Its been four days since we left from the forest. After the brothers packed away all of their equipment, the grey horse and the one known as Canary came back from their 'hunt'. They came back with two more humans, a male and a female, and put them with the rest of us. The male was packed into my cage as I wasn't as 'territorial'. Their words, not mine. He is smaller than me, from what I can tell, he is a teenager. Maybe 14, 15? And of course the female were put with the girls. The ride was grueling and the days felt like years. The cold cages didn't help, it hurt to sit as the freezing temperatures would make the skin of my ass stick to the cage's floor. We weren't given any blankets or anything to cover ourselves, we were just left to feel frigid winds peck away at any heat that our bodies produced. Since the cages were small in height, I was forced to squat for most of the ride, which was uncomfortable and painful the longer I positioned myself like that. Sleeping was practically impossible, the shivering alone could have kept me awake. I'm surprised none of us got hypothermia, or fucking froze to death. I was also hungry, like really hungry.

I wasn't sure where we were going or how long the trip was going to take. The horse creatures never talked about it, only spouting out jokes and old stories. I just quietly prayed that it was soon.

Relieving myself was a problem for most of the trip, The several times we stopped for sleep, I was able to piss out from the side of the wagon, but I was worried about when a shit would make itself known. I just wanted to go home.

At the end of the third day, we made it to a train depot of some sort. The sun already set and the moon took its place; it was too dark to see any details. Both the grey horse and Canary jumped off the wagon as we approached the depot, the brothers continued to lead the wagon over into the train housing area of the large building. The grey horse and Canary went inside what looked like main offices.

The brothers pulled up to a large train (if I wasn't in such a shit situation, I would have thought it was funny that they were pulling the wagon like normal horses do). There were more horse creatures strewn about loading up cargo and other things onto the train. A lot of the cargo happened to be other humans as well. I wasn't enjoying it at all, I was quite frightened. They were in cages just like us, and they were being unloaded from wagons that looked practically identical to the one I was on. Things started to come together in my mind about what was happening before me. It was finally our turn to be loaded onto the train, our cages were rolled up onto a ramp and we were placed within a cargo-like container with a bunch of other humans laying about in their prisons. Hay Bale stayed with us until the grey horse and Canary came back with some tags and placed them into our cages (out of our reach). The three horses stayed and talked about something. I tried to eavesdrop, but they were out of earshot. After that, all the horses moved out of our car and disappeared for the rest of the night. The train began to move out the depot and took us to god-knows-where.

It was still cold, but not as frigid as it was when we were in the wagon. At first it was loud and rowdy, many of the humans not adjusting well from being taken out of the wild. Most of the ones yelling and shaking their cages were the males. It was like a zoo. After sometime, they all calmed down somewhat, some very wild humans still shaking their cages, but even they started to quiet down as it got later and later in the night. Being collected into a car full of wild animals is bound to smell, and it did. It was like B.O. but with some added mud and dirt with a touch of morning breath.

That was last night.

It was early in the morning and the train was still moving. A few horse creatures came into the car. I didn't sleep at all last night, so I was awake to see what they were doing. The handlers (how demeaning) gave food to the humans they brought in the night prior for feeding time. The humans given food scarfed down the mush that looked like a mixture of puke and shit. They were also given a bowl full of water. I wasn't looking forward to the food, but my belly ached so much that anything at this point would be godly. Unfortunately, no one showed to feed us. Just thinking about that made me angry, that I was here, that I was just some kind of animal to these fuckers. But as angry as I am, I don't have the energy or power to do anything.

After a few hours, Hay Bale came by with the same slush as I saw before and some small bowls of water. After handling out the food to all the other humans, he came up to my cage. He looked tired and irritated, but his mood changed upon seeing me. He let out a smirk and proudly walked over to me.

"Ah, how's it going, little guy? Want some food? Are you hungry?" He talked to me condescending-like , and I hated it.

I glared at him. Fuck you.

"Oh what's wrong? Not hungry? If you say so, I'll just leave it here just in case." He proceeded to carelessly throw the tray of food into the cage, the mush scattering around. I flinched back out of surprise, and he gave a cruel laugh. Thankfully, he set down the small bowl of water.

"Don't bite the hoof that feeds, fucking beast." He finished giving a tray of food and a bowl of water to my cage-mate and left the train car.

I'll make sure to fucking kick you harder next time. Maybe you won't get back up... I thought to myself bitterly. I sat down against the cold cage bars and dipped my head between my knees. I was hungry, very hungry, but I didn't want to risk eating off the floor of the old cage. I don't know when this cage was last cleaned and I don't want to find out the hard way... I sighed loudly, all my frustration and anger was bundled up into one breath. I went for the water that was left in the cage and drank it all in one swig. There was barely enough to keep me alive, and definitely not enough for satisfaction. I looked over to my cage-mate; he was face first into the food tray, eating as if his life depended on it. It did. I noticed his still untouched water bowl.

...I could just take it. He's just a fucking animal.

But that's wrong, my moralistic side scolded me.

Wrong? Wrong!? This entire fucking thing is WRONG.

Even if he is just an animal, he is still a living being.

I'M A LIVING BEING. That... 'thing' is just an imitation. I am a real human, that 'thing' is not, I say to myself.

This is what separates you from these... humans. You have standards, morals! REASON! The other half of me yelled.

What does standards and morals mean when my survival is on the line? Hm?? I should just fucking die so that some fucking imitation can live on!? What kind of reasoning is that!? No, I will not die, so fuck you.

Quietly reaching over, I snatch my cage-mate's bowl of water and brought it over to my corner. I quickly drank its contents in yet again another swig. Did I feel any guilt for potentially killing my cage-mate from dehydration? No, and I shouldn't. They aren't real people, just animals. Just fucking animals.

Just. Fucking. Animals.

It has been a few hours since we were fed and left to rot in our cages. After my cage-mate realized he had no more food (and suspiciously had no water) he laid down in a cradling position in one of the corners of the cage and shivered himself to sleep. Yeah, it was still pretty chilly. He had been like that for a while, but he got up and crawled into another corner and began to squat. At first I didn't know what he was doing, figured he was just being the animal he is. Recognition flashed on my face at what he was doing a little too late as he shat into the corner.

Fucking idiot! Now its gonna smell like shit in our cage! It already did smell like shit in our train car from all the other wild humans, but now the smell is gonna be 4 feet away from me. I wanted to punch the fucker, but I didn't have the energy to do so. My belly ached and I was exhausted physically and mentally. Not to mention that I did too need to relieve myself, but am unwilling to do so right now.

I put my hands on my head and rubbed my temples to relieve my sudden headache.

God, I'm so hungry... It was frustrating to get my head all around this. It was just a normal day, a normal night. None of this should have happened.

But it did. I gave a long sigh.

It was getting to the point that I couldn't hold my bladder much longer, but I was still hesitant to give an attempt at pissing in the corner. What if it runs inside the whole cage instead of the corner? We would be fucked...

I looked at the nasty shit my cage-mate made not too long ago. He moved back into his little corner and made a ball to keep himself warm. I still wanted to give him a nice slug to the side of the jaw, but decided not to waste my energy on it. I glanced back at the pile of shit once again, a plan formulating in the back of my head.

Think the shit will absorb most of the piss?

That is the grossest thing you've said all day, I said to myself, ...But it could work. Aim carefully.

Gently sliding myself across the cold surface of the cage, I made my way over to the corner with the shit pile. I rise from my sitting position and place myself onto my knees and ready myself by taking aim at the putrid smelling excrement. Slowly but surely I carefully relieve myself.

My plan immediately back fired as not only did the shit NOT absorb into the pile of shit, but instead, made it slimy in appearance and shot it back me like mist. I tried to stop myself from pissing, but the flood gates were open and nothing was going to be able to close 'em. I stopped aiming for the pile of shit and instead did the thing that I should have done in the beginning; I unleashed the rest outside the cage onto the train floor. A freakishly golden fountain rained from the heavens onto the floor, showing my apparent dehydration. To say this whole experience was disgusting, enlightening and frustrating would be an understatement.

My fear of running piss on the cage floor came to pass as a stream of golden liquid ran right into the corner I was resting at.

Fucking-- Dammit! I wanted to hit something, I wanted to yell and scream. I instinctively didn't want to piss outside the cage to inconvenience these horse creatures, so it didn't even click in my head. But I finally realized that these beasts, in the last 4-fucking-days had not left me comfortable once. I just ruined my entire fucking day by trying to be considerate for no reason whatsoever. I wanted to blame how tired I was, how hungry I was that I couldn't think, but either way, I still felt incredibly stupid.

I'm so fucking stupid... For some unknown amount of time, I sulked in my new corner, hoping that they fed us more than once and would do something about our waste. In that time, I had a lot of time to think, and I did a lot of it.

I still can't figure out what these creatures want with us... Food, maybe? But horses don't eat meat, right? No, not for food... Maybe labor of some sort? I saw all of those wagons, they all looked the same. This is definitely a company, but of what is still in question. Labor seems to be my best guess, but what kind of labor? And how on fucking earth are they going to teach these wild ass humans to use tools? That one over there just shat in the fucking cage!

And you're any better?

Shut up, I wasn't thinking.

Something that you're going to need to do a whole lot more if you want to 'survive', old man. The little voice in my head was right, given my situation, I can't make stupid decisions. I have to be smart.

My thoughts were interrupted as a horse entered into the train car; it was Canary. From the look on her face, she seemed to be anxious about something.

What's got her all stiff? Bah! Why do I care... In anger I sniffed loudly and focused onto one of the cage's bars, trying to ignore the stupid flying horse. She trotted up to my cage, looking inside. Her face turned from one of nervousness to disgust as she saw the horrible mess we made. My face turned red from both embarrassment and anger. I continued to look away, not wanting to meet her gaze at us.

"Ew... Why didn't Hay Bale clean up the cages like Grey told him to? Laziest pony here I tell you..." She seemed to be talking to herself quietly. She was about to turn away, but her hoof landed in a puddle of sweet bladder juice on the ground. My bladder juice. She horrifically looked at her hoof, then at the floor, before her purple eyes squinted, her face turning red, and steam coming out of her ears.

"Rrrrghh! Hay Bale!" She stomped her way out of the train car, obviously pissed at the scrawny piece of straw.

Maybe they'll clean our mess for us? Hope this 'Grey' makes him do it, I'll be sure to make a nice nasty, slimy shit just for him. Hell, I'll do it as he almost finishes! I silently giggled at myself. I lean against the bars of my corner, leaning my head down against my chest. My body felt heavy, my eyelids heavier. I tried to tuck my legs into myself the best I could to form a ball to keep myself warm, but it did little to keep me comfortable.

Might as well sleep... there's not much else I could do. I rested my eyes. Only thing that came to mind was the longing to see Ally again.

I'm coming kiddo, I'l be home soon. With my mantra, sleep took its hold on me for the first time since the night before.

I'll be home... Soon...

Author's Note

Kinda shitty, sorry. Work has me fucking beaten for the last few weeks. Not sure when I'll update, kinda do it whenever I feel like writing... Or have time. I'm going out to the field sometime soon so there definitely wont be any updates during that time. Wish me the power to survive 2019 y'all.

-Ghost Wolf, coolest fucker in the swamp