Open Market

The goat man was staring at me from the open doorway. His eyes were a deep seeded red, burrowing deep into my soul. 

Unable to move, I just stood there, terrified. My senses screamed at me to run, but I couldn’t seem to move. Something drew me to him.

He motioned for me to follow and I did so without question. I was scared to go, but more scared not to.

The narrow corridor was long and dimly lit. There were several small rooms filled with women just like me. Each room had a small sign attached to the open doorway listing the weight, height, and demographic of the woman inside.

At the end of the corridor was a vast open area full of fenced-in cages. Each cage was filled with several men and women, all shapes and sizes.

He opened the gate to a less crowded cage and ushered me in, closing and locking the gate behind him. He then walked to the next cage, holding a clipboard in his hooves. Two younger goat men followed behind him.

“Number 1475. Step forward”, said the goat man. A middle-aged woman stepped forward and slowly walked to him, trembling slightly. He jotted down a few notes using the edge of his hoof as a pen.

“Number 1475 is ready”, he said and walked to the next cage.

“This way”, said one of them as he motioned towards the opposite end of the room.

Once they were far enough from hearing range, I asked the other woman in my cage where they were taking her.

“To slaughter”, the woman replied.

My heart started racing, my mind jumbled. Did she just say slaughter? That CAN’T be right!

“Oh God”, I cried. “I came here willingly. What have I done?”

“We all did, sweetie”, said the woman. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s not like you can do anything about it now. Just learn to accept it and your time left here will be much easier”

“It’s not so bad, really”, said the lanky young man standing next to the woman. “And not everyone goes to slaughter.”

“That’s right, sweetie. Some are given jobs to do. If done well enough, their lives are spared, so long as they continue to do their job well, that is.”

I looked at Robert and couldn’t keep the sadness from showing on my face. He was young, but not a child. Lanky, but boyishly handsome just the same. His dark eyes matched his short, wavy hair. He was definitely too young to die.

“Don’t worry, sweetie”, said the woman. “He’ll be here for a long while, since he’s so skinny. They fatten us up before slaughter. I’m Patricia, by the way, and this is Robert.”

“Jessy”, I said, extending my hand towards hers.

I was still reeling. In like a comatose lion, out like a lamb to slaughter.

The lights went out all over the compound, leaving only the dim generator powered backup lights.

Patricia looked at her wrist watch and noted that the time was just past 9pm. 

“You better get some rest, dearer. Tomorrow will be a busy day! They still have to process you in”, said Patricia. “That’s when you’ll get your stock number assigned to you.”

“Your bed is the one in the corner over there”, said Robert as he pointed to an unmade bed. There was a pillow and a set of sheets sitting on top. 

“Here”, said Robert. “Let me help you with that.”

I laid down on this strange bed in this strange place, but I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to go home! I wanted to hold my little girl one last time. What will become of her? How can they rip a mother from her child just to fatten them up to be someone’s dinner? Or a servant providing their every whim, just thankful to be alive? It isn’t right. I don’t belong here. I want to go home!

I couldn’t hold back the tears and cried myself to sleep.

The clanging of the cage gates being opened served as my alarm clock. The people all left their chain-link prison cells and lined up, single file.

“Time to eat”, said Robert. 

The three of us took our place in line, biding our time until we reached the cafeteria.

The young lady attending those at the front of the line was directing the flow of traffic, guiding everyone to the proper station, according to their stock numbers. Since I hadn’t been assigned one yet, she told me to follow Robert while Patricia was sent to the next station.

The spread of food was amazing! There were fresh croissants, biscuits, gravy, sausage, jellies, jams, pancakes, waffles, eggs cooked to order, fancy coffees, juice, milk, and (of course) bacon. I loaded up my plate with a little bit of everything and sat down with Robert at our designated table.

When we were finished, we dropped off our trays and were directed to the exit.

Just outside of the cafeteria was a small room. The sign on the door read: “Processing”.

“C’mon”, said Robert as he led me through the doorway. He waved at the older gentleman sitting behind the service counter and said, “She’s new.”

“Ah! Welcome, Miss-?”

“Jessy”, I said. “Jessy Langdon.”

“Welcome, Miss Langdon. I’m Gerald. Let’s get you processed, shall we? Young man, I’ll take it from here.”

Robert nodded and promptly exited the room.

Gerald took my measurements, height, weight etc. He made note of my eye and hair color, fair skin, and the rose tattoo just above my right ankle. He printed out several pages, handing me the last two.

“Read these over and let me know of any errors. It’s a lot easier to fix them now rather than later. When you’re sure it’s all correct, sign the bottom of the second page.” 

I did as asked and returned the forms to him just as a young lady appeared in the doorway. She was thin, pretty, and petite.

“Okay, Miss Langdon. We’re all done here…well, you are, that is. I still have a few more things to do to get you finished processing.”

He handed me a lanyard with a laminated name tag attached. It read: STOCK #5217.

“Put this on. Do not take it off unless instructed to do so. The penalties are harsh for any disobedience around here.”

Gerald motioned toward the young woman and said, “Sabrina here will lead you back to your newest accommodations.”

“I know what you’re thinking”, said Sabrina as we entered the corridor, “but you have to let it go. Your old life is gone and so is anyone from it.”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks: and so is anyone from it. I felt the panic setting in. I had to find a way out of here. I had to find a way back to my daughter…and it had to be done soon.

Wiping away my tears, I followed Sabrina back to my chain-link home-away-from-home…away from my little girl.

“All checked in?” asked Robert.

I nodded and laid down on my bed, making no effort to hide my tears.

“There, there, dearie”, said Patricia. “Let it all out. It’s good to cry. It reminds us that we are human.”

She knelt beside me and gently patted me on the shoulder.

“It gets easier, sweetie. I promise it does.”

“Yes and before long you’ll forget all about your old life”, said Robert.

“But I don’t want to forget”, I whispered. “I want to go home and be with my daughter.”

Robert leaned in closer and whispered, “I have a plan to get us out of here. Shh. We’ll talk when it’s safe.”

He stood back up and spoke at a normal level. “Get some rest. We’ll wake you when it’s time for lunch.” 

I waited patiently for Robert to tell me his escape plan. Too many prying eyes and ears around, so I knew I couldn’t bring up the subject. I would have to wait, even though I didn’t want to. I hated the thought of being away from my little girl for one more day. Oh how I missed her sweet little face!

A month went by before I finally heard the news I had been wanting to hear.

“Tonight’s the night”, said Robert as he slipped me a note. “Hide this then ask the guards to take you to the bathroom. Read it while you’re in there and destroy it immediately after.”

I bent down to re-tie my shoe and casually slipped the note into my bra. I waited a few minutes before requesting a trip to the bathroom. The guards were always happy to oblige.

I closed the curtain in the bathroom stall, sat down to pee, and opened the note. His instructions were simple: When they start lining up people for slaughter, fake a bathroom emergency. They won’t watch as closely since they will be busy with the “lambs”. Follow the corridor to the left of the bathroom. It dead ends into a “T”. Take a right then a left. I’ll meet you at the end of that corridor and you’ll never be in a cage again.

I couldn’t hide my excitement. I’m finally going home to my little girl! I had to cover my mouth then force myself to get a grip and calm down before I could exit the bathroom. 

I tore up the note then flushed the pieces. I even flushed it twice just to make sure it all went down.

The rest of the day was the longest day of my life. The number of hours didn’t change, of course, but still it felt like an eternity. 

At lunch, Robert and I were at the same table, as always, but we avoided eye contact. We both thought it best. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to contain myself and end up getting caught. I couldn’t bear the thought of blowing what might be my last chance to get home to my daughter, so I avoided any conversation as well.

The same thing happened at dinner. We both spoke to others at our table, but didn’t acknowledge one another at any time.

It would only be a few more hours til the slaughter lines were formed, so I decided to try and get a little bit of sleep. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t take long for me to drift off. Robert woke me up a little before nine, or I might have slept on through the night and missed my chance to be free.

“It’s time”, he whispered. “Do you remember what to do? Where to go?”

I quietly said yes then began crying out as I doubled over with my fake stomach pains. One of the goat demons quickly came to the door of our cage and asked what was wrong. Just like a sick cow could destroy a herd, sickness in here spread like wildfire, so they were always on top of moments like this.

“Let’s get you to the infirmary”, said the goat demon.

“No”, I said faintly. “I just need to go to the bathroom before the diarrhea really hits.”

He nodded and unlocked the gate then escorted me to the bathroom.

“I have to get back to the slaughter line. Take your time. Let one of us know when you’re done and we’ll take you back to your cage.”

I nodded and softly said thank you, but I’m not really sure that he actually heard me as he was walking away.

As soon as I was sure that no one was looking, I snuck off to the corridor to the left of the bathroom as Robert instructed. The corridor was longer and more narrow than off of the others in the compound. It was dimly lit and difficult to see, but not impossible. I finally reached where it dead ended into a “T” and took a right then a left.

Robert was there waiting for me, just as he said he would be.

“Good! You made it.” He smiled and said, “C’mon. We don’t have much time.”

It almost felt like we were traveling through a maze with all the twists and turns. I was starting to feel like a mouse being led to cheese.

“Not much farther, I promise. You’re going to be free from our cage”, said Robert.

Two more turns and we were there, but it wasn’t where I was expecting to go. 

“Number 5217. Delivered as promised”, said Robert to the goat demon at the head of the slaughter line.

“Number 5217. You’re next.”