The Circus Part 9
My mind was working on autopilot by the time I reached the circus, and the area completely caught me by surprise. I'd expected there to be people walking about, and there were, but not this many. One of the main shows must have just let out, because people were walking around in large crowds like nothing was wrong.
But to them nothing was.
I caught sight of a few of the troupe and quickly hid before they saw me. I fully intended to kill the Circus Manager that night, and had no intention of leaving around any witnesses to see me. No, I wouldn't kill anyone else, period, but I wasn't about to let them see me either. It was just too risky. My mind was completely on Quatre and getting him out safely, all else came second to that fact. Even my own life.
Sneaking around the many trailers and tents I made my way toward the manager's trailer. It took some very creative work, jumping from shadow to shadow to stay out of sight, not to mention that my white waiter's shirt didn't help much. If it weren't for the night air and the scant protection that the cloth provided I might have considered ripping it off or rolling in the mud, but I didn't have time for that and I certainly didn't have time to find a change of clothes.
So I moved among the shadows, stalking in a deep crouch much like the large cats I loved so much. Finally I reached the side of the manager's trailer and I placed my ear up against the aluminum wall. Listening for anything I was only able to make out the smallest sound, and it was a quiet whimpering that sounded very familiar.
Quatre.
If I hadn't already decided to kill the manager I would have now. How dare he do anything to Quatre! Watching the lights and the crowd I chose the right moment to move up to the door and test the lock, it was open. Moving swiftly and silently I swung the door open and ducked in, swinging it shut behind me so fast all one caught was the whoosh of air.
I rested with my back pressed against the door as I pulled a single steak knife from my pocket. My eyes scanned the trailer to find it quite dark, lit only by the sharp yellow light which filtered through the closed shades. It didn't take long for my eyes to find the quivering form though. After making sure I saw no one else in the trailer I rushed to his side.
Quatre lay on the floor in the corner of the room, quivering as he hugged himself and whimpered. As I neared I noticed angry red lines surrounding his wrists and ankles and his neck. Upon leaning down I found that these lines surrounded thick bands of iron fastened around his skin. I drew in a sharp breath; I couldn't possibly imagine how much pain he was in from that much iron. It was probably killing him!
My hand shook slightly and I quickly dropped the knife to the floor, falling to my knees. I shook him slightly, whispering the shortened version of his name as I looked at the bands around his wrist and ankles. I swore softly as I realized they needed keys.
The boy in my arms still quivered, but he was conscious. Watery eyes which were red from almost endless crying turned up toward me and widened. Upon meeting my eyes he dove forward into my arms, the chains attached to his limbs rattling. He landed in my lap and hugged me tightly, tears falling anew as his body shook.
"My god, Quat," was all I could whisper. My mind was flying, I didn't know how to get the chains off of him, but I knew I had to. His entire body was shaking and he was taking deep breaths, scaring me to no end.
From behind us, in the back of the trailer, I heard the soft clinking of chains. My eyes widened and I whirled around, still clutching Quatre protectively to my chest. I'd completely forgotten about the separate compartment in the back of the trailer! How could I have been so careless?!
The manager stepped out from behind the iron chain curtain, his suit freshly pressed from the show. It was obvious he'd just come back from the show… or had he been sitting here the entire time waiting for me to show up? A chill ran down my spine as he stepped toward us, a very sad look on his face, yet I was glad he held nothing in his hands.
"You would take him from me, wouldn't you?" The manager asked in a very soft and sad voice.
I blinked in confusion at him. I'd been expected an enraged madman, or perhaps a perverted old fool, but not someone who made me look and feel like the bad guy. Was that intentional? No, it seemed too sincere to be acting.
"Where are the keys?" I asked in a cold, flat voice. Despite how genuine he seemed I refused to fall for it. Quatre and I were leaving, and that was that. He would not be allowed to keep the boy here.
"Please don't take Quatre from me," the man pleaded softly.
In my arms Quatre let out a cry of pain his body jerking and shuddering violently.
"Stop!" I cried, but this time I didn't succeed in keeping the emotion from my voice. Panic showed through as the boy shook in my arms. I could practically feel the pain ebbing through his body and leaking into me. I was quickly losing hold of my rational thoughts as he lay there in my arms, the skin around the iron links blistering and bleeding before my eyes. It was a horrible sight, and I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't think. Panic was seeping in and I couldn't let it take control. I had to keep a level head and get us both out, but it was getting more and more difficult.
"Quatre, please!" The manager pleaded.
Quatre let out another cry and curled in on himself, releasing his grip on me to hug himself tightly and roll into a fetal position. He pressed his hands over his ears, the blood from his wrists dripping into his hair as he gritted his teeth.
No! I wouldn't take this anymore; I wouldn't let him suffer anymore. I didn't care how the manager was acting, this had to stop! Grabbing the second knife from my pocket I lunged at the man, slamming him hard against the back wall of the trailer. His head hit the wall with a distinct thunk, causing the chain-link curtain to shudder loudly. Pressing him up against the wall, I refrained from using the knife, and instead dropped it to search around his waist, at his belt. I finally found what I was searching for, the ring of keys, and snapped them off his belt. Then taking a step back I punched him squarely in the face for good measure, making sure he stayed silent and hopefully went unconscious.
Practically running across the trailer floor I skidded to a stop where Quatre lay shaking and dropped to my knees. Flipping through the keys I hurriedly undid each of the chains, pulling them gently off his broken and bleeding skin, then tossed them away. Finally, when all the chains were gone, I pulled off my own shirt and ripped it into five long pieces. Working carefully I tied these over Quatre's broken skin as careful as I could.
"Trowa?" he murmured softly as if in a sleepy haze.
I smiled at him and helped him up to his feet, holding his steady as a dizzy spell swept through his body and he nearly fell back to the ground.
"Can you walk?" I asked softly. I would have carried him with no objection if it weren't for the fact that I knew it would tie up my arms and would inhibit my ability to protect him.
He nodded and took a few careful steps toward the door, forcing his eyes to open completely.
Moving with him I only spared a glance over my shoulder at the manager, who still lay in an unconscious heap on the floor. We neared the door and I kicked it open, breaking the lock roughly. I didn't care about creating a scene anymore; Quatre's condition would do that enough. Instead I just worried about getting us out of there in one piece.
Placing a foot on the first step he staggered down and started to the next. I was so intent on helping him I must not have heard the movement behind me. But the next thing I knew something grabbed me tightly and shoved Quatre forward to the ground. I froze as cold metal rested against my neck, my eyes widened.
It was then that I remembered the two steak knives I'd left lying on the floor of the manager's trailer. Cursing at myself for being so stupid I watched Quatre stumble to the ground in front of me with a cry of pain.
I froze, holding my breath as I felt the manager step closer behind me. His thick and callused hand wrapped tightly around one of my wrists while the other held the steak knife pressed so close to my skin I could feel the sharp points breaking through. Slowly, a warm, small stream of blood began to move down my neck.
Quatre rolled onto the ground, trying to catch himself but instead only managed to scrap his arms and body against the hard and rocky ground. In obvious pain he forced himself to turn around and stand. When his eyes happened upon my current predicament he froze and his eyes widened.
"Trowa," he choked out, stepping toward us.
The manager pressed the knife closer to my neck and I tilted my head back, trying to keep the cut small. Quatre immediately froze at the movement.
"I'll kill him for trying to take you from me," the manager hissed angrily.
"Please don't!"
"He'll keep coming back, trying to take you away. He won't leave us alone!" The manager's voice took on a more desperate tone and his hand shook, the serrated edge of the knife scratching the skin on my neck. It was all I could do to stay silent. "All I did was take care of you, all I wanted was to make you happy and protect you! And you ran away from me!"
Quatre bit his lip and he shook his head. "I wasn't happy! You kept me locked away! You acted like I was a pet, a puppet!"
The manager spat angrily. "It was the only way to protect you!"
Quatre's eyes narrowed dangerously and my own widened; I'd never seen him so angry. He thrust his wrists into the air, showing off the bandages from my shirt, which were already soaking through with blood. "You call this protecting me?!"
"No, no, I'll protect you from those who would hurt you. I promised I would. I'll make sure you're safe, even if it means you have to be safe in death!" The manager's entire body shook now, anger and rage flowing through him.
"Let him go!" Quatre demanded in a low voice.
"I'll kill him for taking you away from me, Quatre."
At that word Quatre's entire body shook and he collapsed to the ground, only managing to catch himself with his knees. Sweat beaded from his face and he shook as the manager repeated his name over and over again, the panic rising in his voice. With each utterance I watched Quatre's face twist in pain but he refused to cry out.
I had to do something, but the knife was so tight against my throat that any move would result in my death almost instantly. I couldn't think. I couldn't concentrate. All I could do was stare in dumb helplessness as the boy I loved shook before me; pain brought on by the very utterance of his name.
Then something strange happened. I didn't notice it right away at first, but looking back I can perfectly see it. As I was being held captive there and Quatre was crouching on the ground, shaking in pain, a small green light began to emanate from his body. I felt the ground under my feet seem to pulsate for a second, but it was so brief that I thought I was imagining it.
A moment later the manager stopped shaking, his entire body growing stiff. There was a strange sound of something hard breaking into something soft. His grip on the steak knife loosened and I took my chance to knock the knife away, ducking and rolling out of his grip. I landed on the ground and whirled around to look at him, wondering what happened.
I was greeted with the sight of the manager standing there, his eyes wide in shock. He was just standing there stiffly and there was nothing else strange… except the pointed green vine protruding from his chest. His eyes traveled down to this chest and looked at the large vine lodged there. Then his knees gave out and he crumbled to the ground, clutching at his chest as blood flowed in dark thick streams around him.
I blinked in confusion. What had just happened? Did Quatre just…?
I turned to see Quatre completely fall to the ground, gasping for deep breaths. Crawling toward him I wrapped my arms around his body and held him tightly as he tried to catch his breath. After a long time he opened his eyes and looked up at me.
"Is he dead?" he whispered softly.
I nodded.
His eyes slid shut and a small smile crossed his face.
"Good. He can never hurt us again."
TBC…