Puppy Mill Pt. 01

Science and innovation is driven by many things in this world. Greed, power, wealth, conflict, and even lust have led to innovations in day to day life. With genetic engineering on the horizon, a company known as ZLabs began a new project in the year of 2X49 known as the Chimera Horizon. Created to be a new step in human evolution, the Chimera Horizon sought to combine humanity's genetic code with that of natural fauna to aid in a stronger, healthier, and happier human population. A noble goal however, is not something which attracts the desires of the wealthy.

Investors saw little purpose in a ridiculous genetic experiment that would only benefit others. Such people would only feign interest if they had something to benefit from. A new project was born, one to alter the genetics of existing humans rather than those who are yet to be born. Even so, Chimera Horizon needed something to show investors, a display of where their money was going.

In 2X58, a breakthrough was made, and thus, a new product was prepared to be shipped to investors: the Demihuman, a human pet with whatever features the investor desired, whether it be the ears and tail of a dog or cat, the lower half of a fish, or even the tongue and tail of a snake.

The product resulted in a widespread desire among the rich to possess a demihuman of their own. With no laws to protect these poor half-humans, one could do whatever they possibly desired with one. With so much demand there was only one problem: the company had to get the humans from somewhere, legally or otherwise.

-x-x-x-

A young man walks out of the side exit of an office, an exhausted expression covering his face. His hair is a messy light brown, bangs hang over chocolatey eyes, the locks ungroomed for several days now. A lanyard sits around his neck, dangling over his wrinkled office suit, displaying the name "Eric Layman," alongside the company logo, EREX-.

He's been working for the EREX- company for five years now, slaving away overtime for no pay in order to make ends meet. This was just another one of those days, what should have been a neat finish to another ten hour shift turned into an extra two to three hours worth of overtime thanks to a new project being handed over to the department. The side alley is the only place he gets to think. It's a small, tiny space, longer than it is wide with hardly enough room for two or three people to stand shoulder to shoulder. It would be a complete dead end if not for the single door there, connecting to the office space.

The brunet lifts a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, digging into his back pocket for his lighter. Eric stops, digging around his other pockets. Where the hell is his lighter? He just had it a couple hours ago during his last smoke break, right? The young man lets out an exasperated sigh, his arms dropping with the realization that it's nowhere with him. Damn. A smoke break completely wasted. Or, maybe not completely, at least he has time to breathe.

"Need a light?"

The question makes him jump, the brunet completely unaware of the presence of anyone else nearby. His eyes fly to the entrance of the alley, where a man stands, leaning against the concrete edge of the building. He's tall and bulky, dressed in a lazy, grey polo and some black pants. He's an entire foot above the young man, and he wasn't exactly short, 5'11" exactly. This dude though, he had to be closer to seven feet tall, with a muscular build to match. He almost gave the air of some celebrity's bodyguard or something, the kind of guy who scares off punks just by standing there and shooting glares in the right directions. "Oh, um, yeah, actually." Is all Eric can bring himself to respond with.

The man shows a friendly smile, or, at least that was what it was supposed to be. The man's cigarette sticks slightly upwards as his lips move, a scar on the bridge of his nose becoming visible as the man's brow moves with his eyebrows. It just made him look scarier, but, hell if he was giving up a free light on a day like this. The man steps closer, grabbing a steel lighter out of his pants pocket before flicking it open, his other hand covering the flame to allow it to stabilize. Eric extends the cigarette over to the flame, allowing it to light before retracting it, the man letting the cap fall as the light extinguishes. He steps away, leaning against the wall across from the young man as he places the lighter back into his pocket.

Eric smiles, taking a drag off of his cigarette before he speaks. "Thanks, I owe you one."

The man smiles, taking a drag off of his own. "Eh, it's whatever. Might as well do a poor kid a favor." Eric just chuckles at that. "Sucks for an old man like me to see a kid so young slaving away already for shit pay."

Old? He'd be lying if he said the man looked any older than fifty. Eh, not like it's his business, if a man thinks he's old for not being in his twenties like he is, that's their opinion. Eric removes the cigarette from his mouth to respond, "Not much I can do about it. We've all got bills to pay, whether we want to or not."

The man gets an odd grin, dropping his cigarette before grinding it under his heel. "Eh, we can dream though, right? Wouldn't it be nice to live a life without slavin' away? Just stay at home, eatin' meals, takin' naps, livin' life to the fullest?"

The young man just laughs, carefully plucking his cigarette out of his mouth. "I'd give anything to live like that!"

"Careful buddy, you might just get what ya' wish for!" The man jokes in return, that terrifying smile of his returning.

"As if!" Eric responds, his expression dimming somewhat. "It'll be a cold day in hell before randos like me get to live like that." His tone is joking, but it's clear there isn't any humor in it. The man across the alley shoots him a sympathetic look, stepping closer as he puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry too much kid. Just enjoy your cigarette for now. What comes next comes next." The man says, looking the young man in the eyes for a moment, the scent of cigarettes hanging between them. For a second Eric almost feels... glad. Glad he had this conversation and met this man. However, as those thoughts come to mind there's a slight motion as the man grabs something out of his pocket. There's a moment of shock as he feels something cold press up against his neck. Then he recognizes it, his eyes going wide at the sensation of the two prongs of a tazer.

"So don't blame me for this."

-x-x-x-

What happened after that?

Everything went black, right?

Or... no, that's everything... It all went black.

Everything is dark. He can feel something wrapped around his head. A blindfold? His jaw feels tight, stuck on something in his mouth. Extending his tongue, he feels the surface, it's round with holes to allow air through. A gag?

The floor feels cold, metallic against his skin. Not quite chilling, just uncomfortably cool against his bare skin... against his arm, against his side, his legs, his... his chest too? It's odd, he's lying on his side as far as he can tell... so why can he feel the floor with his chest? His arms sit behind his back, skin against skin as something binds his wrists together. He squirms, finding other parts of his body equally bound. His legs feel tight and stiff, kept together with his knees towards his chest.

There's an odd sensation in his body, an almost plugged sensation somewhere in his head. It's almost like the sensation of an earplug, but not quite in the right place. The room is silent. Is the cloth wrapped around his head blocking his hearing? He taps the floor, clicking against the metallic surface with his nails.

There's no sound, but he can feel the vibrations.

Then a few moments after there's a sound of a click. Static fills his ears, then a voice is heard through the static. No, not one, it's multiple voices overlapping as they speak with a variety of soft tones, male and female, smooth and gruff, but each quiet and soft, each demanding attention but none coming forth more than any other. It's oddly calming as he tries to listen, but he can barely catch on to anything. Then another voice speaks over them.

"You're safe." It's a feminine voice, young sounding, but not childish. "You're going to be well taken care of." It continues, speaking every few seconds with a new affirmation. "You're doing very good." "Everything's going to be fine." "You're in good hands."

It's just as he finally gets used to hearing those words, finally tuning them out that there's a vibration in the floor. One that wasn't from him. Then another, then another. Footsteps? The vibrations stop close by, all he can do is wait in anticipation. Is he going to be killed? Is he going to die here?

A pair of rough hands grab at him, one gripping his arm and the other grabbing whatever it is binding his legs. There's a swift motion as he's lifted, cool air brushing against his skin, sending a chill down his spine. Is... is he naked? He definitely is right? He can feel his face heat up as he realizes this. This just might be the most humiliating and terrifying moment of his life, which is really not a combination of feelings he was hoping to be dealing with at a place that wasn't the office.

Should he try and resist? No, he's bound right? There's no way he could escape... Besides, it only seems like one person carrying him, wouldn't they have to be pretty strong to carry a grown man like this? Even if he did get loose, wouldn't they just beat the shit out of him? And that's if they don't decide to just kill him and spare themselves the trouble... A shiver runs down his spine as the thought enters his mind. The cold and those rough hands are the only thing he can focus on, aside from the whispering sounds of affirmations playing in his ears which just leave an eerie feeling to settle in his stomach.

Then, there's another movement as he's lowered onto... something. There's a soft, cushiony feeling against his bottom, like a mattress. It's definitely more comfortable than the chairs in the office. That has to be what it is, right? A chair?

There's a cold feeling as something touches his ankle, clipping around it. Then there's another, then another, then another, the first clipping around his other ankle, then his first wrist, then the second. A hand brushes his skin for a moment, fingers brushing against his shoulder, down the side of his arm, sending a shiver through him. The hand moves away, then... nothing.

For a moment, he almost thinks the person stepped away, but then, the tight binds keeping his arms behind his back suddenly goes loose, the feeling of hot leather leaving his skin cold as the air fills in the space where the binds once covered him. A hand pushes him backwards, his back touching another cushion before another cold object clips around his neck, holding his head in place. The clips around his wrists move, forcing his hands along with them and forcing them onto a pair of arm rests, cushioned as well. The bindings around his legs soon follow, his legs finally going slack before being forced into another position.

Then, finally, the blindfold is removed.

It feels like a flashbang, his eyes being flooded with bright light. Colors swirled in front of him, a nauseating spectacle of lights. It took a moment to realize that it wasn't some illusion, but in reality, a swirling, vibrant color display on a television in front of him. The screen sits so wide he can barely see beyond it thanks to the lock around his neck. Black walls and flooring sit in juxtaposition with the bright, hypnotic glow of the screen. Shadows move around the room behind him, but he can't turn. He knows that.

The colors change, turning into a dot formation, various colors taking place against a white background. The dots move, bounce, and sway, it almost feels like some kind of baby sensory video, a childish display of attention grabbing colors and movement, yet... he can't look away. No, it's not that he can't. He doesn't want to.

The display changes again, shuffling like a presentation display to a video, or several? It's a compilation of sorts, the screen filled with puppies.

There's a click in his ears as the sounds of the video play through, sounds of little yips and whines and soft barks filling the air. There's a man's voice behind him, but he doesn't care to listen. A calm smile spreads across his face as he watches, the same voice from before speaking into his ears.

"You like puppies, don't you?" He does.

"Don't you think they're cute?" Of course.

"Wouldn't it be nice to be a puppy?" It would be.

"You would make a good puppy." Would he? Really?

"Maybe that's because you are a puppy." Is he? He is, isn't he? Or- no... he's a man, right? A human man? He doesn't know. It feels hazy to think about it.

"You're such a good puppy." He must be. Yeah. He's a puppy now. He was a human man before but now he's a puppy.

"Yes, you're such a good puppy." There's an odd movement behind it, but it doesn't feel like vibrations. It's like there's something moving, but he can feel it. Not touching him... but he feels it. Like the feeling of being touched, not touching something.

"You're good, aren't you?" Yeah, I must be.

"You're gonna be a good girl, aren't you?" Yeah... wait, is he? He's a man though. No, he used to be a man. He's a puppy now. Can puppies be men? Of course not, right? If he was a man before, he's a girl now. A good girl.

"Such a good girl." Yeah! He is a good girl! Or... would it be she? Girls are called "she" right? Yeah, she is a good girl!

"So good, you're being such a good girl." The sensation from before is stronger, the movement behind her leaving a sore sensation, like when she exerts a muscle too much. Is there something behind her?

A hand moves in front of her face, snapping in front of her. She doesn't react, instead trying to look past it. She wants to see the other puppies. "Full process confirmed." A familiar voice speaks, gruff and impassive. She's not listening. The television turns off, fading to black as the chair spins around. There's two people in front of her and one to her side who just stands there. What should she look at now? There's no puppies or colors. One man presses a button in his hand, it lets out a click as the voice from before speaks.

"A good girl pays attention." Oh, okay.

A man in a labcoat flips through a sheet of papers, writing notes down as the other man begins to speak with the person at her side. "Confirm once more please." He commands. The hand comes in front of her again, she looks at it this time as the man snaps his fingers again, eyes wide and wondering. Good girls pay attention. She should too, she's a good girl after all. "That's our second confirmation complete. Thank you. I believe that's enough, you can undo the cuffs and remove the gag now." The man clicks the button once more.

"Good girls follow commands." Okay, she can do that.

"Stay." The man speaks. Eric looks to him as he turns to another man and looks over the paperwork. She isn't sure what to do, but she can stay. The man removes the gag first, a string of saliva breaking as the man places the gag, a ball gag as she can see now, on a table to the side. As the lock around her neck is undone, she can finally look around, her eyes wandering the black walls, landing on a door. She must have been carried from there, right? These guys don't look to strong, so it must have been the guy next to her, right?

Looking to him, he seems familiar. Tall, muscular... oh, this is the guy who offered her a light. She looks up at him, eyes wide. The man looks back for a moment, but his gaze is awkward, not making eye contact. She smiles.

The man with the button clicks a pen, catching her attention. "Bark." He commands. She does. It's a high sound, like a girl's voice. Well, that just makes sense, she is a girl now, even if she is a puppy. Puppies can be good girls. "Good. You can remove the earbuds now." He speaks to the other man. The man by her side reaches up around her head. It's odd, he's removing earbuds, isn't he? So why is he taking something out of the top of her head? She feels the man's fingers brush against something sensitive, causing her to jump slightly in her seat. Then, the plugged feeling vanishes, her hearing becoming clear and unmuffled. No... that's not quite it, her hearing is better than ever.

"Then, let's begin." The man speaks, catching her attention.

"Eric Layman, your life is officially, both legally and otherwise, over. Do not respond to this name ever again, you will receive a new name in the foreseeable future." He states. Okay, she can work with that. Bye bye, Eric Layman. "From today onwards, you will be a puppy for our client, as requested."

The man pulls out a picture from under the clipboard papers. The man feels... familiar? Not in a way that she can quite place though. He's handsome looking, though a bit older, probably around late thirties or early fourties. Black hair is kept up in a medium-length crew cut. He has grey-blue eyes, giving an almost cold air to his expression, in an admittedly attractive way. A light beard sits around the man's chin, wrapping up above his lips in a clearly maintained fashion. She... really does know this person from somewhere... but where?

"You will be expected to follow all commands from him and treat him with utmost respect and adoration. Do you understand?" Utmost respect and adoration? So she has to love him? She can do that! She hasn't loved anyone before, being eternally single, but she can definitely respect him! She's a good girl after all. She nods in response, giving a slight smile. "Good. He hopes to train you himself, so we'll be bringing you to him tonight. You may sleep until then." Okay.

The man looks over to the guy who had the lighter, "Bring her to the kennels, K562 has been prepared for her. Be sure to give her some water before you leave her." The man nods before turning back to her.

She looks up at the man with wide eyes as she's lifted again, the man carrying her like a baby with one arm around her back and another under her bottom. He really isn't breaking a sweat at all... he must be pretty strong after all. However, as she's lifted, something finally comes to her attention. Her body looks different. Where a scrawny, young man's body once was, she's now covered with curves and soft flesh, a pair of... well actually she doesn't know how big they are, but her boobs are pretty big, that's for sure. Her hips are wider as well, though she can't quite tell by just how much. Come to think of it, her voice was different too, wasn't it? Is that because she's a good girl now? It must be! She's a good girl!

The man continues carrying her through the halls, led lights humming overhead, casting the black walls and flooring in a glow. It's a small hallway, but with multiple branching entrances and exits. The man turns down the last exit on the right, carrying her down a set of stairs to a room lined with large kennels, clearly akin to those one would see in an animal clinic or maybe a groomer's but noticeably larger. There's a bunch of... no, they're not quite humans. Humanoids sit in the cages, odd features covering their bodies, claws, horns, odd eyes, or even scales or fur. Some look more human than others, but some look almost like monsters, the kind she used to see in movies. Were these all human like she used to be?

An odd feeling rests in her for a moment, a frown spreading across her face. It's sad, but... what can she do about it?

The man stops and turns, entering a room filled with more colorful and decorated kennels, each filled with mats, toys, and all sorts of things, like stuffed animals or pillows. The man carries her over to a large, black kennel, the inside is decorated with soft objects, from a fluffy-looking soft brown dog bed on the bottom to a pair of large teddie bears, one dark brown and the other a lighter shade. A set of three plush pillows line the back, one round, one rectangular, and one in the shape of a bone, each in varying brown shades. The man sets her down in front of it, setting her down on her legs to let her sit on the cool floor. He steps off to the side, opening a refrigerator and taking out a bottle with the tube at the top, almost like the kinds of water bottles a hamster drinks out of. He looks back to her, a worried expression on his face, but then he grabs something else out of the fridge, something small.