards the light at the other end as the bass of the music vibrates through me.

"Hurry up Indie!" Naomi shouts from somewhere up ahead of me just as the entrance opens up to the large circular area of the big top. The darkness of the entrance tunnel fades as the tent opens up to the main room. The tent is dimly lit, with flickering lights that cast eerie shadows on the thick canvas walls around us. The atmosphere under the big top is both alluring and unsettling as I make my way deeper inside behind my friends.

People crowd around sectioned-off areas of the tent, with narrow passages weaving through the bodies. In the center, around the base of the thick wooden pole that holds up the famous point of the tent, sits a large circular bar. Behind the bar, are men and women dressed in all black. All wearing some sort of jester mask as they take orders and mix drinks for the swarm of people around them.

"Who knew Casselman has so many fucking closet freaks," Claire chuckles as I catch up to them. "Let's explore."

Following their lead, we make our way through the narrow passages in the crowd. To our left, a large wooden sign hangs from the ceiling above the sectioned-off area.

Ballet Of Knives

Bringing her mouth to my ear, Naomi yells "What the hell is Ballet Of Knives?" Even though she's so close to my ear, I can barely hear her over the music.

"I have no idea, but I can't wait to fucking find out," Claire adds, as she pushes through the crowds of people around the area with Naomi and I in tow. People push back and yell aggressively as we make our way through them to the front.

"Holy shit!" Naomi gasps. Finally reaching the front and getting a clear few, my jaw drops. Two men sit in chairs in the sectioned-off area with their pants around their ankles and their full cock and balls exposed to the people watching. While two young women, in latex body suits dance around them. However, at the ends of their ballet shoes, are large knives. They spin on the pointed tips as they swirl around the men, and the crowd watches intently.

"I don't get it, a ballet lap dance? With knives? Who the fuck desires that?"

"You don't have to get it, that"s the point. Trust me, this is probably the least fucked up thing we'll see-" Naomi's sentence is cut off when one of the young women, lifts her leg and slices it across the gentleman's thigh. Crimson trails down his hairy leg, staining his tall white sock as he hisses. I instinctively grab Naomi's wrist tightly, unsure if what I'm seeing is true. But just when I think it really can't get weirder, the man's cock begins to grow in front of everyone watching.

"Jesus fuck! He's getting off on it!" Claire laughs as she pulls out her cell to record the show. "What a sick fuck. People are never going to believe this."

"This has to be fake, right? A fucking circus act. People don't come here and pay that kind of money to get cut by ballet dancers," I question, finding myself stunned with disbelief. Unable to tear my eyes from the performance, I watch as the girl turns around and grinds her ass against his boner. What the fuck kind of freak show is this? My eyes scan the crowd of watchers. Fully expecting someone to jump in and stop this from happening, but they don't. It's when the second woman slices her bladed shoe across the chest of the other man that realization hits me.

This is all real. The blades, the cutting, the blood, the enjoyment.

"Oh, I can't wait to see what they hide in the back of the tent if this is the shit at the front!" Claire yells before pushing through the crowds ahead of us in a rush to explore. Turning towards her, I'm met with the familiar face of Mr Cunnings. Our fifth-grade teacher. His hand shoved in his trousers as he jerking himself to the blood show before him. Quickly, I turn away and chase after Claire, pulling Naomi along behind me.

"This place is fucked up!" Naomi yells.

"That's one way to describe it," I reply. I follow the narrow path in the crowd to the next sectioned-off area.

Bunny Babysitter

"Bunny Babysitter…Great…" I yell to Naomi who offers me a sinister smirk in return. They knew this shit was fucked up, they had to. Even the videos I watched on the way here would never have led me to expect this…I don't think anything ever could.

The crowd around this one appears less dense, as we make our way to Claire's side at the front. Inside the roped-off area, is the tallest woman I have ever seen. She's wearing a rabbit mask, with a trainer coat that hangs open revealing her large bare breasts, and short leather shorts complete with thigh-high matching boots. On the floor in front of her, is a large blanket where a full-grown man sits. He's wearing an adult-sized diaper and a frilly bonnet tied tightly around his head as he whines and reaches up at her.

"Awh, is the baby hungry?" The bunny shouts. "Come to Bunny, baby. I have just what you need," she adds as she lowers herself to the chair behind her. The man, following her orders, crawls towards her, pulling himself to sit in her lap where he takes her tit into his mouth and begins to nurse like an infant. He slurps and sucks, as milk leaks down his chubby face and beard. The bunny pats his back, and rocks him in her arms as they roleplay what I can only assume to be this man's desire.

"Tell me you have mommy issues, without telling me you have mommy issues." Claire laughs, tucking her cell back into her pocket. "Alright, drink time. If all the shows are going to be this fucked up, we need alcohol in our system."

My eyes widen as the Bunny Babysitter's hand slips inside the man's diaper. Not wanting to witness the show anymore, I quickly avert my eyes to my friends.

"Agreed, I was not prepared for… whatever the fuck this is," I add.

The girls just laugh, as we make our way through the crowds of people and towards the bar. It's going to take a lot of drinks for me to prep for whatever is next, that much I'm sure of. And yet, part of me is curious as to what else this place has going on. While I knew this place would be fucked up, I never expected my friends to bring me to…well…a brothel for freaks.