Side Show Part 1 Creeped Out

The Curious. They say he collects strange tales.

And if you ever hear his whistle, you know something creepy

is about to unfold.

No one knows where he's from or where he's going to

or even if he remembers where it all started.

How much do you trust your memories?

Are you so sure they're real?

Are you willing to bet your life upon them?

DRUM ROLL

HORN SOUNDS

My familiars, I am Zephaniah,

your humble guide in matters of the marvellous, acts of the astonishing,

and displays of the death-defying.

I have circled the globe to collect the great,

the cute and the ugly for your amusement.

HORN SOUNDS IN THE DISTANCE

From the exotic wilds of Zongoa - Palooka, Nincom and Hijinx.

From the forests of South America,

I give you the harmonized high divers, Gudge and Puck.

And from deepest darkest Siberia, the unimaginable might of Kid Herc.

HE ROARS

And finally, the rarest of them all.

The boy wonder, the lightning in the bottle, the fragrant phenomenon.

Ace, the amazing aromarologist.

Sir, stand up if you will.

Now, we've never met before, have we?

-Nope.

-So there's no way I can know anything personal about you, right?

-You can always try, kid.

-Like, for instance...

..the fact that you keep your money in your left shoe?

Hey, Hijinx, give it back.

APPLAUSE

Madam, do I smell fear?

No, sadness.

I smell cat hair on your clothes, but not as it should be.

-Your cat is very sick, isn't she?

-Yes.

She's eaten something that she shouldn't have.

-Have you recently purchased an English ivy plant?

-Yes!

-Shh!

-This is what's making her ill.

But don't worry. When you get home, just remove the plant and you'll see

she's her old self in no time.

Let's keep away from the boundary, shall we?

That may have been your finest performance yet.

Did you see how enchanted they were by your gift?

And do you know what I have found in this town?

-Don't pretend you didn't smell it already.

-Peanut brittle.

-I knew before you walked up.

-Thank you.

HORN SOUNDS

Hurry up! Zephaniah's calling.

-You're late.

-It'll be nothing.

-What if it's a new arrival?

No way. From this town?

Hey, sniff boy.

Want know what I smell? Your lateness.

Get moving, buddy.

Boss wants to talk to us and you NOSE who's in charge, right, boys?

Why aren't you this funny on stage?

Guys, quiet down. You, shut up. You, shut up.

-You...

-Thank you, Palooka. I can take it from here.

Apologies for the late hour, but this just couldn't wait.

Another castaway has come to us.

Like you, rejected because she couldn't fit in.

Like you, she will make this her home.

Here she is now.

What is your name, wanderer?

-Indigo.

-Welcome, Indigo. There's no need to fear.

From now, you will feel no rejection.

What others call an oddity we call a gift.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Welcome.

-I'll show her the ropes, boss.

Starting with the boundary.

There will be plenty of time for that later.

Meanwhile, you must be hungry. Ace, would you do the honours?

Sure. Come on.

Where did you come from?

A small town not too far from here.

-I didn't fit in.

-What was the name of the town?

-Hillsville.

Wait, no, it was Hollingsville, it was Hollingsville.

How far did you walk to get here? What route did you take?

-Always with the same questions.

-Enough.

DISCORDANT VOICES: Ace!

Help!

HE SNIFFS

Help!

BANGING

Help!

-Indigo?

-Help!

Help!

Help!

-Hey. Hey. It's OK.

-I can't get...

I can't get out.

-Help!

-It's OK!

Close your eyes.

-No, no.

-Trust me. The mirrors play tricks on you.

Don't use your eyes. Use your hands.

I'm here.

Give me your hand.

See? It's just a wall.

Like any other.

-Now just follow me out.

-Thank you.

I was exploring and I got lost.

I don't know why I got so panicked.

We're all like that when we first arrive.

Those clowns said that if I stayed I'd have to perform,

-but I don't have any talents.

-Yes, you do.

Zephaniah wouldn't have allowed you to stay if you didn't.

It'll come to you. It was the same for all of us.

None of us know why we can do what we do, we just can.

So, you're all outcasts like me.

This is where you come when you don't fit anywhere else.

I fit, I just...

I just never had any family.

Where you from? That's OK.

I, er...

What, you don't know?

Of course I do.

It just...

..gets hazy sometimes.

What do you mean?

Hey, what do you think you're doing?

I'm sorry. I didn't mean...

-What is all that?

-None of your business.

Who are all those people?

Why won't you tell me?

Zephaniah can't know about this.

Hey, trust me.

That's what you told me, right?

The people in those photos...

They're families who have visited the circus.

I collect them.

Sometimes I... I pretend I'm one of them.

But I started having these dreams, images of the outside world.

Places, things, people.

You've dreamt of your family?

I think my memories of where I'm from are false.

I think my dreams are my real memories, Indigo.

And they've been getting stronger, and the stronger they get,

the more I feel like...

What?

..everything I know is a lie.

Does that go for all of us?

Is that why my memories are so hazy?

Does that scare you?

I could have a family out there.

This tree... I like this picture.

Thank you for believing me.

I do hope you're settling in.

DRUMROLL

My familiars, this day we have been rewarded with a new addition.

A modern marvel from the dusty plains of the Midwest, presenting...

Indigo!

CROWD APPLAUD

CIRCUS THEME PLAYS

Hey, hey. When you walk onto that stage

it's like the whole world disappears.

You'll know what to do. Trust me.

She's shy, ladies and gentlemen,

and in here you can hear a pin drop.

Let's give her a thunderous round of applause.

Presenting...

It's for luck.

..the one, the only...

Indigo!

THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE

You got this.

-Bravo.

-You knocked them out, Indigo.

Make way, Ace, we have a new star on the show.

So how did it feel up there on stage?

-Like I was free.

-See?

This is why we're here.

Something the matter, Ace?

Nothing. Just...

You say it like we choose to be here.

-Like we could leave.

-You mean the boundary?

-Just know that's for...

-Our protection. Yeah, I know.

But don't you ever wonder what's on the other side of it?

We've all been on the other side of it before we came here.

It just wasn't for any of us.

And how did you get here, Gudge?

I've told you a million times, by train.

Describe it.

The train, describe it in detail.

It was a cattle train.

Slow mover. We shared a car with 12 cows.

Name your aunts and uncles, Puck.

The ones you left behind.

TOGETHER: That's easy.

You can't do it, can you?

We don't want to talk about them.

Describe the street that you lived on before you came here.

It was so long ago, I...

Was it in the city? Was it by the sea?

Did it have trees on it?

You must remember that.

-Ace.

-Don't you ever think about it?

The outside world where we came from?

-No.

-Yeah, past is past.

ZEPHANIAH: That's right, Ace.

This is our family now.

Exquisite performance, my dear.

You make a wonderful addition to our clan.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Indigo the Flying Sprite!

Now, we all need our beauty sleep.

Some of us more than others.

Let's go.

You did great, Indigo.

Indigo.

I see you've been making new friends.

Good night.

HE SNIFFS

Good.

Realistic.

What do you mean?

This is it.

This is where I'm from.

My real home. It's the water tower I've seen in my dreams.

I've got to go.

You truly are an enigma.

I know the truth.

Our memories are fake.

My home, the one you stole me from.

That water tower, I've seen it.

Night after night in my dreams.

It's where they are.

-Who?

-My real family.

What nonsense is this?

You took me from them.

Faked my arrival.

Kept me locked up here.

Locked up? You are free to roam, my dear boy.

The purple circle.

For your own protection.

To keep others out.

You really think that I would steal someone from their own home?

Yes. I do.

My dear boy, nothing in this world would give me greater pleasure

than for you to be accepted by your loved ones,

but remember you came to me.

You sought refuge when you were rejected for who you are.

I gave you a home.

We... We are your family.

Liar.

That's where they live.

Where I should be.

Are you certain about this?

Yes.

Then come morning, with the help of this drawing, I will take you there.

But remember this - a dream dashed is worse than no dream at all.

Are you sure you want to do this?

Look - that house and the letterbox, it's all the same.

Zephaniah's my family.

The truth is still out there waiting to be found.

We just have to know where to look for it.

Looking for this?

Behold the consequences for those who break the rules.

Treason!