Zane

"Patient 084. Time for your tests. The doctor is waiting." The nurse strapped me to a gurney and took me into a dark room with many medical equipment. A doctor came towards me with a syringe and injected it into my arms. "Now now 084, Try not to fall asleep. This will be over in an instant." As I started to lose consciousness, the doctor would say "Wake up 084."

"Wake up..."

"Brother, wake up!"

Zane woke up startled and with cold sweat running down his back. He opened his eyes to a shabby sunlit room. Turning his face, he found the source of the voice, a worried face staring at him.

"Val.... I'm awake." He looked at his sister. Long and silky silver hair, clear black eyes, and beautiful facial features. Wearing a plain linen shirt and a brown skirt, with her tiny frame, she looked adorable.

Valentina stared at him for a second and then backed away. "Did you have the same nightmare again?"

Getting up from the old creaking bed only wearing his black trousers and showing off his well defined body, he grimaced and asked, "What time is it?"

Pouting her mouth, annoyed that her question was ignored, she said, "Ugh, the sun is already overhead. You've overslept. I'm going to the farm to help out. We also ran out of meat yesterday."

"Okay, then I better go hunt for some." he wore his linen shirt, grabbed his bulky bag and hunting knife, and walked towards the door. "I'll be back before night falls."

"Be safe brother! You absolutely have to come back before the moon rises!"

Zane nodded his head and got out of the house. "Haah" he sighed at the sight of Luesburg, the town he was born and grew up in. It was a small town with a lot of abandoned houses. Zane's house was at the southwest side of the town. Today, he was going to hunt in the Beast-Scourge Forest towards the north of the town.

Making his way to the north exit, he was greeted by a scrawny middle-aged man with rough facial hair and mustache.

"Hello Zane! Off to hunt again?"

"Hello Mr. Rodger." Zane looked at him. Mr. Rodger was the figurative mayor of Luesburg. He was kind to others and was always the one to step up and resolve any conflicts within the town. So, people of the town started to respect his decisions.

"Are you going to the forest to the north? It's dangerous there, why don't you go with the others towards the forest in the south?"

"It's crowded."

Mr. Rodger scratched his beard, "Never one to mingle huh. Ever since the plague, living here in Luesburg has become tough. We can't even hope for help as even the Church abandoned us. So we must help and support each other in these times Zane!"

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."

He sized Zane up, "Well, at least Valentina is lucky to have a brother like you who takes care of her so much. Best be going then! And be sure to come back before the moon rises, lest you encounter any of those beasts!"

"Yes, I'll be on my way then." Zane walked towards the north exit leading to the forest.

---

After walking for some time in the forest, he reached a stream. He walked towards the egde and put down his bag. Zane splashed the water across his face and looked down on the water. He saw his face in the reflection, pale skin, black eyes and white hair. He smiled at himself showing his sharp teeth.

'Hehehahaha..... I just can't get used to this face even after so long. Or was this how I looked like in my past life too? Haah.... I forgot even my own name then so how could I remember my face.' After remembering his past life, Zane's face contorted. 'Fuck! Why am I remembering about those shitty times. I better get to hunting.'

He went deeper into the forest and came across a tree with red fruits. Zane nimbly climbed the tree, picked a fruit, then jumped down. 'Nice, got the bait. Now let's lay the trap.' He opened his bag and took out a rope and a basket. He swiftly tied the rope to the end of the basket, and flung the basket across a branch of the tree. He put the fruit below the basket and hid behind the bushes.

After sitting patiently for hours, Zane heard some rattling from the bushes across. A pink nose popped out of the bushes. After sniffing for a while, a big white rabbit came out of the bushes and warily walked towards the fruit.

'A little more closer.... just a bit more..... NOW!' Zane let go of the rope and the basket fell down on the rabbit. The rabbit squeaked and tried to get out of the basket. But Zane dashed forward and held down the basket to keep the rabbit inside. After struggling for a while, the rabbit calmed down and was staring at him.

He readied the hunting knife with one hand behind his back and slowly tilted the basket. After making just enough space, just as the rabbit was about the escape, he used the hunting knife to stab the rabbit.

"Yes! We'll be eating rabbit meat tonight!" he exclaimed. He quickly put the basket and rope inside the bag, tucked the hunting knife on his trousers and grabbed the rabbit. "Oh and it's almost night time too.. I better go quickly." Just as he was about to walk, he felt a jolt inside his head.

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Zane heard all sorts of sound mixed together. It was like thousands of different people speaking, screaming and whispering together, and metal scraping against another metal. Feeling like his head was going to split, Zane fainted.

After some time passed, as Zane gained his consciousness, he turned his body, facing the skies. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw blurry dimly lit violet trees. Then he saw the violet sky and finally, the violet crescent moon. In fact, he could clearly see the moon was missing a good chunk making it ever-crescent. Zane was mesmerized by the fantasy like moon. 'Wow.....Fuck...' Zane came to a realization that the moon was already hanging overhead, which meant dangerous beasts were lurking in the violet darkness.

'I have to go back home immediately!' Zane grabbed all his belongings, including the dead rabbit, and ran back the way he came from. He was very careful while returning back and after running a while, he reached the entrance of the forest.

"Phew... Thank god I didn't run into anything." Just as he was rejoicing, he heard a low growl from the tree beside him. Slowly, from behind the tree, a big wolf with two tails approached Zane.