Passin' It
A/N: I was watching Carnivale the other day and a thought came into my head. It seems that every time the next person is born, the last person knows. I.E., with Scudder knowing about Brother Justin. So, I started wondering what it was like and what things would be like with Ben.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did I wouldn't be writing a fanfic and I'd have more then five dollars, wouldn't I?
The torch must be passed…
Ben had been feeling it for nine months and one week. At first it had started as a slight pain in the back of his mind. It was as if he was trying to warn himself of something that was about to happen. But nothing truly awful did happen at the carnival. There were just the normal fights and oddness that came with the place. So, Ben had forgotten about it. Until the flashes started.
The flashes started about three months about the pain in the back of his mind. He saw a girl, no more then fifteen, with a tiny belly. He felt like he was inside the womb. And he knew how it had happened. He knew the girl had left home because times were hard and the family was big. He knew what had happened after that. Ben smelt the blood and heard the screams. It made him sick just thinking about it.
Ben felt sorry for the girl, hated the father of the unborn child, and feared the child himself. The child would be his undoing.
By the fifth month, Ben started hearing what the unborn child heard. He heard the songs. He heard the beating of the child and mother's hearts. He heard the girl whisper to the child. She whispered that she'd take care of him and that things would be wonderful. That he would grow up and do great things. Ben supposed it was during that time that he felt the most sorry for the girl-she had no idea what was to come.
Seven months in, the girl-Tess was her name-went to see a reader. She had been having nightmares. Ben had been having them to. Tess went to the reader, but he did not read her cards. The moment the old man touched her, he pulled away as if he had been shocked. Ben knew why-the old man had seen what the unborn baby would grow up to be. Knew what kinds of things the child would do.
Now, it was nine months and one week since the first pain. Ben had woken up with a pain in his stomach. It was the middle of the night and strangely, it was pouring. He clumsily made his way to management's old trailer. All the while, Ben had flashes of Tess in the early stages of labor. She was outside, in the rain and alone. Ben couldn't help but feel scared.
Ben flung the door to the trailer open and half crawled inside. He felt like apart of him was dying- he knew apart of him was dying. He would never be as strong again. Tess was giving birth and Ben was passing on his-their-destiny.
He lay on the floor in unspeakable pain. The flashes were getting worse. He could clearly see and hear Tess as she gave birth. He could feel the baby burst into the world. The power started to leave him then-he could feel himself becoming just as Scudder and Management had been. Ben couldn't stop himself-he screamed.
The next morning, Jonesy reported Ben missing. Samson said he'd have a talk with Management about it. Later, Samson told Jonesy that Ben was gone and wasn't coming back. The little man had a strange look in his eyes and Jonesy wanted to question Management; however, the second he looked toward the trailer, he knew better.
Meanwhile, in the middle of nowhere, a girl sat with a baby in her arms. Her blond locks moved over her baby boy's face and he seemed to smile up at her. Taking a moment, Tess looked up at the stranger that had appeared out of nowhere and helped her give birth. "T'ank you. I couldn' have-t'anks."
The man, with the tree tattoo on his chest, smiled. "Just had to pass the torch."
End