A Rational Zombie

Chapter 9

Jen, what are you waiting for!?

You too, Joe? You want to leave James like that!?

Hes dead, Loo. Even if hes not, hes infected. We cant save him.

Asshole! Thats my brother youre talking about!

Yes. If an other can think, I have to kill it. Internal strife is no good. Ill have to share my brains too. I cant do that. The others are dumb, leaving the best parts for me. If others were smart, Id be dead, consumed by hunger. But I wont be hungry now. I secured a prey; its enough. Unless I can preserve the remaining prey. Can I? How?

Hey! Swing your bat! Theyre getting in!

Preserving them will be tough. The prey are still at their trap, killing the others. Removing the prey on top didnt do anything. There are lots of others, more than what I originally brought. They heard the commotion and came. But numbers dont matter. One other can enter at a time. There are three prey inside. Three? Werent there four? Where did it go? It doesnt matter. Three is still greater than one. The other inside cant win. Too bad the top prey didnt escape inside. Maybe there was another way in.

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What is that? More lights? The metal hunk is shining. The fourth prey is there, behind the glass, in front of the wheel. Can all metal hunks light up? Why is this the only one? Odd. The hunk is rumbling. Whats happening?

Brace yourselves! Were moving!

Moving? The metal hunk is moving. Is it alive? No. The prey is controlling it. If it hits me, I lose. Its much heavier.

What the hell? It dodged?

The metal hunk hit three others near the fallen prey. They fell over. Are they dead? No, their heads are intact. Was it not dangerous? Odd. But they were the ones forced back, so I was right. Theres no way I wouldve won. The metal hunk is speeding up. The others are stumbling after it. The metal hunk hit an other stuck on the floating cans. I heard snapping sounds. Its dead. Why did it die, but the first ones the metal hunk hit didnt? There were three others the first time. Is it numbers again? Or its the speed. The metal hunk was moving slow when it hit the three. It was moving fast when it hit that one. It makes sense. Faster is harder, heavier. When I swing my metal rod hard, it moves fast. When I dont swing hard, it moves slow. Whats more dangerous? Fast and light, or slow and heavy? I dont know. But heavy and fast can kill others. The very first prey I ate didnt control its metal hunk. I understand now. Some prey are smarter. Some are dumber.

The metal hunk got away. The four prey inside escaped. That leaves this one for all the others. Therere too many. What if they break its bones by overcrowding? Ill kill some. I can test things too. Like the preys weapon. The wooden stick. Is it better than my metal rod? The stick is bigger, heavier. The prey inside used both hands to swing. Was it like this?

Swish.

I think so. The sound is louder than the metal rod. How many hits does it take to kill an other? One. Two. Twothats it. Maybe this other was weak. Then what about this one? One. Amazing. Just one swing. But its possible all others here are weak. Ill use the rod and see. One. Two. Three. Four. So weak. The wooden stick is much better, heavier. But not heavier? The metal rod is heavier, but the stick is better. Why? Is it the shape? The metal rod is even, thin throughout. The stick is different, tapered. Its much bigger at the end. Heavier at a certain point? Does that matter? Theres an easy way to test. Ill hold the thick end of the stick and hit an other with the thin end.

Snap.

It broke. The wooden stick snapped in half. And the other is still alive. A shame. Maybe the metal rod is better. I swung it a lot, but it hasnt broken. Yet. Maybe theres a metal stick shaped like the wooden stick. That would be best, sturdy and strong. I learned a lot tonight. Prey really are good to study, much better than others. But I can still learn from others. Like the marrow. The others showed me bones were good to eat. Theyre still eating the prey, but the bones are intact. What about its skull? Has the brain been touched? I cant see. The light isnt shining up there.

The light. What is it? Its trapped at the end of a metal cylinder. Like a miniature sun. its not heavy, easy to move around. Interesting. With this, I dont have to crawl in the dark. I can control what I see.

Click.

It disappeared? Why?

Click.

Its back. I see. This button. If I press it, the light disappears. If I press it again, the light reappears. But why add a way to make the light disappear? Isnt it always useful to have light? Unless there are others. I found the prey by following the light. Can I guide others with this? Instead of sound or smell? They dont react. I shine the light, but they dont move. Maybe smell is stronger. Theyre still eating. Ill test later. But if I hold the light, I cant use two hands to swing. I can put the light in my bag. The bag is useful. Oh, the bones. Have they rotted? They still smell good. The hunger approves. I grabbed a bone and put it into my mouth. Then I sucked. The marrow came out. Was it harder than before? I cant remember. But its still good. How much time has passed? Enough for this last piece of brain to rot. That must be why no others tried to climb earlier. The brain was rotten. But the brain and marrow are from the same prey. Why hasnt the marrow rotten? Interesting. Does marrow last longer than flesh? If true, thats good. I can stave off the hunger for longer. Maybe finding God isnt as hard as I thought.