I was shaking so hard my teeth kept chattering.
Before I could even recover from the shock, the rest of them had already closed in. One by one, they leaned over the broken wall and looked down at me. Every single one of them was grinning. Some even bared their fangs, sharp points flashing under the sunlight.
These weren't human canines.
They were longer. Sharper, made for killing.
"Oh, there you are." The one with rabbit ears raised his hunting rifle, aiming it straight at me.
In that moment, my mind went completely blank. There was only one thought left.
I don't want to die.
No matter how much the world had changed, no matter how many civilizations had collapsed, there was one thing etched deep into human DNA that could never be erased.
The instinct to survive.
Summoning every last bit of strength left in my body, I forced myself up and ran. At least, that's what I thought I was doing. I knew full well that flesh and bone couldn't outrun a bullet, but I refused to just sit there and wait for death.
I'd gone into cryosleep, for who knew how long, just for a chance to be saved.
I didn't want to die.
"Get it!"
Hearing the shout behind me only made me run harder.
Bang!
I could barely hear the voices behind me anymore. My ear rang violently from the gunshot, my pulse roaring in my head. My thoughts were a mess, still trying to piece everything together, to form some kind of coherent picture of the world I'd just woken up to.
Through my ragged breathing, I caught a strange scent drifting through the air, mixing with blood and metal.
It was overwhelming. So strong it made my nose wrinkle.
"GRRRR!"
A deep, thunderous growl thundered right behind my neck.
I sucked in a sharp breath, clenched my teeth, and kept running. I didn't dare look back. Not even once.
The scorching sunlight beating down on my skin vanished abruptly.
Something was above me.
Something huge.
When I tilted my head up, my breath caught painfully in my chest.
Jet black fur, dark as a moonless night. A massive, elongated body blotting out the sky above me. The sensation was eerily familiar, just like when darkness had swallowed me whole and dragged me into cryosleep, not knowing when I'd ever wake again.
Boom.
The massive beast landed right in front of me. The impact shook the ground, throwing off my balance. Amber eyes locked onto me, pinning me in place so thoroughly I couldn't even twitch.
It wasn't a cat.
It was a black panther.
Even on all fours, it stood nearly as tall as I did. At least two meters long.
I'd never seen a panther that big in my life.
The panther prowled closer, its claws digging into the asphalt. It snarled, baring razor-sharp teeth that gleamed under the sun, as if it could tear me apart at any second.
Panting, I staggered back, ready to turn and run the other way. Human willpower was far too stubborn to accept death quietly.
And then my back hit something solid.
Like a wall.
A wave of hot breath washed over my head, sending a numb chill through my scalp.
Trembling, I clenched the hem of my clothes in my fists. Even though I didn't want to, I forced myself to look up.
A towering deer stood right behind me, its antlers twisting into an intricate, elegant shape.
It had to be over three meters tall.
"Fast little thing," I heard from my left.
The rabbit was the only one who hadn't transformed. He still held a half-human, half-beast form, gripping his rifle tightly, its barrel trained on me in silent warning.
Realizing there was no escape left, my legs gave out like overcooked noodles. I collapsed to the ground. I didn't even feel the gravel tearing into my knees again.
"Not running anymore?" The rabbit jabbed my shoulder with the barrel of his gun, clearly amused. "That's boring."
So this was what it felt like to be hunted. Like an animal driven into a corner by humans.
It felt awful.
"This one's strange," the voice above me said, softer now, as the deer shifted back into a human form. "It can run on two legs, like us."
The panther in front of me rose slowly, its fur sinking back beneath skin as a human shape emerged.
"It's wearing clothes. Might be someone's pet," he said.
The rabbit lifted my chin with the gun barrel. "No collar. Abandoned, maybe?"
My fingers curled, clutching dirt and sand tightly in my palms. I wasn't even sure if I was breathing properly anymore. My chest felt completely clogged.
In my moment of despair, my mind became strangely clear.
The pieces finally fit together, forming an answer I didn't want to believe.
They weren't human.
They weren't hybrids either.
They were animals that had evolved. Creatures capable of changing form. Completely unscientific, utterly absurd, and yet happening right in front of my eyes.
Whether I wanted to believe it or not didn't matter.
Where did it all begin? A biological disaster? Or the aftermath of some failed experiment?
I didn't dare speculate.
Maybe the logic of human civilization no longer applied in a world this overturned.
"Take it back first," the panther said, pulling a rope from the bag at his waist as he walked toward me and bound my wrists.
The rough fibers bit into my skin, sending a burning pain through my arms. I winced, hissing softly, but I didn't dare make a sound.
Based on how that human earlier had attacked me, and how these monsters treated humans now, I could guess one thing.
Our roles had been reversed.
If I spoke, I didn't know what worse fate might follow.
The panther's amber eyes flicked toward me. There was still the wildness of a beast in them, but also human awareness. The combination made my spine go cold.
"Looks cute enough. Should fetch a decent price."
After the chase and the long stretch of cryosleep, my body was completely spent. I had no strength left to resist. I could only let them drag me along like cargo.
No.
Like an animal.
Human strength had become laughably small and insignificant in this world.
I lifted my gaze toward what used to be a highway stretching into the distance, now nothing more than desolate ruins. The sight felt as bleak and unclear as the heavy gray sky overhead.
Where would my fate lead me now?
Only God would know.
Assuming He still existed in this dystopia.
***