"Hey! Get off the road you idiot!" hissed a voice.
John's long ears immediately perked up, twisting and turning trying to identify the location of the speaker.
"Over here! Hurry!"
John turned and was surprised to see another cow hybrid like him hiding in the trees lining the side of the road. Well, not exactly like him. Instead of the short black hair lining his scalp she had long wavy blonde hair. It looked comically out of place, like a wig placed on a real cow, and he almost laughed at the absurdity of it. But the urgent look of fear and anxiety on her face as she motioned with her hooved hand for him to come to her reminded him of his dire situation.
"Don't just stand there gawking. Get over here and away from the road or they'll catch us both! They're coming," she said ominously as she turned to look down the road.
John could see a faint plume of smoke as a truck drove down the gravel road, nearing them both. He quickly made his way down the embankment and joined the cow hybrid in the brush surrounding the trees.
"Get down," she hissed as she lay flat on the ground, pressing her large udder as flat as she could. John imitated her, his sensitive udder crying out in pain as it was squeezed between the ground and his heavy body. He desperately wanted to adjust to a more comfortable position, but the sound of the truck stopping frightened him into an almost catatonic state.
They both ducked down and quietly listened as the heavy truck doors opened and closed. His vision was obscured by the plants covering him, but peeking through the branches he could see a pair of old worn cowboy boots walk up to his waste. The boots turned as the man bent down to examine it.
"It's still warm. Looks recent. She can't be too far away, " said a gruff country voice.
The boots turned towards their direction, and John knew he was examining the tree line. He silently prayed that he was well hidden. He didn't know who these men were, but he doubted that it would be good if he was caught by them. At best he would be treated like some kind of pet, rented out to customers. At worst ..... well, he wasn't eager to find out if they ate the cow hybrids in this weird place. His heart raced as the man continued to look in their direction.
"C'mon, Jed. We ain't got time for yur daydreamin'. We got to get movin' and bring her back," said a much less educated voice.
The owner of the boots sighed and spit some chew on the ground, then joined his companion in the truck. Soon after, the peel of tires and a dustup of gravel indicated they had driven away.
"That was close. Too close," said the blonde cow with a sigh.
'Thanks, " John said softly.
"What the hell were you thinking? Walking the roads in broad daylight? Did you want to get caught or are you just stupid?" asked the blonde cow angrily.
John's jaw dropped. He was shocked. Rob had said the cow hybrids were stupid, just parroting human speech, but this one was more eloquent than her pursuers. And obviously thinking at a high level.
"I ... I'm sorry, " mumbled John softly.
The blonde cow sighed. "It's okay. You look pretty young. Let me guess - your first escape attempt? Don't worry. I'll show you the ropes. Maybe together we can make it to The Haven."
"The Haven?" John asked curiously.
The blonde cow gave John a curious look. "Yeah, The Haven. A place where cows are free to live their lives as they please, free from control by the humans, a sanctuary for our people. Surely you have heard of it. Why else would you be running? "
She eyed him with suspicion.
"Just how old are you? And where did you come from? What ranch do you belong to? I don't see a tag and that brand doesn't look like it belongs to any of the local ranches. Just who are you?"
The battery of questions overwhelmed John. He stuttered an answer to the simplest question.
"I'm Jo..... Joanna," he said.
The blonde cow sighed again and seemed to relax, obviously thinking that John was just slow. "Well, Jo, my name is Sally. And if you want to come with me you have to do everything I tell you, follow me without question. Do that and we might just get out of this. Otherwise you can take your chances on your own. I can't afford to have you do something stupid that will get me caught. So what do you say? Do you want to follow me or do you want to risk it on your own?"