A Rational Zombie

Chapter 43

The prey collapsed. I dont think its dead. I didnt damage its head. But its not moving. Its arms and legs are broken, the flesh puffing up like the others did when I broke their bones to test. It screamed a lot, attracting a couple of others attentions. Most were trapped in the building. There were a couple that came from the woods. But they tripped over wires, impaling themselves on spikes, dying instantly. Nothing is going to prevent me from taking this prey.

Its too heavy to lift. But I can drag it; the back of the building isnt very far. There isnt that much space inside, with the dead others from before just laying around. I dragged those out first before taking the prey inside. I didnt close the door. It was dark inside the room. Without the sun, itd be too hard to see. There werent any windows either. The prey groaned, signaling it was still alive. It didnt smell like an other, meaning it hadnt died.

Now, what was the method to preserving meat. I took the openable brick out of my bag, flipping it open. Here it is, salting instructions.

Step 1. Wash your goddamn hands.

Wash my goddamn hands. What exactly does that mean? Ill skip it for now.

Step 2. Make sure your goddamned hands are washed.

It must be important to wash my goddamn hands if the first two steps are identical. Is the next step the same?

Step 3. Dry your hands (not on your pants that have infected blood on them!).

Its not. Drying my hands, implying theyre wet. From the previous two steps? There must be some way to wash my hands inside this little room. The prey come here to preserve food. It doesnt make sense if the food preservation steps cant be taken in the food preservation room. But theres nothing wet around here except the blood on the ground from the others. But the third step implies I want to avoid others blood. The first two steps are already impossible to do. If only the prey didnt attract the others attention earlier. I couldve watched the prey wash their hands. Maybe I missed something. Ill go through the room again.

Theres a table, rectangular, pressed up against the corner of the room. On the table, in the corner, theres a bag with a white powder in it. I dont think its used to wash my hands. Above the table, attached to the wall, theres a shelf. Theres a bag on top of it. Inside the bag, theres a white substance. It looks dry, cant be it either. Next to the bag, theres multiple cylindrical containers. Theyre see-through. But theres a label on them: Sodium Nitrite. Inside, theres another white substance that looks dry. Theres nothing else on the shelf.

Underneath the table, attached to it, theres a drawer. Thats where I found the openable brick. Theres nothing else inside. There were the flat metal sticks with the pointy ends. But I already took those earlier. Underneath the table, theres a box that can be opened. I didnt realize I could open it the first time I was here. Its similar to the boxes by the foot of the preys beds. Theres a latch that I can flip, allowing me to lift the lid. Inside, theres more cylindrical containers, dozens of them. Theyre filled with liquid. Hand sanitizer. Is this it? It must be. Its wet. Its applied to the hands. This container is half full. It mustve been used before. How do I open it? Theres a lid, similar to the box. Apply a little pressure; it pops open.

But first, I should untie the metal sticks attached to my wrists. I wouldnt want to stab my hands while washing them. The hand sanitizer is viscous like others blood. Not like preys blood which is runny. There, I washed my goddamn hands. I inspected them, following the second step. They looked washed. No longer smudged. Now to dry them. If I cant wipe them on my pants, can I use my shirt? If the point is to avoid others blood, probably not. But the liquid is disappearing on its own. If I wait a bit, my hands will dry.

Step 4. Make sure the table is clean. Imagine washing your goddamn hands and the table has infected blood on it.

The table has blood on it, from the others I killed earlier. The blood is dry. Will applying hand sanitizer to it clean it? Maybe. But then what? Do I wipe it away with my hands and wash my hands again? No, if that were the case, the fourth step wouldve been the first step. There must be something else. Beside the box underneath the table, theres another box. Inside of it, theres a roll of paper towels. Maybe this is what I was supposed to dry my hands with. I can use this to wipe away the blood and sanitizer. Okay, the table is clean.

Step 5. Place the meat you want to preserve on the table. Make sure the meat is butchered and prepped properly (this is specifically directed at you, Brandon). If you dont know how to butcher and prep, turn to page 32.

I dont know how to butcher or prep. Page thirty-two. The brick has numbering on the bottom corner. It seems the slices of the brick are called pages. And heres thirty-two. Berns Butchering Guide Prepared Specifically for Brandon (and any other city dweller who ends up coming here). Ideally, whoever hunted the game will have already done these steps but removing a deers entrails right after killing it is a great way to attract infected, so dont be surprised if the hunters bring it back without dressing it.

Step 1. Determine whether or not whatever youre butchering is alive. If its alive, go to page 34. If its dead, go to step 2. (Its dead if its dead, Brandon. I can already hear you asking dumb questions.)

The prey is alive. Page thirty-four it is. And it seems like the prey is active again, no longer sluggish. Its screaming. At this rate, it might attract the others. What if they press through this wall? Thatd be a disaster. Ill hit the prey into sluggishness again. Then Ill start with the food preparation.