Wolves? Rabbits? Snowflakes? Flames? How boorish. What this show needed was an active does of fear! Too many of the performers focused on the end-game applause, contending with each other on who got the most acclaim after the show. Did they worry about losing their jobs? Pointless thing to think. You could easily get rehired by threatening the idiotic dog that Nora kept everywhere! It was a foolproof strategy! 

Hypate gave Anpheus a look of scorn as he walked into the ring. The man was better suited for a [i]clown act,[/i] and he still continued to pester her about his hair. Yes, he used a nice shampoo with a refreshing smell. No, she would not go out on a 'date' with him. She had made that perfectly clear. Yet he [i]kept[/i] winking at her and pushing his hair back! Just the thought of him doing that again made her shudder.

-
In the ring, the crowd began to grow restless. It had been a few minutes since the last performance, but no one had appeared yet. Their unsettled nature was increased by the sudden drop of temperature as the long night dragged on. Large gust of white wind stormed around the tent, leaving many patrons clutching their arms together for warmth. Had something happened inside the performance tent? Odd night, this was. But as all the circus-goers sat there and increasing talked louder and louder, a scream went across the pavilion, sounding like this:

"IT'S A SKELETON! IT'S LOOKING AT ME!"

This yell was soon raised by many other audience members, though they avoided the same words. What had happened became obvious soon enough: In the empty seats of the audience, bone-like figures had taken their seats, shrouded by the lack of light and overly loud wind. Was this it? A rather droll performance. But no! There was a sharp hiss from the air, and the bones clattered to the floor. Another hiss sent them rolling down the wooden bleachers, through unhappy onlookers legs and popcorn some unlucky children had left on the floor. The bones continued rolling 'til they hit the sandy floor where the performances played out. They they just. . . . . Vanished!

Well, except one suit of off-white bones. To the audiences shock and surprise, shown by their loud "Ooohs" and "What the !@#$s", the skeleton form began talking. The grating voice itself caused many to shudder and get goosebumps, like the cringing noise of chalk being scraped across a board, but the deformed head situated oddly on the small body caused even the mature audience to get a feeling of nervousness. 

"Good evening." croaked the bizarre form. "I am Anpheus, one of the most annoying ex-circus goers to ever live! I was cursed by a vile witch to live my life in these bones, losing all my luscious and attractive hair, for a great sin I committed! What sin is this, you ask? I didn't turn off my cellphone!" 

This was followed by a sharp, confused laugh from the audience.

"You laugh? You dare insult the great authority of the ones above? Very well. I have been tasked by my masters to show you true discipline. Observe! This man has a cellphone!"

In a quick second, the spotlight flashed to a [i]middle-aged woman[/i] in the far right corners, clutching a Nokia 3310. How horrid! The audience gasped as the woman suddenly screamed, and gasped even more as the woman began bleeding from her now glazed-over eyes and jagged mouth. Screams began echoing from each side of the tent as many more people fell to the curse of the witch. You did turn off you cellphone, didn't you?

As the screaming got louder, the overhead lights flickered on, [i]revealing everyone in the audience to be holding a Nokia cellphone![/i] The skeleton host began rattling his bones and laughing with glee as people appeared to expire in a weird variety of ways. One woman disappeared, leaving a large pool of crimson liquid where she was previously was, and another man was flung across the room like a child throwing a toy. The shrieks and wails continued to increase as the audience members realized that the entrance to the tent was blocked by a WALL OF SKELETONS! People began crying, praying, and screaming out obscenities to the witch who had cursed them. They had followed the circus guidelines! The witch had made those phones appear by her own will, and was now taking her cruel wrath out on innocent bystanders! 


Yet then, in the very heat of the moment, where  the fear and worry was so clear you could nearly smell it, the work of the witch began vanishing away. First was the bloodstains, then the corpses went second, and finally the bony figures collapsed into the dust. "I hope you enjoyed-d-d-d the show" wheezed out Anpheus the skeleton. "Remember to turn off your-" but before the figure could finish his advice, he turned into dust! 


The audience started clapping very slowly, unsure if they were [i]supposed[/i] to clap. But as they gradually came to the realization it had all been faked, the crowd showed the approval very loudly. Unnoticed to the public as they discussed the act, Hypate slipped down from the sitting area and vanished once more into the performance tent.

Now to think of a new act.