He lost me atunnaturalbut there was no way in hell I was going to question him. “Um, okay.”
“Farmers will guard you day and night, so you do not need to fear. In the case of a chum attack, an alarm will sound, and you must run to the barn. The barn means safety. But we are prepared and haven’t lost a cow in several months, so be at ease.”
Okay…I wasn’t letting that one go. “Months? Only months? And what the heck is a chum?”
“No, no. Do not worry. We’ve upgraded our security and now have invisible nets to shield from attacks.”
“What is a chum?” I repeated.
“I think you’ve talked enough for the day. I’ll take you to your stall now,” he said, ignoring my question. “Follow me.”
Not seeing that I had another choice, I walked behind him. He paused and turned around. “Why are you walking on two legs? Your mats are right there,” he said as he gestured toward a blue path. “Our cows are expected to be on all fours unless otherwise directed. We expect you to be on all fours unless otherwise directed, but during the daily exercise hour, you are allowed to walk upright and, in the evening, you can wander your stall in an upright position after being milked.
I dropped to my hands and knees where he directed. Whatever it was, the softness cushioned me, so it didn’t hurt when I crawled after him. I wanted to rebel and flee this fucked up Old McDonald shit, but I had nowhere to go. My tears dripped down to land on the blue stuff and were quickly absorbed. Nifty.
He stopped at an open doorway. “This is the defecating station. Our research showed that wild cows sometimes crave familiarity, so we installed a to–”
“Oh, thank you baby Jesus!” I jumped up and ran to the toilet and immediately sank down, not giving a fuck if Thuldar watched. I let out an enormous sigh of relief. It had never felt so good to urinate.
“Uh hum. Well, I will let your misbehaviour slide this time, but I will administer punishment next time. After you have finished, press the red button. Then stand there to be properly cleansed.” He pointed to the opposite side of the room where there was a large patch of grass.
I hesitated over pressing the red button, but Thuldar stared down at me until I did it. A giggle escaped when warm water hit my privates. A blast of hot air followed.
Thuldar gave a disapproving, “Hmph.”
When I began walking toward the grass, he pointed to the floor. I got down on my hands and knees again and crawled to the grass. Sweet smelling warm water hit my body. It came from all directions and felt absolutely amazing. After I’d been drenched in the sweet smell, hot air flowed over and under me.
“Good,” Thuldar said then left the room. “Come cow.”
I hated to leave the lovely hot air, but once again obediently followed behind him. When he opened the stall door, I dutifully crawled in. The stalls next to mine were both empty. Guess thecowswere out in the pasture.
The bed, also made of the blue material, looked very inviting. I’d had one hell of a long day. Or was it days? I didn’t know.
“Your grass will be brought soon. Rest 3592.” The gate clicked shut softly. I moved to the bed and rolled onto it. My tears splashed down onto the material and disappeared. The bed was warm and comfortable. I would take Thuldar’s advice and rest for a while. I had a feeling that I’d need my strength.
Chapter Six
Hunger pains woke me. But my blue bed was so comfortable and snuggly. The blue material was magical. There was no other explanation for it. When I was cold, it warmed me. When I was hot, it cooled me. It produced a slight vibration that lulled me back to sleep anytime I’d thought about getting up during the night. I didn’t want to leave my soft nest. For once, I didn’t have to jump out of bed and run to work.
But then I heard it. The moos. They came from all around me. From human mouths, not bovine. I rolled out of bed, stood up and immediately noticed something was off. I glanced down at my tingling breasts and almost swallowed my tongue. They were huge! And sore. I placed my palms across my nipples. God, they hurt.
“Don’t touch them. The farmers will be here soon to milk us,” a soft voice came from beside me. “Why don’t you eat some grass while you wait? Farmer Thuldar was concerned that you were asleep when he brought your meal.”
I turned to find a woman in the stall beside me, laying on her own blue bed. When I felt warm liquid on my hands that still clasped my breast, I pulled them away and stared in shock. I was lactating. I let out a sharp scream of surprise and clasped my hands to my breasts, as if that could stop what was happening.
“No. No. Please, be calm 3592. You will get yourself punished.” The woman crawled toward me on all fours. “Get down here.”
“This is wrong! Why are they treating us like this? They can’t keep us locked up,” I ranted while I paced my small enclosure.
The gate opened, and Thuldar entered the small space. “3592, get down at once. Why are you not making the expected mooing sound? It is time for your first milking.”
I felt a rage unlike anything I’d ever felt before. How dare these monsters turn us into cattle. How dare they turn my body against me?
Fuck this!Before I could think it through, I’d pulled my arm back and punched the big oof right in its ugly mug. A shocked gasp came from the woman in the next stall, and a low growl came from Thuldar.
“Zatorg,” he yelled out. “We have an unruly cow on our hands.”
I didn’t know who Zatorg was, but I knew I didn’t want to find out. I stepped closer and kicked Thuldar in the dick, then kneed him in the face on his way to the ground. Spinning to the gate, I pressed through and took off running. I’d only made it a few steps when clawed hands lifted me off the ground.