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Chapter 17 :

Drifting in Space

"My name is Judge Robert. C. Gregory, and I have committed a crime."

The judge was sitting calmly at the desk in his home, looking directly at the camera filming him. He had no notes in front of him. No teleprompter. No rehearsal beyond the handful of troubling thoughts that had plagued him for far too long.

"Over the course of the last few years, I have been soliciting prostitution at a house of ill repute commonly known as the Pretty Kitty. I did so willingly. I was not coerced, either in my choice to spend time there, or in my decision to come clean on the matter."

"Those of you know know the whorehouse of which I'm referring to know that it's made up entirely of the Changed. The disadvantaged and cast aside, with no other recourse but to allow themselves to be used by humans with a penchant for their kind, for the profit of other humans that take advantage of the situation."

There was a long pause as he gathered his words.

"Humanity lost a lot in the Change, and everyone was affected by it in some way. Industries crumbed. Unemployment soared. Regular folks became criminals just trying to get by, granting people in my line of work no shortage of job security. I've always done my damnedest to be fair, because I know that I was fortunate not to have lost everything the way so many that came through my courtroom had."

"But to say that I lost nothing at all isn't true either. We all lost something in the Change... Something we can never get back..."

"We lost dogs."

"Any time I ever lost my faith in humanity, I could always find it again in the faith my pups had in me." He lowered his eyes for the first time since the start of the video, letting out a long sigh, "And now they're gone, as we knew them. All of them. Forever."

"If I'm trying to explain why I would go to such a place, that's where I have to begin." He looked back up again, eyes clearly struggling with the desire to mist over, "I went there looking for something... Anything that might fit inside the emptiness of that loss. I went there to..."

Henry reached out to click the mouse, pausing the video he and the the Judge had been watching. There was more. Several minutes more, but he got the gist.

He reached up to rub his eyes. It had been a twelve hour drive to get to this cheap motel where he and the others had decided to meet, for no other reason than it was about midway between them all and it didn't have a 'humans only' sign on the marquee. He hadn't slept yet. None of them had.

"Are you sure about this, Judge?" Henry asked curiously, "There are plenty of other ways we could play this."

Gregory waved a hand to dismiss him, "Not any way that helps me sleep at night, Mr. Hoyt. As long as people like me keep acting like the Changed don't deserve the same rights we do, they aren't ever going get those rights."

Henry nodded slowly, but still didn't completely understand, "But what does this change, exactly?"

"It sets a precedent." The Judge replied, "They've been getting away with it because no one wants to take a stand as to what sort of crime it really is. I've worked it out with the prosecution. I'll plead to a solicitation. I'll do two months in minimum security and a year's probation, and from now on anyone that wants to say it isn't prostitution is going to have to prove otherwise."

"You also lose your office." Henry said, shaking his head, "On the surface it feels like an awfully big sacrifice for a fairly uncertain gain."

"I can't say you're entirely wrong about that, Mr. Hoyt." The judge turned to walk to the window, gazing out across the bleak and dirty parking lot outside, "But they deserve better. You know that probably better than I do. I can't say that a few weeks ago I would have taken a stand like you did there at the Kitty, but one of your girls needed you and you came to the rescue."

Judge Gregory sighed to himself, then added, "And you've seen the new documentation out of Wolfkill, I gather."

"I haven't had time to get into all the details, but... Yes." Henry turned away, a look of disgust on his face.

"You know, criminal record doesn't prevent a man from holding most political offices." The Judge said quietly, "Once my penance is paid, I'm going to start a campaign. One that focuses on abuses like those."

Henry turned to regard him in silence for a second, "Do you think you can win?"

"I don't know. Depends on how many of us there are out there, too afraid to take a stand like I was." The Judge shrugged, "But it ain't about the winning. Anyone that runs against me is going to have to try and argue in favor of... Well, lets face it. Atrocities."

Henry folded his arms, nodding his head slowly. He finally understood. That's what this was all about, making them defend their positions, "Well you'll have my donation. I just wish I could stand behind you more literally on this one, but we have a delicate enough situation of our own brewing."

The judge turned back to look at him again, "About that... Are you ever going to share that bit of information with the rest of us?"

"That's not how we operate." Henry replied, "Always assume someone is listening in on these meetings, Judge. No one is expected to share anything that could put others in danger."

"I suppose that's fair." The judge said, moving past Henry to open the door that separated the two rooms, pausing at the sight of Laika curled up napping quietly on the bed. She was almost childlike, still fully dressed and on top of the covers with one ear flopped across her eyes to blot out the light. She was exhausted from the long drive, but smiling to herself quietly.

He watched her for a long moment, and then sighed, "Promise you'll take good care of her for me?"

Henry moved over to put a hand on the Judge's shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze.

"Like she's one of my own family." He said quietly, "You have my word."

Laika used to love riding in the car. She loved going places with her family. She loved seeing new things and meeting new people. She loved the feel of the wind in her face when she put her head out the window. She loved it before the Change had turned her into what she was now, and she loved it shamelessly afterward.

But not this time. This time she sat in the back seat, unsure what was about to happen, and afraid of what her former owner was planning to do with her.

Marcus never wanted a dog.

His wife had always loved animals, but he wouldn't allow it. She defied him by getting their daughter an adorable little golden brown Cocker Spaniel puppy for her eleventh birthday. She was a kind and cheerful girl even then, always trying to win his favor despite the way he yelled at her. She just wanted him to like her. He just wanted her gone.

They probably could have gone on like that forever, if not for the Change. The loss of the country's mammals caused the economy to crash hard. Entire industries were wiped out, forcing families like theirs into poverty. He was having a hard enough time keeping his wife and daughter fed by the time Laika began her Change, but while his family was spending every waking moment with her trying to ease the pain, his only hope was that the dog would die.

Laika lived. She became a part of the family, despite his protests. His wife saw her like an adopted daughter. His own child took to her like a sister. But Marcus wanted no part of it. He would not play role of father to an abomination, and now he had finally decided to do something about it.

They had been driving along this country road for more than an hour now, flanked on both sides by waves of grain as far as she could see in the darkness. Every mile marker they passed seem to make the distance from home seem more and more permanent. Every minute of silence felt more and more foreboding. Still she didn't want to believe he would just leave her somewhere, even though there could be no other outcome.

"Where are we going?" She finally asked, timidly breaking the long silence, "At least tell me where you're taking me. Please."

No reply. She didn't really expect one. He never spoke to her anymore. Not even to yell at her like he used to when she was still just a puppy. He just kept driving.

It was another twenty minutes before anything changed. He started to slow as a side road came into view, turning onto it with a bump as they left pavement and started off down the dirt. No signs marked it. No lights to guide the way. Just a wide path of worn earth, barely keeping the weeds at bay.

And darkness.

She fought back her panic. She knew he wanted her gone, but now she had to ask herself how far he would go. They seemed to be heading headlong into nowhere, and she knew that one way or another he would be coming back this way without her. But she had never thought he might actually kill her.

Now it was all she could think.

"Please don't do this. I tried to be a good girl. I tried to make you like me. I just want... I... I want to go home!" The words fell apart into quiet sobbing. None of it mattered anyway. Nothing she could say would change his mind now, and given a choice between leaving her family and death...

Several minutes passed before the road started to open up and signs of civilization came into view. Soon after, the manor appeared out of the gloom. It would still be some time before the wealth Agnes made from exploiting the Changed would scrape the layers of age and filth from it's exterior. It would still be years before the gaudy neon signs went up on its face. It was still years from even having a name.

The Pretty Kitty.

Laika stared out the window in confusion as they came to a stop just before the front steps, nervously looking between the aged woman that was coming down to meet them, and the individual that followed a few paces behind. He was a dog, like her... But nothing like her. Lithe and strong, moving with a practiced confidence and grace that seemed out of place in his position of deference to the crone he served.

She barely noticed as Marcus got out of the car, but then startled as he opened the rear door and reached in to grab her.

"No!" She was still crying as she scrambled away against the far door, but he had her soon enough and dragged her out of the vehicle by force. He pulled her across him, holding her in front of Agnes for inspection. She felt like fish dangling from his grasp, struggling to breathe and waiting for the picture to be snapped.

"Better than I expected, to be honest." Agnes looked her over carefully, giving Laika a sneer when she met her gaze which she quickly shied away from, "I'd have paid a lot more if you'd any inclination to deal. Guess you really want to be rid of her."

Laika's eyes went wide, struggling harder, "You sold me? How could you... You... I'm not an animal!"

"Oh, yes you are. You belong to me now, and you will do what I say." Agnes spit the words at her, grabbing her finally from Marcus and shoving her over toward the other dog, "Take her inside, Charlie. Burn everything she has. That life is over."

She fell into Charlie, finding his hold on her less like the others. He caught her with something more like a hug, and it was a comfort that surprised her to say the least but did little to calm her terror. She turned within his arms to watch as Marcus got back in the car.

"Please! Don't do this!" She was desperate, her tears streaming freely, "I'll do anything! I'll be a good girl! Just tell me what to do!"

He turned to look back at her emotionlessly. He said only one word. The only word he had said all night. The only thing he'd said to her in weeks.

"Stay."

Laika's eyes opened slowly. She'd had this dream countless times before, and the shock of it had dulled over time. Still her return to consciousness was met with a little confusion as the waves of grain sped by the window, dimly lit by the moon just as they had been on that night. It took her time to realize where she was, and she flinched towards the door instinctively when she saw Henry beside her in the driver's seat before remembering who who he was and how she had ended up here.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. He tried to keep his tone deep, hoping it would calm her. To his credit, it did.

"I have nightmares sometimes." She said after a pause, collecting herself back up from where sleep had slouched her into her seat, "Sometimes I have good dreams too. The kind that turn bad when I wake up and..."

She trailed off, but he finished for her.

"When you remember." Henry let the silence between them linger for a few moments before speaking again, "Please understand. Our farm is nothing like that... That place. It was their choice to start up the milking operation again. Their choice to have children. The girls don't work for me. I work for them."

She continued looking away from him out the window, "You don't have to prove anything to me, Mr. Hoyt."

"Yes I do." He said, somewhat sharply, "If not for your sake, then for mine."

The words caught her a bit by surprise, and she turned to look at him silently.

"I went to school with Agnes' daughter. She was a year younger than me, but everyone knows everyone in a small town." He paused to take a deep breath, letting it out slowly again before taking another to speak, "She killed herself when she was sixteen. The note she left behind... Her mother had been selling her to men her entire life. Drugging her when she tried to refuse. She just... Wanted out."

"But Agnes never spent a day in jail. She never even set foot in a courtroom. She was still young and pretty then, and she knew how to use it to get what she wanted." He shook his head before adding, "Evil is real. As long as people like Agnes exist, that will always be true."

They were both silent for a long time after that. Laika turned to regard the Pump & Junk station as they drove by, finding it odd that any place would be open this late at night out in the country, but that thought was quickly washed away by much larger ones.

"What does that make me then, Mr. Hoyt?" She said finally.

Henry tilted his head toward her, looking her way out of the corner of his eye briefly before returning his gaze to the road, "I didn't mean to imply..."

"It's always implied." She said quietly, then turned her head away from him again, "I worked for her. I let her sell me day after day. I... Stayed. What does that say about me?"

Henry sighed to himself. He had suspected that the damage done to the girl was more than she was letting on around the judge, but now it was clear, "Not all prisons have bars, Laika. What happened to you... It's not your fault."

She was quiet for a time. They were only a few miles out from the farm now. Almost home.

"I don't want to talk anymore."

It was well after midnight by the time Henry had gotten Laika settled into her temporary home. Annabelle and Ranger had moved over to the old converted shack where Eli had been staying since the boy practically lived in the guest house with Megan and Cassidy now. There was quickly becoming a shortage of beds to go around. He'd ordered as delivery of lumber to get started on the housing situation, but it clearly wasn't going to be anywhere near enough.

Still, Ranger had spent the first part of his recovery on a pile of mattresses and pillows on the floor in the old empty room that had been Henry's as a child. It didn't seem appropriate for his new guest, so he put her in the other child's room. The one he didn't go into much anymore, but didn't have the heart to dismantle. The one that used to belong to the mysterious girl in the pictures that lined the walls of Henry and his family.

Now it was almost one in the morning, and Henry was sitting at his desk in the living room. A bottle of fine bourbon sat below the desk lamp, with a single shot poured into a glass nearby. He hadn't touched the stuff since the change hit the farm, but it was part of the ritual anytime he stayed up this late. His father always sipped bourbon when sitting at this desk doing the important work. It just felt right to Henry to have it there, if only to honor the man. It was soothing.

It was doing little to soothe him tonight though. He had the pictures from Wolfkill Dairy Farms laid out before him, resting on his elbows as he looked them over. He was unsure if he was trying to accept what he was looking at or desensitize himself to it. The only thing he knew for certain was that the shot of whiskey was looking more and more drinkable the longer he looked.

Eventually, and much to his relief, he heard the front door open behind him. It wasn't unexpected.

"It's worse than we thought, Clairibelle." He said, turning his head slightly to speak over his shoulder, but not enough to see his guest, "Far worse."

"What's worse, Henry?"

It took him by surprise. It was a sweet voice, meek and smoothe as silk. As lovely as he'd always found the woman who owned it.

"Elsie?" He stood, quickly stacking the photos in front of him to try and get them back into the folder. He didn't want her to see this. "Sorry. CB always seems to notice when I'm having a rough night. She usually pops in to tell me to go to bed. I just assumed..."

She was at his side before he could finish, and reached out to touch him on the arm. It was gentle, but clearly meant to stop his hurried attempt to keep this from her. He lowered his hands, and it was all he could do to watch as she slowly pulled the photos back off the pile one by one, taking a long moment to regard each before setting them down again.

"Is this Wolfkill?" She finally said. Her features were stern, but there was a crack in that beautiful voice, "What is this, Henry?"

"It's..." Henry sighed, reminded suddenly of the conversation he'd had earlier with Laika, "It's evil, Elsie. The very face of it."

By now she had gotten through the pictures, coming to a printed email. She read it quietly at first, before repeating out loud the parts that stood out the most, "Without viable male offspring, the cost of raising calves to breeding age is deemed too great a financial risk... Continue to acquire adult cattle from other sources..." She paused to read farther, her breath catching in her throat before going on, "Determined to be too costly via surgical or chemical methods... Termination... Immediately after birth?"

"We suspected... Something. There were no children at Wolfkill when they showed me around. Then the offer they made to buy you all was just for you and Eli. They didn't want your daughters." He had turned away now, taking a few paces from her, "I was supposed to gather information that day, but I lost it. I demanded to know where the babies went, and they realized why I was really there. I blew it."

"How do we stop them?" That was it. No attempt to comfort him, or come to terms with it all. Just a simple question, demanding an answer.

"I don't know. They want me to take the lead on this one, but I don't even know how to begin. Everything in that folder was obtained illegally, and with the situation between Eli and Cassidy that last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves. How on earth am I supposed to..."

"No, Henry." She cut him off with a touch of anger in her voice he'd never heard before, "Not what do you do about it... What do we do?"

"It's not your responsibility, Elsie." He shook his head slowly, "I wanted to protect you all from this. Especially you."

She set the paper aside with a sigh, "Imagine where we'd be now if we didn't spend so much time trying to protect each other, Henry. Maybe it's time we stopped."

"I can't do that to you." He said quietly, "Not after what you've been through."

"What I've been through?" Her anger reared up again, more intense now, "What about you, Henry? What about what you went through?"

He turned back to her in shock, "Elsie..."

"I watched the man I love try to breathe the life back into my newborn son. I watched you beg god not to take him from us. I watched you cry, and cradle him like he was your own." She got a bit quieter then, "You couldn't save him, Henry."

He looked away again, "I'm sorry, Elsie, but you know I tried. You know I..."

"You're not listening, Henry!" She yelled back at him, "You couldn't save him! No one could have saved him! I never blamed you for that!"

He stared back at her blankly in surprise, and she went on, "But when I needed you most, you just handed my son to me and left. You just... Left."

Henry couldn't say anything. Truth be told he could barely remember anything about that day other than that one singular event. What came after seemed like a blur.

She continued, letting her voice soften, "You were hurting. We both were. But you wouldn't even look me in the eyes. You left the farm for weeks. We should have grieved together, but you walled yourself off from me instead."

"I... I don't even remember it like that. I thought you wouldn't... Want to see me. I thought you needed..." He sank down onto the couch, gaze distant as he tried to wrap his head around what she was telling him, "No. All this time I thought you were pushing me away, but it started with me, didn't it?"

"You think you're protecting me from the pain, Henry, but you're not. You're protecting yourself." She moved to sit slowly and rigidly down beside him, "I love you, but you and I can never be unless we talk about him."

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and shaking his head, "Have I really been that blind? Why didn't you say something?"

"I've tried." She reached out, putting a hand on his back and offering a slow, comforting rub, "Every time you find me out by his grave, I try to talk to you about him. I've tried so many times, but you just change the subject and drag me away."

"I thought I was helping. I was just trying to protect..." He sighed, then couldn't help but smile a little about how absurdly wrong he had been, "Imagine where we'd be now if we didn't spend so much time trying to protect each other."

Elsie started to lean toward him to say more, but stopped as she caught sight of movement. Laika was in the hallway, quietly peeking around the corner. They met each other's gaze for a moment, then the little dog girl slid back out of sight back to her new room.

"Where do we begin? After all this time, where do we even... " Henry said, having missed the exchange. He knew the answer to his own question though. Something he had always feared to ask, "Did he... Did you name him?"

"Of course I did. I picked out names weeks before." Elsie took his arm, urging him back upright and wrapping the other around his shoulder to pull him gently to her. He melted into the hug, letting his head rest against her neck, "Matilda, if it had been a girl."

Henry couldn't help but smile. She was the first to change, so he had taught her to read himself. Matilda had been the first book she finished without his help, "And for a boy?"

"What else could it have been?" She said, tightening her arm around him...

"Henry."