A clown suddenly entered the spotlight and happily announced, “Welcome To Eternal Chaos. Are you ready to see the most chaotic circus in Vegas?” A loud applause sounded around me instantaneously. He did the shush motion and said, “Just a reminder people, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” 

The lights suddenly turned off and the stage was pitch black. Then, orange stage lights turned on and bold upbeat music started playing, signaling the start of the chaos. Acrobats dressed in orange costumes with gold flames on the sides flipped onto the stage from various directions. They separated into three groups and started doing dozens of flips in the air while catapulting off of each other. They rapidly departed off the stage and fire dancers came right after. The dancers did a phenomenal routine with lit palm torches that involved catches, spins of their palm torches and flips just as crazy as the acrobats. They departed and the atmosphere changed. The music switched to a faster tempo and the lights changed to bold red. Three female triplets dressed in gold costumes holding trapeze bars appeared on stage. They all jumped off their metal support spots simultaneously and started their routine. Their performance was fast-paced from beginning to end, filled with flips, splits and death-defying catches. The audience gasped in terror so many times that I lost count. Once their routine was over, the stage was dark once again and the tightrope walkers were there when the lights turned on.  The female walked to the middle and started jumping rope. Two males joined her on the tight rope jumping rope. Suddenly, both males threw out the ropes and started running towards her. The crowd gasped in panic thinking we were about to witness something tragic. Despite the clear danger she was in, the female didn’t seem nervous at all, just at ease. When they got closer, the female ducked in rehearsed ease as the males performed side aerials over her crouched body. From there on out, we were entranced by a series of back tucks, cartwheels and aerials that almost seemed fatal to do on a tightrope. Once the lights came back on, the clown appeared again, smiling like a kid in a candy store. 

“Wasn’t that amazingly terrifying?” The crowd erupted in a loud applause. He winked and said, “I told you guys, this circus is crazy.” A few yeahs were muttered in the crowd. “Thank you for coming to Eternal Chaos. I hope you come back soon to see the craziest circus in Vegas.” 

Out of nowhere, the clown dropped a smoke bomb in front of him. Once the smoke dissipated, there was an empty spot left in his place.

To be continued in the forthcoming Teen Writer’s Collective 2023 Chapbook!