The Circus Infinitus Stories Volume 1 Read online

  The Circus Infinitus Stories

  Volume 1

  Ethan Somerville

  Copyright 2010

  Welcome to the Circus Infinitus!

  “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Circus Infinitus! We present to you a barrel of horrors and oddities far beyond the scope of the human mind! Take caution as we are about to start the show! You are about to embark on a journey far stranger than anything you have ever before experienced, containing fantastic mechanical marvels, magic, illusion, acrobats, clowns and creatures from your wildest imaginations! Hold your breath, close your eyes, for the curtain is about to rise…”

  The tall, thin man paused, raising his arms above his head. His black cloak billowed around him, although there was no breeze, and a strange metallic smell filled the air. The audience, seated in a great semi-circle around the rim, watched as commanded, at the edges of their seats. This was a once-in-a-lifetime show for them, as no-one knew where the Circus would appear next. It just appeared, one morning, in a local field or common, fully set up and bustling with activity, as though it had always been there. Today, it had shown up in Hyde Park of all places. Crowds had been so large that people had had to be turned away by the freakish masked bouncers.

  From behind the Ringmaster came a loud grinding noise, as though great gears were moving, shifting. Then followed a deep clunk that sent a vibration trembling through the entire audience. The curtain lifted, and the Ringmaster seemed to disappear into thin air, leaving the audience gaping at the new scene. It resembled a giant laboratory, filled with strange machinery. Great pipes snaked across the ceiling, Steam hissed from enormous engines, hulking in the gloom. Some sort of gigantic ring hung suspended against the back wall – if there even was a back wall to this bizarre place, with its massive rivets, brass fittings and large pressure dials everywhere, A small figure, almost dwarfed by the equipment, stood n the middle of the floor. He was swathed in a long leather coat that reached his ankles, and a broad-brimmed hat hid his face. But when he looked up, the audience gasped on realizing that his face was heavily bandaged.

  “Behold, Professor Icarus Abbacus, Professor of Mechanology, architect of our wondrous circus!” boomed the Ringmaster from places unknown. His voice seemed to reach all members of the audience. “Dreadful experiments have left him hideously scarred, hence the bandages he must wear! They have also left him with a bizarre thirst – for electricity! Without its power to sustain him, he will die!”

  With that, the Professor scurried across to a giant Jacob’s Ladder and pulled a lever at its base. Electricity began to sizzle up poles twenty feet high. The onlookers gasped in amazement. The power built to a mighty crescendo and arced from the tips, searing across the room. Professor Abbacus stood with his hands outstretched, his head thrown back as the electricity sizzled into him. A normal man would have been fried. Not Professor Abbacus. He showed the audience that he could not only absorb the power, but send bolts flying from his fingertips, sizzling through the air above the audience.

  It might have only been a ten minute demonstration, but by the end of it, the Londoners felt they had already gotten their money’s worth. Only one man, seated up the back, did not look impressed. He had slicked back hair and was wearing a monocle. He licked the tip of a pencil and made some notes in a book on his lap.

  The curtain fell, and the Ringmaster reappeared. “I trust you enjoyed the Professor’s display. Stay seated for our floor show, comprised of the Fabulous Limboni Triplets, Adella the Amazon, X the Strong man, our delightful dwarf clowns and a whole host of others!”

  There was another strange grinding noise, and this time when the curtain rose, a more traditional circus ring appeared. People wondered where the Professor’s lab had gone. Such an enormous set couldn’t possible have been moved so quickly, could it? But they knew these questions would never be answered – the circus kept its secrets.

  The new ring contained various highwires, trapezes, nets and a large trampoline. Two young men in blue leotards performed amazing acrobatic tricks and flips from the swings. One of the youths had no arms, and no way of being catching his brother. But as they swung through the air towards each other, the boy with the arms somehow released his limbs, and they somersaulted in the air, attaching to the shoulders of the other! Surely that had been a trick of the light! But they continued to perform the same feat during their show, and the audience members decided that they had to be swapping a pair of fake arms. The smartly dressed gentleman up the back sniffed disdainfully as he continued to make notes. He did not look like anything impressed him much.

  While the boys performed above, a girl in a pink leotard tied herself in complicated knots below. People began to wonder if she had any bones at all.

  A tightrope walker in a red leotard also appeared and began crossing back and forth high above the floor, walking, dancing, jumping and flipping over onto her hands. She had long dark hair and wore a red mask. When she finished her highwire act she performed on the trampoline, seeming to defy gravity as she leapt and somersaulted high into the air. At the end of their show all four took a bow. The boy who currently had the arms lost both in the dust. He called out “whoops! I hate it when that happens!”

  “Luigi, if you can’t keep hold of them, let me have them!” called the other youth.

  The audience laughed as the two started a scuffle over the limbs. Eventually the contortionist handed them once each. “Share them,” she commanded.

  “What am I going to do with only one arm?” Luigi complained.

  “Let’s give it up for the Fabulous Limboni Triplets and Adella the Amazon!” called the Ringmaster’s disembodied voice. All four left the ring, and out waddled X the Strongman, followed by a whole entourage of circus folk pulling weights for him on various carts,

  He was enormous, almost eight feet tall and as big as a coach. Great rolls of fat billowed over the waistband of his trousers. His skin was as black as coal and completely hairless, glistening with oil. The monocled fellow up the back gave another sniff and made another note. This sordid show was getting worse and worse. Her Majesty would not be pleased at all.

  X lifted all the weights, starting with the smallest. Then he grabbed one of the carts and hoisted it over his head. He shook his massive head, appearing annoyed with how easy the task was. Then he stuffed all the weights back into the cart and lifted the entire thing, still with seemingly no effort. Then he shoved one of the carnies into the cart and hoisted it up. The carnie howled in surprise. The audience clapped and cheered.

  “It seems X desires a challenge,” boomed the disembodied voice of the Ringmaster.

  On cue another circus worker emerged from the wings, leading a nervous-looking elephant. It baulked as X rushed towards it, but didn’t rear or run. X scuttled under the animal’s belly and lifted with his shoulders. All four of the elephant’s feet left the ground. The onlookers gasped in surprise. How could one man – even one so large - pick up an entire elephant? The animal trumpeted in fear, although people now suspected the great beast had been trained to do so. X carried it around the ring, then put it down to uproarious applause. Finally he gave a bow and waddled out.

  The dwarf clowns came next, delighting the audience with their humorous antics. They tried to perform acrobatic feats, but failed with hilarious results, and ended up in a spectacular pie fight. Several people near the front were showered with flour and water. When the curtain dropped again, everyone was howling for more. Everyone save for the stone-faced chap at the back. He had already filled several pages of his book with neat dot points.

  The Ringmaster reappeared. “Now the time has come for our water show, featuring the acrobatic a
ntics of our very own Fiji Mermaids! These are not lifeless, stitched-together creations from some seedy sideshow. These are real live mermaids from the Pacific, and today they will be accompanied by the Swamp Girl; part female, part fish!”

  There was another mechanical grinding noise, and the curtain rose again to reveal a large swimming pool. The audience gasped – where on Earth had that come from? What kind of magic was at work here?

  The creatures performing in the pool were indeed mermaids, although smaller than expected, and looked more like monkeys with fish tails than women. They had huge, piglike tusks growing from their lower jaws. But the Swamp Girl who leapt out of the water with them was definitely humanoid. Her body glittered with green scales and fins rippled from her head. Her hands and feet were fully webbed and she moved back and forth across the pool as fast as the mermaids themselves.

  Once again the curtain fell, and the Ringmaster showed himself. “I do hope you are enjoying yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Our animal acts are up next, but these are not ordinary beasts. These are the strangest, wildest creatures we could find, gathered together for your pleasure. But rest assured we have kept the weirdest being for last.” He disappeared. Another grind, another clunk. The curtain rose, and the parade of animal oddities began. This time the Ringmaster stayed to introduce them all. They included a two-trunked elephant, a horse with tentacles growing from its snout and clawed feet instead of hooves and a polar bear with steel talons. X the Strongman reappeared and wrestled the bear for the audience. He won and planted a great bare foot on the bear’s head. A woman tattooed with tiger-stripes sashayed out. Her thick hair resembled a bushy mane. She even had a tail, and was able to swish it back and forth. Her name was Felina and she was the circus’ beast-mistress. She was followed by an enormous six-legged tiger named Suresh, which she got to perform several tricks; including wrestling X. X lifted this beast high above his head. Would wonders never cease? Where had this circus obtained its amazing acts?

  “And now you will see the most bizarre sight of all,” the Ringmaster declared after Felina and her retinue of beasts had departed. “Not an animal but a man, a human being.” He gestured with his cane, and a small, stooped figure robed in a voluminous coat shuffled out. He wore a broad-brimmed had with a Hessian veil hanging from it, pocked with a single eye-hole. The audience drew in a collective gasp – some had heard of this person. Had he come to join the Circus Infinitus?

  “This is not make-up,” shouted the Ringmaster. “This is real flesh and blood!”

  The over-coated figure lifted a gloved hand to his head and threw off his hat with a dramatic flourish. Everyone cried out in shock as the Elephant Man revealed his face. A highly domed, knobbly forehead, miss-matched eyes, a twisted nose and crooked mouth. He snarled at the crowd, drawing more gasps of fright. Then he whipped off his coat, tossing it to the floor. Beneath he wore only a loin-cloth. He stooped, bony protuberances growing from his back, one arm a huge, clublike limb with an enormous fist, one leg a stumpy twisted growth. He struck a pose, even though it appeared painful for him, growling at the audience again. “His illness is a mystery,” the Ringmaster continued, “but some say his mother was run down by a wild elephant while he was still in the womb. When he was born, he appeared perfectly normal. Only around age four did he start to change.”

  The Elephant Man glared at the crowds again, giving an evil hiss – then he staggered and collapsed. Everyone cried out in surprise. The Ringmaster was at his side in a flash. At first the audience thought it was all part of the show. But then the Ringmaster looked up, pale-faced. “Curtain!” he commanded, and it fell, cutting off the sight. People began to wonder. The man with the monocle simply made another note. From behind the curtain came a commotion as carnies arrived to help pick up the Elephant Man. Then the Ringmaster stepped out.

  “I am sorry, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, but the show will have to end here. The Elephant Man has been taken ill, and I must see to him. In return you are all granted free entry into our rides and sideshows. Please, enjoy the rest of the Circus Infinitus.” He vanished.

  Slowly people began to file out, discussing the show and wondering what had caused the Elephant Man to fall. Despite the abrupt ending, they had never seen such an amazing spectacle. Only that one man remained unmoved. His name was Sir Hubert Fotherington, but everyone called him The Monocle. He was Chairman of the Society for the Preservation of Morality, and he had quite a report compiled for the Queen.

  Later that night, after fog had thoroughly closed in over London, a figure in a long cloak hurried through the streets. He had an appointment to keep with a riverboat man, and didn’t want to be late. Already he could hear the whistles of the police as they discovered the mess he’d left in that seedy little bed-sit. It was only a matter of time, and the only way out was down the river, to the ship waiting downstream in the Pool. He had what he wanted – there was no point trying to stay and hide anymore. Once he returned home he could resume his business. And this time he would succeed.

  Now, all he had to do was escape. He rounded another corner, keeping to the shadows. In this fog, the gaslights barely reached him. Elation began to nudge fear aside. He was going to make it! He was going to escape and become the greatest alchemist in the world!

  Then a shadowy, cloaked figure loomed in front of him, appearing as though out of nowhere. He skidded to a stop and turned to flee back the way he had come, but an arm shot out and grabbed him by a shoulder, digging talon-like fingers into his flesh. “Stop, Dr Francis Tumblety,” a soft, but commanding voice intoned.

  By the fates he was done! But was he a snake oil salesman, or wasn’t he? Surely he could talk his way out of this one! “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir – I’m just a gentleman out of an evening stroll.” He tried to pull his shoulder free, but the grip was like a vice.

  A broad-brimmed hat lifted to reveal two sapphire-blue eyes that glowed like a cat’s. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, you’re not out for a late-night stroll, and you certainly are not a gentleman,” the man finished with a hiss. “I know what you have hidden under your cloak, and I know what you intend to use it for. Now, if you don’t want me to hand you over to the police, you will come with me, and help a very sick friend of mine!”

  Dr Tumblety couldn’t believe his ears. He was so surprised he forgot he was trying to talk his way free. “How … how do you know all this?”

  The strange man began to propel the doctor through the alley, towards the main road. “Time is of the essence. My friend is dying, and only your particular brand of alchemy will save him.”

  “But I haven’t had a chance to use my new talisman! I only acquired it tonight!”

  “There’s no time like the present to start!” The cloaked man pushed the doctor out into the street. “Get into the carriage!”

  Dr Tumblety stumbled over to the large, black conveyance. Two of the blackest, most evil-looking horses he had ever seen were hitched to it, and they both snarled at him, lifting tentacles at their mouths to bare sharp fangs. Their manes stood up from their heads, making them appear even larger and more sinister. The doctor swore as he clambered into the vehicle’s black bowels, and the door slammed shut behind him. He heard the cloaked man clamber up into the driver’s seat, and suddenly the carriage shot away across the cobbles, iron wheels making a frightful din. Tumblety was flung backwards against the hard seat back. When he had righted himself he checked inside his coat, making sure the talisman was safe. Then he searched for a window he could look out of, but there was none. He felt around for the door, but found it locked. He couldn’t escape! Panic rose, but he fought it down and prayed to the fates for guidance.

  What seemed like an eternity later, the carriage slowed to a stop and the driver jumped down. Then the side door was flung open. “We’re here. Quickly, quickly!” Tumblety jumped down to the sight of the cloaked man striding off. The doctor considered making a run for it, but noticed two large, h
ulking figures nearby, one in a long coat and mask, carrying a strange-looking sword with a spiked blade, the other bare-chested and armed with two huge blunderbusses festooned with pipes and dials. He wore a cat-mask. “Don’t even fink about it,” he declared in a broad cockney accent. Tumblety wisely decided to follow the cloaked man.

  He realized he had been taken to some sort of circus. Tents and caravans surrounded him, and animal smells filled the air. He could see some sort of wooden structure rising high into the air, and on his right loomed an enormous red and white big top. A few carnie-folk poked their faces out from tent-flaps to watch his progress.

  The mysterious man led him into the big tent, and through an elaborate maze of passages and rooms that must have taken days to set up. But the doctor didn’t have time to stare. The man urged him on, and then they were ascending some iron stairs into goodness knew where. What kind of a place was this?

  Finally, the man showed Tumblety into a large room. It appeared to be an infirmary; walls lined with shelves of weird concoctions and strange contraptions filling benches. A man-sized tin solder lurked in one corner and a strange machine with multiple arms in another. More weird objects lined a shelf above the creatures; relics, artefacts and clockwork toys from ages past. Among them, incongruously, a dusty old jester’s hat and skull-staff. Bizarre sculptures of glass tubes, vials and flasks hissed and bubbled as brightly-coloured chemicals flowed through them. Steam filled the air. A lumpy figure lay on a bed, and a person swathed in a heavy leather overcoat leaned over him. He straightened as the newcomers arrived. “Ah, Ringmaster – you found him. Good,” the man in the coat rasped in a tinny sort of voice. “John doesn’t have much time left. I think the disease has sped up.” He stepped back from the man on the bed.

  “Doctor, I want you to try and save our friend here. He is dying.” The Ringmaster escorted Tumblety over, and the doctor found himself looking down on a deformed, but familiar face. He had seen this man before, forced to display his grotesque form in an abandoned shop. He was called the Elephant Man. But he looked even worse now, his bony growths more protuberant, pushing his features even further out of shape. His eyes were half-closed, his breath rasping in his throat. Before, the doctor had had no idea what the Elephant Man’s ailment was. But now as he looked him over, the answer popped into his head, as though by divine influence. The talisman inside his jacket felt warm and alive, pulsing with power. It was working already!