Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I missed coffee. And potato chips. I missed my books. And privacy. Being constantly watched was slowly driving me insane.

And I was sick of being milked! The farmers came in four times a day and hooked us to milking machines. The farmers subjected me to several more pleasuring sessions for my supposed misdeeds, but now that I know what their idea of punishment is, I'm not afraid of my alien captors.

Finding out that all the other women in the barn were born and raised here had shocked me. They knew nothing of the outside world, human or alien. How fucked up was that?

The woman beside me had chosen the name Anna after I'd explained that calling all the cows Loralei wasn't the way names worked. At first, she had been very hesitant about breaking the "cows only moo" bullshit the farmers fed us, but once she began talking, she hadn't stopped. As soon as the farmers were out of earshot, she would question me about how other humans lived.

Every day that I was here, more and more of the women I shared pasture time with wanted to hear about life outside the barn. The farmers continuously tried to shut down our talks, but the women would wait for them to walk away and then start up again. They ate up my stories and were learning how messed up their situation really was.

The funniest was when I explained that on Earth, we didn't eat grass. They would watch wide eyed while I would describe poutine, burgers and butter tarts, my favourite meal. The sad thing was, they had nothing to compare any of our food to. All they'd ever eaten was grass. Yes, the grass was genetically modified to have various flavours, but the texture was always the same. And it was healthy for us. There was nothing fun about it.

My tales spread throughout the barn, and that's when things started getting interesting. The women, when they learned about human rights, wanted to know more, and I gladly told tales of riots, freedom marches, strikes and walk-outs. I planted revolutionary seeds and let it play out.

Anna loudly declared, "No, you won't get any more milk from me until our demands are met!"

I laughed loudly at Zatorg when he took a step back and moved his hands through the air as if unsure of what to do. "But you must let us milk you. You like it."

"We want actual food. Cookies," a woman yelled from down the row. "And pie."

"And I want to watch Dirty Dancing," another shouted.

"We're on strike!" A tall redhead proudly proclaimed.

Zatorg turned in my direction and let out a growl. I smirked at him as more women named their demands. The funniest was one who shouted that she wanted to use the toilet like a real human because she was sick of peeing while on all fours.

Farmers stood in shock, not knowing how to stop the women from lining up. The barn was in total chaos, and I was loving every second. How dare these dickheads treat these poor women this way?

"Teraso," Thuldar roared. "Do something!"

"It's mass hysteria," Zatorg spun in a circle. "She's incited the entire herd."

When we headed for the exit, a farmer stepped in front of us but quickly changed his mind and moved out of the way. Us women outnumbered the farmers by a hundred to one.

The women who were outside quickly joined us as we marched around the nearest pasture. "No more milk! No more milk," was our chant. As we marched around the nearest pasture, farmers tried to grab women, but they were swiftly swarmed and pushed back.

"I want to go to the beach."

"I want to learn to drive a car."

"I want to go to earth and be a free cow." That one needed some work, but hey, they were trying.

"No more milk. No more milk!"

A loud screech sounded from the front of the pasture, followed by a bellowed, "What the fuck is going on here?"

The women all stopped at once. I stood on tiptoe to find the source of the disruption. Three very tall figures were striding through the women. Each one wore a hooded robe in a different colour. Red, yellow and blue.

The one in yellow had horns coming out of the side of its head. Was I in hell this whole time and now I was about to meet the devil?

"Thuldar, report," said the one in front.

I turned to Anna. "Who are they?"

Her eyes were wide, and she was pale. "The owners."

Thuldar ran to stand beside the three newcomers.

"What is going on here? Why are the cows running amuck," asked the one in blue.

"It's the wild cow, 3592, sir. She's upset the entire herd," Thuldar replied. "Mass hysteria, we think. They call it ‘on strike' and refuse to allow us to milk them."

The one in red scanned the crowd. "3592, come here. Now," he demanded.

"Oh no," Anna whispered. "Maybe you should run away. But watch for the chum."

I'd found out that the chum were massive creatures that flew and snatched people up with razor-sharp teeth. Think sharks that flew. I did not want to run into one of them anytime soon.

I patted her shoulder. "I'll be fine." Why would she be worried about three more aliens?

The women cleared a path as I made my way through the crowd. Heads bowed, and some reached out to touch me as I passed. It's like they thought I was walking to my death. What was so terrifying about the robed figures?

Zatorg grasped my elbow when I got within his reach and pulled me to stand in front of the owners. "This is 3592," he loudly declared.

The horned alien, or maybe devil, turned before I could see his face. The cloaks they wore were pretty kick-ass. Kind of looked like something you'd see in those fantasy movies with the cute elf and old dude with long hair. This guy hadn't said "Thou shall not pass." It was "Go to your stalls." It didn't have the same ring.

My mouth hung open in surprise when the women dropped to their hands and knees and crawled to the barn with no hint of civil unrest. I mean, yeah, he'd raised his voice, but that was it. And they obeyed. No questions asked. The two beside him had stood silently by his side, their backs to me as the women fled.

"Why are you listening to them? Stand back up," I yelled. Zatorg tightened his grip when I tried to step forward.

Anna glanced up when she crawled past. She had tears dripping down her cheeks when she faced forward and continued on her way.

These fuckers! Whoever they were, they were definitely the real power around here. I seethed silently, unable to stop the failure of our mission.

When the yellow robe turned, I got my first look at his face. I couldn't stop myself from jerking back. His face looked like it belonged on a beetle! At least it wasn't a spider. Nevertheless, I didn't like bugs of any kind. When he stepped toward me, I lost it. Getting away from the creature was my only goal. Throwing myself forward didn't break Zatorg's hold. I kicked and punched with my free hand, twisting and turning in the tight hold. I had to get away before that thing got any closer.

"Do you see?" Thuldar grabbed my free arm. "She is a very unruly cow."

The blue and red-robed figures turned and holy shit, they were all beetles. My head shook from side to side. The devil had the face of a beetle. Its enormous eyes fixated on me as it came closer. This couldn't be real.

"Someone should take her back to auction and sell her as defective," Thuldar suggested, obviously at his wits' end with me. I didn't feel bad for him.

"No. We will domesticate her," the blue-robed alien said before turning to the other two. "We need to confer on how best to handle this."

They walked a few steps away and put their heads together. The red one glanced over at me, where I continued to struggle even though I knew damn well I wasn't getting away.

The blue-robed one broke off from the group and strode toward us. "We will take 3592 to the main house for training. She needs one-on-one time to learn our ways."

He scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder and carried me away. It happened so fast. I didn't have time to dodge his hands. The body beneath me was hard and muscular. "We will take her now so that the other cows do not hear her distress. We don't need them all getting upset and souring the milk."

Fuck. I was in serious trouble. What were these monsters planning on doing to me?

"We want a full report on what happened here once you've checked on the cows, Thuldar. Have Teraso check them over," the blue one said before following behind us.

I finally found my voice. "Where are you taking me? Put me down, you asshat. I can walk on my own." My glare did not intimidate the two aliens who followed behind. Or maybe it did. Who knew what those alien expressions meant?

They ignored my demands and questions. I guess I was about to find out.