Borrowed Time

With a snap of his fingers, Pete is able to get Cora under his spell once again. Cora's body sways as Pete grabs her, standing her on her feet. Patrick notices it's like one of her dizzy spells, praying mentally that she doesn't hurt herself. He can't comprehend the fact that they will be held captive, that they were made to sign their life away; but he loves his family and he'd do anything to keep them safe, especially Cora. Being gagged and bound, he can't come to her rescue, so all he can do is pray.

"Take her to the table," Andy hisses towards his charge, "I'll carry this one."

Pete obediently does as he's told, hauling and placing a weak Cora over his shoulder and then unlocking the trailer door, carrying her out. It's like the world stops for them, Patrick notice the other acts, they stop and stare, but they don't move...even the wind stops blow, but the sun beat down hotter on them as he's dragged out by his wrists behind the Sandman and his sister. Hot, burning tears roll down his cheeks as he sees his sister's dark blonde hair sway back and forth ahead. He tells her he loves her over and over in his head, knowing she'd feel it, but he doesn't know her mind is wiped out and mushed. It's only when they're in the tent that Cora is clear headed and coherent, that's when she begins to fight.

Kicking and screaming, she beats away at Pete, telling him to let her go; "Get your filthy hands off me! Let me go! Patrick! Patrick, help!"

Cora has forgotten her brother is bound somewhere behind her, wanting to tell her to fight harder. Pete can barely keep a hold on her, his touch is unable to calm her unless he's looking her in the eyes. He grabs her by the arm and yanks her towards his chest, and then grabs her throat, forcing her to look him in the eye. This is a mistake, as she's forced to face him, she spits in his face; he's caught off guard and she takes off.

"Catcher!" Pete yells, wiping his cheek of spit, both calling Andy's stage name and ordering him.

Andy kicks Patrick to his knees and then flicks his wrists, causing every exit in the dank tent to become solid, no way out. Cora runs straight into the nearest slit, falling onto her backside and then on her back with a loud grunt. Patrick's eyes widen, he can't get to his feet fast enough, but as he does, he too falls, his ankles feeling tied.

"Get up, Cora," Andy growled with a deep tone. "Get up now."

Cora stands, shaking her head slightly and reluctantly turns around. The tears are apparent, streaming harder and faster, "Let us go, please," she begs.

"Get over here," Andy snaps, flicking his wrists towards Pete, "you, make sure she's tied down."

Cora's legs move on their own accord, doing as Andy has ordered without any fight. Her mind telling herself to stop and run, to get Patrick help, but her body won't listen to her mind. She stands at the ring of the stage, her crystal blue eyes widening at the sudden appearance of a table, the full length of her body with black straps, buckles at each four posts. Her stomach dropped at the reality of it all, her mouth opening to protest again, but instead nothing comes forward. Patrick is inside the ring, he too feeling the severity of it all, wondering exactly how they were going to hurt her.

Pete goes to Cora, where Andy has stopped her movements, and picks her up, carrying her bridal style to the table. Cora's body is limp, lying completely still on the table once Pete sets her down. He's gentle in the way he carries her, even when he buckles her extremities; after, Cora can move her body and begins to wiggle and fight the straps. She can scream, and she does, begging once again, "Please don't do this! Please! Please!"

Her screams go in one ear and out the other to Andy, but Pete feels the sadness and the fear coursing through her veins. Patrick too can sense it; he begins to cry, his sobs muffled by his gag. All Andy does is smile, relishing in their fear, fueling himself of the pain he is inflicting.

"I love the fight," he laughs deeply, "keep on crying for me!"

Cora can't stop the sobs, even if she wants, she can't contain them. Patrick tries so hard to get to her, dragging himself across the dirt floor. Andy sees this and throws the tearful boy a smile, "You're next, Rick."

Patrick pays him no attention, snaking his body towards his sister. Pete hides the uncomfortable feelings in his chest and head, standing beside his keeper, "We should start before her screams bring everyone over."

Andy can sense that all of his charges are curious over the new play things, but won't admit it. There are two that already arrived, just after Cora's first scream; Knife Girl and Horseshoe. The two stand off in the wings, hiding in the dark, watching their ringmaster work. They don't speak, especially not to each other, only watching, out of intrigue and fear. Knife Girl, with her beautiful brown skin, says a silent pray for the brother and sister, knowing how brutal Andy and Pete were when they had captured her.

Andy makes his way to the table, suddenly brandishing a long, clean dagger. Cora and Knife Girl's stomachs twist, the blade glistens in the light over the ring; even the sight of a slick steel can give Knife Girl a terrible, knee knocking feeling. With a quick flick, Andy hands it over to Pete, who takes it without a second thought. Cora whimpers now, the tears burning as they continue to fall, just as her younger brother's. The two simultaneously shut their eyes as Pete takes the knife, both awaiting the next action with it.

"Take her shirt off," Pete instructs quietly, the two viewers hadn't heard what he had said.

Andy grins mischievously, teasing him, "First base without dinner?"

Pete doesn't smile or acknowledge it, "Hurry up," he spoke just above a whisper.

Andy does as he says, ripping her white t-shirt free, letting the torn fabric fall at her sides, the short sleeves still in place around her forceps, and then he rips the middle of her bra as well. Cora lets out a small, short wail, closing her eyes tight, then clamping her mouth shut, trying to hold all of her fear in, wanting so bad to cover herself up. Patrick is the one to open his eyes, anger gripping all of his being then, but it still unable to get up off the ground.

Pete looks to him, feeling his glare, "I'm not gonna do anything dirty to her, Patrick."

This doesn't soothe his anger one bit, but it does, oddly, make him feel better about the fact she's topless, bare for these new people to stare at. Patrick keeps up his angry glare, wishing to use the blade on Pete; thinking once he gets a chance, he will. This thought causes Andy to laugh, "You'll never get the chance!"

Patrick is surprised, his eyes shooting from Andy to Pete. He can't comprehend what kind of dark magic is going on. This has to be a nightmare, he thinks; this prompts another quip from Andy: "It's not."

Cora hears the invisible back and forth between her brother and Andy, but doesn't question it. The only thing going through her mind is to prepare herself for the pain or sexual assault she believes will take place. She can't think of anything but protecting herself.

"This is only going to hurt for a little while," Pete says; he then looks up, his golden eyes finding Knife Girl's, "Nora, get me the tools..."

Knife Girl looks to Horseshoe and then leaves him behind, heading around the background of the foreground with the logo of their circus on it. The tools she gets is similar to a hospital crash cart; full of gauze, antibiotics, tinier surgical knives and a needle and thread. The wheels of the cart squeal, as if they too are being tortured, leaving a trail behind Knife Girl as she approaches. She can't get too close to Andy without flinching physically, afraid he'll punish her for watching. But Andy is thinking the opposite; he finds it appealing his "pets" came to watch, they came to see he and Pete work for once.

"Do you need my help?" Knife Girl asks quietly, stopping the cart beside Pete and Cora.

"No," Pete shakes his head tentatively, "Donnie's going to...help."

Knife Girl nods and steps back, heading towards the shadows, but her body is forced to stop with a jolt near the exit of the ring. Andy grins at her, "Stay. Watch," he orders, then quickly shoots his eyes in Horseshoe's darken corner, "you too," his voice dropping an octave.

Horseshoe does not hesitate; he moves as fast as he can, his wild, curly hair bouncing as he jogs. Cora and Patrick look at the two new captives, knowing, by their body language that they would not be getting any help from either of them. Horseshoe and Knife Girl looked so beaten and downtrodden that the very thought was foreign; also, it would be ridiculous to try; they've all tried to escape one time or another, but did not get far and certainly did not get any help from their co-stars.

Pete licks over his lips as the light shines over Cora's pale skin...he can see her heart beating so fast against her rib cage, practically ripping free. He knew that this would be easier than Andy had made it seem. Andy loves to make every idea of his graphic and uncensored; he could make a simple recipe seem like axe murder.

To him, everything was.

Just as he had explained just the night before, Andy got close with Pete, mentally giving him instructions. He didn't have to speak, he telepathically told Pete to shove the dagger hard into her chest, having to get through the hard interior of her breast plate. He'd hit the top of one of her arteries and the bleeding would be excessive. Andy got a black marker, the gauze out, along with a silver, kidney shaped bowl; by this time, the entire tent is silent except for Cora's soft praying, her body shaking causing the buckles to jiggling ever so quietly. Andy doesn't stop her as he marks a place just below her left collar bone, or tells her to quiet down, he's relishing in it; he wishes she'd fight more.

"How hard?" Pete asks then, interrupting the silence.

"Hard," Andy states. "Hard and fast, it's going to take all you've got, Sandman."

Pete swallows the collecting, nervous saliva. He the brings the dagger up high above his head, aligning the sharp end with the mark Andy has made. Taking a deep breath; everyone's eyes shut hard, Pete brings the blade down, plunging it into Cora. She cries out, feeling the near numbing pain hit her in the chest. It felt like a blow to the chest, so hard, Patrick felt it; he let out a sharp intake of hair.

As Andy had predicted, the blood collects fast and hot around the wound, so he mentally tells Pete to hurry before she loses too much of it. It's like the Red Sea, Pete thinks as the blood overflows, staining his hands and wrists. He cuts Cora open without emotion, hearing the young girl starting to gargle on the bit of blood seeping inside of her.

It's quick, wet, messy and slippery as Pete cuts out her tiny heart. He notices how much of a real fighter she is; the whole sense had looked grim, but Cora never seemed to give up. Pete hands over the her bloody, still beating heart to Andy, without gloves, both had soaking Crimson colored palms. Andy had told Pete it was so he could actually connect with his own little pet, her heart belongs to him -physically and metaphorically. Pete thought the idea was clever, but unnecessary and disgusting.

Andy took the heart, setting it in its own separate bowl, full of ice as it continued to beat, gradually slowing down. He howls as he makes his way over to Patrick, leaving Pete to nurse Cora and sow her wound close. He knelt to the boy's side, his face covered in dirt and mud; "This is for you," Andy laughs, his eyes glowing gold, "you'll fight me, won't you?"