The neon glow of the Carnival Hypnotica sign flickered like a dying star over the abandoned circus tent on the outskirts of Blackwood City. The air smelled of popcorn, diesel fumes, and something darker—something electric. Cody Taylor, a lanky 18-year-old with messy brown hair and a perpetual smirk, had dragged his two best friends, Meghan Hill and Natasha Jones, here under the pretense of "checking out the weirdest shit...