[2-5] The Carnival

[Gin Yatreg]

They soon passed the merry-go-round, which was just as dilapidated as the rest of the carnival rides. Although now that Gin was closer, he could see some of the finer details of the machine. The horses really were warped, most likely thanks to the weather, and looked as if they were hanging from their poles instead of the normal trotting in the air. Stranger still, most of the rust was only on the bottom part of the poles and the grated floor, as if it were leaking from the horses. Everywhere else seemed to just be mildew, mold, and moss growing over the plastic. Deciding not to mess with it, they continued onwards towards one of the big tops, or more specifically; a set of large interconnected trailers located nearby. 

~~~

“Where’s a flashlight when you need one?” Gin thought, squinting through the dimming light at his improvised map.

Remilia lightly bumped Gin on the head with her makeshift umbrella before speaking up, “Hey, how much further?” she asked impatiently.

Gin looked back at Remilia, “Well if my eyesight hasn’t gone bad yet, then it should be after this set of booths,” He said.

“Good, my arms are getting tired holding this thing up. Especially since no kind gentleman has offered to hold it for me.” Remilia said with annoyance in her voice.

“Hey, I’m holding the map! You’re just going to have to tough it out.” Gin said as he looked back at the map.

“You can hold both.” Remilia said in a huff as the annoyance in her voice grew stronger.

“No.” He bluntly replied.

“YES.” She said sternly.

“I said no damn it!” Gin yelled before stopping and turning to face Remilia, “So just wait would…” Gin paused, “…ya?” he finished. In the dim light, Gin could make out the quite angry face of Remilia glaring at him. “…Please?” he whined. Before he could react, Remilia’s hand made contact with his face, which slapped him with a tremendous force.  The sound of which, could be heard all over the verse.

~~~

Gin, now with a large red hand print on his left cheek, trailed behind Remilia holding the sheet of metal above her head with one hand. “I’ve become a pack-mule.” He thought.

“Ah, this must be it!” Remilia said with a cheery tone. “Thank you so much for holding that Gin, you’re a true Gentleman!” she said.

“No problem, Miss.” Gin said, his face still throbbing from the slap.

“Oh, you’re so nice. Now let’s head in shall we?” Remilia said before walking inside the large trailer.

Gin followed her inside, and set the map and metal sheet down next to the door. From the look he got outside, the trailers were all linked via accordion connectors, which meant they wouldn’t have to go back outside any time soon. At least, not until they’ve looked through the place for clues that is. There had to be something that explained where everyone went, a journal, an audio log, or maybe even a quickly written note. "Hell, I'd settle for just finding a couple umbrellas. At least then I wouldn't have to worry about someone's arms getting tired," He thought. 

Taking a look out the window, he saw that the rain had started to get worse. "We should probably wait this out, I don't think anybody would want to be out in that storm." He said to Remilia, who had already started digging through a closet. Looking back out the window one last time, Gin thought he saw someone walking past the merry-go-round. He blinked and darted his eyes back and forth around the area, but saw nothing. "I'm seeing things again," he thought before going over to help Remilia search around.