Prologue
The world has shifted, though I can barely remember how it once was. Cities lie in ruins, their skeletons overgrown with wild green, and everywhere I look lurks something far more dangerous than decay: intelligence.
It started quietly, almost imperceptibly. Birds that learned to mimic human speech began to coordinate, dropping objects from above to manipulate and confuse. Wolves don’t just hunt anymore; they lay traps, study my habits, and wait with patient, deliberate cunning. Even the creatures I used to think harmless—rabbits, squirrels, deer—they move with strategy, their innocence a deadly disguise.
We were the hunters. Now, we are the hunted.
Every shadow could hide a mind sharper than my own. A fox in the treeline may not be fleeing—it may be calculating. A river’s gentle flow could conceal otters patrolling with eerie coordination. One wrong step, one lapse in attention, and it’s over.
I emerge from the ruins of a highway, my pack heavy, every sense straining. Above me, a crow circles, more scout than scavenger. Ahead, a herd of deer stares at me, unnervingly still. From the treeline, a low, layered growl rises, almost…mocking. The hunt has begun.
In this world, I trust nothing. I fear everything. And I have to be clever enough to survive.
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