She clenched her fists and sighed with an intensity that surprised even her. A small, hairless animal skittered across the path in front of her, and she bit her lip and froze in her tracks. The thing merely tittered to itself and continued on it’s way. Relaxing, she started forth on her trail once more. She glanced up at the red-tinged branches, illuminated by the bright tawny moon. She tilted her head to listen for danger, but all she heard was the dripping of blood on the crisp yellow leaves. Inhaling deeply, she breathed in the familiar scents: the smoke, the gunpowder, the sharp smell of decay. She closed her eyes, just long enough to try to remember again.
The cold….. oh, the cold. And the pain, the needles under my skin. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t breath….. Couldn’t breath! Oh the smell, the horrible stench! The screams, echoing in my ears, the pounding, the darkness- OH the darkness! Could see nothing. Could feel….. everything….. Everything….. everything painful….. everything hurting…..
Her eyes snapped open, and she gasped for air. Her heart fluttered as a flock of…. something…. exploded from the trees nearby. She could see their sillouettes, clear against the auburn sky, and she gulped as she spotted the creatures’ sharp talons. Breathing a silent sigh of relief once they passed, she shook her head. Pulling herself to her feet, she licked her lips nervously, trying to recall how she had ended up on the ground. Putting her left foot forth tentatively, she tested the earth as she walked on. Hours passed, and her body grew weary. Her footfalls began to fall less carefully, and her eyelids drooped with fatigue. Finally, she curled up next to a rock, gradually drifting into a restless sleep.
Oh, and the hate…. I felt it in every bone, every muscle and organ in my body. I gag, tasting the bile in my throat. Oh, the fear, I can feel the fear, it’s tingling and stabbing through my whole half-dead corpse. The sounds deafen me, they’re screaming, they’re snarling, they’re shouting. They make noises for which there are no names, they make noises that should not be heard by mortal ears. I can’t see, but I can feel my eyes being gouged from my skull, my orfices ripped and torn in every way and direction. I hear myself scream-
She woke to the faint sound of rustling in the wilted bushes behind her. She leapt to her feet, heart in her throat. She hesitated, wondering whether to run or investigate. She knew what she should do, she should run, run faster and harder than she ever had before, run away from the horrors that lay everywhere. But she couldn’t. She felt her legs propelling her towards the sound, as if she had no control over them. She parted the bushes in front of her, carefully, fearfully, to find-
The pain, the fear, the torture! Worse than ever before, pushing, pulling, ripping me apart. It tore at me, jabbed at me. It ached in me, everywhere, I felt warm liquid, dripping down my sides, felt something touching me all over, it stung, it hurt, I wanted it to stop, I wanted it to end, I wanted it to……….
Canis Sapiens 