Suddenly, as I had opened my eyes, a pack of animals were in front of me. Hyenas, to be precise. They were circling me, baring their teeth. The scene I had expected was a surgery room, but now all that I was surrounded by was the trees and dirt.
How the hell am I here? Is this a jungle? I swear, I was just in the middle of surgery! Am I dreaming?
One of them had its face close to mine, the smell of death sleeping through its mouth as it glared its teeth at me. The saliva drips onto my face.
I noticed that my eyes were now open. Wide and staring right at it. The hyena growled and backed away just slightly as it saw that I had become conscious. The tension grew as we became aware of each other's presence.
Ok, don't panic, you... you have read about this. That is a Hyena. Hyenas do not like to be startled. Just move very slowly and back away. You have to make yourself big to scare them, right... I am taller, so I can make myself bigger. Right?
I slowly sit up, and they halt their movements. Immediately, they stop circling me and instead confront me. I proceed to stand. There were three of them, all observing me closely, waiting for my next move.
Make yourself big...big... how?
I straightened my back to make myself look taller than them. I try not to cower as they growl and close the space between us. I take a few steps back, but they slowly follow me. As if we were in the middle of a dance of death. I decide to quicken my pace just ever so slightly.
Oh god... I take a deep breath. Panic started to increase within me. I can do this. You trained for this, Ivy... you can do this. Slowly...
I made more distance between us. The space between us grew larger, large enough to reassure myself that it was all going fine.
It's now or never, Ivy!
I quickly turn around and sprint for it towards the jungle. The hyenas started to scream and run towards me.
"Please leave me alone! What the hell is going on! I don't want to die! If you leave me alone, I swear I will buy you guys a lot of meat. I have a lot of money!"
I scream out as I run away. I felt stupid trying to reason with animals, trying whatever I could to survive.
I ran further and further into the forest, somehow managing to jump over branches and swat through bushes and vines. Thorns tear through my clothes and skin. My basic shoes were not made for such terrain.
Just when I thought it was over, I heard it, a gush of water like a stream, and I ran towards it. The sound grows louder as my heart beats faster. I had found a way to escape. I turn around as I run to see them still chasing me.
I can do this!
Coming to the clearing in front of me, I saw the large river. I had no time to think. I jumped in, and instantly I regretted it, but seeing I had no choice, I swam for my life. The ice-cold water slapped me, burning every inch of my skin. My chest tightened as my breath started to get more rapid, and I gasped for air. The water was not moving that fast, but it was still deep. I pushed through the pain and continued swimming until I reached the other side.
Getting out of the water, I shiver as I hug my body tight. I felt dizzy and weak as my teeth clattered. A numb feeling washed over my body.
I watched the hyenas across the rover, who seemed to have stood still to assess the situation. Looking at the river and then at me, hesitant.
Even in this dire situation where I could die from the cold, I felt a sense of relief and was happy at their defeat.
"That's right! You can't get across the water, can you?"
I happily mocked them as I shivered. They growled as I laughed, but just when I thought I was safe, one of them jumped across. In a flash, they were in front of me. Shocked by this, I tried to run, but I was too weak to even attempt it.
Oh no... It's jackals that don't like water, not hyenas. Seriously, how can I be so dumb! Am I dead now?
I felt the bite of its teeth sink into my leg as I tripped backwards and fell. Even with the numbness from the cold, I was able to feel every single drop of pain. Its canines dug deep into my stomach, and I felt it try to rip my flesh out.
"Argghhh!"
I screamed. My voice echoed into the forest. My life was over just like that.
How the hell did I even end up in a place like this? I am pretty sure I did not even get to he place, so how did I end up here? I was finishing my last rounds and in the middle of a heart bypass surgery. Is this how my life ends?
Expecting more pain and then death, I did not hear the groans and screams in front of me. With my eyes shut tight and the throbbing of the bite shooting through my body, my ears rang. I was shocked to find out I was still alive. I slowly peered open one of my eyes to see what was going on.
I thought it couldn't have gotten worse, but now, in front of me, was a lion. It stood before me with a bloody mouth, the dead hyena hanging from its mouth. The other two had run away.
I was left alone with only the Lion and me now. Even in all fours, he towered over me, glaring as she threw aside the hyena. Slowly, he walked over to me, licking his lips.
There is no way I can outrun it, especially with my leg.
Tears drip from my face as I cover it and close my eyes again, waiting for death.
It's licking my leg. Is it tasting me before it eats me? Please, I am not tasty at all. I drink a lot of alcohol, so it poisons my body, right? But then again, beef that tastes like alcohol can be pretty delicious, so it might taste even better because of it. What the hell do I do? I can feel its breath closer... will it eat my head first? I guess it's better that way since I will be dead and won't feel the pain of being eaten alive.
Going crazy from the pain, I ramble on in my head with a nuisance to distract myself from the situation I was in. I was expecting death.
But instead of a bite, I left a lick. A wet and coarse tongue scraped over my hands a few times. A fierce motion with a musty smell. Then it stops. I remove my hands and look at the Lion in front of me.
What? It's not eating me? Oh no... is this what I've heard about how they sometimes like to play with weak prey before eating them?
"Mr Lion, please just kill me. I don't want to be your plaything. I would rather just die now than later after being tossed around." I could not help but cry and talk to the Lion like a studious person.
Why am I talking to an animal... It's not that it can even understand me.
It just stared at me as if surprised, as I wiped my tears and felt the cold seep deep into my bones.
"If it's not this Lion, this cold is gonna be the death of me. Either way, I am done for." I sniffle to myself, gripping my body.
Just then, the Lion that stopped in front of me morphs into a human. I blink and blink once more and then rub my eyes.
Am I hallucinating? I guess I really am dying. If this is hypothermia affecting my brain so much that I seemed to have witnessed a Lion turn into a human. I am basically dead.
"Are you ok?" the hallucination shakes me, trying to snap me back. But the world started to spin. The image of the Lion, which is now a human, swirled and fuzzed out. The bitten area felt numb, and the only thing I could feel was the cold. Just an echoing throb from the bite as my consciousness fades in and out. His voice appears to come and go as my eyes felt droopy, heavy and slow.
My vision becomes blurry as I try to reach out. I touch its face and then its hair in my dizzy state.
"So warm..."
A warm sensation could be sensed on the palm of my hand. My hallucinations felt so real that I felt like I was touching bare skin.
My eyes shut involuntarily, and slowly, all I see is darkness.