I don't know how long they dragged me along.
My legs were completely numb, and my throat was so dry that every swallow felt like I was gulping down sand. Each time we passed a pool of stagnant water, I had to force myself to stay conscious, to stop my body from lunging forward and plunging my face into it just to drink.
I'm not an animal.
I'm a human being. I have intelligence, awareness. I lived in a civilized era with advanced science.
I kept repeating that thought in my head like a mantra, clinging to it to stay lucid, to analyze my surroundings as we moved.
Along the way, I caught glimpses of humans hiding among the ruins. All of them crawled on all fours. None of them wore clothes. Some gnawed on the flesh of their own kind. Others bent down to drink filthy water. They'd lost language entirely, reduced to howls and animal cries. And they were terrified of the monsters escorting me. The moment they saw them, they scattered and fled.
The half-human beasts didn't bother hunting anymore. It was as if they'd already gathered enough spoils.
Besides me, there were two other humans captured by this group. They were carried like merchandise.
Because they were already dead.
I should feel lucky that I was still allowed to move on my own legs.
They laughed and chatted among themselves, discussing today's catch and what they'd make for dinner. I didn't want to hear it, but I couldn't cover my ears.
All I could do was lower my head, press my pale lips together, and stare at my wrists, bound tight as the panther dragged me forward.
By the time the dull gray sky slowly bled into streaks of blood-red and orange, I finally saw flickering torchlight ahead.
It was a settlement made up of many species. Dogs. Cats. Birds. They lived in makeshift shelters of tarps and scrap, or tucked beneath collapsed concrete ruins. A small magpie woman was hanging laundry with arms still covered in feathers. A cat man split firewood nearby, sweat gleaming over his thick muscles. A few children rode on the back of a human tied to a wooden post, laughing as if this were just another part of their daily routine.
I frowned at the sight.
From what I knew of animal behavior, most species lived in groups of their own kind. But this place was a chaotic mix. If they'd evolved and begun forming civilization, then these must be the ones cast out from their original packs.
Like slums in human society.
Seems no species ever escapes that fate.
Because knowledge itself is war.
As the panther dragged me into the village, every eye turned toward me. They stared at the clothes I wore, at the fact that I walked upright like them.
"Duncan, what is that thing?" A woman with ears identical to the black panther hurried over, panic in her voice. She was holding a baby that looked just like her.
The panther, apparently named Duncan, yanked the rope hard. I stumbled toward him, nearly falling. He glanced at me and curled his lip in disdain. "Looks like an abandoned pet. It's unusual, so I'm thinking of selling it to some traffickers."
My fingers dug into my own skin to suppress a violent shiver.
I understood what he meant.
Humans used to hunt rare animals to collect specimens or keep them as pets. If the tide had turned, then of course the same thing would happen to us.
Or we'd become entertainment in some kind of circus.
The more I thought about it, the more nauseatingly absurd it felt.
Was this nature's punishment for humanity?
If it was, then maybe it wasn't undeserved.
As a scientist, claiming innocence would be a lie. I'd experimented on lab animals. I'd contributed to inventions that damaged nature.
Maybe this was my karma.
They threw me into a cage made of rough branches tied together with rope. Around me, other humans were locked in similar enclosures. Some crawled closer, reaching through the wooden bars toward me. Their nails were long and broken, packed with dirt. Their bodies reeked, no different from animals. Their mouths worked useless sounds, eyes hollow and empty.
Terrified, I shrank back, pressing myself as far away as I could. I curled up, hugging my knees as night fell. Mist crept in, licking at my skin. At noon the sun had scorched my flesh, and now the cold pierced straight to the bone.
Something was wrong with Earth's atmosphere.
Far from the suffocating cages, thick with the stench of waste, the beasts gathered around bonfires, laughing loudly. In the distance, I saw the body of a human tied to a wooden stake.
The head was gone.
My stomach twisted violently. I bent over and dry-heaved for a long time, though nothing came up. It was ridiculous. Humans could stay calm when it was a pig or a rabbit. But when it was their own kind, the disgust became unbearable.
I clenched my teeth, swallowing the nausea, and forced myself to look around.
I needed information.
They had guns, but no electricity. No modern equipment. They reused the remnants of human civilization but lacked the knowledge to rebuild it.
That meant their civilization was young. Maybe only a few hundred years old.
With my knowledge, I could escape this place.
But even if I did, where would I go?
This world no longer belonged to humans. The beasts had likely taken over Earth. No matter where I ran, I'd end up in their hands again.
Or worse.
I glanced at the humans in the neighboring cages, still reaching for me with greedy desperation.
Worse, I'd be torn apart by my own kind.
Were there any humans left who still retained consciousness?
I wasn't sure anymore. Everything felt hazy. My thoughts dulled.
After such a long sleep, combined with the chase, my metabolism had burned through what little energy I had. My stomach was empty. My throat so dry my lips cracked and bled.
Hungry. Cold.
I didn't know if I'd survive until morning.
And even if I did, how long could I keep my sanity in a world this insane?
I hugged myself tighter, partly to keep warm, partly to soothe the loneliness slowly gnawing at me.
At twenty-five, when I learned my cancer had reached stage three, I was terrified. Instead of listening to my parents and undergoing treatment with a slim chance of success, I chose to trust the science I devoted my life to.
And now that faith was destroying me.
I didn't know when I'd die. By the jaws of my own kind, at the hands of monsters, or from the metastasis spreading quietly inside my body.
I abandoned my family to enter cryosleep. I don't think I deserve to remember them.
If I'd been brave enough back then to face my illness, to spend more time with them, would things have turned out differently?
Amid the howls of humans and the distant revelry of beasts, my sobs were swallowed whole.
Even I could barely hear them anymore.
***