Circus of the Mad
written by Ada Grimsdon
Sometimes living a lie is preferable to the truth... Twin siblings Amy and John Maven are just trying to stay alive, and get away from the police. But when a heist goes wrong, in an attempt to escape, the twins wind up in a place forgotten by time: the circus of the mad. But at this circus full of demons, there’s more than just trapezes and lions; there’s a secret that needs to be discovered, so the curtains can finally fall.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
1
Reads
341
Dreamers and Madmen
Chapter 1
There are many who think the world should belong to them.
Dreamers.
Warriors.
Madmen.
A young man named Lewis Marvati was all three. Lewis was ambitious,dangerously so, who thought he was destined to make a name for himself. And that’s exactly what he did. He left his family home in New York City for Grandean, a small town on the edge of America. While he was getting settled, he discovered a small circus on the edge of town. He decided to give it a look. The place was small, and only half full. But the acts! There was the mystical and marvellous, things man could never dream of! As he watched, he found himself falling in love with the ringmaster, a beautiful young woman named Annie Davis. In an attempt to try and win her love, Lewis offered to sponsor the circus; to bring fame and fortune to Grandean, he said. Annie, knowing that it would help her family, eagerly accepted.
With the extra revenue, the circus’ popularity boomed. More and more acts joined, bringing more wonder to the town, and soon the circus was the number one tourist destination in the world. Hell, Queen even did a performance there! Annie was incredibly grateful to Lewis, saying that she would do anything to repay him. Lewis, spotting an opportunity, offered to take her out for dinner at the most famous restaurant in Grandean as a celebration of their success. During the meal, Lewis asked her to become his partner; not just in business, but in life too. Annie was reluctant, but agreed, seeing she was indebted to Lewis. Lewis was overjoyed. All his dreams were coming true before his eyes.
Three years passed, and Lewis’ life couldn’t have been better. He and Annie had gotten married a year prior, and he and his wife’s business was booming. Better yet, the townspeople were awfully fond of the Marvarti’s for boosting popularity, allowing small businesses to thrive. It felt like he was dreaming.
But soon enough, everyone has to wake up.
On the 13th of October, 1974, the circus was burned to the ground.
All the performers went missing, along with their sponsor.
Soon the world forgot about it all, and life went back to normal. Grandean was just another town on the map, and the circus became nothing but an urban legend.
And life was peaceful.
Mostly…
Amy Maven panted as she sped through the town square, dodging vendors and shoppers alike. She risked a glance behind her, and sped up, seeing the police catching up. Her green eyes scanned the square, looking for a place to hide, before finally spotting a small alleyway: just enough room for a fourteen year old girl to fit in. She pushed herself into the alley, and allowed herself a grin of triumph as the police ran past, oblivious to her presence. Amy looked down at her cargo: a pack of bread rolls,a bunch of fruit and a chunk of beef. She smiled. It was the most food she had gotten her hands on in years. It would definitely be enough for her and John.
Amy and John had been homeless for as long as they could remember. Their parents had disappeared, leaving the twins to fend for themselves. Grandean was small, but still filled with horrible people, all of which liked nothing more than giving the siblings hell. And they had succeeded. Amy spent almost every day of her miserable life trying to find some clue to her parent’s identities. Alas, her search had been in vain.
All she knew about her history was that the local criminals had found Amy and her brother sleeping in an alleyway. Naturally, they were curious about why two babies were snoozing in an alley, but shrugged it off and accepted the twins into their little community. Amy and John grew up amongst thieves and beggars, and couldn’t have been happier. Of course, their adoptive parents were arrested when the twins were eleven, leaving them to fend for themselves. But they were doing fine. Mostly.
Amy touched the locket that hung around her neck, the last thing she had that belonged to her parents, before stepping out of her hiding place and making her way over to John. As she stepped into the alley they called home, her brother looked up at her and smiled. They both had the same curly blond hair, dimpled smiles and green eyes, but while Amy was rather petite, John was very tall and lanky, making it easy for him to reach high places; very useful when trying to run away from the police. Both twins had crooked noses, and, strangest of all, birthmarks over their eyes, making it look like they were off to a masquerade.
John looked up from the tattered book he was reading.
“What’s in today’s catch?” He asked, a placid smile upon his lips. Amy grinned.
“You mean this WEEK’S catch, my darling brother,”
“What do you mean?” John stared at his sister, an eyebrow raised.
Amy grinned like the Cheshire Cat, and opened up the bundle she held in her arms. John let out a low whistle, a sign he was impressed. Amy laughed, and reached to grab some bread and meat. She held it in the air like it was a glass of wine, and smiled.
“Here’s to finding Mum and Dad,” She toasted. John raised his own chunk of bread.
“To Mum and Dad,” He echoed, before biting into the soft, fluffy bun.
And in that moment everything was peaceful.
But moments have a habit of ending too soon.
“Hey!”
Amy’s green eyes locked with that of a police officer. She let out a squeak of surprise, and ran, John following soon after. The officer’s footsteps pounded on the cobblestone as he sped after the teenagers. The twins sped up, dodging cars and people, before bursting out of the little town and sprinting into the forest. They jumped over roots and fallen trees, lungs burning, and even when they knew that they had lost the officer, they didn’t dare slow down. They kept running until they had no idea how to get back to Grandean. They could never go back anyway. That was one thing they knew.
They were never going home.
Dreamers.
Warriors.
Madmen.
A young man named Lewis Marvati was all three. Lewis was ambitious,dangerously so, who thought he was destined to make a name for himself. And that’s exactly what he did. He left his family home in New York City for Grandean, a small town on the edge of America. While he was getting settled, he discovered a small circus on the edge of town. He decided to give it a look. The place was small, and only half full. But the acts! There was the mystical and marvellous, things man could never dream of! As he watched, he found himself falling in love with the ringmaster, a beautiful young woman named Annie Davis. In an attempt to try and win her love, Lewis offered to sponsor the circus; to bring fame and fortune to Grandean, he said. Annie, knowing that it would help her family, eagerly accepted.
With the extra revenue, the circus’ popularity boomed. More and more acts joined, bringing more wonder to the town, and soon the circus was the number one tourist destination in the world. Hell, Queen even did a performance there! Annie was incredibly grateful to Lewis, saying that she would do anything to repay him. Lewis, spotting an opportunity, offered to take her out for dinner at the most famous restaurant in Grandean as a celebration of their success. During the meal, Lewis asked her to become his partner; not just in business, but in life too. Annie was reluctant, but agreed, seeing she was indebted to Lewis. Lewis was overjoyed. All his dreams were coming true before his eyes.
Three years passed, and Lewis’ life couldn’t have been better. He and Annie had gotten married a year prior, and he and his wife’s business was booming. Better yet, the townspeople were awfully fond of the Marvarti’s for boosting popularity, allowing small businesses to thrive. It felt like he was dreaming.
But soon enough, everyone has to wake up.
On the 13th of October, 1974, the circus was burned to the ground.
All the performers went missing, along with their sponsor.
Soon the world forgot about it all, and life went back to normal. Grandean was just another town on the map, and the circus became nothing but an urban legend.
And life was peaceful.
Mostly…
Amy Maven panted as she sped through the town square, dodging vendors and shoppers alike. She risked a glance behind her, and sped up, seeing the police catching up. Her green eyes scanned the square, looking for a place to hide, before finally spotting a small alleyway: just enough room for a fourteen year old girl to fit in. She pushed herself into the alley, and allowed herself a grin of triumph as the police ran past, oblivious to her presence. Amy looked down at her cargo: a pack of bread rolls,a bunch of fruit and a chunk of beef. She smiled. It was the most food she had gotten her hands on in years. It would definitely be enough for her and John.
Amy and John had been homeless for as long as they could remember. Their parents had disappeared, leaving the twins to fend for themselves. Grandean was small, but still filled with horrible people, all of which liked nothing more than giving the siblings hell. And they had succeeded. Amy spent almost every day of her miserable life trying to find some clue to her parent’s identities. Alas, her search had been in vain.
All she knew about her history was that the local criminals had found Amy and her brother sleeping in an alleyway. Naturally, they were curious about why two babies were snoozing in an alley, but shrugged it off and accepted the twins into their little community. Amy and John grew up amongst thieves and beggars, and couldn’t have been happier. Of course, their adoptive parents were arrested when the twins were eleven, leaving them to fend for themselves. But they were doing fine. Mostly.
Amy touched the locket that hung around her neck, the last thing she had that belonged to her parents, before stepping out of her hiding place and making her way over to John. As she stepped into the alley they called home, her brother looked up at her and smiled. They both had the same curly blond hair, dimpled smiles and green eyes, but while Amy was rather petite, John was very tall and lanky, making it easy for him to reach high places; very useful when trying to run away from the police. Both twins had crooked noses, and, strangest of all, birthmarks over their eyes, making it look like they were off to a masquerade.
John looked up from the tattered book he was reading.
“What’s in today’s catch?” He asked, a placid smile upon his lips. Amy grinned.
“You mean this WEEK’S catch, my darling brother,”
“What do you mean?” John stared at his sister, an eyebrow raised.
Amy grinned like the Cheshire Cat, and opened up the bundle she held in her arms. John let out a low whistle, a sign he was impressed. Amy laughed, and reached to grab some bread and meat. She held it in the air like it was a glass of wine, and smiled.
“Here’s to finding Mum and Dad,” She toasted. John raised his own chunk of bread.
“To Mum and Dad,” He echoed, before biting into the soft, fluffy bun.
And in that moment everything was peaceful.
But moments have a habit of ending too soon.
“Hey!”
Amy’s green eyes locked with that of a police officer. She let out a squeak of surprise, and ran, John following soon after. The officer’s footsteps pounded on the cobblestone as he sped after the teenagers. The twins sped up, dodging cars and people, before bursting out of the little town and sprinting into the forest. They jumped over roots and fallen trees, lungs burning, and even when they knew that they had lost the officer, they didn’t dare slow down. They kept running until they had no idea how to get back to Grandean. They could never go back anyway. That was one thing they knew.
They were never going home.
