Chapter 1, Strange Dawn

(Work In Progress) No control, no knowledge and an unknown enemy.

The sing-song chattering of birds echoed in my ears, seemingly distant but still audible. I could barely feel my body as a struggled to open my heavy eyelids, the thoughts in my mind stirred but were unable to achieve reason as a stared at the walls of dark earth around me. Somehow it struck me as off, but there was no conclusion as to why I should be questioning my surroundings. Attempting to move my body I found it quiet numb and unresponsive and instead chose to analyse the surroundings as my thoughts began to speed up, it seemed I was in a small hallow of dirt, the roots of a tree were above me and between them sunlight streamed through in solid beams. I was laying amongst fallen leaves that emitted a faint musty smell, though there wasn't just leaves it didn't seem all that odd to me; the bleached bones, feathers an other miscellaneous items didn't raise any sort of alarm in my mind though the thought occurred that it seemed to be the den of some sort of beast.

Again I attempted to bring myself into an upright position, it finally struck me as odd, there was no trace of memories in my mind, it was like I had been newly born again, even though it seemed there should be something there. My heart began to pound in my chest, something was definitely wrong here, my limbs moved strangely, at the end of what my knowledge pronounced to be my arms was the furred paw of some feline. No, not just any feline, a ferocious mountain lion... The beasts said to wander the mountain forests and steal wandering children and wounded travellers into the night. I felt a scream burst from within my chest, but it sounded awry; a mangled roar had slipped from my mouth. It definitely wasn't right, was I dreaming some sort of strange nightmare?

Unable to ease the panic eating at my mind I found myself tumbling and twisting about, examining every part of myself I could see. I was covered in thick fur, the colour of rusted metal, a bushy tail could be seen from my now awkward position of laying on my back. Long limber limbs with thick round paws, a tail, the sound I had made earlier. Was I the mountain lion of which the den belonged, but even asking myself that, I could still only find a thick haze swirling around in my head. Why did everything seem so out of place, had I been this the entire time... or was I something else. Who or what had I been?

I Squeezed my eyes shut and brought the paws to my face, wanting to cover my eyes from this strange reality where nothing made sense. Something moved, something was coming in my direction. Instantly fear bolted through my body, running rampant like a surge of electricity, it was all I could do to pull myself into a tight ball and think only of not being seen. Heart wrenching moments passed one by one until I couldn't bear the suspense any longer and took a daring peek at my now dead silent surroundings. There it was... A large female mountain lion was towering over my small body, it seemed calm as though expecting to find me here and there was nothing threatening about her presence. The soft fur covering her body was almost the same rustic hue as my own, her clear brown eyes were focused on me and her delicate whiskers twitched from below her soft pink nose. Her body emitted a light scent that was slightly calming and I found my muscles relaxing on their own.

“Be calm, young one. All will come in time.” A light presence seemingly touched my mind as the words appeared in my head, it was a soft motherly voice seemingly originating from the mountain lion. It was then I noticed the dead hare lay at her feet, its limp body had reddish puncture wounds on its back and around its neck. A small dark thought whispered in my mind; am I going to end up like that hare, cold and limp, killed by the strong jaws of the unfamiliar lion watching me. She had told me not to be afraid, but it was something I was finding hard to control under such strange circumstances. “Please eat...” She bent her head low and nudged the Hare's corpse in my direction.

In attempt to make communication back I opened my mouth, It felt as if words were to be spoken with the mouth, though this body was not suited as only half choked mewling sounds came from my throat.

“That... Is not quiet right.” A Warm response flowed into my mind once more.

The She-Lion adruptly thrust her head over her shoulder, ears flattening to the back of her head and a growl rattling out of her throat. Startled I curled up on myself and tried to mutter apologies and plea for my life, but again only mangled meowing sounds became of it.

“Be Quiet!” Her earlier calm and kind voice was gone, she had roared violently in my mind and shaken me to my foundations, all I could do was shiver and pull myself into a tighter ball. It was then I finally caught on to what was happening, in the distance blood hungry dogs could be heard barking in glee as they followed some sort of trail. I knew I had heard it before, but this time it only inspired panic and fear in my already exhausted heart. The sound was ever getting closer, bark... bark... bark!

Before I had some semblance of what was happening, the Shelion had grasped me by the lose skin behind my neck, my body went limp on its own as she dashed outside the small hollow. I was helplessly hanging from her mouth as her sharp teeth pinched my skin and the sound of her barking rung in my ears. The loss of control and the absolute helplessness of the situation caused utter terror to freeze up my mind, thoughts of death and my own end were all that filled my mind as she exploded into a run.

My small body bumped into the She-Lions legs as she bolted through the forest, I could barely take in the scenery as it flew past, trees, trees; more trees, sparse bushes and long grass. She bounded effortlessly with me hanging from her mouth, leaping over rocks and ditches, ducking under tree roots and trudging through a stream, drenching half of my body in icy water. But still she ran on, with the sounds of hungry dogs ever drawing closer, human voices could be heard shouting in response to the dogs, they were also hunting and we... were the targets. The creatures thought of as great hunters, had become the terrified prey fleeing hopelessly for their life. My pulse was out of control, the pounding of my heart smashing against my insides created a burning ache. The noise of birds taking flight, of paws thudding against the ground, rocks scattering, grass brushing against our bodies... dogs barking, men shouting... everything was overwhelming my mind with fear.

Author's Note

Still working on it, Done enough for today, hoping to get more done by the end of the week, shall depend on my mood though.