Leena’s hands quivered as she reached the town gate. No one was posted during the celebration. She did not even know what they were celebrating exactly, but she knew she wanted to see what was going to happen, especially with such a freakish carnival in town.

The streets were empty and dark, but she could hear noises like laughter and cheering from the center of town. She kept to the sides of the houses and buildings, in between the side roads and alleys where the shadows were the darkest. The night was black with no stars or moon, so the only light she had to go by was the glow from dim lanterns, sparsely hung outside businesses.

It was oddly cold. The air was still, but her face felt like it was stinging. She tried to keep her fingers warm in the pockets of her jacket. Her toes were already frozen inside her shoes.

As she approached the town square, the cheering and laughter grew louder. She started to hear chanting, but she could not make out what they were saying. Her curiosity was starting to be eclipsed by the uneasiness of the unknown.

The town square was actually a large rectangle covered in grass with walkways through and around it. A large stage was in the center of the rectangle, built of wood, with a large wooden arm sticking up in the center. Leena usually avoided the town square on her excursions because it was too open for her to hide.

But everyone was at the town square tonight.

Bright and flaming torches lined the edges, surrounding colorful tents. People milled around, talking and laughing. They were dressed in dark colors, with faces shadowy from the lights. Leena felt her stomach turn a bit.

She peeked out from an alley, looking for a way to get closer without entering. A building nearby had a low roof. Maybe she could climb up to get a better view?

Scurrying over to the roof, she managed to use the window beneath to hoist herself up. Her fingers slipped a bit as if grabbing ice, and she nearly fell back to the ground.

Once she was safely up, she tried to pull herself up to the right on the second level roof, glancing around for anyone who might be watching her.

“Ah!” she cried, accidentally cutting her hand on an errant nail. She crouched low, holding her hand and pursing her lips.

Did anyone hear her? Did anyone notice?

She took a minute to slow her breathing and her heartrate. The cut was not bad. She clenched it tightly and waited to see if anyone came.

         One minute.

         Two minutes.

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         No one came.

         She climbed up to the top of the building, hiding behind the triangular roof and poking her head over to see what was happening.

         People were gathered at the center of the square around the stage. Performers in bright colored clothing were doing acrobatics and leaping about the stage. The strange animals roamed the streets with their handlers; the elephant was giving rides to the children. Tigers prowled on light leashes, snapping at unwary passersby. It was met with laughter from both parties. Leena shivered.

         It looked like some of the tents had games or food. A child threw a ball at something in a tent. Some people were carrying bags of something and sticks with some kind of fruit.

         The wind blew at her face, a bit chilly, but it tasted of apples, popcorn, and sweetness. She also smelled something metallic, but it was overcome with the other smells. Her stomach growled, remembering she had not eaten dinner.

         Just as she was looking for a way to try one of the treats, she noticed the crowd chanting loudly at the square. What were they chanting?

         A man came out on the stage dressed all in black. He had a mask on that distorted his face. He quieted the crowd, waving his hands back and forth. Then, he seemed like he was talking. Leena scowled a bit. What was he saying?

         The wind carried some of his words.

         “Tonight! Let’s celebrate!” he cried out, “….two….Let’s fight!” The crowd cheered as two men were pushed up on stage by colorful stagehands. One of them took a large swig of something in a bottle. The other one was decidedly smaller and seemed to be less enthused about fighting. He tried to get off of the stage, but the stagehand just shoved him towards the middle.

The first man swung and landed a punch right in the side of the second man’s jaw. The smaller man went down and started to try to get up, but the larger man kicked his chin in, and he flew backwards.

The larger man pointed out into the crowd, and stagehands started to pull an unwilling man up onto the stage. The people in the crowd were laughing and shouting, pushing him along as he started fighting with them. As he turned to face the large man on stage, the large man punched him in the stomach. He fell off the stage into the crowd.

Leena gasped as the crowd started to tear apart the fallen man. She could hear screams on the wind, caught in the midst of agony.

Her attention turned to one of the roaming tigers. The handler let it off its leash. She watched in horror as it fell upon a young woman, tearing at her face. She started laughing, and it devolved into primal screams. The handler laughed and pointed with the other people in the crowd.

The elephant, with its strange polyps, started to emit some kind of smog or gas. The children who were riding it fell off, crashing into the ground from its high height. She could not see if they were all right.

The crowd at the front had started chanting again. Leena’s insides were as cold as her toes. She had seen enough.

She scrambled down the roofs, careful to not let her feet slip. Her hand had stopped bleeding, but it hurt in the cold against the roofing material.

She dashed off, not bothering to look behind her. As she left, the wind gave her one more phrase:

“Now, where’s that girl who was on the roof...”