Circus Escape Read Online Free PDF

one of the Operators of the pre-show performance.
    Nothing unusual there. Joy tuned out the noise.
    "Hope you're ready for your big loss, Joy." Joy ignored Kris as she flicked through the start-up sequence. The time for talking was over. She had a job to do.
    Blue lights on the console flickered on and glowed in the dark space. Joy looked out and someone gave her the thumbs up. "Let's go Sally."
    *~*~*
    Spectators lined up at the entrance to purchase their tickets. People from surrounding moons arrived frequently. Ship lights lined the horizon as they powered down from the flight. The numbers swelled. Past the garages were a series of tents where the workers had set up their makeshift homes for the night.
    Children ran and screamed in amazement at the miniature mechas walking around the marquee. Nessie had managed to find out that they weren't Operated and had some sort of internal intelligence, but the man she'd asked hadn't been very helpful, more concerned she bought his wares.
    Nessie chewed on a Dagwood Dog, her tastebuds delighting in the salty, fatty flavour. She walked casually through the marquee, ignoring the shouting of the sideshow people who were trying to get people to come and play. She knew the games were definitely rigged.
    She dabbed her mouth with her lacy handkerchief to remove any ketchup. The stick, licked clean, was dumped in a rubbish bin and she continued walking.
    "Place ya bets here," yelled a man standing on a forty-four gallon drum. "Bets here, ladies and gentlemen."
    Nessie paused. Over the last few hours, she hadn't been able to keep thinking there was no way that Sally could lose tonight. It was a sure bet. But I never gamble .
    "Come and place ya bet, quickly now. The main fight starts in fifteen."
    "One hundred on Cate," yelled one man.
    "Right you are." He took the money and handed back a small piece of paper. "Good luck."
    "Twenty on Cate," yelled a woman. "No, make it fifty."
    The atmosphere swept over Nessie, making her part of the increasing excitement as another person stepped up to make a bet. She couldn't ignore the temptation anymore. There wasn't the time for her to stand and ponder whether or not this was the right thing to do or not. What would be the wise amount? No time for that either. She walked up to the man.
    "Do you take money cards or cash only?" asked Nessie.
    "Both," he answered.
    Nessie reached into her handbag and pulled out her card. "All on Sally," she said firmly as she handed over the card. Her entire savings. She'd been keeping it hoping that one day it would be enough to buy a ticket out of here and go and study or get an apprentice. But she'd always been too scared. Today, her confidence rocketed. She was ready to take a risk. Her blood pulsed in time with the energy of the building crowd.
    The man took her card, swiped it through his ticket machine. He raised his eyebrow.
    "The odds aren't great for the newbie." He looked at her. "Maybe try Beli, or Cate? Or you could try the old machines. One of them could win tonight too, ya know."
    "No. I want it all on Sally."
    "Ya sure?" The man asked.
    "I've never been more sure in my life."
    He typed on the ticket machine and a piece of paper scrolled out printed with the transaction. "Don't lose this." He handed the paper and card back to her.
    "Of course." She put them her purse, snapped it shut, and walked off feeling like for the first time in her life she was taking control.
    *~*~*
    Joy moved the spider up a gear. She turned the driving stick to move Sally around in a circle, using all of her eight legs to make the 180 degree turn. The lackeys ran out of the way, pressing themselves up against the wall to give her the room needed. Sally's legs might be thin, but they would easily kill a person if they got in the way.
    Sally's vibrations retuned Joy's body and together they pulsed excitedly with anticipation with what was to come. Joy went into the next gear and moved Sally forward through the back door and out into