Chapter Text
January 15th, 1920, talk about a nationwide ban on alcohol was ringing through the states. A young boy, aged 15, sat at the edge of a train car waiting. A loud, booming voice had pulled him out of his thoughts.
“ROARK! Get over here!” The man stepped out to the boy, barking a command. He was clad in a tight suit, one that hugged his features and made him appear sharp. His eyes seemed to bore into the smaller, deep blue hues piercing into the boy. Cool gray colored fur adored his face, smoothed down. This was Ransom. He worked on the railroad just recently, but he had quit that job and now hangs around a traveling circus with his son.
“Rocky!” A man approached the boy, shouting, “Boss wants to see you.” Rocky shuddered, a remembrance of the last time the ringleader wished to see him haunted his mind. He had been in a cage, trapped. He didn’t want to spend his life stuck as a pet, so he walked to the leading car, scared at what new fantasy the ringleader would force on him.
“Ah, little Rickaby. Come in.” the ringleader called. Rocky shivered at this response: what did he want now? He tried to say something, but the words couldn’t escape his frightened mind. “Now, I've heard from your father that you are falling behind on your routine.”
The ringleader put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Have a seat, kiddo.”
As Rocky sat down, he nervously played with his scarf. The ringleader grinned eerily, one that burned into the back of Rocky’s mind. He always loved Rocky. His silence always worked for what the Ringleader wanted. As the man held the boy’s chin up, he shuttered, and then, after many hesitations, Rocky finally broke his silence and shouted, squirming.
“STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE!” He screamed, his voice pleading with desperation. Running out of the train car, the rooms. Something was off about them. The rooms, like the world around him, were growing thinner, and the lights were getting dimmer, the voices like a broken record on repeat calling out a haunting tune.
“You can’t escape him, Roark… He’ll find you again. You can never leave this place.”
He tries to scream out for help, but it feels like someone or something is choking him. Terrified at what’s happening, he begins to weep, which is, of course, forcibly silenced by the fear choking him. It was the only thing he could do until he heard a different voice emerge from the maddening cacophony of noise.
“Kid, Kid, Hey! Are you okay? Wake up!”
Rocky’s eyes shot open. He saw someone standing in front of him, a blurred mess from the tears dwindling his sight. He had warm colored blonde fur, and emerald green eyes that had panic evident in them. He was worried because he had heard the boy’s screams. The boy didn't know this man’s intentions. Fearing the worst, he began trying to get up. Struggling to get up, he sat back down on the alleyway, hiding his teary face. The man responded, putting both arms on the boy’s shoulders, “Hey, Hey! Look at me. I’m not going to hurt you.”
The boy nervously asked, “Are you my dad? Do you promise you won't hurt me?” his voice wavers with fear, ears pinned back flat against his small head.
The man chuckles, “No, I'm afraid I'm not your dad. You don’t have to worry. I promise I will never let anyone or anything hurt you.” Rocky looks up to the man, smiles, and nods, holding onto the man’s hand. His tiny hand is easily engulfed into the man’s larger one.
He laughs, “I’ve got to say, kid! You’re adorable! What’s your name? I'm Sy!”