The Earth was as normal as it could be, with wars, crime, celebrities, happy families, and everything beautiful. At least it was until humans developed an interest in wildlife. There was nothing wrong with this interest on its own, it was in fact a good thing because animal shelters received more support and attention and people developed more interest in preserving endangered species and finding new ones.

However, while the general populace took pleasure in revitalizing nature, capitalists and world elites saw a potential trendy and profitable business. Theme Parks!

Many animal Theme Parks rose with different mutated animals designed in labs to spark interest and create sensations. Nature in itself was created with a balance, a clear distinction between prey and predator. Once the bottom of the food chain changed, the whole chain was only a matter of time from a drastic change.

Mankind soon had to face an inevitable truth. The human race could not have evolved because then we would have evolved wrongly. Humans, supposed to be the last product of evolution were also supposed to have developed features that would allow them to dominate the wild, not the single feature of intelligence but also hunting instincts, claws or fangs or speed, or anything similar. With the new mutations, man was more towards the lower end of the food chain.

There was no place in the wild for man and almost no place in the world either as mutated creatures either became wilder, faster, more powerful, more intelligent, or more populous to maintain Her balance. Soon man was able to gain a foothold with the aid of powerful force fields with which the barricaded area kept the animals out and humans in. The area where man gathered was called the Survival Area while the world outside was simply known as The Other Side. Humans salvaged what they could, livestock yet to mutate, crops and technology enough to sustain life in the Survival Area.

****

When I first went in, I was 10. It was like a whole new world, and the first thing that came to our minds was that it was alive. We didn’t know what to expect or what was waiting for us but we felt at home despite knowing just about anything could kill us.

For the first seven days as we walked deeper in, it was tranquil. There were attacks from some of Them but, we could easily handle them with only a few injuries. 50 of us, men and women all over the age of 20 and under 40, and I was the only child. I’d say now that it was a blessing to be so young at the time. There were so many fights and disagreements among the adults, the issue of race, nationality, skin color… the diversity of the group was the first threat we faced. It didn’t last very long because She was about to teach us a very valuable lesson.

On the third month of our journey, we had traveled so far that some were starting to worry, you could tell from how quiet everyone was. There were fewer fights but people were becoming more easily provoked. I didn’t understand how it worked but there really was less infighting. We had already lost two men to Their attacks but that wasn’t much of a problem and didn’t affect the whole group. It was a quiet evening when She woke up. She felt our presence and she seemed to hate it. They attacked that night, merciless, fast, hungry, and angry. We lost eleven men in that one night and also our way back home. The Star Guide.

The next day, people were more patient and even more quiet. I think that was when we started to learn the truth. That on earth, there were no races or nations, only humans, and that the greatest difference between us was that of gender. A few days after that ruthless attack, we made jokes about how They lived. The males ate other males even those of their kind but rarely ever touched the females. The females ate both males and females except those of their own families. We were starting to realize that it was universal, the soft spot male had for females and the faint sense to protect that gender. But the females? They only cared about themselves and what was theirs, they kept their family together and protected with everything they had. It was the last joke we ever made.

Attacks became more frequent, more ruthless, more ferocious and we got fewer and fewer until only sixteen of us were left. The good thing about being so young then was that I didn’t really understand what was going on and my idea of the world was not fully formed yet. That world became my world and I started to understand its laws. Everything with flesh was food- as long as you could kill it in a fight. Fighting was stupid, only attack those weaker than yourself. It was the jungle and the sooner we understood that the longer we would survive. It was unfortunately too late when we understood.

In the end, there were only six of us left and we wandered, lost in there for six years. By then we were already numb to death and the only ceremony we did was to carve their names on stones which we threw into the closest water body. At times when the world fell silent and tranquil, when we weren’t worried about our lives, we could see Her. We could almost touch Her. We knew that She was alive, She was neither sentient nor intelligent, She had no thoughts or memories but She was alive! The intricate design of the jungle caused us to realize that it must have been made by a higher power. There was a balance in it, the poisonous were few and weak, the strong and fast were also few while the weak were sensitive and many. It was so thoughtfully designed that without any human interaction, no species of Them would ever go extinct. Such a balance could not have been created by coincidence. What if He was there, the designer, watching us? Our thoughts wandered far.

Only four of us made it out in the sixth year. Fifty went in and four came out. When we returned, I felt ill at ease, I was perhaps the only one who didn’t feel this place was home anymore. I felt more at home on the Other side but I also never wanted to go back there. I haven’t changed my mind. And now you are asking me to go back?