Everyone was running for cover. It was pouring down rain more than any other day they have experienced. Max was running to a workshop he loved going to for working freely, following his dream job of creating inventions. Max was panting as he ran up to the door of the workshop, walking up the steps before opening the door three times the size he was. When he closed the door behind him, he grabbed his fancy cap he wears when working and patted some water out there, sighing. “Darn, I’m all soaked,” Max whined as he shook some water off his sleeve. He walked to the vacuum he previously was working on, fixing for his boss, who was grinning at him,
The mechanic questioned, “What took you so long, Max? I thought the circus was in the afternoon.”
“Sorry, sir,” Max answered, “I was just dealing with weather issues.” Max then sat down, making sure the clock was working, then grabbed his wrench and started twisting a bolt into the vacuum that needed to be repaired. Slowly, Max fell into an exhausted slumber when trying to finish it up.
After a few hours of napping, Maxwell woke up to the sound of instruments, playing a very joyful and calm song. Max looked at the clock, and it was only a few minutes from the time the circus starts. “Aw! I overslept!” He then got up, hastily putting his ticket and wrench into his tool bag and walked out the door. Sprinting, Max looked at all the lights the circus stretched into the sky, hearing the music get louder as he ran to a peculiar clown who was at the entrance, taking tickets.
“Do you haz’ a ticket,” The clown exclaimed in a foreign accent, it doesn’t help that the weird nose they typically wear pinched their noses as well.
Max held his ticket out to the clown, “Here you go.”
The clown grabbed it responding, “Hurry up, ‘ze show’s starting!”
Walking in, Max could hear the exciting new music playing, but being young and short, all the people got in his way from seeing the daring stunts these clowns were performing. Max kept looking around before seeing a ladder, thinking it was just to get to a better view. He climbed up to find no one else there, but he stayed to watch anyways. He stared dazed at all the exotic tricks the clowns had to offer, in a trance from some of the beauty the show held, until Max heard a voice from another room, which broke him out of his half sleeping state to walk into a doorway.
A man who was running the show, Mr. Folksworth, was discussing with the mayor. “So, Mayor Will, have you found it yet?”
“I-I have not, I’m sorry, I looked all over for it, and you promised us that we wouldn’t look into the outside world!”
The Clown gave a grin, faking his happiness and gritted his teeth to mutter, “Well, is it here right now!?” He then swung the odd cane at the mayor, slapping him across the face, the mayor falling to a knee facing away, grieving in his pain. The overweight joker then wrapped the cane around the mayor’s neck, “If you don’t find my stone now, you’ll regret it!”
Max gulped, still hiding behind the railing, turning away. As he took a step away, a can fell down and Max froze. Mr. Folksworth then looked up and saw Max’s medallion, with a red gem in it. This medallion was Max’s only memory of his parents, which both rarely see him any more.
“The stone!? Wh-...Where did you get that!?” Max then ran out of the room. “After him, quickly now!”
Max ran over to a stable set of pillars, clowns following him. The musicians in the background decided to play more intense music than the calm, simple tune they were before. Max then jumped onto a platform supported with ropes as three clowns chased behind, and he maneuvered from one platform to another. He then jumped onto a swing, a clown grabbing his leg. Max started kicking at the rider as another clown joined them, causing the trio constantly swaying back and forth. Max finally kicked the attackers off before swinging onto the chandelier in the center of the circus. It swayed back and forth with a creaking sound. “Wooah, WOAH!”
It then had it’s chain break, not being use to the extra weight, and Max fell with it, jumping off it before it shattered him with it. The clowns then got out knives for each hand out, the paint made them smile while Max knew they weren’t.Instinctively, Max pulled a wrench out and got ready. “It may not be made for defense, but hey, it works better than my fists.”
He then saw a clown leap at him, swiping their flimsy daggers at him in a barbaric manner, Max flipping backwards to then “thwack” the arm of the creepy figure, making him drop the knives. The other then chucked their left hand knife at Max, barely grazing his cheek. Max then gasped as a drop of blood ran down his cheek, before smashing his wrench into the other minion’s shoulder, making him fall over. Max looked around before putting his newly named “battle” wrench away and leaped into the crowd, who were staring at him and making a path.
Max kept running on the streets, avoiding the clowns with weapons. He climbed up a pole, thinking they wouldn’t catch up, eventually kicking a clown in the head that managed to grab his ankle, and got on top, another clown already ahead of him was walking to him. Max brought up his fists before remembering he had a wrench for defending himself. He pulled it out and knocked a clown down, another getting up, he leaped over it as it lunged at him, Max flipping to knock the clown’s head with the wrench. Max then spun his wrench in a celebratory way, before he heard an evil cackle.
“Ho ho ho ho!” Suddenly, a machine landed in front of Max, the face of the four legged robot shined a clown on it. On the hat, Mr. Folksworth was standing on it like it’s a vehicle. “Well, now, boy,” He snickered, “Hand me that stone, right now. If you do, I might let you live.”
Max looked down at his medallion, “what, this? Oh,” he then heard someone next to him.
“Don’t do it,” it said,
“Huh,” Max looked over to see a red haired boy,
“Don’t let him take the stone!”
Max then looked back at Mr. Folksworth, the robot holding a hand out, well, a leg with a hand on it, to match it’s commander. Max looked back to find the child gone. “Well, what is it?”
Max just stared at the crimson gem, it shining brightly showing promise.
“Give it to me, NOW!” The man impatiently made a “grabby” look with his grasp and frowned.
“No! I won’t let you take it!”
“Gee, then that means you have to… To Die!” He had the robot punch at the sign Max was on.
Max saw this and jumped down, running under the robot as it slowly brought its mechanical fist back, whirring.
“You slow idiot! He’s right behind you!”
Max kept running as the robot looks around, a familiar voice was heard from an alley.
“Max, over here,” Donny called, one of Max’s close friends that wandered in the water channels, “you can hide down here!”
Max jumped into the hole Donny had, Donny making sure no one saw before slowly closing it with the lid, the robot passing them without knowing.
Max was catching his breath down in the channel entrance, Donny finally arrived with him, smiling, showing his missing teeth. After a long conversation, Max finally explained the rest of his tale.
“Sure ain’t a normal sight here, huh, Max?” Donny then held his hand out, Max shaking it before Donny pulls out a hand held radio, “They’ll probably come lookin’ for ya, if ya need me, give it a buzz, oh yeah,” Donny reaches into his backpack and pulls out a peculiar makeshift pistol, holding it out for Max, “You’ll need this to fight off dem’ bad guys, right?” Donney then adjusted his worn hat before sitting on his chair, next to his tent he setted up a while ago. Max inserted the pistol in his bag next to his wrench before seeing the steps to the water channel’s internals.
Max slowly took a few steps before sighing, staring at the baiting hallways of water and bricks. He took a look at his medallion and wondered about the red haired kid from earlier. “Who was that boy anyways? I’ve never seen him, and he seemed odd, but surely, despite this all, I have a feeling I’ll meet him again,”
Smiling, he took out his wrench, resting it in his left hand, and his new makeshift gun in his other, and walked into the room, knowing, this was going to just be the beginning.
Max opened a door to the first chamber, walking through before it barely slams itself shut behind him, locking itself. Panicking, he looked around before he heard a ring from his bag, grabbing his radio. “Well, I heard the door. I forgot to mention, this place has one way doors all over, like a maze. Don’t be afraid of dem’ dirty folks trying to take your medallion now, b’cause now you got help from me. Remember, if ya’ need help, I’ll be here with mah radio next to me.”
Max then sighed in relief, “Ok, Donny, I’ll keep in touch.” Max slid the oversized “walkie-talkie” into his bag and walked further. No matter what happens, Max knew, he would seize victory, and that this is just the start, of his greatest adventure.