First thing is first, you decide to head outside. You don't feel comfortable inside. Where that feeling comes from, you don't know.
Being a quadruped is a strange feeling. You suppress the desire to panic over having four legs rather then two arms and two legs.
Worry that you're stuck like this is trying to surface. Your emotion control threatens to vanish at any given moment. You do your best to focus on human thoughts in hopes that they will prevent the donkey thoughts from taking over.
Your human desires and thoughts are still there but seem out of place in this donkey body.
It's just a game; you keep telling yourself this. You're not experiencing this any more then you experience someone shooting you in a first person shooter. Yet, it feels so real, or as real as you imagine being a donkey would feel.
You manage to walk outside.
It's dark out and you don't see anyone else around.
Desire to find other donkeys surfaces. It doesn't feel part of something you'd want. It's more like something someone has implanted in you. You can tell the difference -- for now.
"There's another one! Get him!"
You turn to see a sight that evokes terror in you.
A trio of what you can only describe as living shadows.
You try to tell them it's all right, you're not a real donkey but all that comes out is a bray.
Right, you can only bray.
Being unable to speak terrifies you yet at the same time there's a strange sense of danger which brings on a thrill. Something in you tries to push your language skills out. If you can only bray, you don't need to know words when tone will do.
You shake your head. No, that is what the donkey thoughts are trying to tell you. They're mixing with human thoughts perhaps even perverting those. You do your best to focus.
Since this is just a game, you decide to approach the men despite every instinct inside of you saying to run. Giving into instinct could only encourage the donkey thoughts.
The men surround you.
"You're coming with us," the same one from before says.
Okay you think, go ahead and capture me. Yet, you know you should put up some sort of fight. You bray at them and attempt to kick. The action comes automatically; another instinct it seems. You manage to get one of them off you and break into a run with the men in hot pursuit.
If this were real, you'd be terrified. Even if you escaped, getting back to wherever home is would be pointless if you remain a donkey.
You're making ground on them and aren't looking where you're going. You look ahead but not in time to avoid slamming into another fleeing donkey that's wearing a black tee shirt. You both tumble to the ground but remain unhurt as per some cartoon rule. You're thankful for that rule as such an impact in real life would likely have killed or crippled both of you.
The other donkey looks over to you.
"Why did you do that?" he says. "And yeesh, what is that smell? Have you ever heard of a shower?"
He can talk? Lucky guy. What smell is he speaking of? If you smell like a donkey, you can't detect it. That disturbs you as well.
You try to respond but the same bray comes out.
"Lovely, just lovely," the donkey says. "First I turn into a donkey and now this."
Picking yourself up, you bray at him. He stands up and stares at you.
"Do something! Help me! I don't want to be a donkey! Why is this happening to us?"
You cock your head. How are you supposed to do anything?
He sees something behind you and looks panicked.
"They're coming for us! If you can't speak then you're finished! I'm outta here!"
You bray at him in a desperate attempt to beg him to take you with him. He tries to run off but more shadow people intercept and tackle him to the ground as he runs past a building. You try to run to help but your pursuers grab you and hold you down.
The boy cries for mercy as the shadow men hold him down.
"Please let me go! I don't want to be this way!"
One of the men produces what appears to be a prod.
"No, I'm not a animal! I'm a boy! You can't do this to me!"
The man touches the prod to the former boy and presses a button, sending electricity into the boy. He yells out in pain. You bray in protest only for the men holding you down to shock you as well. Pain unlike anything you've ever experiences screams through you. For a moment, your entire body goes limp.
Another terrifying moment as you forget why you're struggling and why being a donkey is unusual. You blink it off but you find that fighting those instincts is harder now. If they were enemy troops trying to capture your territory, they'd have just called in reinforcements.
"Please don't do this to me," the boy cries. "I'll do anything. My Dad has money, he can pay you. Just let me be a boy again and let me go home."
His voice is weak and you can make out tears streaming form his eyes. This is starting to get a little too dark for you and you want out.
"You're not a boy, you're a donkey," the shadow man says. "Donkeys don't speak. Oh yes, donkeys also don't wear clothes."
The man rips the boys shirt off and throws it aside.
"I'm not really a donkey! This can't be happening! Please, don't do this to me!"
The man shocks the boy again. His cries of pain enrage and terrify you. His eyes close and for a moment you fear that he's dead. He opens his eyes moments later and speaks once again.
"I just wanted to have fun..."
He seems to be struggling against something. A bray emerges from him the next time he tries to speak. He brays several more times and tries to get up but he's too weak to escape their hold.
"Please I..."
A few more brays. You can tell that he's fighting it.
"Billy Stevens -- too strong..."
Billy starts to bray several times before he stops. You struggle but the men hold you back. Billy blinks and a tear falls from each eye.
"Let go, it will be much easier on you," the shadow man that shocked Billy said.
Billy seems to want to say something else but he only bray. The shadow men release him and he stands up. He's disturbingly calm. He looks at the men but doesn't try to run.
"He's done," the man that shocked him said.
Done? What have they done to him?
You bray in protest. This isn't right. What if you're next? Right, this isn't real, it's all a game. He's just a fictitious character.
The fact brings you little comfort.
This is getting to be too much, you want out. But just how do you get out?
"Now my friend, are you going to go willingly?"
You look back at the man. He still has the prod he used to shock you. Billy stands there with a blank look on his face. Whatever humanity was left in him appears to be gone. At the moment, there's nothing you can do for him. But, can you do anything for yourself? You nod reluctantly. Maybe you can't save Billy at the moment but you can later. That assumes you want to. He was willing to abandon you after all.
It's a struggle but you focus on every remain human instinct and thought. With all the willpower you can muster, you manager to speak despite the desire to bray screaming at you.
"What did you do to him?"
Your voice is ironically hoarse.
"He'll never be happy with a human mind in his new life," the man says. "Nor will you. Now, we can do this the hard way or we can do this the fun way."
Fun way?
You bray at the man. It's takes too much concentration to speak.
"Well, we could for example turn Billy into a female and let you have some fun with *her*. Nothing brings out those instincts more then a good romp in the hay."
Is the man serious? This is just a cartoon. Cartoon donkeys don't even have the right equipment. You shake your head.
"Or we get one of our ladies to give you a nice brushing, nice and innocent despite how it sounds. So, how do you want to do this? Have some with it? You're just a donkey now, we won't think any less of you for it. Or, fight it and force us to take harsher measures?"
You give it some thought before fighting every instinct and answering with what could be the last human words you'll ever say.