The Party at Carousel 2

The Party at Carousel 2
by Alexander "KG" Hwang

Lucy Hirsch was confused and a little afraid.
After getting past the strangely-named Student at the door, she had bumped into a short white man wearing a black top hat, white gloves, red long-sleeved shirt, green pants, and brown shoes. The man then began to insist to her that he was not an apple.
"I never said you were an apple," Lucy stated.
"You just did!" the man declared. "You just said 'you were an apple'!"
"Well, okay," Lucy replied, rolling her eyes. "But I meant prior to that."
"I am not an apple!" the man exclaimed.
"Okay, great," Lucy said. "I agree."
"I can smell that sarcasm in your voice!" the man shouted.
"Yes, I was sarcastic about the 'great' part," Lucy groaned. "I still agree that you are not an apple."
"I can prove to you that I am not an apple," the man continued, rummaging through his pockets.
"Is this guy bugging you?" someone suddenly asked.
Lucy turned to see a stunning, taller woman dressed in a pure black silk dress that reached the floor such that one could hardly see the black high-heeled shoes she wore and long black gloves that went to her elbows. She also wore scorpion-shaped earrings that were almost hidden by her long and straight black hair and a necklace which held what resembled a lowercase cursive "m" made of a yellow gemstone that matched her amber eyes. Her lipstick was black.
"You shouldn't bother young girls, Not-Apple," the woman said. She had a rather breathy voice. "Remember what happened at the party three months ago?"
" Elf," Not-Apple growled suddenly. "If she had just-"
" You were at fault," the woman interrupted him. "If something happens again, you know what will happen to you."
Not-Apple sighed. "Fine, yes. I wasn't going to do anything to her, anyway."
"Why don't you come with me?" the woman said to Lucy.
Lucy nodded mutely and followed her down the corridor, toward the jazzy-sounding music.
"You can call me Scorpina," Scorpina said. "Don't worry about Not-Apple, he's just kind of... well, stupid."
"Is that a real name?" Lucy asked. "How do you spell it?"
"The two words, 'not' and 'apple'," Scorpina replied. "Hyphenated, I guess. It's about as real as any name. What's yours?"
"I'm Lucy," Lucy answered. They had reached the end of the corridor, where the dance room was. Lucy saw a sea of people, possibly numbering in the hundreds, in an area that she felt was too big compared to the building she saw outside. The dance room was a dark blue. It made Lucy think of the night sky.
"Is that short for something?" Scorpina asked, apparently looking for someone in the crowd.
"Um, no, I don't think so," Lucy said.
"Interesting," Scorpina said, putting her hands on her hips and still looking at the crowd. "You hungry?"
Before Lucy could reply, Scorpina went into the room. Lucy followed her.
The music was not something she had heard before. She could make out a prominent saxophone and occasional bits of piano and drums, but the rest of the instruments she was not familiar with. The melody was strikingly unusual, such that she was absolutely certain it was foreign. People seemed to be dancing in all sorts of different ways, in some cases it wasn't even clear whether or not the people were really dancing.
Suddenly, someone fell to the floor right next to Lucy, making her jump back.
It was a person completely covered in various pieces of clothing and rags, the only other visible thing being a pair of dark glasses. The person got up and made a snorting sound. Lucy looked up to see a dark-skinned woman. The woman had cloth wrapped around her head and mouth, her two overlapping shirts were severely torn, and her skirt seemed to be made of some kind of grass. She was also barefoot.
"Th'were a bit of a cheap shot, eh?" the person on the floor rasped, slowly rising. He sounded like an old man suffering from lung cancer.
"We don't fight clean, you know that," the woman said. It looked like she had just punched the person on the floor.
"Aye, s'true," the person had risen to his feet. "Look 'ere, Malaria, we got us an audience."
"Don't be changin' the subject, Cancer," Malaria said. She had a strange way of talking, as if she were sick and about to cough at any given moment.
Lucy noticed that Scorpina had appeared by her side, apparently spectating with mild interest. A small crowd was making a circle around these two.
Cancer adjusted his glasses with a several-gloved hand. "You know we weren't really meant to get along. Just think about who our diff'ring... clientele are."
"We overlap," Malaria insisted, making a tight fist. "Don't you try to spin it like that."
"Malaria," Cancer said. "Your time is limited. We both know that."
Malaria shrieked then, and was suddenly restrained by someone who stepped out of the crowd and began leading her away. Someone else took Cancer and the spectacle was over.
"Malaria and Cancer?" Lucy asked, her brow furrowed.
"Mm, yes," Scorpina said. "They get invited, too. I don't think anyone in the trio is the discriminating type."
"Trio?" Lucy echoed, following Scorpina, who had begun to walk once more.
"The parties at Carousel are always hosted by one of three brothers," Scorpina replied. "Visnu being one of them."
They had reached the kitchen area, which was almost as huge as the dance room. It was a big white room, with several extremely long tables that each held various plates of what seemed to be food. There was a strong smell of a mixture of foods. Lucy had the impression that food from every place in the world was in this room.
"It's funny," Scorpina murmured. "Cancer. Reminds me of someone. Well, go ahead and look around. Take whatever you desire, as long as you plan to eat it. You often find food you don't expect to find at these parties."
Lucy nodded numbly and proceeded further into the room, passing by some tables and taking a plate and fork with her. The plates on the tables were stacked and covered with food, but then some had strange and random objects instead. She passed plates with rice, salad, mashed potatoes, chopped carrots, cooked fish, raw fish, barbecued meat of some sort, cubes made of cheese, and cubes made of chocolate. She also passed plates with things that appeared to be antiquated coins, eraser shavings, shredded pieces of paper, electronic wires, keyboard keys, rocks, and tiny hats.
She came up to a girl helping herself to light multi-colored cubes. The girl was about Lucy's height. She was wearing a pink knitted beanie that covered the top portion of her platinum blonde hair which only barely reached her neck. She also wore a sleeveless white blouse, a knee-length white skirt, and knee-length white socks, all decorated with lace, and no shoes. Her skin was very pale.
"What're those?" Lucy asked, leaning forward to sniff the cubes. They smelled like soap.
"Soap," the girl replied, smiling at Lucy's confused face. Her voice sounded small and tinkly, almost squeaky, the way Lucy imagined a might fairy sound.
"You're actually going to eat it?" Lucy asked, standing upright and following her down the table.
"Of course," the girl said, looking surprised that Lucy even asked. "It's against the rules to take things you don't plan on eating."
"And... you know that soap is poisonous, right?" Lucy asked.
"Just the right amount," the girl replied, smiling. "What's your name?"
"Lucy," Lucy said, seeing a plate of enchiladas and taking one. "What's yours?"
"Soap," Soap replied, silently chuckling to herself.
"Seriously?" Lucy asked, wondering if this girl was playing a joke on her.
"Seriously," Soap replied. "I always tell the truth."
"How did you get a name like that?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, I got it a long time ago," Soap said. "It used to be Sapo, but you know how things change."
It was at this point that Lucy began to understand that the people who went to this party were extremely eccentric. She wondered how far that eccentricity tipped into insanity.
As they reached the end of the table, Lucy noticed Scorpina and another woman with their own plates. Scorpina waved and Lucy waved back.
"Friend of yours?" Soap asked, scooping spoonfuls of laundry detergent powder onto her plate.
"I guess," Lucy said. "She saved me from, uh... someone apparently named Not-Apple."
Soap giggled. "Isn't that such a silly name?"
Lucy blinked at Soap and didn't reply.
They reached Scorpina and the other woman. The woman was shorter, between Scorpina's height and Lucy's. Her hair was long and wavy, her eyes were wide and blue, and her lips were a pale blue. She wore an aquamarine shirt that depicted two fish chasing each other's tails, dark blue shorts that went just past her knees, black leggings of some sort, and black sneakers. She had a necklace like Scorpina's, except it held a symbol that resembled a closing parenthesis followed by an opening parenthesis joined by a line crossing them out. It was made of some kind of black stone speckled with red.
"Lucy," Scorpina said, "this is my sister Pisce." She pronounced it pie sea.
"Good evening," Pisce said. She had a soft, quiet voice.
"Ah," Lucy said. "Pleased to meet you. This is, ah, Soap."
Soap did a curtsey while balancing her plate and cup.
"Soap," Scorpina said. "I'm Scorpina. My, don't we complement each other?"
"I find that I complement most people," Soap replied, smiling.
"Soap," Pisce said, putting her plate and cup down and approaching her. Then Pisce suddenly embraced her.
Soap looked a little surprised and didn't do anything.
"Do you... know each other?" Lucy asked, confused and a little embarrassed.
"Oh, a lot of people know me," Soap replied, setting the plate in her left hand down on the nearby table to pat Pisce.
Lucy looked at Soap's plate. It had cubes made of soap, soap in foam form, toothpaste, tissues, small bath sponges, and laundry detergent powder. Her cup was filled with something that Lucy was pretty sure was rubbing alcohol.
Pisce's plate had several different types of fish, not all of them cooked, as well as what appeared to be worms and insects. Her cup was filled with what looked like plain water.
Scorpina's plate had insects, arachnids, rodents, and small lizards (one of which she was delicately biting at the end of a fork). Her cup was filled with something that was transparent like water, but had a tinge of violet.
Lucy's own plate had a slice of cheese pizza, seasoned curly fries, an enchilada, garlic breadsticks, and s'mores. Her cup was filled with root beer.
"Come on, Pisce," Scorpina said, grabbing Pisce's sleeve. "Let her eat her food."
"I'm sorry," Pisce said, releasing Soap. Her eyes were wet. "I'm... a fan."
Soap smiled. "I'm always glad to know I am useful."
Pisce bowed her head and retrieved her food. Soap picked up her plate and beamed at Lucy.
"Who else is here, Pisce?" Scorpina asked, idly chewing on what looked like a gecko.
"Sage and Caprice, I believe," Pisce replied, twirling a worm with her fork. "Ares might have come too, but he didn't tell me. You know how he can be."
Scorpina nodded and acquired a roasted tarantula from her plate. Lucy realized she was staring and stopped.
"It's strange to you, isn't it?" Soap asked, watching her with a spoon in her mouth.
"A bit," Lucy admitted. "It's hard to believe you guys are eating this stuff."
Pisce looked at Scorpina, who nodded at her silently.
"There are stranger things at these parties," Soap remarked. "But isn't it a bit of fun, seeing what other people will eat?"
"Yeah, I guess," Lucy said, realizing that she ought to start on her own food.
They ate for a little while, saying little. Lucy mostly stayed silent, wondering who these people actually were.
At some point a tall man came down the table. He was barefoot and bare-chested, his skin looked like a burnt tan and his only apparent clothing was a decorated kilt. On his head was a tall headdress covered in tall ostrich feathers. His hair was dark and rough-looking. His eyes were thin and decorated in a way that made them resemble what Lucy recognized as the Eye of Horus. His beard was strangely pointed and curved in a way that made it look fake. There was what appeared to be a series of decorative necklaces around his neck, the furthest-outward one holding a black ankh on it. He had bracelets and anklets made in the same style as the necklaces as well.
His plate carried dried fruits, uncooked noodle bunches, uncooked rice, and nuts. His cup appeared to be filled with sand.
"Hello, ladies," the man said. His voice was strongly accented and somehow old-fashioned. Lucy guessed he was African.
"Hi," Soap said.
"I am Shu," the man said, inclining his head slightly. Lucy glanced down at Shu's feet.
"I'm Soap," Soap said. "This is Lucy. This is Scorpina and Pisce."
"Ah," Shu said to Scorpina. "Scorpina, have we met?"
"By a different name," Scorpina replied, grinning. "You're probably thinking of Serket. I'm of the Zodiac family."
"The Zodiac family," Shu repeated, understanding. "I have met your brother, Liberius. A most charming fellow."
"We're all charming, I like to think," Scorpina said, smiling at Pisce, who was staring down at her food, looking embarrassed.
"You remind me of my sister," Shu said, now looking at Pisce. He seemed to become distracted by a thought before shaking his head slightly and looking at Lucy. "And you? Don't tell me you're... ah, well, what's your family?"
"Um," Lucy replied. "Hirsch."
"Hirsch?" Shu repeated, looking confused. Then his eyes widened. "Ah, I see. Of course. I hope you're enjoying the party."
Lucy nodded at him, beginning to feel rather awkward about talking to this man wearing so little.
"Soap," Shu was now saying. "You should have been there more often in my time. Oh, the smell!"
"Well, you know how it works," Soap replied, shrugging.
"Hey, Lucy," Scorpina suddenly said, distracting her from the conversation she wasn't following.
Lucy turned to Scorpina.
"When's your birthday?" Scorpina asked. Pisce looked interested, too.
"February 27," Lucy replied, wondering what this was about.
"Ah, I knew it!" Scorpina exclaimed excitedly. "See, Pisce?"
Pisce smiled and put down her plate and cup, then approached Lucy. Pisce then suddenly embraced her.
Lucy was surprised, not just by the act but also by how soft Pisce seemed to be. She carried the scent of a strange mixture of fish and soap.
"Ah... is that good?" Lucy asked, not sure how to respond to this.
"It's nice," Pisce whispered. After a moment she released Lucy and smiled at her.
"Wanna wander around a bit?" Scorpina asked. "Pisce doesn't like dancing so we usually hang out in here."
"Um, okay," Lucy said.
"Soap, Shu," Scorpina addressed them. They appeared to have been talking. "We'll be off now. It was nice meeting you."
"You too," Soap replied.
"A pleasure," Shu agreed.
"I'll be seeing you around, Lucy," Soap added, smiling at her.
The three of them, Lucy, Scorpina, and Pisce, began to wander toward a corner of the room.
They passed by a sizeable crowd of people dressed in various different colors surrounding a tall and gorgeous woman dressed in black with white glitter all over. They seemed to simply be admiring her eating what looked like rocks, ice chunks, and small fireballs as she occasionally spoke to them.
"Are you aliens?" Lucy suddenly asked. It was a suspicion she'd been having for a while now.
"Aliens?" Scorpina asked, obviously amused.
"I... I feel like nobody here is... normal," Lucy said. "I mean, no offense. I generally like weird things, but..."
"Don't worry about it, Lucy," Scorpina said, laying a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "We're not human."
The affirmation sent a mixture of fear and thrill through Lucy, and she found she didn't know what to say.
"The fact that you are," Scorpina continued, "is what is abnormal. I wasn't sure until you said this. Humans aren't supposed to be able to find these parties since, well, Carousel doesn't exist."
"Should I be afraid?" Lucy whispered, now afraid.
"As long as you leave before the party ends, you should be fine," Pisce murmured.
"Yeah," Scorpina said. "Otherwise, you'll stop existing conventionally."
"When does the party end?" Lucy squeaked.
Scorpina and Pisce looked at each other and blinked.
"Er," Pisce said.
" You don't know," Lucy said in a quivering whisper. "You... don't think it'd be rude of me to dart out of here, do you?"
"Go ahead," Pisce whispered. "We'll meet again."
"It was fun," Scorpina added.
Lucy then ran into the dance room. The music now sounded like generic techno music with a continuous percussive beat. Lucy began to thread her way through the crowd, wondering how she got into this mess.
Finally, she approached the entrance corridor and began to run down it, suddenly crashing into someone. A man.
The man fell back somewhat but didn't fall, and Lucy didn't either due to being supported by him.
He was dark in all senses of the word. His hair was black and messy, his eyes were hidden by black sunglasses, and there were minute signs of facial hair on the bottom half of his face. He was dressed in a black business suit, black leather gloves, and black dress shoes.
"I... I'm sorry," Lucy said, backing up somewhat. "I just..."
" Well," a young girl's voice chimed, "what's going on here?"
A girl appeared from behind the dark man. She had pale pinkish skin and black hair that reached her waist. Her eyes seemed to have a reddish tinge. She was wearing a sleeveless black shirt decorated with white dots, a short pink skirt going halfway down her thighs, detached light purple sleeves that went from her upper arms to her wrists, black-and-white striped socks that reached halfway up her thighs, and sparkling red shoes.
"What're you doing, getting all physical with my Ruin?" the girl asked, hands on her hips. She sounded younger than she looked.
"I was running," Lucy explained, "and I accidentally ran into him."
"Oh," the girl said, suddenly appearing to have forgiven the incident. "Who're you running from?"
"Well, nobody," Lucy began.
"Nobody can be pretty scary," the girl said, nodding and folding her arms across her chest.
"No," Lucy said, "I mean, I wasn't running from anyone."
"Anyone is pretty nice," the girl noted, visibly thinking.
"No, no," Lucy said, "I'm just trying to leave the party."
"Why would you leave?" the girl asked, suddenly in front of her and staring into her face in a rather disconcerting way. "Aren't you having fun?"
"Well, I guess," Lucy said, "but I realized that I don't belong here."
"Oh, don't be a silly," the girl said, suddenly hugging Lucy. "We can all accept you for who you are!"
"That's... that's nice," Lucy said, trying to disengage herself from the girl. "But I need to go now."
"You should stay!" the girl said. "We could be best friends! I'll give you lots of pie to celebrate!"
"Please," Lucy pleaded, "let me go."
"Zythia," a stern and matronly yet tired-sounding voice called.
Lucy and the girl both turned to see a woman.
"Lucie!" Zythia exclaimed and ran off to hug the woman. Lucy was confused.
"Stop bothering people," the woman said, removing Zythia from herself and walking on. Ruin and Zythia followed her, Ruin walking and Zythia skipping and dancing around.
The woman paused to look at Lucy.
After they left, Lucy realized she had no idea what the woman looked like, except that it made her afraid. What stayed with her was the impression of burnt eyes as old as sin.
At the door, Student only bowed graciously, saying, "We hope to see you again."
Outside, the evening air was chilly. Lucy did not hear Student close the door, but she knew the party was not there anymore. She turned around to see an old merry-go-round in the middle of the town square. She knew it was intended for decoration only, and hadn't been used in many years.