Everyone was hungry.
The wild animals were only too delighted to snap up our leftovers. What had been normal food, a few weeks ago, was now barely surviving.
Only a man in a suit, with a gun, and a small group of people armed with weapons remained. The rest of the human race had disappeared long ago, some when it became clear the suffering only got worse, and some when one person had grown tired of the slow death he was facing.
Once a man had become captured, it was hard to break out, and there was almost never a fast escape.
But, the humans were determined to once again roam the planet. More, they were determined to survive. Unfortunately, meaning we were on short rations with no chance of more. The bacteria in our guts, normally helpful, had long ago died out, and even those who somehow managed to survive had no hands on knowledge of how many species around the world could be turned into food.
The result was that the last humans on earth were starving. Sure, there was plenty of food around, and everywhere people looked, all through the ruins of civilization, there were things to eat. However, as it is with nature, no one could remember or imagine what poisonous or useless effects everything might have on the human body.
This did not stop one man. He was big, strong and brave. Now he could eat, and more, he was working through his new-found knowledge of food to try and turn all the right things into food. In total, he had decided to try and feed himself since the zombie apocalypse.
The man had said goodbye to his wife, and their little daughter, and they had made him promise that if they did not manage to survive, he must find a way to survive, and not just get the minimum bread and water to survive, on the other hand, he must see the benefit for himself.
The man mixed what he knew of plants, with what he had just read in books and heard from other survivors, and he tried something. He mixed some food with something that would keep him alive longer. He had done it a couple of times, with mixed positive results. However, each time he had guaranteed that there would be more of both, the food and the medicine.
While he worked, he did not know if his family had survived, and he did not want to know. He did not trust anyone around him with the knowledge of what he was doing. He did not even trust himself with it.
The man ate sparingly. He could not afford it, and he could not let himself get addicted. He wanted his body to become used to the food and the vitamins he needed.
He knew his plan would only work if he managed to escape. His family was gone, so he did not waste his time thinking of them.
Time passed, and the man managed to escape. He had heard of a hidden bunker where he knew other survivors were hiding, but he had decided against it. There might be people he did not know there, and he did not trust strangers. He could not take any risk of an escape plan being ruined. He would never work with anyone, or even let himself trust anyone. Anyone could sabotage his plan. He needed to get out of the city fast, as fast as he could, to ensure no one would ever find out about him.
The man then planned to make his way to a lonely forest, where no one would find him. Before he could get there, he had to get past the wilds full of hunters, feeding on the few stragglers left. No one had managed to find a way to be safe when food was around. The wilds were always clear of rustling leaves and unforgiving trees. Everyone was hungry.
The man shot his way to the forest, and no one found him.
There were more surprises, however. The animals followed him, and now they were often the ones attacking.
The man had no choice but to kill some of them, but now they were getting closer and he did not know what would happen.
He had one last chance, a new discovery, food and supplements. He looked at a glass of dirty water, one that he might have thrown away sooner than later.
A few hours later he left his shelter, and the animals followed, but now they were going after him. He hoped that he would soon see the safety of the forest.
The man was trapped.
And he was angry, his only chance to make it to the forest was gone.
The man felt lost, his family lost forever and his wife on the other side of the world. He was trapped, in the middle of a forest filled with the hungriest of predators. The animals were not just hungry, they were angry.
The man shot at them, and managed to take down one.
He knew they would soon get him, and he had no real plan. He thought he could survive using the plants he knew, in a land of starved of food. He thought he would be safe enough.
The animals continued to pursue him, and follow him, as he walked deeper in the forest.
A few hours later, the man ran out of the land of the well-fed animals. He ran, but he was running scared. He was frightened, but part of him was not, because he knew he could not keep running. The animals would soon find him. Despite his determination to stay on the path, he did not. The succulent plants tried to get him to mix them with some water, but he did not want to use water. It was too dangerous to drink.
And then, the animals got him. Humans and wolves became the dinner for the wilds. Soon there were only two of the former, trapped in their own wild. The two human animals ran in pursuit of the wolves, as the wolves ran in pursuit of the humans.
The animals were all hungry for flesh, for blood, for bones, for flesh torn by claws.
The two humans could not escape. They ran, but they were not fast enough. They did not want to escape.
The dogs stopped pursuing a while one, and they began to worry. The dogs longed to chase the humans, and build a pack, feed their new family. The wolves wanted to run, to hunt, to find something, anything to eat.
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