A Rational Zombie

Chapter 3

The stores surrounded. Others are clawing away at the glass doors. Why? I dont smell prey. I cant hear prey. Is this a waste of time? Have others already gone in and eaten the prey inside like I did inside the metal hunk? There are handles on the door. To get inside, do you pull them? I would test, but the others are in the way. Theyre always in the way, and I cant move them. Dumb and consumed by hunger. I hate them. What are they surrounding the store for? They dont even know if there is prey inside. If I claw at this metal hunk, will others come and claw too?

Come. Come over here. I wish I could speak, but I cant. Only groans come out. The hunger is asleep, but its tendrils have scarred my throat. If they reach my brain, I dont think I can ever turn back to normal. Ill be like the others forever. I cant let that happen. The others should listen to me, the one who can still think. Come! Maybe Im not loud enough. Instead of clawing at the glass, Ill bang on the metal. Come to me. Get away from the door.

One of them is listening. Its turning away, coming here. Yes, thats right. Once one came, the rest followed. Yes, theres food inside this metal hunk. Claw at it while I investigate the store. The handle on the glass door is bigger than the one on the metal hunk. I pull on it, but nothing happens. Maybe this is the inside, and the store is the outside. I have to push? No, that doesnt work either. The glass trembles, but it doesnt open. Theres something stopping it. A loop of metal tying the two handles together on the inside. When I pull, the handles cant move because of the loop. And if the handles cant move, the glass cant open. How do I remove the loop inside the store if Im on the outside? Is there another way in?

No. It must be similar to earlier. I entered the metal hunk and trapped myself inside by closing the door. Something doesnt want me to enter the store. Prey? Others? Others selfishly eating prey? That must be it. I have to get inside. A store means food. There must be food. But how? How do I get in?

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What was that? The others are swarming inside the metal hunk I led them to. How? The metal sides arent open. The glass. They broke the glass. Can I do that? If I break the glass around the handle, I can remove the metal loop. But how did the others break the glass? Only the front part of the metal hunk is broken. It must have to do with heaviness. One of them was too heavy, and the glass broke. But how do I put something heavy on the door? Things fall down, not sideways. If I put something heavy on the handles, is that enough? How?

What was that? Did something move? Its dark. I cant see that well. But there was something behind the glass. Yes. Somethings moving inside. This isnt a waste of time. I have to get in. Am I heavy enough? If I put my feet on the glass and pull the handles with my hands, will the glass break? No. Im not enough. The thing in the store is moving again. Its coming closer. Its prey. I cant smell it, but its prey. It shouted and ran back. Others dont shout. Did the others hear? Yes, they did. Theyre coming here again. Before Im surrounded, I have to move. If they press me against the glass, I cant get out. Press. Is that enough? If enough of them push the glass, will it break?

I moved out of the way. The others swarmed the doors and clawed at it. Clawing isnt enough. They have to press. Like they did with the metal hunk. The others are spreading out too, surrounding the store again. Its not enough. All the others have to be pushing the door. How do I tell them that? With sound? I have to bang on the door. But the others are in the way. I have to hit the door without being close. Throw? Yes. I can throw something. There, a rock.

I threw the rock, but it wasnt loud. The others didnt notice. Theyre still spread out. Louder. I need something bigger to make a louder sound. What about this rock? Yes, this rock was big enough. It made a nice sound. The others are noticing. Theyre moving closer to the door. But there are still some on the edges. Louder then. I need an even larger rock. This rock is red and straight. Like a brick. Maybe it is a brick. Yes, I think it is. I threw the brick, and there was a loud bang. All the others have noticed now. Theyre swarming towards the door, pressing each other. The glass is creaking. A little more. Something bigger? This block. Its heavy; I can barely lift it. Another brick then.

The brick hit the door, and a crack appeared. All the others are pressing against the glass now. Its creaking. The crack is widening. Further. Longer. There. The glass is breaking. Now Ill, wait. No. If the others go in before me, then the prey will be theirs. That cant happen. But its too late. The door broke. The others are flooding in, leaving me behind. I cant get left behind, I have to hurry too. There are shouts, barely noticeable under the groaning and shuffling. When I saw the prey, it ran to the back of the store. Maybe I can find them before the others. But there are already a group going down the aisle, to the place where the prey ran. Theyre going to get there before me. They. What is this? The prey is here. There are five of them, but they, theyre fighting back. They killed an other.