Animals were harder to fool than people.

I spent a cold, hungry week trying to convince anything that it had died. I tried different lies…gun shots, starvation, traps, predators…the human mind is easily fooled, we gave up our instincts for reason. An animal lives by instinct, and is far less likely to believe. Then I found the lie they wanted.

Few animals survive to old age. So I gave them the illusion of a body slow and tired, reaction times grown sluggish and a deep seated fatigue that would never go away. There was always a moment of satisfaction I did not understand, then quiet.

The rabbit twitched its nose, then slumped over motionless in the snow. I picked it up, broke its neck and made my way back to the cave I had found a month ago. The fresh meat would supplement what small stores I had and keep me going for another few days.

A tiny fire, a hot meal, mental alarms set, then sleep. This was my life now. Part of me loved it.

Then came the morning I found human footprints that were not mine.