It was at that moment, a large tractor-semi and trailer pulled up. A vampire stuck their head out the window. "Got a delivery for Robert Wolfe? Assorted Food Products."
"Ah, perfect timing," said Robert, as he pulled out his phone. "Another day, and I'd have to slaughter some of my pigs ahead of schedule."
"Is that what you call your human livestock?" the vampire asked, as they got out, holding onto a checklist.
"No, I mean actual pigs, so that my humans could be sure of having meat in their diet," said Robert, as he held up his checklist. "Balanced meals are very important to their development."
"Better than what some feed them, and better than what many folks eat," the driver said. "Alright Victor, let's get this unloaded. Still got to meet Mister Fang." He looked back at Robert. "That bloodsucker feeds his livestock stuff I wouldn't feed to an F-Grade, and we all know that F-Grades are only useful for Fertilizer. Barely edible. Cheap though."
"Quality is better than Quantity, most of the time," said Robert. "James, go get John Wrangler, and a dozen or so livestock that want to help fill the Food Dispenser."
"You give your livestock full names?" the driver asked, as his partner, a werewolf, opened the back of the trailer.
"John's a Feral, of the Wrangler Herd," said Robert. "Officially, he's John 3160."
"There's a Verse in the Book on that," said the driver. "'For the human so respected his Masters, he fed unto them, their own son.'"
"I always preferred George Smith's final words," and older buck said, as he hobbled over, using a walking stick to help himself move.
"Can't say I know him," the driver said. "Is he in the Book?"
"No, because he was my father," the buck said. "His last words were 'I'll see you burn for killing my mate and abducting my son!' as he set an illegal blood production facility on fire, after he sustained some injuries, while freeing me. Sadly, mother was Braindead by the time he'd managed to do this. He was unable escape himself, but he made sure that I was able to."
"Looks like his death was in vain, because you're now livestock," the driver said, as he turned around, to head to the truck. He didn't make two steps before he tripped, his face hitting the ground.
"At least I don't trip over my feet," John said, hobbling past the vampire, along with a number of other livestock, who were all struggling to not laugh.
Robert walked up to the driver, and helped him up. "Piece of advice, don't insult my livestock. John has a way of making such people look foolish. He's a Protector, and I'm sure that you know what that means."
"You Trained him to Protect the Herd?" the driver asked. "What did he do?"
"Shoved his stick between your legs, making you trip," said Robert. "Just be glad that you didn't try to harm any of the Herd. He's taken on bears before. In fact, that's how we met. I was after his herd, looking for a good buck for breeding purposes, Prime Grade specifically. That one decided to play Decoy."
"Decoy?" the driver asked.
"Ever hunt Feral Humans?"
The driver shook his head.
"When a Predator is hunting them, and can't be easily stopped, one member of the herd stays behind, to fight the Predator, and delay them as long as it takes for the rest of the herd to escape," said Robert. "To him, it was a fight to the death, mine or his. His intentions were to kill me, or die trying, if that's what it took to protect his herd."
"What happened?" the driver asked.
"I wasn't the only Predator hunting," said Robert. "There was a bear, and it was hungry. Only thing I had on me was a tranquilizer gun - I wasn't expecting a bear. Thing attacked me, messed up a few of my ribs. That was when John attacked it with a club. Bear put up a good fight though, and messed up his leg, meaning John can't run any more, but John was able to kill it. Well, I had the strength to walk, so I picked him up, got to the road, called for an ambulance for the both of us, and Claimed him as mine. The fact that he's a Prime Grade is a bonus."
"Wait, there's a law about such situations," said the driver. "'Livestock/Pet/Slaves that protect their Owner, along with their immediate relations cannot be eaten without their Permission.'"
"Exactly," said Robert. "That's regardless of their Grade."
"So, why did he save you?" the driver asked. "Could of left, let you get eaten."
"Maybe because the bear was just as dangerous to my herd as Robert was," John said, stopping by them. "Chicken, pork, steak, lamb, apples, bananas, pears, oranges, rice, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, squash, eggplants, carrots, not to mention milk and baby formula."
"Is that the stuff that you saw?" the driver asked. "It's all in boxes."
John looked at him. "I can read, Peter." He looked at the rest of the livestock, that had boxes of food supplies. "Get that stuff checked by Masters Robert and James, and then get it loaded in the food dispenser. Remember Rotation - Older stuff comes out first, so that it doesn't go bad before it's served on your plates! Get moving!"
"He's got that right," said Robert. "Let's get to checking things out."
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