"The court is now in session!" The Judge bellowed over the crowd that lay before him. Each backside hit the seat beneath it in a chorus of ruffled clothes and coughs before everything settled down. The Judge sat down on his large, throne like chair and straightened that wig upon his head proudly before clearing his throat.
Those cold black eyes of a sadist peered down at the accused in the box; he gave a slow manic grin before turning his tone serious once more. " These are very serious crimes; Laziness, refusing to work, protesting against the democracy!" The Judge stood to his feet angrily and pointed one of those thin fingers towards the accused. The man accused was thin and frail he looked pleadingly up to the Judge and fell to his knees. "PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"
The judge interrupted his cry "Silence you Pig! You act like a pig and you will become one. MAXIMUM PUNISHMENT!" He screamed, his manic smile coming back into play "TRANSFORMATION!" The Judges eyes glared like a mad-mans as the accused man rose from his knees to his feet. " No Sire please! I beg of you!" The Judge gave no mercy, "Take him away."
Two guards appeared behind the man. One large muscular man with squinted eyes and swollen knuckles, clad in a thick coat pulled the man's hands behind his back and held them together. The other guard, slightly smaller than the first latched a chained collar around the man's throat. " No, NO!" Letting the man go, pulling the chain harshly so he would follow, they took him to the left side of the room where upon a pedestal a large marble statue of a Lion was stood.
Attaching the end of the chain to a padlock upon the pedestal the guards stepped back. The man pulling and writhing, his hands sore from pulling the steel chain watched as blue sparks erupted from the contact between the chain and padlock. The Judge stood once more, holding a lion shaped amulet upon his chest with one hand and pointing with the other. "You are a pig! TRANSFORMATION!"
The room started to shake slightly, like a small earthquake beneath the ground. All eyes turned towards the accused as he whimpered, now at the foot of the pedestal pulling upon the chain wrapped about his hands. The quake seemed to intensify and then narrow its shakings around the lion and the man. That large feline head slowly ground down, tilting, those emerald eyes staring down at the accused. The man froze to the spot, looking up in anticipation and fear.
The Lions Maw slowly started to slide down and with a gigantic roar, worse than the quake the windows started to rattle. Brilliant beams of dark light sparked from the Lions maw and into the chest of the accused and suddenly everything went silent. No one move.
All of a sudden the man fell to the ground in agony. All that was heard was the low chuckle of the judge as the man writhed about upon the floor in pain like a worm. The man had enough will power to pull himself up onto his knees facing the crowd, his chest heaving as he panted for breath.
He looked to his hands shaking them he turned them over looking to his palms. His fingers tingled tremendously as he watched his fingernails growing over his fingertips, coating them making them feel numb. The webs of his fingers started to push and grow between the middle finger and forefinger, his ring finger and his pinkie, sealing them together into two digits. His heart pounded as he gave a sudden cry, his thumbs dislocated with wet popping noises as it retreated up and into his arm slowly.
He lifted his head, looking to the crowd, crawling forward until no chain was left. He rose on his knees straining against that collar as he cried "Someone please make it stop." His friends within the crowd looked to their knees in shame. They knew if they interrupted or even cried out, their fate would meet the same messy end.
The crowd stayed quiet, looking down his hands where no more but large, thick trotted hooves. Whimpering, growing quiet the transformation slowed, only his gut wrenched. But with a huge and sudden crack, his hips displaced, his bones twisting and shaping into new forms. He fell upon his side, curling up as he did before; he seemed to be shrinking within his rags. His boots were kicked off as trotters now receded into the legs of his pants.
"Unnnggghhhh" He winced, his eyes closed and his stomach expanded in his shirt. Those back legs kicking ferociously tore his pants away showing a pink curly tail upon his thick hide rump. His ears grew and rose to the top of his head and grew thick and furry. His hair being sucked back into his scalp, as his ears flapped over his eyes like blinkers.
That cute button nose now started to upturn and grow wet as his head grew and his snout pushed out from his face. He pushed himself up in a tangle of rags, his ears flapping up as he grunted and fell back down to the ground squealing "REEEEEEEEEEK!" Kicking at those rags and that chain still about his neck he now stood.
Just a pig now stood there squealing on the end of a chain as the sadistic crowd laughed and giggled. The Judge now turned to the crowd in a polite tone. " And that concludes today court session. Court dismissed."
The Lion and the Unicorn
Anna was 19. She worked upon a Prison Farm where transformed humans went to have their fate decided. The democracy was killing everything and military police where everywhere. You couldn't rest until your body was wrecked before you could rest and when you woke up the torture would start all over again.
Anna was always punished for the same thing, treating the animals too kindly and too fairly. Anna had lived on her father's farm before it was taken over by the Judges, life had been hard then but it was nothing to what it was like now.
Even back in those days, she cared for the animals individually, rather than as a group.
Even for the poor souls upon the Prison farm, the animals seemed to know she had a soft spot for them. Some of the animals were genuine, but most where the convicts from the court above. They had lost their humanity forever, yet, Anna seemed not so sure.
It was the night before the animals where to be shipped out to farms or the markets to be sold. Anna was on night duty in the stalls and stables of the farm. Everything was very quiet the animals seemed to know what was going to happen in the morning, there was an oppressed feeling in the air.
She was leaning against one of the Bull stalls, sat on the cold cobbles, her head back and her eyes closed in a doze. It had been a twenty-four hour shift and she had fallen asleep on night duty.
Heavy thuds upon the straw would be heard behind her. A cold wet nose pressed against the back of her neck. She drew in a sudden breath, her eyes widening all of a sudden startled from her doze. Had she been asleep? Shaking her head to wake herself up she felt a nudge upon her right shoulder. Turning her head towards the nudge she saw that huge bovine head behind her. Its large, wet, ringed nose pressed against her shoulder again, the mucus sticking to her woollen jumper as she slowly rose to her feet.
"Hey, thanks buddy." She whispered. "If they catch me asleep I'll have my ribs caved in and a tail for life." She gave a soft smile. The large Bull was huge compared to her small scrawny looking body. It's horns where cut to stumps so he would be unable to use them later on in life, she gave a sorrowful sigh looking to him. She rested her hand against that large forehead ad rubbed gently, the other cradled beneath.
"You're my only friends here Pal, I hate to see you all go." She reached into her pant leg pocket and pulled out a small green apple. "Here, as a thank you present." The apple was for her breakfast in the morning but she could get something on her way home. Pushing it against the bull's lips she waited for the Bull to take it.
The lips of the Bull trembled slightly, parting before those front teeth took a hold of it, that large pink tongue curling about it before it was pulled into its mouth and chewed. She continued to rub the Bull's forehead with a gentle smile.
A soft voice broke the silence, it seemed to echo in the make shift barn. "Anna…" It was Male, pleasant, but it seemed she was the only one who could hear it because the animals seemed not to jump or become restless when they heard it. She turned around looking into the darker shadows of the stalls. "Hello?" no one seemed to be there.
Behind her, in the well-lighted area of the barn the large doors were pulled open. The Bull was still eating and chewing, she pushed herself in front of the Bull to hide the apple crumb evidence. She could hear a Pig screaming and then saw the Manager of the Prison farm.
Dressed in Chaps and riding boots, his overall appearance demanded respect, and was slightly intimidating to someone who was so lower down in the chain of respect such as a stable hand like her self.
Pulling the swine on that chain he pushed it into the nearest stall and slammed the gate panting. " I can not believe they got me doing this kind of work in my own barn." She stayed quiet and stood there watching. The man cleared his throat and then looked to her. "I heard voices…" she swallowed nervously, her mouth suddenly going dry as he approached her. She could hear the leather for his whip squeaking as he tightened his grip upon it.
"Voices Sir? Over the squealing Sir?" She questioned him carefully. His eyes narrowed at her, looking her up then down, then resting upon the floor. He seeped to grit his teeth his hand moving faster than se could move as the end of that whip met her right thigh. Crying out she stumbled away from the bovine still eating. She rubbed her thigh roughly the sting still there.
Those eyes seemed to look at the Bull and the crumbs repeatedly before his eyes narrowed upon her self suddenly. His hand reached out and grasped her forearm harshly he pulled her towards him "This is the last straw young Lady!" Turning her around she was dragged through those barn doors. She tried to pull herself away but his grip tightened to the point where he was hurting her.
Opening a side door and pushing her within the small room she beheld a smaller Lion statue upon a pedestal, the sheer sight of it petrified her as she turned towards the door again. The door was slammed in her face and then locked. Throwing herself against the heavy oak wood door she slammed her fist into the panel in front of her.
Slowing her attempts down she lent against those door, rubbing her hot forehead against the cool grain. What had she gotten herself into this time, this situation all over an apple? Turning herself around she lent her back against the locked door and looked upon the statue. The room was painted a deep sandy yellow and the Lion made out of the same grey marble that the one in the courtroom was made from.
Slowly she approached it, curious at first, her dark green eyes danced upon it as she reached out. Her fingertips where about to touch the Lion's muzzle when she heard the doors lock slide back and the door open. She turned quickly seeing the Manager and the Judge. The Judge was dressed in blue pin striped PJ pants and red slippers. A dressing gown over his torso, that balding head seen that was normally hidden beneath that court Wig,
"Ah this young sapling again. You've left us with no choice this time." The Judge seemed annoyed to be awoke, his tone sharp. She backed away from the door a little afraid. The Judge seemed to love her reaction at the sight of him and stepped into the doorway grinning. "What would you prefer for ears and a tail? Bovine or Equine?"
Her eyes widened in terror, she looked to the Judge then to the Lion, sandwiched between then she was trapped and terrified. "Forgive me?" she whimpered. The Judge's eyes became stern as his hand reached for the amulet around his neck. She closed her eyes. Bracing her self.
A soft voice broken the silence in her mind, it seemed to scream " Run Anna, run!" She seemed to move instantly, pushing forward knocking the Judge to the floor in front of her and the Manager back enough for her to turn left back through the Barn doors and into the stables. No one seemed to be following her just yet as she stopped at the Pigpen first, and pulled the latch and opened the gate letting the swine run free.
She opened each stock in turn and soon there was a stampede of animals around her. The Judge and guards had no chance to get to her as she intermingled with the flood of animals. Poultry where clucking, bovine mooing and equine baying as they all ran out the barn doors and onto the street to freedom.
The ground trembled under her feet as she looked round, the Bull slowed beside her and she took her chance, a hand grabbed the stump of the horns and and pulled herself onto its ridged back. It galloped with speed ramming its head into one of the guards, which tried to pounce them on the way out. Clinging to its dark back she had no choice but to hold on and wait until it found a safe place to rest.
A few hours later she found herself travelling along a track. A few other animals had herded together to form the pack she was travelling in. A chicken rested upon the back of a goat while a few pigs skipped along on those cloven hooves to keep up. She had no where idea on where they were going as she had never been out of town before but they stopped to rest in a deserted meadow with an old shed to the far hand side of it.
The Bull bent its head to graze, the chicken started to hop off the back of the goat and scratch the ground while the goat went wandering to a nearby bush and nibbled the leaves of a small bramble patch.
Dismounting she turned towards the shack, perhaps there may be stores in there or something she could use. If she could keep the animals together she was fine, she would have goats milk, eggs, the Bull could carry her and the swine would probably stick with them anyway for safety.
She looked to the large wooden doors. Both tilted together at an odd angle, bolted together by a chain she had no chance of getting inside with that barring the entrance. She went around the perimeter, pushing each plank of wood hoping one would give so she could get inside. Finally towards the back of the shack, a plank gave way, kneeling and crawling within the space it gave she crawled into the shack.
Standing up her head hit a shelf above her. Grunting, she heard something slide from the shelf and smash upon the floor not 3 feet from her. Dust plumed everywhere. Coughing she pulled a sleeve over her mouth and squinted in the near dark room. There was a window to the side, stepping over an old plant pot she moistened the sleeve against her mouth and then pressed it against the windowpane and washed.
Light spilled into the room, lighting rays through the dust clouds spilling light onto everything. It seemed to look like some sort of chapel, but it was completely derelict. Straw lay moulding in the corner of the shed, rat droppings underfoot, and ivy seemed to be making a home along with a couple of spiders.