The Legend of Bastien - Chapter 17 – They Don’t Teach That in School – Part 2 of 4

 

The Legend of Bastien

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 17 – They Don’t Teach That in School – Part 2 of 4

 

Judy looked at it critically.  Liz, her mother, looked at it critically.  But it was her mother that made the final judgement.  “I think it’s pretty damn good!”

“Yeah,” Judy said, her excitement soaring.  She looked up at her mother.  “Shall we?”

“Why not.  I see no reason to wait at all.”

“Nope!” Judy agreed.  While Judy grabbed their construction, her mother went to get what else they would need.

Out in the huge chicken pen, Chrissy was mindlessly bored…as always.  He no longer tried to fight the tape holding his arms bent.  He no longer tried to fight the tape and move his hands.  He simply couldn’t.  They didn’t exist anymore.  Not that he thought about it or realized it.  He was being treated like a chicken, and nothing more.  As often as he dared, he went to his coop and sat on his nest to rest.  He just didn’t dare sit there too long or Judy would be after him with her cattle prod.  He wondered if he would be permanently burned in some places from that thing now.

The sound of their door opening caused him to automatically turn his head in that direction.  He saw Judy and her mother come out with things in their hands.  He watched as Judy stopped a short distance from the pen and grabbed her cattle prod.  Uh-oh!  He immediately felt frightened again.  He watched in fear as they both came into the pen and headed towards him.  He knew perfectly well by now there was nowhere to run to.  There was no place he could go to get away.  And what the hell was that thing in their hands?

Judy immediately jabbed out quickly with her cattle prod and gave him a quick jolt, which bent him over in pain, and like he had been taught to do almost every day now, he squawked like a chicken and flapped his “wings” at the pain. 

“Just do what we tell you and you won’t get hurt,” Judy told him with a cruel edge in her voice.  “But give us the least bit of trouble, and you’ll get more pain than I’ve ever given you before.  A lot more pain!”

Chrissy was now not only frightened, but terrified.  Under their direction, not wanting any pain, he laid down on the ground.  Once again they went for his head.  Judy brushed something over most of his face, then she took whatever that thing was and pressed it against his face.  The moment she did, Chrissy realized what it was they were holding.  Judy continued to press and push on the thing, making sure it was all in place.  When she removed her hands, the thing stayed there, stuck to his face.

Judy’s mother reached out and pulled a rubber band off of it.  “There,” she said.  Open your mouth.  When Chrissy opened his mouth, the bottom of the thing moved and opened.  When he closed his mouth the bottom of it came back into place meeting up with the top. 

“It’s perfect!” Judy laughed delightedly.

“Yeah, it is,” her mother agreed, also laughing.

Chrissy wasn’t laughing.  He knew what they had done to him now.  They had given him a chicken beak.  In moments, Judy ordered him back to his feet.  Back to flapping his wings.  Back to moving around like the other chickens.  As he wandered around, he felt Judy and her mother watching him.  He heard them laughing, but he certainly didn’t think it was funny.  He tried shaking his head, but the thing refused to fall off.  No matter what he did, the thing seemed to be firmly stuck to his face.  They had used some kind of glue on it, and he was fairly sure it wasn’t going to come off anytime soon.

He discovered he could still breathe a little through his nose.  He felt some kind of small tubes in his nose from the thing and looking down, he could just see two tiny holes in the top of his…beak…just like a chicken would have.  But breathing through them was difficult.  To breathe he had to mostly keep his mouth open.  The beak also made him feel like he was going cross eyed since it came up right between his eyes while the rest of it seemed to spread out going down his face to cover his entire mouth and right up under his chin, practically to his neck.  He couldn’t see it, but as he moved his head around he could feel something hanging down and moving around below his chin.  They had even given him a waddle, just like a real chicken.  Life had gone from the unthinkable, to worse.

And then feeding time came.  Once again he watched Judy spread the chicken feed all around, the other birds following her around, anxious to get something to eat…and so did he, just not as closely.  When she was through with the other chickens, it was his turn.  She dug her hand down into the bucket and pulled up a handful and held it so he would have to bend over to get it as usual.  But could he with that thing stuck to his face.  He bent part way over and paused.

“That thing only sticks out about an inch from your mouth,” Judy told him.  “And it’s made from memory foam, so it’ll crush down easy and spring right back into place.  You should have no problem eating with that beak stuck to your face from now on.”

Memory foam?  He barely knew what that was, but he bent his head down anyway.  The beak crushed against her hand, but he was still able to get his lips and tongue around the pile of feed that she held.  He ate it greedily, wishing as always that he could get more.

 

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Deputy Mike came home from work at his usual time.  He parked his truck and was about to head into the house, but he noticed Chrissy wandering around as usual in the chicken pen.  But this time there was certainly no missing him at all.  Not with that big red waddle hanging down from his chin.  He walked over and leaned against the fence for a better look.  He certainly knew what Judy and his wife were doing with him, but the beak they had created for Chrissy had come out far better than he ever thought it would.  The damn thing almost looked real.  The way they had constructed it completely hid the fact that he had a human nose on his face underneath it.  With a laugh, he turned and headed into the house.  “I’m home!” he called as he walked through the door.

“Hi dear,” his wife said as she came out of the kitchen.  Judy was right behind her.

“Dad!” Judy exclaimed.  “Did you see it?”

“Yeah,” Mike confirmed.  “Pretty damn good from what I could see.  Better than I thought.”

“It’s perfect,” Judy told him.

“Looks it,” Mike replied.  “At any rate, it should do just fine.  Listen, Judy,” he said growing serious.

His sudden change of mood concerned Judy.  “What?” she asked.

“The sheriff had a bit of a talk with me this afternoon.”

That really concerned Judy…and his wife.  “What about?”

“Chrissy’s mother.  She’s been hounding the station every single day demanding to see her son.  She’s becoming a bit of a nuisance about it.”

“I didn’t want anyone to see Chrissy till the next festival, when we’re done with him.”

“I know,” her father replied.  “The sheriff just wanted me to discuss it with you both.”

“No!” Judy decided.  “It’s got to be a surprise.  For everyone.”

Mike sighed.  “It’ll be that.  No doubt,” He replied.

They were eating dinner a bit later when Liz said, “I guess…if only Tess saw him, it really wouldn’t matter.”

“But then she’d tell everyone what we’re doing,” Judy countered.

“True…if that’s the way you want it,” her mother replied.  “I just know she’s got to be going out of her mind with worry.”

“Yeah, probably,” Judy agreed.

“I guess…” Mike started, and noticed both his wife and Judy looking at him.  “If it’s only just her, and she agrees not to tell anyone about what you’ve done, we could let her come out here and see him once in a while.  I could pick her up from the bank and take her right back again.”

“Can you imagine what seeing her son like that would do to her?” Liz asked.  Then she suddenly burst out laughing.  “It would server her right!  Not teaching her son to have more common sense!  She probably put all those ideas into his brain to disrupt the way things work here.”

“Like she did with his father,” Mike agreed.

“Yes!” his wife replied.  “Tell you what…”  She turned to her daughter.  “What do you think of this idea.  We let her come.  Let her see.  But if she does, she herself is going to have to help train him.  See how she likes that!”

“Help train him?” Mike asked.  “How?  Besides, that’s Judy’s job.  It’s her project.”

“I don’t know,” his wife replied.

“She can feed him all those damn baby bottles every day,” Judy suggested.  “I hate having to do that for him.  It’s not like a chicken at all.”

“Yeah, but he needs that nutrition,” Mike countered.  “He needs more than just that chicken feed he’s eating.”

“I know,” Judy replied, then realized something.  “She can give him the bottles,” she said, “but she can also feed him that chicken feed…and make him eat it.  She’s got to do nothing but treat him like a chicken…all the time.  No hugs or kisses.  Nothing!  She just helps take care of him…like a chicken.”

“I…guess,” Liz agreed.  But if she’s doing that, then between the three feedings and those four bottles he’s getting at other times, she’d have to be here all day long, from early morning until late at night.”

“Every day!” Judy pointed out.

“Every day?” her mother asked.  “But he doesn’t need that much attention from her.  Especially right now.  What’s she going to do the rest of the time?”

“Olivia Bastien has a maid,” Judy pointed out.  “So do a few others in town.  While she’s here she can help clean the house and do the laundry.”

“I don’t want a maid!” her mother pointed out.  “But…I guess, for the duration of this little thing, some help around the house wouldn’t hurt.”

“What about her job at the bank?” Mike asked.

“Is she really needed there that much?” his wife said.  “Can they find someone else to fill in, just for the next month or so?”

“I’ll check,” Mike replied.

 

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Two days later, Tess lost her job at the bank and was told she was now Liz Johnson’s new permanent maid.  Tess hated it, but at the same time, at least she would get to see her son.  She had gone from living in a nice house with her husband, to living in this tiny house with her son.  She would still be living in the tiny house but now instead of being a bank teller, she would be nothing more than a maid.

How much longer until the Bastiens killed her?  Killed her and her son?  It was coming.  Probably soon.  She could only wonder why they hadn’t done it yet.

Deputy Mike picked Tess up early in the morning, right after he got to work, and drove her back to his house.  She was so anxious to see her son, she was shaking.  Mike pulled up between the house and the chicken pen as usual and parked the truck.  “He’s over there, in the pen,” Mike told her with a nod of his head, then reached out to grab her so she couldn’t get out of the truck yet.  “You can look, but for now, you can’t go anywhere near him.  Not without supervision.”

Tess anxiously looked toward the pen.  She saw…her son.  Sort of.  He was still completely naked, and it looked like his arms were still tied up, but there was now something on his head.  At least he was still alive.  But what condition was he in?  What had they done to him?  And why were his arms still tied that way?  Had they been that way since they took him from town at the festival?  It didn’t sound likely.

The door to the house opening caught her attention and Tess looked away from her son to see both Judy and Liz Johnson coming out of the house.  Liz stood near the door, but Judy came closer to the truck and stood there with her arms crossed, waiting.  Tess opened the door to the truck and got out.

“Don’t you dare go near him yet!” Judy told her nastily. 

Tess’s eyes went wide.  “But…”

“From now on, you never go anywhere near him without supervision.  At least one of us has to be there whenever you do.”

Tess stared for a moment, then nodded.  “Okay,” she said tentatively.  “Can I see him now?”

“Not yet.  Here are the ground rules we decided on.  You can’t touch him – ever!  You can’t talk to him either.  Other than a few simple things you’re going to do with him every day, you’ll have no other contact with him at all.”

“But he’s my son!”

“Tough!” Liz said as she walked up.  “You should have taught him better when he was growing up.  Now he’s not your son anymore.  At least not until after we’re done with him.  And if you expect him to say anything to you, don’t!  Not only can you not talk to him, but if he even tries to say anything remotely human, then he already knows he’s going to get severely punished for it.  That was the first thing we trained out of him.”

“Not human?” Tess asked tentatively.

Liz pointed over at the chicken pen.  “What do you think we’ve been doing to him?  We practically told everyone at the last festival.  For all intents and purposes, your son is now a chicken.  He lives like a chicken.  He acts like a chicken.  He sleeps like a chicken.  He eats like a chicken.  He even thinks like a chicken…and nothing else!  If you want to be able to see him from now on, then you’re going to have to help get the point that he’s nothing but a chicken through his chicken brain, so I suggest you start thinking of him as nothing more than another chicken…and not your son!”

Tess’s legs were very close to giving out on her.  A chicken? 

“Are you willing to do that?  Or do I just take you straight into the house and put you to work where you can’t ever see him?  Those are your only two choices.”

It was all Tess could do to keep from crying.  “You’re cruel,” she said softly.

“Damn right!” Liz told her.  “I missed out on being Tom Bastien’s wife to Alicia, but now my daughter has a chance to marry Billy, and I’ll do anything…anything…to make that happen.  And stepping all over a little goody-two-shoes like you who managed to marry a bank manager doesn’t bother me in the least.  Now what will it be?  Do we get this over with now and let you see how much progress we’ve made with Chrissy, or are you ready to go straight into the house and do the laundry?”

Tess swallowed as she felt a tear slip from her eye.  This was a nightmare!  If it was this bad for her, she couldn’t imagine how bad it was for her son.  But right now, like with everything else, she didn’t seem to have a choice.  As bad as it would be, at least she’d be able to see Chris.  Even if she couldn’t touch him, at least he would know that she was there…that she loved him.  Very softly she said, “Please.  Can I see my son?”

Liz laughed.  “You mean your chicken?  Sure.”

“No!” Judy said.  She saw everyone turn to look at her.  “Say it first!” she demanded.  “Mom just told you.  He’s not your son anymore.  He’s a chicken.  Now ask again.  What do you want to see?”

Tess’s mouth hung agape. 

“Say it!  Ask nicely!” Judy demanded.  “Or I know Mom’s got a bunch of stuff for you to do inside.”

It wasn’t an easy word for her to say just then, but hesitantly she managed to get the single word out of her mouth.  “Chicken.”

“No!  Say it all.  Ask for permission to see him.”

Tess had no doubt at all that Judy would make an absolutely perfect next Mrs. Bastien.  Desperate to at least see him, she managed to ask, “Please may I see…my…chicken.”

Judy smiled.  “Sure.  He’s right over here.  This way.”  She led the way across the yard to the big chicken enclosure.  She stopped at the gate though and called.  She turned to Tess.  “We can’t let you get near him yet.  Later, when it’s time, you’ll get real close to him to feed him.  But not until then!”  She laughed.  “I’d call him over, but chickens wouldn’t know what I was saying.  They’d just ignore me.”

Tess heard her, but her concentration was focused solely on her son who was looking back at her from the other side of the pen, as far from her as he could get.  She could barely see his face for that thing…a beak…they had somehow managed to stick on him.  She wanted to ask about his bound arms and hands, but she dared not.  At least not yet.  And from as far away as she was, she saw the tears slip down from his eyes…just before he turned and hurried straight into the chicken coop.  She couldn’t hold back her sobs.  She cried.

Inside the chicken coop, Chrissy cried too, praying that nobody would hear him making such non chicken sounds.  But he couldn’t help it.  Why was his mother there?  As bad as this was, she was the last person he wanted to see him now.  Not like this.  He sat on his nest and closed his eyes as the tears continued to fall.  He was lower than dirt…and now his mother knew it.  She knew now what they had done to him.  More than ever.  He wanted to die.

 

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