"Yee haw!" shouted Gunn, "Tha' sure was fun, Kieshawn, I think I'm
going to get used to this fine body." There was a swishing noise as
he ran back up field to the group. Something flickered moving behind
his butt as he ran toward them.
The guide sighed, "I was hoping this time it was going to work right.
We are so close. You all can see that...aaaah," he sighed again.
"Hey, wha's a matta, guys?" Gunn asked. As he stood in front of them,
they stared at the tail swishing behind him.
He turned to look behind him. His tail sweat across Emery's crotch.
Gunn felt that and looked back over his shoulder and down.
"Mooo? Ah, mmmmmoooo!" Gunn shouted. There was panic in his deepening
voice.
He reached up and pulled off his helmet.
The guide blew his silent whistle. Gunn lowered his head and covered
his growing ears.
This time the troupe of referees that appeared had little lassos and
were wearing black and white cowboy hats, and black and white pinto
hide boots in addition to their little ref outfits.
Gunn's eyes were all iris when he stood up straight and uncovered his
eyes. Yellow-white stubs of horns were visible growing out of the
sides of his head. His nose and jaw were deformed and thrust forward.
A loop of a lasso slipped over his head, and tightened.
"Moo!" he shouted.
He stumbled forward. His feet were no longer shod in cleats. A pair
of hooves awkwardly supported him. He clenched his fists in pain, but
stayed on two legs. A second rope and then a third looped his neck.
He staggered in the direction the referee cowboys were pulling him.
"What's happening to him?"
"Oh, he's becoming a purebred Texas Longhorn," the guide explained
calmly. "So far that's been the result each time no matter how we
fine tune the helmet. I've got an aviary filled with Baltimore
ravens, and cages and pens with tigers, rams, and tanks with
dolphins. Oh, you wouldn't believe it."
"But what about Vikings and Cowboys - they're still human?" Emery
asked.
The guide tousled Emery's hair and said in a patronizing voice, "You
just keep thinking that, but sadly no. The udders-" he shuddered, "The
less said about the semi-human helmet transformations the better.
They're all locked away under high security."
Gunn was now down on all fours with two foot long horns growing out of
his bovine head. Somehow the little refs had managed to put a steel
ring in his nose and had tied a lead rope to it. He looked back at the
group and moaned for help.
"Are they going to turn him back?"
"Oh, don't worry, Gunn will be well taken care of," he said in a not
terribly reassuring voice. Then he had brightly, "Well, let's
continue with the tour, and at the end we'll have a regular Texas
barbecue with fresh steaks and burgers!"