Cursed are those who Slaughter

Prologue

A horse is seen galloping through the forest at full speed. “We got a runner, Clyde,” said a man in a tree holding a pair of binoculars.

“Copy that, Jared. Maintain visual and be sure to direct us to the beast.”

“Roger, boss, I’m in pursuit,” Jared said as he swung from tree to tree.

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the forest, the blaring sounds of motorcycles could be heard. Four motorcycles blast through the forest, speeding through without a care for the wildlife. “Listen up Meatheads, Jared is keeping an eye on our escapee. So you know the deal. Our job is to bag and gag this sumbitch. Bernard, you’re on ropes. Herman, stand by with the rifle. And Brian, try not to get carried away. We need to get this done cleanly and quickly!?”

“You got it, Clyde,” the three men said in unison.

“Now let’s get this sucka.”

After running for so long, the horse happened upon a river. Feeling parched, the horse lowered its head to drink. The forest was quiet and peaceful. All that could be heard was the buzzing of cicadas. From a distance, Jared was hiding in a tree, trying not to alert the horse. “Target is in the center of the forest by the river,” Jared said, softly. Suddenly, the motorcycles roared and were quickly approaching the center of the forest. Sensing this, the horse immediately raised its head in alarm and prepared to run. Just as the horse is about to move, an arrow is shot blocking it’s path. The horse quickly gazes upward to see that the arrow came from Jared above. Hearing the motorcycles coming closer, the horse tried to change direction, but was stopped again by gun shots that impacted right before it’s feet.

“Target restricted, boss,” said Herman as he stared through the rifle scope.

“Nice work, Herman. Bernard, Brian, you’re up.”

“On it,”

“You got it, bro,” they said as they sped on ahead.

Afraid of being cornered, the horse tries to run head on against its pursuers. However, it’s movements are quickly halted as Bernard lassoes its front legs. Immediately after the back legs are hooked together by a meat hook and chain, the horse whinnies in pain as both Bernard and Brian are pulling to hold it in place. Seeing that the animal is now firmly in place, Clyde dismounts from his bike. “Now, why did you go and make such a fuss back in the barn? Sheesh, you almost cost us a lot of money, ol’ girl.” Clyde walks over and sees the horse giving an exhausted wheeze. “If you had just behaved yourself, we would have made this quick and painless. Now how does it feel to be in pain, suffering, and at my mercy?” Despite a grimace, the horse still stared defiantly at Clyde.

“Looks like this one still has some fight left,” remarked Bernard.

“What do you reckon we do with her?” Brian said, laughing.

“This ol’ girl is suffering, boys,” Clyde said as he took out a machete.

“And you boys know how much I hate to make an animal suffer.” Clyde quickly swung down the Machete.

1

“And that’s why I reckon we should get out of the south.”

“But are you sure the kids will be alright moving around? This place is all they know.”

“Albany, I’m doing this for the kids. Each day, the human’s grasp on the land grows tighter and resources are growing scarce because of it. The longer we stay, the more likely we are to run into trouble.”

“But Dallas, are you sure the kids will be able to make the trip? What if we run into humans as we move? We still need to keep hidden.”

“Alice’s and Tennessee’s horns haven’t grown yet. They can still pass as regular horses. As for keeping hidden, the seal on the Myelv has been growing weaker. It may not be long till the humans discover magical creatures.

“I know you’re right dear, but I’m just worried.”

Seeing her concern, Dallas attempted to comfort his wife.

“I will protect this family. I may be just a pastel horn, but if I become a rainbow horn we won’t have anything to fear. Either way we need to be prepared, perhaps join the blessing up in the north.”

“Then I’ll go gather a few scorpion weeds with the kids and prepare for the trip.”

“OK, I’ll scout ahead to see if I can find the safest route.”

With the dilemma resolved, the two unicorns affectionately touched heads.

In the forest, Albany trots with the kids.

“Alice and Tennessee, don’t wander too far. We need to gather food for the trip.”

“But mom, why are we leaving the forest?” Alice asked.

“Because there is nothing here for us anymore, dear.”

“I overheard dad mention something about humans. Are they the reason we have to leave?”

“Fat chance. If any humans come near us, dad will send them packing. Right, Mom?” said Tennessee with vigor.

“That’s right, your father will always be here for us.”

Suddenly, loud roars of motorcycles echo throughout the forest. Alert, Albany raises her head and tries to find the direction of the noise.

“Mom, what’s that sound?”

“Alice, take your brother and run.”

“But mom-”

“No buts, run NOW!”

The foals did as they were told and disappeared into the forest as the sounds of the motorcycles grew louder. Albany ran in the opposite direction of her kids in hopes of distracting her pursuers. After running for a while, Albany slowed down, until a rope suddenly bounced off of her neck. She barely managed to dodge it and proceeded to run as fast as she could.

“Oh, we got a smart one over here,” Bernard said, retrieving his rope.

“Doesn’t matter, we're gonna corner this animal and take it back to the barn,” said Clyde.

The motorcycle kept up with Albany as she ran. Brian jumped off his bike, and landed on Albany's back. Enraged, Albany bucks in frustration to try and shake off the rider.

“Woah, calm down girl, is this your first time?” Brian said as he struggled to stay on Albany’s back. Taking offense to the comment, Albany races towards the tree. It did not take long for each passing branch to connect with Brain’s face, knocking him off after the tenth hit. Now freed, Albany finds an opening away from the Meat heads. Albany attempts to head for the opening. “Heraman, now!”

As Clyde yelled, bullets whizzed past Albany’s head, causing her to jump up in surprise. Immediately, a rope lassoed around her neck and forced her back down. Bernard held a firm grip on the rope while Herman aimed his rifle steady at Albany. Furious, Brian brandished his meat hook, ready to attack. “Let’s kill this thing already!” Brian yelled.

“Not yet, the client wanted us to take special care of this one,” Clyde interrupted.

“Tell it, that.” Bernard remarked as he struggled a little to hold on to his rope.

“Looks like we got another fighter,” Clyde said as he took out his Machete.

Feeling she had no other option, Albany’s horn started to glow and slightly gather power.

“Boss, I see you managed to handle things without me,” Jared said in the tree.

“The hell have you been?”

“Came bearing gifts.”

Albany’s eyes widened as she saw both of her kids caught in a net.

“I saw these things running in the opposite direction. The mom over there must’ve been protecting them by trying to distract us.”

“Nice work, Jared.”

At that moment, both Clyde and Brian held their weapons at the young unicorns’ necks.

“I suggest you stop resisting,” Clyde threatened.

Feeling defeated, Albany’s glow dissipated in surrender.

Meanwhile, Dallas is scouting outskirts of the forest to see if there are any covert paths leading out of the forest. As Dallas looked around, a loud neigh could be heard across the forest. “Albany?!” Recognizing the sound, Dallas gallops at full speed, searching for his family. Eventually, Dallas's search leads him to a seemingly rundown barn. The barn was a faded red, paint peeling. Dallas carefully surveyed the area and found a set of four bikes parked at the side. The air was still ripe with an exhaust smell, which indicated that people were currently inside. Dallas began to think of how to get in undetected, but then he heard a loud neigh from the barn.

"Albany!" Panicking, Dallas was about to storm in, until someone stepped out of the barn. Remembering that poachers we're running amok and terrorizing the wild life, Dallas came up with an idea.

Feeling a dose of claustrophobia, Bernard had stepped out for a smoke. As he was about to light his cigarette, Bernard saw something in the distance. Making sure his gun was holstered, Bernard made his way to see what it was. Upon closer inspection, Bernard found Dallas walking around weakly.

"Another one of you? What's up with these weird horses? You must belong to the other three we just captured."

Dallas snorted weakly.

"Well, Clyde should be happy when I bring you in. Hell, I may be due for a raise."

Bernard got his rope and lassoed it around Dallas's neck. Dallas gave a bit of a struggle, but fell over in surrender.

"Hmph, the other one put up more of a fight. Then again, we humans are top of the food chain for a reason," Bernard said with a laugh as he pulled Dallas along to follow him.

Dallas rolled his eyes in annoyance. You gonna eat those words, boy, Dallas thought to himself.

The inside of the barn was the antithesis of the outside. Inside was slick with chrome lined ceilings and walls. The noises of pigs, horses, and cows could be heard in each pen along with the sound of a conveyor belt.

"Aye Clyde, look what I dragged in."

"Well I'll be damned, looks like we got the whole set."

"What do we do with this one?”

“Well I put the young ones in storage for later, but mother I just finished.”

Suddenly, the conveyor belt started to move as Dallas eyes widened in horror. What he saw was Albany’s body hanging upside down completely gutted, eyes pulled out, horn broken, and blood still seeping out.

“I reckon this one is ready for cold storage,”Brian said with a laugh.

“Welcome to the Meatheads slaughterhouse ol boy, will be sure to take mighty fine care of you,” Clyde said as the rest of the Meatheads laughed.

“Now Bernard, would you be so kind as to show our guest to his quarters?”

Bernard forcefully dragged Dallas away as he stared dumbfounded at his wife’s lifeless corpse.

Alone in a private pen, Bernard ties Dallas to a pole.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Bernard mused as he walked back behind Dallas.

“You’re first.” Bernard paused to see where the voice came from.

In one fluid motion, Dallas bucked and kicked Bernard in the head, caving in his skull. Elsewhere, Herman was cleaning his rifle methodically. In a moment, Herman checked behind him.

“You ever get the feeling you’re being watched?”

Not hearing a response, Herman returned to cleaning his gun. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound. Herman instinctively grabbed his gun and aimed in the direction of the noise. Alert, Herman kept looking around. Until - “Second.” As he was turning around and trying to find the voice, Herman was snatched in a lasso. He was hoisted into the air so swiftly that he dropped his gun. Struggling to breathe, Herman tugged at the rope to break free. However, in front of him was Dallas glaring at him, rope between his teeth. Herman continued to kick and flail, but after a few minutes the thrashing had ceased.

Meanwhile, Jared was rocking out. “Don’t stop til you get enough.” As Jared was dancing along to the beat, he was tossing grain to pigs and singing. Suddenly, the music stopped. Finding this annoying, Jared turned around. “Yo, who is messing with my music?” Checking on the stereo, Jared turned it back on except that this time the song proclaimed, “Just beat it, Just beat it.”

“Third.”

“Wha-” Before Jared could finish, a hatchet had split his head in two.

In the meantime, Brian was feeding the horses, but looked extremely bored.

“Can’t believe there are still people that eat horse meat. Oh well, as long as I get to gut you stupid animals,” Brian said with a chuckle. Until -the door creaked.

“Who's there?” but there was no answer. Brain went up to check, but saw no one at the door.

Finding it strange, Brian just returned to feeding the horses. However, unbeknownst to him, there was a large shadow looming behind him.

“Ah, there’s nothing like gutting a grown animal to make one feel alive,” said Clyde as he hung up another batch of meat in the freezer. Promptly, the conveyor started to move more meat into the freezer. “I didn’t turn this on, the hell?” Soon, a certain slab of meat made its way to Clyde. Clyde’s jaw dropped at what he saw before him. “BRIAN!” On the conveyor, Brian was hanging by his meat hook, completely battered and bloodied with all of his teeth knocked out. Clyde checked his pulse but found none. On Brian’s belly was a carving of the number four. Horrified, Clyde runs out of the room. “BOYS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” No response. “HERMAN, JARED, BERNARD, WHERE ARE YOU!?”

“They aren’t coming,” Clyde heard as the door suddenly closed behind him, revealing Dallas towering over him. “But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you join them.”

“Y-you can talk?”

Feeling a strong blow to the gut, Clyde was knocked down.

“That answers your question, boy?”

“Wait, my brother. Did you do that to-” Clyde was interrupted by a sharp kick to the face.

“I made it quick for the rest of them, but I took my time with that brother of yours.”

“You sick fuargh!” Dallas picks Clyde up by the throat.

“Understand this, boy. The only reason I don’t kill you now is cause I need you to take me to my kids.”

Turning red, Clyde hissed out, “Fine, just let me go.”

Reluctant, Dallas dropped Clyde as he fell to his knees gasping for air.

“Talk, and I’ll make it painless.”

“It’s not that easy, ok. I put them in a place that’s impossible to reach.”

“WHERE!?” screamed Dallas as he inched closer.

“It’s just that, they are already dead.” At that moment, Clyde swung his machete at Dallas.

Dallas barely flinched, and dodged the blade.

“You idiot, I made sure to grind those little kids into meat before you showed up.”

Enraged, Dallas let loose a wild neigh as he charged at Clyde. Clyde jumped out of the way. Dallas collided with the wall, his horn stuck. Clyde quickly took advantage of the situation and began to slash at Dallas’s back. Immediately, Dallas bucked, causing Clyde to block the blow with his arms. However, the impact still sent Clyde flying. Dallas managed to free his horn. Clyde was able to quickly recover, but the kick managed to break one of his arms. The two combatants stared at each other and breathed heavily. They yelled out a warcry as they lunged at each other. Clyde swung the machete at Dallas’s horn, trying to cut it off.

Strangely, as the blade connected with the pastel horn, it began to shine brightly. Still moved by righteous fury, Dallas gave a wild neigh as the horn began to burst into a blast of rainbow energy. The blast had knocked both of them backwards. Clyde fell far back over the railing and was hanging on the edge with just one arm. Dallas quickly got up and saw Clyde hanging for his life. Below Clyde was a certain machine. Noticing this, Dallas turned to see that there was a switch on the wall. Realizing what Dallas was thinking, Clyde tried pleading for his life. “Look, I’m sorry for what I did. Please, I can’t get up on my own.” Dallas paid no heed and pressed the switch. The roars from the meat grinder could be heard down below. Clyde began to panic. “Please, I’m sorry!” Dallas ignored him. “I have a family too.” Still, Dallas remained silent. “I had to do it for them. I needed the money!” Dallas walked away. “IT WASN’T PERSONAL, PLEASE!! I WOULD TAKE IT ALL BACK IF I COULD.” Dallas soon came back, which caused Clyde to smile. However, that smile disappeared at the sight of Dallas holding his machete. “You know, I hate to see an animal suffer.” “Wai-” Dallas swung the machete down. In the next moment the sound of blood curdling screams could be heard throughout the forest, only drowned out by the sound of bones being crushed and ground to a pulp.