“Marie, go home.”
“But Logan, I haven’t…”
“Go home, now. Don’t let anybody from the carnival, especially from the Freak Show see you.”
“Fine…”
He waited until he was sure that Marie had left, then strolled to the bar and picked a spot right beside Enoch. The man was every bit of bald and muscular as Logan remembered. He could smell the scent of wild animals that still clung to Enoch’s clothes.
“Aren’t you the man running the Freak Show?” Logan asked. Enoch turned to look at him.
“Yes. You interested in taking a peek?” Enoch asked.
“I don’t know… I have seen enough of these things. What have you got? A wolf mounted with deer’s horns? A shaved cat? An elephant? I’m sure nothing worth my money for…” Logan grunted ordering ale for himself. Enoch chuckled.
“You’re mistaking our show to those second grade tricksters. No, we have nothing of what you speak of, but something better. A real thing.”
“Real thing? What? A man dressed to bear hides?” Logan snorted.
“A Wolf-Man.”
“Right. A wolf-man? And I bet there’s a mermaid in the next cage…”
“I have had enough of this. Either you are interested or not, but I’m not going to sit here and listen your accusations…” Enoch huffed draining his ale and standing up. Logan grasped the sleeve of his shirt.
“Wait. I am interested. It’s my girl… She likes the excitement. But lately we have been disappointed for too many times. I just have to be sure before I go and tell her that there’s a Freak Show in town.”
Enoch seemed to think about his words for a while. Then he grunted and nodded.
“Follow me. I’ll give you the proof you need…” Logan discarded his ale and followed Enoch.
Enoch led him through the crowd to where carnival had settled. Contortionists and magicians got only wide berth from the animal handler. He led Logan to a small, ragged tent and stopped in front of it.
“It isn’t full moon yet, and sun is up. But if you’re the man of the world as you claim you are, I’m sure you’ll see the difference between what I got and what you have seen before…” He said, grabbing the door flap of the tent.
The stench was unbearable. Rot, feces and sweat, combined with something distinctively bestial. Scent of wildness. Scent of predator.
Sturdy metal cage stood in the darkness.
“Go on. Those bars will hold. They’re iron”, Enoch urged. Logan stepped in to the tent, gagging from the warm, sweaty air that clung to him. There was something in the cage. Something small curled in to the furthest corner. He stepped closer and it moved, stood partially up. Low warning rumble echoed from the cage. Then Enoch grasped Logan’s arm and pulled him out.
“That’s enough. Any more and I’d have to ask you to pay for me…”
“So… You think your girl would be… Impressed?” Enoch asked. Logan nodded, rubbing his jaw.
“I’m sure she’d be more than impressed. Thank you. We’ll be coming here later tonight.”
He stumbled through the crowd to where his horse stood, nausea churning at the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t get the image of the child in that filthy cage off from his mind. For a child the creature had been. A small boy with mindless animal lodged deep in to his soul like a leech.
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