Free Crampton by Thomas Ligotti, Brandon Trenz Page B

second they're both stunned into silence. Then a look of determination crosses Brady's face.
    BRADY
    Okay, Helen, let's split up and get a better look at things.
    HELEN
    What?
    BRADY
    The weirder things get, the more important it is to go back to the basics, treat it like any other situation, remember?
    HELEN
    Are you not seeing what I'm seeing? This isn't like any other situation, Brady!
    BRADY
    I know, but it's the only way we're going to get through this. You take that side, I'll take this side. We'll meet up front, by the stage. Got it?
    Helen Just looks dazed.
    BRADY
    Helen! Have you got that?
    HELEN
    Got it.
    They each draw their sidearms and start moving through the crowd in opposite directions. The audience members don't seem to notice them at all.
    ON STAGE - the ventriloquist is standing and waving to the audience, Laffo's head CACKLING AWAY in his other hand. The ventriloquist ducks through the curtain. The CALLIOPE MUSIC ENDS WITH A FLOURISH. An unseen EMCEE'S VOICE fills the room.
    EMCEE
    (O.S.)
    And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for, the centerpiece of our display: The Metamorphosis!
    There is the sound of APPLAUSE, though nobody in the audience is actually clapping. Treacly MUZAK, cranked to distorting, is pumped into the hall.
    The freckle-faced kid from the Fix-It shop pushes a wheeled platform onto the stage. On it, a LARGE-BODIED FIGURE is tied spreadeagle to a modified wheel of fortune, dressed from head to toe in a skeleton suit. An X is taped across its mouth. The kid dashes off stage.
    IN THE CROWD - Brady and Helen are now on opposite sides of the room, separated by the sea of people. Brady waves to get Helen's attention.
    BRADY
    (shouting)
    Helen! Helen!
    HELEN
    (shouting)
    What?
    BRADY
    On stage! I think that's Ricky!
    Helen looks. Indeed, the figure in the skeleton suit could be Ricky. Whoever he is, he's struggling against the bonds that hold him to the wheel ... but that could all be part of the act.
    HELEN
    I can't tell!
    BRADY
    Closer! Get closer!
    Brady and Helen try to move toward the stage but it's slow going--the crowd seems to get thicker the closer they get to the stage.
    ON STAGE - a tuxedoed MAGICIAN with blond hair and handsome yet forgettable features steps through the curtain. A white-tipped cane materializes in his hand. The magician uses the end of his cane to start the wheel spinning.
    After a few spins the magician grabs the wheel, bringing it to a dead stop. With a flourish he tears the X off the skeleton's mouth. The bound man emits a TORMENTED SCREAM.
    IN THE CROWD - Brady and Helen react, shoving people aside in an attempt to reach the stage. But for every person they push aside two fill in the gap.
    HELEN
    FBI!
    BRADY
    Federal agents! Get out of the way!
    Their shouts have no effect--they don't even get the audience's attention. The agents can see the action on stage in glimpses from between shifting bodies...
    ON STAGE - the magician starts the wheel spinning again. The pitch of the skeleton's SCREAMING seems to rise and fall as the wheel goes around.
    With one swift movement the magician reaches toward the spinning figure, grasps the skeleton suit near the right shoulder, and peels the right sleeve away. There is nothing but empty air beneath. The SCREAM RISES. The crowd OOHS.
    The magician repeats the maneuver three more times, peeling away the skeleton's left arm and legs. The SCREAMING turns into a HYSTERICAL SOBBING.
    The magician stops the wheel. All that is left of the skeleton is a limbless torso and a head. With a final flourish the magician peels away the remaining costume. The figure disappears except for a NAKED SKULL, white and gleaming, which drops out of the space where the mask had been, landing in the magician's waiting hand.
    The SCREAMING continues for a few moments before fading away. SILENCE ... then the ROAR of the jubilant crowd.
    The music goes TA-DA! The crowd begins to break up, allowing Brady and Helen to finally move