"…There will be a high risk of snow and ice throughout the entire UK this weekend. We have a yellow weather warning throughout England, Scotland and some parts of Wales, so make sure you stay up to date with the forecast for any changes. From Saturday into Sunday, we are expecting more snow as well as a high probability of heavy rain, so make sure to wrap up warm when you go out, stay in if you can. Back to Matt in the studio."
The beautiful woman on the TV had spent the last few minutes in front of a projection of the country, pointing out where the bad weather was going to hit the most. Despite the bleakness of the subject she was talking about, she maintained a heavy smile throughout the entire segment. The screen faded into another studio, where a well-dressed man with silver hair sat behind a desk, his voice solemn as he read out the next story.
"Leon Abbotts," he started, "the man behind 'Pet Correction' was arrested earlier today, he was found by police trying to board a plane using a different name and a fake passport. Mr Abbotts was not to leave the country without permission from the court. He became a household name earlier this year, when he appeared on the news talking about his new company. A brand new way to punish criminals using humiliating and submissive methods with the guarantee that they won't ever break the law again. Whilst the goal of the company was admiral and gained respect of the nation, several psychologists came together against the upcoming company, stating that their methods were actually harmful to the convicted. Mr Abbotts was first arrested last month, when Police found him in his London home with several of these so-called 'Pets', using them for his own…"
"Uhh… I can't hear anymore of this," Donna sighed, turning off the TV.
It was beautiful, it was quiet. It was my own small kingdom that allowed me to forget about the outside world for just a moment. Snow covered every inch of the ground around me, the house, the garden and even the area beyond the gate was covered in that beautiful colour. The gate itself was coated in snow, almost making it fade into the background, giving me the feeling that the metal object wasn't there anymore.
For the first time since everything started, I felt at peace. I closed my eyes as I took in every sense I could, listening to the emptiness of life around me, even the birdsong had stopped, my rhythmic heart beating against my chest being the only noise that travelled towards my latex clad ears.
For a second the silence was broken. Quietly and carefully, I felt the other creature of the house crawl against the new layer of snow, the soft material being crushed underneath the heavy frame of the black cat. I let my eyes fall open and looked to my side, Cleo towered over me, taking in the sights like I was doing just moments before. She looked as calm as she could be, despite the current situation. She settled her body on the ground and rested against me, getting as comfortable as she could.
Despite being almost naked in this freezing temperature, the suits we were locked in worked amazingly well at keeping the cold out. Not a single inch of my body could feel the icy air despite the eye hole in the hood. Looking down at the white that surrounded me, my brain remembered how snow felt against the skin, that icy sting the moment of the contact, the texture of the snow and how it felt against my touch. The suit allowed me to feel the texture, the soft crunch as it shifted under my weight. Yes, I could not feel that painful cold, it felt as if I was numb against its effects.
If I had the power, I would rip off the outfit and lie completely naked on the ground. Making sure to feel the white against my nude form. I wished I could just take in the entirety of the weather, every sense of it, but I only had the chance to look at it through the hood; almost as if I was watching the day through a TV screen.
"Cleo!" Donna's voice called from the house, "Cleo, get inside! Now!"
It wasn't a commanding tone, but one that seemed like she was begging. Cleo immediately turned around to look at our owner, causing the collar around her neck to jingle from the force. She stayed right by my side, despite being called back in.
"Cleo! Get in now, we can't have anyone seeing you."
Still she remained. She seemed almost determined to fight against our mistress, although I did begin to wonder why she wasn't calling my name also. I knew our time in the outside world was coming to an end. It was a nice moment to forget about what was happening and enjoy the beauty of the natural world.
"Cleo! Please come in!" she pleaded again before asking, "Where's Nala? Is she out there with you?"
That's when I felt the paw of the black cat cover my head, urging me to turn around to the house just like she was doing. I span around, forcing the gathered snow to fall off my body, snow that made itself at home as I sat perfectly still and admired the world.
"Ah, Nala. There you are!" Donna laughed for the first time in ages, "I couldn't see your white body against the snow, you were camouflaged. Anyway, I need both of you in right now."
This time Cleo moved, sprinting on all fours into the comfort of the home. I followed her, walking behind at a slow pace in order to take in the open world, before we were forced inside and locked away from the rest of the world. That was why the black cat was refusing to move, she knew that Donna couldn't see me against the snow.
It had been a while since my last outfit broke and I was placed into this one, the outfit that used to hug Poppy's body. Yet, I couldn't say I was used to its form. I kept looking down at my paws, expecting to see the skin that I started this journey with, it was always a surprise to see the white paws beneath me.
"Come on in, Nala," Donna's voice was quieter by the time I got to the door.
The moment I made my way through, she slammed the door as quickly as she could and then turned the bolt. It was unlikely that anyone would be able to get through the large metal gate that surrounded the property, but that was a chance Donna could not risk. I crawled towards Cleo, joining her in the corner of the room as we examined our owner making sure the door was locked, she peered through the window to make sure there were no other people within the back garden. Once it was confirmed to be clear, she placed both of her hands over her head, trying to wipe the stress from her eyes and her life.
"It's just been phone call after phone call," she mumbled into her palms, "It's not stopping."
I felt bad for the poor woman. She was the only one in charge of this property and she was the one who had to deal with the repercussions that the owner of Pet Correction got himself into. I wished there was a way both Cleo and I could have helped her, relieve this burden off her shoulders and let her get some peace.
Her breathing heavied, her hands remained exactly where they were, as if she was giving her eyes and her mind a short break from reality. Then, the phone rang. The annoying tone echoed from the hallway, seemingly travelling all across the small bungalow before reaching Donna's ears. It was a sound that became far too common since the news came out.
She slammed her hands down, "OH, JUST LEAVE US ALONE!"
It was a scream that I had never heard from her before, she was usually so calm and dignified. It seemed that all sense left her for a short moment before coming back to reality, this time she brought her hands to her mouth, seeming surprised that her voice could reach that volume and worried that the slip could have scared both the black cat and I.
"I'm so sorry," she immediately apologized, this time changing her tone to a whisper.
Cleo and I started to calm down after the initial surprise of Donna's scream. It wasn't difficult to understand why she was so stressed. All the events that happened after that news report was not her fault, yet she was the one who had to deal with the consequences. She gave herself a moment to wipe her eyes, clearing her vision before she calmed herself down enough to talk to the person on the other end of the phone.
"I… am going to get that." She cleared her throat, "Please just stay here, don't go to any of the windows. Just… stay there until I am back."
She held her hands open to us, as if she was trying to keep us sat where we were with some sort of mystical psychic powers. Cleo and I just looked back with our heads cocked, we knew what she was trying to do, but it looked silly all the same. However, the woman did not have enough time to think about the actions she was making and quickly left the room before the ringtone from down the hall ended.
The moment we were alone, both Cleo and I sat up and began to crawl towards the front of the house. The front door was locked and the peephole to look into the outside world was far too high for us to reach. However, there was a window in the meeting room that looked into the outside world, specifically the front gate.
It was almost as if we were moving in unison. Our paws grabbed a hold of the bottom of the window, giving us enough strength to pull our heads up. This was where we had to be careful, as we were only able to reach up high enough for our eyes to see over the window, any further and we would have most certainly have been seen from the outside.
I let out a sigh when I saw it, a sight that all three of us had become sick of within the last few days. Outside the gate was a selection of thirty people or so, all covered in the warmest clothes that they had. Half of them had microphones almost glued to their hands, whilst the second half were holding more delicate equipment like cameras and sound gear. It was tough not to get any attention from any of them, if one saw us then it was likely the entire group would become active and yell at us to come out and give a statement.
Cleo and I let go of the window and went back into hiding, trying not to push our luck too far. We were unsure how the information got out, but shortly after that news report, the locations of several Pet Correction facilities became public knowledge… Unfortunately, we were one of the few. Since then, Donna had her arms full looking after both of her pets, whilst trying to hide us from the outside world. We were unable to leave to go shopping or just to visit Lauren. It was hard to see our owner struggle with the responsibility of not only looking after us, but dealing with the full weight of the ramifications since that news report. All without the ability to fall into the comfort of her girlfriend's arms.
It was odd for both Cleo and I too. We both went from being criminals, then forced into these outfits and thrown into a quiet side of the country, trying to keep away from the eyes of normal people, to being one of the biggest news stories around. It was a strange sensation to feel that people wanted to know more about us, and it was all for the wrong reasons. We were already public knowledge before, but it felt as if we were being ignored by a majority of the population. It was the diabolical acts of one man that caused this surge of interest.
Donna slowly walked into the room. Her body was almost lifeless, like she was walking without any strength in her steps. She leant her back against the wall, looking far more worse off than she did earlier. She had a look of exhaustion ever since this whole thing started, but now she had the look of defeat on her face. The phone call must not have gone well.
This caught our attention. Cleo leaped towards the young woman, lifting her entire weight on her knees and bringing her body upwards, her two black paws were placed against Donna's stomach and Cleo's beautiful black eyes looked pleadingly into Donna's. I was not far behind, crawling towards the two and getting close enough to see that the large, black cat was trying to calm the woman down. Donna wiped her eyes, this time it wasn't tears that were rolling down her face, but sheer tiredness, I didn't believe she had enough energy to cry at that time.
"We… " she stammered weakly, "we have to leave."
The power in Cleo's arms faltered and she fell back down on her butt. I could see her dark eyes were wider than they ever had been before, her gaze fell until she was looking down at the tiled floor beneath her, at her paws that were trembling with the sudden news she had received from her owner.
She continued, "It's not going to get better anytime soon. They have set up a safe place for us to stay at… for how long, I don't know. It will most likely be our home from now on."
It was hard hitting. This was our home, this was Donna's house. I could not imagine being anywhere else during my time with Pet Corrections. Seeing that Donna was too exhausted to even cry was hurting me on a whole different level.
"We don't have long. They have already sent a car to pick us up. I need to pack the essentials right now, everything else they will have shipped to us at a later date."
She wiped her eyes and immediately began to move. I saw her brain click as it began to focus on the task at hand, as if it turned off the emotional side of this day and the fact she was leaving her home behind and focused entirely on gathering whatever items she will need to survive for the near future. It was hard to watch, but that was all Cleo and I could do. We were trapped in these outfits with no ability to use body parts that would have been useful to Donna at this moment. We followed the young woman as she travelled from room to room. First of all she grabbed the biggest suitcase she could find and began to dump a week's worth of clothing within the structure.
DVDs were the second thing she thought about. I assumed she would have been embarrassed about the contents that were on the discs and did not want the people moving our items to see what was on them. She grabbed the entire pack of adult animated videos and threw them into the suitcase without any order to them. Food was the next on her internal list, grabbing any items that needed to be chilled or had a short expiration date. They did not go into the large suitcase, but were placed in a plastic bag she had found hidden in one of the cupboards.
Straight afterwards, she returned to the bedroom. This time it was for more personal items. As soon as the woman stepped through the doorframe, both Cleo and I were there seconds later. We watched the entire thing as if we were curious pets, unable to stand being alone without a form of human interaction. Donna went directly to her bed-side cabinet. The first thing she picked up was a cute picture of her and Lauren that she looked at every night. It was a typical selfie with Lauren making a funny face whilst Donna was simply smiling, taken on their first date together. It was one of the belongings that she cherished the most. Not the item itself, but the memory that one picture held, one that reminded Donna of someone who really cared for her, someone who made her feel safe, someone who did not require her to be strong or in control and just loved her for the sake of loving her.
We watched carefully as she pressed the picture into her chest, hugging it as tightly as she could, imagining that it was Lauren she was holding in her arms. Once she had her moment, she opened up the top drawer and brought out a sex toy. It was a small vibrator that both Cleo and I watched or heard her use often, she picked it up with a set of spare batteries. Then suddenly she threw the toy back and placed the picture on top. She pulled out the entire drawer with one pull and walked it all the way to the suitcase, dropping the entire contents into the case.
"I'm going to need it all anyways," Donna said, her voice was bland and emotionless, "No reason to be careful with it all."
Multiple items fell from the wooden frame, a majority of it was medication, but there were a few other personal items in there too. We watched them all fall and become one with the rest of the contents of the bag. Once it was completely empty, Donna placed the drawer onto the side. With a finger on her chin, she looked around the room for anything else that needed to come with us. I knew it wasn't just the room she was thinking about, she was mentally examining the entire house for urgent items.
"Ah!" she yelled, jumping out of the room in just a few steps.
Once again, Cleo and I followed her closely. This time she did not re-enter the room, but went further down the hall and into the reception room. She wasted no time reaching a particular cupboard, she knelt down and opened the small wooden doors swiftly before placing a few items on the floor next to her. They were clothes… all of them. I tilted my head… but Donna already placed in her clothes for a week, why would she be wanting more?
That was when I examined the items. They weren't Donna's at all, none of them would fit the young woman or even be in her style. There was an old band t-shirt, two pairs of denim shorts that seemed to be two different sizes and then a plain t-shirt and hoodie. The… hoodie looked familiar.
I gasped within the confines of the suit, leaping forwards towards the items of clothing that were placed on the ground. Half of the clothes belonged to me, well… when I was a human anyway, and I assumed the other half belonged to Cleo. I glazed over the familiar objects with my eyes before looking up at Donna, confused as to what this meant, I didn't think these clothes were ones that I would see until my sentence was up, why was she taking them with us with the prioritized items?
Donna looked up at me, noticing my curious look, "I've been told to strip you of your outfits… only until we reach our new place."
She reached back into the cupboard once more, bringing out the more delicate items that we used to wear. Two pairs of bras were placed on top of the pile, one was black and lacy, made for someone with a fairly large bust and the other was a bland and white, far smaller than the other. Was that the bra I was wearing when I came here? It had been so long since I felt normal clothes against my skin that I had completely forgotten the outfit I was wearing.
She then did the same with the underwear. A black, laced, sexy thong was placed on top of the pile first, followed straight after by a pair of white panties, this one wasn't as bland as the bra that it went with, showing off a pink ribbon that would sit at the top of the wearer's sex. In a way I was proud of the bottom piece of clothing, showing that it wasn't just a simple one-coloured set that I used to wear underneath my clothes, however it paled in comparison to the sexy number that Cleo was used to.
As Donna closed the door back up, I glanced towards the black cat, staring into the eyes that hid beneath the mask. Her irises were dark, but lit up as she scanned the forgotten outfit she used to wear, as if she was remembering how the fabric felt on her large frame and it reminded her of the people she was once before this life of being a pet. She brought her paw up, dragging the thong off the pile of clothes and closer towards her. The item of clothing seemed extremely small in comparison to her giant paw, making it seem impossible to fit the cat's body; at least not comfortably.
Then we all heard a specific sound. It was one we all heard before but in entirely different circumstances. It was the low growl of the front gate opening up, its quiet screech vibrating the floors underneath us, making us all very aware of the movement happening outside. Donna's mouth dropped and she sprinted out of the room, both Cleo and I followed her as quickly as we could, trying to leap within the restraints of the outfit. We made it to the front facing window, our owner ripped the curtain away, letting in outside light for the first time since the news report.
Cleo and I pretty much leapt to the window, holding onto the bottom of the frame with enough strength to lift our heads over the wall and see what was happening outside. There was a large commotion, voices were yelling and cursing, bodies were almost climbing over each other to get a peek at what was happening. Never before had I seen a group of adults lose their minds over something so trivial. The gate was indeed opening. By the time we got to the window, we just had enough time to see the metalwork shake as it jolted to a stop. A vehicle was slowly crawling up to the drive, not stopping until it had reached the front door of the house, luckily it was followed by two police cars. A small group of officers got out of their vehicles and made a line outside the gate, stopping any unwanted visitors from crossing the threshold into our sanctuary.
The vehicle that managed to reach the front door looked familiar. I knew I had seen it before, on a few occasions actually, however… I could tell it had been a long time since I laid my eyes on it. The driver's door opened and a man immediately stood out of the vehicle, almost running the short distance towards our home.
"Mister Grumpypants!" Donna screamed with joy, bringing her hands down on the wooden frame of the window.
She instantly turned around and ran out of the room. Once again, both Cleo and I were forced to follow her, pushing our restrained bodies as hard as they would go. Before we even managed to get to the front door, we heard the click of the lock open and the silhouette of the man entering the building. A lovely, cold breeze managed to pass through him and travel through the house, both Cleo and I felt it hit our eyes; the only human aspect of ourselves left. He shut the door behind him, locking it back up just in case anyone managed to get past the police line outside, placing the key he used to get in into his pockets before turning around and greeting us.
Donna beat him to it, "Mr Grumpypants!" she yelled again, almost jumping into the arms of the man we hardly knew.
He didn't react to the nickname she gave him, just like he didn't react the first or second time she called him that since the beginning of my sentence here. He smiled… he actually smiled as if he seemed relieved that we were all in good health. I don't think I had ever seen any emotion go over that man's face before, but it helped in calming us all down.
"Are you all okay?" he asked us, letting go of the younger woman, "Can't believe the crowd you have out there."
It was odd to see him display some form of emotion, yet it was much more strange to hear the collection of sympathy and sadness in the tone of his voice.
"We are okay," Donna nodded.
"Good, good. Did you get the call?"
"Yeah… We are almost done, just need to get these two out of their outfits."
"Perfect. I don't want us to stay a second longer here than we have to."
I noticed Donna's stance fell slightly, it was the simple way the man was talking, yet his words meant more to her than to him. He was talking about leaving as if we were leaving a place of little importance, not one that we had called home for the better part of a year. Luckily, he seemed to realise the finality of his words.
"Oh… sorry," he muttered, it was clear the man wasn't used to apologising.
"That's okay. Can you help Cleo out of her outfit? I'll take Nala into the other room and undress her there."
The man stuttered, "W-what? It's not my place to do that."
"Well, you said we had to get out of here as quickly as possible, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well four hands are better than two. Don't worry, she's not a biter"
The man looked down at the approaching black cat, there was a look in Cleo's eyes that told us that she was going to enjoy her time with the poor man. For a second, I thought I saw a moment of fright across his face, realising the fact that a woman was hiding under the layer of latex, he gritted his teeth as he gave a small nod; giving into the young woman's demand.
"Great!" Donna seemed pleased with the man's choice.
"Okay… hold still," Donna asked.
It was a simple request, yet one that I had heard every single time I was freed from my bonds. I did as I was told, sitting there perfectly still as the young woman worked around me, undoing the many parts of the suit that kept me locked away from the world. It was always a refreshing feeling once the zip at the back was undone, it allowed the fabric that held onto my form to fall free, allowing the cool air of the outside world to hit my skin once more.
The second best part was the removal of the gag. Spending nearly an entire month lodged in my mouth, the second the foreign object is taken out allows me the ability to move my jaw, explore with my tongue and finally the chance to speak… not that I was in a speaking mood at that moment. Several collections of spittle strands hung onto the gag as it was being moved away from my mouth, only breaking once it had reached a certain distance. Instinctively, I licked my lips but Donna grabbed the bottom of her dress and wiped my mouth for me.
I nodded. I wanted to thank her properly, using my words as a human, but I knew my voice would break from lack of use. I knew the words I wanted to say won't come out properly and probably wouldn't even sound like what I wanted to say in the first place. It wasn't clear how long I would have as a human, but I promised myself that I would thank her before I am locked in the suit once again, I would thank her for everything she had done for me.
Donna pulled the rest of the suit off my body, bringing it down my legs and over my feet, until I was fully naked in front of her. Well… not entirely naked, the collar was still locked around my neck and that would not be unlocked until my full sentence was over. However, I was enjoying my nude form for as long as I could, feeling the air travel round the entirety of my body and not numbed by the latex.
My owner rolled the suit up, trying to make it as small as possible before it was placed into the suitcase. She only had a certain amount of space to take with her today and there were more items that she couldn't bear to leave behind. It was painful to watch sadness slowly grow on her, the silence this room allowed her gave her time to reflect on how much her life had changed since that news report, she even gave herself a second to look around the room we were in; realising that this was potentially the last time she was going to see it.
I couldn't help myself. I limped forward and gave her the biggest hug I had ever given anyone. I felt my owner try to fight her emotions for a second, trying to keep as strong as possible in front of her pet, but my embrace slowly worked and I felt Donna's arms wrap around my thin body. Her head rested on my shoulder as a quiet whimper escaped her mouth. Surprisingly, she did not fully break. I was expecting to have to console her, hold her as close as possible as she bawled her eyes out and became impossible to understand through her blubbering, but she didn't…
I felt her shoulders move up and down, very lightly. It was as if she was silently crying, allowing her emotions to overcome her briefly but still holding it at bay. She refused to make any noise and to not allow it to take full control, just needing a minute to become weak in my arms.
It felt so strange being clothed after so long not wearing these items. The shirt, shorts and hoodie all covered my body, clothes that I had worn many times in the past but seemed so foreign to me now. Even Donna gave me a strange look once I was fully dressed, as if she was so used to seeing either my naked form or the latex binding itself close to my frame. Everything about today seemed wrong, a nightmare that we were still to wake up from, despite the weird living circumstances that I found myself in everyday, going back to some sort of normality seemed more queer than living every single day as a pet; bound and gagged within the suit.
Despite my temporary freedom, I soon was on my hands and knees after my 'normal' clothes were affixed to my body, feeling like a much more comfortable position in comparison to standing on my own two feet.
Perhaps that was why Donna was giving me that look.
"Are you ready?" she asked, holding the folded, white pet suit as close to her body as possible.
Just like what Donna did minutes before, I took a long look around the room that we had lived in. The sofa that Cleo and I spent so much time on, resting against each other as we watched one of Donna's porn cartoons. The table that our owner sat at every day, eating her breakfast as we relaxed around her feet. I could even see out to the garden from this angle, an overgrown collection of plants that we had personally selected, making part of this property home for ourselves.
I finally turned back to her and nodded, to which she responded in the exact same way. The door clicked as it opened, revealing the short hallway that would lead to the front door. My Grumpypants and Cleo stood awkwardly in silence behind the door, the suit of the black cat rolled underneath his arm whilst the human version of Cleo stood peacefully in foreign 'human' clothing behind him. The man's face was fully red, he gave the suit to Donna the moment they locked eyes, as if he was glad to be rid of it.
"Here," he growled, "Let's get going."
"Thank you, Mr Grump… thank you," Donna corrected herself, reaching out and gladly taking the item from his hands. After everything he did for her, she didn't want to carry on using that nickname she once gave him, "It wasn't too bad, was it?"
Donna smiled, looking between the two. The man looked behind him, giving a quick glance at the dark haired girl, the one who shot him a knowing grin the moment he looked. He instantly turned back around, his red face becoming an even bright shade of red.
"I'd rather not talk about it," he groaned.
"She wasn't that badly behaved, was she?"
"No… it's not that. It's just… I didn't sign up for this role to be doing these sorts of tasks… can we just get going?"
"Sure. Let me just put these suits in the case. Give me a second."
Donna left us alone. Mr Grumpypants continued to look forward, trying not to give any attention to the woman behind him. I wanted to know what happened between the two, but it would be a short while before the ability to speak would return to either of us. Spending an entire month without any speech and a gag locked into our mouths caused this issue. I made sure to keep that question in mind for the time being.
Donna returned a second later, hauling the full suitcase behind her. The leather bound item scraped across the carpet, with a long, drawn out groan with each pull.
"Here, let me take that," the man said, grabbing the large suitcase from the smaller woman with one hand, "Make sure you are all ready by the time I get back".
He walked the few steps towards the main door, opening and closing it as quickly as possible to keep the cold and the reporters out. The sound of multiple people yelling towards the house filled the air, giving us an example of the situation outside within a few seconds of the door's transition.
Both women took a glance in my direction, realising the difference in height between us all. Cleo quickly got back into character of her human self, returning to standing on both of her feet whilst I was still on my hands and knees. I felt strangely exposed in this position, something that was second-nature to me at this point, yet it was clear that this situation had no use for pets. I needed to be the human Nala again, for Donna.
Cleo walked over and helped me to my feet, an action that was both mentally and physically painful. At this point, My Grumpypants returned back from his short trip to the vehicle outside, holding two large, black blankets in his arms.
"What's that?" Donna asked, taking a quick inspection of the material.
He gave one to our owner, "We need to place these over these two. The reporters out there cannot find out their identities. They have figured out some of the Pet Correction locations, but those serving the sentence under the company cannot become public knowledge."
"Oh, that sounds serious."
"It is. It is your task as their carer to make sure this doesn't happen. When you are all ready, we'll place these blankets over your heads and escort you to the car. Donna, if you can take the larger woman, I'll take this one here."
The man pointed towards me with his free hand. He seemed relieved once Donna agreed to this, taking the task of covering Cleo and walking her to the car with the blanket covering almost her entire body.
"Are you all ready?" he asked us, this time looking at every one of us, "I cannot guarantee you'll be coming back. In fact, it's not likely at all."
I gave myself a moment before nodding. It was a tough action, but it had to be done, we were leaving this house whether we liked it or not. Cleo nodded shortly after, struggling to hide the look of sadness on her face. Donna looked between us both, waiting for us to both agree that we were ready before telling the man vocally that it was time to leave this place.
The screams from the people beyond the gate were heightened the moment we stepped out of the house. It seemed that the instant they saw any type of movement, they tried their hardest to shout over the rest of the audience who stood shoulder to shoulder with them.
It was a panic. I could barely see through the fibers of the blanket, brief gaps between the knitted material that allowed my vision to pass through, just allowing me to see the outline of the car and the white of the world around it.
"CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION?!" one yelled.
Another, "COME HERE! COME CHAT WITH US!"
"DID YOU KNOW ANYTHING REGARDING THE INTENTIONS OF MR ABBOTTS?!"
"WHAT'S NEXT FOR PET CORRECTION? WILL YOU BE RELEASED FROM THIS SENTENCE? AND IF YOU WERE, WOULD YOU BE GOING TO JAIL TO SERVE YOUR REMAINING TIME?!"
It was all too much and caused my head to spin. I was glad all I needed to do was to walk to the car, a task that I was already wishing was over. Guilt swiftly came over me as to how Donna was feeling, she had to endure all of this, leaving her home and all without her identity being hidden. The reporters saw her face and knew exactly what she looked like, I was guessing that some even knew her name.
Mr Grumpypants opened the door for me and pushed me inside, wasting no time in getting me to my destination. All audio left me the moment the door slammed shut, giving me a second of serenity away from the intruding public. The human version of the black cat was thrown in with me, a quiet sigh from her told me that she too was relieved of the protection the vehicle gave her from the mob outside. The driver and our owner opened the front doors of the car and pretty much jumped in, closing them back up as swiftly as they could, trying to avoid any unnecessary interaction with anyone outside.
"You can take off the blankets now," My Grumpypants told us, "Your windows are tinted, no one can see you from the outside, not even we can see you."
I wondered what he meant until Donna looked around. She seemed rather perplexed that she could not see her two pets, despite only being a few feet away from us. She looked left, right, up and down until she finally gave in and spoke to the driver.
"Do you have a screen between us?" She continued looking around until she found a button that lowered it, "Can I…?"
He answered abruptly, "No! You must leave the screen up for the entire journey, we cannot risk anyone seeing them and revealing their identities. The two girls can see and hear you, but we cannot do the same for them."
What the man said was true, there was a dark screen between the back seats of the car and the front seats. Whilst I could see the two sitting in the front through a dark tint, it was clear that it was much more intense on the other side. Donna tried to focus on one of us, jolting her eyes left to right until she acknowledged a figure, but it was all for nothing.
She groaned, momentarily giving up her role of our carer, "Okay, but let us know if you need anything at all."
How was Cleo or I supposed to answer her? It seemed that neither of us had the ability to speak, despite this being only temporary. It would be impossible to contact the woman in front of us if the screen between us was somehow sound proof.
"It's a little overboard," Donna said quietly to herself, finally turning around to face the front.
My Grumpypants turned the ignition on, bringing the vehicle to life, "It's just a precaution, the company did not know how bad the situation was when they sent me out."
The driver nodded towards one of the police officers. The ones beyond the gate proceeded with the crowd control further, trying to place a large gap between the dozens of reporters swarming at the metal fence. As this happened, the gate hummed to life, finally opening up after all this time and allowing us the freedom of being watched by the public. I braced myself as the vehicle began to move, working its way towards the gate until the gate in the fence was large enough for the car to pull through.
It seemed that the movement of the vehicle caused our 'audience' to become even less tame than before, screaming and shouting at us whilst trying to clamber over the officers keeping them in check. It was a terrifying moment as we passed them. People who would usually be normal members of society began slamming their hands into the door and the frame of the vehicle, trying to get a story after standing in the cold for so long. Police did their best at keeping most of the people at bay, but we heard the slams of their bodies against us numerous times before we were free of the crowd, bringing relief to all of us as the car began its journey up the dirt path.
"Thank you," Donna said to the driver, her voice the most genuine I've ever heard it before.
"No problem, get some rest… it's a long way."
"Can I ask one more thing of you?" I noticed she placed her hand on his arm as she said this, "I know you've already done so much of us, but this will be the last one; I promise."
The man grunted, the objective he was given was fighting against the kind manner of the woman in the passenger seat, "I… I need to get you away from here as fast as possible."
"It won't take long, I swear. It will be just one last stop before we go."
"It… it can't take long. The girls cannot leave the car until we are at our destination."
"It won't and they don't need to. I promise it will be just a few minutes and then we can leave."
He groaned again, this time it was one of defeat, "Sure. Where do you want me to stop?"
The automatic doors of the flower shop opened up and the familiar sight of Lauren stepped out, greeting Donna in the white cold as the two embraced each other for the first time since this started. Lauren placed both hands on her lover's cheeks, taking in her sight before wrapping her arms around her. It was painful to watch from the back of the vehicle, knowing that we were unable to leave the safety of the car and therefore, unable to say goodbye to the flower shop owner ourselves. Lauren had not only become a part of Donna's life, but also a part of ours; becoming an important member of our family.
Cleo rubbed up next to me, trying as hard as she could to get a look at the shop owner, probably her last look in quite some time. The two women outside continued their embrace for as long as they could, switching from holding each other, to looking at each other and occasionally pressing their lips together. I noticed Lauren kept saying the same four words to our owner each time they momentarily stopped the embrace. However, due to the sound proofing of the vehicle, we were unable to hear what those words were.
I was grateful for Lauren. Despite the melancholy situation Donna was in, this allowed her to be free of her caring role momentarily. She was being held by her lover and her friend, she no longer had pets to worry about, a house to maintain… she was able to be Donna once again; liberated from her responsibilities.
Despite not being able to see Donna's face, I could tell she was bawling her eyes out, realising the weight of the moment she was having with Lauren. The shop owner remained strong, I could tell that she wanted to fall into her emotions just like Donna, but she knew what was needed of her at that time. She managed to stay calm despite hearing about our relocation and what that meant for our relationship.
Then she said those four words once again, looking directly into our owner's face, holding her as tight as she could. I wasn't able to hear the words but I could see them, somehow reading her lips as if she was over-pronouncing them.
I believed she said, "I…Will…Find…You."
We sat in complete silence.
It was tough to remain quiet, but it was much harder to try and pick a conversation with the person I was sharing the small space with.
It was Cleo, the black cat that had protected me for so long, who had been my companion for nearly the entire time of my sentence. This was the cat I slept next to, who I ate next to and cuddled next to when one of us needed that connection.
We’ve been intimate with each other before, sharing that loving moment with each other whenever one of us was released from our bonds. We had both seen what the other looked like outside their respective suits. The image of the woman next to me was no stranger to Nala, but she was a stranger to the woman behind Nala.
The silence remained. It was clear we were both as awkward as each other, having no one to look after us, no masks to protect our identities and hide our speech. There was nothing that remained of Pet Correction apart from the metal ring around our necks and the back of our owner’s head that was obscured through the window in front of us.
This was far too much freedom both Cleo and I were used to. Yes, we were locked within the vehicle and taken to a place that neither of us had been before or had any information on, but for the moment; we were human.
I noticed Cleo scratching at her neck from time to time out of the corner of my eye, it was a repeating habit that she had already done several times since the beginning of the journey. The very image of her fingernails scratching her bare skin was enough to make me feel the same itch.
As I focused on my body, I realised that the very feeling of the fabric was slowly irritating my skin in the same way, whilst it was a quiet voice at the back of my head now, there was no doubt that the sensation would be almost unbearable by the time we had reached our destination.
If what Mr Grumpypants said was true, we still had nearly three hours left until we were able to leave the vehicle.
I chuckled to myself softly, realising that these clothes were not foreign to us. These were our own possessions, outfits that we had willingly worn many times when we were still normal civilians.
Despite the comfortable familiarity the clothes should have brought me, I found myself hating the sensation of the fabric against my body and secretly missing the confinement of the suit, an outfit that more represented the person I was… and the fact that I wasn’t a person at all.
Immediately, I brought my hands out of the hoodie I was wearing and threw it down by my feet, then I kicked my shoes off and allowed them to fall onto the item of clothing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that this swift action caught the attention of the woman next to me.
Afterwards, I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and brought it up, slipping the item off my body with one swift motion.
I leant back against the cool fabric of the seat and let out a long sigh, almost sounding relieved that the irritating clothes were off my skin. The bra was still connected along my chest and the shorts were still buttoned up and confining the bottom half of my body, but it was a small relief, nonetheless.
Once again, I noticed the stare of Cleo’s black eyes. Looking me up and down and somewhat fascinated by the short show I have given her. This time I looked; I took my gaze away from the image that was in front of me and looked directly at her, showing her the soft smile that she had seen countless times before.
“Hi,” I said quietly, my voice breaking immediately from lack of use.
“Hey.” She returned the smile, and her voice didn’t break nearly as much as mine did.
“This is weird, isn’t it?”
“Oh, it’s very weird.”
I opened my mouth to respond but realised there I did not have any words that came to mind, I wanted to talk to the black cat, but it was proving difficult with my humanity momentarily returned. What could I say to her?
I looked around, trying to find something that would power my imagination and bring a topic to mind. The window was the first thing I saw, the wild green of the outside world flying passed the speeding vehicle. It didn’t help, how could I ask Cleo anything about nature? We’ve spent our entire time together and I doubted she had any insightful knowledge in that department.
Then, my gaze went to the woman in front of us, the young woman behind the screen who could not hear or see us. Our owner.
“Do you think Donna is okay? I asked.
Cleo looked forwards too, taking in the image of the shorter woman as she was leaving her world behind for an unknown adventure, “She’ll be fine, she is strong.”
“Yeah… she is. She’s really going to miss that bungalow.”
“That is true.”
“Being honest. I think I will miss it too.”
“Most of it anyway. I doubt you’ll be missing the shed.”
I shuddered, “Please don’t remind me.”
Cleo laughed, leaving the stage of awkward silence and small talk behind us, allowing us a moment to reflect on the home we were moving away from and a momentary relief from the situation we found ourselves in.
The black cat seemed to relax after this, the stiff position she was in earlier had seemed to shift, her arms rested on the fabric seat, she leaned further into the backrest that was supporting her large frame, and she turned her body more towards me, allowing for further conversation and social interaction.
“We…do have a very long drive ahead of us,” Cleo spoke, her voice much quieter than before, I struggled to hear her over the roar of the engine.
I nodded, aware that the space was becoming silent once more.
Cleo looked me up and down, then followed the actions I made only a few minutes prior. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up with both hands, revealing the lacy undergarments she had hidden, then she did the same with the pair of shorts she was wearing, unbuttoning it as quickly as possible. Soon, both items of clothing were down by her feet, then she was resting in the seat less clothed than I was.
My eyes did not know where to look, it had been a figure I had seen many times, but now I was looking at her form with human eyes and not with the wanting, hungry eyes I had as a pet. The lingerie she was wearing highlighted all her assets, somehow making it harder to resist staring at her.
She laughed lightly at my awkwardness, it was clear that all the nervousness the black cat had just moments before was now long gone, “It’s okay, you can look.”
“Uh… I…” I stuttered.
“What’s the matter?”
As much as I wanted to give in and gawk at the body of my friend, my eyes also kept glancing over towards Donna, I was expecting her to be looking behind and catching us in this act at any moment. That, and it didn’t seem the right time to be indulging in this kind of activity when so much was going on, it was clear that our lives would never be the same after today and giving in just seemed selfish.
“I…I don’t know.” My voice squeaked as I said it.
“I understand. It’s completely up to you; however, I am unsure if we are ever going to have this chance ever again.” She came in close, placing her head on my shoulder and allowed her warm breath to travel over my ear and lower neck, “Both of us here with no one in charge? No one coming in to tell us off?… Completely unfiltered by the suits. We are just pets afterall, why shouldn't we give into our beast-like desires?”
The hot breath against my ear caused a selection of goosebumps to travel across my body. It wasn’t difficult for me to get lost in the moment. With the monthly releases both Cleo and I had during our time at Pet Correction, it was never very long until we both had the release that the suits restricted us of. Typically, the release would momentarily put out the flames of desire long enough until we could indulge ourselves again, but each time we did this; the flames would arrive quicker and much more intensely than ever before.
In fact, it wasn’t uncommon that the desire would return the next day, when either of our days of freedom was taken from us.
Cleo continued talking, her words had long since lost meaning but the meaning behind the words was affecting me more than I thought they would. Her hand rested itself on my knee and began to travel up my leg at a painfully slow pace.
I couldn't help myself, it felt far too good to stop. My eyes fluttered, closing as I wanted to focus entirely on her wandering hand. I accidentally let out a slow, quiet groan as soon as Cleo's hand got higher, merely inches away from my sex, it might have been hidden by the denim shorts I was wearing; but the sensation was not dulled by this fact.
I turned my head, instantly connecting our lips. I continued to moan from the sensation, but it was now muffled into the woman's mouth, Cleo did the same as she tasted my lips. I was so glad the car was soundproof, I had no control over the noises I made and I doubt that I could have silenced them even if I tried. Her lips just tasted so good, so sweet against mine. I wanted more, I wanted to explore her further.
My hands went over her arms, holding myself in place as she leant me backwards, trying to put me onto my back despite the small, cramped space we were in. My head lightly thudded against the car door, telling us both that I had nowhere else to go, I was trapped under the large frame of the black cat and I was more than happy for her to do whatever she wanted to me.
Cleo gave one last glance towards the front of the vehicle, as if she was expecting either the driver or our owner to look behind and catch us in this sordid act. They were so close… it was almost impossible to believe that the two were completely unable to hear or see us. We really could do whatever we wanted in the back seats without the chance of being punished for our actions.
"Is this what happened with you and Mr Grumpypants earlier?" I laughed, trying to lighten the situation.
She giggled too, looking down at me with a sly smile, her tongue sliding along the bottom of her top teeth, seemingly imagining everything she was going to do with me. She never answered my question, allowing my mind to overthink what happened between the two earlier. My heart skipped a beat as she slowly came down, ready to use my lips once more. ***
The vehicle finally came to a stop.
It had felt like such a long time had passed since we started the journey, it felt odd to not feel the rumbling of the engine travelling through the car; my bones had become used to the sensation.
The loss of momentum and the cease of the tremble was enough to wake me from my slumber, my head was sat in a comfortable position on the black cat’s shoulder and my body ached as I lifted myself off her.
The world around me was far too bright, forcing my eyes to open very slowly to accommodate the later day sun, revealing a much more greener landscape than the frozen one we had when we left, the only snow that remained were the odd specs that were littered along the ground, bathing in their last moments before the heat evaporates them completely.
As I sat up, I noticed Donna stretched her arms out, trying her best not to accidentally strike the driver next to her, it was clear that she was enjoying a well-deserved rest too. Cleo was the last to wake, slowly coming to the realisation that we were in a new location, far away from the world we knew before.
“Are we there?” The woman in the front seat asked, wiping her eyes.
My Grumpypants was leaning over the steering wheel, looking towards a large, metal gate that sat in the middle of two high, stone walls, “Yeah, we are here.”
The man reached into his pocket and brought out a large selection of keys, handing them over towards Donna. As this happened, I climbed over the tall girl next to me to get a better look at the new location.
It was grand, much grander than what we were used to and what we deserved. It was clear the stone walls were only recently built up, easily within the last three or so years. Standing around twelve feet tall and easily being out of reach of any people passing by.
The gate was made from thick metal and painted black. Somehow standing taller than the walls and ending in a point, it had absolutely no features and had no holes to show what secrets it held, meaning everything behind that wall was hidden from public view.
This was strange as apart from the large wall that surrounded the property, there seemed to be very little in the area except for fields. Whilst there was a public sidewalk going along the outside of the wall, it seemed clear that not many people would be walking it.
“Wow…” It was just the one, simple word that left our owner’s lips, but it reflected how we were all feeling at that time.
“If you want to open the gate, it’s that button there,” the driver stated, pointing to one of the many keys that sat in Donna’s hands.
She looked down, carefully tracing her hand over all the items, “This one?” she asked, pressing one of the buttons.
A light roaring could be heard from outside the vehicle, we all looked up to see the massive beast that was locked shut was slowly opening up, allowing us access to the world that it kept secret.
The rumble of the engine travelled through the frame of the car once more, as if it was mimicking the sound the gate was making. We turned into the now open space, travelling down the man-made path until the house came into view.
“Oh…” Cleo stuttered, taking in the sights.
She was right to be amazed. The wall hid a large field, easily five or six times the size of Donna’s previous garden. Lush green grass covered a majority of the property, surrounding a manor house that sat directly in the middle, the slow drive towards the building caused it to grow larger and larger, realising too late how massive our future home actually would be.
“This… this is too much,” Donna stuttered, taking in the full view of the building.
The driver chimed in, “This was made to hold a collection of families like yours. Around twenty or so inmates and ten owners. The idea was to make it more like a prison, to house more criminals within one building but still have the feel of a home, waste of time and money if you ask me.”
“I feel like I would lose Cleo or Nala very easily here.”
“Another group will be joining you soon. So don’t get used to how quiet it currently is.”
The car slowed down and came to a stop just outside the house. A collection of overgrown plants surrounded the front of the house, ivy climbed upwards and almost reached the roof of the building. The only part of the house that was spared from the foliage was the large wooden door, our entrance into our new home.
Donna closed the passenger door behind her and once again took in the full view of the building before walking backwards and opening our doors, allowing both Cleo and I to finally leave the vehicle.
Mr Grumpypants grabbed the well-packed suitcase from the car and walked behind us as we approached the building.
Our owner sorted through the collection of keys before she reached a bronze key that was much longer than the rest.
“I guess… this is it?” she quizzed herself.
It slid into the keyhole effortlessly, and with a quick turn, it opened the large door that stood before us. The mechanism inside groaned and echoed loudly, as if it was reflecting the gravity of the situation for us. This was it, this was our home for now on. We had to get used to whatever was behind this door, whether we liked it or not.
Donna pushed against it, causing the door to open with a large amount of weight behind the momentum. The hinges squealed for the entire duration, opening up to a rather grand main hall with a large staircase travelling up to the next floor. Despite this, the huge room was fairly vacant of decorations and had only the necessary furniture placed around. I could imagine detailed paintings hanging on the wall in expensive, thick frames… but the walls were completely empty.
This was a grand house, but it was not a home… not yet, at least.
"This is it," Donna repeated the sentence she said before, taking the first few steps within her new property.
We followed closely, the large room echoing with the sound of our shoes clacking against the floor. Multiple wooden doors were scattered around the room, each one leading somewhere completely new and seeming impossible to view every room this building had for us.
"There is enough food in the kitchen to last you a few days," the driver said, placing the suitcase on the floor, "Your new roommates should be here within the next day or so and your belongings will be here tomorrow. It seems that you have a busy few days ahead of you."
Donna turned around towards the man, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"No.. I mean it, thank you. For everything you've done for us."
"It's no problem at all."
Our owner took a few steps towards him, "I'm going to stop with the nickname for now. My Grumpypants has to go… as you are far from grumpy. How about Mr Happypants?"
The man was understandably shocked by this name, "Uh… no, that's a questionable nickname."
"Mr Handsomepants?"
"Still… rather weird."
"Well, what should I call you then?"
"How about Mark?"
"No… that won't do."
The man chuckled, "Fine. Keep it as Mr Grumpypants then."
"Thank you."
The man smiled and nodded, turning around on his heels as he walked back out of the door towards the bright afternoon sun. Whilst our time with him was only temporary, it was sad to see him leave us as there was a calming atmosphere around the man. Despite all the chaos, he remained calm and put our safety first.
"Okay… I guess I should find where the kitchen is," Donna said, looking around the large room we found ourselves in, "Don't get too comfortable how you are now. As soon as I've fed you, you are going back into your outfits" She opened the first door she found and swiftly disappeared into the darkness within, leaving both of her 'pets' alone once again within the hall. The silence returned as Cleo came to my side, her fingers intertwined with mine, travelling all the way up until our palms finally touched and pressed tightly against each other. Together, we watched the man who saved us walk down the path towards his car, leaving our lives as swiftly as he entered it.
"It'll be okay," Cleo whispered, her fingers still playing with mine, "We have each other and that is all that matters."
I nodded, "What more do we need?"