User:Erastus/Serving the Sentence - Part 4
Serving the Sentence - Part 4/14
At lunch the whole team gathered under the protection of the mess tent to celebrate Ivan's birthday, a chance to show him how Americans celebrate. Ivan was presented with a cake and the appropriate number of candles. They all sang the birthday song and everyone presented him with some type of gift, most often one that was a gag of some sort. Rose took lots of pictures with her digital camera. As soon as it appeared the sky was clearing, the party spilled into the rest of the camp.
As she surveyed the wreckage of the party, Rose was the first to notice something strange. There were leftover hamburgers. All five who had been in the jeep had eaten a very large lunch -- Lily had commented that she had never seen David eat so much -- and all five had avoided the meat. "Jack, a big man like you is eating vegetarian? I'm surprised."
"I have no idea why, Rose, the burgers just didn't look good today," said Jack. Rose could see him shudder at the thought.
This was a switch. Rose knew she wasn't a great cook, but her burgers were palatable -- at least, as the rest joked, if you put enough ketchup on them. But, bad as they were, Jack hadn't refused them before.
Rose shifted her eyes from Jack and studied David for a moment, another one who had avoided her burgers today but had been willing to eat them in the past. "I didn't think I would ever say this to you, David, but did you shave this morning?"
"Yeah, I did," said David, as he brought his hand to his cheek. This was a surprise. There was actual stubble there and it wasn't just a little bit, either. He ran his fingers across his face. It actually felt like he was capable of growing a thick beard, and he knew that such a beard had never grown on this face before. Perhaps he was one of those 'late bloomers'. Perhaps having a thick beard would get Jack off his back.
Perhaps pigs will sprout wings. He had attracted Jack's attention. "Stubble looks ridiculous on you, kid, especially the white around your mouth. You're not enough of a man to have a beard. And where'd you get those weird ears?"
David touched his ears. That was odd. The curl along the top edge unrolled into a point.
As David brought his hand back down, he noticed that there were a few more hairs on this arm than he remembered having -- and he remembered not having many at all -- and even more strangely, while the sparse hairs on his arm were red, the ones on the back of his hand were white. He checked the other arm. Same thing. Strange upon strange. He ran his fingers through the hairs on his arm, then through the stubble on his chin again. Was it a bit longer? "Rose, do you have a mirror?"
She disappeared for a moment to get it.
David felt an odd pain in his abdomen. "My belt feels tight," he said.
"I'm not surprised, with the way you were packing it in during lunch," said Rose, handing him the mirror. "Did you miss breakfast and try to make up for lost time?"
David set the mirror down on the table while he checked out the belt. He didn't seem fat -- his abdomen didn't jiggle anymore than it had before and he didn't look bloated -- but the belt was definitely too tight now. He undid the buckle and watched the ends retreat a ways into the belt loops. That relieved the pain a bit, but not entirely. The seams of his shorts looked a little strained. They would have to go. "Excuse me." He picked up the mirror and headed into his tent. His boots didn't seem to fit right.
Once inside, David took off boots and socks and stripped to his briefs. Men, faced with the female doctor, tend to become bashful. That was definitely the case when David faced Lily, the camp's sole medical staff, and he would no doubt have to face her soon. While his khaki shorts were tight, his briefs still had some give to them.
By the light of sun coming through the open screens of the tent, he could see several things that were wrong.
He had a lot more body hair -- chest, legs, arms -- than before. He didn't exactly have a lot -- he had noticed that Zane had a lot more -- but when one had so little any increase was noticeable. The hair on the top of his feet was white like the hair on the back of his hands. The rest of it was the expected brilliant red. His middle toes seemed large, as did his middle fingers. His class ring was loose and the hairs on his arm were getting caught in the spreading links of his watchband. He took both of them off.
He picked up the mirror. His beard looked to be on loan from someone capable of growing a thick beard who hadn't shaved in a week. Even more strange, the area he had tried (and failed) to cultivate into a mustache and goatee was now white, not red, as Jack had said. How had his body managed that trick?
His ears definitely had points to them. His nose looked big and round. "Lily!"
He heard a bit of commotion outside the tent. Several voices seemed to babble at once, Jack's loudest among them. Lily stepped into the tent. "Something's wrong!" David wailed.
He was about to launch into his catalog of complaints, when Lily held up her hand. She held the edge of the tent so she could see out while speaking to David inside. "It seems it is happening to the others too. Piet and Amos now have thick stubble and the ears of all four of them look a little pointed."
Once she finished speaking, Lily came over to David, "Is there anything else that's different?"
David only got as far as showing her the white hair on the back of his hands before the other four came into the tent. "Waistline is getting tight," said Piet. "We might as well make this your infirmary. We aren't all going to fit in your little medical tent." All four proceeded to take off everything but their briefs. Even the personification of macho can get bashful in front of a female doctor.
While they stripped, Lily went to get Professor. His quick eye took in the situation within a couple seconds. He disappeared and could be heard talking a moment later. "Something strange is going on with our team members. I have no idea what. Just to be on the safe side in case this is contagious, Taki, Ivan, and Rose should head out to one of our nearby survey sites. You might even get some work done while you're out there. Please keep your phones on. Sorry Ivan, the party is over. Chaz, I'm sorry I might be putting you in harm's way, but please stick around. We may need you to translate. Rose, I would like to use your camera. Chaz, please find my tape measure."
Professor came back into the tent, camera in hand, to check on his team. "Do any of you feel ill or are in pain?"
He got a chorus of nos in reply. David said, "Well, only when my shorts were too tight."
Professor surveyed his team. Each man thought he had more body hair than before. Piet's and Jack's were the expected yellow and brown. Zane's seemed to be a variety of shades of gray, similar to the salt and pepper of his beard and not like the black of his hair. Amos had the strangest. His body hair had areas that were ghostly white against his black skin and other areas that were black. These areas were small and numerous and seemed almost chaotic.
"I hope all of you will consent to a few pictures and measurements. This is strange enough that I would like a record." He poked his head out of the tent for a moment. "The rest of the team is gone. Let's do this in the light."
"Ever the scientist," said Piet.
They each stood in front of the tent for a photo. While Professor downloaded them into his laptop, Chaz and Lily took measurements and asked the men about clothing sizes. Professor brought up the latest photo of David and positioned it beside a photo of David taken during the party.
The differences were striking. "David, it appears your neck is lengthening, and your nose seems to have gotten a bit fat," said Professor. He then added, "Check your ears too."
David grabbed the mirror for another look. It seemed his nose now took up the entire center of his face and was much rounder. His ears had grown a bit and had several red hairs at the point.
In the process of touching his ears, David again noticed his fingers. The middle one was half again as wide as the others and the whole of the last joint stuck out beyond the end of its neighbor. David showed his hands to Professor, who took pictures.
A moment later, David whispered, "Professor, I think my briefs are getting tight. What do I do about Lily?"
"Think of her as a doctor, not a woman. I'm sure she has dealt with male anatomy before."
David made a face, too bashful to believe Professor.
"Chaz," said Professor, "I think we need to give our friends at the medical center a call. I may not be a doctor, but this is not in any way normal."
Chaz took the cell phone and dialed, then spoke in Mongolian. After much less time than Professor expected, Chaz shut off the phone. He had an amazed expression on his face. "I started describing symptoms and the dispatcher laughed at me! Of course, if I had heard those same symptoms I would laugh too." He shook his head in wonder. "Then she said that I had better get off the line because there was an emergency of some sort up in the hills. I guess we're under Lily's tender care."
David whispered to Professor with a grimace, "The briefs gotta go. I think they're about to split." Professor could see the leg holes were now quite tight.
"It's OK, David, you can take them off. As our medical staff, Lily has seen such things before."
David blushed across his nose and forehead, the only parts of his face not covered with hair, but obeyed. He grasped the waistband of his briefs and tugged downward, working the poor garment over a body now much too big for it.
When he got the band low enough for his manhood to spill out, he turned and even brighter shade of red. What a thing to reveal before onlookers! David wanted to dash into any nearby tent, but that was simply not possible with his briefs around his knees. He felt frozen in place from embarrassment.
Jack gave a low whistle in appreciation of its size, then said, "David, I'm impressed. How does a guy with a cock like that manage to act so wimpy? You should be proud, not embarrassed."
"It, um, didn't used to be like this," David stammered. It was a huge thing, reaching halfway to his knees with a coloring that was darker than the rest of his skin. David was afraid to touch it or even think about it. He didn't want it to stiffen, not in front of Lily.
Jack's chuckle showed his delight. "If that is one of the benefits of whatever is going on, then bring it on!"
Jack had a big smile on his face as he struggled with his own briefs. The smile faded quickly when his own manhood was revealed -- it wasn't any larger than before.
Zane said, "Don't worry Jack. Remember that David starting changing before we did." He turned to Amos and Piet. "Well guys, I suppose we should also strip to show the big guy we're all in this together."
They did so. Each assured Jack that his own manhood hadn't grown yet. Jack was now the one embarrassed as even mild mannered Piet's manhood was bigger than his own. And everyone could easily see that.
Now that he was naked, Amos started tracing the outlines of the many white patches of body hair. He would inspect a patch, then stare off into the distance or close his eyes. After a moment, he would move onto the next patch. He looked so deep in thought that no one wanted to disturb him.
Professor noted the pattern of patches while Amos inspected himself. The hair on Amos' hands and feet was white, but with lots of small splotches of black, like a densely spotted Dalmatian. The hair on his arms and legs was black with splotches of white. Across his torso, front and back, were a large number of white spots about the size of the professor's fist, all crowded together.
After ten minutes Amos picked up the mirror and inspected his head. His beard was black, the hair on top of his head was black, though it was now straight instead of curly. He tugged at a few of the straight hairs. The new hairs on the left ear were black, the ones on the right ear were white. When he was done, Amos turned to the group and said, "Are you guys still thinking about horses like we were in the jeep?"
"Yeah," said Piet with a surprised look on his face. "Now that you mention it, even the party couldn't shake the image of a Thoroughbred floating behind my eyelids." David, Jack, and Zane nodded in agreement.
"I've had that image of a Paint in my mind the whole time as well," said Amos. "I think I know what's going on. We're becoming horses."
"Aw man, don't joke like that," said Jack with derision. "Men don't become horses."
Amos glared at Jack. "I would hope that is simply an automatic reaction of your little brain and quick mouth. Something is going on here as you have noticed." Amos paused for a breath. "Consider. The pattern of my white body hair matches the markings of the Paint that I see clearly when I close my eyes. The white hair on David's hands and feet and in his beard suggest the white stockings and white face of the Clydesdales he talked about. Zane's hair darkens to black on his hands and feet and suggests a dapple gray with black stockings. Your own hair also darkens at your hands and feet suggesting a brown horse with black stockings."
"Your whole theory is based only on hair color?" asked Jack.
"Not at all. That's just how I figured it out. Look at David's ears and nose. Horses have pointy ears and rounded noses. Check out his fingers and toes. Horses have only one toe on each leg."
"That's still crazy," said Jack.
"Do you have a better explanation of why your body is different than it was five minutes ago?" Jack shook his head. "I didn't think so."
Zane said, "Your theory might be right, but if David is becoming a Clydesdale, I would expect brown fur, not red. And though I can't say I'm an expert on horse breeds, I've never heard of a yellow Thoroughbred." He nodded towards Piet.
"Sorry," said Amos, "I don't have an answer for that."
"So what triggered the change?" asked Piet.
"I don't know for sure. Since the five of us are affected and no one else seems to be -- though I know it may be too soon to tell -- it must have been triggered when we were together and no one else was around. The first time that happened was when we pulled up alongside David and listened to the horse talk and sing."
"So you think it was the horse that did this?" asked David.
"The ride back in the jeep certainly didn't make it happen." Amos paused for a moment. "It probably wasn't the horse. That man was pretty creepy. My guess is he did to the female horse the same thing he is doing to us."
"That still doesn't answer how or why," said Piet.
"No it doesn't. I don't have those answers."
"In other words," Professor said, as he gathered his thoughts, "you had an unfortunate encounter with a local who put a curse on you, no doubt because you violated some taboo which you have no knowledge of. I might even theorize that he installed an image in your brain and told your body to reshape itself to match."
They fell silent for a moment as they recognized there wasn't any way to refute the theory. Professor said, "From what I see of David, another round of photos and measurements are in order. If you are willing, I'd like to take several close-ups of various features." He looked at David expectantly.
There was no mistaking Professor's meaning. "Um." David swallowed hard. "I guess."
The close-up of David's manhood -- to David's extreme embarrassment -- showed a gigantic specimen hanging to his knees now considerably darker in color. It was backed by a large and very hairy ball-sack. The legs on either side were also quite hairy.
David was now standing with his heels off the ground, balancing on the balls of his feet. His feet were now long and slender tipped with one very large toe and four tiny stubs.
David's hands were photographed next, showing the back of one and the palm of the other. Professor even put a quarter in David's open palm to show scale. The hands were now narrow with one large and long finger tipped with a thick nail and four short ones. There was a lot more hair now emphasizing the change from red to white at the wrist. David could still grasp a cup, but couldn't grasp a pen or hold onto Professor's quarter.
Jack examined his own strange hand and said, "We seem to be quite well equipped to give someone the finger. I doubt we could avoid it."
The next close-up was of David's head, both from the front and the side. His nose was now huge, beginning to push between the eyes and moving the mouth forward. Hair was now growing on his forehead and nose. This hair was white across the whole nose, the white extending up around his eyes to his hairline. His ears had grown some more and were attached higher on his head than before.
Enough hair had grown on the faces of the other men to show what their markings would be. Amos was developing a white star in the middle of his forehead, bright in contrast to the black hair around it. Piet had a blaze from hairline to between his eyes, though there wasn't much contrast with his yellow hair. Zane had a stripe the whole length of his nose, the rest filling in with dapple gray. Jack was also developing a star surrounded by brown hair.
Full body shots of David, front and back, showed a noticeably longer neck with a ridge of red hair down the back of it to the shoulder blades, a much more barrel shaped chest, a lot more body hair -- though David's pale skin was still visible -- and a stub of a tail that was already covered with red hair. His arms seemed to hang funny. His shoulders were pulled forward and seemed to swallow up a bit of the upper arm and the elbow now bent forward rather than inward.
Photos were also taken of the other four men, whose features were similar, though not as progressed as far as David's. The exception, which was distressing to Jack, was that their manhood refused to grow.
About the time that Professor was done dumping the photos in his laptop, David said, "I don't want to be a horse."
"So change back," said Professor.
"I don't know how. I don't even know how I'm changing into a horse."
"I don't know either." Professor turned back to this laptop.
Lily had an inspired thought. She came over to David and began to stroke his neck.
Zane said, "When we were in the jeep, David, you dreamed about galloping across the prairie. Perhaps you can think about actually doing that."
"That might have sounded fun back then but it doesn't now. How am I going to meet a nice girl when I look like a horse? I won't be able to go to a dance or even graduate! I'd rather go to a dance than gallop across the prairie."
"Zane," Professor said, "Would the elder that did all this volunteer to undo it?"
Zane laughed. "No, he won't undo it even if we said, 'Pretty-please with sugar and honey on top.' That was one weird and scary dude. It seemed like he was doing it for a very particular reason. The only other time I saw an expression like that was when I was a POW back in 'Nam. My captor had that same grin on his face when we both realized I was in his control and there was nothing I could do about it. No, this dude isn't going to change us back until his purposes are satisfied. And I don't particularly want to be around him long enough to find out what his purposes are. I'd rather be a horse for the rest of my life than be under his control."
Professor could see David didn't like that news and needed a distraction, so he asked David to recount his flight from Cincinnati while Lily stroked his neck.
The next photograph of David's head showed a shape that had clearly departed from human, though it didn't yet look right for a horse head. His face was much longer than before; the muzzle had pushed between the eyes. The hair on his nose and forehead had now obscured his skin. His ears were too wide for horse ears and too pointed for human and perched high on the side of his head.
Professor asked David to turn around, then clapped his hands behind David's head. Both ears twitched towards the sound. "Try to figure out how to move them," said Professor.
David moved his hands to the ears with the intent of wiggling them by hand. He found his arms and fingers didn't move right, his big finger was longer than he thought it was, and his ear had moved. He jammed his thickened nail into the side of his head before he found his ear, then discovered again he didn't have enough of a thumb to grab the ear.
"I hate this!" he wailed. His rising frustration looked like it was about to boil over.
Lily resumed her stroking along David's neck and behind the ears, though now it was a bit of a reach. David relaxed as he leaned into it. After a minute he was able to endure more photos.
The photo of his body showed that his arms had shifted forward more and that more of his upper arm seemed to be swallowed up by his torso, which was longer and rounder. He now had flanks. His tail was longer.
Professor wiggled David's tail. "This is another body part you didn't have before. Try to move it yourself."
Jack said, "Sorry, Professor, you're not wiggling my tail." His voice was halfway between an apology and a leer. He reached behind himself, but found with the changed position of his arms, he couldn't reach his tail. "Lily, could you wiggle my tail for me?"
Jack's expression may have been hidden behind fur and a new bone structure and now unreadable, but his tone of voice made his real wish unmistakable.
"Sorry, Jack," said Lily. "You'll have to get someone else to do it. I'm not touching your tail."
The next photo was of David's hands. The nail had thickened to cover the entire fingertip. The joints of the finger had reformed into recognizable fetlock and pastern -- it was Zane that supplied the terms. The hand had lengthened into the cannon; the only evidence that it had been a hand was that it was a bit wider than what was normal for a horse and there were four stubby nails along the sides.
The photos of David's feet and legs showed a condition similar to his hands. Since David was teetering on the fetlock, he was much taller than Professor, a view he liked very much. He realized he couldn't support himself like that much longer and would have to sit. He was afraid that if he did, he would never stand on two legs again.
Again, David was embarrassed when the photo was taken of his groin. There was now a patch of fur across the base of his member, the start of his sheath.
"So why is it David's cock is so immense and even has the start of a sheath and mine hasn't grown at all and is still hanging in the breeze?" said Jack. "Did this curse simply forget my cock? What kind of a curse is that? How can I be a proper stallion with a cock this small?" There was panic in Jack's voice.
"Cool it," said Piet, "Whatever the problem is, it affects us too."
"I wonder," mused Amos, drawing out the thought, "if this curse is waiting to play a big trick on us." That got Jack's attention. Amos looked like he was enjoying the tease. "I wonder if this curse is going to make us female."
"Don't say that! Don't even think it!" Jack bellowed.
"After all," Amos was downright laconic, "A herd needs only one stallion and it appears that David will get the job."
"That little twerp isn't worthy of being a stallion!"
"Watch out. You probably haven't noticed lately, but 'that little twerp' is now bigger than you."
Jack got as far as saying, "This is so unfair!" before lapsing into a string of profanity.
Professor disappeared into the mess tent and reappeared with a mug of tea. Piet said, "Chaz, could you get some coffee for me? I don't think I would fit in the mess tent anymore. Anyone else want some?"
"What do you want it in, a bowl?" chided Chaz. "I doubt you could manage a mug."
I don't think coffee is a good idea," said Lily. "Since all you guys avoided meat at lunch, I suspect your digestion is mostly horse by now. I don't think coffee for a horse is a good idea."
"Not that it's all that good for a human," muttered Zane.
"If you are hungry," said Lily, "I'm sure I can find something suitable."
"Yes, I'm hungry," said David. The others echoed him. In a moment, Lily was back with several bunches of carrots.
David worked a carrot between his two long fingers and tried to pick it up. "This isn't going to work." A moment later, he said, "Hold on. I got it." He had the carrot squeezed between the two thick nails. He then found he couldn't bring it to his mouth.
"I guess you're going to have to lean over and grab it with your lips," said Lily. David's eyes widened. "Sorry, David, but you had better get used to it."
David leaned over, lost his balance, and put those thick fingernails on the ground. He looked down and let out a ragged sigh. On four feet. A big symbol that his humanity was just about gone. Lily was quick to begin scratching him between the ears again.
Dave was still hungry, though. He reached with his lips and found it quite easy to snag the carrot. He bit down on it. "Ow!" No longer having fingers to investigate the problem, he spat out the mouthful -- including a metallic tooth. "My crown fell out!" He investigated with his tongue. "That's strange. When it was put in, I remember the dentist shaped what was left of my tooth into a point. It isn't a point anymore; it feels like a regular molar." Lily could see David's tongue working around his protruding mouth. "I can also feel a gap between my front teeth and the rest."
Zane said, "That's normal for a horse. There's no need for canine teeth when you're not a carnivore and the molars need to be close to the jaw joint."
David spat out another chunk of metal. Lily said, "My guess is that another chunk of filling just got expelled as your teeth reformed as horse teeth."
"How many teeth does a horse have?" asked David.
"I don't know," said Zane. "I suspect we'll be able to count teeth soon."
David eyed the carrot. "I'm still hungry." He took another careful bite, then finished off the carrot. Before biting into the next carrot he spat out another filling. "I think that's the last one." He proceeded to eat carrots as fast as he could. The other four were now spitting out occasional fillings as they ate.
When the carrots were gone, David said, "I'm still hungry."
Lily got a loaf of bread and proceeded to tear off chunks and set them on the table. All five of them ate as fast as she could tear. She went back for the rest of the bread and carrots, then all of the apples. When that disappeared, she brought out all the fruits and vegetables she had.
"Fuel for growth," observed Professor as the horses devoured the camp's resources. "However, I must insist that you switch to grass if you are still hungry. We have to eat too."
David said, "Yuck," but changed his mind once he tasted it.
The men grazed quietly while they submitted to another round of photos and measurements, including photos of the mouth and a count of teeth. All had 42 of them, in much better shape than some had been in a long time. Other measurements were done a little differently this time as all five of them were now standing on four legs.
David looked a lot more like a horse than a human, though there were details that didn't quite look right. It was the little things -- Ears that didn't quite seem to be in the right position, head not quite in proper proportion, arms -- forelegs -- that didn't seem positioned quite right, hindlegs that weren't the right shape, barrel that looked quite scrawny, mane that looked too short, and tail that looked like a bushy bottle brush instead of a long cascade of hair.
Lily stopped calling out measurements to Chaz when she measured Jack's tail and legs. "What's going on back there? Why so quiet?" said Jack.
"You're just fine, Jack," called out Chaz. "Everything is as it should be. That is for someone turning into a horse."
"Oh, no. You can't fool me. There is something you aren't telling me." He stuck his head between his forelegs. Lily and Chaz stepped back out of the way "Damn. There seems to be too much fur in the way. I can't get a good look."
Jack carefully turned to face Piet's flank. "Hold it there a moment, would you Piet?" Jack stuck his head under Piet's belly.
"Jack!" said Piet, "I'm not that kind of guy," but he didn't step away.
"All in the name of science, man." Jack now got one eye where he could see where he wanted. "Yours shrunk!" He pulled his head back. "I'm sure of it! It's just a nub, and your balls are tiny too!" He stuck his head between his own legs again. "That means I can't see mine because it isn't there!"
The panic was rising in his voice. Lily put down the tape measure and came up to Jack. "Calm down Jack. Take it easy." She reached to scratch him behind the ears.
He stepped aside -- clumsily -- to avoid her touch. "You don't understand! That means I'm not going to be a stallion! I can't be a woman. I'm a man! I have a dick! I have balls! It can't be true. I'm not some silly mare!"
Jack was fully into his panic now. He pranced around and shied from everyone's touch. Since he wasn't used to four legs yet, he also stumbled a lot. Lily was afraid he would hurt himself or crash into a tent. Jack wouldn't respond to anyone's voice. His ranting had turned to general profanity and his gyrations became wilder and more clumsy.
"Someone get some rope," said Professor. "Lily, do you have any tranquilizer?"
"The rope is with Taki," said Chaz. "He heard about this morning's problems and wanted to make sure he had enough to get out of any canyon."
"I don't have enough tranq for a horse," said Lily. She almost had to shout to be heard over Jack's ranting.
Just then Jack bumped up against a tent. It collapsed, harmlessly. The touch and movement spooked Jack, who simply fled. He was clumsy on four feet and found he couldn't go on two. Even so, he quickly outdistanced Chaz.
Professor ran for a jeep -- to discover one was at the worksite and the other was inoperable. Piet had been working on it when he was called away to change a tire and help search for David.
A sound off to her left drew Lily's attention from Jack's disappearing form. She glanced over to see that David's eyes had gone wide. She started talking in a soothing voice, "It's OK David," as she walked over to him and put her arm around his neck and scratched him behind the ears. Lily kept up her reassurance for several minutes, even after she heard a long shuddering sigh from him.
"Thank you," he said. "I was getting very close to taking off like Jack did." He turned to Amos. "You look so calm. I almost completely freaked out. You've just turned from man to horse. How can you take it so calmly?"
"Well, kid, I don't sweat the things I can't change. There are things I have control over and things I don't. I had no control when my body shifted from human to horse. No need to sweat it. I do have control of my attitude about being a horse. If the cosmos decides for some strange reason that Amos is to be a horse, then I say let me enjoy the experience while I can. Is it scary? Sure. And sometimes I can even enjoy a good scare. That would at least bump me out of any ruts I might be in."
"But this has taken away everything that makes you human!" said David.
"Not everything. Not by a long shot. I can still talk, and I would bet I haven't lost one bit of my intelligence."
"Are you sure?" asked David.
"What's eight times twelve?"
David was startled by the question. "Uh, ninety-six."
"A horse can't do that. I also believe that I am still human because I still have a soul. I still understand God." He paused for a moment. "At least I understand as much about God as I did before and as much as any human can."
"How do you know that?"
"I was meditating on God and various religious concepts during the course of the change so that I wouldn't panic like Jack did."
That satisfied David. He wasn't going to lose his mind.
Professor called the worksite. "Has anyone discovered their belt is way too tight?"
"Nooo..." said Rose, "What kind of question is that?"
"I'll explain when you return and it is safe to do so now."
"We're on our way. Taki is getting hungry."
The jeep arrived back at camp just before sunset and Professor and Lily came out to meet them. "I need to talk to you before you get into the camp. It seems that five of our team, David, Amos, Piet, Zane, and Jack, encountered a curse of some kind. The curse has changed all five of them into intelligent horses."
"Professor, this has got to be one of your crazier practical jokes," said Taki.
"No joke. Amos," he called out, "please come over here."
Out from behind a tent came a beautiful Paint horse. It approached the jeep, though its movements suggested it had to think about each step. Rose said, "That's a beautiful horse!"
Taki said, "That horse may have beautiful markings, but the horse itself seems scrawny, gangly, and a klutz."
Rose glared at Taki a moment, then turned back to Professor, "Where did you get it?"
Professor said, "Why don't you say hello, Amos."
"Hi, guys." said Amos. "I'm glad you think I'm beautiful."
Hearing a horse speak was shock enough, hearing it speak in the voice of Amos was almost too much.
Professor raised the camera and snapped a picture. "I just love your expressions."
After recovering from the shock, Rose bounded out of the jeep and gave Amos a hug. "I love horses! Always have."
Taki climbed out, but didn't move very far. "You aren't using ventriloquism, are you?"
Ivan stayed in the jeep. "Professor, this can't be good."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't remember the details, but there are old Russian legends about men that become horses. If these horses remain in camp, I'm afraid I must go home to Moscow."
"I'm sorry if you must go, but you're being foolish. The curse that affected David and the rest can't affect you now."
Ivan didn't look convinced.
As they walked into camp -- Rose with a hand on Amos, Taki looking puzzled and hanging back, and Ivan bringing up the rear -- Amos told his part of the story. Amos introduced Rose to the new David, Zane, and Piet.
Of course, Rose immediately asked, "What happened to Jack?"
"He fled," said Professor.
"You didn't go after him?"
"You had one jeep and Piet had left the other one in pieces."
"The change was too much for Jack?"
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"
"David is the only stallion."
Rose's laughter could be heard far into the night.
