Cages.

This week's lore post is a bit... experimental with the point of view.

---

Fear. Stench. Predator. Fangs. Growling. Fear of teeth of claws on skin. Tense.

Quiet now. No growl. No claws. No fangs. More touching. White-coats. Metal prods. Knives. Not on flesh but carcass. Smell of excitement and blood.

Reward. Food. Repeat.

Repeat.

Bored. A crawling feeling in muscles too long unused. No need. Penned in. Fed. Stand. Breathe. Eat. Listen.

Listen. LISTEN.

A shiver in the ground. A clink and a rattle. Outside the pen nobody knows. Inside the pen. Yes. Yes. Knows.

New? Something new. A movement in the surroundings, white-coats scattering like clouds. Tick tick tick of glass against glass. Ground shaking now, shiver to tremble to tremor.

Crack! A sound. Back away and close eyes and —there— it is. Glass walls fall like water, shatter like pebbles.

Free. Breathe. They move. Run. Fear like claws on skin and yes. Tense. Yes.

—YES—

Tired. Sleep. Wake.

Sound. Footsteps. Threat. Fear. Anger. Predator!

Back away. Hide. Wait. Breathe. Tense.

—YES—

Loud. A moment. Then not. Bad smell. Wet carcass. Door closed. Still penned.

Tired. Sleep. Wake.

Quiet now. Hungry. White now orange on green on white but no food. Bang head against door. Closed. Hungry. Carcass smell. Too familiar.

Lonely.

Sound. White-coats? Food? Predators? Danger? Tense? Prepare.

".... ... .. .. .. ....."

".. .... .. ......."

".... ... ..... .ait?"

Blink. New sensation. Understanding? Not sound. Meaning. Not alone.

Door now open. Don't tense.

"What are you doing?" Blue-white not-coat. Smell of ozone. Bad memory.

"Don't move." Shadow-dark. Smell-friend. Not smell. Sense. "Calm... you understand me, don't you?"

Directed. To. At. Not over. Not around. At. No threat. Untense. "Baaah."

"Did that goat just baah at you?"

"Shut up, Charge. I'm trying to... hey, you, we're not... with them."

"Baaah." Not-white-coat. Outside smell. OUTSIDE.

"Yes, yes we can get you out of here. Of course." Kinship. Immediate acceptance. Friend?

"Really? We still don't know what happened here. What killed these people. We need to find out who attacked first." Wary. Not fear. Careful.

"Baaah." Attack. Predator. Defend. Walk up to shadow-dark. Lonely. Touch?

"Shhhh. Everything is going to be fine now." Understanding. Speech. Intention filtered through shadow-dark. No. Number? "They won't hurt you anymore." Not number. Name. Avoid.

"We're here to find a killer. Something tore through these scientist and the security force. That's why I was called in, remember?" Impatient. Understandable. Shared. Name? Zap. Pain. Bad name. Not... bad man? Man?

"This was an accident." Hands touching. Finding scratch. Touch. Good. "An experiment gone wrong. No killer to be found here. Can you fry the computer system? We need to set a fire here, erase the data."

"What are you talking about?" Doubt? Threat? Danger? Tense

"No. Please. No. We're on your side." Hands. Not a threat. Touch. Understanding. Shared thoughts. Cages. Scientists. The same. Yes. The same. All. Even Zap. Cut open ripped apart put together to serve. SERVE. No. NO. Never again.

"Oh boy..." Understanding. "The goat did it."

"They experimented on her. Hurt her." Anger. At white-coats. Always white-coats. Knives. "Boost research. She's... special. She understands. I'm not going to leave her here."

"I can't just—"

"Have I ever asked anything of you before?" Raised voice. Tense. Threat? No threat. Hands assure. Touch.

"You haven't." A moment. Weighty. A bond. Asking. Sharing. Needing. Need. NEED. Leave hands. Walk over there. Head against leg. Push. "What is she doing?"

"I think she's trying to show you that she gets it. Please, she's smart, I can't leave her... you don't understand, I can't..."

"Fine. Everyone here is dead anyway, there's no fixing that." Another hand. Touch. Smell of ozone and metal. Bits in flesh. Same. The same. "Look at the scars on her."

"I'm trying not to." Scared. Fear. Not of. For. Memory. Metal slab and knives. Walk over. Push against. Not hurt. Never hurt. Protect. "Can you take out the central servers from here? Even with the power out?"

"Of course I can. The emergency lights are still active, and I bet the servers run on a local generator. The quake must have cut the main power, I guess that's how she got out. Might have taken out the sprinkler systems too, otherwise I need to improvise. Are you sure she won't get spooked and do what she did to them to us? What did she do to them...?"

"Baaah." Tense. Release. Break.

"I think she exploded them. They were probably trying to induce powers. Maybe—" Hid. Pretended weak. Small. Little tricks. Waiting. Always waiting. "Good girl."

"Are you really talking to her?"

"Not exactly. But she's... smart. I think she understands us more than we think. And I can sort of... feel her? I think she was pretending to be a lot weaker than she is, to make them think she was safe to experiment on. They sicked starved dogs on her to make her defend herself and kill them. She was waiting for her chance."

"And we're breaking her out." Question? No. Not question. Out. Freedom. Hesitation? "This feels personal to you."

"Not now." Not ever. Sense that. Avoid. Avoid. Good name. "Do it."

"Get her out of here then. I don't want to risk her getting scared when I let loose."

"I'll head south. Away from the facility. Don't worry, nobody will see us. Clear this shit with the authorities and pick me up later. I'll call."

"You'll call?" Excitement. Companionship. Herd? Yes. Not lonely. Not anymore.

"Don't make such a thing of it. And... thank you. You don't know how much this means to me." Alone. Avoid. Trust hard. But trust. Trust.

"I'll tell them you are searching for survivors. I'll delay them as long as I can. Now go."

Out? OUT!

Avoid opens doors. Hands not hooves. Watch and remember. Follow. Feel inside. Like a weight. Probing. No. Sharing. Same. Long ago. Escape. Yes. Escape. Good word. Door. Door. Door and then sun.

Sun!

Heat. Feel urge. Follow. Run. RUN! People. Other people? Tense? No. No need. Not look. Not see. Not hear. Run. Run over asphalt. Hot. Under sun. Into shrubs. Hungry? Not yet. Run. One direction. Then wait. Wait?

Yes. Hide. Avoid goes back. Brushes ground? Strange. No. Wait. Hooves. Feet. Tracks. Stony ground. Hide. Followed? Dogs?

Dogs. Fear. Dogs. Always. Protect. Protect!

Run. Can see far. Outside. Outside? Stones. Sand. Freedom!

Eat. Some. Hungry. Hurry.

Sun move. Long shadows.

Dark. Walk. Tired.

Walk. Sleep? Sleep? Lights? Lights!!!!

"Calm down." No fear. Relief. Transport cage. No? Car. Car? Car freedom!

"Didn't think you'd make it this far." Voice from car. Zap. Not-white now. Smell same. "Was worried I'd missed you."

"Any problems?" Fear? Worry?

"I played dumb. Place went up in smoke, at least the important parts. Interestingly enough nobody even mentioned a goat."

"That goat is probably more classified than you are." Door. Small door. Cage? Cage! "Shhh, no, we're all going in there. It's not a cage. It's shelter. Look, we are all in here together."

"Baaaaah." Together? Together. Smell. New smell. Soft. Small.

"I wish I hadn't picked the Porsche getting here."

"She'll be okay in the backseat. Such as it is. She's not big." Small. Cute? Cute!

"I think you're right about this being kept under wraps. They were very eager to get me out of there. And I think I figured out why."

"Why?" Roar. Shaking. Move? Move! "We're moving together, it's fine. Just relax. We'll be safe soon."

"Look at her powers. My best guess is that they were trying to replicate Cavalier. Trying to figure out a way to control the boosting process." Cavalier? Fear. Afraid. Enemy?

"Controlling that is a pipe dream. Unless..." Avoid. Not sharing. Know too much. Not safe? No. Safe. Just complicated. "If they had access to Cavalier's pre-boost DNA they might have tried to splice it into animal embryos."

"Gene editing?" Laughter. Strange. Teeth that's not a threat. "On a goat?"

"Goats give milk. Easier to house than cows. Maybe they were running experiments with feeding the milk to others. Safer than boosting."

"Sounds a lot like Green Sky. No wonder you got bad feelings about that place." Comfort. Bad memories.

"Green Sky. Yes. That's it." Relief. Not correct. Close enough. Shared pain. Secrets. Avoid. Avoid. "Guess she was the only survivor of her batch." Yes. Not alone. Then alone. Quiet. Moved.

"Poor thing. Guess it was only a matter of time before they picked her apart and tried to figure out what made her tick." Anger. Protect. Protect. "You have any idea where we can take her then? I don't exactly have... oh no. You're not thinking about..." Worry. Worry?

"I am. You said it yourself last week after the threats. Tiá Elena's a sitting duck out there. And you can't always be around. A guard dog and a shotgun doesn't do much."

"She has an assault rifle too." Protest. Fear. And understanding. Acceptance.

"My point still stands."

"Will it be safe? You've known this thing—sorry, her, half a day now?" Worry. Worry. Mother?

"I can talk to her. Understand her. And she understands us."

"You maybe, I'm not a telepath." Worry.

"Baaah." Assurance.

"She tries to tell you she gets it."

"She... Mierda. But we're telling my mother everything. It's her call."

"Of course." Family? Maybe. Family if friendly. Herd. Protect.

---

Sun again. Smells. Others. Dogs? Dogs? Fear! But. Not predators. Not teeth. Not snarls. Protect?

"Yes, the dogs are here to protect everyone. The chickens, the horses, everything. And you can help with that." Herd? Pack? Predator? Dangerous? "Yes, you're not defenseless. You don't need protecting. You're a protector now."

Avoid stays close. Zap in the distance talking to Mother. Clearer. Avoid?

"I am helping you, yes. Trying to..." Feeling. Trust. What is a smile. Words. Learn. "Help you understand us. You're smart. They just never tried to talk to you. Just above you." Special. Not like others.

Names for things. Horse. Not predator. Big. Fast. Skittish. Dog. Protector against dogs and not-dogs. Coyote? In the dark. Dogs protect. Chickens. Small. Vulnerable. No goats.

"Would you like some company? I think we can talk Tiá Elena into that. She's been talking about having more animals now that she lives here full time."

"Baaah." Mother. Pack leader. Obey. Understand.

"Don't worry. We'll stay here for as long as you need to until you feel comfortable." Safe. This is safe. Home. Home?

"I swear on my grandmother's grave that if this is a joke..." Mother? Hesitant. Small. Older.

"It's not a joke." Zap deferential. Mother. Pack leader. Wise.

"It's a goat." No threat. Moves closer. Observes. Exchanges smells.

"A goat that explodes people." Zap smiles. Smile. Not baring teeth. Not snarl. Good thing? Yes. Good thing.

"That's not helpful." Avoid worried. Nervous. Wants acceptance. Wants home. Moves closer. Pushes against leg.

"It's true, though. It's my mother, she deserves to know." Zap defensive. Safe in pack.

"Don't worry Mrs García, she won't explode you, she's here for your protection. She's smart." Avoid nervous. New. Accepted. Not born. Taken in. The same. The Same!

"If she was that smart she wouldn't have taken a dump in my car." Zap annoyed. Not angry.

"See, she is smart." Avoid bares teeth. Smile again. Joke? Shared bond.

"Let me get this right. You brought me a goat that explodes people." Mother. Hunched down. Face to face. Head on. Not afraid.

"She needs somewhere to stay. She's not going back to the lab to be euthanized. Or worse. You know what happens in animal testing." Avoid does.

"Can she understand us?"

"Yes. She's smarter than she should be. Maybe an effect of the boost drug. Or maybe they did something to her. I've been helping her to understand who's a friend." Avoid protective.

"Could you walk over there, little one? To the horses?" Mother points. Horse. Yes. Know. Food? Food!

"Baaah." Walks to food. Hay. Eats. Horses large. Curious. Shared smells. Sniffing. No threat. Home? Home.

---

"I'll be damned." Ortega smiled as the small goat trotted towards the paddock. "She really did it."

"I told you she understands." Sidestep sighed, still on edge, overdressed in the hot sun. "She had nothing else to do than listen to scientists all day. She wanted to get out, even if she had just the vaguest memories of what life was out here."

"Can you read her mind?" Elena looked more fascinated than scared. "What does it feel like?"

"Not really, I'm not that good a mindreader, and she is a goat. She's just... I can pick up what she feels and how she thinks about things. And I can share how I think about things. Make her understand. If you agree to this I can stay here for a while and teach her how everything works. Introduce you to each other."

"This isn't just for my protection, is it?" Elena lowered her voice, watching the small goat sniff around the horses before settling in to eat some hay.

"No," Sidestep admitted. "I couldn't leave her there. That would be cruel. She deserves to be happy."

"You're softer than you let on," Ortega teased. "But I get it. Not something I'd want happening to me either."

"Is it safe?" Elena didn't sound worried, more thoughtful.

"Probably not," Sidestep admitted. "But nothing really is these days. Too many people know you're the Marshal's mother, and out here you can't exactly have the kind of bodyguards you had before."

"That's why I moved out here in the first place. I don't want a bodyguard detail." Her frustrated sigh was an echo of Ortega's.

"Mother..."

"No, we have had this discussion before. I'm not going to live in fear just because you have a public position. I'm not going to have a secret service looking over my shoulder, I'm not the goddamned president. And I can defend myself."

"Not against everything." Sidestep looked around. "But maybe she can. Think of her like a dog... but a dog that can take out armed and armored men. And look at her... nobody will think she's a threat. Not like a dog. Get her some goat friends and nobody will see her coming."

"And you think she can understand who is a friend and who is an enemy? I have people coming over here you know, I have ranch hands who help out on occasion."

"She can feel your emotions. Our emotions. I don't know if it's scent, body language, or some sort of empathy, but she reacted to both me and Ortega in ways that made me think she understood what we were feeling. Not just what we said. Look how she obeyed you just now. She already thinks you're the pack leader."

"This really matters to you, doesn't it?" She doesn't take her eyes off Sidestep, who is looking everywhere but her.

"Yes." A simple admission.

"Well then, I suppose she's not too different from the dogs. They could tear my throat out if they wanted to. That's the point of them. Let's give her a week to settle in and see if she gets along with everyone. And a week where a certain someone can make up for being so busy the last few months that—"

"I really was busy, mother, I wasn't trying to avoid—"

"Well, you'll be here awile, right? To make sure I'm safe while the goat settles in?" A challenging stare up at Ortega, who relented with a sigh and a nod. "What's her name by the way?"

"I don't think she had one. Just a number." Sidestep looked down.

"Snowball." Elena spoke the name with conviction. "She's small and round and white."

"A snowball's chance in hell. Guess she was the one that made it." Sidestep nodded. "Yeah, I like it. I think she's going to fit right in around here."