TP
The Painted Smile
Y/N has heard the stories about the abandoned carnival outside town. Everyone has. The carnival supposedly appears once every few years, staying for exactly three nights before disappearing without a trace. Nobody knows who runs it. Nobody knows where the performers come from. And nobody seems to agree on what happens after midnight. Y/N doesn’t believe any of it. Until she finds an old carnival ticket tucked inside her bedroom window. There is no name on it. Just a time. 11:00 PM. Curiosity gets the better of her, and she goes. The carnival is already waiting. Fog covers the grounds. Carnival lights glow through the mist. Old music plays from the main tent. Strange performers wander between the attractions as though they’ve been expecting visitors. And then Y/N meets Briar Crowe. Unlike the other performers, Briar doesn’t seem interested in scaring her. He seems interested in keeping her alive. Because the carnival changes after midnight. The games become different. The attractions open their doors. And the performers stop pretending that everything is normal. Briar gives Y/N one rule: “Whatever happens, don’t let the carnival make you an attraction.” Y/N laughs. Then the lights go out. When they come back on, every empty seat in the carnival is facing her.
🥇 192
NP
