I screamed and tried to run, but my collar caught me and yanked me back. I lost my footing and crashed to the floor.
The crowd went wild as I flipped and flopped against my tether, fighting to escape as the dog closed in, his fangs oozing with saliva, his foul breath puffing into my face…
While the girl with no legs bounced around the stage, making people laugh as she performed her part of the skit, I curled into a ball, hugging myself, and tried to elude the dog’s jaws.
A low growl rumbled near my left ear.
I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut.
Make him go away! Make him go away!
A rush of air swept across my face.
Rapid pants.
Then…snap!
I moaned and started to shake, my limps quaking, my entire body shuddering with fear. Any second now and he would take off my head. I was about to die.
“Save yourself, boy!” a male voice shouted out. “Just lift your head and let him see your ugly face and you’ll scare him away!”
The crowd erupted into laughter.
How could anyone find this funny?
I wasn’t lifting my head. Fuck them! Fuck them all!
Something poked me viciously in the side.
Goliath’s cane.
“Get up,” Goliath ordered from where he hid behind the curtain. “I paid good money for you, kid. Give the people what they want! Show them your face!”
The dog snarled again, his rancid breath spraying the side of my face.
Goliath’s cane rammed into me again. Painfully.
I flinched, but in that moment, my trauma was so high, I barely felt it. All I could concentrate on was the giant dog leaning over me. Waiting for me to uncover my face so he could eat me.
“Boo!” someone shouted. “Boooo!”
Goliath whacked me again. Harder. “Get the fuck up!” he snarled. “Scare the beast away! Give them a show!”
If I cooperated, the show would soon be over, and I could go back to my cage. I could end this nightmare.
I burrowed deep to find the strength I needed to do this, shutting my mind down and blocking out my terror. Then I gathered myself and lunged to my feet, waving my arms and growling at the dog like the beast they wanted me to be.
The dog played his part better than me.
He yelped, tucking his tail between his legs, and raced back into the doghouse.
The crowd cheered and screamed and laughed, thumping their feet on the floor.
“Beast, beast, beast, beast!”
I bared my teeth in a snarl as I glared out at the audience. They wanted a beast? I would show them a beast!
The audience thought it was all an act. That everything was staged.