text: “Oh, Sweetie! Your antlers are starting to grow in!” said Artemis' mother as she ran her hand through her daughter's hair. “And just before your tenth birthday, too”! She pinched one with her cloven fingertips and tried to wiggle it at the base of her scalp. “Soon enough you'll be walking on hooves- just like your mother”! She rubbed her head one last time before walking into the kitchen with lithe steps that faintly clacked on the wooden floor. Artemis felt strange yet normal as she watched her walk out of the room. The moment she was out of sight, she too ran her hands through her hair to feel two hard nubs protruding from her skull. She remembered father saying things like this were normal for all humans though and tried to calm herself down. She looked down at her feet; they were small- but she was happy to see she still had all her toes. Caught off-guard, she jumped as the door flew open behind her. “I'm home, everyone!” boomed father's thunderous voice while he struggled to fit his horns through the doorway. Tall and bovine; he was as much a bull as he was a man. He towered over Artemis and almost stepped on her as he entered. He was still wearing his blood-speckled uniform from the slaughterhouse as he walked into the kitchen and hugged mother. Slim and cervine, one could easily have mistaken her for a doe were she not standing upright. She seemed to be almost engulfed by his enormous frame as Artemis watched. As they embraced, mother whispered something into his ear. He raised a brow, knelt down, and motioned for Artemis to come over. As she walked up to him he held his massive hand over her skull and gently rubbed her antlers. With a grin, he then grabbed Artemis and lifted her up in his arms. “My baby girl is finally growing up”! Artemis smiled, but still didn't feel right deep down. What was supposedly something almost everyone experiences somehow still felt strange to her; she was nervous. She looked at her father with timid curiosity on her face. “Dad? Why are my antlers important”? Father turned to mother and saw her smile almost joyously at the question. “Because we saved a lot to make you this way, Artemis. I don't know if you've gone over it in school yet- but Humans are... malleable. His beady brown eyes shot around as he thought of the best way to explain as Artemis didn't seem to understand. “The stuff that makes up other kinds of other animals makes us into... what we are. We made sure to make you something different- like your mother but more... exotic”. “And a little like me, too.” he chuckled. “You know what? Try asking mother later- I'm sure she can explain better than I can. I'm a butcher not a biologist after all”! He held her close as he rubbed her antlers again.“You're going to be our beautiful little gazelle, Artemis”. He then kissed her forehead and set her down. “But why Isn't Alex like you or me”? Father opened the refrigerator, pulled out a metal canister, and handed it to her. “This is why- I'm sure you've seen these before”. Artemis looked over the heavy metal cylinder and she struggled to hold it up. A large green toxic symbol was stamped on one side with the words “DANGER: EULSCENT MATERIAL”. Underneath, in smaller print, it continued “For unaltered infants only! All surrohumans must avoid consumption due to EXTREME TOXCICITY; doing so will also be punishable by the full extent of the law”. Succumbing to it's weight, Artemis set the container on the floor where father picked it back up and placed it back into the fridge. “Some mush for babies; goopy green stuff we're supposed to feed him instead of real food. I've heard that some people say that it's made from plants or something- but I think we know well enough that you can't eat those kind of things”. He carefully opened the canister and winced at the fibrous mash's ferrous stench. “Anyway, supposedly if the likes of you or me try it they say we'll be dead before we knew it. But as long as we feed it to Alex instead of normal food he won't change. Until these aren't sent to us any more, of course. Then we have to start feeding him normal food like we did with you. That's why you're changing and your brother isn't- understand”? He sealed the container and took a deep breath as the smell dissipated. “But why does he have to stop eating it”? Father took a long sigh and looked down at Artemis with a pensive glance. His tail swayed from side to side. “Look Artemis- You're too young to get how things are”. As he finished, heavy knocking came from the door. “Just before dinner? Who would be-”. He cut himself off as he glanced out through the window before quickly shooting away from it. His face was suddenly strained and pale under his brown coat; his eyes wide with fear. With a quiet monotone he tried to throw his voice across the kitchen “Honey- hide Alex”. She shouted back that she couldn't hear him. His voice was muffled by the loud knock of her knife against her cutting board as she prepared dinner. He leaned closer but not so much to be seen from the door's window. “Honey- hide Alex now”. His seemed to simultaneously shout and whisper as he spoke. Again, she said she couldn't hear him and put down her knife.. As walked toward him to ask what he was saying she looked out the window before briskly slinking away with sudden urgency. She paused for a moment and then began to sprint toward Alex's room with wide and wild eyes. Her small and sharp hooves tore and scuffed the floor as she carelessly bolted to him. As whoever was behind the door knocked once again, father wiped his brow with a bloodied rag from his pocket and went to the door. A solitary man stood in the doorway as a van sat parked on the side of the road behind him. They were a perfectly normal human- something Artemis had only seen on television before. They had no scales, no feathers, no pelt, hooves, horns, not even a muzzle like her parents- he was a pure, unaltered human wearing a black ministry uniform and a pair of sunglasses. Even as Father towered above him, he struggled to keep his composure as the man looked at a clipboard in his left hand; his right around a gun in it's holster. Under his breath he mumbled “Adult, male, bovine surrohuman.” as he made a tick on his board. “Check”. “Hello- is this the residence of mister and missus Frahum? His voice was professional and smooth is if what he was saying was said many times before. “Y-yes.” was all father managed to mutter. The man nodded and looked further down the clipboard and lifted a page “And I presume you are Angus; Angus Frahum”? “Yes.” said father almost instantly the moment the man finished talking. The man groveled at his urgency and pointed at another part of the clipboard. “And your wife is... Hera? Hera Frahum? “Y-y-yes.” said father behind chattering teeth. Artemis noticed his entire body was shaking now as the man continued to look down at his board. “Adult? Female? Cervine surrohuman”? “Yes” mumbled father. The man then looked ever so slightly over toward Artemis from behind his glasses, made a small wave, and checked off another part of his clipboard “Child, female, developing surrohuman. Check”. He then stuck his clipboard under his arm and stepped inside. “May I see her”? “Father's eyes darted to Artemis as he wiped a sheen of sweat that had started to appear on his brow with his rag, leaving a crimson stain between his eyes from where it was still wet with blood. “Yes, sir, you can see her- this is Artemis”. He flipped up her hair to reveal her antlers underneath, “As you can see- shes beginning to develop... we're feeding her-”. “Mister Frahum, I was referring to Hera- your wife. Not your daughter. Now by authority of the Ministry of Consumption- I want you to bring her to me... I have to see her”. Father began bawling as he collapsed to the floor. With fully-wide eyes, he looked at Artemis with a pain she never saw in him before. Minutes passed by as father seemed to grieve; the whole time the man stood absolutely silent as he waited for father to recompose himself. The entire time he stood there, the man never let go of the gun on his hip. At last, with an exasperated sigh, father turned down towards the hall where Alex's room was. “Honey- Someone would like to see you. Please... come talk to them”. His voice was almost unrecognizable as he almost choked while speaking. Mother stepped out from Alex's room while trying not to make eye contact with the man who whispered “Check.” after looking her over and making another tick on his clipboard. With short, timid steps, mother walked down the hall. Each time her hooves hit the floor a flat echo seemed to reverberate through the entire house; they were almost deafening amid the silence. She hadn't even gotten halfway down the hallway before Alex's muffled cries could be heard from his room. A look of dread washed over the faces of Artemis' parents as the man began walking toward the source of the crying while holding onto his gun with white knuckles. The three of them quietly stood as they watched him enter the room and listen to the sound of a closet door being opened. Mother hugged Artemis and held her close as tears streamed down her face while father stayed on the floor beside them and grieved. A minute went by before the man emerged into the hall holding Alex in one arm while he held out his gun with his other hand. As he passed mother, he turned to her and said “The ministries thank you for your cooperation in the selection of your child. You are performing a great service”. His voice was cold and robotic as if he was reading the words directly from a script. She looked back at him with all the repressed raged she could muster and was met with the blank gaze the man's sunglasses. “I know how you feel right now- about me, about the ministries... but know this- you are helping keep order”. As he stepped out of the house, another representative of the ministry- as perfectly human as the first- emerged and took Alex toward the van waiting outside. Instead of walking out with his accomplice though- he turned back and walked up of father who was still on the floor. Even sitting down, he was almost eye-level with the man as he spoke to him. “Mister Frahum, If you would be so kind to retrieve the child's rations for me, please”? Between hushed sobs, he nodded, walked into the kitchen and emerged with three of the canisters that he had shown Artemis earlier. One by one he handed them over to the man who placed them in an unmarked sack. The man then placed his hand on father's shoulder and almost climbed up him to speak directly into his ear. “I saw that your wife had a plate of meat in the closet- please thank her for not giving him his first taste”. Father swallowed nervously as he said it to him. “I appreciate her understanding of what would have happened if she did”. He then stepped outside and checked one last box on his clipboard. “Infant, male, pure human- Check”. “You're monsters, you know that- right!?” Shouted father in sudden impotent rage as the man walked away. He stopped, turned around, and took off his glasses. His eyes were piercing blue and locked with father's; his chiseled face was devoid of almost all emotion. “Mister Frahum- we're all born the same.” was all he said before he continued on to the van. The other man placed Alex in the back of the van; on it's side was printed 'Ministry of Consumption' in bold lettering along with the seal of the ministries: a lone human standing stoically while surrounded by a ring of beasts. The two men then got in the front and drove off. “I... I think it's time for dinner, everybody. Everything is already cut and cleaned. Angus, c-could you please get the plates?” Said mother shakily as her eyes stayed fixed on the van as it continued onward into the distance and slowly faded away into the smog. Artemis stood with her and watched it take a turn and disappear altogether from their sight among the maze of factories and slaughterhouses. After a moment, father called them to dinner. They all sat around the table with their meals: beef for father, venison for mother, and a cut of gazelle meat for Artemis. She didn't feel like having anything though as she watched her parents eat; their still-human teeth underneath their bestial muzzles twisted and tore at the flesh in their mouths. Their sorrow seemed to evaporate as they ravenously chewed away. “Dad”? “Yes, Artemis”? “Those people who took Alex- they were humans. Real humans. Why aren't we”? The two of them looked at each other with open mouths still overflowing with raw and bloody meat. “That isn't a conversation for right now, Artemis. Just... just eat, okay?” said father as he went back to slowly chewing his beef. “Your father is right Artemis- just eat your meat. After all- it was expensive to get for you so please be sure to have it! After all, I want you to be my beautiful gazelle”. Artemis silently gazed at the blood-soaked meat in front of her. “Why do you want me to be a... gazelle”? “It was a compromise between me and your mother” said father. “We wanted you to be a little like me and a little like her”. He grabbed another filet from his plate and shoved it into his mouth. “Your mother can't have horns like I can- so we chose to feed you something that should look like your mom but with horns like me, understand? That's why we were so happy to see your antlers growing in”. Artemis continued to stare at the hunk of flesh on her plate. “What if I don't want to change”? “Oh, you know it's too late now for that now, Artemis. You're going to stand out- you're going to be different! Gazelle meat is hard to come by around here, after all. Now eat!” Underneath her encouraging words, Artemis could tell she was frustrated by her question. “Mom, I want to talk to you about this”. “Not now sweetie... Is there anything else you would want to talk about instead?” Said mother nervously. “Yeah- yeah, there is...”. Artemis watched them continue to eat. Even in their ravenous joy, she could still see her parents were shaken by what happened earlier. Father's beady eyes were still strained and wet while mother seemed to nervously twitch and tap her hooves on the floor while she ate. The stress on their faces was still there- no matter how hard they seemed to ignore it while they ate. “Mom”? “Yes Artemis”? “Why did those people take Alex? Is he coming back”? Mother let out a long sigh and uncomfortably shifted herself as she sat in her chair. “You're too young for things like this to concern you. Now don't hesitate, Artemis- have your meal. You're going to be beautiful. After all-”. She paused to swallow and quickly grabbed another cut. “You are what you eat”.