AllFreeNovel
Share Us
House too small? Nothing to worry about there either because the elephant trainers were talented with large-scale construction and built him a massive custom trailer.
Randall didn’t have to worry about being the wrong size here becausethisworld was literally made for him.
He had a great home, comfortable clothes, and as much food as he could ever want. He was dubbed the strongest man in the world, and he became a star overnight. He would bend iron bars, lift giant hogs and barrels of water, and break out of chains. He grew a mustache and learned to live in stretchy unitards that rode up in all the wrong places.
Though it was exciting being able to travel and see different parts of the country, Randall was a bit lonely. He wrote to his parents often, sending them money to help with the farm, and he was very fond of his new family here at the circus and all the new friends he’d made, and yet…
He wished he had a special someone in his life.
He had no shortage of admirers, but vapid lust was not enough for Randall. These people were only interested in stroking his muscles—especially the one beneath his unitard—and there was never any real connection. So, alone he stayed, though he still longed every night for something more.
The circus had come to Zebulon, North Carolina, and Randall was heading to the mess hall to catch a late dinner after a long day of putting up tents. It was already dark, and he saw several men dropping off a crate around the side. It wouldn’t be the first time Mr. King had something delivered at a weird hour, but Randall didn’t think he’d ever seen such a large crate before.
It had words stamped all over it like DANGER and CAUTION, and Randall tiptoed a few steps closer to get a better look.
It was covered in heavy chains, and Randall was dying to know what was inside. For a second, he almost thought he’d heard—
Oh! The crate moved, rattling the chains.
“Hey! Be careful!” someone shouted.
Randall jumped, whirling around to see the bearded lady, Drusilla, frowning at him. “You scared me!”
“Sorry!” She grinned. “Just don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“What is that?”
“One of King’s new pets,” Drusilla said. “Something that came over from Europe. They drove it up from some port on the coast this morning.”
“What… What is it?”
“I don’t know. King said not to mess with it.”
Randall frowned, taking a few steps backward. “How is it supposed to eat?”
“There’s a little hole around the side.” Drusilla patted Randall’s arm. “You can check with Cookey after you eat some dinner. See if he’s got anything left for it to eat.”
“It’s cruel, don’t you think?” Randall’s heart twisted. “Keeping an animal locked up like that.”
“I can see what you’re thinking and don’t you dare,” she warned. “King is very particular about his new pets, you know.”
Randall scowled.
As much as he loved the circus, he hated how the animals were treated.
He loved all kinds of creatures, big and small, and he couldn’t stand the idea of any living thing being harmed. He was always sneaking treats to the horses, extra hay for the elephants, and even the occasional leg of lamb to the tigers when he could. He had been so sure that he’d heard crying from inside the crate, and he didn’t need to be a genius to know whatever was inside was probably scared and hungry.
Drusilla looked the other way when Randall chose to skip out on sitting for his second serving of dinner and snuck out to the crate with his tray.
He crouched down beside it, whispering, “Hey in there. Hungry?”
There was movement within, and a very definite sniffle confirmed one of Randall’s suspicions.
Randall found the hole in the crate, and it was wide enough for him to slide the tray through. “Here. Food,” He expected whatever it was to snatch the tray right away, but nothing happened.
Something whined.
It didn’t sound human, but like a puppy or some other small animal.
