All Too Well

♚ Chapter Thirteen ♚

"Look at the poor lad," Joker sighed.

A young teen with white hair and snake skin in his cheeks while wearing nothing but a grey loincloth, surrounded by various types of snakes, was held captive in a cage with a sign above it that said "Snakeman". A ringmaster stood outside the cage and showed him to everyone. The white haired teen gripped the cage bars, desperate to get out.

"Looks like he's been that way for a while," Peter pointed out, noticing how thin he was.

"That kinds reminds me of something..." Dagger trailed.

We were just like him. Alone. Starving. Watched at and humiliated by people. "I'd say we rescue him!" Joker said. "Let's free him and let him live life however way he wants.

We nodded in agreement, and decided to strike when the carnival closes.

*~*~*~*~*~

When the carnival reached it's closing time, we hung around by the cage. The ringmaster laughed as he counted the money he received by the people who wanted to see the snakeman. "Another day, another pound," he sneered as he threw some bits of corn and an unfinished piece of bread into the cage. The snakes by him picked at the corn while the teen picked up the bread and gobbled it down.

I was disgusted at the mistreatment, reminded of the harsh times Freckles and I endured. That scene fueled our desire to rescue him. We approached the ringmaster and cleared our throats. He turned around upon hearing us. He looked well-fed, too well-fed to be exact, had brown, now graying hair and balding, wore a top hat and a dark blue suit. "What are you troublemakers up to now?" He snapped. "Go home! The carnival is closed!"

"Now!" Joker yelled.

Jumbo jumped out and tackled the man while Peter and Wendy scrambled into him and searched his pockets to find the key to the cage. Wendy lifted her fist up through the, ruckus, successful at finding the key. "Why you--" the ringmaster shouted while Dagger threw some knives at him, terrifying him to the point where he shut his mouth. Beast cracked her whip and wrapped him up with him, pulling tight so that she couldn't escape. His top hat fell off and revealed that he was bald. There was a wig that was attached to the top hat.

Wendy handed Joker the keys and he unlocked the cage. Freckles and I pulled open the cage doors and held out our hands and smiled at the teen, welcoming him. He hesitantly reached out and grabbed our hands. We helped him out of the cage. The snakes that were caged with him slithered up and wrapped themselves loosely around his body. They hissed. "'Thank you, we are in your debt'," the snakeman translated. "...says all my snakes."

"It's not a problem," Joker laughed. "We just saw you suffering and thought you deserved a better life, so we freed you."

"'But why?' ...says Oscar."

"Because...we were all like you when we were kids. But, we were rescued by a kind man we call 'Father'. If you couldn't tell already, we all are in a circus run by him."

"Say, that's pretty neat that you can talk to snakes!" Dagger whistled while he held a knife under the ringmaster's throat.

"'Of course. He's half-snake after all' ...says Keats," the snakeman explained.

"If you feel that indebted with us, why don't you join our circus?" Joker offered. "A person like you that can talk to snakes...that's pretty cool! We don't have an act like that and that is no ordinary talent. Whaddaya say?"