4. Winter Weekend

Eadon’s week had seeped into a winter weekend. Bags hung low and dark underneath her eyes; she hadn’t slept since the incident. She was too afraid of seeing his face again; of the bottle’s crash ringing in her ears; of the blood that leaked from his head to paint the sidewalk. No. She couldn’t do it over again. Instead, she pumped her body with caffeine and found ways to keep herself occupied when the sun sunk into the night. Usually, she’d go to the beach, finding the aroma to be so therapeutic that she would lose her way from reality.

Surprisingly, Eadon’s mother hadn’t noticed the change in her demeanor. Eadon assumed it was because she was busy with her job, which was fine by her. The less her mom knew, the better for both of them. The point of moving was to start their lives over again, to move away from what had happened in their old town- but Eadon already screwed everything up.

Curled up in one of the living room’s more comfortable chairs, Eadon mindlessly watched cartoons until her mom came home.

“Hi sweetheart!”

“Hey mom.”

“I have some exciting news! Did you see, someone on our hall is hosting a murder mystery party, and I signed you up.”

“Do what now?”

“Come on, Eadon. It could be fun. Besides, at least someone here wants to create a sense of community, that’s more than we can say about our old apartment complex. Maybe you’ll make friends.”

Eadon drew in a slow sigh. She’s trying. Do it for her, she thought. “Sure. I’ll go.”

~

At exactly 11:11 that night, an invitation slipped under the door.

Curious, Eadon picked it up and tore open the envelope’s seal. The invitation read:

Hello. We are excited that you are coming to dinner with us. Hopefully, you will make it through the night. This is a black tie affair, please dress accordingly. Take care to prepare your character roles. Your life may depend on it.

When: Tomorrow

       Time: 8:18

       Place: 7th Floor storage room

       Role: Mayor

Eadon rolled her eyes. She could already tell this was either going to be lame or uncomfortably weird.

~

The next night, Eadon wore a black velvet, spaghetti strapped dress and had her lavender hair curled, walked down to the end of her hall to knock on the storage room’s door. She was greeted by familiar and unfamiliar faces of Winthrop residences and they exchanged pleasantries and what their role was.

The game was much more fun than Eadon had originally thought. Everyone had assumed their character and it ran smoothly.

Over an hour into the game, the lights went out. Someone screamed as others let out surprised gasps. When the lights came back on everyone’s eyes gravitated to the body lying on the floor next to the girl who, in the game, was murdered. Eadon heard a woman’s voice say, “that’s the ring master’s side kick from the circus!” Bewildered the guests looked around at each other, unable to make anything of this. “Well. Someone check to see if he’s alright. Ask why he’s here.” A man walked up to the side kick, but froze when he touched him. He then moved his hand to feel the lying man’s pulse. “He’s dead.”

3. Heat

Heat was all Eadon could feel.

It coursed through her body making her bones want to jump out of her skin and blared in her ears causing her thoughts to be clouded.

Every muscle in her body screamed for her to run away, but she couldn’t. Hidden behind trees, Eadon watched the flashing lights of an ambulance wheel her attacker away. He was safe, but most importantly alive. She let out a relieved sigh, but the heat within her merely subsided.

Eadon craned her neck to look up through the trees and at the night sky. She instantly found what used to be her favorite constellation, Orion. On summer nights, her father and mother used to take her into the woods behind their old home. Her father would lift her up onto his shoulders so she could be slightly closer to the stars. He’d always point out Orion to her and say how the three stars that made the constellation’s belt was just like the three of them and together, they made something beautiful.

Eadon’s eyes dropped to the ground; warm tears fell to her cheeks and blurred her vision. Her only thought was, at least tonight, she wasn’t the reason another man had died.

Then, Eadon ran. Forcing herself into autopilot, she let the heat control her body, releasing the restrained energy with every stride. She had fought, she had waited, and now it was time to fly.
She ran until she collapsed and then, everything faded to black.

~

Eadon awoke to the sound of seagulls squawking after a rolls of waves met with the shore. With a start, she opened her eyes to find herself staring back into a shockingly green pair. Eadon let out a gurgled scream, as she clumsily sat up trying to scoot away from the circus’s ringmaster, but every muscle in her body ached with exhaustion.

“Ah-ha! You’re awake!” The ringmaster moved away to sit facing Eadon. “I was beginning to think you might be dead. Happy to see you’re not!”

“I-if you try anything, I s-swear I’ll hurt you. I’ve had a long night.”

“I don’t mean harm. I just wanted to enjoy the sunrise, it’s rather breathtaking this morning, wouldn’t you agree?”

Eadon looked East, relaxing as she took in the various pinks and oranges. He was right, it was breathtaking.

“Strange night last night, wasn't it? But what can I say? When the circus comes to town all the crazies lurk around.”

The ringmaster winked at Eadon before saying, “you know, you’ve got something I've never seen before, and I've seen a lot. If you ever want to do something with that gift, give me a call.”

He handed Eadon a plain white card with only a phone number written on it. When she looked up, he was nowhere to be found.