When I regained consciousness, I realized I was surrounded by fluid. Suddenly I felt as if I was being pushed out. Am I... Am I being born? I feel the coldness of the air against my bare skin, and pain as I take my first breath, but I still can't see. In my pain and confusion I attempt to shout, but all that comes out our high pitched squeaks.
Suddenly, something enters my mouth, and some sweet, warm liquid enters me. I hadn't realized I was hungry, and i quickly drank until I was full, then fell promptly so sleep. This continued for an unknown length of time. However, during this time, I grew fur, so I was no longer cold whenever a breeze touched me, my hearing improved, and finally, on the last day I received milk(I assume that has been what I'm drinking), I open my eyes.
The day after my eyes opened, my mother told me and my siblings through a series of squeaks that we would need to gather our own food. My siblings all squeaked in displeasure. They wanted to be fed as usual then go back to sleep. I on the other hand, looked forward to it. I already know how to scavenge, unlike my inexperienced siblings, but it seems I'm the oldest, so I'll teach them well. It'll be just like in elementary when me and some of the neighborhood kids went to the rich neighborhoods to steal out of the trash cans. Rich people would throw away a perfectly uneaten sandwich just because it had a condiment they didn't like on it.
By the way it would seem we are mice(The gods weren't kidding about me starting as the lowest of the low), judging by my siblings and mother, as I still haven't seen my own reflection. There are twelve of us siblings, 8 are brown, 2 are white, 1 is black, and then there's me, I think I'm gray by what I can see of my own fur. Mother takes us outside to show us the ropes. The direct sunlight blinds us all for a moment, then I finally see where I am.
A huge field with amber colored wheat lies in front of me. I wouldn't even be able to see it if our burrow wasn't on the face of a small hill . As we descend the hill, I see numerous other families of mice doing the same. We headed towards the fields and began cutting down the tall stalks en masse. Then we began eating the grain at the end of the stalks.
This... this was different than I thought it would be. It was kinda... well boring. I mean being a mouse isn't exactly supposed to be fun but come on! Well, it seems that my thoughts were somewhat unfounded as we were attacked... by a scarecrow. Wait why is that scarecrow moving? they're just supposed to stand there!
It began pummeling the mice mercilessly, and we all retreated. Thankfully my family wasn't near the area near where the scarecrow had emerged from. We all would return safe and sound... is what I thought. It seems this world enjoys proving me wrong. Out of nowhere, A large bird swooped down and took mother.
My siblings didnt know what to do. they all just began squeaking in fear and sadness. I was a bit shaken up myself, but it wasn't something I hadn't seen before, figuratively speaking. While my own useless drug addict of a mother was probably still alive, I had seen my best friend's father get shot right in front of him. Over 10 dollars, ten measly dollars. It had broken us at the time, but it taught us two very important lessons: death can come at anytime, for any reason or no reason at all AND people would do whatever it took to get what they want, if we want to survive, we have to be prepared to do the same.
I hurry and get my siblings inside. It seems this world is no different than the last one, yet the gods expect me to be different. Contradictory assholes. Whatever, I need to focus on my siblings for now, its sad, but they'll have to learn the same lessons that I and my best friend did. There's no escaping the rule of survival of the fittest.
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The next day we woke up, the others didn't want to leave the burrow. It seemed they had a fear of going outside. I tried to coax them out , but they wouldn't budge. Eventually I got my black sibling. who I'm now calling Black, to trust me and take a step outside. Seeing that it was safe, he helped me get the others out as well. Now I had reached a dilemma.
We need to eat... but it wouldn't be smart to just rush in to those fields after the scarecrow totally destroyed us yesterday. I note a few other depleted families in the same position. Many of the parents had sacrificed themselves when the scarecrow attacked, that their children may live. There were still plenty of adults left, but they were mostly taking care of themselves. How human-like of them.
I'll take care of these kids. It'll be just like back in the day when I was teaching new recruits for the squad. there are around 100 of us now. It should do. We head int the direction opposite of the grain fields, and climb the hill. In front of us lies a forest. I send my white siblings, Milk and Vanilla to go in the forest and scout it out. The reason I hadn't died even sooner in my previous life is because I always sent a few newbies in to go see what the enemy was like. A man with no plan is planning to fail, and failure means death on the streets.
They come back in around half an hour and give me the news. It seems like there's no great amount of grass or grain in the forest, but there's plenty of odd herbs, and insects. There were big spiders in the forest though, and snakes. I thought for a moment. what would the boss do against something like this...
Then it hit me. The whole point of a gang was safety in numbers. Whatever's in this forest wouldn't want to deal with a whole horde of mice, and if they did, the mice could just gang up on it. I gave a loud squeak, signalling the mice to rush into the forest and eat all they could. I ate the most though, as the mice were still somewhat scared of the forest. After a few hours, everyone had eaten their full and returned to their burrows safely.
That night, I dreamed. I never dreamed once since I arrived in this world. In front of me, a beautiful woman wrapped in silk appeared before me. She smiled warmly before speaking.
Kyleah: We meet again, and so soon! It's only been around three weeks since you were born and you're already going to evolve! Most field mice never evolve at all, and when they do, it takes around half a year, if they live that long. Ah, you may recognize my voice, but not my appearance. It is I, Kyleah your patron goddess. I'm the goddess of diplomacy and strategy, so don't expect any crazy powers just from my blessing. All you really get is a gift for leadership and persuasion as well as a slight growth enhancement along with some other minor bonuses. Anyway, Its time for you to evolve! You only have one choice now, but in the future, you may have more so remember these instructions! You have to run towards the evolution path you want. What did you expect? some game-like screen to pop-up? Isn't that a little too convenient? but choose carefully since it cant be undone. Good luck!
The goddess vanished. In front of me, the image of myself appeared in the distance, only bigger, with more prominent teeth and claws and a more powerful tail. A rat. Well, I figured I might as well run towards it, as it was the only option available. As I ran towards it, my body began to change until the image in the distance disappeared. I was now the rat I had seen. The dream ended right after, and I woke up to the pale blue morning light.