I thought Red was going to wake me the next morning so I was surprised to see the sun was up when I pulled back the curtain. Puck was whimpering to get out. I opened the door, and he bolted to the nearest tree. Mist was rising up from the creek. It had covered the parking lot and fairgrounds with a thick fog. I pulled myself together, grabbed my tools, and Puck and I headed over to the Big Eli. Sometimes the boys tried to pamper me a bit, acting like substitute fathers. They had probably decided to let me sleep and do the tear down alone. I wasn’t havin’ none of that.
Still sleepy, I wandered back down the midway toward the back end where the rides sat. The fog was so thick you could barely see your hand in front of your face. It helped a little that the lights were still on which was really weird. Maybe the electrician had gotten sick too. God knows Marx would never let the electricity run like that. Maybe he’d already headed out. The colorful lights created a strange looking glow amongst the fog. It felt eerie.
As I turned down one of the aisles toward the rides, I thought I saw Beau’s hulking figure standing in the row headed the other direction. He looked like he was just standing there between the lemonade stand and the sugar shack. I could not see him clearly in the fog. It looked like he had his back toward me; I only saw his outline. I was about to call out to him when Puck let out a very low and very serious growl. It was a sound I’d never heard him make before. I looked down to see Puck’s ears were flat and his hackles up. Since I spook easily, I was scared.
Beau moved then and walked off in the other direction.
I firmed up my grip on my pipe wrench, and we headed toward the rides. When I got to the Big Eli, I was surprised to see no one was around. The ride was untouched. I stood there trying to decide what to do when I heard someone walking toward me. I could tell by the jingling sound that it was Vella. She always wore anklets with small bells.
“Hey Cricket,” she said. I could tell she was trying to sound cheerful, but she wasn’t hiding her worry very well. She looked ready to go. While she still had her long, curly black hair covered in a scarf, she’d given up her colorful skirt for a pair of jeans and a red embroidered blouse. Kathy at the incense joint had started selling all kinds of imported embroidered shirts and dresses. Vella must have gotten the top there. Any time you saw Vella in jeans and out of “reader” gear, it was time to go.
“Guess no one else is up yet,” I said, looking around. “Well, maybe Beau, but I’m not sure--”
“I’m all packed. When are you heading out?” she asked me.
“I was gonna go hook the truck up now since Red is still snoozin’. He’ll probably be up by the time I’m done. I need to help with the tear down then we’ll head out.”
Vella looked worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think we better head out. This flu . . . well, I’m just worried,” she said.
I realized then she was right. If everyone at the bunk was sick, no doubt we’d catch it too if we stayed around much longer. Puck trotted over to her and licked her hand.
“You agree too?” I asked the dog who wagged his tail at me.
“Alright, then. Let’s go check on Mama Rosie, and then we can head out.”
Vella nodded, and we walked back up the aisles to the snake show. Mama was outside. She had just rolled up the awning on the truck which was already running. I could see she was sweating profusely.
“You okay, Mama?” I asked.
She jumped. “Good lord, Cricket. You two scared me. This mist is thick as pea soup. It’s something, ain’t it?”
“It sure is. Mama Rosie, you don’t look like you’re feelin’ good.”
“Ahh, Crick, you know I ate some shrimp yesterday that had a wang to it. I knew I was gonna be in for a long ride, but I’ll be alright. You two headed out?”
I nodded.
“Alright then, I’ll meet you at the grounds exit.”
“I’m already in the west parking lot too. I’ll walk down with you to your truck,” Vella told me.
Mama Rosie then jumped into her van. With a wave, she pulled the travelling snake show onto the midway grounds and, driving slowly, headed toward the gate.
As Vella and I passed, I noticed that Mr. Iago had also already left. I was glad. The further away he was from me the better.
“I don’t like him either,” Vella said but then stopped and grabbed my arm.
Coming out of the fog, there were about four people moving slowly down the aisle toward us. Just by the way they were walking, you could tell they were up to no good. Again, Puck growled that low, dangerous growl.
I felt like my skin was about to crawl off me. “Thieves?” I whispered to Vella.
“I don’t know, but let’s go,” she whispered and pulled me between the duck pond and the t-shirt joint. We got between the two buildings, and we headed down an aisle when I looked behind us. The figures were now moving faster and coming in our direction.
“Stop a sec,” I whispered to Vella.
“What? No way! Come on,” she replied.
“Vella, your bells,” I whispered to her, pointing to her ankles. The tinkling sound of her bells had echoed through the fog as we fled.
“Dammit,” she swore and quickly kicked the anklets off.
We could see the figures coming closer toward us. For a minute, I thought I saw someone wearing a hat just like Red’s.
Vella pulled me by the arm.
“Wait, is that Red?” I whispered, looking back.