The Legend of Bastien - Chapter 16 – Hatching the Plan – Part 2 of 2

 

The Legend of Bastien

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 16 – Hatching the Plan – Part 2 of 2

 

Chrissy was going out of his mind in the trailer being towed by Deputy Mike’s truck.  He struggled madly with the way the deputy had tied his arms up, but it was useless.  He could move his hands around just fine, but not far enough to reach anything or do anything.  With his head tied to the rail on the side of the trailer, he couldn’t move away from where he stood.  He couldn’t even sit down for the ride which would have been much easier.  Instead, as slow as the deputy seemed to be driving, he was doing his best to remain standing so the rope tied around his head wouldn’t break his neck if he fell.

He recognized Deputy Mike’s house when they got there.  In the past few months, he had gotten more than enough education in where everyone in Bastien lived.  When the truck stopped, Judy opened the back of the trailer and went in after Chrissy while her father headed for the barn.  She untied the rope from the trailer railing and used it to drag him out of it.  She pulled him over to the huge chicken pen across from the house.  She finally took the rope off his head.  Chrissy waited for her to untie his arms, but it didn’t happen.  Instead, she opened the gate and pushed him inside.  “Stay there!” she commanded.  She closed the gate and walked off towards the house.

Naked, afraid, Chrissy struggled madly with the ropes binding his arms again, but it was useless.  If he bent down enough he might be able to reach his hands far enough through the gate to open it, but just then he noticed Deputy Mike heading for him.  The deputy had something in his hands.  Chrissy recognized a roll of thick tape.  “Whath happening (What’s happening)?” Chrissy asked as the deputy came into the chicken coop.

“Shut your mouth!” Deputy Mike said nastily as he roughly grabbed one of Chrissy’s bound arms.  “You don’t say one word about anything – ever!  We’ll tell you what noises you can make from now on.”

With that, he took the wide roll of tape, bent one of Chrissy’s thumbs against his palm and wrapped tape around his hand to keep it there.  Then he wrapped more tape around his stretched-out fingers so Chrissy couldn’t spread them or use them, they were stuck straight out.  Then he did Chrissy’s other hand the same way.  He untied one of the ropes binding Chrissy’s arms in a bent position, but instead of letting Chrissy straighten his arms, he wrapped more tape tightly around his bent arm to keep it that way instead of the rope.  In minutes, both of Chrissy’s arms were taped in that position, making them, and his hands, completely useless to him.”

“What aw you doing (What are you doing)?” Chrissy cried as the tears rolled down his face.

Mike suddenly punched Chrissy hard in the gut, sending him to the ground in pain and tears.  “Didn’t I tell you not to talk?”  He kicked him in the stomach, then bent down over him.  “Do you think I was kidding?  You don’t speak – ever anymore.  Nothing!  Not a single word!  We’ll tell you what sounds you can make, and there’ll be nothing else allowed for you…except pain!  Lots of pain!  And if you don’t think I’m capable of doing it, remember, I’ve been the sheriff’s number one best friend since high school.  I’ve had plenty of practice in giving people pain!”  With that he stood up and kicked Chrissy hard once again before leaving the chicken coop and heading back to his barn.  Chrissy could do nothing but lay there and cry.

It was a few minutes before Chrissy could even pull himself to a sitting position.  By that time, he saw Judy coming out of the house and heading for him.  She had changed into some work clothes.  Chrissy saw her watching him as she headed for the barn.

Judy found her father in the barn.  “I see you finished with him,” she said to her father.

“Didn’t take much,” Mike replied.  “You ready to start?”

“I can’t wait!” Judy replied.  She walked over to the wall and picked up a yellow device.

“Remember what I told you,” Mike said before she left.  “You’re going to have to be tough.  Ruthless.  Cruel like you’ve never been before.”

“Dad,” Judy replied.  “Do you really think I can’t handle this?  Come on.”

Mike smiled.  “Get started.  I’ll be out to watch as soon as I get that trailer unhooked.”

Chrissy was still sitting in the dirt when he saw Judy coming back out of the barn.  She had something in her hand.  Something yellow.  A yellow handle with a short rod attached to it that had two metal prongs attached to the end of it.  He had a pretty good idea of exactly what that thing was.  A cattle prod.  The very idea of her using it on him scared him enough that he peed into the dirt right there.  He never looked down though to see what he had done.  He couldn’t take his eyes off of Judy…and that cattle prod.

Judy entered the chicken coop, ignoring all the chickens who seemed to be keeping as far away from Chrissy as they could.  She could see the tears still streaming down from his face as he sat on the ground.  She walked up to him and shoved the cattle prod against his chest and pushed the button.  Chrissy screamed and rolled away, doubling over on the ground against the pain.

“Stand up!” Judy ordered.  When Chrissy didn’t move, she hit him in the back with the cattle prod.  Chrissy screamed again.  “I said stand up!”  She had to do it three more times before he finally got the message and struggled to his feet.  “When I tell you to do something, you better damn well do it!” she yelled at him, threatening to use the prod on him again. 

“Whatth (What’s)…”

Before he could say anything else, Judy shoved the cattle prod against him again and squeezed the trigger.  Chrissy yelled and backed away from her.  “I know my dad told you not to talk.  You don’t ever even try to talk!  As far as you’re concerned, you can’t talk!”

Wide eyed and frightened, Chrissy backed further away from her, never taking his eyes off that cattle prod…or her.  When she started to move closer, he backed further away.

“Oh no you don’t!” Judy said menacingly.  She grabbed the rope her father had used on him at the village green and went after him.  Chrissy backed away.  She followed.  He kept doing his best to stay away from her, moving all around the large enclosure, scattering chickens everywhere as he went.  But he could only go so far, and tied up as he was, he was at a disadvantage.  She finally cornered him against the fence and used the cattle prod on him three times in a row.  Causing him to scream and drop to the ground.

Judy took the rope and tied it around his neck and pulled…hard.  “Stand up!” she ordered.

Chrissy didn’t want to stand, but the rope was choking him and with his hands so useless, he had no way to fight against her.  When she used the cattle prod against him again while pulling up on the rope, he finally got to his feet.  Pulling him by the rope around his neck, Judy led him back to the other side of the pen where she tied the rope to the fence so Chrissy couldn’t get away from her. 

She got right into his face and yelled.  “You want to talk?  You want to say something?  Well let me teach you the only thing you’re going to be able to say from now on.  Squawk like a chicken.”

Chrissy couldn’t understand the order.  In his pain and fear, it made no sense.  But the cattle prod used against his body certainly did, he dropped to his knees in pain, but that’s as far as he could get as the rope tied to the fence pulled against his neck.

“I said squawk like a chicken!” Judy yelled in his face.  Once again she hit him with the cattle prod.  She had to yell and do it three more times before he even tried to make a squawking sound.

“Again!” Judy yelled.  Do it better.”

The sound he let out was pretty much the same, especially since it was mixed with so much of his crying.  The cattle prod again didn’t help matters at all.

Judy worked with him relentlessly.  It was another ten minutes of pure torture for him before she got him squawking like a real chicken…in pain.

“That’s lesson number one!” she told him.  “From now on, you’re a chicken.  Nothing but a chicken.  You’re not a boy anymore.  You’re not a man anymore.  You’re not human anymore.  You’re nothing but another stupid chicken running around in my pen.  And anytime I don’t see you acting like one, you’re going to get more pain than you’ve ever imagined in your life!  Squawk!” she yelled one more time as she threatened him with the cattle prod again.

Chrissy couldn’t take his eyes off that cattle prod.  In fear, he squawked again.

“Better!” Judy told him.  “I’ll be back later to teach you more.”  With that, she untied the rope from around his neck.  “Stand up!” she ordered.  “Chickens don’t sit like that.  Chickens don’t lay down.  Now stand up and walk around like the chicken shit that you are!”

With no choice since she still held that cattle prod ready, Chrissy forced himself to his feet, which was difficult to do with his arms tied up the way they were.

“Remember,” Judy said.  “You’re not human anymore.  You’re nothing but another stupid chicken, so start acting like one.  I’ll be watching.”

With that, she left him.  As she opened the gate and walked out, she noticed her father leaning against the fence watching her.  “How was that?” she asked him.

“It’ll do for a start,” he told her.  “Long way to go though.”

“Yeah,” Judy said with a smile.  “But like we talked, his pea-sized chicken brain can’t handle more than a little at a time.”

Mike laughed.

 

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Tess was beside herself with worry.  She sat in her little house and waited…anxiously…for Chris to come home, but he didn’t.  The time moved on, past the time when a deputy should show up for Chrissy’s nightly punishment, but nobody came to the house. 

What were they doing to him?  Why did they strip him naked and then lead him away like an animal?  She had been so frightened on the green that she hadn’t really heard a lot of what Billy was saying on the microphone, other than that it was all aimed at being cruel to her son.  She got the impression though that they weren’t going to kill him, but she absolutely couldn’t be sure. 

In desperation, late that night, she finally left her little house and trekked all the way over to the sheriff’s office.  Deputy Steve was on duty there.

“Where’s my son?” she asked, the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

“He’s up at Mike Johnson’s house,” Steve told her.  “And from what I understand, he’ll be staying there for a while.”

“I want to see him.  I want to see my son!” Tess demanded.

Steve shook his head.  “No can do.  According to the sheriff, Chrissy belongs to Judy Johnson for the next few weeks.  Don’t ask me why, ‘cause I haven’t a clue.”

“I want to see him!” Tess yelled, her voice full of fear and emotion.

“Nope!  Go home Tess.  Chrissy isn’t your concern right now.”

“He’s my son!  He’s my only concern.”

“Then take it up with the sheriff in the morning.  In the meantime, get the hell out of here and go home!”

With no other option, defeated, Tess turned around and left.  Heading back.  Heading home.  Back to her tiny little yellow house that she shared with Chris.  Just her and Chris.  Until now.  Would he ever come home to share their tiny little house again?  It was all she prayed for.