《A Rational Zombie (Complete)》Chapter 26
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The prey climbed higher. Up the trunk, onto a branch forking almost vertically away. Blood poured out of it, trickling down the bark at times, sprinkling below like rain at others. It sat in the fork, its limbs dangling over the sides of the branch like dead vines. It shouted something. I didn’t hear what it was. It was too high up, the others near me too loud. But it was probably a cry for help.
This area is a little far from the fire. The smoke is still there, permanently marking the fire’s location. Like a beacon drawing in all food. Will the fire last the day and night? I won’t be there to feed it. But if I leave, I’ll be alone, the others attracted to this prey. That’s dangerous. Traveling in groups is required. If I encounter prey by myself, I’ll die. Maybe I can kill prey if they’re alone. But prey never travel alone either. They’re like me, seeking safety in numbers even though they’re willing to abandon one another with ease. I’d abandon others too if it meant I would live.
The prey took something out of its bag. It’s hard to see. It also lifted the protection on its head, the flat panel sticking out, away from the glossy dome. The object in the prey’s hand was rectangular. Like a black brick. But it had something sticking out of a corner. A black finger? The prey brought the object next to its mouth, opening, closing its lips. Was it eating? There wasn’t any contact between the black brick and the prey’s teeth. There was no smell either. The prey was speaking then. Speaking into the black box. Why?
The blood coming down the tree was slowing. The trickles pulsing with droplets less often. The prey was running out of blood. Or it was healing, its bleeding stopped. Maybe the wound was pressed against the tree, preventing blood from leaking out. Is that possible? Applying pressure to a wound to stop it? With others, yes. Their blood is thick, ooze-like. Stopping it from leaving is easy. But the blood of prey is loose. Free. It spurts, sputters. But others and prey are the same. Perhaps it takes more pressure for prey to stop bleeding. But it should be possible. Testing will be difficult. The others will be attracted. But I have a perfect subject right here. Do prey recover from arrow wounds that quickly? Or is it only stopping the flow of blood? Planting another arrow inside of it will bring me closer to the truth.
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Twang.
The arrow missed. Badly. The distance is further than I’m used to. No, it’s not that. It’s the height difference. Like everything, the arrow is attracted to the ground. Shooting it up is difficult compared to shooting it down. It doesn’t reach as far as it should, losing power much quicker. I’ll keep that in mind. When shooting something, shoot from a higher vantage point for the greatest efficiency. Shooting on the same plane is okay. But not great. And shooting up puts me at a disadvantage. That also means I shouldn’t confront prey with arrow shooters if they’re higher up. If they build fences around a hill, it may be difficult to invade during the day. But at night, with no light, it should be fine. Even prey can’t shoot what they can’t see.
Twang.
Very difficult. The prey’s voice increased. But I still can’t hear what it’s saying. Why is it speaking into the black box? I want to know. But I don’t think I’ll find out. Some things aren’t intuitive. Pulling handles is very intuitive. Placing an arrow against a string, pulling said string, releasing the arrow, not intuitive at all. I only learned from watching. But watching this prey speak into a black box with nothing happening, I can’t figure it out. After the prey dies, when the box is in my hands, maybe I’ll know.
Twang.
Still difficult. My arm is getting stiffer, the string not pulling back as far. There is definitely a correlation. My aim goes down, the arrow shooter gets harder to use. But why does my arm become stiff? And how do I make it less stiff? Is it permanent? I hope not. I’ll stop shooting for now, in case it gets worse. Finding out whether the prey heals quickly or if it has a method to prevent bleeding is unimportant. Prey die when their brains are taken out. Like everything else. Bleeding is only important for hunting. And the smell lingers when the flow stops unless its masked. Like earlier, the glass cylinder filled with stink sauce. The rotting goop the prey used to deceive the others. If it weren’t for me, it would’ve worked. I wonder why it isn’t using more, pouring it down the tree, into the mouths of the others. That’d stop them. Maybe it ran out.
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Now that I think about it, is there a way to knock this tree down? The fire is fed with wood. Trees are made of wood. How did the prey turn trees into those neat logs to feed the fire with? They must’ve knocked down the trees. By pressing? It doesn’t seem like it. The others are swarming the tree. There’s no signs of it falling down, not even a little bend. Pressing isn’t it. Shaving? Like how I used the tool with the metal end to create spikes, shaving away at the wood. That must be it. They shaved away bits of the tree until it fell. But with the earth-turning tool? That’d take a long time. The fire would eat more than they could produce. Unless I’m using the tool incorrectly. And I can’t go back to retrieve it. I’d be alone. Is there anything else I can use? The metal stick? The arrow shooter? No. These don’t shave. They bash. They’d have to be flatter, like the end of the earth-turning tool. Wasn’t there something else? Yes. In one of the tents, there was another thing, maybe a tool like the earth-turning one. But smaller, the metal flat and focused on one side. I tried using it to make holes. But it didn’t work as well, so I left it alone. I should’ve tested it more thoroughly. And I should’ve brought it with me. I can’t carry that many things by myself. But I’m not alone. Like the ropes, the others can carry the tools. If they won’t carry them, I’ll tie the tools to them with rope.
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A Price In Memory
“The world is a dangerous place. If it wasn’t, hunters like us wouldn’t exist.” Resurrected and robbed of his memories, Gase finds himself in a body that doesn’t belong to him, with a past that is not his. Behind walled cities, people live their lives, clinging to what little safety they provide. Mages seek to regain the knowledge lost at the collapse of a past era. While beyond, hunters attempt to cull the ever-growing populations of beasts that threaten the very survival of humanity. And amidst all of this, Gase seeks to find his past and his place in the future. Unfortunately, all things have a price.
8 155Val Verde: Legend of the Supreme Leader
My name is Johnny Rico, and I was born to an island that has rarely seen good times. Between the machinations of Hydra, the greed of Cobra, and the do well intervention of the Justice League, or the Avengers. Val Verde has suffered. I have obtained the coveted title of the Supreme Leader. All of Val Verde is mine to command. Yet I have also inherited every problem that the previous Supreme Leader had neglected. It is as they say, there is no foundation quite like rock bottom.
8 77Pasted Gunner
John is ordinary highschooler at not so ordinary highschool. His favourite time-killing activity is to make fun of everything, classmates, officers, stupidity of others...All in all, he lives comfortable life, ok, not so comfortable in comparsion with normal highscools, but still. And then it happened. He was at trainig (read: slothing around) with his class when some egoistic entity copied his body and pasted it into some weird world. "Nah, at least better than learnig." thought John. He usually analyze the situation well, ufortunately, this wasn't that case. And so his adventurous (read: screwed) life begun. Tags: Guns, magic, chemistry, more chemistry, insulting assholes, etc. Warning: this is my first attemp to write something. And I don't have much time so at least one chapter per month. Warning No2: These content warnings aren't here just for fun. Warning No3: My English is far from perfect, so please, repair me and have some patience with me.
8 174The Sea Tower
Sea witches were monsters of legends, capable of routing armadas and wreaking havoc across entire realms by controlling the weather. It was rumored that even the mighty krakens were under the control of the sea witches. Who, what, or where these witches were, no one knew. But no one sought them out either. The avarice of a mad king leads to the folly of a kingdom. Only a single turret survived the catastrophe, a single tower which protrudes outwardly from a boundless ocean, rumored to house the very creature which wreaked havoc and devastation. Sailors are warned to give the relic a wide berth, for few who have seen the tower ever return to speak the tale, and none who have approached it ever have. Do not approach the tower, they said…
8 195LOSER > THE GOONIES
"You're such a loser." "No, I'm a goonie!!" What happens when two kids.. June and Mikey, have a love(+hatred) relationship towards each other? will they stop the hate? read to find out.[ # 1 in "mikeywalsh" ¿ ] [ IN EDITING ]
8 78Atlas Prime (Discontinued for now)
An AU of my AU where Izuku stayed in Germany. He comes back to Japan 5 years later after completing his hero course abroad. . . Cover art is not mine, I just changed the colours. All Might didn't retire as he had OFA while fighting AOF. Shinsho gets into to Hero course by replacing some rando.Tenya is saved by Endeavor and Shoto.And since All Might was still well and kicking, he was able to defeat Overhaul and with the help of Eri got his organs back. Which means All Might remains a hero and Nighteye is alive. Tomura is still hiding. Izuku comes back 5 years later as Rheinmetall's hero course lasts for 4 years. OP Izuku.
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