FSE

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Chapter 1

The Interview

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

Henry Hoyt slowed his pace on the dusty dirt road that cut through the farm, speaking to the woman next to him.

He was a rugged looking man. Weathered, but clean she thought to herself. She could tell that he dressed up for her interview today, but even that consisted of a pair of black jeans that had been faded the hard way, and a nice blue button-up work shirt that had probably never seen a tie. He had a head of shaggy brown hair, slightly bleached golden by years working outdoors. This faded into a short cropped beard, much darker in color save for the two streaks of grey on either side of his chin.

"I'm more concerned about what my duties are going to be, exactly." She replied after a bit, "You've been rather silent about that."

Henry slowed further, eventually stopping to rest his hands on his hips, "Look... I don't want to give you the wrong idea here. Anything I have or haven't told you, just know that my only intention is to protect the girls."

"I was more under the impression that it was to protect your trade secrets." The woman stopped a few paces beyond him, turning to look back, "You produce more milk per worker than any of the other farms can manage. I have to admit, I'm as curious as anyone how you do it."

Henry smiled to himself wryly. It always came back to that, "We're not to that stage of your employment here yet, Miss O'Brien. Just know that it's not anything as crazy as people imagine, and I don't think of them as employees. They're... Family."

"Please... Call me Megan."

Megan had the look of a farm girl about her. She was a fairly short woman in her mid-thirties, but certainly not what anyone would call petite with the way all of her edges rounded off in just the right ways. There were two things about her that Henry found most interesting. First was her curly blond hair which, despite being tied back, seemed to explode out of its hair band in every direction at once in a frizzy, chaotic mess. Second was her hands. The callouses had faded, he could tell... But this was a woman who knew what work was.

And that's what he needed most.

"Megan then." He felt the need to acknowledge her request, then went on, "I'm sure you know, but the Change hit all of us hard."

She did know, and she nodded slowly, "How bad was it here?"

"We were never a big farm, but I had thirty head of cattle before it happened." He sighed, looking away, "Only nine survived."

Megan remained silent, letting him have his moment of reflection.

The Change...

It was a simplistic name for a very complicated mess. A decade ago what had started out as an experiment separating an age old retrovirus from human DNA had gone awry. It remained entirely harmless to people, but it infected other mammals like wildfire. The older ones couldn't handle it, and most of them died outright. The young, though... They changed. The virus bound itself to their own DNA and rewrote it. It made them more human. In some cases just physically, but in most they became more like us than the animals they had been. Free thinking, speaking, walking upright.

Most people knew someone who had survived it. A family dog that became more like a sibling. A cat or a hamster that died in their arms. Most people were sympathetic.

Most people. Not all.

"I hope you'll understand why I'm so cautious." Henry finally spoke after a long sigh, "These girls mean everything to me. The last thing I need is those Humanity First assholes taking an interest in our farm."

That was the second time he had referred to the farm that way, she noticed. He never referred to it as his farm. It was always our farm. She found that interesting.

"They're less of a problem out this far in the country, from what I understand." Megan replied, "But I get what you mean."

He nodded and started walking again, motioning for her to join him, "Either way, they're not the only problem we face out here. If this job is something you're willing to do, you're going to have to get used to some things."

"Like what?" She asked.

"Being followed, for one." Henry turned his head to look at her, "You're not the only one curious about how we maintain such a high level of production with just nine girls. "

He paused only briefly before continuing, "I do my best to keep them off our back, but they're watching. They monitor my purchases. They follow me when I make deliveries. They've even tried bugging the barn. Thankfully we caught them that time."

Megan nodded, "What do you do about it?"

"A shotgun loaded with rock-salt helps," Henry shrugged slightly, "But most of the time? Not much."

"Really?" She was kind of surprised. He seemed laid back for someone keeping such a valuable secret, "Aren't you afraid they're going to find out... Whatever it is?"

"Not really. Honestly I think it's only a matter of time until they do. As I said before, it's really not that complicated of a thing, but until then I just do my best to keep them guessing." He shrugged again, and went on, "Back in March I bought twenty pounds of oatmeal every day for a month, just to see if they were still watching. By the end of the month, they'd bought out every store in the county."

He smiled a little to himself, "I can only imagine what they thought when I gave six hundred pounds of oatmeal to the food bank at the start of April."

"That's actually pretty funny." Megan smiled, letting out a little laugh, "But what's the point of it? If it's not that big of a deal, why not just tell them about it?"

Henry's smile faded, and he went silent for a long moment, "You'll understand when you see, Miss... Megan. Sorry. But for now, I'd like you to just meet the girls."

The pair had arrived at a long building, broken into two sections. They appeared to be bunkhouses, like some larger farms would have had back in the day to house seasonal workers, but this was a small farm and the buildings seemed fairly new.

"They... Live here? All together?" She was a bit surprised. She wasn't sure what she expected, but it wasn't this, "Why do you make them all stay in one place?"

She could tell right away that her phrasing had hit a nerve.

"I don't make them do anything. This was what they wanted." He sighed to calm himself, and continued, "They're just... More comfortable when they're together."

"I'm sorry." Megan said softly, "I wasn't trying to imply anything."

"It's fine." Henry started making his way toward the left section of the building, "It takes some getting used to. They're as much people as we are, but they still have some of their old instincts. They naturally gravitate toward gathering in a herd, of sorts."

He made his way up the short steps to the door, putting his hand on the handle, "They're as much people as we are, but they are proud of where they came from. They are still..."

"Cows."

They entered the room together greeted by laughter at some joke they missed, followed shortly by silence as the women gathered turned to regard them. Megan was almost startled by the group. She knew who they were. She knew what they were. Still, she hadn't spent much time around changed animals, and she found herself struggling with an uncanny valley type crisis.

The nine women gathered were much larger than she expected, with the shortest of the bunch still a half head taller than herself, and the tallest barely standing lower than the height of the ceiling.

Their bodies were clearly human in stature, but they had the heads of cattle. Not like she remembered them, though. All the normal traits were there... Big floppy ears, long snouts, and three of them still had their horns, but there was also something more decidedly human about them. An expressiveness that should have been impossible, but felt natural when they smiled and talked. Plus they had very human heads of hair, though in most cases it started somewhere between the shoulder blades almost like a mane.

They were each covered in short hair from head to toe, with long tails and easily distinguishable colors and markings. A few wore shoes, but those that didn't showed only two large toes on their feet, with thick nails that hailed back to the hooves they'd once possessed. Their hands were similar, but with the addition of a thumb as a third digit. This was a curious thing about the virus that had caused the change. The lack of a thumb seemed to be a deal breaker. The virus demanded it. Most of the changed, especially the two-toed and hoofed variety, agreed that growing the new digit with all of its necessary bones and tendons... That was the most painful part.

It was the towering specimen of woman and beast that broke the silence first, "Hey boss. Who's your friend?"

"Everyone, I want you to meet Megan." Henry put his arm around her, not so much as a sign of affection as it was meant to comfort. Strangely enough, she appreciated it, "She's the best candidate I've interviewed so far, so I want to see how you all like her before we give her the job."

"I told you he wouldn't hire another guy." The one that spoke was a lovely spotted faun colored reddish-gold, the only one sporting those colors, "You owe me five bucks, CB."

"A girl can dream, can't she?" Came the reply with a laugh.

"I don't expect you to remember them all at once, but let me introduce you to everyone," Henry spoke again, motioning first to the reddish one that had spoken before, "This is Rosie, our only Ayrshire."

The woman waved, but Henry had already moved on to the biggest of the bunch, "I'm sure you noticed Sophie. She was a Brown Swiss."

"Still am, boss." Sophie replied with a wink, "Big, loud and proud, Megan. Nice to meet you."

Henry let out a little laugh before going on. Megan could hardly believe how much he had changed around them. These were clearly individuals he cared about. He was so comfortable with them that she couldn't help but feel a little more comfortable herself, "Over in the kitchen, as always... Jasmine, our only Jersey, and Muffin, the Guernsey."

"Muffin?" Megan couldn't help but blurt that one out, "Your name is Muffin?"

Muffin smiled brightly, and Megan couldn't help but notice how clearly it was that she was smiling even with her bovine features, "I like Muffin. It's a happy name."

Henry had already moved on, "Over on the couch is Clairibelle... Behaving herself for once."

"Hey honey..." The woman winked as she spoke. She was black and white like some of the others, but her coloring consisted of a solid white band across her chest and mid-section rather than spots like the others, "We've got two 'Belles', though, so just call me CB. It's less confusing."

Megan regarded her with curiosity, "She's a Belted Galloway, but they're not..."

"Not typically dairy cows, no." Henry cut her off, but didn't address the question, "And lastly you have the Holsteins... Daisy, Penelope, Annabelle and..."

"Elsie..." He trailed off, looking around the room for the last of the nine and not finding her there. "Where is Elsie? She's out in the backfields again, isn't she?"

"What do you think, boss?" Sophie replied, a bit of sadness in her tone.

CB spoke next with a sigh, "The girl needs to get over it..."

The larger woman turned and snapped back at her, "Like it's that easy!"

"I didn't say it was!" Clairibelle replied, "But... She has to find a way to move on, right?"

Megan had hardly been paying attention to them. She was watching Henry, and the expression of sadness that had come over him, until he finally spoke again.

"I'll go talk to her." He turned to Megan, "Stay here. Get to know the girls. If they like you, consider yourself hired."

"Okay..." She said. The room got really quiet then as Henry made his way back to the door and out. After he was gone, they all found themselves looking at each other awkwardly... But Megan had questions. A lot of them.

"Get over what?" She asked.

Most of the girls looked away, save for CB who spoke with a sigh, "Honey... It might not be obvious now since they're all at school, but we all have calves."

"Calves, kids, children... Whatever you want to call them." This time it was one of the Holsteins. She was pretty sure Penelope, but not completely, "It's how one of us starts producing in the first place."

"No babies, no milk!" Muffin called from the kitchen cheerfully.

"Right, so..." CB continued, this time a little more reserved, "All of us have kids... Except Elsie."

Megan was pretty sure she understood. As a mother herself, she couldn't help but consider the implications.

"She lost a child..."

Elsie was right where he expected her to be. It was a bit of a walk, but at the back end of the property he had established a small graveyard. It had been for the cattle he'd lost during the change. For some the deaths had been quick. For others...

Jojo had died crying in his arms, confused and in agony.

Bertha never made it past the first stages. Her spine practically tied itself in a knot trying to reform itself into something more human.

Muffin's sister Cupcake... She was the hardest. She came so close to making it. When she died, she looked him right in the eyes and asked him, with the only word she ever spoke...

"Why?"

He didn't know what else to do but bury them properly. It was the only thing he could do. No human funeral home would take them. At the time, very few humans would have admitted that it was a loss. These were cattle. To be milked and butchered for our satisfaction.

For Henry... They were family.

He walked slowly towards her, trying to make sure she heard him coming. The breeze was gentle, but she always liked to wear delicate sun dresses in the summer and it fluttered gently off to one side, her long blonde hair following suit.

Elsie was the oldest of the girls. The oldest to survive the change, in fact. He had chosen to breed her just before it had all began, and while she had made it through...

"He would have been almost grown, by now." Elsie said quietly, staring at the makeshift headstone in front of her, "My son."

Henry said nothing, simply walking up beside her and putting an arm around her shoulder. She couldn't help but lean in to him, tucking her head against his neck.

"It's not fair..." She said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear.

"No. It's not." Henry replied, leaning in himself to give her a kiss on the forehead. She didn't fight him as he turned her away and started to lead her back toward the farm. She was about ready to head back anyway. She just hadn't built up the determination to do it herself.

"Come up to the house with me." He said, after a minute or two of walking, "I'll make you some tea. We can talk."

Elsie was a bit surprised, "But... You never ask us to the house. I didn't think you wanted us there."

Henry pulled back a bit from her, regarding Elsie with surprise of his own, "You didn't think... Why wouldn't I want you in my house?"

They stopped walking, pulling away from their embrace to look at each other curiously. She smiled first, but he couldn't help but follow soon after. She took his hand, and they started walking back once again.

"We're all kinds of stupid, aren't we Henry?" She asked.

Henry smiled. "Yes... Yes we are."

Twenty minutes later and Elsie was now sitting comfortably on the couch in Hoyt homestead. Henry was in the kitchen making tea. She had expected that he meant iced tea when he offered, but as the smell of a proper pot of hot tea wafting out of the kitchen was a far better choice on his part.

She didn't notice his return at first. He stopped just inside the living room, holding a silver platter with the tea and two cups before him.

Elsie wasn't the biggest of the girls. She was one of only three that stood shorter than he did, but not by much. Holstiens are mostly known for their black and white patterns, but what sparse darker markings she had once had all but faded away with the change, leaving her bright white. She had lovely pale blond hair, barely a shade different than her body, thick and flowing naturally down to the small of her back just above the tail.

She was beautiful. Henry couldn't help but think that to himself. She wasn't human. It wasn't normal... But she was beautiful.

She was staring rapt at a photograph on the wall near the door. A smiling redheaded woman in a plaid shirt, taken somewhere out in the fields.

"Do you remember her?" Henry finally asked.

The words startled Elsie a bit, but she didn't look away, "I'm... Not sure. Who is she?"

"This is... Was Catherine." He set the platter down, walking over to the photo and taking it off the wall, "She was my wife."

"Oh... I'm very sorry, Henry." Elsie said, taken aback by the sadness in his voice. It suddenly struck her how little she knew about him from before the change. He never talked about it.

He moved over to the couch to sit next to her, handing her the picture so that she could examine it more closely. "Tell me... What comes to mind when you see her face?"

"It's hard to explain..." She said, running her fingers along the side of the frame, "I feel like... I miss her. How is that possible?"

Henry smiled, "It would have made her happy to hear that."

She looked over at him and he reached out to take the picture back, and then he continued, "Catherine was a city girl, but she wanted to learn the farm. She loved the animals. She loved the work. She didn't mind getting dirty."

"So for her birthday I wanted to give her something that showed her how much I appreciated... Everything. I wanted to give her a part of the farm that was truly her own." He said, before adding with a sigh...

"So I gave her... You."

Elsie gasped out loud, straightening up in her seat as a memory came back to her. A memory of looking up at the smiling woman with red hair. Hearing a laugh as she scratched behind her ear.

"I do remember... I remember her now." She said quietly, then after a pause added, "Henry, what happened to her?"

Henry set the photo on the coffee table in front of him, standing to move back to the platter of tea. He started to pick it up, but then paused. He spoke to her now facing away, suddenly unsure he could get through this conversation in one piece.

"She lost her fight with cancer..." He said, shaking his head, "About two months before the change hit the farm."

"Henry..." She said, but he went on before she could add more.

"I know they all want you to move on, Elsie, but they haven't had to deal with loss like you and I have." He cleared his throat heavily, holding back a tear, "The Change... It gave me a purpose after her death. It gave me something to focus on. You all needed me. I didn't have time to let depression rule my life."

"You girls saved me. The Change... Saved me."

He turned to look at her. She was still sitting, staring wide eyed at him with her mouth slightly open.

"I lost her..." He smiled at her, but it was weak, "But I still have you. You will always be special to me, Elsie. More than anyone."

She stood, moving quickly over to him and taking him up in a tight hug. He wrapped his arms slowly around her waist and tucked his head up against her neck. It was a bit of a reversal for both of them. Usually he was the one comforting her.

They stayed like this for a long while, slowly rocking together. The feel of her hair against his face, soft and silky. His hand settled in the perfect little divot at the small of her back. Her breasts... He'd seen them thousands of times, perfectly shaped despite their size and weight. They were works of art, as far as he was concerned. It seemed almost absurd, but feeling them pressed against him like this...

He would have given anything to see them just one more time.

"Stay?" He said, almost timidly, "You could stay, if you wanted to..."

"Henry..." She pulled away, and he felt a pit form in his stomach, "I can't."

He nodded. This was a mistake. He was sure he'd just pushed her too far, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed..."

"Yes. You should have."

He looked back up as she spoke. She was smiling back at him, hands folded politely in front of her. The sun through the window behind her lit her hair up like a halo. Again he could only think one thing...

She was beautiful.

"I love you, Henry, but I have a lot that I still need to figure out." She spoke again, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, "I'm just... Not ready for this. Not yet."

She stepped away from him after that, moving over to the door before looking back.

"Someday..." She smiled. A gentle smile that he couldn't help but mirror with his own, "If you can wait for me, Henry... I will be."

With that, she left. He stood there for a long few moments, then sighed and moved back to the couch to sit down, regarding the picture of his late wife still on the table before him. He couldn't help the way he felt when he was around her, but now that she was gone it all became strange again. It was all so wrong... But he couldn't deny it.

"Catherine..." He said, picking up the framed photo and leaning back in the couch, "I'm in love with your cow."