Chuck emerged from his chrysalis and felt a small amount of self awareness. Not enough to comprehend anything more than his own name, but enough to be in control of his own actions.

  He reveled in the memory of the pulse that had taken over and savored the thought of every life he took. He wanted more. He wanted to feel more power, he wanted to grow stronger, he wanted to feast on all that he found.

  Hungry

  He let out a screech akin to a battle cry. There was a primal hunger within him that felt absolutely perfect. It was the core of his world.

  Sensing the pulses of life around him, he climbed out of the dumpster he was in post-haste. There was a life pulse nearby that glowed white hot with nutrition. At the top of the dumpster, he spotted his new prey: A racoon on the ground, mutated with two heads and many, tiny appendages too weak to support its bulky frame.

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  Chuck looked at his miniature, bug-like stature and weighed out his odds of successfully eating the racoon.

  HUNGRY

  The odds didn’t matter, only the feast.

  Chuck leaped onto the racoon’s back and attacked with no thoughts left other than satisfying his primal hunger.

  …

  Unbeknownst to Chuck, a monkey not native to these lands watched from afar. She stayed far enough away to avoid alerting the drones following her of what she was doing, but she used her own life pulse to keep a protective eye on the love of her life.