Chapter 18: 18-Sentience

It didn’t know when it started to think.

Eat.

Sleep.

Survive.

That was all it knew. All actions dictated by its instincts.

That was how it lived everyday. It never questioned its instincts. It didn’t think of the possibility of going against its instincts.

Not when everyday was a struggle to survive.

However it never questioned the harshness of life for that was all it knew.

Propagation might have been on the agenda one day, but that was far away.

It knew that it’s brethren did it to continue make more creatures like it.

It didn’t know if brethren was the correct word as it wasn’t sure it was related to the others.

With two legs and a pair of wings, rough skin, claws and fangs to match.

It has seen itself in the water before. It took a while for it to understand that it was a reflection of itself in the water instead of another creature attacking it.

That was how it knew that the other creatures that shared similar characteristics were related to it. 

Most importantly, its very blood felt connected to the others.

Its instinct confirmed the feeling of familiarity with the others.

And it’s instinct has never been wrong so far.

That was how it lived so far.

It did not matter if the others were related to it in any way.

It was at the bottom, always fighting for the scraps.

Always avoiding the bigger ones as they were stronger and more aggressive.

It has seen the others fight amongst themselves. Not afraid to take advantage of the weak and make a quick meal of them.

There was no sense of familiarity or comradeship between others and it.

It always tried to avoid the others. This allowed it to avoid potential fights which could lead to injuries. 

Injuries meant death.

So it always went for weak prey or the leftovers that no one wanted.

It never questioned why it was so weak, nor why the others behaved the way they did.

It never questioned why it’s home was stuck between two large mounds of dirt that reached the everlasting blue.

It never questioned why there were hundreds of others. Always fighting each other. Some for food, some for mating, and some for new sleeping spots.

It never questioned why it was left on its own in a patch of dirt filled with empty eggshells.

It never questioned why the others were always so aggressive against it and almost killed it several times.

It never questioned why others would be preyed upon by monstrous something every so often. It only knew that it must flee whenever that flew by.

That was the way of life and all it ever knew.

That was until one day it felt something.

A part of its mind cleared. If everything in its life was considered gray, now there was color added to it.

Life before suddenly seems monotonous.

Thoughts.

It could hear itself think and rationalizing.

It no longer acted only on its instinct.

It tried to remember what brought about this change.

It remembered hunting and then suddenly being hunted by a pack of others.

Normally the others left it alone, but that day was different. As it was running away, its instincts screamed of danger. Not the typical kind of life threatening danger. It felt that everyday and would recognize the sign.

No, the danger the instincts gave was the kind that threatened its very existence. Every part of its body screamed as it attempted to escape.

It failed and the last thing it remembered looking at the eyes of one of the others. A mixture of red and black. A sign of frenzy madness. Colors that no other could have. Only when eating something bad or driven into a frenzy would the redness surface.

It had seen cases of eye redness. Most others don't survive when it happens. Eating something bad could weaken the body and also cause frenzies that would only temporarily strengthen the body and then weaken it. A weak body meant easy meals for others once discovered.

However it has never seen black before.

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Not only that, while it was being attacked, the other others were also attacking the same members of the pack.

It didn’t understand what was happening, nor did it want to discover the reason why.

All it wanted to do was survive.

The last thing it remember was being bitten by several others who were also being attacked by different others.

That was all it remembered before it came to.

And now, clarity.

It looked around and observed its surroundings. Many others surrounded it, no longer breathing. All the others had suffered serious injuries before finally laying on the ground, never to rise again.

If it was another time, it would try to enjoy the feast that spread itself in front of it.

However, now it is different.

Its thoughts were clear. It’s body stronger. Something felt different.

It looked down, before its neck arched back in surprise.

Two legs had become four.

It lifted the right foreleg and then put it down. It did the same with its left foreleg, lifting it and putting it down. Testing muscles and the new feelings that came along with a new pair of legs..

These new legs were different.  Stronger. A sensation that it never felt before. Everything felt different after waking up.

Unfortunately before it had time to study itself, a large number of others flew over. No doubt they were attracted by the smell of blood. However when the others flew over, they roared at it. Telling it to go away. Trying to scare it away.

If it was before, it would have listened.

However, since it woke up, it had felt different. Its body stronger than its ever been.

Most importantly, it no longer felt connected to the others. 

One particular other saw that it did not move and took it as a challenge. It flew over, intent on removing a competitor. 

It reflexively swatted the incoming charge with one of its new right limbs. It was still unaccustomed to the new pair of front legs.

The other’s head was hit with so much force that it heard a crack. After hitting the ground, the other remain still. The other that had charged at it was no longer breathing and would remain on the ground forever.

Surprised at the death, the others charged at it. All prepared to finish off the new threat.

This time it was ready. It met the incoming onslaught with glee. 

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By the time the dust had settled, more others decorated the ground compared to when it had woken up.

The smarter ones, seeing the blood bath, flew away. The others had learned and tried to stay away as far as possible. They were unwilling to become part of it’s stomach.

It looked around. Its new body was unharmed. It had discovered that the others were easily destroyed with a single swing of its new legs. It mind began to formulate its own thoughts.

It let out a loud roar that could be heard all the way up in the heavens. A roar from it’s very soul that embodied all its current feelings.

Pleasure.

Power.

Pride.

Feelings that it could never experience before until now. 

It had observed how the others fled after witnessing the destruction and carnage. It did not know the word for it, except that it had witnessed how the others shivered at it’s newfound might.  Seeing the light disappeared from the eyes of others also brought a newfound pleasure.

It relished these feelings,

And it would go out and find more.

The sun rose and set many times. It noticed the pattern before but only took it as a signal for it to find a place to rest before the darkness arrives.

Now it knew darkness was the best time to hunt the others when they rested. The darkness no longer bothers it. 

It was only until the sun had risen many times did the others sense it hunting them down. Each time it bought one down, an insatiable and pleasant feeling came with it. It could never get tired of these feelings. 

The others had  begun to avoid it, no doubt aware that many fellow others had fallen to it. This made the hunt take longer and was no longer pleasurable.

It was time to find new prey. Perhaps by traveling past the green, it would find  prey that would bring back the feelings it had come to enjoy so much.

It had always stayed where the dirt piles were, as it was home and the green was always a threat. It could not count how many others had fallen prey to the green from consuming a food that did not agree with their body.

But things are different now. It’s body was stronger. It could traverse the green with no issue. It had seen smaller others from afar. Some with four legs and others with two. Much smaller than it and it was on the small side before its transformation.

Now things were different. 

It was going to search for new prey. To inflict the same feelings that it had on the others. It wanted to savor that feeling once again. The creatures in the green were not as fast as the others nor as big.

Most importantly, they didn’t have wings to run away from it.

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