The Girl Who Joined the Circus

They yanked the curtain behind us back, revealing a giant glass box with nothing in it. It was a water cage, and I believed the circus employed an escape artist who used the box in his show.

And that thought left me nothing but cold as my stomach dropped all the way down to my toes. All I could do was watch, still unable to so much as mutter a sound with Robb’s hand covering my mouth. Mariah climbed atop Maleah’s shoulders, then Maleah walked them both over to the glass box and Mariah lifted the lid off the box.

Before I knew what was happening, Robb dropped me unceremoniously inside the glass enclosure. I shrieked as I hit the bottom, feeling my ankle twisting underneath me as pain radiated up my leg. But that wasn’t my chief concern—that was reserved for whatever they were going to do next. The twins scrambled to shut and lock the lid quickly as I fumbled to stand up, finding it difficult with my injured ankle.

“What goes around comes around,” said one of the twins.

Gathering myself, I started screaming and pounding on the glass. It was so thick that it barely vibrated when I hit it and my screams only echoed off the glass and back at me. Knowing my please would fall on deaf ears where the twins were concerned, I looked at Robb, imploring him to undo this and make it right.

“Robb, please don’t do this,” I begged, banging my fists against the glass a few more times until I felt them bruising. “Laurent will never forgive you!”

I still wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to do, but hoped it didn’t involve anything with water. Hopefully they’d just keep me locked up in the cage for however long and then they’d release me. Hopefully they just wanted to scare me.

“Laurent doesn’t like a lot of things,” Mariah said.

“And if he doesn’t like this, well, too bad for him,” Maleah added. “We didn’t like it when he put you on our poster!”

The twins exchanged sneering looks and spoke in unison, almost as if they were one person.

Before I could protest any further, Robb opened the lid again and put his hand inside to reach for something behind me. A metallic squeal rang out, followed by the guttural rush of water flowing through pipes and splashing at the bottom of the glass box. I gasped as the cold water hit my feet.

“Stop it! Let me out!” I banged my fists even harder against the glass as I realized what they intended to do—they were actually going to attempt to drown me! Hoping to break the glass, I reared back and kicked it with my uninjured foot. The box didn’t even wobble, and I was certain I’d have bruises on my foot if I managed to live through the ordeal.

“You may not know it, new girl, but you’re in a magician’s box, and, try as you might, there’s no escape so don’t expect to get out alive.” Mariah pressed her nose on the glass, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she watched me panic.

“Won’t be long before you’re floating belly-up at the top of the tank, like a dead fish,” Maleah added.

“We’d like to say we’ll miss you, Bindi, but the truth is we’ll be so glad you’re gone. Gone and quickly forgotten.”

A cold dread filled my stomach as the rushing water rose past my ankles and my heart pounded in my ears. “Th-there’s no way you’ll get away with this! As soon as Laurent learns what you’ve done, he’ll call the police and you’ll be thrown in jail! You’ll never perform again!”

Something indistinguishable flashed across the twins’ faces as Robb stood by wordlessly.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Mariah said softly.

“We’re almost at the end, anyway,” Maleah continued quietly.

“Our time’s almost up,” said Mariah.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded, glaring at them.

“We know it’s coming,” added Maleah. “We’ve known it for a while.”

“What’s coming?”

“The end,” they both answered in unison.

No one said another word after that and as I watched, the three of them exited the tent. And I was alone and left to my horrible predicament. All the while, I couldn’t help but think this was nothing more than a prank, a joke. It wouldn’t be long before they’d come back giggling and turn off the water and then make fun of me. But as the water reached my knees, my hopes of escaping diminished. If this really was a magician’s box, maybe it had some kind of panic switch or release lever. There had to be some way out of it.

Trying not to panic, I began searching for a switch or lever that could set me free. My hands swept across every inch of the glass, seeking something, anything that would stop the water or open the tank, but there was nothing. The freezing water was up to my waist now, rising faster and faster. Taking a deep breath, I ducked beneath the surface and opened my eyes, using my hands to investigate the bottom corners, desperately searching for something that might hint at a way out.

But I found nothing.

By the time my head burst through the surface, I barely had enough space left to breathe. Gasping and shivering, I took one more breath, expanding my lungs to full capacity before completely submerging myself. This time, I didn’t search for an escape latch or a way out. This time, I simply accepted the fact that my time was up.

My number had been drawn.

I was done.