The Changed

So many people have told the story of how our world ended, but every tale is different. Some say that the human race was at war with each other. Some say that the leaders of the world just wanted to start over. Others think that some sort of experiment went wrong and nearly wiped out all of humanity. No matter the story, the core concept is that humans were the cause, and the animals are the only ones who are genuinely surviving.

The world ended in the late twenty-fifth century. From there, the surviving humans tried to adapt and build from the ruins. It has been a thousand years, and the human population is decreasing in numbers. Some of their deaths are due to survival, animal attacks, and rivalry between human clans. Others are due to fear.

Fear of the unknown. However, the world ended, it changed some humans. Most of the human population is entirely normal. However, a small portion of humans had experienced mutations. These mutated humans are called The Changed.

The Changed come in many forms. There are the ones who can shift into animals, Shifters. Some have human bodies, but they have something relating to animals, such as wings, tails, claws, or scales. They are best known as Crossers. The final kind, Whisperers, look like normal humans, but they speak to animals. The animals can sense Whisperers and automatically protect them.

I am a Whisperer. When I was young, I got separated from my family in the woods. The only thing I found was my mother's silver heart-shaped locket. I heard people yelling, and I smelled something horrible as loud bangs rang in the forest. I was just a crying kid looking for her mother when a man covered in blood towered over me with a gun. He knew what he was looking for: one of The Changed. Before he had a chance to raise his weapon, a white wolf attacked him.

"Don't be afraid, Little One. Close your eyes and cover your ears." She told me as she had the man pinned down.

Her voice was calm to me. I did as she said, barely hearing the man scream as she ripped his throat out.

"It's not safe here. Keep your eyes closed and hold onto me." The wolf gently nudged me with her head.

Not knowing what to do, I did as the wolf told me. I climbed onto her back, holding tightly to the locket, and kept my eyes closed. She ran with me, riding her. After a while, she stopped.

"You'll be safe with us, Little One." The wolf gently told me, allowing me to open my eyes.

She took me to her pack. From there, the wolves raised me and kept me safe. When I reached a certain age, I was allowed into human camps and towns. Since I was one of The Changed who couldn't be detected as easily as others, I was able to get through without drawing attention to myself. Still, the wolf pack kept watching over me from a distance with the white wolf, Leona as their leader.

As I pass through, I learn about humankind and how they view people like me, and what happens when people defend The Changed. I figured that is what happened to my parents, but something didn't add up. According to the humans, The Changed don't develop their mutations until they reach the age of twenty-one. They also say that The Changed cant reproduce.

I asked my pack numerous times if what the humans say is true, but they couldn't answer. I was the first they ever encountered, and I was just a child when they found me. It makes me wonder how wrong the humans are about The Changed. Are we as dangerous as they believe? Are we what is going to ultimately destroy the human race?

No. I could never believe that. Humans may have killed my family, but I have seen animals outside my pack needlessly kill a traveling human. I personally believe that others like me are out there and alive. I also believe that we will not eliminate the human race. I think we are here to save it.

The world may have ended once, changing everything humankind had ever known. But those changes may have been for the better in the end. Shall we find out?