TRUE FICTION: Grabbing the ram by the horns

Source: https://www.vosgesmatin.fr/faits-divers-justice/2020/01/15/une-octogenaire-attaquee-par-un-belier

"I'm off to see the sheep now." Gisèle waved and started to waddle off.
"Alright, did you remember to take the bread?" a nurse called out after her. She simply waved her little plastic bag in the air as a response.
Her walk was pleasant. The air was crisp, the sky clear, all the makings of a good morning. It was a short distance to the farm where the animals were kept, but age had caught up to her and distances were relative to how badly she felt her arthritis.
When she was in sight of the field, she started calling out feebly.
"I'm here! Hello!"
The sheep, roused by the noise, all lifted their heads. They looked in Gisèle's direction and the ram, leader of the pack, started to trot towards the fence. The sheep, being sheep, followed.
The old lady was touched by such a scene. They recognise me, she thought. For someone who hadn't been visited by her children or grandchildren in months, the thought that the sheep had come to know and appreciate her was heartwarming.
When she reached the gate, the animals were all looking up at her with their glassy eyes, full of expectation. She reached her hand down and petted many of them. Her heart was so full of joy, it was such a beautiful day, she just wanted to be surrounded with love, even if it was from a flock of hungry sheep. She unlocked the gate with some difficulty, and stepped into the field. The sheep surrounded her, bleating madly in all directions. She had to lift the plastic bag with her old stale bread above her head to avoid it being ripped from her hands. She handed down pieces to individual sheep, making sure everyone got an equal piece. Her laughter filled the valley and echoed amongst the desperate bleats.
She was happy.

The ram was slightly off to the side, watching Gisèle feed his minions. His watery eyes fixed her every move. He didn't make a sound.
Gisèle, caught up in her euphoria, didn't notice. He waited for the bag to be empty, then, when he heard the tell-tale crinkle of the last piece of bread being extracted, he started to lower his head. He placed his hooves squarely into the soft ground, positioning himself, ready to charge.
Silently, he sent his intentions to his flock, and in an instant they parted like the red sea, giving the ram clear access to Gisèle.
Before she had time to react or turn to look at him, the ram charged, hitting the old woman squarely in the side. He heard the satisfying crack of broken ribs.
Despite the air knocked out of her, she still managed a scream before tumbling down to the ground. The ram stepped back and prepared to charge again, delighted when he saw Gisèle recoil herself into a fœtal position. He slammed into her body once again, hearing more bones cracking under his horns.
He was going further back this time, trying to get enough momentum to crack her skull in, his flock standing still on both sides, watching the massacre silently, when suddenly he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head.
His knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, unable to get up. He felt another sharp pain, and this time recognised it to be a blunt force hitting him on the back. He looked at his victim and saw that she was being carried away by strange men. He looked up behind him just in time to see a third man, stick held tightly in both hands above his head, give him a crushing blow to the head. Everything went dark.

~~~

The night before, when everything was silent and everyone was sleeping, three teenagers met up at a crossroad. They were dressed in black, hoodies up, and were each carrying a heavy backpack.

"Did you remember everything?"

"Yeah, did you?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Did you or didn't you?! This is important! Don't mess this up like you usually do." Before the two teenagers could start an argument, the third, a girl, spoke up for the first time and softly said, "Stop."

The two boys obeyed. She continued, "Let's go, we're wasting moonlight." She started to head off, and the two boys followed behind her, giving each other a few shoves for good measure.

She ignored them, she preferred to stay concentrated on her task, on her destiny. She would have rathered they wouldn't be here at all, but she knew she needed help. Boys were easy to manipulate, and it hadn't been hard to get them to follow along. It didn't matter if they weren't believers. She just needed the muscle.

After a short trek, they reached the field, and the sleeping sheep got up with the sensation of a predator nearby.

They entered the field, and the girl instructed her followers to capture the ram.

They turned on their torches, and headed towards the ram, who upon seeing something come up to him, quickly turned around and scattered off using evasive techniques. His eyes glistened and glowed with fear in their spotlights, and it took them nearly fifteen minutes to corner him against the fence. They threw a rope around his horns, and secured him. Captured and cornered, the ram trembled and fell over, a last minute technique to dissuade his predators. He played dead a few moments, legs taut and rigid, but when he was pulled by the rope, he had to get up and follow his tormentors.

When they came back to the girl, the two boys saw that she had had time to set everything up. There were candles spread out on the ground, giving the night an eerie glow. The flock of sheep had retreated to the furthest possible corner of their pen, as far away as possible from the intruders and the strange light.

The candles were arranged in a circle, and in a star within that circle. The boys, upon seeing the installation, started to have second thoughts, but neither wanted to appear weak, and both wanted to get in the girl's pants. They lead the ram close to the circle, pulling on his rope to force him.

"Get him in the middle." The girl instructed them without looking at them, instead taking objects out of the backpacks.

They tried to pull the ram through the candles, but it was proving to be too much for the creature, and he was paralysed with fear. Eventually they simply picked him up, and without struggling, they were able to place him in the middle as they were told. The ram did not move, he was too frightened to even think.

The girl got up and from a little black book, she started reading strange latin while walking in a circle and placing objects around the ram.

A chicken head here, a bundle of herbs there, a rabbit's heart after that. Once she had finished, she stood face to face with the ram.

She continued reading from her book, and the two boys looked at her, completely out of their element. She started to read louder, getting caught up in her incantations, until she was screaming at the ram in latin.

She finished in a deafening roar, screaming "Ave Satanas!" over and over. She stopped, breathless, and smiled at the ram, her face full of enthusiasm. She stared at him and he stared at her. His eyes were blank and he still reeked of fear. 

The girl groaned and kicked a candle out of exasperation and anger. The boys, completely freaked out by her speech, were no longer holding the rope, and with the girl's violent movement, the ram took the opportunity to scatter off and rejoin his flock.

The girl, in a rage, kicked more candles before slouching to the ground and sobbing.

"Why didn't it work? Why didn't it fucking work?"

The boys went to try and comfort her, but she pushed their hands away.

"Leave me alone!" She gathered all her artefacts and candles, stuffing them into her bag, and stormed off into the night.

The boys gathered what was left on the ground and ran after her.

From within the flock of sheep, the ram suddenly fell over, as if struck by lightning. The sheep all scattered in every direction. When the ram got up again, he appeared taller, bigger. He looked into the night and up at the full moon, thinking to himself, Ave Satanas.