Rose Pt. 01

I just sighed, "How many more are there?"

"Two, they're all sisters, though the other two were kept aside for breeding."

"Alright, one last question. What does it mean, when you recycle them?" Something told me I didn't want to know, but he had to ask...

The man, at this point, looked extremely nervous. "Y'know... Plastics n stuff."

"What did you do to my mother?" Rose asked firmly.

"I... It was before my time... I swear... I've only been working for 6 months. I didn't know until I signed up and by then it was too late," the man said quickly. I just glared at him until he continued. "When the girls are deemed substandard, we take them away. We put them to sleep, grind them up into paste and use it as a protein filler for the others."

At this point, I'd like to say, I killed him. I'd do anything to spare Rose the memories of what happened next...

Rose leapt from my lap. In a flash, she was wailing on the screaming, bound man. I was only a moment behind her, but by the time I was able to get my arms around the small woman, the damage was done. Rose was covered in the man's blood. He, on the other hand, had been pummelled to a pulp. His face concave, his ribs crushed, the only sound he made was a slight bubbling as air escaped his lungs through a hole where a rib had pierced the skin.

"I'm sorry master..." Rose said softly. I gently placed her back on her feet and she turned and pinned herself against my chest. "Two of my sisters were recycled by him... I... I didn't know..."

I just held Rose as she cried. I was completely shocked at what had just happened. Not to the man, what he said he'd done, I had no doubt he deserved worse. It was Rose, however, that caught my attention. We'd gone straight from the swag to the bound man. Her outburst was the first time I'd seen her properly in the light... And Humans didn't have hooves and a tail...