Take Me Out To The Fair

Twist.

            Seamus was nervous:  Nervous about the future of the carnival; nervous about the future of his job.  People had been going missing, quite mysteriously in fact.

            Seamus pulled the lever and the ferris wheel sprang to life, carts ascending and descending in a circle.  He had only been the ferris wheel operator for a good seven months now, but still, the carnival was where he felt at home.  A place for him to work in peace…

            He pushed the lever halfway forward and the spinning stopped, but the lights remained lit.  He leaned against the switchboard and picked up the old, tattered book he had left lying there - a tome on Biological Engineering - and thumbed through to the page he had marked.

            As he read, his mind wandered back to the townspeople.  One lady, whose sister had gone missing, claimed to have seen the animated rotting corpse of her missing sister in the high grass at the outskirts of the carnival.

            Seamus smirked to himself.  Of course no one had believed the grieving woman.  She was delirious, racked with sleepless nights worrying about her sister.

            A lone young lady walked up the stairs to the ferris wheel, holding out her ticket to Seamus.  He waved her off, setting down his book.  “It’s late.  Ride’s on me.”

            She smiled, thanking him and climbing in.  He pulled the lever and the spinning began, carts ascending and descending, the lights a beautiful swirl.  The sun was setting.  After her ninth time around, Seamus stopped the ride.

            As he fumbled with the carriage door, he reached into his back pocket for his sweat rag.  As the girl climbed off the ride, he grabbed her suddenly, clamping his rag - which, it turned out, was soaked in chloroform - over her mouth and nose.  The struggle was brief.  Seamus looked around, shutting off the ride and dragging her limp body toward the high grass.  The old doors of a storm cellar were hidden in the weeds, the original house long gone.

            He unlocked the doors and dragged her down the stairs, pulling the door down behind him.  As he descended the stairs, the moaning became audible.  He flipped on the lights to expose several circus cages, some with maniacal denizens, others housing corpses.  Seamus laid the girl on a makeshift operating table.  The carnival had to remain open.  It was the perfect front for his work - his real work - to go on undisturbed.  On the wall over his desk was a framed certificate:

Dr. Seamus Bedagin, PhD.

Biomedical Surgeon

            Seamus pulled out his chainsaw, standing over the girl.  He would succeed.  He just needed time, and the right mix of chemicals and human matter.  He pulled the cord on the chainsaw and set into the night’s work.

Author's Note

To be continued, maybe...

Reviews

[JPDonelan]

An enjoyable read that kept the twist fairly well under wraps, while also laying out subtle hints. I can definitely see room for expansion on the premise.
The carnival setting is nice to see and used quite effectively. Always a fan of using carnivals and the like for imagery and potential creepy affect. Significant kudos there.
While writing the above, I realized the piece reminded me of H.P. Lovecraft's "Herbert West - Reanimator" (in regards to certain aspects, anyway). Now, if that's a good thing or not is up to you, but I would say I would say there is ample room for expansion.

[Sarah J Dhue]

Love H.P. Lovecraft!

[masterF9000]

Three things:
1. What time period is this set in?
2. This short version was extremely effective and could quite easily be turned into a novel. Have you considered writing an extended version?
3. I loved the imagery it conveyed

[Sarah J Dhue]

I haven't actually settled on a time period, I know it is some time between the 50s and early 2000s. I have considered lengthening it, but I don't know about novel. Thank you.

[PWyates]

Extremely powerful for the short length, the setting and concepts were all wonderful!!!