Carnival

She ‑‑ my sister, Peggy -- had been to every carnival for every year that they held them in our town since she was 7 years old. She knew exactly where all the rides would be placed, all the games, and knew all of the faces that would come each and every year for the past 10 years. The carnival would only last for three solid days -- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The carnival workers would pack up on Sunday night and be gone by morning leaving debris all over the area where they had set up. Me and my sister loved going through after they were gone to find treasure that might've been left behind. We found money, jewelry, cigarettes, and much more.

This year, however, on Saturday night, Peggy didn't come home after the carnival shut down at 10:00 p.m. She usually came home by 10:15, but it was now nearly almost midnight and there was no sign of her. I packed my backpack up and told my mom I was going to look for her -- it was only just down the street from our apartment.

When I got to the location, the only visible movement of any living person was within the campers on the sides of the rides and games. There were TVs playing, a few people standing outside smoking cigarettes or whatever, and a few drunks leaving the park. There was nobody that I could ask where she had gone or if they had seen her except one man.

I had brought a picture with me just in case and walked up to him as he took a deep drag from his smoke. As I approached him, he blew it directly into my face as I attempted to speak, which cut me off vocally as I tried to utter out my first sentence while holding the picture of Peggy.

"What?" He said as he looked down at me from the steps to his travel trailer. "You need somethin', boy?"

"Yes, sir." I coughed. "My sister didn't come home and I was wondering if you had seen her." I held the picture up to him and he swiped it from my hand.

"Ah." He paused a moment and looked down at the picture for what seemed like ages. "Yeah, I seen her tonight. Pretty little thang, ain't she?"

"Did you see her leave with anyone?"

"Nope. Left like she does every year -- headed that a-way by herself hours ago." He pointed in the direction of my apartment.

"Well… thank you." I took the picture from his hand as he flicked his cigarette over my head and turned back and went inside his trailer without another word.

I stood there a minute as I looked in the direction of our apartment. Where could she have gone, then? Did somebody grab her? I was so confused and was starting to get even more worried than I already was. Just as I was beginning to walk slowly in the direction toward our apartment, I heard a faint laughing coming from one of the rides -- the Zipper. It was a giant ride that stood out from all of the rest and even though we rode it every year, it still gave me terrifying butterflies before I rode it again.

As I got closer to the ride, I heard the laugh again -- this time louder. It sounded just like Peggy's laugh. When I got to where the area of the ride where the man would let you on, I heard the laugh again and was certain now that it was her. Everything looked the same except there was something out of ordinary protruding from the ground -- a door of sorts that looked like it opened up to a stairway that went underground.

I opened the door and sure enough, there was a set of stairs that seemed to go on to the center of the earth. I called out Peggy's name into the darkness and waited for a reply.

"Yeah, Charlie? I'm down here! Come down here, it's fantastic!"

I started down the long stairway toward her voice. I lit my lighter to see where I was going and noticed these were concrete steps. How on earth hadn't we known about this door leading down into the earth long ago? Surely after 10 years we would've seen something like this poking out of the ground.

"Hurry, Charlie. It's almost over!" Peggy called.

"I'm trying!" I picked up my pace a little, but all while trying to be as careful as possible as I had no clue what could be at the bottom of these stairs or even if that was really my sister calling to me. I finally saw the landing at the bottom of the stairs and turned to look back up at the door I came through at the top of the stairs. "Where are you, Peggy?"

"Down here. Just come a little closer, Charlie."

It was dark and dank inside this place, smelled of dirt and -- and popcorn? At that point with the smell of the popcorn, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look who was grabbing me to see no one.

"I'm right over here, Charlie."

I could hear her starting to get farther away each time she spoke and there was an echo that made it seem like she was in different areas of the underground structure. After a few minutes, I finally saw a torch lit in the distance and what seemed to be another doorway.

"Just beyond the door, Charlie."

I stood there at that door and started to become very nervous of what might be behind it. Was it really Peggy? I put my hand on the knob and turned it slowly, then pushed it open. I was shocked to see my apartment with my mom sitting on the couch watching TV, and Peggy telling my mother something I couldn't hear. I walked in and tried to get their attention, but they acted as if they didn't see me at all.

"Mom! Peggy! Don't you see me?"

I finally could start to pick up sound from their voices as I tried to gain their attention.

"Mom, just let me go look for him. It's getting really late and I'm worried something has happened to him."

"No, you stay here. He'll be back, he's a big boy. Probably out with his friends and lost track of time. If he's not back by morning, I'll call his friends' parents."

"Mom, I just feel like something is totally wrong. When has Charlie ever not called home to say he was going to be late?"

"Fine. You come right back after a walkthrough of that carnival. Don't talk to anyone, I don't trust those carnies."

"I won't, mom. I'll be careful."

"I'm right here, guys!" I knew it was useless trying to talk with them, I was invisible.

I watched as my sister went to our front door and opened it and looked back over her shoulder before walking out. Her face changed as she now was looking directly at me. My mom took her attention from the TV and looked over at me, too. They both changed and I stood there horrified. The room started to change, too… we were no longer in my apartment and my mother and sister were no longer themselves, but fat carnival workers from this carnival.

"Now you get to be one of us, Charlie. I think you'll be a great ride conductor. Don't you think so, boss?" The man looked down at the other tiny man that was once my mother.

"Yep. I knew we'd get a good one this time!" He pulled down some curtains and all of a sudden we were back outside of the Zipper ride.

"Don't bother trying to leave, you were chosen, buddy. We don't choose -- they choose for us. We all had to do it just like this."

I looked around and noticed that nobody was close enough to stop me and I began to run as fast as I could. I got to the edge of the park where the rides began and came to a dead stop as I hit some sort of barrier. I couldn't get through and the men appeared at my side once again.

"We've tried, Charlie. It sucks, I know. We can't leave either." The little man said. "Just go with it, it's not that bad after a while.

I turned and sighed, then went with the men to another set of stairs. I could hear Peggy off in the distance calling for me, but I knew she couldn't see me.

The next year, we came back to my town. I let people on and off of the Zipper ride for over 12 months now and finally, we were back home -- my home. I had changed in that year -- my gut got large, I grew a beard, and my voice became deep and heavy. My attitude changed, too. I was no longer the fun-loving Charlie I once was.

Then there she was -- Peggy. She stood in line for the ride I was controlling and my heart started pounding. Would she recognize me? She got to the front of the line and stood and stared at me as I held the gate open for her to enter the car of the ride.

"Are you -- are you Charlie?"

"Yes. I'm stuck here now."

We both knew at that moment that that was how carnivals got their workers. They were chosen by the carnival itself.

The end.