Ravagers of the Caged Mind Carnival

Otelia was the type of girl to stay in her room for days on end and doesn’t see a physical human being until she’s forced by her friends to come out of her “creepy den.” Ah, the classic creepy den she’s been living in since she was adopted at the age of 10. Now that she’s 18 and graduated from high school, she can stay in her so-called creepy den as long as she wants. Well, until her friends annoy her about coming out of her room to “enjoy” company with strangers. How do you enjoy being with strangers when you can dream all day, ignoring reality and its sadness?

While scrolling through her Instagram, she notices a message pop up on the top of her newly bought iPhone. It’s from Lia. She sent her a link to a “Ravager of the Caged Mind Carnival.” Should Otelia go and break her 16-day streak of staying inside her safe place people call a creepy den? Seems like Lia answered this already with, “Bitch, come out of that stupid room. We’re going to ravage our caged minds, lol.” Oh god. It won’t be too bad… Right?

Lia came over to Otelia’s place. As usual, she looks at Otelia with concern in her eyes for a few moments. Shaking her thoughts away, she cheerfully says, “I kind of already got us outfits before I even sent you the link. I was too excited! I know you don’t like going out and shopping, so you’re welcome! Let’s do this, Oti!”

When they arrived at the carnival, it was jaw-droppingly beautiful and colorful. Otelia and Lia walked towards the gleeful carnies putting stickers on everyone’s wrist for admission to the Center. It was finally Otelia’s turn to receive the sticker; it seemed odd that the sticker felt irritating to her skin. When Otelia started unpeeling the sticker from her skin to readjust, the carnie shouted, “Always have your sticker on or no admission!” She didn’t want to hold up the line any longer or disappoint Lia, so she ignored the irritation for everyone’s sake. 

The sun shining onto the 8-foot tall glistening tulips, sunflowers, and lilies led the crowd to the breath-taking Center after what felt like a mile of walking. The long walk was definitely rewarding. Smiling clown men on stilts dancing and doing playful tricks over you. Beautiful aerial silk contortionists stealing kisses from the crowd. Everyone danced and danced, mesmerized by friendly peacocks, macaws, and flamingoes serving plates of foods and drinks held by their oddly strong beaks! “Come, come, children. This way! Dance. Dance in the Center!” said one of the stilted, smiling clown men.

“Won’t you kiss my red lips? I can tell your beautiful, sad lips want to kiss me,” the aerial contortionist said, then flew away magically in her silk with no kiss from Otelia.

“Look up!” Otelia heard someone say in her ear. But… she couldn’t find the person who said it. Everyone was preoccupied with the lavish Center. Who could’ve said it? “Look up!” She heard the voice again, but this time she listened and looked up. Overly bright air balloons floating atop the Center. They don’t seem to be moving, just at a standstill enough to hover over the 8-foot glistening flowers and the Center. Does anyone notice or just Otelia? 

Just calm down, go away panic attack. You’re here to have fun, Oti. Don’t be a bad friend. Go to the Center with Lia, Otelia thinks. She decides to go to a lemonade stand behind her to calm her nerves, where a stout, old woman forcefully smiling stood. She thinks it’s odd how different this lady looks compared to the Center’s beauty. Don’t judge, Oti! “Um, one lemonade, please.” The stout, old woman brings out a rusty tin cup and shakingly pours the glistening lemonade.

“Don’t drink! Throw away!” the stout, old woman hoarsely yells.

“Oh… Okay.” Confused, she walks away with her rusty tin cup of glistening lemonade. I should ask what the stout, old woman meant about throwing this away. When Otelia turns back around to go ask, the lemonade stand wasn’t there anymore. Just another rusty tin cup with an arrow pointing down the path between the 8-foot tall glistening flowers. She goes all the way through to find the parking lot where they first arrived. Nothing. Ugh, Oti. You’re so dumb following rusty tin cans. Just go back and find Lia at the Center like you said you would. Otelia goes back onto the path to find the dancing crowd in the Center. But… it feels like she’s been walking through this path for hours.

“What the hell is happening? Am I high or something? This is a straight path, but I’m lost?!” Otelia yells, throwing her rusty tin cup of glistening lemonade to a flower. Immediately the 8-foot glistening flowers turned to 8-foot electric poles flowing with fresh blood. Petrified, Otelia starts running straight; this time, she finds the Center. Smiling clown men on stilts were demented men glued to stilts laughing and crying maniacally. The beautiful aerial silk contortionists were grotesque women luring the crowds for kisses with lips that contained unknown infections. The friendly peacocks, macaws, and flamingoes were impoverished children slaving to the crowd to steal their coin. Otelia freezes, staring at the Center in horror.

“Look up!” Wait, I know that voice… Otelia looks up. She realizes the overly bright air balloons were replaced with metal cages under dozens of heat lamps.

“Lia?!” Otelia says frantically. She sees Lia lying still in one of the metal cages… Too still. No. No. She’s not dead! Go up, save her! Otelia finds herself in a fetal position, head tucked in her knees. She hears footsteps approaching her. She quickly looks up and sees a little girl. “Y-you’re normal?” Otelia splutters.

“Go up!” Otelia shakingly nods her head yes to the little girl. She approaches the electric pole flowing with fresh blood, taking a massive breath of stale air and releasing it slowly. Just think of it as… flowing freshly squeezed lemonade on a glistening tulip. As she’s climbing up, she regrettably looks down! Vertigo hits her hard; she closes her eyes tightly and hugs the electric pole to her body. Warm blood running down her skin like a never-ending waterfall of nightmares. Okay, Oti. Lia needs you. Go up! She resumes her climb until she finally reaches the top. The top where she finds the entire crowd stuck in metal cages with heat lamps, each individually encased. For what? Some sick joke?

Otelia runs on the metal cages trying to find Lia. Suddenly, she stops. Lia is covered in ready-to-burst blisters from the heat lamps. Pacing, pacing, pacing back and forth, trying to figure out how she can get Lia and eventually all the others out of the metal cages. She goes down to her knees to look more closely for any clues. “Look!” Otelia turns towards the little girl pointing at a door chain. But she also notices the little girl doesn’t have a single drop of blood! How did she get to the top spotless? No time to think of other things. Save Lia first! Otelia slides the door chain to unlock the metal cage. That was too easy. Why couldn’t Lia just reach her arm out and do it herself? Otelia hops inside the metal cage and instantly checks if she has a pulse. She does! But it’s faint. She shakes Lia like an angry kid with a ragdoll with no success in awakening Lia. Everyone looks the same all around her…

The little girl touches Otelia with her ice-cold fingertips and smiles. “Help her. Everyone hallucinates differently, but at least you can see different views of your hallucination.”

What does that mean? Different views of my hallucination? Otelia notices the little girl is touching the sticker the carnies were sticking onto the guests at the Carnival entrance. “Wait…” Otelia rips off her sticker like a bandaid! She sees splotches of purple and black where the sticker was laid.

“Take it off of everyone,” the little girl says excitedly. Otelia rips off Lia’s first and then runs around unlocking everyone’s metal cages and peeling off their stickers. When she finished peeling off the last person’s sticker, she hears a familiar voice. Not the little girl’s voice but Lia’s! She jumps out of the metal cage and runs to where she last found her… Otelia realizes Lia, and everyone else is slowly awakening, moaning in pain and confusion.

“What’s happening?” Lia croaked.

“We got @#&!ed over is what is happening.” Otelia, feeling relieved Lia is okay and moving, hugs her best friend in contentment. “I peeled everyone’s stickers off; look what it did to my wrist!” She shows Lia her arm, but there was nothing there. The purple and black splotches were gone. Staring at her wrist for a few more moments, she finally looks up and realizes they were no longer around metal cages and heat lamps. In fact, nothing was there. There was nothing around them, just the 8-foot tall flowers that would lead them back to the parking lot. Otelia announces, “We should all go back to the parking lot and leave this hell hole before something else happens!” 

As everyone slowly approaches the end, they were met with the same carnies. In unison, they proudly chanted, “We are the ravagers of the caged mind!”

The tallest carnie laughs and says, “And it only took everyone 3 days to escape their minds. But that’s only thanks to your psycho friend here,” pointing to Otelia. “Now, go away.” Everyone stood still, shocked, frozen. “Go now before I kill you!” the tallest carnie blares.

Otelia and Lia run with the crowd to their cars down the parking lot. Finding Lia’s car, Otelia jumps into the driver’s seat, Lia crying hysterically in the passenger’s. Otelia drives off the parking lot, hoping everyone else will make it safe to their homes.