All over the world monsters blinked into existence. A new age of Earth began. One that had no room for the weak. The human population had no time to prepare themselves. Within the first 24hrs, humanity fell. The few who managed to survive, lived like mice scurrying around and scavenging the scraps left over from the old world.

The new creatures and races of sentient beings who now ruled over Earth did not come from a previously existing world. Their lives began just as the new world began. They came into being already fully matured and with the knowledge they would need to survive in this new world. Many also came into being with unquenchable urges or predispositions for certain lifestyles. They themselves had no idea what had created them, though some individuals of the more intelligible races made it their life's goal to find out.

Regardless of their goals, all of the new creatures and the old inhabitants struggled toward the top of the food-chain and safety and security it represented.

*********

(10 hours into the start of a new world)

The rain is black, falling from a black sky. It pours over my face and drips from my clothes. It washes the blood from my hands and the runs down to the red pool at my feet. All around are screams, pleas for help and prayers to various gods. My attention is caught by a flickering streetlight. I stare until it finally goes dark, never to work again. I look down at my hands and flex my fingers. I look down to my bare feet and wiggle my toes, splashing the red tinted water. A smile splits my face. The cool water feels good.

I look over to the woman laying beside me in a pool of her own watered down blood. My smile turns to a frown and my eyebrows knot together. It is difficult to see clearly in the dark. I focus on my eyes and adjust them until I can see more clearly. I allow myself a smug smile. Changing my body is such a simple task. I refocus on the woman. Her brown hair plastered to her lifeless face. I can vaguely remember that face having an anguished, fear-filled expression mere minutes ago. There had also been words.

I opened my mouth and mimicked her so that I could better remember. “Sweety... Sweety, Please stop. If you don't stop you'll hurt Mommy. You don't want to hurt Mommy do you? ...Stoaaaaaahhulp...huuugg!”

I frowned again. There was something wrong with the words she used. I wonder what it could be. Oh! It must be that! Sweety and Mommy weren't names. Also, those sounds at the end were not words. I looked down at my hands. It seems I had killed this woman. I wonder why I did that...

The sounds of footsteps quickly approaching cut through my thoughts. The ones making the commotion are a man and woman. The woman's arm is bleeding. They have panicked looks on their faces. Following close behind them is an older man. I can tell that he is not the same as them. He is like me, and yet he seems different too. I continue watching as the old man, who is somehow like me and at the same time is completely different, grabs the arm of the injured woman and pulls her down to the ground. She screams. In the moment it takes for her companion to turn around, the old man has already shoved his hand down into the woman's back. The man makes a panicked noise. The woman makes no noise. She is already dead. The old man puts his foot on her back and pulls his arm up with one sharp motion, a cruel grin on his face. In his clenched fist is the woman's bloody spine which still has chunks of muscle stuck to it. The woman's companion is already running again. Within moments he passes by where I stand. Following close behind is the smiling old man, spine still in hand.

As the old man was about to pass by me I yelled out to him. “Stop!”

He pauses for a moment looking at me. The smile never leaving his face. Then he is gone again, chasing the desperately running man. I watch as he quickly catches up to the now pleading man, smashing him in the head with the bloody spine. The man falls and the smiling old man stomps his throat a few times before running off into the darkness.

The screams and other noises come from farther and farther away, until the only noise that I can hear is the sound of the rain. It is a very soothing sound. I feel disappointed as the raindrops slow and finally come to a stop. The absence of sound is deafening. 'The Humans are all dead.' The thought crosses my mind as if out of nowhere. I wonder how I know these things. I know that the dead woman on the ground is a Human, and that the body I reside was once her human child. However, I do not know what I am, nor do I know why I had been killing Humans, or even why I had stopped. All I know, is that when it started raining and I had looked up at the sky, at that moment, the me that I currently am began. I do not know if I have a name, but from now on I will call myself Rain. I feel much closer to those drops of water that fall from the sky then these dead humans or whatever that old man was.

My eyes move toward a house across the street from me. Conflicting feelings well up in my mind. What do I do now. Should I search the buildings around me? What would I be looking for? I instinctively know that I do not need to eat nor drink. I enjoy the feeling of my bare feet on the ground. There is no reason to gather anything, and there is nothing I need to do to continue existing....

I stood still not knowing what I should do. My gaze focuses back up toward the sky. The clouds are parting, showing a sliver of the moon. I sigh. There will be no more rain for the moment. Maybe I can find some place where it always rains...

I look toward the house behind me. A very human thought crosses my mind. There are toys in that house. Things to curb ones boredom. I smile and let out a slight giggle. With quick steps I make my way toward the house. I reach the partially open door. Pushing it further open, I pop my head inside. The hallway is dark. I silently step inside. Where should I begin my search?

Not knowing where my precious treasures will be hidden, I systematically search the first floor. Nothing. Disappointed, I silently wish that the corpses in the living room could tell me where the things I desired were. I am sure the little girl who was clutching a stuffed bunny would know. Frustration colors my face. I head toward the second floor. After searching a few of the rooms, I finally find what I an looking for. The floor in front of me is littered with toys of all sorts. My face cracks into a smile. I have found the treasure room!

After enjoying my new toys for a wile, sunlight starts to peek out from between the curtains. I stand up and look around the room. At the foot of the bed is a large chest. One by one I move the toys into the chest. Wile playing I had decided on my new course of action. I would travel and find new and interesting things to entertain me. Although the toys are fun to play with, I know that I will eventually get tired of them. And so with all the toys now tucked away into the chest I lift it up and take a few steps toward the door.

...this isn't going to work. The chest is nearly twice my size. I can't see around it at all. Sighing, I set the toy chest back at the foot of the bed. As I ponder this newfound problem, I look around the room. I notice a small backpack. I will have to make a few sacrifices, but with nothing else useful in the immediate vicinity I decide to transfer my favorite toys from the chest to the bag.

After hours of deliberation, I am once again ready to go. Inside the backpack, which was now securely on my back, were the toys I had painstakingly decided on. I had two small wooden tops, a bag of marbles, a brown stuffed bear with button eyes, a small box of Legos, a small xylophone, five metal cars, a dozen green plastic soldiers, and a small squishy rubber ball. I set off with determination and no set goal in mind.