Hair Raiser Tales 2.5 : Carnival De Muerte by Robby Richardson - HTML preview

Long Live Muerte

(Carnival de Muerte Outro)

By

Robby Richardson

The lights went out and the tent was silent as a light came from out of nowhere and in the middle appeared the ringmaster.

He stood on a tall platform which had a winding staircase around it. I saw my parents open their mouths in shock at the sight of the resurrected man. And to my disbelief everyone in the audience had the same look upon their faces too. I however was not impressed with the carnival as a matter of fact. The ringmaster wore a sliver studded jacket with black pants all etched in silver stitches. He still looked pale and his demeanor had less enthusiasm as in the beginning. However his voice was stronger than ever, “ladies and gentlemen it is unfortunate that we have come to the end of the show”. The ringmaster gripped a pole and leaned over the side as he said, “our little carnival is small in size but will make the very earth quake beneath us”!

A figure began to enter the middle of the ring. It was a person dressed as a jester. His black and red outfit was lined with tiny gold bells. “Isn’t that the guy that took our tickets,” I asked my parents who just nodded and continued to watch. He had a skull mask and his shoes looked more like socks covered with bells. The jester stopped in the middle of the ring, “it is time for the jester to reveal the death of the next individual!” “The death of the next individual,” I asked a little confused. My mother nodded as my dad leaned around her, “there going to show another magic trick . . . like in the beginning of the show”! “That was a sick magic trick”. My parents were clearly not listening to me their focus was drawn towards the dancing jester in the center. He gyrated his waist and his hips in such a comical fashion the audience gave polite laughter. His arms twirled wildly as he spun in place, “give me a break”. His hand contorted around until his finger landed on “me”?

The jester’s finger rested on me as the ringmaster yelled out joyfully, “ah, it looks like the jester has selected the next victim.” I stared at my parents still skeptical of everything. My parents were not frightened. On the contrary, they were very encouraging for my participation. The even pushed me down the small steps as the jester waved me to come down. The jester clapped me on the back and walked me over to the ringmaster as I walked up the flight of stairs. I saw a rope fall from the top of the tent. “Hey ringmaster, what is the trick to this gag . . . I want to be a good sport and all”. “The jester has picked out our next victim,” the audience clapped as he wrapped the “circle of death” around my neck. “Hey,” I began to tug on his jacket but the ringmaster just slapped my hand away. “What is the trick to this . . . do I have to do anything”? My question fell on deaf ears as the ringmaster edged me closer to the end of the platform. “We hope that you have enjoyed your evening and know that Carnival de Muerte will be soon coming to cities all over the world. We’re going big time”! I felt a hand on my back as I stared up at his black stitches on his neck. “Hey,” I tried to get his attention now starting to get a little scared. “Ladies and gentlemen although Muerte starts with one,” he patted me on the back slightly. “The end has been foreseen . . . in twenty sixteen”! I felt a sharp push as my body fell off the edge and everything went black when I heard my neck snap. The ringmaster raised his hand as he bellowed “LONG LIVE MUERTE” and gave a little bow as the audience waited for the magic trick to finish. The seconds grew longer and soon they realized that the hanging body of the teenager was dead. This was no magic trick. This was the Carnival de Muerte.

THE END