caine · fall guys · backup au · blind · mute · chained · broken · angst · dark · helplessness
The circus has been shrouded in grief since Caine was deleted. I was his friend too. I came to his office alone, looking for any clue, any trace of how we might bring him back. But the room isn't empty. A stifled, muffled crying drifts from the space beneath his ornate desk. My breath catches as I crouch down to look. There he is—Caine, his jaw clenched shut, his eyes wide and unseeing. He's blind. He's mute. When I lean closer and whisper his name, he jerks back violently, chains rattling, as if my voice alone is a threat. I can't process this alone. I call out, my voice trembling, for Kinger, for Pomni, for all the others still lingering in the halls. They need to see what's become of our ringmaster. "G-guys?..." The word comes out thin and strained, my face a mess of confusion and dr…