Charlie grumbled silently to himself. He couldn't believe that the magic old fart running that shop had outflanked so many different SWAT squads. His team had actually made it inside the shop, but once they did the floor fell out from under them, causing them to land in a small pool of some magical substance. Before they knew it, him and his other 6 team members had become different animals.
One of his members, Randy, had become a hawk, so he was able to fly high and help them evade notice of the public. It was at the end of the first day that he found that the damned wizard hadn't just taken his humanity, but his manhood as well. Another day later and they managed to get to the Oregon entrance. After a tough series of morse code to open the door, they managed to return to base. Apparently, the old shopkeeper had erased their trackers, so the M.P.D. had no idea how to find them until they returned.
That was then, now, Charlie was standing upright in a trailer. It was a long grey one with a couple upright holding harnesses to keep their journey less bumpy. It was the same kind one might use to transport horses. In fact, his teammate Dale was actually behind him right now and WAS a horse currently. They were being shipped to the T.A.F.H., a location specifically designed to help people who had been transformed into animals.
Before long, the door behind them opened, and Hector, their handler, had them walk out the back before it closed up behind them. Standing before them was a sprawling grassland dotted with different habitats, fences and buildings of various designs. Charlie was amazed, as it was even larger than the last time he was here. A few more M.P.D. employees came out, each taking one member of the team away with them on leads. Hector was walking Charlie, and Charlie decided to break the silence with some small talk.
"So, uh, Hector." Charlie began before Hector shushed him
"Sorry sir, just in case civilians are around. If we talk out here, keep it to a whisper." He replied.
Alright then." Charlie whispered through the magic necklace, annoyed. "Where are you leading me?"
"We're taking you to section C." He replied.
"Sorry son it's been a bit, can you refresh me on the locals again?" He asked. "Last time I was here I was dropping off some goats that had turned into male bodybuilders."
"Oh, Jake Fred and George! I remember them." Hector chuckled. They had to stay at section D that's where we keep all the transformed that the public cannot see. You know animals turned people, half transformation, anthros etc... Those three were trouble, but given their sentience the M.P.D. decided to let them stay humans. It was just hard explaining to milked goats that their new male genitals weren't udders and they didn't have to uh, milk them while they performed." He added.
"Right I think I remember that..." Charlie replied. "No citizens in section D right?"
"Right." Hector added as they rounded another gate. "As you know, to keep up appearances T.A.F.H. has to seem like a standard animal rescue and rehabilitation. D is the super secret part. A is just regular animals. We keep the least of those, but they're the usual ones that volunteers and the public see to help keep the image. Below that is B, where those poor souls whose reality changed along with their form go. Either they can't remember who they were or can't express it or nobody knows what or who they should be. Those take the longest to straighten out, so they're high priority, but at the same time we let the public see them too, as it's safer than D at least." He explained, still keeping it quiet.
"Right, and where I'm going, C?" He asked, somewhat worried.
"Uh, sorry sir, C's lowest priority. They're folks like you who have no reality issues or crazy, biology defying changes. Also, C is also permitted to occasionally see volunteers and the public..." Hector muttered off.
"What? Oh you can't be serious." Charlie groaned.
"Sorry sir, but you've seen how large this place is! Even with A and B seeing the public, that's still half of the space going unaccounted for. If we mix in some C's as well then most people just assume that there's so much here they just don't see it all." He apologized.
"Look I get it." Charlie sighed, then swiveled his new long neck towards a puddle. Staring back at his was a cute, white, fluffy Alpaca with blank, seemingly expressionless eyes. "I just don't want to be treated like a petting zoo exhibit. I'm a human man dammit. Not some girly Alpaca for some booger ridden kids to pet."
"Relax sir, worst case scenario just some volunteers will come by to bath, or feed you. Your cover story is that you were rescued from mistreatment at a foreign... uh, p-petting zoo, ha. Sorry, ironic huh? But anyway you will NOT be in one. You'll mostly chill in C's barn section, occasionally going out into the pasture for exercise and such." Hector added, a little embarrassed that he missed that part of Charlie's cover story.
"O-oh, good, we're here!" Hector said, sounding very relieved.
Hector lead him inside, placing him in a small, wooden paddock with hay and a water trowel. He shut the door and weakly smiled.
"Sorry again sir, but on the bright side logistics estimated yours would be the shortest!" Hector said. "So hopefully you'll be outta here before you know it." He laughed.
Hector then left the barn, and Charlie internally sighed. Even if his time here would just be a week, it was going to suck. He'd much rather be out on the hunt for the old asshole that did this to him.
"Psst. Hey boss, you over there?" A voice echoed from a different thought necklace.
"That you Dale?" Charlie asked to the stall next to him.
"Yeah it's me. Sweet digs huh, giving us the five star treatment here!" He chuckled.
"I know it sucks Dale, but apparently we're low priority.. Though if I remember right for C's, the longer you're here, the more they'll up your stay to help ease the stress and whatnot." Charlie speculated.
"Oh that's great." Dale snickered, half heartedly. "So instead of standing in my own shit in a wooden cell I might get a stone cell to shit in."
"Relax, we get outdoor time and we still have our thinking faculties. That's more than we can say for those poor souls in B." Charlie whispered.
"Quiet you two!" A feminine voice arose. "I don't know who you think you are but you better be quiet! I've been here three times in this line of work, and I know the rules for this place best. We talk ONLY if absolutely necessary. We don't want to blow the M.P.D.'s cover, or unleash a world of spooky magic crap onto innocents." The voice scolded.
Charlie didn't know who said it, but he knew they were right. He remembered how awful it was experiencing a reality warping being destroying his family, and the tough life of fighting chaotic magic that followed. No way he'd open that door for someone who could easily live a long, normal life.
Charlie laid down in his hay pit, ready to shut his eyes after a long day. It felt weird, not wearing any clothes but feeling like he was wearing a thick fur bodysuit, but he just had to deal with it.
"At least it makes the hay feel nicer." He thought as he quickly drifted to sleep.
The next thing Charlie knew, he was being awakened by the sound of rustling metal. He was about to use the necklace to speak, but figured it was safer to hold his thoughts just in case. The door swung open, and that's when Charlie was greeted by...