Grey woke to the sound of something chewing.
It was a wet, rhythmic noise that seemed horribly out of place against the otherwise peaceful silence of the night, accompanied every few seconds by the unmistakable crack of something hard being crushed between teeth.
Grey stayed still with his eyes closed, listening intently as the strange noise persisted nearby, his mind gradually clearing the fog that clouded his thoughts.
He recalled rain and headlights piercing the darkness, the screech of tires, the sudden emergence of another vehicle, and the overwhelming feeling of his world being jolted sideways.
After that, there was nothing.
Grey awoke to a vast canopy above, its large leaves overlapping so densely that only slivers of silver moonlight filtered through to the forest floor.
The branches were unlike anything he had ever seen, twisted and thick enough to resemble the limbs of ancient creatures, while pale vines hung from them like enormous strands of tangled hair.
Grey stared blankly for a few seconds before quietly asking, "Where am I?"
The voice that came out, however, was not what he expected — it was higher, gruffer, and almost rasping, as if someone had rubbed sandpaper against his vocal cords.
Grey immediately sat upright.
The movement caused a sharp ache all over his body, but it wasn’t the pain that alarmed him. His hands, embedded in the dirt, were not his own.
The fingers were too thin and the skin was grayish-green with small black claws extended from their tips.
Grey slowly lifted one hand toward his face, turning it beneath the pale moonlight while his breathing became increasingly uneven.
He checked each finger, moved all the joints, and even scratched his palm to ensure he wasn’t caught in some strange dream.
"No."
He looked down at the rest of himself.
His clothes were gone, replaced by several filthy pieces of what appeared to be animal hide tied around a painfully thin body.
His legs were shorter than they should have been, his feet possessed sharp little claws, and his entire frame looked as though it belonged to a starving child.
Grey stumbled toward a shallow puddle between the roots.
The reflection waiting for him was enough to make his stomach drop.
A small creature stared back.
It had enormous yellow eyes, pointed ears, an ugly little nose, crooked teeth, and two tiny tusks protruding from its lower jaw. Its skin was the same dull green-gray color as his hands, while a collection of scratches crossed its face and shoulders.
Grey touched his cheek.
The creature did the same.
He pulled away.
So did it.
At this point his mind went completely blank.
Then one thought surfaced.
"I’m dead."
Grey closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, desperately trying to reassure himself that there might be another explanation, maybe an elaborate hallucination caused by trauma.
Maybe he was unconscious somewhere, dreaming all this while doctors struggled to save him.
That would have been preferable.
Because the alternative was impossible.
Reincarnation.
The word felt ridiculous even inside his own head.
He had spent countless nights reading fantasy novels where ordinary people died and woke up in magical worlds with extraordinary powers, but those stories were entertainment. They were not supposed to become instructions for his own afterlife.
A faint rustling came from behind him.
Grey stopped breathing then turned slowly to see two yellow eyes stare from between the trees.
They were positioned far higher than his own.
Something moved within the darkness and a branch snapped.
Grey’s instincts screamed at him to run and for the first time in his life he didn’t question them.
He simply ran.
His unfamiliar legs carried him between the trees as quickly as they could, although he immediately discovered that being reincarnated as a monster had apparently not granted him any miraculous athletic ability.
Roots caught his feet, branches struck his face, and more than once he nearly fell flat onto the forest floor.
Behind him he could hear multiple growls and he couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder and almost immediately he regretted it.
A creature was following him.
At first glance, it vaguely resembled a wolf, but that comparison ended almost immediately. Its body was far too large, its limbs unnaturally long, and several jagged spines protruded from its back.
Its dark fur blended almost perfectly with the night, leaving only its teeth and glowing eyes clearly visible.
Grey accelerated but the beast accelerated as well.
"You’re kidding me!"
His lungs were burning and beginning to ache but the creature wasn’t even breathing heavily.
Just then he realized something terrifying.
It was playing with him.
He desperately searched for somewhere to hide, but the forest seemed endless. Every direction looked identical, filled with towering trunks and tangled vegetation, and his unfamiliar eyes could barely distinguish anything beyond the narrow path illuminated by moonlight.
Then the creature disappeared which made Grey slow down with his heart pounded violently against his ribs.
He looked behind himself but he couldn’t find the beast, then he looked toward the trees but he also couldn’t find it.
"Where did you—"
He was about to question when something suddenly crashed into him.
Grey flew forward and slammed into the ground as pain erupted across his shoulder.
Before he could recover, a huge paw hit the ground next to his head, splattering dirt onto his face. Grey scrambled to escape as massive jaws clenched shut where his neck had been.
He scrambled backward as the creature emerged fully from the darkness.
Up close, it was even more horrifying.
Its mouth was filled with several rows of uneven teeth, while dark saliva hung between its jaws. The muscles beneath its fur shifted whenever it moved, and its claws were longer than Grey’s fingers.
The creature lowered its head and Grey could do nothing but freeze.
He was fully aware of what was coming. He was going to die. Again.
The thought should have terrified him, instead, an absurd sense of disbelief filled his mind.
"I didn’t even get a full day."
The beast lunged, but Grey dodged sideways, avoiding its jaws snapping shut into empty space.
He hit the ground hard, rolled in the dirt, and reached for the first object within reach.
’A broken branch?’
It was barely a weapon and was certainly not enough but Grey had nothing else.
The beast turned with its eyes locked onto him.
Grey tightened his grip.
"Come on."
His voice trembled.
"Come on, then."