A Rational Zombie

Chapter 46

Step 6. Let the halves chill overnight unless you think youre a cutting maestro who can make perfect cuts with soft meat (hint: youre not, Brandon).

Now I wait? Separating the prey into two halves wasnt difficult. It was tedious. But I realized something. This bone saw, there has to be a tool like it called a tree saw. Its cutting method can definitely topple a tree. I dont want to test it on wood though. What if it breaks? Using a tool outside of its intended purpose, it might get damaged. This is the only bone saw I have; the risk isnt worth taking.

The sun is setting; night is coming. The prey hasnt rotted despite all the time passing. The meat in the bucket is still fresh. Why? Compared to the prey that died and turned into others, whats different? Begging God to save them? There were plenty of prey thatve rotted despite not coming back to life. I ate their brains. But their meat didnt last long at all. I think it has something to do with blood, specifically, the blood of others. Why else are steps one and two the same? Theyre important. They dont directly contribute to the butchering process. But theyre the first steps in the preserving process. Even step seven mentions it again.

Step 7. Wash your goddamn hands. Its been a whole night.

Washing my hands, avoiding patting it down with my pants that might have infected blood, I cant think of any other reason. The blood prevents prey from preserving properly. Maybe, the blood is what turns prey into others. No, thats not right. I wasnt bleeding when I ate the prey in the metal hunk. Yet it turned anyway. Or is it? Perhaps theres more than one factor that converts prey. Theres a simple way to check. Theres two lungs that I took out of the prey. Ill separate them. One lung, Ill leave on a paper towel, keeping it off the ground. The other lung, Ill smear with blood from that dead other by the door. Then Ill wait, see if both lungs rot at the same time. The second lung should rot first if theres something in the blood that prevents preservation.

And there should be multiple trials in case its a coincidence. Ill split the brain into three parts. One to leave out without blood. Another to leave out with blood from a different dead other. And the third part to be eaten by me. The hunger isnt awake. But its nice to keep it sleeping. I can think more clearly when it is.

But what else? What other factors turn prey into others? God. But I cant ask him. I cant speak. Maybe my saliva. Or contact with my teeth. Contact with my hands? No, it cant be my hands. Ive had plenty of contact while butchering the prey. Ill test my saliva too. And Ill test my bite. I can test the dead others bites and saliva too. I cant test live others. Theyll eat the test pieces. Its a good thing there are so many parts inside of prey that I can split in half. The liver. And the kidneys. I dont have to cut the kidneys; therere two. And the guts, theyre so long. They can split into so many parts. It might seem like a waste of food. But it isnt. Im already full. And this will help me learn.

Now that I have all the pieces spread out on paper towels, I can add blood, saliva, bites. But these paper towels; where do I get more? Are they reusable? It doesnt seem like it; otherwise, they wouldnt be torn off the roll. How do prey get this? Maybe it grows on trees like rope. Though I might not know how its created, I do know where to get more. From prey. Paper towels are essential for drying to avoid wiping hands on bloody pants. More prey are bound to have it. There probably were paper towels in the cabins that I burned down. But I burned them down.

The test is set up. Untouched flesh on one side. Bloody, saliva-soaked, bitten flesh on the other. Once again, theres more waiting. Theres so little time in a day. Yet much of that time is spent waiting. I can do something else in that time. Like search the building, see if I missed anything. But I dont want to open the door; itll let the others out. Their sense of smell might be blocked off. But if they stumble into this room, theyll definitely eat everything I have prepared. I cant let that happen.

Theres other things I can do. The traps in the field, I can gather them. The metal points that were in the grass. The wires that tripped the others, killing them once their heads fell on wooden spikes. But its dark out, hard to see. I have the light in the cylinder. But what if I make a mistake? My vision is obstructed by the dome. The dome protects me from spikes impaling my head. Ironic. Ill trip more, impale myself more because of the dome. Its also unsafe to travel alone without the others around. If a group of prey appear while Im alone, theyll kill me. It might be difficult for them to do it with my dome protecting my head. But its possible. And thats a chance Im not willing to take. Maybe I should let the others out, come back to this shed, close the door. That way, they wont discover the prey. And Ill be safe if theyre out there. Its not a bad idea.

Are you sure this is a good idea?

Shut up.

What if they already ate all the meat inside?

The meats hanging on hooks. Theyre not infected birds.

Thatsholy shit. That scared the crap out of me.

Theyre already dead. Look.

Double tap.

What?

You heard me, double tap.

Youre being ridiculous. Its brain is hanging out of its head.

Always double tap.

Squelch.

See? Already dead?

And now theyre even deader.

A pointy stick just impaled one of the dead others head. It retracted, then stabbed into the other dead other. Its too late to let the others out. Prey have arrived. I cant see them, theyre still hidden by part of the wall next to the door. But it sounds like there are two of them. Im so dumb. If the prey are hungry, theyd come back to the place with food. I cant hide. I cant run. My metal stick is leaning on the wall, on the other side of the room next to the table. If I move, theyll notice me. All I have is this bone saw. And these knives. I wont use the bone saw; its too slow. The knives then. I have no choice but to fight back. I cant die before meeting God.