FREAK SHOW

Chapter 18: The Point of No Return

Chapter 18: The Point of No Return

MAJOR WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER

~"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.'" ~Jimi Hendrix

Scarlett dumbly blinked up at the man, before she resorted to shuffling closer to Axel on her knees. She felt the damp dirt on the ground smear into her jeans but she kept crawling towards him. He made no objection when she finally reached his feet, her fingers lightly grabbing onto his boots. "Please, please don't kill him," she said as she stared at the floor. Her voice broke with every word.

"Not enough," was all Axel said. She heard him shift his gun again. Her eyes darted up to him. It was degrading enough to stoop as low as his feet for him, but what he was asking was tipping the edge of a slave or at least losing all her dignity since Scarlett was certain the whole freak show was watching by now. But what dignity did she even have left? If this was to save Noah, her dearest friend's life, for the price of getting dirty or being embarrassed, it was worth it. Right then, she didn't even care what Charlie -who was standing rigid behind her- thought.

"Please father, don't hurt him," Scarlett was forced to say, this time making eye contact. It was one of the most brutal five seconds of her life, having to maintain it. It physically pained her to have to be this close to him or even look at him. The twitch under his eyelid told her it wasn't good enough. So, she did the only thing she could think to do, to press her lips to his shoes.

It proudly told him she was the lowest of lows, she was his servant and all her freedom was gone.

"Now, that's better," the man chuckled darkly. Scarlett let out a relieved breath...but it wasn't over. He bent down and picked her hand up. "You have heart. I knew that you were special..." the rough skin from his thumb brushed against the back of her hand when he rubbed it back and forth. The way he gazed down at her felt like an icy bucket of water soaking into her bones. "There's just something about you, since I first saw you-"

He cut himself off to rub at his stubbly jaw. Scarlett stiffened, casting her eyes to the crowd. Was no one going to speak out? They clearly saw, judging by their wary faces. "But you're going to need to try a little bit more." With that, she snapped her focus back to him.

"Wha-" she let out, but then saw the slight tilt of his head and she knew she was going to have to publically humiliate herself a little bit more to get the job done. Starting from the tip of his boot, smudged with dried mud, Scarlett left tiny kisses. She went up his ankle next, all the way up to his knee, then finally over the belt till she was close to throwing up, having to cross over his crotch in the way. "Please sir, I beg you to let the pathetic boy live."

Seeing him nod and shuffle the gun back into his trench coat, Scarlett knew she played him like a whistle. Over her time here, she had gotten to be very persuasive; she knew what people wanted to hear. However, doing it to Charlie was much different than doing it to Axel. It was no longer fun now.

"He is now your responsibility," the man announced, seemingly satisfied, the glint in his eyes sated. He bent down to unlock the chains on his hands and then the ones on his feet. The metal fell away only after Axel physically peeled them off of Noah's skin, having become cemented due to the bloody skin starting to grow around the cuffs. Scarlett cringed. But she couldn't help but smile at her victory. "He will eat dinner on the floor, since there is no chair for him as apart of our family. He shall sleep in your caravan shared with Irene, on the floor. You will be his care provider- if he dies, he dies and it is your responsibility to dispose of him afterwards."