Lucas stepped forward, trying to break the odd silence. “Excuse me, have you seen a little girl wearing a necklace like this?”

  The clown didn’t reply. He just rolled his eyes, shrugged dramatically, and started performing a series of exaggerated mime-like gestures. Suddenly, he snatched the paintbrush from Lucas’s hand, tilted his head as if examining a virus, and frowned with theatrical disgust. Lucas reached out and took it back, glaring at him.

  After a string of goofy faces, the clown silently picked up a balloon from his cart and handed it to Nora.

  Nora accepted it, but a deep unease was already rising inside her—something about this clown was far too strange.

  “Maybe... we need a new plan?” Lucas suggested hesitantly.“Like, what if we just buy a necklace, put it on some random girl, and pretend we found her?”

  Nora shook her head. “No. The fox said we have to find her. Like it’s a trap that’s already been set—we’re just here to uncover it.”

  Just then, Jake’s voice rang out from a distance.“Hey! Guys, look what I found!”

  He came running over like a gust of wind, proudly wearing a ridiculous hat shaped like a fox’s head.

  Nora and Lucas both burst out laughing the moment they saw him.

  “Jake, what on earth are you wearing?” Lucas asked.

  Jake tapped the brim proudly. “This is called immersive roleplay. Can’t find the fox’s tail? Let’s start with the head!”

  Just then, Alex came rushing up behind him, panting and clearly irritated. She yanked the hat off his head.

  “I told you that was a bad idea!” she scolded.

  Nora smiled. “At least... your heart’s in the right place.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She was trying to laugh it off, but her mind was still stuck on that clown’s expression. It felt like a game had already begun... and someone was watching from the shadows.

  Lucas, walking ahead of the group, suddenly shouted, “Guys! Look!”

  The others ran up beside him—and froze.

  A massive circus tent stood before them, crimson fabric rippling in the breeze. At its peak hung an enormous poster featuring a vibrantly colored fox, its sly smile almost lifelike, eyes seeming to track their every move.

  “A fox-themed circus?” Jake muttered. “Weird… I don’t remember this being here.”

  Nora’s eyes narrowed. Her fingers unconsciously clutched at the hem of her shirt. “Me neither.”

  She scanned the crowd around them, searching for clues, then took a deep breath.“Let’s go in.”

  Inside the tent, everything was bathed in a dusky yellow light. The air smelled of animals and overly sweet popcorn. Laughter and applause echoed beneath the dome.

  Nora weaved through the crowd, scanning every face, heart pounding. If that fox tail had been real, then this circus might be the next piece of the puzzle. Maybe—just maybe—the girl they were looking for was inside.

  She turned to Alex and started to say, “Let’s get out of—”

  But Alex cut her off, pointing to the stage. “Look! That car!”

  Nora’s eyes followed her finger—and her breath caught.

  That car.

  A sleek black sedan, gliding across the stage, with a fluffy fox tail mounted on the roof. Around it, acrobats in fox costumes flipped and danced, drawing cheers from the audience.

  Nora’s heart seized.That was the car. The one from her dream.

  Her grip on the balloon slackened. It floated up toward the ceiling. She didn’t care.

  She bit down hard on her thumbnail, trying to tell herself this was just a show, just some whimsical performance.But something deep inside screamed—No. It’s real.

  A wave of dizziness washed over her. The air felt thick, like syrup. Her vision blurred.

  The crowd’s faces twisted and warped. Smiles stretched too wide. Cracks appeared across their skin, through which faint fox patterns emerged.

  Even her friends’ faces…They had those same markings. Narrow eyes. Elongated mouths.

  She gasped, trying to back away.

  And then—A voice.

  Low. Raspy. Inevitable.

  “There’s nothing here for you. Leave now.”

  Nora froze.

  She turned. Slowly.

  There he was. The clown.

  Standing at the edge of the crowd.

  Tall and thin. His rainbow coat looked worn and saggy. The oversized red bowtie drooped pitifully at his chest. White face paint was peeling, revealing a sickly gray beneath. His painted-on smile looked cracked and brittle.

  And trailing behind him—

  A fox tail.

  It was him.