A Rational Zombie

Chapter 16

But how? The prey have weapons, coordination. The others are a mob, unthinking, weaponless, dumb. What if the others had weapons? Like me, metal rods. I defeated the prey atop the metal hunk. It had a weapon. Do others know how to use weapons? I held one of rods out to an other. It didnt react. As expected. Theyre too dumb to realize my intentions. Even when the rod touches their palm, they dont grasp. How stupid. Giving them weapons wont work. What if I make them into weapons? The wooden spikes; if I tie them to their hands with rope. Would it work?

For now, Ill go back. To the traps. A light tapping of the rods should bring the others with me. Its too far for the prey to hear. Ill start at the very back, the very first trap discovered. No, the second one. The first one is filled. It was easy to get back, traveling in a straight line. The others came with me too. The others with the ropes were useful. Even dumb things are useful if used properly. The ropes were varying sizes. If it broke while I was climbing out of the hole, itd be bad, so I took the thickest one. Tying it around a nearby tree was tricky. But a few trial and error attempts later, it worked. It was long enough to reach the bottom of the trap.

Im not strong, lifting heavy things is impossible. But I can lift myself. Climbing down was easy. The dead dog was rotting. If its head wasnt impaled, would it come back to life? I dont know. But it smells like the others. Like rot and decay and disgusting. Eating it would upset my hunger. The wooden spikes werent hard to pull out. A little tug. Sometimes a twist. They were shorter than I expected, about the length of my arm. The tip was smooth, pointed. My teeth cant create something like this. Its too straight, not gnarled. How was it made? I wonder. Maybe with the tool I saw earlier, the hole maker. If it could dig through earth, it could dig through wood. Maybe.

Climbing with the spikes was tricky. One arm tried to hold them all, the other arm couldnt support me. Why did I try to bring them up all at once? Im not sure. A real other only makes one trip. Im not sure what that means. Maybe something from before I lost my memories. I tossed the spikes up instead. There were seventeen of them. The climb was much easier with both hands. Now, how do I tie these to the others? Its difficult. The ropes are too long. Id have to separate one into pieces. But that seems like such a waste. What if I stick the spikes through their hands instead? Like this? No, the spike points towards the ground. If I bend its wrist this way? The spike points up.

Others are dumb. They wont use tools, only their hands and mouth. The spikes cant go in their mouths, and it only points up or down after impaling ones hand. It was hard to puncture too. The tip of the spike cracked. Tying might be the only method. Others know how to grab and tear flesh; why dont they know how to grab spikes? So dumb. So annoying.

The spikes are useful. They can split rope into multiple pieces. The rope has to be long enough to tie a spike around an others arm. But it should be short to not waste rope. I dont have a lot, and I dont know where to get more. Well, I do. Prey have rope. The alarms with the suspended cans gave me a lot. But I dont know how prey obtain rope. Theres still so much I have to learn. How to sharpen wood into spikes. How to make ropes. What does gray plumes rising into the air are. So exciting.

The rope dug into the others flesh. I pulled and pulled until I couldnt pull anymore, tightening the spike to its arm. Black liquid oozed out of its wrist, leaking down the spike, pooling at the tip, dripping to the ground. Is this enough? For now. Depending on the number of spikes, Ill add more. Each other should have one spike. If there are extra spikes, then some will get two. It shouldnt take too long. With every repetition of something, I get faster. I know what to do know. Instead of trying to climb, throw the spikes up. Instead of impaling hands, tie the spikes to the others arms.

Like I thought. The more I do something, the better I get at it. Tying is easier too. No more trial and error. The dog at the bottom of this trap is also rotting. Do the prey purposely impale their heads? Once is luck. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is on purpose. Odd. I seem to be remembering more and more lately. Is it the aftereffects of taming my hunger? It hasnt acted up in a long time. Marrow keeps it at bay. Brains too. Preemptively eating the marrow works. The hunger doesnt spread its tendrils through innards.

The second, or third, trap had fifteen spikes. A little less than before. Each spike was the same, created in the same manner. Unblemished, pointy, arms length. The thinner ropes are good. Easy to tie the spikes to the others. It might be dangerous for me. If others think Im prey, theyll stab me if they grab at me. But its perfect that way. When they grab prey, theyll stab them instead. Grabbing doesnt harm prey, its the biting that kills. But now, its different. Their grabs will inflict wounds. The smell of wounded prey will gather more others. And the prey will be immobilized if stabbed in the right places. If I prevent others from killing by biting, I can preserve the prey. Others are dumb. Thats why Ill think for them. Theres still four more traps to secure, more spikes to gather, more tools to distribute. Then, I hunt.