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Chapter 18 “You have been ordered out of three classes,” Madame Zinkrey said sharply as she paced her office. “What is wrong with you?” Katrina had already learned that the question was not meant to be answered. It had been asked twice before and both times Katrina had tried to reply. Madame Zinkrey had only snapped at her even more for the attempts. “You are doing it on purpose. You are a very disobedient girl,” Madame Zinkrey continued with little pause. “It is a wonder that you are not expelled for this.” Katrina rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. She knew why she was kept at the school, Cha-Lee and Xenritha had been very generous in their payments and Madame Zinkrey did not want to give the money up, even to get rid of Katrina. Madame Zinkrey continued to pace the floor of the office but Katrina simply gazed out the window on the other side of the desk. The large window looked out over a stonewall-enclosed grassy yard. A bright sun looked down cheerily on a wire fence and shabby wooden house. Katrina stood and walked to the window, pressing her forehead against the cold transparent steel to see better. Small white shapes darted about the pen in what seemed to be a playful manner. They ran, jumped, and tumbled about happily, making Katrina smile at the sight. “What’s that?” Katrina pointed down at the area she had been watching for several minutes. “What?” Madame Zinkrey jerked herself out of her lecture to look over Katrina’s shoulder. “Oh. That’s the Olveck pen. They are kept there until their coats grow enough for shearing. After their fur is removed for processing the animals are brought in for forced hibernation. After several months their coats begin to grow again and they’re taken outside to live.” “Who takes care of them?” “That is none of your concern,” Madame Zinkrey said sternly as she waved the issue aside. Katrina could see that the woman was retracing her words to find where she had left off and jumped in quickly, “It is my concern if I’m going to be helping.” “You will not be allowed anywhere near those creatures. You’d probably give them some sort of parasite,” Madame Zinkrey sneered. “Forcing me to care for the Olveck is exactly the type of punishment you had in mind,” Katrina tried again, concentrating harder on using to Force to work Madame Zinkrey’s mind. “Maybe the Olveck are the perfect type of punishment for you,” Madame Zinkrey said thoughtfully. Within an hour Katrina was looking into the red eyes of a few dozen Olveck. The fist sized balls of white fuzz chirped and squeaked at her as they jumped up and down along the wire fencing. One jumped at the fence, bounced off and slid across the dry ground until its fur was more brown than white. It looked up at Katrina with large eyes, shook itself, sending dust flying in all directions, and ran back to the fence. “Cute little buggers, aren’t they?” A tall, wiry man came to stand at Katrina’s side. The top of his head was completely devoid of hair but wrinkled like a dried out piece of fruit. “I’ll warn you though, girlie, if they get hungry enough or mad enough they’ll swarm you and rip you to shreds within seconds.” “A good reason to feed them often,” Katrina grinned up at the man. “That it is,” he nodded agreement and sat two metal pails down at his feet. Katrina looked down curiously but turned away with a hand to her mouth. Inside the pails were squirming maggots that smelled absolutely awful. Her stomach turned somersaults continuously as the man looked down at her, waiting for her to regain control. It wasn’t easy and she leaned heavily on the Force but she settled her stomach and looked the man in the eye, no longer shaking or showing any signs of disgust. “Good girl, you might actually work out,” he nodded and bent over, reaching one long-fingered hand into each bucket. Katrina’s eyes went wide as she watched two fists emerge from each pail, squirming maggots dropping from each. He turned slightly and pitched one handful then the other over the wire fence and into the Olveck pen. The animals chittered wildly and leaped on their food, becoming one large moving mass of fur rather than individual creatures. Over and over again the man reached into the pails to toss handfuls of the repulsive maggots over the fence. Each time a new batch landed the Olvecks squealed and settled into a mass chitter until all was gone. “Get used to it,” the man said as he wiped his hands together, “it happens four times a day, everyday.” “Yum,” Katrina said dryly as she watched the Olvecks finish eating and begin grooming each other by rubbing against one another repeatedly. “We’re all strange little creatures in this giant galaxy that we share, girlie,” the man replied as he picked up the pails and walked away. |
