"A chicken?!"
Could it possibly mean rooster? Alex read and re-read the letter again. There was no mistaking it. Alex was going to become a chicken. Upset, he walked to his room, closed the door, and went to call Danielle.
What she had to say shocked him. She was marked down to become a Rooster, and they were both being relocated to the same farm...
***
At the center the next day, Alex and Danielle walked into the waiting room together. Some of his unease had faded, but he still felt a little dizzy.
"Danielle, we'll see each other real soon, ok? It'll be alright, honey".
When his number was up, he was led to room 4, was given something to drink, and was asked to remove his clothes. Since he hadn't struggled, the doctor had allowed him complete privacy, leaving and shutting the door behind him.
Alex realized the catalyst must have been in the drink when the door shut. His now cold legs suddenly felt dry and scaly. Every hair on his body began to split and multiply into white feathers.
The sensation was interesting; he observed the dark hair hanging in front of his eyes turn grey, then white, then much lighter then it had been. The hairs on the rest of his body followed suit, and he began to fill in with fluffy down.
His legs from his upper thighs down turned bright yellow, and his feet and toes elongated, his toe nails became black talons. He could feel through his stiffening fingers a rubbery growth right in the middle of his head.
His transformation had begun...