*Hey Guys! If you decided to keep reading, thank you so much! You have no idea what it means to me. Here's a brief recap of the last chapter in case you wanted to skip: Tae is in her cage watching the woods for whoever's leaving the glass decorations. TomCat returns and after a happy reunion between him and Tae he coerces her to make love with him. Despite her refusal, he does so anyway, takes away her key to the cage and leaves. The culprit of the glass decorations comes near sunrise, she's a divine being who looks like a living puppet. The creature gives Tae a jar of fresh blood to drink, claiming it will give the girl strength and Tae drinks it without question, noting her rejuvenated strength before she falls asleep. That's all guys! and Thanks so much*
"Hey! Tae... are you okay?" a voice knocked me out of my thoughts and I listened closely to who it was. It was Cheetah and I instantly knew he knew something was up. I'm usually in a corner and Cheetah knows this. Still, I made no effort to move and show him that I was okay.
I heard the jingle of keys and, soon after, the creak of the gate as it opened. Cheetah was stepping inside to check on me. I tensed up in fear; the last thing I wanted was for a man in my presence after last night. I didn't want anyone in my presence at the moment. Cheetah came closer and before I could even tell him to go away, he laid his hand gently on my arm.
Flashbacks hit me suddenly and unexpectedly; TomCat pinning that same arm to keep me still while he hurt me. I instinctively screamed at Cheetah's touch and scrambled to a corner to get away from him. I was seething with anger and terror whilst I stared hard at Cheetah's innocent expression. The concern in his eyes was great but I felt nothing; I just remained in the corner of the cage with my legs tucked tightly against my chest and my breath coming in rapid spasms.
"Tae? What happened?" Cheetah wondered and I could hear his fear. I only stared at him blankly, unable to find my words. I hated that he resembled TomCat... I hated that I couldn't calm down to tell my most trusted friend... I hated that I couldn't even trust my most trusted friend.
"Tae... I'm going to go find help. I'm worried for you," Cheetah stated slowly and carefully as if he were afraid that if he moved too fast, I would snap and attack him. He backed out of the cage, closing the gate behind him and he quickly ran off to find someone who could help. I prayed he wouldn't notice TomCat had come back and get him. I wished the tamer had left the gate open.
Cheetah was back within a few minutes, following him were the other tamers, FatCat, a few of the band members, and TomCat beside the young tamer. I was still in the corner, quivering and breathing heavily, but when I saw the face of that tall snake, I instantly froze in horror.
"She was in the middle of the cage earlier but when I checked on her, she screamed and ran away from me," Cheetah explained to Tom. The ringmaster gave me an interesting expression, although I could tell he knew why I was like this.
"She's not usually like this. I could understand if she were surprised by me and attacked me, but no... she's as afraid of me as much as she's afraid of her own dad," the tamer continued. Tom nodded.
"Maybe she got female hysteria?" I heard one of the band members suggest. Jaguar slapped the man's shoulder and scowled at him.
"That's not female hysteria, she'd still be screaming... plus even if she did have hysteria, I'm sure Tom wouldn't let any doctor... fix her..." Jaguar explained harshly and flashed a glance at the ringmaster. He only gave a short "tut" and continued to stare at me intently. I hated his gaze now, I wanted him to go away.
"All of you move on," Tom abruptly announced, "I might have to deal with this privately."
"Oh... maybe she does have hysteria..." another band member suggested as the cluster of performers gradually began to disperse. Jaguar attacked him too with a slap and a scold. Cheetah was the only performer who was reluctant to leave; I could see in his eyes that he was suspicious of why Tom had to deal with me alone.
Tom noticed the tamer hadn't left and he turned to him with a stern expression, "Go on, Cheetah, I'll take care of it."
I managed a weak whimper of fright in protest and Cheetah, thankfully, heard me. He glanced at me, then back at Tom, and with a curt nod, he slowly walked away, staring back at me as if he knew something was not right... Bless that man's intuition... if only I was brave enough to speak.
Tom stepped into the cage when Cheetah was a fair distance away and I immediately burst into tears from all the horrible memories coming back to me at once. Tom had an expression of concern and sympathy but I couldn't tell if he was acting or if he were genuine. I didn't care; I wanted him gone.
"Demmy, I'm not going to hurt you, please calm down," he insisted as he knelt to the ground. I shook my head and pressed myself into the corner.
"Please just let me explain at least so you're less afraid," Tom attempted again, extending his hand for me to take.
I continued to refuse, "N-No!" I squeaked and scrambled to my adjacent corner. Tom sighed and grabbed for the chains that were attached to my neck; he pulled me towards him and I panicked and fought against him.
"NO!" I protested.
"Demon, please, I didn't mean to hurt you during our little moment. I'm sorry, I got a little out of control, you know how I am," he apologised. I only stared at him intently, not believing for a second that he meant it.
"W-why did you s-steal my key?" I hiccuped from all of my crying and glared at the man. I silently wondered why he thought it would be okay to steal my key when our agreement was that he would let me keep it if I perform well in shows. Without that knowledge of my freedom, I'm a mess and he knows it.
"I did it because I know you're a little... out of it... right now and I would hate for you to run away..." he explained and I believed him on that one. I believed him because it was odd how he would say something so cruel with such calmness.
"I hate you!" I hissed. Tom's sympathetic aura died when he heard my words and his brow furrowed.
"No, you don't. You don't mean that" he said. Tears began to stream down my cheeks and I clutched the chains that attached to my wrists.
"I HATE YOU!!" I screamed louder so that it was clear to him that I meant it the first time. A look of hurt crossed Tom's face and he scooted closer to calm me down. My panic overwhelmed me and, in turn, it turned on the animal instinct that everyone fears in me. I screamed at him and lunged towards him for an attack.
Tom cried out and struggled to fight me off while I made lunges for the soft flesh on his neck. I was fueled by fear, but I was also fueled by anger and I wanted nothing more than to rip his fat neck out and have him watch me eat it while he chokes on his own blood.
Our brawl was frantic but I persisted, swiping my hands at him to slap him or claw his eyes out. Any harm done to him was enough to please me. As we fought, Tom's coat fell open and, out from his inside pocket, a piece of metal glimmered.
The key! I thought, and in a split second, I grabbed it and made a run for the gates. Tom took a moment to recover from his daze and I used that sweet time frame to jam the key into the locks on my clasps and set myself free. Tom was up just as the last clamp came off and he made a desperate grab for me before I could escape; thankfully, I was quick in time and I leapt from the cage and sprinted to freedom.
"HEY!! STOP HER!!" I heard Tom order with a shrill tone that I'd never heard before. I looked back and saw Tom ushering Cheetah- and now FatCat, who had heard the commotion- to pursue me while he stumbled to the dirt floor and regained his bearings after being attacked. Cheetah was already after me and the sight of him chasing me was enough to push me to go faster.
He ran after me without making a single attempt to order me to stop. I was almost expecting him to catch me and throw me in chains like Tom would. However, after a while, I heard Cheetah's voice behind me.
"RUN! GO FASTER!! YOU'LL MAKE IT!" he yelled. A feeling of confidence filled me and I smiled as my trust in him returned. He told me he would cheer me on and low-and-behold, he was! I forced my legs to go faster and I made a b-line for the front gates.
However, when I saw the gates ahead, I skidded to a halt when I saw the crowd waiting to be let in. They watched me intently and when they saw Cheetah and Tom running after me, they began to mutter nervously about what was happening. I panicked, my main escape was blocked and I didn't know where else to turn.
"TAE!! HIDE!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Cheetah called after me and I immediately forced my brain to function again. I took a sharp turn to my right and ran to the trees. I should've hidden in one of the vendors' tents but I wasn't thinking quite straight and I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible
"DEMON!!" Tom's voice was far louder than Cheetah's and it terrified me; my speed faltered as my legs briefly turned into jelly but I forced myself to keep going. I turned my head to look at him and my blood grew cold when I saw the look on his face. His eyes had gone dark under his furrowed brow and his lips had been curled into a vicious snarl as he ran; a heavy bullwhip was in his hand and he looked like a beast compared to the small brunette with the frantic face running beside him.
I slowed down even more as my jelly legs became solid stone. Cheetah's eyes grew wide and he silently urged me to keep going but I couldn't get myself to regain speed. My sides burned and my heart felt like it was going to burst in my chest. Yet, just as I felt I would succumb to the pain and let myself get captured, I heard clapping coming from the trees. I looked to the woods and, to my surprise, I saw the doll-girl from the night before, desperately urging me to come to her. My opportunities opened up once more and, with one last burst of speed, I scrambled to the trees to reach the doll.
I was getting close, the creature urged me to keep going with a hopeful smile on her face and her wooden-jointed hand outstretched for me to take. At that moment, I didn't care what my future held if I were to take this creature's side, I just needed to escape by any means necessary. I was so close! So very close!
The doll-girl continuously glanced behind me and, as I got closer, her smile would slowly fade. She continued to urge me on but I could hear that even she was losing hope. Finally, just before I was within a few feet of her, she grew panicked and quickly fled with a simple, "I'm so sorry!"
No! Wait!!
At that moment, a heavy whip wove itself around my scrawny waist and yanked me back with such force that it knocked the wind out of me. I gasped and choked while struggling to get out of my trap. I was being pulled back out of the treeline but I refused to submit. I clawed at the dirt and struggled to my knees to resist Tom's pull but my attempts were fruitless.
Cheetah ran over to me and stood above me with his whip drawn. I pleaded with him to help me, but he only cracked his whip above me to silence me. I froze and began to cry as FatCat and Tom forced me to my feet; I still refused to submit as scared as I was. Despite being held by two strong men, I dug my heels into the ground and twisted and squirmed to get out of their grasps.
"Tae, please stop!" Cheetah attempted to plead from behind me, but I refused to listen. Instead, I lunged at TomCat for a second time, and this time, I managed to get the collar of his coat between my jaws. Not quite his neck, but I still used it to keep him secure while I kicked at his legs.
FatCat had a firm grip on my arm, but my hysterical twisting and constant attacks to Tom was too much to handle and he eventually lost his grip on me. He made a grab for me but I was still as slick as a weasel and I used my now free arm to slam a hard hit to Tom's face. TomCat was frantic and he cried out for me to stop and for someone to grab me. FatCat finally wrapped his arms around my waist and he struggled to pull me off, but my grip on Tom's coat in my mouth was still strong and he was still close enough for me to rain down attacks. His orders for Cheetah to whip me grew more and more aggressive, to the point where he was threatening the man's life if he didn't do anything.
Cheetah remained still and there was a look of terrified refusal in his eyes. He's never whipped me and he's never dreamed of ever hitting me. I knew he wouldn't dare anyway, but he was terribly conflicted because of the threat of losing his very job.
"HIT HER! DAMMIT!!" Tom screamed. FatCat wrenched me away as hard as he could, but the force took Tom with me in my mouth. The ringmaster stumbled and fell to the floor, ultimately slipping out of his coat when he landed. I screamed in outrage and dropped the coat, continuing to squirm and struggle to rip Tom to shreds.
The man scrambled to his feet and clambered after the fallen bullwhip. FatCat attempted to secure my arms but he couldn't grab them quickly enough and it was only a mess of me constantly slapping his arms and twisting out of his grip. Cheetah still stood on standby, petrified by the thought of having to whip me.
TomCat reached the whip and he ordered FatCat to drop me so he could reach me and only me. I was thrown to the ground and immediately after, like a bug being crushed beneath a boot, I felt the whip crack against my skin. Hot pain surged throughout my body and completely numbed me, yet I screamed as if I had just been stabbed.
The men pulled me to my weakened feet and I cried out from the overwhelming sting. They dragged me back to my cage and I made no attempt to attack them again... until I saw my cage, that is.
Despite the resonating pain from my back which had healed during the walk, I continued to stubbornly refuse to be put back in that prison. I lunged at Tom's neck a second time, and when I missed, I tried for FatCat. I missed him as well but TomCat took no chances and once again ordered for Cheetah to strike me.
He obeyed... in quick succession, Cheetah created three long marks on my back. He wasn't holding a bullwhip thankfully, but the hits still hurt and I cried out in pain once again. I fell weak in their arms and the two men took that chance to rush me to my cage and lock me in. I could only cry now... cry and pray for a miracle that will never happen...
All hope is lost now... I know it... there is no escape for me now...