HUMAN

Chapter 2 - Serendipity

Year 2952. . .

700 years after humanity became extinct. . .

After humanity's demise, nature reclaimed what was left of human civilization.

The previous animal test subjects that Vincent's father had experimented on were left to wander the wild, carrying and spreading the genetic information that was given to them. This event caused most animals to evolve rapidly in less than a millennium.

This new species took the form of an anthropomorphic animal. It's the same one as what Max was.

They've gained intelligence, formed tribes and nations, and become a society relatively close to 21st-century humans. The X-R07 serum predominantly aids in explaining this swift evolution, although they do not inhabit its super strength properties.

This new era of species titled themselves 'Anthro Kind'.

[ - - - ]

I raised an eyebrow and shifted my head from side to side, soon realizing that I hadn't been to these parts of the woods before. I stopped the group and looked over Dave's shoulder. He'd been reading the map upside-down the entire time.

"Woah, hold on. What?!" I shouted, snatching the map and turning it to its correct orientation. The rest of the group was confused and gullible about the situation. "What's the hold-up, Jack?" Dave said.

"What's the- look around us! You were reading the map upside-down the entire time!" I flare my arms. The group had finally taken the hint that we were somewhere we didn't recognize, a completely new location in the forest.

We began to panic internally. "Alright! Let's settle this for now and retrace where we came from. Anyone paying attention while we were walking?"

Morgan spoke up. "No, not really. I was just following everyone else." We shook our heads. It seems we were too tranced, admiring the surrounding scenery, and were following Dave wherever he went.

We remained stuck in a forest clearing, trying to figure out where to head next as we might go further away from our original tracks. It's my fault for putting Dave in charge of guiding us.

He's a good pal, don't get me wrong. But he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed out of all of us when it comes to this sort of thing.

"How about we take a break for now, and hopefully, we'll come up with a solution. Lunch break is coming up anyway." I said, setting my bag down as my group were getting riled up at each other, mainly towards Dave.

This seems to settle the problem for now. I'll have to come up with a solution. I could always use my emergency rescue GPS. But that'll cost my parents a lot of money, and I don't want to embarrass myself by getting yelled at in front of my friends.

I wandered around, my eye catching an old, thick tree with shrubs and greenery climbing up its trunk. Stepping over the protruding roots, I sat on a comfy spot where the roots conveniently acted as an armrest.

Leaning my back against the soft group of thick shrubs, I pulled a can of baked beans from my pocket and lifted the tab to open the can.

I dug into the beans and ate food after hours, not realizing I was hungry. I leaned back further in bliss and relaxation, trying to keep my mind off the situation that we were in. Without realizing it, my body began to sink deeper into the tree.

I tried to write up a solution in my head mentally. "Crap. . .what the hell do I do?" I sighed and then lay down. Wait, how am I lying down? I soon realized that I was practically in the tree; it was hollow, and I turned to see a massive drop-off. A net of vegetation kept me from falling.