The first few weeks were the hardest for Chad. Leif kept him up-to-date about the search parties in search of Chad, and showed him videos of his parents beseeching the public in the hopes of a lead. He took pictures of the vigil the school had for his disappearance.
It created a deep pain within Chad’s heart, to see so many people he recognized in so much pain. It steeled his resolve, that he would someday escape this farm. He wasn’t sure how he could explain it to the rest of the world, but he’d have proof once he could swap back and forth between forms. Leif had to be deeply disturbed, to witness these things that he caused and feel nothing. Chad was certain his tormentor was doing this to mentally break him.
By the end of the first month, news started to move onto other things. As Leif had predicted, his udder had grown by measurable amounts within the first month, so much so that it started slapping his inner thighs when it was full. Leif was milking him daily after the second week, and Chad had broken a gallon per day just before the month’s end.
The second through sixth month were the same drudgery. It was somewhere after the fourth month that Leif had started to give him free reign of the barn, leaving his stall open alongside the others. The barn door was kept locked, but it was a relief to get so much additional space.
Of course, it was because his udder had grown so large that he could barely break a canter regardless of space. It pressed his hips outward constantly, and his production was being measured in gallons. It was awkward to move, since the growth
Leif had been showing him videos of cows and goats with oversized mammaries, and Chad was really beginning to see the resemblance. The looked different than his, both in color and shape, but the sheer amount of space it took was uncanny. It didn’t help that Chad had two to four times as many teats as those examples, and his long legs gave plenty more space.
It was around the fifth month that Leif had brought in the milking machine. It was actually two milking machines intended for cows, and Leif had somehow rigged it to line up with the 8-teated monstrosity Chad was carrying around. The machine was designed to be usable by the cattle by simply walking into it, which meant Chad was free to use it of his own accord. It was also around this time that Leif had started milking Chad twice a day, and it was starting to get painful to miss a milking session. He was told daily about how many gallons he was producing, and it was starting to beat cows at over 8 gallons per day.
Some time during the sixth month, Leif brought up that Chad’s was due to give birth within a month. On top of this information, he was excitedly told that his production was bound to spike once more, because this is when reindeer actually begin producing milk.
Unfortunately, Leif spoke the truth once more. As the final weeks closed in, Chad found his udder feeling painfully full each morning, so much that he would sometimes walk into the milking apparatus of his own will to relieve the pressure. The primary bulge of his udder hung well past his hocks, and on some days, he could even feel its teats brush the floor. He’d even get into the machine during some afternoons, just to keep his udder from pulling down on his back. It weighed at least a hundred pounds when it was completely full, and the machine lopped off a good 80 pounds of that in milk.
It was down to the final days before Chad was to give birth to this fawn. Leif was remaining with Chad for more of the day as the time grew near, and he was even using his real name instead of the new nickname of “Bessie.” Chad considered it a kind of respect, even if he didn’t care about what Leif wanted.
“You know, Chad, I’ve got to get something off my chest…” Leif had told him stupid secrets and daily life junk before, so he barely reacted. “It’s about you.”
Chad’s ears perked up.
“I’ve got to say, this experiment has been a resounding success. The truth is, you made your udder this big. It wasn’t because of some sexual drive, or because I made you this way.” He quickly corrected himself. “I mean to say, it’s not exactly that I made you this way. You see, were-reindeer have a very easily molded form, in that we can physically tweak our body to match our needs. The only problem is, it’s entirely subliminal and it only lasts for the first reproductive cycle in a doe. My family thought it was all about tradition and karma, but I looked past that and saw the truth.”
He placed a hand against Chad’s udder. Before, it was small enough that his hand cupped it. Now, the udder could swallow his hand without so much as bothering Chad. “Because you trusted what I said and had no other point of reference on what a normal reindeer looks like, you steadily pushed your body to become more productive than what was ever naturally possible. It’s why I kept you isolated from the rest of the hard, and only showed you images of cows and oversized udders. It’s also why I claimed you’d start producing prior to giving birth. If you had known otherwise or doubted me, you most likely would have never started producing. In fact, I’ve got a regular doe from the herd to show you how different you’ve become.”
Chad was mortified. He’d done this to himself?
Leif pulled open the barn door, but Chad didn’t try to escape. His massive udder kept his hind legs splayed apart to make room, and he found that galloping was agony, between needing to keep his forelegs from striking his udder, and keeping the udder from slamming into the ground. Leif went around the corner and grabbed a leash from a holding post, and urged the doe to follow him back into the barn.
It was almost surreal to Chad. It was the first living thing he’d seen in over half a year that wasn’t himself, Leif, or some of the vermin that lived in the barn. The strange part was how small the doe was. He stood above her head by a full foot, easily. His stance was much wider, like his entire frame was larger than hers. Had his entire body been growing along with his udder? Once the doe met eyes with Chad, it briefly recoiled, then became very curious, so much so that it moved away from Leif to inspect Chad more closely.
“This is Dana, formerly known as Jasmine, and she was raised on tradition. That is to say, she was surrounded by examples of what a doe should look like and produce. Dana, this is Bessie, formerly known as Chad. Bessie was raised on unrealistic standards, but she knew nothing else, and became what was needed. Now, she’s producing an easy 16 gallons a day. Over the course of 2 to 3 milkings, of course.”
Dana was staring at Chad’s prodigious udder while Leif was busy talking, but she made a barking noise upon hearing that number.
“That’s right, Bessie is producing as much as two-hundred-and-fifty regular reindeer.” It was Chad’s turn to gasp. He was really producing that much more than normal? “Bessie, if you’d be so kind to get on the milking apparatus?”
Chad was hesitant, but he was still disoriented by the revelation, and the pressure was starting to ache. He trudged onto the device, the suction cups found their marks, and the machine began to siphon the milk out of him.
“Bessie here has been so productive that she’s even taken to milking herself to relieve the pressure. I’m bringing you out here because I know you’ve been hurting to get back into the back field, and we’ve been keeping the herd cooped up in the main barn and fields. I just want to point out the newcomer so you can inform the rest of the herd. After she births her fawn, you’ll be sharing the back field with her.” He paused, waiting in silence while Dana looked at him. “We’re all reindeer here, Dana. You’re free to speak your mind.”
Dana glared, then to Chad’s shock, a fairly coherent voice, if a little odd in dialect, came from the deer. “Can this one speak?”
“Nope, I’ve kept her in the dark about that one.” He turned to Chad. “By the way, you’re capable of speech with enough practice. May want to start on that soon, because you may never speak if you don’t start before the birth.” Chad was still hooked to the milking machine, but he wanted to run screaming for the hills.
Dana remained focused. “Will this one be joining the herd?”
“Yes and no. She’s going to be taken from time to time in order to make more like her, by serving as an example. The rest of the time, she’ll be in the back fields and free to mingle. Of course, you can guess that she won’t be very mobile. Also, I’m going to install a low fence between the back fields and the front. I know the herd can easily jump such a fence, but it should be enough of a barrier for Bessie.” He paused. “And to the both of you: if Bessie is seen in the front fields by a stranger, you can be sure that one or more of you will be going to the butcher. Even if Bessie’s a big producer, she’s just proof of what we can do, which means she’s replaceable. No sightings until a genetic lineage can be forged.”
Chad was reeling from all this information. He knew Leif had a herd somewhere, but they were able to speak? He needed to learn how to speak as soon as possible. If he escaped, he could convince people of his plight without needing to change back, and that’d give him enough time to change back.. He still had close to ten minutes remaining on the machine, but every second mattered. He immediately tried to start talking, but a deep bleat came out instead. It interrupted the conversation Leif and Dana were having.
“Oh, great. She decided to start right now. Bessie, shut up for a minute and I’ll get you some help, for being such an obedient doe.” Chad was embarrassed by his first try, and he decided he could use the help. With only the milking machine’s drone, Leif turned back to the other doe. “Dana, I’m going to give the herd access to the back fields, and I’ll place a temporary barrier to this barn. I want the herd to get familiar with Bessie, and I want someone tutoring her in how to speak.”
Chad struggled to read Dana’s face as she sat in silence. “This task is not easy, for many reasons. What incentive does the herd have for doing well?”
Leif laughed. “This is why you’re my favorite. If you get her capable of making words, I’ll raffle a slot. If you get her fluent, I’ll raffle a second. If she’s happy being around the herd after a half-year, I’ll raffle a third. Every year we have no accidents with Bessie getting to the front fields, I’ll raffle another.”
“That can’t be serious.”
Leif seemed offended. “What? Not enough?”
Dana stomped a hoof. “That is too generous. The herd will doubt-”
“Then don’t tell them before they see her. I’m sure they’ll recognize that Bessie alone is enough to handle every order and then some, meaning the farm no longer needs them for milk. For now, we still want a sizeable population to look like a reindeer dairy, but don’t doubt that we’ll be pushing out the old and bringing in the new, in one way or another. Maybe I’m being too kind, but I’m in an exceptionally good mood, and I’m willing to spread the love if things keep going my way.”
Dana seemed to calm down. “Very well. Bessie will be seen as a witless pawn, worthy of pity and in need of aid. In time, the raffle will be mentioned. If Donner bluffs about such prizes, the repercussions would be...Catastrophic. Return this one to the herd.”
“Sounds fair to me! I really like the spin.” Leif opened the door with Dana still tied to the leash within his hands, with a murmured “ladies first” that Chad could barely pick out over the milking machine. His head poked through the door before it completely closed. “Bessie, I’ll be out for the day getting feed and setting up some stuff, so milk yourself whenever. Your continued compliance is about to make a lot of reindeer very happy.”
As Leif left, Chad could barely pick out the conversation they had outside while the door was chained shut. “So Dana, you know how Caribou and Reindeer are one and the same? I was thinking, maybe Bessie’s species should be named a Cowibou! Makes sense, right?” The chains settled, and the voices began to grow more distant. Chad could barely make out a “I thought it was funny” in Leif’s voice.