. She was wearing a catsuit covered with a thin layer of brown and white fur dappled with white spots. It clung to her skin, putting her athletic body on display. Her feet were clad in dark brown booties that resembled hooves. The tip of her nose had been painted brown, and her hair had been dyed slightly to match the suit. Subtle makeup had been applied to her eyes to make them look bigger, the eyes of a frightened animal in the presence of danger. And glued to the top of her head were two little antlers.
Sandra felt a sense of disassociation. She had always thought of herself as one of society's predators. But this costume made her feel more defenseless than if she'd been naked. Thomas was right. This was the way prey looked.
When she joined her host downstairs she felt oddly shy. Prison had ensured that Sandra was used to being stripped and seen naked, but the way Thomas stared at her in her tight costume made her feel vulnerable in a way that was foreign to her. He was dressed for the hunt and had an expensive looking tranquilizer gun in his hands. He was clearly eager to get started.
"You look great. Perfect. Are you ready to begin?"
Anxious to regain some control of the situation, she retreated to sarcasm.
"I think you forgot the tail. And isn't it
male
deer that have antlers?"
"The tail comes later. As for the antlers, I couldn't resist. They suit you. They look cute."
That wasn't what Sandra wanted to hear. "I am
not
cute."
Thomas just smiled at her.
Sandra shrugged. She wasn't going to win that argument. Not while she was wearing this ridiculous costume.
"So, how do we work this?"
"Simple. You go out those big glass doors, then across the back patio into the forest. You have a 15-minute head start. Try not to let me catch you until the sun goes down. That's it."
That seemed easy enough to Sandra. She didn't have any more questions, and she wanted to get this over with. Without another word she left for the safety of the forest.
A few hours later Sandra felt like she was in pretty good shape. Thomas hadn't found her yet. He wasn't even close enough for her to hear him. Slowly she began to get her confidence back.
Maybe I can turn the tables on him,
she thought.
If I can jump him, this stupid game ends right now.
The thought pleased her. Sandra had always seen herself as someone who was not to be fucked with. The idea that she might outhunt the hunter and kick his pompous ass was delicious. She decided to wait. Once she heard Thomas coming she could set up an ambush.
After a few hours had gone by, Sandra began to get hungry. She wished that she could have brought some food with her. Then she saw it-an overgrown path leading to an apple tree.
Perfect! I can finally get something to eat. And maybe a branch I can use as a club...
Sandra threaded her way through the weeds until she reached the foot of the tree.
SNAP!
Something slammed shut around Sandra's ankle. She looked down in surprise to see a humane variation of the classic bear trap- it had triggered when she stepped on it. In place of the usual sharp metal teeth, the jaws of the trap had a layer of tough rubber that held her leg firmly in place. Then Sandra saw the rest of it. The trap was chained to the tree. Which meant that
Sandra
was chained to the tree.
Her face turned red as she realized that she'd been caught by a baited trap just like a real animal. Sandra's dreams of out-hunting the hunter, of proving her predatory nature had evaporated. Suddenly she was nothing more than a witless animal that had been defeated by the oldest trap in the book.
She struggled against the trap, but she wasn't able to free her ankle, or to undo the metal chain that tethered her to the tree. She pulled at the jaws over and over again. Every time she moved the chain tinkled, mocking her, reminding her of her status as captured prey that had been too dumb to avoid falling for a simple trap. Eventually she wore herself out with her struggles and gave up. There was nothing to do, so she just sat and waited to be found, chained to the tree.
The sun turned to clouds, and the clouds to a light spring rain. The tree afforded little shelter, leaving Sandra shivering and cold in her thin costume. Eventually Thomas found her. Sandra looked up at him. She tried to say something defiant, but she felt too helpless and defeated to think of anything. Thomas didn't say anything either. He just smiled and pointed his tranquilizer gun at the soft white belly of her costume. As she began to lose consciousness, the last thing she felt was Thomas's hands on her body as he retrieved his prize...
Sandra didn't know what chemicals were in that dart. But she spent the night having strange dreams that all had the feel of delirium about them. She dreamed that she was still at the apple tree. She was tethered to it by a simple rope tied around her neck. The tree was loaded with red apples that glowed like neon, and the grass was brilliant green in the circle around it. But outside of the circle was only darkness. And in the darkness were eyes. Sandra kept reaching her hand to her neck to untie herself so that she could flee. But every time she did she felt a hand stopping her. Over and over she heard a voice whispering the same sentence in her ear:
"It's safer here".
Day 2
When Sandra came to the next morning, she was seated across from Thomas in a comfortable chair at the dining room table. He smiled at her.
"It was a good hunt yesterday."
"Um, thanks, I guess." Sandra shook her head to clear her thoughts. "You said when I lose a hunt there's some kind of penalty. When does that happen? And what's the penalty?"
Thomas chuckled. "I can answer both questions at once. You're wearing your penalty."
Sandra looked down at herself. She was wearing the same deer costume. Only-
"My hands! What the fuck?"
Sandra's hands were now covered with padded, fingerless gloves that resembled hooves.
"Is this really necessary, Thomas?"
"No. It's very entertaining for me though."
"I'll bet, asshole!"
But in spite of her bravado, Sandra couldn't make herself feel her usual level of confidence. She kept thinking about how she had spent much of the previous day wet and chained to a tree by her ankle, waiting for a man to catch her and take her to shelter.
A servant arrived with breakfast. Thomas had a large steak with a side of eggs placed before him. Sandra, on the other hand, got some sort of sugary granola mixture. It was served in a kind of shallow trough. She started to reach for her fork, only to realize that she wasn't able to pick it up with her hooves. Her face turned red as she pawed helplessly at it. Thomas watched her humiliation with a faint air of amusement.
"I took the liberty of having something made that you could eat without having to use your hands. It's quite nutritious."
"Thanks, you're all heart."
Sandra leaned over her granola and began to eat. She found breakfast to be...uncomfortable. Thomas was normally dressed, and tucked into his meat-heavy meal with enthusiasm. Sandra, on the other hand, was in her revealing costume grazing from a feeding trough. Afterwards Thomas took out a damp cloth and cleaned the food from her face. She wasn't able to do it herself. The whole experience made Sandra feel small and vulnerable. She was relieved when it was all over and she could begin to make for the safety of the forest.
Sandra had given up on trying to attack Thomas. With the soft hooves that she wore over her hands she wasn't able to put up any kind of a fight. The effects of her new handicap weren't just physical, either. The hooves were a continual drain on Sandra's confidence. It was hard for her to feel capable when she wasn't even able to use a fork or wash her face. Sandra was painfully aware of how helpless she was. If Thomas caught her, there was nothing she could do to defend herself. Her only option was to copy the animal she was dressed as, to run like hell and hope that the hunter wouldn't find her.
But that was more easily said than done. Thomas seemed to be doing a better job of tracking her today. She kept hearing the sounds of his pursuit from behind her. Sandra had to shake him somehow. The problem was that she wasn't experienced at covering her tracks. Everywhere she went she left signs of her passing that Thomas, as an expert hunter, could read like a book.
Then Sandra saw the perfect opportunity. There was a tall chain link fence ahead of her with a gate. Beyond it was a small stream. If she walked downstream, she wouldn't leave any tracks for Thomas to follow. This was her chance. Sandra sprinted as fast as she could to the gate. But when she got there she stopped dead-and stared at it in horror.
There was a latch on the gate. It wasn't locked, but the hooves covering her hands made working it impossible. She was unable to open a door, just like any forest creature. Sandra pawed desperately at the gate like an animal. The rattling of the gate was a mocking reminder of her helplessness. She shook the gate over and over again, trying with all her strength to open it. She was still trying when Thomas caught up with her and put a dart in her ass. The last thing she remembered was Thomas wrapping his arms around her waist and draping his new catch over his shoulder to take home with him, the result of a successful day of hunting.
More dreams. Sandra was in a fenced-in pen with grass and leaves for grazing. The gate was wide open. Sandra rushed towards her chance at freedom, but then she stopped. On the other side of the gate she could see a crowd of people. They were all staring at her with undisguised malice. Sandra cowered. She was tame and they were wild. She needed to be protected. To her relief, the gate closed, trapping her in her pen. She heard a voice:
