Chapter 4

The ringmaster, Ratgar, entered the spot light. "Ladies and gentlemen, boy and girls of all ages, Le Cirwue De La Noirceur presents a freak that you get to play with!"

A spotlight appeared on the cage that I was in. The carnival lights blinded me. Once I was use to them, did I look around. I was hunging from the top of the tent, people staring up at me. I shivered slightly.

The button of the cage was opened and I fell onto the ground with a yelp. People laughed and I couldn't take it anymore. This was all too much for my brain to handle. Too much for me to handle. I had been trapped like this before, and I wasn't going to go through with it again. I did the only thing I could think of.

I spun around and ran.

Bad idea.

A whip snapped in the air.

Gaspes were heard from the people watching.

And a twin-tailed fox dropped to his knees.

I hissed and gasped in pain. Ratgar glared down at me, hate in his eyes. He got down so he was eye-level with me, even if I refused to look him in the eye.

"Listen here little freak. This is MY carnival. You're part of it now, like it or not. You WILL do as I say or things will end badly for you." He snapped the whip once more on my back, making me yelp in pain and fear. "Understand little foxy freak?"

All I could do was nod. My back hurt and I could feel the blood dripping down it. I shivered and wrapped myself up in a ball, my twin-tails wrapped tightly around myself, wishing I could get out of this evil place here and now. But I knew that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. The rat smirked and stood back up telling everyone that the show was going to go on. Ratgar laughed and picked me up and threw me into the mess of people so they could play with me. I landed the lap of a very big panther, who tied the two tails together and pushed my face into his chili plate, then another fan, a hippo, squashed me.

This went on for hours, till a blue fox had me. She looked down at me kindly as I shivered in her lap. She patted me on my head and hugged me close to her.

"My name is Charlet. Who are you?"

"N-Niles.. Niles Power," I replied in a small, weak voice. "B-but my friends call me Tales."

"Tails?" she giggled cutely. "I can see why. You got two tails."

"N-no, that's not why. Well, okay, that too, but because I like to tell stories and make things up for my friends to make them laugh. I have an older 'brother' named Tails. He's a two-tailed fox like me. Only he's yellow and has blue eyes."

"I know him," Charlet told me. "He's very nice. He told me to keep my eyes open for an orange fox that was like him. That must be you."

I nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah. That's me."

"Don't be scared," the blue fox replied. "I won't hurt you. I'll help you get out of here. And my friends will too."

"Promise?"

"Yes." Charlet smiled. "I promise."

Another one of the people sitting around us, grabbed me and pulled me away from the blue fox. He slashed me with his claws, making me bleed and scream in pain and fear. Another fan, a brown bear this time, grabbed me and slammed me head-first into one of the seats. Blood dripped into my eyes, making them hurt.

Ratgar ordered them to threw me back into my cage, and the bear that was holding me did as he was told. Only he threw me too hard. I hit the bars of the cage with a loud cling and cried in paw. Blood was everywhere. I put my hands over my nose that was now bleeding badly onto my white gloves, turning them a crimson red.

The cage was lowered as the ringmaster said the show was over and my cage was pushed back into the dark room. No one cared that my nose was bleeding. No one cared that I was in pain, or laughed at like this. No one ever cared. No one ever will care.

I curled up against the bars of the metal cage and closed my eyes, trying to sleep off this nightmare from hell.