At various points, I motioned for them to come over to talk to me, but they didn't do it. At first, I thought they didn't see me. Then I realized that they were deliberately ignoring me.
It took a few minutes, but one of those girls finally crawled over to me. "Meow?" she said, sounding just like a little cat. Her pitch was high, and there wasn't a trace of humanity in her voice.
"Why you do this? Why are you cooperating with them?" I asked, careful to keep my voice low in case there were microphones hidden around. Of course, I had already spotted several cameras aimed down at us.
Jessica never said anything specifically about not talking.
But this girl, a redhead with lots of freckles just tilted her head to the side. Like me, she had on a kitty-ear-headband. "Meow?"
"Look, I know that if we work together, we can get out of here. You just have to talk to me. There's no one else around. You don’t have to play their stupid games."
The girl just blinked.
Frustration started to build within me. Being naked and collared, on display for anyone who happened by didn't improve my mood. Besides, I knew that Oliver might show up at any minute.
"Look, you have to listen to me. Wait, where you going? Don't you go! You can't just go!" I growled at her, but the cat girl had made her decision. She started to crawl away like some pathetic little animal. My fury brought out the best of me because I threw myself forward, ready to pounce on her and shove her back down into the fake ground.
Of course, I didn't reach her. My leash was too short, so I just cut off my air supply for a second or two.
Seething, I could only watch her go as she trotted away.
"Making friends?" Oliver asked a second or two later as he approached. Apparently, he'd witnessed the whole thing.
"What are you doing to them? How have you made them so—”
“Well-behaved?” Oliver finished for me.
"Pathetic," I corrected. "You know what? I don't even care. It doesn't matter what you've done to them because you're not going to be able to do the same thing to me."
Oliver reached into his coat pocket, and he took out something that was about the size of a cigarette. Then he pointed it down at the spot just in front of me. When he pressed a button, a point of light appeared. Bright red, it shivered as he moved his hand from side to side.
"Do you see this? This is a little red dot. I want you to catch it."
Although I didn't think about trying to stand up on my own two feet, I decided to get up on my haunches. Holding my knees together and crossing my arms over my nipples to protect some modicum of modesty, I braced myself and I stared back at him.
No way. It just wasn't going to happen. No matter what this man did or said, he wasn't going to get me to behave like an actual feline. I wasn't dumb. I wasn't some stupid animal that couldn't understand the concept of light.
"Go ahead, girl. Get the light. You can do it. Yes, you can," he said, encouraging and mocking me at the same time. It was infuriating. Even so, I only clamped my jaw shut. I didn't make any move against him.
"What's wrong? You don't think you can do it?"
"You're holding a laser pointer. I obviously can't catch a dot."
"Are you sure about that? Are you sure you shouldn't try again?"
This time, I was determined to hold my ground. I wouldn't break, and I wouldn't let him manipulate me. I stayed right where I was even when he was ready to snap his fingers.
I told myself I didn't care. I told myself it didn't matter. It was only electricity. It was only pain.
The sound hit the air as he snapped his fingers, and another shock got delivered directly into my system. I hated having that collar around my neck just as I despised everything it represented. For a moment, I was tempted to try to claw at it, to somehow rip it off, but I knew that there was no way I would be strong enough to rip through that metal.
So I stayed there on my haunches, waiting for the next dose.
I didn't have to wait long.
Just a couple of seconds later, he clicked his tongue, he shook his head with disappointment, and he punished me again. Another shock of discipline raced through my skin. My eyes watered, my breasts rose and fell, but I stayed in position.
"Someone is definitely a very stubborn kitty. Or maybe you're not a kitty in all."
I didn't understand what all of what he meant, but I didn't particularly care either. Refusing to back down, I held my position. If nothing else, maybe I would be able to infuriate this man to the point where he decided I wasn't going to be a good pet at all.
He snapped his fingers once, twice, three times. The barrage of electricity lanced through me, sapping away my determination. Before I knew it, I was down on all fours, panting. My breathing came in sharp, ragged breaths.
"Do you think you are the first girl to try to be defiant? You're not. You're definitely stubborn. I see that now. Maybe you wouldn't make a good kitty. Maybe we should do something else with you."
"Yeah, you should let me go," I replied, grinning up at him. It was a beautiful moment of defiance, yet it couldn't possibly last because he went over to the wall, he grabbed a paddle, and he came back, slapping it against the flat of his palm.
Holding my lips together, I told myself that this wasn't going to be any worse. But then, he grabbed the end of my leash, and he pulled my head back. Then he brought the paddle down, swinging it through the air. I could almost hear the whistle.
WHACK!
The paddle struck hard against the curves of my ass. Another dose of pain shot through me, but I told myself I could handle it. It wasn't a big deal. It was just an impulse, a sensation.
WHACK!
He struck again.
"I'm going to continue paddling you until you start barking like a dog."
What? No, he couldn't be serious. He couldn't really mean that. But then, the whacking continued, booming against my eardrums as he punished me. Oliver didn't seem to get tired. His hand gripped the paddle tightly. It kept coming down, harder and faster. I didn't know he could be so strong, that he could make my ass sting like this.
Eyes watering, I closed them, and I tried to imagine some other place, somewhere better, somewhere where everyone would know I was just a beautiful girl who deserved to be worshiped.
Really, that's all I wanted.
He kept going on and on, making me suffer for my defiance. Even so, I wanted to believe that I could hold out. Just a little longer. That's all. It sounded so simple in my head.
Only then I started speaking, and I couldn't stop myself. Actually, I didn't talk at all. I did something far worse. I barked!
It felt like an automatic response. My body needed to do this. It wasn't something I intended. It wasn't something I planned on. And yet, just seconds later, I howled out like a little puppy, yipping and barking just the way he wanted.
And when Oliver saw that I had yielded, he reached down, and he ran his fingers along my scalp. I bowed my head low, and I tried to ignore those sensations as well. I couldn't block out the sound of his voice. "Good girl. Yes, you are a very good girl. I'm very impressed. Yes, you did a good job. Who did a good job? You did a good job. That's why you're going to make such a good little doggie girl. I just know it. I'm going to take you back to your kennel, and you're going to get some sleep. When you wake up, you're going to feel a lot better. You’re going to know exactly what it means to be a dog."
Quivering with rage, I couldn't believe I gave in.
And yet, he pulled on the end of my leash, and he escorted me right out of that chamber. I didn't know where we were going, not exactly, but I was certain that I wasn't going to like it.
I crawled after Oliver. If I ever slowed down, he pulled on my leash, making sure that I remembered my place. As far as he was concerned, I needed to be down on my hands and knees, like a good little puppy girl.
This time, I didn't bother trying to speak with him, nor did I even think about negotiating. It wouldn’t work, not with thi
s man. He had made up his mind, and it wouldn't matter what I did or said.
He opened another door, and he led me into a room with a variety of cages. They were stacked three high. But for right now, he opened one of the lower gates, and he pointed inside, ready to snap his fingers.
No, I wasn't going to defy him again. I made my attempt, and I failed.
Like a good girl, I crawled into the cage, and I barely flinched when he closed it, snapping it locked.
He left me alone in that room, and he turned out the lights. I got down on my side, I closed my eyes, and I allowed the fatigue to overtake me.
Sleep couldn't protect me from my situation for long. Eventually, I woke up.
"Hey, are you finally up?" I heard from another voice.
Blinking my eyes open, I couldn't explain what happened. I hadn't been that tired.
"You must be new here, right?" asked that same voice.
My mouth was dry as I pushed myself back up onto my knuckles and knees. I looked forward, only to see the thin bars of a kennel gate. Swallowing, I tentatively pushed against the metal, hoping that it would swing outward.
It didn't.
"Yeah," I said uncertainly. "I guess I'm new here."
"Welcome to the zoo," she said. After a wry chuckle, she said, "I'm Amanda. What's your name?"
"Stephanie," I said. "Listen, do you know of any way out of here? Do you have any ideas?" We appeared to be alone for the moment. I had no idea how long that would last. Her voice came from above me, from one of the other cages.
"Sorry. As near as I can tell, no one gets out of here. You're either a dog, a cat, a bunny, or a pony. Those are your choices. Even then, you only get to decide if your owner agrees with you."
"I'll never have an owner," I growled back at her and I really wanted to hit something. Even if it wasn't this girl's fault, I couldn't be patient with her.
"Look, it's not so bad. They feed us, they pet us, and they take care of us. You don't have to work, you don't have to worry about anything. You just have to be a good animal."
"We aren’t animals," I snapped back at her. How could she be so blasé about all of this? We were captives, in actual cages!
Amanda stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. "Just calm down."
"How can you say that?"
"I can say that because I've been here for a couple of months, and I know how things work. Look, you can fight as hard as you want, but as long as you have one of those shock collars around your neck, you're not going to be able to fight them. Do you have a shock collar around your neck?"
I swallowed. Simply doing that allowed me to feel the warm tightness around my throat. Damn it. It was still there. But what did I expect? Did I hope that it was going to miraculously fall off while I slept?
"Yeah, I'm still collared," I admitted. "I don't like it."
"It's not about what you like. It's about what they like," Amanda informed me.
I stayed quiet for a few more seconds. My mouth was still dry, and I was thirsty. Then I turned around in my cage. It was a challenge because it was so narrow, but I managed to come about. Behind me, I discovered a bowl of water and some dry dog food.
"By the way, you probably want to make sure you eat and drink something. You need to keep up your strength. What were you before?"
"I was a model," I said wistfully. I thought back to those photo shoots. Even if I had to deal with those idiot photographers, it would've been better than this.
I looked down at my hands, still trapped in those gloves. The paw symbols reminded me of my status. Here, I wasn't a person. Here, I didn't have any rights. Here, I was nothing but an animal, human chattel. I could be punished, trained, and used.
"No, that's not what I meant," she said. "You came in during the middle of the day, which means that you were a different animal. What are you before?"
"They wanted to train me as a cat," I told her.
"And you gave up that cushy gig?" She whistled, and I could feel the heat run along my cheeks. It sounded like she was mocking me.
"What you mean?" Information, I needed information. If this girl knew something, then I had to talk to her, no matter how distasteful I may have found it.
"Different animals have different jobs. Cats pretty much just lay around and enjoy themselves. You're lucky that you weren't demoted to pony. Those girls have it the hardest. They have to run around all day, and their training is really strict."
"What are we now?"
"Dogs," she said, though I could now hear the frustration in her voice.
"Is that bad?"
Amanda inhaled, probably ready to tell me something, but the door to the room opened, and Oliver walked in. Although Amanda probably wished to tell me something else, she stayed quiet.
"Hey there, pretty girl," he said. He tapped on another cage. It must've been Amanda's because I heard her bark.
Just the day before, that had been me.
Inhaling and exhaling, I leaned down, and I took a couple sips of water. Then I turned back to the front of my cage. I was just in time to see all of him crouch before the bars of my cage.
"Hey there, pretty puppy. Should I let the pretty puppy out of her cage? Should I let her come out and play?"
This time, I glared at him for all I was worth, but I didn't respond. I wasn't going to engage; I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing my voice. Chuckling, he didn't even need to use a key to open the gate. No, it was held in place by simple latch.
Obviously, I couldn't reach my fingers out far enough to open the clasp, but knowing that there wasn't a key or anything sophisticated still scratched out the back of my mind. This was also frustrating.
When Oliver reached in to take a hold of the back of my collar, the idea of biting him tempted me terribly. Oh, it would feel good to hear him cry out, startled. And yet, if I tried something like that, I had no idea what he was going to do to me.
"Come on, girl.” He pulled on my collar again, practically dragging me out of the cage. I found myself crawling forward until I was down at his feet.
"What are you going to do with me?"
"Silly puppy, did I say you could talk?" Oliver asked.
From that point forward, I didn't say anything. I crawled after him, dutifully. He didn't even turn back to see if I would actually follow. When we made our way through this sprawling complex, I couldn't help but try to memorize where I was. Maybe if I could get an understanding of the layout of this facility, then I would be able to figure out how to escape.
The harder I tried, the more convoluted this place seemed to be. From one hallway to the next, we turned at seemingly random points. I felt like I was in a maze. What made this truly frustrating with the fact that I had to stay down on all fours.
Simply navigating on my hands and knees proved difficult. I couldn't really memorize the layout.
He opened another door, and we came into a smaller room. Two bowls sat in the middle. One was empty; the other had water.
"Go ahead. Drink up."
Although I hated playing along with any aspect of this, I crawled forward, I bent my head down, and I lapped up some more water. I was careful not to sip, especially after what Jessica had done to me the day before.
"If you're wondering how you slept so soundly, it's an easy answer. We drugged you."
I lifted my head from the water. A couple of beads dribbled down my lower lip. He drugged me?
"That's right. There are vents in every stable and kennel here.”He put his hand on the top of my head, and he guided my face back down toward the water bowl. Apparently, he wasn't satisfied with the amount of water I had already lapped up. "It's really nice, knowing that we can make sure our pets get lots of sleep. I'm sure you didn't get enough sleep is a girl. You probably enjoyed staying up late. Maybe you would watch TV or play on your tablet. But that's not going to happen anymore, is it?"
As my tongue stabbed down into the water, obviously couldn't answer. Then again, that was the point. He wa
nted to remind me of just how helpless I was before him. He had the authority here.
Narrowing my eyes, I thought about my old life and how I could control people. Here, I couldn’t do that at all.
"You're a funny little puppy. You know, we should probably get you a different set of gear. This tail looks like it belongs to a kitty."
"Why's the other bowl empty?" I asked.
"Oh, that's right. You still haven't had your breakfast yet, have you?"
How did he know that?
Then the answer hit me. It was obvious. There must've been cameras in the kennels. Realizing this, I wondered if there was something else I should have done. Did I make any mistakes?
"Do you know what's a very good game for little puppy girls to play?"
"No," I replied, deadpan. "What?"
"Catch. It's a very good game for a girl like you. I know that you still don't think of yourself as a little doggie. The gear will help with that, but before Jessica gets here, I should feed you. Maybe we can take care of two problems with one solution."
"What do you mean?"
"It's catch. It's a simple game. I'm sure you know how to play it. And even if you don't, I'm sure a dumb girl like you will figure it out soon enough." He walked over to the other side of the room, he grabbed something from one of the counters, and he sat down. Leaning forward, he looked right at me.
What was this? What did he have planned?
His hand slid into the bag, and he pulled out something white and puffy. A marshmallow?
He tossed it in my direction, but it just bounced off my cheek. I did my best not to flinch, like that mattered.
"Oh, that wasn't very good. You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to eat," he said to me. Oliver raised his hand, and he snapped his fingers. A second too late, I realized what he was going to do. Electricity shot through my system, making my eyes water.
"Let's try that again," he said. "But you know, if you're going to be a smart little puppy, you should probably come closer."
Despite the shame I felt, I crawled forward. Not only that, I actually started thinking about how I could do this.
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