The family did not respond immediately. The words did not settle cleanly. They moved through the room without finding structure.

The father spoke first.

“But you said we did everything else right. Can’t you just… fine us? Or something like that?”

The mother’s voice came next, quieter.

“Just one?”

“Yes.”

“Yes,” Audra said. “You and your husband are outside the conversion range. Your youngest daughter, though an infant, would be assigned Livestock status and transferred to a Farm until she reaches eligibility.”

The mother’s face tightened, recognition overtaking confusion almost immediately.

“I would advise against that outcome,” Audra continued, her tone unchanged. “If it simplifies things, the selection should be between these two.” She indicated to the schoolgirl and their son.

The two eldest children exchanged glances. There wasn’t fear, not exactly, but a quiet recognition settling between them that one of them was about to be removed from the life they knew.

“I’ll do it,” the older brother said, stepping forward.

“Ashton, no,” his father replied immediately, reaching out and pulling him back. “We’ll discuss this.”

“I say let him,” the schoolgirl said. “If that’s what he wants.”

“Melissa, you be quiet as well,” her mother cut in.

“Better him than me.”

“Says the one who didn’t even participate in Transition Week last year,” her brother shot back.

“Because it’s ridiculous. What are the odds I’m even converted?”

Their father spoke again, more firmly now. “Ashton went through Transition Week. He completed it properly. He even worked at the Processing Centre over the summer.”

That settled it.

The parents exchanged a brief look. No words, just confirmation. A decision made the same way the previous one had been—quietly, with structure.

The father turned.

“Melissa,” he said, “you’ll go with Miss Pike.”

No one corrected him.

Audra did not move.

“But Ashton’s a dumbass,” Melissa said. “He barely made it through his finals.”

“And you’re so smart?” Ashton shot back.

“Yeah. Unlike you, I have a three point five GPA.”

“Do you?” he said. “You never talk about it.”

“Enough, both of you,” the father said, cutting across them and ending the argument.

“Melissa. Grades mean nothing if you can’t function in society. We can see it already. You’d be a poor fit, and you’d only make things harder for everyone if you were converted.”

“Don’t sugarcoat it,” Ashton said. “She’d bolt. Become a Runaway and get us all culled.”

No one corrected him.

The parents didn’t confirm it, didn’t deny it. The weight of the statement hung in the room without resistance.

The father turned to Audra.

“Take Melissa,” he said, the words landing heavily but without hesitation.

Audra regarded them briefly. Agreement had settled across the room, quiet but complete. Only Melissa remained outside it.

“It is not too late for you to step forward,” Audra said, her gaze shifting to Ashton. “You may still designate yourself in her place.”

Ashton looked at his sister, held it for a moment, then shook his head.

“Better her than me.”

Audra stood and moved toward Melissa, lowering herself to a kneel in front of her.

The girl did not step back. Tears had gathered at the edges of her eyes, not yet falling. A tremor had taken hold in her shoulders, small but persistent.

Audra did not acknowledge it.

She reached into her pocket and produced a small device, holding it steady as she guided Melissa’s hand forward just enough to register her thumbprint. The device unlocked without resistance.

Audra took Melissa’s wrist.

The ID Watch sat where it always had. Familiar. Unchanged.

She positioned the device over it.

There was no sound.

The display shifted instantly, green replaced by a deep, saturated red.

“Conversion enforced.”

Audra released her wrist and stood.

She looked down at her, not unkindly, not with judgment, simply confirming what had already been completed.

“Animals do not wear clothing, Meatgirl.”

Melissa shook her head, her voice catching as she spoke. “Just take me in as I am?”

“See,” the father said, almost under his breath, “told you she was too modest.”

Audra continued to watch Melissa, ignoring the family.

The change had already been made. Not gradually, not in stages. One moment of designation, and everything that followed adjusted to it. What had been hesitation was now friction. What had been personal preference was now obstruction.

Audra’s attention remained on Melissa.

“Clothing is no longer applicable,” she said. “You can remove it yourself.”

She did not move closer.

“It will be easier if you comply on your own.”

“Come on, Melissa,” her mother said, her voice tight but steady. “Think of how good Casper was.”

“I’m not Casper,” Melissa said. “I wasn’t supposed to be like him.”

“You aren’t like him,” Audra said. “He was integrated into the household. You are being removed.”

She did not raise her voice or soften the words.

“Status has changed. You need to align with it.”

Melissa didn’t move.

Audra held her gaze a moment longer, then added, just as evenly, “You can proceed on your own. It will be easier if you do.”

Melissa shook her head and covered her chest despite nothing being removed yet, as if resistance here would change the outcome.

Audra sighed, checking her own yellow-glowing watch. "Then you have forced my inclusion."

Audra knelt back down and took the girl's wrists, moving them to her sides. "Please hold them there," she said to the mother, who quietly obeyed. "I'm going to remove your blouse."

She first undid the school tie, dropping it to the floor carelessly. Melissa didn't struggle in her mother's grip, but her rigidity wasn't helping either. Once the buttons were undone, Audra slid the blouse down her shoulders until it hung off her arms.

Melissa’s skin was smooth, and her body was fit and lean. Audra knew enough to know that she would do fine roasting in an oven.

"Do not let go yet," Audra informed the mother. "Next, I will remove your bra. Will you comply and do it yourself?"

Melissa didn’t move. Humiliation reddened her cheeks, and tears ran down them freely. “This is why Transition Week is so important, Meatgirl—it removes such false modesty from Animals.” Audra moved to wrap her arms around Melissa, unhooking her bra and pulling hard enough for it to snap off her body.

Her small nipples peaked. Her fingers clenched into fists as she tried to free her hands. Audra grabbed her school skirt and looked Melissa in the eyes. “Last chance to comply. Preserve a fraction of what dignity you have left.”

“Okay,” Melissa said quickly, her voice strained as she fought back sobs. “I’ll finish.”

Audra stood back up and nodded at the mother. Once she was released, Melissa let the blouse fall off her arms and crumple to the ground. Then she hooked her fingers in her skirt and pulled it down, panties and all, in one quick motion.

Her pussy was bare—not shaven, by the looks of it, just signs of a body not yet fully developed. Audra noted the wetness that had formed. A natural response though no less horrifying for the teenage girl.

Next came her socks and shoes, the last remnants of her humanity.
Audra studied Melissa, naked and quivering.

She had complied. That was sufficient. Compliance, once established, tended to hold.

She reached out and rested a hand briefly on Melissa’s head.

“Good girl,” she said.

There was no warmth in it. Just acknowledgment.

She withdrew her hand.

“Now,” Audra continued, “say your goodbyes.”

Audra stepped outside, not needing to remain for this part.

There would be tears. Apologies. Anger, most likely directed at her. Words said that might require escalation. Not out of hurt pride, but because the System didn’t abide dissent.

She had taken enough from them already.

Melissa came to her of her own accord, the red glow of her watch steady against her wrist.

There was a difference now. Not in form, not yet in behavior, but in designation. The shift had already taken place. Everything that followed would adjust to it in time.

Audra had seen it before. Resistance gave way to routine. Routine settled into acceptance. Not always quickly, but reliably.

She did not comment on it.

She simply turned toward the door.

“Stay close,” she said.

Audra opened the front passenger door and stepped aside, waiting until Melissa was seated before guiding the belt across her and securing it with a quiet click. She closed the door without force.

Melissa looked once at the house.

Her family stood on the porch. Not waving. Not smiling.

She turned away.

Audra walked around the car, got in, and started the engine.

[THE END]