“Yo, Tark! We’re almost ready for that last group!”
Tark waved
at his boss standing on the platform at the other end of the chute to let the
man know he’d heard him. Jumping off the fence, he jogged out of the building
and headed for the holding pens at the other end of the lot. The final herd of
cattle going into the slaughterhouse today were in the last corral. Last to
arrive, last to be handled, as he’d always told himself.
Approaching
the dozen or so head, he scanned them with expert eyes. This was the main
reason why he’d taken the job, as abhorrent as it was. He was on the lookout
for one of his own, in the rare case one of them had accidentally been rounded
up and thrown in with the other cattle.
It had been
a little over six weeks since the last time he’d spotted one. That guy made
number five in the eight years he’d worked here. But to Tark, that was five
lives he’d saved. Five souls who’d been returned to their families.
The herd
was unusually quiet as he drew closer. That immediately put him on alert.
Scanning them, he knew something was wrong. None of the animals were moving.
Not even a shake of the head or twitch of a tail.
He broke into a jog. Before he
reached the pen, he felt his Taurus senses go on alert. There was another one
of his kind here.
He spotted
the lone heifer standing in a corner at the farthest end of the lot where she’d
separated herself from the others. One hard look at her human eyes was all the
proof he needed.
Climbing
over the fence, he strode past the animals and walked up to her. “Don’t be
afraid. I’m one of you. I’m going to make sure you don’t get sent inside, but I
need you to follow my instructions to the letter. Do you understand me?”
The cow
mutely stared at him. She was terrified, and he didn’t blame her.
He held out
an arm and transformed it into a hoof. Her green eyes widened in shock, and he
quickly morphed it back into human form.
“I told
you. I’m also a Taurus. I don’t know how you got mixed up in this herd, but I
work here to specifically make sure none of our kind are harmed.” He let his
voice harden. “You must trust me. By the way, my name is Tark. We don’t have
much time. Let me know you understand what I’m saying.”
“I dooo.”
Her response was low and harsh.
“Okay. This
is what’s going to happen.” He pointed to an area on the other side of the pen.
“There’s a chute over there. I’m going to open it and shoo these animals into
it. You stay right where you are.” He glanced around to get a feeling for where
the security cameras were located. Luckily, the heifer had positioned herself
out of their direct line of sight. “I’ll be right back,” he informed her.
“Remain in your current state. Don’t change until I tell you to, all right?”
The cow nodded.
Tark worked
the rest of the animals, yelling, whistling, and waving his arms to urge the
creatures through the narrow gate and down the chute toward the slaughterhouse.
When all the cattle had moved on, he closed the gate and proceeded to follow
the herd, urging them onward until they were all inside.
Running to
a nearby feed bin, he opened the lid and extracted a blanket. Double-checking
the video cameras, he returned to the far pen.
The heifer
was still there. She hadn’t moved, as he’d instructed. Opening the blanket, he
shook it out and walked over to her, throwing it across her back and shoulders.
“Okay. Now you can change.”
The cow
stared at him. Terror still filled her emerald-colored eyes.
Tark
nodded. “It’s okay. You can’t remain in your current state if I’m to get you
out of here.”
She stared
past him, looking to see if they were alone. Tark also glanced over his
shoulder to verify no one would see them.
“Come on.
Hurry!” he whispered.
She
morphed, becoming smaller, slenderer. Her brownish coat transformed into
chestnut colored hair on her head. As her front legs became arms, she
straightened and pulled the blanket tighter around her to cover her nakedness.
When she was complete, she continued to watch Tark, waiting for his next move.
He smiled.
“Hi. What’s your name?”
“Audrina.”
He guessed
she was in her mid-twenties. Young but not a juvenile.
“We gotta
get you outta here. Come on.” Placing a hand at her back, he helped her out of
the pen and led her to a trailer sitting on the edge of the property. He went
up the short steps and opened the door. “Go inside and wait for me. I won’t be
long, but you can’t stay out in the open like that. Help yourself to whatever’s
in the fridge. You can also check the third drawer in my bureau. I keep extra
t-shirts and sweatpants in there for moments like this. You’re welcome to
whatever’ll fit you.” He shook a finger at her. “Just don’t leave here, okay? Not
until I’m sure you won’t be missed.” He gave her another grin. “Don’t worry. You’re
safe with me.”
From the
expression on her face, he could tell she was still apprehensive about him, but
he didn’t have time to try and convince her otherwise.
He hurried
back to the main building to bring up the rear. As the animals cleared the
chute, he called up to the boss. “That’s all of ‘em! I’m calling it a day. I’m
about ready to crash. See you Monday!”
The man
waved to show he’d heard, and Tark jogged back to the trailer. When he got to
the front door, he gave it knock before entering. “Audrina?” He looked around
the front room, finding it empty. “Hey, Audrina?”
A face
peeked around the bedroom door. Recognizing him, she opened it and stepped out.
She’d taken advantage of his offer. Although the gray t-shirt was way too large
for her, as were the gray sweatpants that bunched around her ankles,
fortunately she’d been able to tie up the drawstring waist to keep them from
falling down.
He perched
his hands on his hips. “I know the clothes swallow you, but at least they’ll
help you keep your modesty until you’re able to get something in your own
size.” He threw a thumb over his shoulder. “You’re safe now. In another hour or
so, you can leave.”
She slowly
drew closer to him. “You’re one of us?”
“Yeah.” He
nodded. “Remember? I showed you.”
“And you
work at this place?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
He
shrugged. “Somebody has to. A little over eight years ago, I found out one of
us accidentally got included in a herd of cattle that were delivered here for
processing. A few of us tried to get to him before he was taken inside, but
they weren’t in time. I was working at a ranch in the next state over, and
that’s when I decided to apply for a job here as a wrangler. I figured if I
managed to save one life, it would be worth the inconvenience.”
“Well,
you’ve saved that one life,” she remarked.
“Actually,
you’re number six.”
She gave
him an incredulous look. “Six?”
“Yeah.” He
went over and parked himself on the nearby couch. Letting out a weary sigh, he
stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles. “Lordy,
I’m tired.”
“Can I get
you some water?” she offered, walking over to the kitchen area. Opening the
cupboard, she paused to see his answer. Instead, Tark shook his head.
“Come. Sit
down and tell me how you ended up here.”
Audrina
shuffled barefoot over to take a seat in the rocker recliner. As soon as she
sat down, she visibly wilted. He could tell she was fighting not to break down
in front of him.
“Hey. Go
ahead. Bawl your eyes out if you need to. It’s normal when it hits you how
close you came to meeting your maker.”
She softly
sobbed, using the tail of her t-shirt to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. After
several minutes, she managed to get herself together. “I’m sorry,” she
whispered.
“Not a
problem,” he assured her.
“I, uhhh…”
She sniffed.
“How’d you
get caught in that mess?” he repeated.
“I was
fleeing my abusive boyfriend.”
Tark
narrowed his eyes at her. She noticed and smiled. “I won’t blame you for not
believing me.”
“Keep
going.”
“There’s
not much to tell. I met him about six weeks ago. We started dating. He wanted
to move in with me. I was reluctant. He kept pressing. When I continued to say
no, he got…”
“Violent.”
She nodded.
“We were on our way to Augustino when the subject came up again, like I thought
it might. When I continued to put him off, he started yelling at me. He hit me
a couple of times. We stopped at a rest stop so I could go to the bathroom, but
instead I stripped, shoved my clothes into a trash barrel, and changed. I
jumped the fence on the other side of the rest stop and ran away.”
“Does this
guy know you’re a Taurus?”
“No. That’s
the reason why I didn’t want him to move in with me. Something told me I shouldn’t
tell him. He started accusing me of seeing another guy. I told him I wasn’t,
but he didn’t believe me.” Her voice broke, and she buried her face in her hand
again.
Getting up
from the couch, Tark went over to the kitchen, got a glass from the cabinet,
and filled it from the water dispenser in the refrigerator door. He took it
over and gave it to her. She accepted it with a soft thank you and drank half
of the contents as he resumed his place on the sofa.
“Let me
guess. You mingled among the other cattle you found out in the pasture, not
realizing they were bound to come here.”
“Yes.”
“So why
didn’t you change back once you discovered what was going on?”
“I was
afraid to. I thought I’d be able to switch back after we arrived.” She held out
her arms. “It’s rough when you don’t have anything to put on after you change.”
Tark
chuckled. “Tell me about it! I could tell you stories. So now that
you’re freed, what’s your next move?”
“I don’t
know. If I go back to my apartment, I’m afraid Grady will be there. I left my
purse in his car…”
“And he now
has the keys to your place,” Tark filled in.
“Yeah.”
He glanced
out the window. “Well, it’s starting to get dark. Tell you what. You’re welcome
to have the couch tonight. Tomorrow’s Saturday. It’s my day off, so I can take
you home if you want. Watch your back while you check out the place to make
sure it’s safe. It’s up to you.”
“I’d like
that.” She smiled timidly. “I can’t thank you enough, Tark. Out of curiosity,
how did you know I was a Taurus?”
He pointed
to his face. “The eyes. We don’t have bovine eyes. They’re the only things that
don’t change when we do.”
She dropped her gaze to her hands,
then looked back up at him. “I didn’t know that…Tark. That’s an unusual name.”
“It’s short
for Tarkington, and don’t ask. I have no freaking idea why my parents named me
that.”
She
snorted. “Thank you, Tark, for saving my life.”
He held out
his hands. “Hey. We gotta watch out for each other, right? There aren’t that
many of us, that I know of.”
The comment
got a little laugh from her. “To be honest, you’re the only other person
besides my mother that I know of.”
“Your
mother?”
A nod.
“Yes.”
“How about
your father?”
“That’s a
whole ‘nother story,” she confessed.
A whole
‘nother story. In that instant, Tark knew he had to hear it. In fact, he wanted
to hear all about this young woman. Her life history, her family. And that was
just for starters.
Getting
back up, he returned to the kitchen. “Listen. I’m hungry. How about you?”
“Yes. I’m
starved.”
“I’m going
to make some spaghetti. Then I’m going to get my shower. You’re welcome to
watch TV until I’m done. Tomorrow after breakfast, I’ll take you back to your
place and make sure that Grady fellow isn’t waiting for you.”
“What if he
is?” she asked, worried.
Grinning,
he slowly transformed just his head. Audrina stared wide-eyed as his facial
features and neck thickened and grew broader, until she was looking at a bull
with thick, curved horns. He snorted when he was done. Realizing what he was
implying, she burst out laughing.
At the
sound of it, Tark knew he’d lost his heart.
