Within the inner parts of the outskirts of Angari Forest, a small weasel-like creature sat on a ragged tree stump. Slender-bodied with an almost fox-like snout, it laid on its belly with its head resting in between its paws.
Large black eyes peered into the trees ahead, seemingly apathetic. However, the long bushy tail behind it swished aimlessly portraying its anxiousness.
Here, it posed a philosophical question:
Who am I? Where am I? What happened?
Can someone explain how a regular, healthy, person just faint out of nowhere and wake up in the middle of a forest? Especially when said person has not seen a single hint of green in 10 years?
And that's not all. Why had he woken up in an animal's body?
How does one even move with four legs (and a tail) when they're used to two arms and two legs?
Don't mention running, jumping, or even- heavens have mercy- swimming, just climbing up this very tree stump had taken a great deal of effort. So much so that June feared that even finding something to eat would be difficult.
All these issues made him very uneasy about his future but there was one matter that motivated him. Plants.
From everywhere he looked happiness bubbled up inside of him. Flowers, trees, bushes, even plain old grass looked pleasing to his eyes.
He couldn't be blamed for this. When he was still human, the world he lived in faced a crisis that affected the whole planet. Planetary deterioration.
This kind of thing usually came with a slow impending doom and increased in correlation to the advancement of civilizations. What should've taken many millennia had transpired over a couple of decades.
Mountains crumbled, seas dried, and plants withered. The once beautiful blue planet became a sullen dusty brown.
Humans fought to live. They devoured animals to sustain themselves. And when the animals were wiped out, they looked towards insects-- not even maggots were left out.
The race that once boasted morality upon rules became nothing more than savage beasts themselves.
Havoc ran amuck the population as people, in desperation, killed each other and feasted on their kind. The relationships they had mattered not. What mattered was if you could be eaten.
The enormous population of 14.6 billion in 4 years reduced to a shocking 1,543.
Ironically in the midst of this apocalyptic crisis, the meager amount of remaining humans grew stronger. Whether it be in strength, speed, or obtaining adaptations like enhanced nails, all humans left gained something.
June, in particular, had gained a higher rate of recovery. Cuts would heal in a matter of minutes, limbs that were sliced off could regrow in a few years, broken bones healed in months. This kind of thing may have been a blessing in modern times, however in the eyes of those that lived cannibalistically; June was an undying fat sheep.
He ended up being captured by a group of 15. They kept him prisoned in a room and would come in every morning and night.
They sliced his meat from every inch of his body, chopped off his fingers, and carved his cheeks. When he begged and screamed at them to stop, they would laugh telling him not to worry and that they would keep him alive. They said he was "too precious to die".
Soon June became quiet. No longer would he flinch when the blades came, his eyes reflected nothing but a hollow and lifeless reality.
He grew thin and his recovery rate became slower and slower. When his fingers no longer regenerated, and his body became nothing but a bag of bones, his captors started forcing him to eat. Crammed his mouth with his own flesh and blood.
From that day on, June no longer lived in reality. His mind took him back to the past with days of peace and tranquility. When facing rejections felt like the end of the world, or when stubbing your toes on an edge felt like death was just around the corner.
He lived in his delusions until a trembling woke him. For a moment June saw the walls to his prison shifting and shattering. It was at that instant his vision blacked out and he woke up to sunshine.
Ahem. It's a bit dark. But don't worry~ maybe it'll lighten up soon *averts gaze*. Anyways my knowledge on a lot of things is very... skeptical. This also includes grammar and punctuation. If something doesn't make sense, please let me know and I will try to rectify it.