text: While it might be an opportunity to escape, you're not going to risk it. Roger might be a little smitten with you, but he's athletic enough looking that you don't think you could easily fight him off if something went wrong. Given that there is a state of martial law right now, you're likely to get yourself shot or worse.
  
  Better to stay in the tent and come up with a plan where you at least might have some back up.
  
  So you're currently back to square one, sitting around doing much of nothing until the National Guard decides to leave (whenever if and when that happens).
  
  You spend most of your time thinking on what Roofie said and your current position at the carnival. The only way you're ever going to have safety and have a family is if you take direct action towards those goals.
  
  "Lifto, Shrimpy, you're with me." You suddenly say and say you going to see the head of the dwarf faction.
  "Uh, I dunno if that's a good idea, he's been doing a lot of preparation lately." Shrimpy says.
  "I'm sure he has, and its in our best interest to find out exactly what that is. Maybe YOU can afford to play both sides, but I'm not taking that chance." You say and start walking over to the crowd of little people.
  
  As you approach, the dwarves instantly start closing ranks and their demeanor changes to a defensive one.
  
  "Back again Shrimpy? I didn't anticipate your sycophantic antics for another hour or so. And you must be Suzy, the new clown girl that's been pissing off all the ladies and turning on all the guys. Hrm. Upon a closer look, I understand the appeal, but you're still no dwarf woman." an older dwarf says, though many of his fellows probably don't share that opinion.
  "I take it you're the leader of your group?"
  "Yep, though I don't suppose Shrimpy's bothered to mention my name is Billy. If you're here about our current alliance, you needn't worry since I've reassured Shrimpy so many times about it that it's getting to the point of annoyance. Glad to you at least changed it up by appearing yourself, could've done without the big ugly clown behind you though, but I'm guessing he's a poor attempt at intimidation."
  "A girl likes to have a big strong man to watch her back sometimes."
  "Heh, and that's why you've practically begged a bunch of little men to do it to eh? Let's cut to the chase, what do you really want? I already know that you're the new leader of the clowns given what you did to old Roofie over there. Bet he didn't see that coming."
  
  You don't know how else to put it so you just say it, which comes to a surprise to Shrimpy and Lifto as well.
  
  "I'm going to be the new leader of this carnival and YOU'RE going to support me in this endeavor."
  Billy smiles at this remark and then chuckles. Several of the other dwarves do likewise.
  
  "You? Really? And you think we're just going to support you in this? I hope you had a better plan than preparing to fuck every munchkin in munchkin land Dorothy, because at this juncture I guarantee that would be the ONLY way that you MIGHT come close to your dreams of being in charge. And if that was your plan, you can forget it, because I'm happily married. However, it might gain you favor with some of my friends. Could ensure that your group will have a place in the new carnival order that will be coming soon, but that's a choice you'll have to make on your own."
  "You really think the rest of the carnival is going to follow you?"
  "They won't have a choice, we dwarves have always been the backbone of it and it's about time we just took the spotlight. Just like my Great Uncle Charley always wanted to do so long ago."
  "Yeah and apparently that didn't work out so well given your current situation. You know why? Nobody truly respects you. They're content to let you do the grunt work, but they don't want you to be in the spotlight, unless you're making a fool of yourself like Shrimpy here." You say.
  "HEY!" Shrimpy remarks.
  "Watch your tone there blondie, you're starting to tread on very dangerous ground." Billy warns.
  "Yes, I know and I'm also trying to explain that you're ALREADY in control by being the backbone of the carnival. You might very well be able to win this internal struggle, but would there be anything left? This place has languished under Roofie, obviously, but it could be great again if it had the right ring master. Someone who could bring in the people. You said it yourself, I've got most of the guys here salivating over me just by my presence. You know how advertising works, I bring 'em in with a wink, a smile and some sweet talk, the other performers get the money out of them and someone has to keep the infrastructure together and that's you. We could work together as a more than just co-workers we could be like... a family. Like how carnies are supposed to really stick together."
  
  Your words give a moment of pause for Billy who ponders them for a moment, but then shakes his head.
  
  "Y'know, that's a really good speech, the problem is you haven't been here but a few days and you're already trying to take over. In family terms, you're like the hot twenty year old nurse that married great grandpa on his death bed in the hopes of inheriting everything despite the fact he's got a multitude of family members that are far more deserving since they had to put up with his shit a lot longer. Now that doesn't mean I don't think you're sincere or even that your idea isn't a worthy one, its just I don't see YOU as that potential leader. If this carnival does split apart after the dust clears, well maybe it was meant to be, but I'm not spending the remainder of my life following another half-assed leader again. So to sum up, if you want to be on our side then great, if not, then I highly suggest you all get in your clown car and all get jobs at a rodeo or something."
  
  At this point Billy's done talking and waves you all away.
  
  Well that could've went better.
  
  "Are you nuts?! Why the hell did you do that for? You're lucky he isn't cancelling our protection!" Shrimpy says.
  "Well I can't say it was the best of moves, but I guess you had to try." Lifto says.
  
  Between Shrimpy's concern for his own self-preservation and Lifto's impotent comment, you're wondering if you shouldn't re-consider trying to escape again.
  
  Ultimately you all head back to the table where upon Shrimpy and Lifto explain what happened. Fatty and Klepto are both surprised by your actions, but Klepto again makes the usual attempt at being more "understanding" than the others. Christ, he never quits.
  
  "I don't need this right now, I'm going to be by myself." You say grabbing the small radio that they were listening to and head to where Roofie is still lying on his mat with his eyes closed. You don't know if he's still awake or genuinely asleep now, but he at least doesn't appear to be in any mood to bother you right now.
  
  You spend a few more hours listening to one of the radios while the others play cards and try to talk about mundane things. You're not getting the best reception and it's no Internet, but it's better than nothing.
  
  You mostly listen to a lot of special breaking news talking about how bad things are getting in various parts of the world. You hear about the riots going on and think about your own town and how your "real" family is doing. Ben's hidden personal bomb shelter was somewhere in the backyard, you wonder if you shouldn't have just tried to look for it and moved in there, it probably was stocked.
  
  Then as the sun starts setting, you hear a bunch of shooting and shouting outside. You see the other guardsmen near the tent entrance rush off, leaving everyone unsupervised.
  
  Naturally no longer being supervised means chaos within the tent begins to erupt though you have no idea why people aren't more concerned about why the National Guardsmen are shooting and yelling at something outside.
  
  Lacking any better idea, you try to wake up Roofie, but he doesn't stir.
  
  "Oh shit... " you say to yourself.
  
  Apparently his last words to you WERE his dying request literally.
  
  While you're the only one aware of poor Roofie's unexpected passing, a full on fight in the tent breaks out. Predictably, it's Razor and her faction vs. Billy and his faction. Some of the smaller factions join in while others just run out of the tent altogether. It's very lucky that your group is nowhere near the center of the tent where the fighting is and more or less in a corner.
  
  "Suzy! It's begun!" Lifto shouts.
  "Yeah! We need to get in and help Billy or we're going to be next!" Shrimpy adds.
  > escape this place
  Billy has made it quite clear that no matter what happens you're going to be on the bottom rung of any sort of restructuring so why should you even bother? This whole area is going to shit and it would be best if you just got the hell out of here.
  
  "Do any of you have keys to your vehicles?" you ask.
  "I got my truck keys." Lifto remarks.
  "Good, we're getting the hell out of here while everyone is distracted."
  "What?! We're just going to leave Billy?" Shrimpy asks.
  "Look, if YOU want to help Billy then go right ahead, but he's basically said that I'm the low girl on the totem pole, and I am NOT going to go through a bunch of verbal and possible physical abuse for the rest of my time here. I left home to get away from that shit. Quite frankly given how disliked clowns are around here, I'd suggest the rest of you follow me because no matter who wins, you're going to lose." You say and turn to leave
  
  Lifto, Klepto and Fatty don't even think twice, they're following you out the tent and leaving the chaos of the carnival clash behind. Shrimpy however is unsure, his loyalty to his "kind" is still holding him back, but you're not waiting around.
  
  When you exit the tent, things aren't much better. There aren't any guardsmen in the immediate area, but you still hear the shooting and their yelling. You also hear odd growling sounds and a couple of screams.
  
  "I don't know what's going on, but we need to get to your truck NOW!" you exclaim where upon Lifto takes the lead.
  
  You don't get too far when you see Roger staggering from between two other tents. He's wounded heavily and bleeding profusely. He sees you and desperately calls for your help.
  
  "Suzy... hel... " is about all he gets out before collapsing a few feet from you. He tries to crawl towards you and you nearly head towards him to help, but given all the gunfire going on and the big brawl still going on, you focus on your goal of placing as much distance as possible from this place.
  
  "Sorry, Roger." You say quietly and continue moving.
  
  Lifto points towards a pick up truck in the area where you first parked your own vehicle.
  
  "Shh, you hear that?" Klepto remarks.
  "No." you remark.
  "Exactly. All the gunfire stopped."
  "Well we need to hurry up because that either means the guardsmen killed whoever was attacking and they'll be returning to us soon or... "
  
  And then from behind one of the army vehicles you're passing something leaps onto Lifto. It's human but its snarling and growling unnaturally. If you didn't know any better you'd almost think it was a... .
  
  "ARGH! ZOMBIE!" Lifto shouts and struggles to get it off of him. Fatty moves in to help immediately and between the two of them they easily knock it to the ground. Lifto then proceeds to stomp on its head repeatedly with his brightly colored clown boots.
  
  While Lifto is determined to smash its head into mush, another one of these creatures pop out of nowhere and nearly grab you. You scream and manage to pull away before Klepto steps in and tries to help.
  
  Unfortunately the creatures manage to bite him in the process. He cries out in pain, but manages to get the creatures off of him thanks to someone else helping by blowing the thing's head off. Blood, bone and brains splatter all over Klepto.
  
  "Come on! I don't know how many more of these things there are!" Shrimpy shouts with one of the guardsmen's assault rifles in both hands. Looks like he's made his choice.
  
  Lifto finishes destroying the one that was attacking him and soon all of you are off and running again. You look around as you run thinking more are going to be jumping out at you, but that doesn't happen. You are slightly concerned about Fatty getting bit though. You don't think anyone else has noticed it yet except you and of course him.
  
  When you get to the truck, Lifto quickly opens up the driver side and opens up the passenger door. You get in, followed by Klepto, meanwhile Fatty gets in the bed of the truck along with Shrimpy.
  
  "Where the hell are we going?" Lifto says as he drives from the carnival.
  "I don't know yet, but we probably should stay away from large areas of population if those... things are any indication. Just head further away from the town for now." You say.
  
  Honestly you don't know what comes next, but you're seriously starting to believe Roofie's comments about the end coming soon. Were those creatures zombies? Crazed humans? Alive? Undead? Does it matter? How many are there? Have they overrun civilization already? Has any of your old family survived? Is this the beginning of the end?
  
  And most importantly... do their bites work like they do in the movies?
  
  Klepto sits next to you nervously still clutching his arm where he was bit. Lifto hasn't noticed yet because he's been paying attention to the road and while you haven't said anything yet Klepto's not subtle enough about keeping his wound secret... 
  
  "Why do you keep rubbing your arm?" Lifto remarks.
  "Uh, that thing grabbed me and its grip hurt a lot and uh... "
  "Klepto, I've known you long enough to know when you're lying! Did that thing bite you?!"
  
  Klepto doesn't answer so you try to unsuccessfully help.
  
  "It was just a little bite, we don't even know if... " you start to say before you're interrupted.
  "Oh fuck! That's it man! Game over!" Lifto shouts and suddenly stops the truck. Fatty and Shrimpy both knock on the window shouting what's going on.
  
  "Klepto, I know we've known each other a long time, but you need to get out of this truck right now."
  "Lifto, I... "
  "I don't wanna hear it. Get out before I make you get out or worse."
  "Lifto, we don't even know if this is infectious! This isn't a movie you know!" you exclaim.
  "And you willing to take that chance? You're sitting right next to him! Not to mention he's covered in that thing's blood when Shrimpy blew its head off. Who knows what the hell he's caught."
  
  As paranoid as Lifto is right now, you have been feeling a little nervous sitting next to Klepto this whole time.
  
  Without another word Lifto shifts towards you and reaches over towards the glove compartment. He opens it up revealing a pistol, though Klepto already figured out what he was doing and tries to grab it before Lifto can.
  
  Despite Lifto being in an awkward position and you being in his way, he's strong enough to get the grip on the gun first. Klepto grabs his hand and the struggle ensues.
  
  At this point Fatty opens up the driver side door and Shrimpy opens up the passenger side.
  
  "What the fuck is going on here!?" Shrimpy asks.
  "ARGH! Sonofabitch!" Lifto suddenly shouts, Klepto has bitten his hand causing him to drop the pistol on the truck floor.
  "Shrimpy keep that rifle on Klepto!" Lifto shouts.
  
  You're stuck in the middle with Lifto's body half on you. All you know is you're scared and desperate to get out. You manage to wiggle down a bit and grab the pistol on the floor.
  
  Klepto hasn't proceeded with an attack and doesn't look any different.
  
  "I'm not a zombie! Or whatever you think I am! I'm fine! And if you kill me, you're going to have to kill Lifto too!" Klepto exclaims to everyone.
  
  Klepto may or may not be right, but he was pretty quick to bite Lifto. Whether that was a desperate attempt to ensure his own safety or a possible glimpse of what's to come, you don't know.
  
  With the pistol in your hand you don't know if you shouldn't just shoot them both.
  > shoot the pair of them
  You really don't want to do this, but you don't see any choice.
  
  "Sorry." You say and point the gun at Lifto who has just gotten off of you.
  "Wait." he says which is just enough give you pause due to your nervousness and give Lifto time to grab the gun from you, or at least attempt to grab it because you actually manage to struggle for half a minute before he accidently shoots you with it.
  
  The gun goes off, you catch a bullet in your throat and you fall backwards into Klepto.
  
  "Holy shit! I didn't mean... " Lifto shouts.
  "SUZY! NO!" Klepto screams.
  "What the fuck did you do Lifto!?" Fatty yells.
  "Goddamn it!" Shrimpy exclaims.
  
  At this point the rest of the shouting becomes one loud noise to your dying ears. As your vision starts to blur, Klepto cradles you in his arms trying to tell you to fight off your impending death.
  
  It doesn't work.