WARNING: This is NOT a children's story. If you are offended at all by misanthropic statements or violence, then do not continue and go somewhere else.

I stood before the crowd of beasts, tall, strong. They scream at me and though my stature does not change, I fear them. A puny human like myself would be no match at all for a bear or an elephant or even a horse. They had the strength. But within my damned, cursed human brain, my aptitude for strategy and control glowed more powerful than theirs. That was the only reason they had let me live up until now.

And yet, it was this very part of my brain, the parietal lobe (I had actually paid attention in science class...) that would bring me to my knees. For as strong as my mentality was, I was still human, homo sapiens, and I was a monster from birth. The reason the ancient texts spoke of us being 'born with sin' is true because we are, though not in the form of some magical man in the sky condemning us to a fiery pit. Our enhanced brains give us the power to build things, things that are unspeakably horrific and the creatures that stood before me had witnessed this firsthand. I would have given my brain gladly to any of them, if I could live a life free of this sin.

They don't trust me. And why should they? I am hairless, featherless, finless, I walk on two legs and make the strangest things to eat and use in my shining, whirring machines. The group is torn; should they kill me, fight the rebellion themselves? No, no, they need my tactical prowess. I still find it ironic that the centuries my damned ancestors spent thinking and building and rationalizing machines comes down to this moment for me: being thought of as a machine myself. To win the rebellion would mean I would succeed, even against my own species. To fail would bring not only my downfall, but the enslavement of anything that wasn't in the category of homo sapiens. I come from a strange species indeed.

They told me to prove my dedication to them. Their own bonds to their species challenge mine, and, though I am taken aback, I tell them what I know must be said. “Bring me a prisoner,” I yell above the noise. “Bring me a prisoner of my blood, and I will prove to you exactly how loyal I am.” The crowd springs into action, a pair of brown bears dragging a weak human from the south of the encampment, his hands, stained in the blood of their ancestors and their kin, bound and tied. He is weak, but he has the bright orange and camouflage clothes that give his position away. “Found in forest,” One of the bears grunts softly. “Deer heads in his car.”

The crowd growled, howled and hissed at the trophy hunter as he begged for his life. I had been ordered months ago when the rebellion started to carry a weapon on me at all times, and ironically, I had chosen a fleshy hunting knife. I stood over him, one of the bear's massive paws on his back, holding him down. I pulled the knife out of my pocket, and it is as shiny and unused as the day I slipped it in and forgot about it. I have stayed in the camp this whole time, I realized. I hadn't killed a soul.

But the members of the crowd had, I told myself. These were soldiers. They knew what it was to kill. They had grown accustomed to killing. If I didn't, as I had promised, I would be torn apart.

I press the blade of the knife to the back of his neck, lifting my hand and bracing for it. Not a breath is released, not a smile is seen, until I bring it down and kill him.

[Author's Note: I am a little uncertain about submitting this. It is a bit gory, after all. If anyone finds it offensive enough to get it deleted, please report it to a MOD. If it's only offensive because you hunt/are against my beliefs/don't like the character/etc. then please, keep it to yourself.

Also: for the record, I have no greater respect for hunters that use the things their prey offers. Notice the word TROPHY in my story.

I am NOT looking for criticism on this right now. It is just an unbeta'd scribble that I jotted down moments ago. When it has been edited and streamlined, tell me then. Until that day, please just point out small errors or anything else I may have missed.]