My survival instinct surged up so fiercely that it almost hurled me to my feet, demanding that I run.
But my legs, still unsteady and unfamiliar after the long cryosleep, could not answer that desperate command. I stumbled only a few steps before my knees buckled. I hit the cracked asphalt hard, my elbows and knees scraping open, sending sharp, stinging pain through my body and bringing tears instantly to my eyes.
Seizing the moment, tthe grotesque man lunged at me. His hands slammed down on my shoulders and pinned me to the ground. He growled beside my ear, his breath sour and rotten, carrying a coppery stench that twisted my stomach.
He lowered himself between my legs, rubbing that disgusting thing against me as if searching for an opening. Thankfully I was still wearing my lab suit, and it seemed he had no idea how to remove it.
I struggled to push him off, but he was far stronger than I was. I had only just awakened and had no strength left to resist him.
My gaze darted around in panic, searching for anything I could use as a weapon. A stone lay just within reach. Without hesitation, I grabbed it and slammed it against his temple.
He screamed, the sound jagged and feral, nothing human left in it. He toppled backward, clutching the side of his head as blood spilled between his fingers.
I scrambled upright on trembling legs, backing away as he glared at me with murderous fury. I raised the stone with both hands, trying to steady my breath.
"Stay away," I shouted.
I could not tell whether he understood me. His neck shrank back nervously at first, yet a moment later his eyes widened with vicious intent and he crept toward me again on all fours.
At this point, the fact that he was human no longer mattered. I brought the stone down toward him once more.
But he was ready this time. He jerked sharply to the left, avoiding the blow. Before I could even fully turn back, he sprang at me with a guttural roar that tore through the stillness around us.
His swipe knocked the stone from my grasp, flinging it across the ground. The impact threw me off balance and I hit the asphalt again. New scrapes tore across my skin, piling pain upon pain until I gasped for breath.
His eyes were wild now, streaked with red, the gaze of a predator ready to devour me whole. A chill dragged its fingers down my spine.
How could a human turn into something like this? Had some kind of plague broken out while I slept?
I had no time to think. My breaths were uneven as I crawled desperately toward a metal rod half-buried nearby. Seeing me still resisting, he dove for me again with his jaws open, aiming for my throat.
He would bite me to death.
My fingers wrapped around the rod and I pulled with every last ounce of strength in my body. My heartbeat stopped the moment I realized the truth.
The rod was wedged into the concrete. It would not budge.
I twisted around just in time to see the man lunging down at me. My face drained of color. My lips trembled.
Is this where I die?
There were still so many projects unfinished. So many theories waiting to be proven. I had agreed to cryosleep so I could outlast my disease, not end up slaughtered by a deranged remnant of humanity in a ruined world.
With no hope left, I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the agony of being torn apart.
Bang.
A gunshot ripped the air. It was followed by a thud and the man's guttural moan. No pain came for me.
My trembling grew worse as I let out a long breath I did not know I was holding and opened my eyes.
The man lay collapsed in the rubble, blood spreading across his abdomen in a darkening pool. His groans weakened, his body twitching as if trying to cling to life. After a few spasms, he went still, his eyes wide open and fixed on me.
I froze where I sat. My blood turned cold. Colder than when nitrogen had frozen me from the inside out.
The metallic smell of blood mixed with dust and gunpowder drifted straight into my nostrils, and I bent forward, gagging. My stomach was empty, so nothing came out.
It was the first time I had watched someone die right before my eyes.
But who fired the shot? I looked around frantically. Whoever used the gun must still have their sanity. If this was a disease that turned humans into beasts, then someone out there had survived.
"Nice shot."
A voice floated toward me, light with amusement, spoken in my language.
Relief washed over me so quickly I almost collapsed again. Swallowing the last wave of nausea, I forced myself upright. But remembering the horror from moments ago, I did not dare step into the open. I moved back behind a fallen concrete wall to observe from safety.
Peering out through a narrow gap, I spotted a group of figures approaching the corpse. Their voices grew clearer as they drew near, and I understood every word.
But something felt wrong.
They walked like humans, spoke like humans. Yet on their heads were ears. And behind them, something swayed that looked unmistakably like tails.
Cosplay?
"Strange. I thought I saw two of them earlier." Said one with rabbit-like ears that twitched as naturally as living flesh.
Living flesh?
God, what happened to humanity while I slept? Had people evolved? Or had they interbred with animals?
My brain, sluggish after years without use, could not process the flood of new information.
"Probably ran off." Another voice said, belonging to someone with dog ears. "Such a waste, looked like a female."
The way he said "female" made my skin crawl. As if he were talking about livestock, not a person.
A third approached the corpse, antler-like horns branching from his head. He nudged the dead man with his boot and clicked his tongue. "This one is too skinny. Barely any meat on him."
The more I listened, the tighter my chest became. A gathering dread spread through me.
This world was completely foreign. Humans behaved like beasts, while beast-like people behaved like humans. What kind of nightmare had I woken into?
One thing became clear. These people were not my kind. And they were certainly not allies.
I needed to leave. Immediately.
Still crouched low, I inched backward step by careful step, praying I would not make a sound. If they found me, I might end up worse than the dead man.
"Caught you, little mouse."
A deep, mocking voice spoke right behind me.
Every hair on my body stood on end. Cold drained from me as if my blood had been siphoned out.
I spun around so fast I lost balance and fell to the ground, staring wide-eyed at the stranger perched above me.
He sat on a chunk of concrete, one knee raised, a half-smirk curving his lips as he studied me with amber eyes full of interest. On his head, two pointed black ears twitched gently with his mood. Behind him, a long tail swayed lazily, thick with fur.
There was something untamed about him, the proud posture of a feral cat that had never been domesticated.
But more than anything, one question burned through my terror.
How long had he been watching me?
***