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Regina Berry is struggling to get Léon to twirl like they rehearsed. She was supposed to hop on his back while he moves and then, eventually, stand and pose. That was how they practiced. But he wasn’t moving, he was watching something, and it certainly wasn’t the tassel she had in her hand. She huffs.
“Léon…People are watching!” Regina whispers, placing her hands on her hips. This show is already so rushed, something that morning had everyone out of sorts. But it all worked out.
Then, she realizes something. People aren’t watching. They’re talking in hushed whispers, but because everyone is doing it, it’s not so hushed anymore. Like Léon, they’re all focused on one specific point.
Before Regina can turn to look, she feels a hand grip her wrists really tightly. It kind of hurts. Something hits the floor with a wooden clatter. It’s Trilo, she notices, as she’s whisked away by Ben. Everything moves so quickly, and then she can’t see anything at all. Ben is holding her head to his torso, his other hand still gripping her wrist. He’s digging his nails into her skin and it starts to really hurt now. They turn around, but Regina still can’t see.
“Hey—!” She squeaks, but Ben shushes her. He’s shaking really hard.
“Shh, please,” Ben says, “y-you can’t look. Just for a second. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. I-It’ll just be a second—“
Something else hits the ground. A louder sound than Trilo, kind of a crunch. Everyone screams. Someone is crying. It must have been heavier than Trilo too. Something is very wrong.
“Ben, let me go!” As Regina struggles to move away from the ventriloquist, she sees past his torso a little. Uncle Moe is on the ground a ways away down the stage. He’s the one crying. He’s hysterical. Something is past him too, but she can’t see quite that far.
Ben gasps, opening his eyes and shaking his head. “R-regina, please!! Oh my god, we—we-…We have to go. Let’s go. L-let’s go, come on,” His tone is frantic and his breath is uneasy. Benjamin has never been particularly strong, but still, he scoops up Regina and holds her head down against his shoulder.
“D-Don’t look, please, you can’t. P-Please don’t—we have to—we need to go.” Regina can’t move. Ben has never ever been stronger than Regina but she still can’t fight him. She can’t get down to comfort her uncle, to even see what’s wrong.
She still hears him crying as Ben carries her away. Another set of steps follow, she can hear, even over so many people also rushing to leave the Big Top. Ben only lets go of her head when they’re outside, and she can see Léon trotting behind them. He doesn’t usually leave the tent, but he’s coming with Regina. In all the chaos, this puts her at ease.
“But Uncle Moe is still in there, Benny! And Regent—What about Bat and Acro?! Something’s happening, I know it! Everyone is so scared! I need to go back inside!”
“You can’t. Y-You can’t. Not for a long time. We, um, oh gosh…I-I’m going to take your dad’s keys, okay? We’re—We’re going to go into town. W-We’ll go into town and have fun and—and, um, we can, uh, wait for your d-dad to call me. Russell will call me when everything’s okay.” Ben can’t seem to catch his breath. Regina can still feel him shaking as he looks around frantically at the crowds of equally distressed people.
“Actually, um, I—I’m going to call him first, I think. R-Really quickly. I’m—I’m going to put you down now and I need you to stay with me. Okay? Promise you won’t go back inside.”
“I promise,” she says, quietly. So quietly.
Ben sets Regina on the ground, but holds both of her wrists and looks at her with a wide-eyed, intense stare. “Promise, Regina.”
Regina swallows. “I promise.”
…Benjamin lets her go. Still, though, Regina grabs one of his shaking hands. He takes a deep breath and pulls out his phone.
He dials and waits.
Russell doesn’t pick up. Benjamin dials a second time and once more, waits.
…
……
Russell doesn’t pick up. When the third call rings to voicemail like the rest, Ben opts to leave a voicemail. “Russell? I-I’m taking Regina into town. I hope that’s okay. I-I, um, I don’t know what else to do. She didn’t see anything. I made sure she didn’t.”
Regina pretends she’s not listening by petting Léon and scratching his chin. She is, though.
“She’s okay. Um, text me when you get this, and c-call me back when everything is clear, please. I’ll get a hotel room if we need to. O-OK, um, I’m hanging up now. Bye.”
Ben slips the phone back into his pocket. He’s quiet for a long time.
“…I’ve never been to a hotel before,” Regina comments quietly. Trying to do anything to ease the silence.
Ben smiles. It’s a small smile and definitely not real, but he tries, and Regina appreciates that. “It’s fun. They— um, t-they have room service and stuff. And, and pools sometimes. I’ll find a nice one. With free breakfast, maybe. W-We can go shopping. We’ll have fun.”
Regina is trying not to think about what’s happening inside the tent. She doesn’t want to wonder. Ben is thinking about it enough. Still, though…
“What about Léon…?” She asks.
Ben’s eyes widened a bit. He looks down at the lion, who looks back up at him blankly. “Oh. Um, h-he’ll be okay. Your dad will take care of him.” He doesn’t sound really sure of himself, but Regina has done enough prodding. She’s never been so scared before. She doesn’t know what to do about it.
“…Okay.”
“Mhm.”
More silence falls between them. It’s not silent at all, really. People are talking to each other and on their phones. Cars are leaving the parking lot with impatient drivers honking and yelling out the window. It’s only at the sound of distant sirens that Ben finally decides it’s time to go.
“This way,” he says in one breath, whisking Regina away by the hand.
Léon watches her as she walks away. She’s not going to see the Big Top for a long time. She knows that.