The coming of the daily newspaper was both a godsend and a death sentence rolled up into one incredible headline: RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS SHUTS DOWN AFTER 146 YEARS. Members of the Haly’s Circus crew rejoiced; with their toughest competitor out of the way, the title of the “World’s Greatest Show” was theirs without any end in sight. It was an unbelievable situation, and chances were that members of the failed circus troupe would come flocking to Haly’s. Maybe now they would actually be able to afford to take them in.
But despite this seemingly good news, a nightmarish thought lingered in the backs of everyone’s minds: “What if we’re next?” Animal rights activists had begun to protest their elephant shows; the demand for them to release their other animals into sanctuaries was at an all-time high. The empty threats that came pouring in had suddenly begun to bear weight, so much so that Dick had picked up blogging about the specialized care each animal received. It had staved off most people, but PETA was still on their asses.
After a long day of work, Dick had gone straight to his bunk instead of celebrating with the rest of the crew, who were undoubtedly out getting drunk. Normally he would have joined them, but today he just wasn’t... feeling it. This didn’t seem like a reason to celebrate; it was more like a reason to buckle down and brace for the worse, the storm that was to come.
He collapsed onto the bed, face first, the newspaper he had been holding discarded next to his ratty tennis shoes on the battered floor of the train car. Nothing about this felt right. Nothing at all...
