SHORT STORY: BEYOND THE HERD

Here's all the pieces of the story.                                                                                     BEYOND THE FREEZER  -  BEYOND THE SELF  -  BEYOND THE HERD BEYOND THE FEW  -  BEYOND THE EDGE  -  BEYOND THE STARS

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The farmer walked along the fence line. A small contingent of cows on the other side of the fence, each one turned its head to watch the farmer as he passed. A noticeable shiver ran through the man. In his hand, a long slender tube of metal that terminated in a wooden stock. Patty knew what that was. Enough of the cows had seen it used that now, with their hive mind, Patty was intelligent enough to know it for the death-bringer that it was. Patty had the cows behaving oddly over the last few days in order to get the farmers attention, in the hopes of getting him to come into the field. The death-bringer changed things slightly, but Patty would adapt.

One cow mooed, loud and strong, staring directly at the farmer for the entire length of the low, causing the farmer to hesitate mid step. Once finished, the cow meandered back into the herd so as to make it indistinguishable from the rest. Another cow repeated this, and then another joined in. And another, until all of them were lowing at the farmer at once. While the farmer was thus fascinated with the behavior of these cows, Patty commanded another contingent, the ones he'd sneaked out of the fence the night before, to move around the farmer from behind. These cows walked with a grace unthinkable before their heightened awareness occurred and the farmer never heard them approaching.

The lead cow headbutted the farmer just hard enough to knock him to the ground while the others closed in around him. A pleasant crunch signaled the destruction of the death-bringer.

“What—?” the farmer stammered as the many bovine faces clouded out the sky above.

The lead cow bent down on its forelegs until it as kneeling, its head close to the farmers, and Patty, resting on the head of the beast, flopped forward onto the snout. The farmer stared in disbelief, almost as though he expected to wake up any minute from this horrible nightmare. Patty broke off a piece of himself and lurched it onward towards the farmers mouth. There wasn't much left of Patty now, it had taken so many tiny pieces of himself to claim this portion of the herd. Fortunately, cows, once commanded by Patty, never broke away from his control and he could continue spreading himself through the meat of those cows. But first, he needed the farmer. Old and greasy, the piece of Patty slid down the cows nose until it reached the very end, dangling precariously on the mucousy tip.

The farmers eyes, wide with shock, looked back and forth at the cows, seeking understanding. As one the cows, except for the one holding Patty, opened their mouths. Latent horror filled the mans face as the dawning realization struck him and he jammed his mouth shut tight. Again, the cows opened their mouths, looming down even closer to him, some of them brushing their tongues and noses against him. He resisted, turned his head away from them and shut his eyes.

Patty was prepared for such resistance. With a satisfying thck, one of the cows gored the farmers leg. In the instant that the pain struck the man, his mouth shot open wide and the piece of Patty dropped the few inches and landed in the back of the farmers throat. At once, the cow holding Patty turned its head and placed a horn against the farmers throat, warning him not to expel the piece of meat. Whether he comprehended the threat or just swallowed on instinct, Patty wasn't certain. It didn't matter, though. When the farmers eyes opened back up, he was Patty, and all of his knowledge about the world, about Patty and his kind, filled him.

He limped painfully home. His wife was out back watering her flowers and when she saw him, covered in mud and blood caked down his leg, her face blanched and she ran screaming over to him.

“Are you alright?” She asked, offering him her arm.

Patty accepted her support and looked back thoughtfully toward the way he'd come from.

“Just one of the bulls,” Patty said, his voice even and steady. His wife would expect nothing less from this man, considering all the times he'd been kicked, stepped on, gored and so forth. “He's been getting feisty lately and today,” Patty drew in a deep breath, as though contemplating on the incident, “well, I think it would be best if he were put down.”

“He's not sick is he?” his wife asked, concern for their livestock showing in her face.

“No,” Patty assured her at once, “vet was here just last week. I think he's just turned into an ornery cow and that's the last thing I need with calving starting soon.”

His wife nodded her head and she lead him toward the house. She called for their oldest child who appeared in the back doorway within moments and instructed her to get some rags and to call the doctor.

“Do you think the neighbors are doing anything tomorrow evening?” Patty asked his wife.

“Why?” She asked. “You're in no fit shape to go riding with that leg of yours.”

“Oh I know,” he said, “But it would be a waste not to butcher up such a fine beast as that cow, and I thought we could invite the neighbors over for steak.”

With a grin, Patty allowed his wife to lead him the rest of the way into the house.