A Rational Zombie

Chapter 55

Ive taken all I can out of this room. Its time to move on. Maybe take multiple trips. Carrying everything at once is impossible. Im too weak, my arm is injured. Even if it wasnt injured, Id still be too weak. Ill take the woodcutting tool first. And the tool case. Theres a handle on top, easy to carry. Its a bit heavy. But I can lift it. Do I need to move these tools to the food-preservation room? Or is it enough to know that theyre here? It might be better to move them. Its the most important place. If Im ambushed again, if Im forced to flee, Ill have everything I need in one location. Food, tools, what more is required?

But I seemed to have missed something in the lobby. Theres another door behind a counter. I didnt notice it earlier, too distracted by the twitching others on the ground. The first time I entered, the lobby was crowded too. Whats in here? Prey? Should I call the others? Ill lower the glass on my dome, protect my eyes. The woodcutting tool, it can probably be used on heads too, preys or others. It seems solid enough. And the top portion is made of metal. I cant smell or hear any signs of prey either. Ill open it.

Behind the door, there was another room. It was brightly lit by the sun. But there werent any windows on the walls. Most of the ceiling was glass, letting in light through there. Thats why I didnt notice while I was outside. How did prey construct a building like this? How do they make glass? If I watch prey long enough, will I find out? Maybe if the prey started from nothing, constructing a building for shelter. But it doesnt seem likely.

The room was filled with cabinets. There was a countertop with drawers underneath. The surface of the countertop had a depression, a huge metal one with a circular drain at the bottom. There was a spout hovering over the depression, a handle next to it. The handle could twist, rise, wiggle. But nothing happened when it did. Im not sure what the purpose of this is. But it feels very familiar. As if Ive used something like this many times before I lost my memories. Or its designed in such a straightforward way that theres only one obvious way to use it. But the others wouldnt figure it out. They dont understand handles, dont understand movable parts.

Beside the countertop, theres a white box. Its large, impossible to move. Its as tall as the counter with a little extra sticking out of it. On that extra portion, theres knobs that can be turned. When they turn, theres a clicking sound. And fire comes out of the four black circles underneath black squares thats on top of the box. Each knob corresponds to one circle. Interesting. Theres no wood nearby to burn. Why is this here? It doesnt make much sense. But theres a tube attached to the box, leading to a canister: Propane. What happens if I remove the tube? The fires go out. And theres a loud hissing sound coming out of the canister. It smells rotten. Ill put the tube back on. But the fires dont start again. Turning the knobs a few times relights the flames. Removing the tube puts out the flames. Turning the knobs a few times doesnt do anything; the flames are still gone. Is the fire fueled by the smelly gas? It must be. Theres no wood burning. Its similar to the fire in the box that I took from that prey. It goes out when I lift my thumb off the button. Perhaps theres propane in the little fire box.

But enough of this. Theres an even bigger box made of metal. Its taller than me. I cant see whats on top. Its split in two, two handles next to each other. I pulled on them, the side of the box swinging open. On the left side, theres white mist pouring out. On the right side, theres a light inside. The left side has solid items, stiff and blocky. They seem like food products. But I already know preys food isnt meant to be eaten by others. Maybe I can use these as bait. Like the prey placed dead dogs at the bottom of pits, I can place these packages of chicken nuggets at the bottom. I dont know if itll work. Prey arent that dumb. They can climb down pits, unlike others. The others just fall in.

The right side, theres lots of bottles. Many, many bottles of clear liquid. Spring water. Theres also some more food similar to the pork I found in the convenience store, wrapped in plastic, resting on the shelves inside the metal box. It doesnt seem like theres anything useful inside. I closed the doors to the box. Connecting to the metal box, there was a black wire which was connected to another metal contraption. It had a skeletal box frame. But a cylinder was suspended inside. There was a label: gasoline generator. It generates gasoline? What happens if I disconnect the wire? The metal box stopped humming. It wasnt very loud before. I didnt notice the noise until it was gone. The light inside the metal box turned off. It seems like the metal box is similar to the other box. Gasoline lights up this one, propane lights up that one.

Other than the countertop, boxes, canisters, there was a table. Just a table, nothing special about it. There were chairs too. If I ever run out of wood when I need to start a fire, I could use these. The preserving process of meat does involve fire. But I have enough wood; there was some inside the room. In the cabinets above the countertop, there were bowls, plates, cylindrical containers. Throwing weapons? Ill try to kill an other by throwing these at it, see how many plates are required. But I have a feeling theyre not very effective.