Coffee House Poetry » Blog Archive » Tall Tale Tuesday: Carnival of Souls

Tall Tale Tuesday: Carnival of Souls

ince last week, you’ve missed:

Stirrupchuck — Dr. Celestine
Catfight Tonight! — Mr. James
Untitled — Dr. Celestine

Carnage

     The Carnival sat in a valley, glowing in the dark like the lit flame of a match in a cupped palm. Black Alice Frye parked on the hill above the Carnival and stepped out of her car, cigarette burning in one hand. The wind blew her denim trench coat around her legs. She stood, staring down into the valley, tall and painfully thin, all sharp edges and angles. Her long, muddy-red hair blew around her hawkish face, sharp green eyes studying the Carnival, thin lips pursed.
     The expansive Carnival stretched out below her, parking lots reaching up to it like foot hills to a mountain. The wind brought her the piping sound of the calliope, voices, cheers, and screams. Her gaze swept through the parking lot. There was a fire on the west side, and some sort of commotion. She looked back to the main body of the Carnival, and its glow brightened. Flame licked up the borders of the Carnival, climbing and circling to the center, swirling up through the tents and along the rides, lighting the place like jewels, and for a moment, it was a brilliant treasure chest in the dark. All around it Alice could see othersiders, perched over it, circling it like moths to light, slavering hungrily, drooling, cackling, wanting it, but unable to get to it, their twisted forms writhing with lust and wrath.
     The flame reached the apex of the Carnival, and in flames burned a face, a broad face with twinkling eyes, a goatee, a leering grin. Reddish hair flowed down from under a top hat, over broad shoulders, which melted into the flame. The face surveyed its domain, piercing eyes studying the fracas in the parking lot, and then, turning to Alice. Mighty wings unfurled from the broad shoulders, mantling over the Carnival protectively, as the gaze fixed on her. She was bathed in light, blasting the darkness away, laying her bare. Her shadow stretched back away from her, a primal black tear in the light.
     Her shadow stretched, flexed, stirred, twisting. It unfurled its own leathery, bat-like wings, standing behind and over Alice on backwards-kneed legs, stamping its hooves, dwarfing Alice. Writhing tentacles of shadow slithered out of the main body, stroking over Alice’s, holding her as the shadow stamped. A great, dragon-like head craned over Alice’s, black shadow teeth glittering in the light. Its mighty, taloned hands came to rest on Alice’s tiny shoulders, holding her tight, wings curling down and around Alice as the thing hissed a warning. Its lizard tail flicked sharply back and forth.
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