Chapter 1

Why am I so hungry? No, not even that, I want to EAT. As if I hadn't eaten anything for a month, it seemed that my stomach was going to devour itself now. My eyes opened on their own, but I didn't even wonder why I was in the cave, why I had paws instead of arms and legs, and some kind of muzzle instead of a face. My only thought was: WHERE CAN I FIND FOOD?! Without noticing how I growled, I rushed to the exit of the cave. The body moved quickly, constantly accelerating, after which it literally flew out of some cave. There was a forest in front of me, thick with fucking long trees. But there was no time for admiring, I seemed to sniff the surroundings habitually, starting to look for food sources. And I felt... someone's anger. The body rushed by itself towards the source of this anger, not taking apart the road, destroying some trees behind it. Sitting in the bushes, I looked at a small clearing where there was... a man? Like a man, in some kind of torn clothes and small protruding... horns? This something felt anger, but continued to sit in the clearing. Snorting softly to himself, he jumped out of the bushes and rushed at this man. He didn't seem to expect anything like this and only managed to look at me with terrifying fear before I closed my mouth on his body. He screamed in agony, he began to wave his arms and legs randomly while my jaw savored the taste. After biting the body, the severed legs fell to the ground, and with a couple of movements with his jaw he ground the bones, meeting absolutely no resistance. After that, the mess of meat was swallowed, I continued my meal, eating my fallen legs.

As soon as my hunger was satisfied, it was as if I woke up from a dream. The whole clearing was covered in blood, and I still felt that taste in my mouth... the taste of a man. I just... just… Jumping back, I fell into a tree, and steam was coming out of my mouth. My breath was completely gone, as if I had forgotten how to breathe while my brain digested what had just happened. I ate a man. An ordinary person. And the scariest thing is… I liked it. It was so delicious… No! YOU CAN'T! So... pull yourself together! You're a man after all! Calmly, Sanya, calmly, remember what happened yesterday, why you ended up somewhere in the forest, and in winter, although summer came only yesterday and it was plus twenty-six. And most importantly, WHAT THE HELL DID I EAT A MAN FOR?! WHERE DID I GET MY DAMN PAWS AND MOUTH FROM?! That's it, calm down, we need to pull ourselves together... paws already. Fuck! It's impossible not to swear here, because I did such a shit! What happened yesterday again? I came home terribly tired after work and a former classmate called me, after which we met, had a couple of drinks and broke up. I remember that for sure, it's fucking good. I was walking home, it was already twelve o'clock at night and there were no buses, I was walking across the road... and after that, tires screeched and a flash.

Damn... I don't know who I've become now, but the fact that I devoured a man literally in a couple of bites proves that I'm not the least predator here. So, I can stand freely on my hind legs, I was under two meters tall, maybe more, I compare with my past meter eighty. Front paws... damn it, I'm going to be tougher than a bear. Although who the hell knows what kind of bears are found here… But I can say for sure, the paws are powerful and with fucking sharp claws. Great, I distracted myself from what I just did... okay, that's it, Sanya, that's it, you're not a human anymore, but you're not a monster either! You have a mind! You can't give in to your instincts, no more human. BUT... I SAID NO FUCKING THING! Damn, I've already gone completely crazy…

So, that's it, we need to go, hide in the deepest cave and think about everything there. It's already clear that I got there, but it was worth finding out where. But I was distracted by... the smell? A feeling? Or even the taste? I don't know what, but I instinctively growled and looked in the direction from which... despair was coming. Another person, it seems. So, you need to give yourself a drink, calm your own instincts, become the main thing in this body! I don't know how it looked from the outside, but it's probably fucking comical, a huge shit hits itself in the face with its paw. It's fun, though.

Okay, this is not the time for jokes, so I broke off running back. More precisely, I just wanted to go back to the cave, which one the body seemed to know. But I have to remember the way myself, I don't want to give in to my instincts, otherwise fuck knows what might happen next time…

The speed of running was amazing, it seemed that I was just an armored sports car, but on the way to the cave, I did not meet anyone at all, nor animals similar to me or others. But the forest was really huge, how much did the body run to find its victim?

And so, my home was a small hole in the mountain, into which I ran, having already taken control of the body. I don't know how I do it at all, it would seem that only by wishing, I was already running myself, only on two paws, while instincts forced me to run on all fours. Which I didn't know how to do, or I just didn't want to be like animals any more.

The cave was... ordinary. To be honest, I wasn't even surprised when I realized that I could see in the dark, as in the light of day. At least now I can think properly. So, the question of the day is: who am I now? Is Alexander Butin the same, or is there already an incomprehensible and unexplored crap that looks like a bear?

I would like to say with confidence that the first one, but... no! This is not going to work, if you want to survive among predators, you need to become an alpha! So I need to take over the body, the mind defeats the instincts! Well, I said some pretentious shit, and now…

I lay down on my side and looked at my pitch-black paw. Nah... it's not a bear, it's some kind of bear. Also, these flashes are incomprehensible, although perhaps I am already flattened. I'll sleep better, it's wiser in the morning…

So to speak, there is no such thing as a good morning. It's hard to say exactly how much time has passed, but hunger was giving its toll again. Only this time it was a little weaker, it looks like I went into a little hibernation. But fuck it, I need to find food first. And not a human being as food! So, the forest is huge, and I'm kind of not a particularly weak predator.

I came out of my den like a real bear, scratched my stomach a little and slowly stomped into the forest. Hmm, the snow has melted, everything has blossomed and is now completely green. This is, in principle, pleasing, at least some kind of optical disguise, although my footsteps can be heard long before my appearance.

For the first time since entering this body, I touched my mouth, a huge and... bony mouth! Although it felt strange, it was much stronger than human bones, it would seem that I could chew through titanium with my jaw.

At that moment, it was as if I felt a person, this time... a feeling of some kind of loneliness. How do I even understand these emotions? Instincts again? But now I realized where this man was and ran in the opposite direction. It was not very convenient to run on two paws, I had to switch to all four and the speed increased significantly. I'll eat and I'll have to figure out where I got to and where I am at all. However, it will be difficult to do this.

After running through the woods for probably fifteen minutes, I didn't see a damn thing at all. There is not even the sound of birds, absolutely nothing. What kind of a mess did I end up in and where did the people come from? Is there a village nearby? And in general... am I on Earth? Probably not, I don't remember any such animals there. Although, I would like to see myself in full growth, maybe I would remember something.

I've even come out of the forest, onto some kind of plain. And there was absolutely nothing here, except for the grass that stretched all the way to the horizon. I even howled, my hunger increased for all these errands. But I was still holding back my animal instincts, I have to find other food. I didn't want to eat people, completely, I was a human myself before! And I'm not going to cross the line between an animal and a human!

I walked around a little more, examined the local views, scratched my stomach, which was rumbling mercilessly. A growl involuntarily came out of my mouth, I was hungry. Very strongly. And the man who shines with loneliness now looked like a caviar-level snack with a loaf. Something had to be done. And quickly. I'm a predator now, I don't think any fruits from the trees will help me eat, although I've seen these fruits.

And then I heard another growl behind me. And turning to him, I stared at... your fucking soul! This is... this is... fucking Beowulf!