“Ben, wait,” David calls quietly and follows him. They reach the end of the catwalk which leads down to the corral levels. Luckily, so far they haven’t been spotted. Climbing down the stairs quietly, they find themselves on the outer wall where several uniforms hang from hooks. “Hey, I got an idea,” David says grabbing one of the uniforms, “we’ll use these to get passed the guards. The boys quickly change out of their clothes and get the first look at each other. Their tails have ripped right through their underwear, but up their backs is a line of brown fur that gets wider as it reaches their shoulders. On the backs of their calves is fur, too. They don’t waste any more time and change into the uniforms, complete with caps. David tucks his long ears under the cap and pulls it as tight as he can, causing himself serious discomfort.
Both David and Ben look convincing enough and they suck up their confidence and walk out into the corral area. Several guards guide donkeys down to corrals and to the crating area. They try to blend in, but many of the guards are more built and older than the two young boys.
“You there,” a guard calls to them. They stop and turn slowly. “You there, take this donkey to loading area B.” David and Ben just nod as David grabs the rope around the small donkey’s neck. He pulls on it slightly, but the donkey won’t move. “Go on, be forceful, it’s just an animal,” the guard yells slapping the donkey in the rear. The donkey lets out a bray and starts to walk. Ben and David just walk along side, “we’ll just take it out and make a run for it,” Ben suggests, but David has already started leading the donkey toward the corral of girls.
Ben realizes David’s play, “what are you doing? They’ll never let us out of here with them.” David agrees, “I know, but we can use them as a distraction, and maybe some of them can get away too. They can’t get all of us, right?” Ben opens his mouth to speak, but a hand grabs his shoulder, “where do you think you’re going with that?”
Ben turns to see the Man in White standing in front of him. Ben swallows hard, “loading area B… sir.” The Man in White stares at him, “loading area B is that way,” he points. The man stares at Ben, “What’s your name?” Ben gets ready to speak, but then feels something in his throat. He realizes what it is and holds his mouth closed tight. “What is your name, tell me this instant?” The man demands again. Ben’s chest spasms as the feeling returns, stronger. David watches Ben sweat as he cringes, but can no longer contain it.
“HAW HEE HAW HEE HAW,” Ben spits out and then falls to his hands and knees. He gasps for air and then lets out another bout, “HEE HAW HEE HAW.” David starts breathing heavily as he watches Ben’s jaw crack and stretch outward. Ben’s nostrils widen and his teeth push out farther than his lips can cover. The Man in White just steps back and yells, “SECURITY BREACH!”