(Jerome's POV)

     This is not how I thought my morning would go. I was very young to be on my own 12 years ago, but not helpless. Baccas no longer live on this continent and I had no way to get back to Liblicen. That also means the people here don't know how to hunt or fight my kind. My instincts saved my butt more than once those first few months. I knew how to forage for food, and I taught myself how to hunt later.

    Claws and teeth are how I'm meant to fight. I'm suppose to live in tree canopies or deep down in caves. My fur is supposed to be the only protection against the elements. But I'm not like that anymore. I can talk like humans and like a Bacca. I didn't use any sort of human weapon until was seven, having found a stone axe in an abandoned village. I also took human clothes. I don't know why I continue to steal more when the old ones rip. I figured out what different humans things were called over the years. I don't even sleep in the canopy anymore! I used branches to build some sort of interlacing floor in the trees. I'm different. But I guess I really wouldn't know, being the only Bacca on this continent.

     I think a lot. I think so much that it makes my head hurt. It's lonely out here in the wilderness. I wish that I had someone to talk to. Maybe people wouldn't care that I look this way? No, that's just a fantasy that I sometimes think about. People just run away when they see my face. I think about being happy instead of where I will go hunting next. Thinking about the way I walk just adds to my questions. I've never heard of any Bacca that could run on two legs. Walk, but not run like I can. I think that I'm different from anything else on this world.

It's when I heard the voices that I couldn't stop my curiosity. I'd seen a few people in the woods before, but I'd always stay out of sight. I even helped a little kid find their way back to their village. All the people there think that a 'wise man' lives in the forest. It's the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. This is why I climbed into the tress and quietly made my closer to the voices.

     There was two of them, from what I could see. But I could smell many more. Were they waiting to trap someone? I figured that I would leave right then. But that's when I felt something piece my skin. I instinctively growled and tried to turn around in the tree, losing my balance and falling while a wave of dizziness washes over me. My adrenaline spikes as jump back up to my feet and lunge at the human hiding in the bushes beside me. They screech when they realize the tranquilizer dart has already worn off.

     I only knock them to the ground before another dart pierces my shoulder. The swing with my axe is sloppy and goes to the side of their face. I scramble away before I get another dart shot at me. I'm only dizzy for another moment before the world stops spinning. It seems that my determination pushes back on the fuzziness in my vision.

     I can hear all the people stepping on the branches around me. I'm surrounded. They're waiting for me to attack again. The bushes hide me for now, but it's only a matter of time before they find me. My legs bunch up underneath me, before I launch myself into the trees above. People shout as my blurry shape goes barreling through the trees. I'm quick enough to avoid them. Or at least, I would have been. The next tree I jump into already has an occupant. I slam into a person hidden in the leaves, making them cry out in alarm. They shove an entire handful of the tranquilizing darts into my skin as I try to get away. I drop out of the tree like a rock.

It's happening all over again; that paralyzed state I got back in the lab. I'm aware, but I can't do anything as the humans surround me. The feel of chains snagging my fur sends a wave of helplessness over me. I fitfully try to swipe at someone when the come near, but all my arm does is move a few inches. Another dart instantly pierces my skin. And this is how if goes for the next two hours. The chains makes me so uncomfortable that I can't even pretend not to move. My mind and vision go fuzzy at times, but I'm mostly coherent the entire time.

No words can describe my horror when the lab came into sight. The horse pulling my chained form seemed happy to be rid of me. My growling and agitation made the humans laugh at me, but they stopped sticking me with darts. I could move a bit and still no more darts. They want me awake, for some reason. Going back through the doors was like being dragged into hell. I watch as the river the six of swam through is cut off from my sight. Are the others here? Is Mitch here? I really hope not. Could...... Preston be here? I've never tried to look for him, after he gave the rest of us time to run.

     And then I break one of the chains. My adrenaline spikes again, making the last of the darts wear off. I roar and attack the closest person, all of them screaming in fear. The way back to the door is blocks off by all the people, but I've cleared the way ahead when I crushed the human to the ground. I'm not thinking. I just want to get away. I charge into the room, which probably wasn't a good idea. The sight that greets me has me skidding across the floor.

(A/N so who's POV are liking best so far?)