Clucked! - 6 (Patreon)

35 years later

Alton Tunney stepped off the elevator and put his thumbprint on the reader near the door. Footprints illuminated along the floor in his heads up display, ending about 8 rooms down the corridor of the research hospital.

He followed the steps, and again pressed his thumb to the biometric reader set into the door, and it opened with a hermetic whoosh.

Felicia had aged well. She wore her salt and pepper hair trimmed smartly close to her scalp with just a fraction of a lift. Her eyes and lips smiled when she saw her brother and they embraced.

“Been awhile,” Alton said, as the door closed behind him.

“I know! How you been little brother?”

He shrugged. “Team made state playoffs. I’m so proud of them. I don’t think we’ll advance much past the first round but you never know.”

“Congratulations, Alty!” She gave him another hug. “I’m so proud of you. Mom and Dad would have been too.”

“Yeah,” he said in reply. They’d passed away less than ten years ago.

“So…there’s been progress?”

She nodded, pressing her lips together. “I was contacted by an agent of this hospital last week. Apparently, Jimmy been exceeding all expectations as a chicken and has drawn international interest in his case. Several bio-research facilities around the world have collaborated on a serum that they think will reverse the transformation. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Alton shrugged. “I dunno, I sort of thought he dead after all this time. What’ll his brain function be after spending a lifetime as a chicken.”

“Many lifetimes, actually,” Felicia said, putting an infracig into her mouth and pressing the ignite button. “The oldest chicken in the world was only 16 years old and gerdy has lived more than twice that.”

“Gerdy?”

“Short for Gertrude. They renamed her when she went out to the farm.”

Alton nodded. “Man, I don’t know. Should we even be doing this?”

“His mother left direct instructions with me if they ever found a cure to make sure they “make things right,” as she said.

“Yeah, but…I mean.”

“I know, Alton. It’s a long damn time.”

“Yeah.”

“And you stayed in contact with them all this time too.”

She nodded, a tear slipping out of the corner of her eye.

“Sis, you know it wasn’t your fault.”

She turned on her brother. “If he hadn’t been tryin’ to make good on that stupid bet, he’d be a 53-year-old man like you, and not…”

Alton nodded. It was well-trod territory already.

“Well, let’s hope there’s something of old Jimmy to even bring back so this isn’t a waste of time.”

From the other side of the glass, a pair of techs entered the room, carrying a silver box. The front of the box had a wire mesh and Gerdy clucked within.

One of the techs opened the mesh side, and reached in, pulling the chicken out, with her head tucked under the tech’s arm, and her backend pointed outward. She had white fluffy feathers coating her body and a red comb and wattles. The tech placed her onto the stainless steel table, and looped padded restraints around her legs to hold her in place.

They waited a bit, with the techs making notations on two tablet devices. Then an IV was inserted into one of the chicken’s legs, and a catheter was placed into the chicken’s cloaca.

Again the tech’s made notes on their tablets while another couple of techs wheeled in a large vid platform. It was booted up and four teleconference windows spawned into the air.

A person dressed all in white entered the room, and the techs said something, and the figure nodded his head as the teleconference started.

They all began introducing themselves: One from China, another from Russia, someone from Chicago, and the last from Norway. The live doctor began speaking, but the words were too muffled for Alton and Felicia to hear.

“What will happen?” Alton said.

Felicia shrugged. “They will administer the serum, and then there’s something called an irradiation procedure? I’m not sure what that’s about.”

“How long will it take to know if it worked?”

She sighed. “Supposedly, we should know right away.”

Alton stared at the chicken sitting on the table so close, yet so far away.

They’d grown up together, played ball…well, baseball together. Gone on scout trips, chased the same girls, sat in the same classes. Jimmy had been his best friend, confidant, wing-man, all of it. 

The intercom kicked on.

“Hello and welcome to our procedure today.” The voice was deep but full of inflection. Mellifluous,  Alton thought.

“First we will be injecting the subject with a neutral base isotopic carrier fluid. This will carry the building blocks of the sample you provided us.”

Frowning, Alton turned to Felicia. “Sample?”

She held up a hand, not wanting Alton to interrupt.

“We will then introduce another serum that will target all the gallus chromosomes and eradicate them, and replicate the homo sapiens chromosomes as provided in the sample.

After that, we’ll irradiate the subject and introduce the catalyst. If things go as expected we should see a transformation shortly after. We’ll be providing a dense bio sludge intravenously throughout the transformation to help with the energy to mass conversion. I’d say within the next 48- 72 hours if all goes according to plan the subject should be returned to humanity and we can test for responsiveness.”

The doctor turned and nodded to the techs who injected something into the IV line.

“What sample is he talking about?”

Felicia shrugged. “They needed a biosample. I gave them what they wanted.”

“Wait, from you? You do know that Jimmy ain’t related to us, don’t you?”

“All of Jimmy’s biology was erased when that truck hit him. I gave them the only thing I could.”

On the other side of the glass, the hen started squawking and flapping.

***

Two days later, quite a different figure lay behind the glass. 

The doctors had rotated a few times, with others teleconferencing in, and showing up in person. The latest doctor finally punched the intercom button again.

“I’m happy to say the process was nearly a complete success. You may enter via the lower door, so you can be here when she wakes up.”

Alton blinked, rubbing a hand over his face. He nudged Felicia. “Hey. They said we can go in now.”

Felicia awoke, moaning softly. “God, I need a cigarette.”

They collected themselves, the found their way to the lower door where the docter ushered them into the room.

‘Jimmy’ lay on a normal bed, fully human again. 

“She should be coming around shortly. I needn’t warn you that after 35 years of avian living she may be slightly confused.”

“Why’d you make him a girl?” Alton said.

The doctor glanced down at his tablet. “Well, she’s been a female chicken far longer than she was a human male, or a human at all. We all start as human female in the womb anyway, and it would have added several layers of complexity to an already complex genomic scenario to add the y chromosome. At least another decade of work.”

Alton nodded, staring down at the sleeping figure.

“So, we basically cloned her utilizing the biologic samples we had from your sister.”

“I can see that,” Alton said.

He stopped talking though as Jimmy’s eyes opened. They darted to the left and right, he mouth opening and closing.”

“You’ll need to relearn how to speak again, I’m afraid,” the doctor said. “If you can understand my words, blink twice.”

She frowned for a moment, then blinked her eyes.

“Excellent.” The doctor touched her toes. “Can you feel this?”

Two blinks.

“Perfect. And this?” she touched the tip of her left index finger.

Two blinks.

“Very good.”

She opened her mouth and tried to form words but all that came out was “muwah wah wah.”

“Well, you haven’t had a human tongue or lips for 3 decades, Jimmy, so your body has forgotten how to produce sounds. I’d like you to try to walk, however, I’m hopeful since you were a bi-bed as a hen, you’ll still be able to walk.”

The bed hummed as her feet were lowered to the ground. She held up her arm, a frown creasing her face. “Muahmuahwahwah!”

“Yes, your biologic material from your old body was destroyed, unfortunately, but Felicia here donated hers.”

She stared down at her dark skin, wiggling her toes as she placed them on the cold floor.

Alton grabbed one arm, and the doctor helped with the other as she took a few tentative steps, then stood straight up.

“Muahhhwahwahwah.”

Felicia faced her, taking her hands, fingers intertwined. She was slightly taller than Jimmy simply because she was wearing a two-inch heel. Dark eyes stared into dark eyes.

“We’re sisters, now baby,” Felicia said.

“I dunno about that!” Alton said. “She looks 17 years old!”

They brought a mirror over so Jimmy could see herself.

Her mouth opened, as she turned to the mirror, her head bobbing a bit from side to side as if her eyes were trying to compensate for a form of vision she no longer had.

“Muahmew.”

Felicia held her hand as they looked into the mirror. A ffifty-eight-year-oldholding the hand of a bald 18-year-old. They looked like mother and daughter.

LLong-limbedand lovely, Jimmy ran his fingers over his smooth sides, toned stomach, and gave a slight pinch to his nipples which were large and dark.

“Kinda feel weird standing here watching her do that,” Alton said.

One of the nurses brought a hospital johnny and a dressing gown. She tied it around Jimmy’s new body as she stood and gaped at herself, running fingers over her bald scalp.

“Muahwahwahwah?”

“Your hair will grow in overtime, naturally.” The doctor glanced down at his chart. “We are very pleased with how you turned out, actually. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”

“Muahwa.”

Jimmy walked around the room, taking tentative steps at first, but able to walk in a strange sort of bob.

“She’ll even out with time,” the doctor said. “We’ll schedule her some physical therapy and you can work with her speech patterns with some flash cards we’ll give you.”

Felicia nodded. “Thank you so much, doctor.”

“I assume she’ll be going home with you?”

Felicia nodded. “Yes, for now. Until she can speak and learn again.”

“I recommend once her speech has returned, you re-enroll her in high school again.” The doctor said. “It will help her to acclimate quicker to being human again.”

“I will, thank you Doctor.”

The doctor smiled, and left the room.

Felicia turned to Jimmy, hugging her tightly.

***

It took a few months for me to remember how to be human again. Felicia took me into her home, a one-bedroom apartment. She slept on the couch while I slept in her bed.

Each day she’d work with me on sound production and phonics. Holding up letters of the alphabet as I trained my lips and tongue to make the new human words. It was difficult at first, but once I got the hang of it, I remembered quickly.

“You’ll need a new name,” Felicia said, after months of working together one-on-one.

“Hmmm,” I said, putting a finger to my chin in a manner I’d copied from her. “What you think would work?”

Felicia shrugged. “How ‘bout Alicia?”

I smiled. “Felicia and Alicia. I like the sound of that.”

As she worked with me, we grew even closer. I was starting to like looking like her, walking, talking, trying to be like her through and through.

At some point, she started sleeping in bed with me.

We weren’t exactly sisters, and we weren’t mother and daughter. It was kinda kinky, but we both dug it and made each other scream every night, shivering and shaking as we explored and discovered each other.

My time as a chicken faded, but there were moments when I felt very out of place, and huddled in the bathroom, crying for what had changed. 

She’d dug through her old clothes and found a few outfits I could wear. Since I was her clone, everything fit perfectly. My hair had grown in, and Felicia had taken me to her stylist to have it fixed. I wore it like she wore hers…clipped short with a bit of lift on top. Hers was mixed salt and pepper, mine was rich dark springy curls.

She also taught me about makeup and how to care for my new body with lotions, oils, powders and, creams. 

After officially changing my name to ‘Alicia Tunney,’ I got a birth certificate from the hospital and a social security card. I was officially 16 years old again. I still couldn’t drive but Felicia was teaching me.

She re-enrolled me in school. And we agreed I’d go in as a Junior. Alton somehow made an entire e-school portfolio for “Alicia Tunney” and it passed with flying colors.

***

I stood side by side with Felicia, wearing a low heel and a cream pantsuit she’d given me from her wardrobe. She wore a navy blue outfit, and our nails had been painted a dark maroon.

Alton came in and stared at us as we looked into the mirror.

“I mean, I knew you wanted to get into my sister’s panties an’ all, but this is ridiculous.”

“Not funny!” I said, in his sister’s voice.

“So, you ready for school? I can’t believe you’re going back to Westwood.”

“I know, right?” I said, grabbing my tablet. 

“You really gonna go to school wearin’ that?” Alton said.

“Why not?”

“You look like an old lady!”

“I’m just happy to have any clothes at all, baby.” I said. “I’m not gon’ fuss over it. Eventually, I’ll get a job again and can buy clothes of my own, but for right now…” I turned to Felicia and gave her a sensual kiss. “I’m good.”

Felicia hugged me tightly. “You have a good day, Alicia.”

“I will. You too.”

I got in the passenger seat of Alton’s car. A much much more sedate Lincoln.

“You sure you ready for this?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be, bro.” I looked into my smarphone, touching up my lipstick.

“Am so happy you’re back.” Alton turned onto the street. “You don’t know how hard it was.”

I laughed, trying not to make it sound like a squawk. “Dude, I was a hen for 35 years. You don’t think that was hard?”

Alton was silent for a time. I enjoyed the drive, watching all the familiar and non-familiar houses and buildings pass by. Tempe was a much different place, with everything going through nuvo-retro renovation. 

I glanced down at my body. I guess we all were.

“So, as a hen did you ever have to…you know.”

“Have sex with a rooster? Is that what you askin’ me?”

Alton shrugged. “I jus wondered.”

I remembered the times. They’d put us in a small cage, and the rooster would circle me.

I shrugged. “Yeah, it happened. A few times.”

“What was it like?”

“You know roosters don’t have cocks, right?”

“Uh, no. Guess I didn’t.”

“Yeah, they jus’ bang their ugly right against mine, and boom, I’d be fertilized. Took all of about thirty seconds.”

“Ah.”

I touched my hair, running my fingers over my shaved nape, making sure all was in place.

“And you n Felicia…”

I smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

He fell quiet again. 

“Well, after almost a lifetime of being clucked, I’m glad we got you back.”

“Me too.” I smiled at him, then watched as the school approached. “Me too.”

<the end>