MOO

Untitled Part 1

Her time was coming.

Deep down, they all knew that they had an expiration date, but somehow they managed to push this out of their minds, playing along with the charade. And not just to preserve their sanity. They all knew what happened to provocateurs.

Elise looked down at her hands, noticing how the blue veins bulged as if some parasite lurked beneath her skin. Her eyes followed the lines, surveying each arm separately. They were pale and smooth, though she could find excess skin when she pinched her tricep. Her gaze shifted to her breasts. They hung low, pocked with scars. Her nipples were large, cracked and red-raw. Sensation was now so reduced that they hardly bothered her. Lifting her breasts, she inspected her abdomen. Stretch marks ravaged sagging skin, and a plum-red scar ran from solar plexus to pubic bone. Elise sighed. Twenty-two pregnancies will do that to you. She knew she'd had eight girls and six boys, but the remainder she was unsure of. They took them away so fast.

She had spent the afternoon consoling and tending to Aisha, the girl that slept beside her in the dormitory. Her first insemination had left her a bloody mess, physically and emotionally. She suspected they mixed the ages in the dorm so that the older women could support the young ones through the trauma. We have to pick up the pieces. Elise grimaced.

Her stomach growled, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. There was no point going to the feeding room this late in the day, so she rested her head back on her pillow and closed her eyes. Aisha's quiet sobs punctured the air.

Elise woke to the sound a muffled cry from across the shed. Aisha's soft exhalations brushed her left shoulder. She craned her neck in the direction of the cry. A lamp darted around, playing light on the faces of the slumbering women.

Click. Click. Hooves on concrete.

The light danced nearer. Heart hammering, Elise considered slithering out of her bed and rolling beneath it. But it was too late.

She closed her eyes. Seconds passed. She saw red as the light passed over her face. It was gone.

She allowed herself to exhale. Slow.

Then it was on her again, held steady. She felt a large presence close to her head. A tug on her ear.

They're looking at my tag! A shudder ran through her body. Her eyes snapped open, but the glare flooded her vision.

Elise held her hands over her face, squinting through her fingers. She made out a bovine silhouette. Musty breath enveloped her. He leaned forward and clamped his teeth on her wrist, a non-negotiable sign that it was time to go.

Sounds of shuffling feet told of others being lead through the dark, but she could not see their faces.

The guards herded the silent women between rows of beds and towards wide open doors. The group moved warily down the corridor. Small windows permitted starlight to penetrate the gloom. The women exchanged glances, eyes shining with fear, shoulders crumpled in defeat. They were all Elise's age.

So this is it. The final march.

Abruptly, the guard tugged Elise through a side door. The others followed. They marched through a section of the building that none of them have seen before. Huge glass windows flanked them on the right, and a row of colourful images on the left. A caricature of a plump woman beamed down at Elise. She was brandishing a bottle of milk.

The guards led them through a large open area with a high ceiling, and then out through glass doors. A truck waited outside, doors wide and ramp lowered. One of the guards jerked his head towards the ramp, eyes rolling.

Inside the truck a bulb hung from the roof emitting a soft glow.

The floor was covered in cushions, and there was a pile of folded blankets and clothes in a corner. A basket held thermoses, bottled water, fruit, nuts, and bread. The women stared at each other.

'What is this?' whispered Deb, 'some sort of sick last meal thing?'

'I - I think so.' This came from Lucy, a smallish woman. She shivers.

'I don't know,' a voice said, 'don't you think it's strange that they're doing this at night? And all the doors were wide open when we walked through. I never saw that before.' She stepped forward. It was Dani, a stocky woman with bright eyes.

'And normally they take more,' Elise said, looking around. 'There're only twelve of us.'

Silence was replaced by the roar of an engine, and the truck lurched forward. Lucy jumped.

Dani picked up the pile of blankets and started handing them out to the women.

'Well, I say we make the most of the meal, wherever they're taking us. I'm starved,' she said.

The women murmured agreement, passing the rations around. They ate in silence as the humming engine vibrated through their bones.

Light streams into the truck as the door opens. Elise blinks and looks around. How much time has passed? She pushes herself off the floor and staggers down the ramp with the eleven other women. Her bleary eyes take several moments to adjust.

Soft green grass caresses her feet, pine scented air fills her lungs, and proud daffodils smile up at her.

Ahead, she sees a large victorian house, smoke streaming out of its chimney.

Two cows emerge from the front door and stand on the porch. Elise feels a constriction in her chest. A moment later, out spills a woman holding a baby, a man, a young boy and two teenage girls. Their faces erupt in smiles when they see the women, and they wave excitedly. The boy bounds forward and grasps Elise's hand. He smiles up at her.

'It's okay. You're home now.'