Phantasm Carnival Novels & Stories

Harbor City's Midtown Plaza had sealed off a quarter of their parking lot and invited a cheesy carnival to come and steal money from the residents of the city in the guise of entertainment. Crazy lights, loud, obnoxious music, and barkers calling out to everyone who passed by, enticing them to come lose their money on a game of chance. Trace thought it was perfect for a date with Giselle. He hoped to win her one of those giant stuffed animals that boyfriends lug around the carnival in order to impress the girl who didn't really need impressing. Yet, he needed to impress Giselle. He may never get another chance with a girl again. Not with his luck, that is. Or his lifestyle.

I gibed, pivoting on my heels so quickly, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but I met none. “To your right, Cara.” His voice floated in the air like a grating sound of metal to metal, making me instantly wince, and the fear I was trying to bury came clawing back into the surface. My attention was whipped to my right, seeing an old bulletin board pinned with many stolen pictures. My breath caught in my chest, seeing the image of myself kissing a shadowed face man inside my condo. It was him, my phantom, and this picture was taken at my last birthday party and then up to the very recent happenings of my life.

Chapter 178 Damon's POV The city center was a carnival of chaos with laughter echoing off buildings, music blaring from multiple directions, colored lights strung between lampposts, and what seemed like a thousand people parading in every kind of costume imaginable. Vampires posed dramatically for selfies beside Disney princesses, kids ran around with candy buckets twice their size, their parents chasing after them with exhausted determination, and somewhere in the middle of it all, a street performer was juggling flaming torches like he had absolutely no sense of self-preservation or concern for public safety.

The moment we stepped into the carnival, something inside me lit up. Not softly. Not cautiously. It burst. “This is insane!” I gasped, my eyes darting everywhere at once, trying—and failing—to take it all in. Lights draped across stalls like constellations brought down to earth. The giant wheel turned slowly in the distance, glowing like something out of a dream. Music pulsed through the air—loud, alive, unapologetic. Food stalls sizzled and steamed, kids ran wild with laughter, couples leaned into each other like the world had paused just for them.

Salvatore has a low ponytail, and Terzo has half a ponytail that he's tied back with pale-pink fucking pom-poms. My brothers seem to sense I'm watching them, and their eyes automatically start scanning the nightclub. I make myself very small and lower my head as Wini drags me to the bar. Merda. Merda. Merda. I see Alvize appear and guide them down the corridor to the casino. Please, Madonna, you who watch over us from above, make sure they stay there all evening and leave without even thinking of coming out onto the dance floor. Vincenzo can't come and dance, but I'm not so sure about Terzo and Salvatore. Cazzo, especially Terzo, is capable of showing up and staying until closing time if the

"Oh, my God, so many things. After this, they have an Ultimate Sail Away Party on the Lido Deck. Then we can check out the room, unpack, and maybe rest up a little bit before dinner at one of the buffets." "You don't want to eat in the main dining room tonight, Mama? It's your birthday. You should be eating somewhere better than a buffet." "No, thanks. There's Hasbro, The Game Show at 8:00. Then I want to hit up Bingo at 9:15, followed by the Welcome Abroad Show at 10:15, and finally, the comedy show at 11:30. If we're still up for it, we can hit up the casino. The slots are calling my name!"

Even if she did, she'd blame it on the wind. "Ghost?" Sharon was becoming concerned, "I thought you don't believe in such things?" "Really? Oh, em." Geneva cleared her throat and spoke confidently, "that's true, I am not scared by flimsy things such as ghooosts!" The last word Sharon heard was the word 'ghosts' being screamed into her eardrums before she heard nothing else. The phone had fallen and disassembled and the call, disconnected.

I was too overwhelmed by all the new sights and sounds. By the time we made it to the outskirts of the village, I was thrumming with anticipation. The late afternoon had slid into the shadows of evening, and the carnival’s lights glinted tantalizingly before us. The music was louder now, though I didn’t recognize any of the instruments. I closed my eyes and inhaled, breathing in the smell of strange foods and perfumes. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I’d be standing here in Whitelark territory, about to enter a carnival pitched by rogues. Smiling widely, Lauryn tugged on my arm, practically dragging me to the entrance. She bought us tickets as I gaped at the sights around me.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of Luna Park, a carnival that had set up on the edge of the city for the summer. Bright lights, cheerful music, the smell of cotton candy and popcorn... everything that was the opposite of the heavy, suffocating world we'd been drowning in. Veronica stared at the colorful entrance, the spinning rides, the game booths, like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. "A carnival?" she said. "A carnival," I confirmed. "You said you missed being twelve. So let's be twelve for a few hours. No press, no scandals, no family drama. Just... fun."

John was optimistic but it wasn't enough to keep them still, the quivering sound of one of the campers was a signal that it was only a matter of seconds before everything went South for them. "Gary... I know you are frightened but please for your sake and the rest of us do not do anything stupid." John said trying to manage the whole situation and it was too late, the long claws of a beastly creature had slized through someone's flesh. The creature was huge with animalistic features of a wolf it's eyes a shiny red that was visible through the dark. It stood tall with the upper half of it's body widely intimidating and they all looked like ants before him. Their eyes went slowly to look at Ga