The next morning, after breakfast, Tammy was out in the pasture. She still wanted to escape. She looked, and saw John sitting under a particular tree on top of a hill, that allowed those sitting or standing there to watch everything. She decided to take a chance, and walked towards him.
After a little while, he looked at her. "Get a good night's rest?"
"Good enough," she said, as she sat next to him.
"Lovely stars last night," John said. "Useful for navigating ones way around, if you can read them."
"My father taught me how to do that," Tammy said. "I'd like to see him again."
John sighed. "There's only one way I'll be able to see my family again. My folks have been dead for twenty years - my mother was braindeaded in an illegal blood production facility, and my father died freeing me. My first Mate and Son are hopefully still out there, still Free - Wolfe Family has a standing offer of five hundred thousand dollars for any of my line, and, just as importantly, any of theirs - covers both my son and his mother. Been ten years - Tobias is probably a man now, maybe has had his first child, and Bella would be nearing middle age, if she's still alive. On the plus side, if the Wolfe Family did acquire them, they'd be Safe, and not eaten without Permission."
"Why's that?" Tammy asked.
"Because I saved Robert's life when a bear attacked him on the day I was captured," said John. "I killed the bear, injuring my leg as a result."
"Why didn't you let the bear eat him?" Tammy asked.
John frowned. "The bear was too close to my family. I made a trade - me for them. That's the job of those who decide to do Decoy - save the rest at the cost of yourself."
"I see," said Tammy. "You sacrificed yourself to save your family."
John nodded. "It's part of the reason why I can't escape, well, that and my leg preventing me from running effectively."
"So, have you ever figured out the way to escape?" Tammy asked. "I mean, you've been here ten years - you must have heard or figured something out."
John grinned. "I have, and it's the only one that might work." He scratched three lines in the dirt between them. "We're surrounded by a triple layer fence - innermost and outermost are safe to touch, but have barbed wire to deter climbing attempts, while the middle one is electrified with a decent voltage - don't bother the climb. You could try digging, but there's cement under the whole thing six inches down. Could try cutting, but that involves breaking into the tool shed, just to get some rubber-gripped wire cutters - too much noise. Could try the truck when the Wolfes leave for trips, but they might check it after a short distance."
"So, what do you think would work?" Tammy asked.
John lifted his head, to look at the fence, turned his face slightly, before lowering it.
Tammy carefully looked at the spot John had indicated. "Isn't that a little obvious?"
John nodded. "It's the one weakness in any fence - a way in, or out. Passcode to open it, and Robert and Julia can easily see it from their bedroom. Then there's the cameras watching everything, and listening to everything we say. It's why I say nothing, not until Step Zero is dealt with."
"Step Zero?" Tammy asked.
"Got to break the others Conditioning, or Taming," said John. "At the moment, they trust the Wolfes, see them as Friends, Family even. Even I've been Tamed to a certain degree - I can't intentionally harm the Wolfes, and anyone that decides to make a dumb or exceptionally risky escape plan, or rebellion, I'm compelled to tell Robert about it."
Tammy lowered her eyes, as she realized what John had said. "You told them, didn't you?"
"I saw you, and so did the cameras," said John. "I'm sorry, but I deemed it too risky to try, especially after Robert showed me the footage of the bear."
"Is it possible that Robert planted the pig to lure the bear near here?" Tammy asked.
John shook his head. "Not his style."
"So, what makes you sure that your plan would work?" Tammy asked.
John grinned. "It's the last thing they'd expect." Then, he frowned. "Of course, to make it work, sacrifices have to be made - some need to play Decoy, and given that it's going to be a while before things are ready, as the others need to learn at least basic survival skills, some need to be Meals, and must keep their mouths shut through the whole process, from Selection, to Preparation, to Cooking, to Being Eaten, and of course, being Good Meals by giving the Wolfes their stomach rubs and such, until they die."
"I see," said Tammy.
"Thing is, it will only work once, so no prior attempts must be made before everything is ready," said John. "Otherwise, I fear that escape will become next to impossible."
"I think I understand," said Tammy. "You want as much of the herd as possible to escape, not just a few."
John nodded.
"So, what do you advise?" Tammy asked.
"Make them think that you're trying to behave," said John. "Some mischief every now and then is one thing, but don't cause any serious trouble. Try to go along with things - one day, when you escape to freedom, you'll be able to look back and laugh."
"What about you?" Tammy asked.
John smiled. "I've already figured out my Role - I'm The Decoy. I can slow the Wolfes down, even as the other Decoys make their escape with the rest of the herd."
"Are you sure about that?" Tammy asked.
A massive grin came to John's face, as he chuckled. "The look upon Robert's face would be worth being eaten for." He looked at her. "Not a word to the others. Someone would be bound to tell anyways. Still, try to teach survival skills to the young ones - teach them how to read the stars, identify helpful plants and such. Every little bit helps."
"How long will it take?" Tammy asked.
"I've been planning for ten years," said John. "If we can make it past Step Zero, then we might get somewhere."
"How do we get past Step Zero?" Tammy asked.
"There's two methods that might work," said John. "One method, the Wolfes become Highly Aggressive towards the livestock, because as you might have noticed, the Wolfes very rarely get angry towards the livestock - triggers a defensive instinct in us to fight back. The second method is to expose a fundamental lie in what they've been telling us - They're Honest enough to let us know that we'll be bred, sold, and/or eaten. There was a Livestock Rebellion a few years back because they'd been lied to for twenty years. It was a Free Range Village Farm - five thousand livestock were brought in, the females pregnant, and all were given memory altering drugs - they thought that they were Free, and that the werewolves and vampires were menial laborers. Fast forward twenty years, almost time for harvest, pack of Feral humans show up, and expose everything. Thus came the biggest Decoy operation I've ever heard of - five thousand Marked livestock rebelled, so that the ferals could make off with the young ones, who were all unmarked, three thousand of them - of course, some say that the ferals killed the young ones, but I don't know. Still, the police and military had to be called in, huge fine, all remaining livestock reduced to D and F Grades, and that family can never farm humans again."
"So, is there some sort of lie we could exploit?" Tammy asked.
"If there is, I've yet to find it," said John. "So, you up for assisting me?"
Tammy carefully nodded.
"Good," said John. "For now, simply behave, and be Good Livestock. The less they actively think about you, the less they'll watch you. Like I said, one day, after you escape, you'll be able to look back and laugh, because you'll be free."
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