🩷🎪💄 The spiraling polka-dotted path of a clown: Chapters 7-8 🩷🎪💄

*This story is underneath my folder titled “Bone Boy”. Gacha Club character designs are under this forum: https://www.youngwriterssociety.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=117842&start=60. Enjoy!*

Chapter Seven-Tent of marvelous monstrosities

When Rosemary got up, she could see in the dim darkness shelves of porcelain dolls, dirt and mold growing on their cold, soft faces. Their glassy eyes didn’t look so shiny and their dresses looked more crusty than a bag of chips. The striped cloth walls of a circus tent was behind them.

Harper reached up towards the lamp, as if she were trying to pull it down. When it didn’t move, she still kept yanking on it.

Rosemary glanced at the lamp, then back at her. “I don’t think that moves.”

“Well, it better, if we want light in here.”

Harper still kept trying to grab the lamp, jumping up as high as she could. Where Rosemary was abnormally tall, Harper was reasonably short. But that didn’t stop her.

Rosemary tried to grab the lamp herself. It stayed put. So, she reached into her skirt pocket and grabbed her cell phone, turning on flashlight mode.

“Now we have light.” She smiled.

Harper sighed in relief and took out her own phone, using that for light as well. Rosemary was glad that she could be of use to her friend and she continued to walk in the tent.

If it was a tent, then it wouldn’t be long before they found the exit.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“How is there still no way out?!” Harper yelled, kicking some of the dolls on the ground.

Rosemary knelt down and hastily put them back in their place. Everywhere they turned, it seemed to be in circles, the only constant being the dolls. Yes, she wanted to get out as much as Harper did, but the dolls didn’t deserve to be kicked.

“I don’t know, but we should find it soon.”

Harper bristled as if she wanted to run out of there. But there wasn’t anything so bad about being in a tent with all of the dolls. It was like they were watching over them, like the dolls in Rosemary’s room.

It was the most comfortable Rosemary ever felt.

“This is the kind of thing Valentina would do, leading us into trouble like this. She does all kinds of crazy things and Allan doesn’t even care.”

“What?” Rosemary asked.

She didn’t expect Harper to mention Valentina, but she wanted to know more. She didn’t know what Harper meant.

“Valentina always wants to take Allan out to weird places. A few weeks ago she took him to this old house. Two months ago they went to this cemetery. I just don’t understand how he is just fine with all of it. It’s strange, you know?” Harper said, shaking her head.

“But if you think all of that, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

Rosemary wouldn’t have minded if Harper said no. It would have felt nice if she did, because then she’d be listened to. She would be taken seriously if someone else agreed with her.

“I don’t know. I just wanted to do something.” Harper shrugged.

So Valentina always wanted to go to lonely places. Rosemary sometimes wondered what it would be like to explore such areas. She dreamed of it being an ideal date, like what Allan and Valentina were doing, but…that moment didn’t feel right. The carnival didn’t feel right. The jagged circus rides looked like they would come alive and sweep away any passersby. And still, there was no way out of the doll tent.

They could have been back home if Harper said something.

All of the dolls were the same size, except for one. One was the average size of a human and had silver metallic skin, black wires protruding from her back. Her hair was cut short and a cobalt teal. She only had one red eye, the other was black and looked like it didn’t work. She wore a pink and purple dress that was more of a tutu, and her hands were a collection of black wire claws.

She looked more like a robot than a doll.

“Well that’s not creepy.” Harper snorted.

“It’s not her fault that she looks like that.”

“Her? It’s not alive!”

“It feels right to say that.”

Sure, the robot was just a robot, but Rosemary imagined things with faces having souls and thoughts. It was nice to talk to many friends in her room when her human friends were too busy with other stuff, so it felt natural to talk about anything with faces as if they were alive. And what was the harm in-

“I will not stand being called an it!”

Chapter Eight-Gears and parts, human heart

Rosemary and Harper jumped, for the creaky, copper-like voice came from the robot. She didn’t move her mouth, for it was trapped in a black, toothless smile. But they knew that she spoke all the same.

“I have a name, you know. It’s Ceciliana. And since you’re here, why don’t you move all of these dolls so I can move?” Ceciliana lifted an arm, but it hung limply at the elbow.

Rosemary reached out to move the dolls, only to feel Harper’s hand rest on her shoulder.

“Why should we? What are you going to do if we let you out?”

Rosemary pushed off Harper’s hand and began taking out the dolls that surrounded Ceciliana, keeping her trapped in. What did she seriously think that Ceciliana was going to do? She sounded like she wanted to get out, so Rosemary would let her.

“I would like to go home, but seeing as I look like this,” Ceciliana gestured to her wiry body, “I cannot. So, I’m finding my friend instead. I know that she’s in this circus somewhere…”

Harper still wasn’t helping. Rosemary wondered how many dolls she’d be able to move all by herself. They weren’t extremely heavy, but help would have been nice.

“Who is your friend?” Rosemary couldn’t help asking. She liked hearing people talk about their friends and how much they liked them, hearing about it felt like she was a part of the group.

Ceciliana looked down at her, her only red eye glimmering. Rosemary couldn’t tell, since her mouth seemed fixed in a permanent grin, but she liked to imagine that Ceciliana was smiling.

“Her name is Jane. Jane Jenny Gray. She’s a good friend. She likes movies and the color blue. She didn’t want to come here, you know. She always gets scared of things, so I didn’t listen. I just went and she came with. Now we’re both stuck here.”

Ceciliana sighed as if her heart were heavy. Rosemary could start to see more of her legs. She was almost done! She could almost get her out!

“What are your names?”

“I’m Rosemary! This is Harper. We didn’t want-“

“Rosemary.” Harper hissed.

“What? I’m not going to do anything.” Ceciliana snapped.

Again, Harper tried to pull her away and again, Rosemary shook her off. Ceciliana just wanted to get out. That wasn’t a crime.

“Anyway, you should both run off while you still can. Unless you want to end up looking like a freak.” Ceciliana laughed bitterly, the sound like old, worn gears.

Freak doesn’t describe you. You don’t look like a freak. Rosemary thought, but did not say. She did not know if the words would make Ceciliana feel any better.

“Mind elaborating? You know, so we don’t, as you put it, end up like freaks.” Harper said.

Rosemary heard the wires inside of Ceciliana clicking as she moved a little. She was starting to get more freedom with every doll that she moved, her body making interesting noises as she did. How lovely that she sounded so much like a machine.

“Hmm…me and Jane…we used to be humans…but something happened…the circus got all dark…there were too many tents…it was a mess. Messier than this. Don’t go into tents. You’ll-“

“What happened?!” Harper pressed.

“I don’t remember! I don’t remember what happened to make me like this! I don’t…I don’t even remember my family…only her. My friend. Jane. Jane was with me. You have each other. That’s good. Stick together. You don’t want to be alone here.”

Rosemary removed the last of the dolls. Ceciliana could move freely because of her. She didn’t even need Harper’s help at all. She did it all on her own. She could do things on her own. She was capable.

She stood up and beamed at Ceciliana.

“You can come with us. You and your friend. I’ll find a way to explain why you look the way you do. You don’t have to stay here.”

Harper whipped her head towards her, glaring while she did so. Rosemary ignored it. There was really no reason for her to be all frightened. Ceciliana was trapped just like them. So what if she was a robot? She had a friend. She had feelings.

“How do you know what she’s saying is true? Rosemary, you can’t just-“

“It’s fine. I know I can’t come home. There’s really nothing else you can do.”

Ceciliana stepped forward, walking in the space between them. The wires made whirring noises with every step that she took. Rosemary swore that she could see golden sparks flying off her feet, like small bursts of fire.

It was pretty.

“On second thought,” Ceciliana turned her head at a 360 degree angle, her body following suit, “There is something you can do for me.”

She ran towards them, full speed-

A pink explosion burst in Rosemary’s face, the after effects of it still bleeding into her vision as she looked up at the night sky.

She wasn’t in the tent anymore. Harper wasn’t with her, either.