A Rational Zombie

Chapter 31

Creating a fire is difficult. The tiny box produces flames. But its not big enough to light trees on fire. Its enough to set clothes on fire. And small twigs and leaves. Once a small fire is created, the big logs burn. And once the big log burns, the fire is strong enough to burn everything. It costs one shirt to create a big fire. But the price isnt high; there are always others with clothes flocking to my sounds. And the smell of blood. Will this prey turn into an other? I removed its brain, climbed a tree to eat it to avoid fighting with the others. Trees are useful. I didnt think they could be climbed. Theres no handholds, no gaps to place my foot in. But I saw how the prey tried to climb. It hugged the trunk with its arms and legs, inching upwards. Tightening its arms, moving its legs, tightening its legs, moving its arms. But its a method that only works with these clothes. Theyre tough, not being scratched by the trees rough surface.

Along with the brains, I broke apart the preys body, storing the bones inside of my new bag. Carrying two bags, a metal stick, the arrow shooter. It was cumbersome. The others proved handy once again. One of them is carrying my old bag, with the soon-to-expire marrow. I kept the metal stick and arrow shooter on myself. The arrows fit nicely in the new bag too. As for the two flat metal sticks that the prey had, I tied them to my wrists, above my hand. The flat part is as long as my palm and fingers. Bending my wrist down lets the metal stick out, letting me pierce things without holding them. They might interfere with my movements if my hands move back. But theres no reason to bend them that way.

As for the broken dome, I put it on the other with my old bag. The dome is broken. But the glass can still be useful, maybe save it from death. I tried wearing it myself. But the web of cracks I created with the arrow made it hard to see out of. Wearing it might bring about the opposite effect, killing me if I dont see a trap in time. The dome also solves the problem of sluggishness. The others always stop moving around after they eat. With the visor blocking its way, this other wont eat. Itll always be active. But it still slows down in the sun. I dont know why. Ive tried covering it, reducing its exposure to the sun. But it threw off the clothes I put over it. The others dont care if I poke them, prod them, pull them, kill them. But covering them with clothes triggers a reaction. Is the sun essential? Is it like food? The others are sluggish after eating. The others are sluggish in the sun. Could the sun be feeding the others? Thats impossible. I cant eat the sun. Im smarter than the others. If others could eat sunlight, Id be the first to know.

Speaking of sunlight, its about to run out soon. Theres a plume of smoke in the distance, opposite the direction we came from. Which means theres prey. Its also the direction the prey ran towards when trying to escape from me. Prey seek safety in numbers; it knew other prey were located there. It could even be where the prey are speaking through the black box from. But I have to assume all prey are similar to the one that died: armored, smart, tricky. If they coordinate like the ones in the metal hunk did, they might kill all the others. Even the unarmored prey couldve stopped the others if they had used the cabins as traps. And I dont doubt the prey have more tricks that I havent seen yet. Every prey Ive encountered has taught me something knew; itll be the same this time. How do I prepare for something I dont know? Its impossible. I can only send one or two others at a time, see how theyre taken care of. But even that doesnt provide accurate information. Prey react differently when theres only one or two others compared to when theres dozens.

Knowing this, do I proceed? I can go away, find a separate place, start a fire there. Itll attract prey. But for how long? Its not sustainable. Once I eat all the prey in an area, the prey that escape will warn the others about me. Maybe the prey I just ate already did with its black box. I have to find a sustainable food source to keep the hunger at bay. Once I no longer have to worry about hunger, finding God will be much easier. Prey need to eat. But I havent figured out how the ones at the cabins survived. What did they live off of? Maybe it was there and I was too dumb to know. Like the tool used for cutting down trees that I thought was for digging holes. But theres no way for me to find out now. Its much easier to learn by watching prey. Deducing what prey leave behind is much more difficult. Commanding metal hunks, for one. I didnt even know they moved until after that prey almost killed me with one.

This time, Ill watch the prey more carefully. See how they make food to sustain themselves before attacking them. I have enough marrow to last a day. If prey are like others, theyll have to eat within that day. But if the prey are armored, how do I go about attacking them? Theres only one answer I can think of. I need more others to follow me. If it takes a dozen others to kill one armored prey, I need tens of dozens of others to kill tens of prey. Its not hard to gather others. Ill make a big circle around the plume of smoke, attracting all others in the vicinity. Once theres enough, Ill bring them there. The others arent smart. They dont have weapons. They dont have armor. The only advantage they have over prey is their numbers. Increasing the number of followers I have is the only way to survive.