Never pull it out
1298 Words
*Malina*
I have felt it the entire day. There is a tension in the air. It is like the entire circus is holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
Even Josh somehow seems a bit on edge, and when he is about to present the knife act, he gets in the way of Ioan, who hisses, "Get out of my way, fool. Let the real men come through."
Josh looks like he is about to say something back, but he bites it down, his jaw tense. Then Ioan laughs at the workers carrying the spinning board into the ring. "What a wuss. What would any woman see in him?"
I seriously want to kick Ioan right now, and I fear Josh might actually hit him. He looks angry enough. But then he smiles, a mischievous smile, and I get a bad feeling. What is Josh about to do?
Josh grabs his microphone. "The next act is something really special, folks. He tames tigers and throws knives after tied-up women to feel like a real man. Now we are going to witness him throw his knives with unbelievable accuracy; he never misses, well, except for that one throw, but let's not talk about that. Here is the amazing, the unbelievable, the impotent Ioan and his deadly dangerous knife show."
Oh god, I almost double over laughing, but Ioan looks absolutely murderous. Josh is brave, making fun of a man armed with throwing knives. And I know Ioan enough to know that he isn't letting this go.
Suddenly, Ioan walks up to Josh, grabbing the microphone from him. "Well, I think we should change this up a bit. My poor assistant is very tired, but I am sure our loud-mouthed ringmaster has no trouble taking her place for this show."
Shit! I want to yell for Josh to say no; Ioan is up to something. But Josh isn't backing down; they are glaring at each other like a couple of fighting c***s, huffing up their feathers and showing off their claws. "No problem, Ioan. A real man isn't scared of a couple of small knives."
*Josh*
Yeah, okay, I asked for it, I know that. I don't know what came over me. I have been in a bad mood all day and Ioan's comments were just the straw. He has been at me, questioning me about being a real man and my sexuality every chance he got ever since I got here.
And I can't back down, he would never let me live it down. No, I have to do this and not look scared. At least Ioan is actually good at what he does. I have seen him do this many times and he always hits his mark. Okay, I am quite a lot bigger than his usual assistant, but I think he can work around that.
First, he goes through the different throws, making me hold up different things. I must admit I'm a bit nervous. I don't really trust Ioan. But, well, I am sure he won't do anything here, in front of an audience, right?
When he asks me to stand sideways against the wooden board, I must admit my hands start to feel sweaty and my pulse is racing. Ioan smirks at me. "Want to chicken out, Josh?"
"Oh no. I am perfectly fine with this," I say. When he starts throwing the knives, placing them very close around me, I close my eyes. I know how dangerous it is if I move. When he places a knife close to my lower back, I feel a sting, and I know he nicked me just to show me he can.
"Whoops, I might have ruined your suit," he whispers as he pulls out the knives, freeing me. I know what is up next and I am frantically trying to find a way to back out without looking like a wuss.
Ioan pats the large wooden wheel and smiles at me. "So ready for the terrifying spinning wheel of death, Josh?"
I just glare at him and step up on the two small ledges. One of the circus workers is holding the wheel in place. I take a good grip on the handles. "Ready, Ioan."
He leans in close to me, his smile suddenly malicious. And then he whispers in my ear, sending cold thrills through me. "I saw you and Malina yesterday." Then he grabs the wheel and spins it. I have no way of escaping.
Oh s**t, he knows. This is just dandy. The man knows that I am kissing the woman he thinks he is going to marry. And now he is going to throw knives at me while I spin around at top speed. I suddenly feel quite nauseated.
I can hear the knives hit the wood, knowing I give a little involuntary jolt every time. Would he do it? Does he hate me enough to let one of the knives miss or... well... hit and claim it was an accident?
When someone, I think it is his assistant, grabs the microphone and announces, "And now Ioan will try one of the most difficult throws in the world, one very few have managed." I know he plans on doing just that.
I hold my breath, cursing myself for jumping headfirst into his trap. I wait for the pain, knowing it will come. But it still almost makes me let go of the handles when a white-hot pain sears through me.
*Malina*
Oh God, Ioan is trying to kill Josh, I am quite sure, when I hear his assistant announce with a shaking voice that he will try a difficult throw. He is going to try and place the knife between Josh's legs. Ioan has never been able to make that throw. Not even once. He is going to hit Josh.
I see him throw the knife. I hear the sound. Or the lack of sound. There isn't the thud of the knife hitting the wood. But there isn't the scream or cry of pain I expected. Where did the knife hit him?
Even Ioan looks pale and scared as he steps up and grabs the spinning wheel, stopping it. I almost can't get myself to look. But then I see Josh smiling at the audience. He holds the knife in his hand and the audience goes crazy.
At first, I think that some miracle has occurred. Even though I don't get how the knife got in Josh's hand. He can't have caught it, it just isn't possible. But then I notice how Josh's jaw is tense, how sweat is breaking on his forehead, and the pain flashing through his eyes. s**t, he is hurt.
I can see the determination on his face as he manages to walk very slowly out behind the curtain. I am by his side in a flash. "Josh? Josh, where are you hurt?"
When he doesn't answer, I look him over quickly. Then I see the dark spot quickly spreading on his left thigh, and looking down, I see blood pooling at his foot. s**t, he hit his thigh. "Josh, did you pull that knife out of your thigh, you i***t?"
"Well, yeah. I didn't want to scare the kids. So I pulled it out. Do you think the audience bought it?" He asks, looking a bit dazed.
I close my eyes briefly. Then I call out to a worker. "Get two strong men here now and run to ask the doctor to get to Josh's trailer immediately." I turn to Josh. "You should have left it. If it hit the big artery, you might bleed out because you pulled it out."
"Oh... f**k, I didn't know." He suddenly looks very pale, like he is about to faint.
- Writer
