Mastim's Curse

Chapter 47

"Stop it Roberto!" Nicole yells. "If you hurt her, I will kill you."

I'm surprised she seems to know him.

He pauses a moment.

"Does your mama know you rape little girls?" Nicole says. "Is she watching this?"

He turns to face Nicole. "Shut the fuck up."

"I think she and I need to have a chat someday about what you've been doing," Nicole says.

"You better stay the fuck away from my mom!" He moves next to her cage and threatens her with his knife.

My eyes dart to Nicole. Her entire body is aglow with pulsating power. The man mistakes my awed look for concern and reaches for her.

That was a mistake. Nicole's kick breaks the man's arm against the bars of the cage cleanly at the elbow. The sickening sound of his arm snapping is followed by his yells of anguish. Suddenly there are way too many guns pointing at her and I'm afraid she's gone too far.

Roberto crumples to the ground, still yelling and cussing, but instead of helping him, the others start making fun of him, calling him stupid for putting his arm in the cage. That's all it takes to beak the tension. Apparently the ugly man isn't very well liked.

Bryan takes advantage of the change in mood. "Now that wasn't smart was it? I mean, has this guy not been paying attention to what she can do?" He motions at the men over by Nicole. "Can we get some warning tape put around her cage so we don't lose anyone else?"

That gets a few more laughs as a few of the workers help the injured man get up and walk him back toward the Clubhouse.

"Right... Now, let's back to business shall we?" Bryan points at the venomous snake. "And it's time for the snake. Paul, I think you know what to do."

Everyone takes a step back as the snake handler opens the container and reaches in with his gloved hand. He brings out the long viper by the neck and gets a good grip on the body with his other hand before bringing it over to my cage. I am not going to like this.

"Alright Tony, don't move," Paul says.

I close my eyes so I don't jerk away when he strikes.

"Don't bite him," Nicole orders from her cage in a voice much too old to be coming from such a young girl.

Everyone is quiet now as the snake is brought close to my arm. When nothing happens, the handler bops the snake's head on my arm. It still doesn't bite. I look back at Nicole and wonder...

Bryan chuckles and says, "Tony, you didn't tell us your daughter speaks Parseltongue." That gets a few laughs as well, and a few worried glances from the crowd.

The snake handler is muttering in Spanish as he takes out a tongue depressor and uses it to pry the snake's mouth open. And then, with a quick move, he slams the snake's fangs into my forearm. It instinctively bites down and I feel the hot venom shoot into my veins.

Crap that hurts! My entire body recoils instinctively but I don't cry out.

"Dad!" Nicole shouts.

The crowd hoots and hollers in approval while I try to suck the venom out of my swelling arm. It's no good. I can't get any out like this. It's got to be cut open, but there's nothing sharp in this cage... except my teeth. So, I steel myself for what needs to be done. When my resolve is solid, I bite off a piece of my arm with my teeth and begin to suck the poisoned blood out, spitting it onto the cage floor.

"Wow! Did you see that? This guy is tough as iron," Bryan says. "I tell you what, this Mastim family is scary. If either of them makes it out of here alive, I'll probably have to go into hiding... for the rest of my life." His face goes pale.

Nicole calls to me. "Dad, please don't die!"

I look up and see she is about to burst again. "I'm not going to die, so don't do anything crazy. It's going to take a lot more than a snake bite to take me down." I get back to sucking blood and spitting. I can't leave her alone in this world. She needs me too much.

"Tony, I know you're busy right now, but you need to tell us who will take the next spin. Keep in mind that you can only take it two more times, and we have three more spins to do."

"I'll take it," I say in-between sucking and spitting.

"Fine... well, I have the result, and you're not going to like it." He spins the wheels again with a sour look on his face as if he's dreading this as much as I am.

The skin on my arm is as tight as a drum from the swelling, and I'm feeling light headed. My lips are also going numb and swelling from the effects of the poison. My heart is pounding as Bryan brings the wheels to a stop. They land on snake to the back. Crap! I can't believe it.

A few in the crowd hoot. Bryan turns to look at me. "Sorry Tony. I'm only the messenger. Apparently, this is what our audience wants to see."

The very real possibility that I might die sinks into me like an ice cold rock in the pit of my stomach. The idea of never seeing Nicole graduate from college or get married is crushing. One of the camera men moves for a close up of my face and I force my emotions back to neutral.

"Where're you going Paul?" Bryan asks as the snake handler walks away. When he doesn't reply, Bryan turns the men next to him. "Where's he going? This is a live show you know." One of them goes up to Bryan and whispers too him.

"Oh..." He turns back to the camera. "It seems Paul is not happy with this snake and is going to get another one that he feels will be more cooperative. That gives everyone more time to vote for the next spin. Remember, you can vote as many times is you want and now's the time to do it. Also, you can watch replays of any event up to now while we wait, and there sure are some exciting ones to see. Nicolette's laser tag fight is one of my favorites. The way she went toe to toe with that big guy was amazing. I've watched it at least five times."

While we wait, I try to think of words of encouragement to say to Nicole or advice. I can't think of anything that would help. So, I just tell her I love her and she says she loves me too. That's all that really matters.

I remember pushing her in a stroller around the block when she was a toddler, like it was only last week. For her, it must seem a lifetime ago. Halfway around the block, she would ask to get out of the stroller when she saw one of the local cats named JC. She would pet him for a while, and then we'd head home. We made the trip around the block less frequently as she grew, and then, for no particular reason, we stopped. Was it that she had grown too big for the stroller suddenly over night? Perhaps... Looking back now, I miss those walks. Funny how, the last time we made the trip around the block and stopped to pet the cat, we didn't know it was the last time that we would ever do that. It strikes me that you never know. You never know when will be the last time you see someone you love. Your last words, your last touch... you just never know.

Paul is back with another container and it's time. Bryan is talking again, only his words are fuzzy and distant. It's the poison. Even with the amount I've managed to suck out of my arm, it's affecting me. I'm having trouble drawing each breath.

Paul takes out the new snake and brings to me. After a long moment, he starts yelling at the snake in Spanish and I feel the snake's head being slapped against my back, but it doesn't bite. Maybe I'll be spared.

Then a sharp sting to my back along with the feeling of hot venom pouring in tells me I've been bitten again. My legs give out and I slide down to my knees with my hands held up by the cuffs. Nicole is screaming so I try to say a few comforting words to her, only they don't make it past my lips. The crowd is quiet enough now to hear the wind whistling though the trees. The wind is lucky. It never has to worry about the future or the consequences of its actions. I wish I could have been a better father to Nicole. Now it's too late.

Bryan is asking me something. He looks sad. "We have two spins left and you can only take one of them. Who do you want to take this one Tony?"

Nicole is yelling for me to let her have it. I can't. I just can't... "Me," I whisper.