The small town of Ravenswood was never the same after the carnival arrived. The colorful tents and twinkling lights seemed to draw in the crowds, but beneath the surface, something sinister lurked.
At first, it was just small things. Children would whisper about the creepy clown who handed out balloons, and teenagers would tell stories of the fortune teller who seemed to know their deepest secrets.
But as the carnival continued, the strange occurrences escalated. People would go missing for hours, only to return with no memory of where they'd been. Others would report finding strange, twisted trinkets in their homes, as if someone had been watching them.
The carnival's main attraction was a freak show featuring performers with bizarre abilities. There was the fire-breather, the contortionist, and the knife-thrower. But the most mesmerizing act was the crow girl.
She was a young woman with skin as black as coal and eyes that seemed to suck in the light around her. She would sit in a cage, surrounded by dozens of crows, and seemingly communicate with them in a language that sent shivers down the spines of even the bravest onlookers.
As the nights wore on, people began to notice that the crow girl's performances were becoming more and more... unsettling. She would stare into the audience, her eyes locking onto someone, and then, suddenly, they would stand up and walk towards her, as if under some sort of trance.
One by one, people began to vanish. At first, it was thought that they had simply left town, but as the disappearances continued, a sense of dread settled over Ravenswood.
The last night of the carnival, a group of brave townsfolk decided to investigate the freak show. They found the crow girl's cage empty, but the crows remained, watching them with an unblinking gaze.
As they turned to leave, they heard the sound of whispering. It was the crow girl, her voice carried on the wind. "The carnival will come again," she whispered. "And next time, you will be the show."
The townsfolk fled, but as they looked back, they saw the carnival tents still standing, the crows perched atop them, watching and waiting. The carnival of crows had left, but it would return, hungrier than ever.
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THE CARNIVAL OF CROWS
