I awoke to sounds similar to my native language, as the clear coffin opened to a number of smartly dressed....squirrels and badgers?

One of them wore a monocle, and a contraption that had multiple clear lenses that moved on a bar arm. It spoke, a sense of the feminine within it, as its foreclaws prodded the flesh of my abdomen. "Hrm. This wasn't quite what I expected - this strange coloured flesh bag. I think this is a Hugh Mann?" It was holding in its other foreclaw a clipboard with a string of spider silk attaching a pen to it; a Bic.

The badger was much smaller than I was, although the head itself was larger than those I was familiar with. I gently rippled my hand, making sure that I felt everything there, and I blinked my eyes. The badger quickly swept a claw into a pocket on its disturbingly white coat and pulled out a small LED torch, shining it directly into my eyes.

I swatted it away, saying, "Give me a minute, dammit!" It blinked back, and stepped back, hissing before shock registered on its face. "Wait....I understand you. How did you...?" It shook its head, muttering something under its breath, before raising its voice again. "No, no, no, that can't be right, it shouldn't be able to understand me."

A masculine voice called out, "Yannifer, what the Hssss are you doing, antagonising the Hugh Mann! I told you to wait for the reanimation protoc-oh." His furious flow was disrupted as he took in my gaze.

Imagine seeing a bodybuilder in the form of a leopard, complete with skin and hair colouration, and a very feline face. Then grow it to my height stood on its hind paws, which had adapted to become more like feet, and then clothe it.

It nodded to someone, who pushed something and cleared the door to my coffin. There was a surge of warm air, as the atmosphere here leaked in and merged with the air inside.

"As if that doesn't beat Great Doggi," he breathed, trying to make himself smaller. He stood and moved in close to me, making the movement in the space of a second. I shrank into the coffin as he breathed, his slitted emerald eyes widening in excitement. "Incredible....I'd heard of these unusual creatures from the long off days of Far Ago, but I didn't expect the skeletal remains to bring us something this strange and fleshy!" He breathed on me, and the smell of fresh meat ran through me as he placed his right paw on my face. I panicked a little, and he sniffed.

"An increased heart rate and something of fear," as he ran his paw along my cheeks and I felt the pads on the tips of his opposable thumbclaw slide on my skin roughly.

I couldn't help it - my hand reached up and grabbed his arm, firmly but gently. "That's enough of that, who are you, and why am I the only normal one here?" I pointed at one of the other animals here. "I can see..." and I racked my brain as the memories were coming back. "A leopard, some badgers, some squirrels and...is that an allosaur running the place?" I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, wondering what the hell had happened. My skin was a deep brown on my hands, fading on the palms, and not the colour I remembered.

"Incredible..." the cat breathed. "That was close to the Divine Writings of Jesus Manx and his Disciples."

The badger turned to him. Yannifer, I noted. She stared as though I had just become an eldritch monstrosity. "Oh my Ratatosk. I never thought you would find religion, Alkham." The cat grinned at her, and she grinned back, stepping back just in case.

"Hey, I was raised Manx, you know - Just because I don't believe anymore doesn't mean I don't know the stories!" He playfully swatted at her, as she stuck out her tongue, flicking her vestigial tail-bush at him.

She picked up the pen, and started scribbling on the clipboard. "Can you move at all?" She spoke, turning her head to me.

I nodded, making a parody of a salute. "Yes, Ma'am." She nodded to another person, as I pushed my way out of the coffin. She started to walk away as I stumbled, and cut myself on the edge of the coffin.

The cat, Alkham, just looked at the cut. He called out, "Yanni, he has red blood just like most of us. Can you get him cleaned up before you start testing him? Some of the others might get....ideas."

I died in the middle of the ocean.

I can't remember why I was alone, or what I was doing all the way out there. All I remember was the swirling waves, the tempest raging above the surface, the lightning flashes filtering through the water.

Drowning was a rather beautiful way to die, if I'm honest. I was terrified, of course, and I tried to break the surface several times, but once my muscles had given up, and the tension had released from my body, I found myself appreciating the majesty of it all as the world faded to black.

Coming back, however. That is not fun, don't let anyone tell you any different.

I feel sun on my skin, and a strange tingling sensation that starts in my core and travels to my limbs, to my head and my fingers and my toes. I lurch upwards, gasping for air, feeling the oppressive ocean on my lungs.

"Relax, young human. You are fine."

I blink, the light too sharp for my eyes. I squint to the figure at my side. As my eyes adjust to the light, I see that the figure is wearing a long robe and clutching a staff at his side. He seems to be wearing something on his head, as I see two little lumps on the top. He is large, and I rub my eyes out for a final time.

And I see a bear's face peering into my own.

I yelp, flinching backwards, and end up falling off the table I was perched on. I land in a crumpled heap and let out a groan.

The bear thing comes around and reaches out a massive paw, tutting. "I know my eye is a bit disconcerting but there's really no need to be so rude, young man!" he says.

I stare at his paw, at the claws as long as my fingers, the calloused, worn pads. And stare a bit more.

"Young man? Don't you want to get off the floor?" I look up, up, up, and see that the bear is wearing spectacles, and one eye is droopy and red. I stifle a delirious giggle and take his paw hesitantly, looking around.

We're in some sort of town square, it seems. What I thought was a table was an altar, made of a fine marble and looking centuries old.

Buildings surrounded us on all sides. They weren't the skyscrapers of the city, but they weren't little, either. It reminded me of pictures in the old history books. There was a road, and strange-looking cars driving by. But what caught my attention was the crowd.

A crowd of animals on their back legs, just like the bear. I saw a whole menagerie of animals, pushing and shoving each other, trying to see past the blockade of police. As an officer barked an order, I saw that they, too, were animals, dogs and leopards and horses and every creature imaginable.

Suddenly, someone cried out, and the police barricade on one side breaks. Animal-people come rushing towards us, shouting various questions. The bear mage thing puts up a shield around us with a simple tap of his staff, and I watch in awe as the people flock around us, held back by the invisible barricade.

"Excuse me! Hi, I'm from Fox News," a pretty red fox in a dress says, waving her notebook at me. A cat holds a camera angled towards me, but she pulls my attention again. "You're the first human to be seen in centuries! Tell us, how are you feeling?"

"Uh..." I stammer.

"Is it true that the humans used to go to the moon?" a badger calls out.

"Why don't you have any fur on the rest of your body? Don't you guys get scratched up easily?" a dog calls out.

"Is it true that you humans used to keep animals in cages?" a pelican shouts from the back.

"Shut up, Jeb!" a few people - animals - moan.

I'm feeling overwhelmed. All the animals are trying to reach through the barrier, trying to touch my skin, and all of them are demanding my attention. As far as I know, I was dead two minutes ago and now I am being peppered with questions.

I think I prefer death.

The bear steers me away from the crowd, a protective paw clamped firmly on my shoulder. My head is spinning and I feel queasy, but I can't stop, not with the crowd of animals on our tail. A polar bear runs to catch up and asks me something about flying - what a polar bear would want up in the air is beyond me.

Finally, I'm hustled into a building, and the door is closed on all the curious animals. A word comes back to me: anthropomorphism. I explained to my little sister once that animals don't actually have feelings, and that books use anthropomorphism in children's stories to appeal to their empathy. She didn't understand all the big words.

These beings are anthropomorphs. I turn to the bear, who is watching me solemnly.

"I resurrected you for a reason, Dylan." He knows my name? "Humans went extinct almost a millennium ago, and no one knows why. We don't have much time. The Thousandth Year is in a few weeks."

"Wait... what?" I say, trying to wrap my head around what he's telling me. I've been dead for more than a thousand years. I'm the only human alive right now. And there's some sort of deadline?

Sorry, too much like a videogame.

"Listen, man, you've clearly resurrected the wrong guy. I can fix that for you. Just point me to the nearest ocean, and I'll go back the way I came, and you can resurrect a real hero."

"No, Dylan," the bear said forcefully. "It has to be you. The boy whose body rremained in the same condition at the bottom of the ocean for a thousand years."

My head is reeling. Something isn't right.

"What am I supposed to do, anyway? Why am I here?"

"Dylan," the bear said, almost surprised I had to ask. "You have to bring back the human race."

Pt 1: Darkness… Pain… Light… Voices… Too bright… Pain… Awake… AWAKE!

I jolted upright, making a garbled exclamation of surprise. My eyes squinted against the harsh light pointed directly at my face.

Where am I? The last thing I remembered was curling up in a ball, inside a glacier, sheltering from the blizzard outside. Winter had been bitter that year. I only wanted to rest for a few moments. I had lived in a post apocalyptic world then.

Endless dreams and nightmares. Faint, but there. And now, they have found an end.

I squinted through the bright lights. A tiger crouched behind a fox. I blinked and looked again.

The fox was wearing a white lab coat, gloves, and a pair of spectacles.

“As my assistant I ask you not to step on my tail. And get up!” The fox barked at the tiger. His voice had a gekkering undertone. He then muttered some unknown words.

“Sorry sir.” Mumbled the tiger. Her voice had a growling undertone. She wore a lab coat as well, gloves, and carried a clipboard and pen.

“We brought an extinct species back from the dead!” The tigress hissed excitedly, her pupils dilating. “Think of all the history we’ve guessed at and could further learn!”

“Hush!” The fox scolded. He was clearly in charge here. “Be quiet. We don’t cause her unnecessary stress. Humans are delicate creatures. Though they are resilient and clever. We must study her carefully.”

“Where?” I mumbled. The tiger chuffed in excitement. “Where am I? What are you?” My eyes were fully open now.

“She speaks in the common tongue.” The fox muttered. “Write that down. We’re learning history as we speak.”

“Way ahead of you!” The tiger growled, scribbling madly with the pen.

“Can you understand us?” The fox asked, fixing his spectacles.

“I can.” I murmured, my voice hoarse and scratchy. The fox gasped, widening his eyes.

“So it worked.” He quickly regained his composure, fluffing his tail and straightening his lab coat with his paws.

“What happened?” I asked, feeling thirsty

“You’ve been excavated from inside of a glacier. With the power of modern technology, you have been resurrected.

“But you’re a fox.” I stated in confusion. He seemed offended, flattening his ears.

“Animals have been evolving for millions of years after humans went extinct. In this time, I am a scientist, not a simple hunter.” His whiskers twitched crossly.

“Sorry.” I apologized. “But does that mean…”

“Yes.” The fox said. “You are the last human. The only one able to be brought back from extinction. You are the last of your kind.”

I stared dumbfounded at him for a moment. My forehead furrowed in confusion and sadness.

“So are you a young female? Our tests indicate that you should be sevente-“ The fox yipped as the tigress elbowed him. He saw my expression and spoke in a gentle tone. “I’m very sorry about you species. With you, we hope to preserve all research we can about your kind. Will you work with us? I have many questions.” His whiskers twitched, but this time with curiosity.

I nodded. “Okay. But I also have questions.” Where was I? What kind of world was this?

“We’ll exchange questions and statement.” The fox instructed. “You answer a question I answer one. A trade off. We’ll go back and forth, sound good?” I nodded again. “Good. It works anyhow. Otherwise I wouldn’t get in a word while talking to Audie.”

“Hey!” The tiger growled in mock outrage.

“What is your name?” The fox asked, casting a sharp toothed grin at the tiger.

“Eve.” I murmured softly. It had been a long time since I’d been asked that.

They all surround me, these strange creatures that look like grizzly bear sized koalas.

They probably resurrected the wrong person, or at least thought that humans had strange customs as I proceeded to pass out in front of all of them.

Several of the creatures run over to make sure I didn't just die on the spot. After checking my pulse, they carry my body to a secluded location.

I wake up a few hours later, my body aches horribly for some reason. I look around, everything seems normal. My memories are all fuzzy though, like really fuzzy.

I hear someone walking towards me so I turn around and see some 7 and a half foot koala walking up to me. My eyes widen as I back away from it, falling off of the table I had been laying on.

I hit the ground and the air in my lungs all leaves as I get winded. The koala thing runs up to me, somehow I swore it just said "Ope".

The koala runs up to me and kneels down on its hind legs like a person would, "Human? Are you okay?"

I don't speak, I just stare at the thing as it asks me if I'm alright. The koala stays kneeling beside me as it stares at me for a second, long enough that I notice it's not wearing any clothes.

The koala then bends over and picks me up without warning and plops me back on the table.

I shake with fear, not knowing that it was about to pick me up and that it did so that easily.

I wrap my arms around myself tightly as the thing starts pulling out some very familiar medical equipment. It takes out a blood pressure measuring tool.

I look at it and scooch away from it, jeeping my eyes on the equipment.

The koala clears its throat by making a horrible grunting noise before speaking, " Human, give me your arm so I can ensure you're healthy."

I gulp, finally gathering the courage to speak, "What are you?!"

The thing stares at me blankly, "I am a koala, can't you tell?"

I become confused, I see that it looks like a koala, but there's no way it's actually a koala.

"So, what happened? I was dead wasn't I? Why does everything look the same as when there were more humans here? What in the world happened to koalas?"

The giant koala smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder, "All will explained in time, first we need to make sure that you're healthy before we show you around."

My eyes widen, "Show me around?"

The koala grabs my arm to take my blood pressure, "Of course, you're the first human we were able to wake up, so get ready to be... examined more."

"What?"

"Examined, like this test here, but with more needles and stuff."

I go to run, ripping my arm away from the machine, but I was caught immediately by the giant creature's hand. He grabbed me and smiled, "No no no, we have too much planned for you to be running off now."

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