A Rational Zombie

Chapter 10

The others finished eating the prey. The bits that they could eat. The prey still had bones, its skull still intact. The good bits were left for me. Once they were done, the others sat there, unmoving. Why? Once sated, they had no drive. They didnt realize the hunger would be back. So dumb. But some others didnt eat. There wasnt enough. One prey cant feed this many. How many? Forty. Ten are sitting, the ones that ate. Thirty is enough to hunt. These ten, should I kill them? No. But Ill test something. What happens to prey inside others stomachs? The hunger eats it. Maybe I can find the hunger. If I do, Ill kill it.

The others dont resist after eating. I pushed one down. Where is its stomach? How do I open it to check? The metal rod splits open skulls. Will it split other parts too? I raised the rod and swung at the other. I swung again, and again, and again. There was a cracking sound. But why? The other didnt open. The bones inside broke. That was the crack. But the skin isnt split. Odd. I broke the others chest, but it didnt open, it depressed. The skin sunk inwards. Is it alive? Yes. Its staring at me. I want to find its stomach. Theres an easy way, but its disgusting. Like prey, I can bite it apart. But Ill die from the taste.

What if I use the others? I pushed away the ones surrounding the prey. I swung the rod, breaking the preys arm bone. This is a good piece. I sucked out the marrow but didnt swallow. I spat it out and pressed it against the fallen others stomach, pushing as far as it would go. It broke the skin, disappearing inside. The nearby others groaned. One crouched down. It bent over and smelled the hole in the others torso. Was it going to bite? No. Even with marrow, its disgusting. But I discovered something. If I press marrow hard enough, it breaks skin. Why? Why does marrow break skin, but not the rod? Will bone break skin? I stabbed the bone fragment down. It entered the other. Black liquid oozed onto my fingers. Disgusting. But it worked. Why? Whats the difference between bone and metal? Ones harder: the metal. So why?

If it isnt the weight, is it the shape? The bone is pointy, jagged. The metal is flat, smooth. This stick on the ground, its pointy. Will it break skin too? No. It snapped. Maybe bones are special. Do all bones break skin? I pushed aside the others feasting on the preys marrow. I swung and broke off another fragment. It took four swings. I sucked out the marrow and ate it. Waste not, want not. I clutched the bone, pointy side facing down. I crouched over the fallen other and stabbed. The bone went in. Yes, bones are special. They penetrate, break skin.

I can find the stomach now. Wait. If others were prey brought back to life, the stomach should be there. The same place as the preys. On the left side, a little under the arched bones. I lifted my pointy bone and stabbed. Once. Twice. Three times. Thats enough. A hole appeared, oozing out black liquid. It stinks. Disgusting. But I want to know. I plunged my hand inside and grabbed. I pulled, widening the hole. I adjusted the light. The black liquid blocked my view; I scooped it away. Disgusting. Is that its stomach? The green sac. I put the light down and dug both hands inside, widening the hole further. The other groaned when I grabbed the green sac. I pulled, and it came out. It was long, most of it still inside. Makes sense. The stomach is connected to the mouth. Maybe through this tube. Whats the other tube? Ill check after. First, I want to see the prey.

I grabbed the bone fragment and stabbed the green sac. A hole appeared. I put the fragment down and dug, widening the hole. The others groaned upon smelling flesh. It smells delicious. The preys flesh is inside, sitting there. But wheres the hunger? Is it asleep? Where is it? Its stabbing tendrils, where are they? If I take its food away, itll rear its ugly head. I pulled out the flesh and bit into it. Its good but rotting. Unclean. I wont eat this; Ill anger my hunger. Its better to keep it asleep. I threw aside the flesh, letting the others fight for it. The fallen other groaned, drool pouring out of its mouth. It was hungry again. But the hunger didnt appear. Is it unseeable? Maybe it cant be killed. How disappointing.

Now to see where this tube connects. I pulled on the stomach. There was resistance. I pulled a little harder; the resistance disappeared. The tube is long. No matter how much I pull, it keeps coming. Sometimes theres resistance; tugging makes it disappear. How can something this long fit inside? Ive seen it before, when the others ate. This tube is scrunched up. Folded. Very interesting. The tube is stuck. Something inside is holding it back. The hunger? It must be. Ill find it. I put the tube down and stabbed the other with the bone, widening the hole. Black liquid oozed everywhere. Rancid. My hunger is upset. Is it scared? Scared Im getting close to finding where it hides? No; it just hates the smell. Disgusting. I hate it too. But I have to find it. I stabbed and pulled, stabbed and pulled, stabbed and pulled some more. Until I found it, the end of the tube. I didnt find the hunger. Only a butthole. How disappointing.

I stabbed the tube and pulled. It came free. The hunger wasnt holding it back. Then, is the hunger the other way? I grabbed the stomach and pulled. The other groaned again. The tube connecting to the mouth was stuck. I stabbed, but the bone didnt sink in. Only a little. The others bones were blocking it. Why didnt it have bones below? Odd. Ill use the rod. I swung and swung some more until the bone sunk in. Then I stabbed, splitting the skin, widening the hole towards the others throat. At the end, I didnt find the hunger. Again. Maybe it really is unseeable.New n0vel chapters are published on n0ve(l)bi(n.)co/m