A Rational Zombie - Chapter 90

The motorcycles. They’re easy to control. The user manual was very thorough. If only the prey had openable bricks like this for everything. That’d be nice. Instead of learning by observing, reading is much easier. But there’s a problem with the motorcycles. They need fuel. And I have no idea where to get it. Unless I figure out how, the motorcycles are worthless to me. At most, they can be used for a quick escape. But then I’d have to push them along first, not using any fuel if I want to escape. If I go too fast, the others can’t keep up. And the prey must have a hard time finding fuel too. If they didn’t, then so many four-wheeled motorcycles wouldn’t have been abandoned. The first prey I ate inside of one would’ve driven away instead of waiting to die.

I thoroughly exhausted the fuel of one motorcycle while practicing. I don’t consider it a waste. I learned how long the motorcycle lasted on half a tank of gas. Definitely enough for me to escape from a group of prey, no matter how large. And I familiarized myself with controlling it. Reading is good for learning. But applying what I learned requires tests. But now, I can’t test anymore. The motorcycle is out of gas. I already learned what I wanted about controlling it. Now, I can figure out ways to deal with it.

The motorcycle doesn’t maneuver as well on grass compared to on the road. If the prey are going to drive them, they’re going to drive them on the road. With how heavy these motorcycles are, it’d be too difficult for a single prey to lift them out of a deep hole. But holes can’t be dug on roads, the place they’re mostly driven. And I can’t keep using the same method as before to deal with them. My arms will be torn out. Or my chest will break again after hitting a tree. It still hasn’t healed yet. But it doesn’t bother me too much, only interfering with my height.

It’s possible for me to tie the rope to an other, have it bear the brunt of the force. But that’s only under the condition that prey don’t know I’m there. If they’re alert, they’ll notice the rope. If it’s daytime, they’ll notice the rope. If there aren’t any trees nearby, I can’t tie the rope. There’s too many problems with my previous method. If prey on motorcycles were to attack me, I wouldn’t have a chance with that method. That’s why, I’ll figure out how to destroy these motorcycles by learning through practical experience—by destroying this motorcycle.

I’ve used the motorcycle for a while. The most important part of it has to be its wheels. Without the wheels, even if everything else is working, it can’t move. If other parts are broken, with the wheels, the motorcycle can still move by being pushed. Without the wheels, if the prey want to move it, they have to lift it. To destroy a motorcycle, I have to start with its wheels. Using a metal stick doesn’t work. It’s not like a prey’s head. It’s softer, more flexible. If anything, it’s more like a prey’s butt: fleshier, harder to break the bones underneath.

I’ll try shooting it with a bow. That’s what I should’ve done first. Chances are, if a prey is on a motorcycle, I won’t have the chance to hit the wheel with a metal stick or a spear. The motorcycle will run me over instead. The only chance I have is from a distance with my bow. It’ll be hard to hit the wheel with an arrow considering how fast the motorcycle moves. But what other chance do I have? The possibility is slim. But it’s the only one. If the arrow can’t do anything to the motorcycle, the only choice I have when facing off against motorcycles is to escape behind a tree.

I separated myself from the motorcycle. Not too far, not too close. I shot an arrow at it. And missed. Embarrassing. It wasn’t even moving. How was I going to hit it when it was? I readied another arrow, tried again, missed again. Odd. My hit ratio was one out of two after copying the prey. Third time’s the charm. I missed again. What was going on? Four arrows, five, six, all of them missed. Did something change? I’m using the same bow, the same arrow, the same posture. The only thing that changed is my injury to the chest, the loss of vision in one eye, a stab wound to my face. It must be the loss of vision. Maybe the broken chest too. Does this mean I can’t use a bow to defend myself anymore? How terrible.

I should wait. Let my injuries heal before hunting more prey. I have the meat smoking inside the building. I still have a lot of meat stored away in bags too. Even after waiting for my injuries to heal, I’ll have leftover food to last me several weeks. I’m really glad I learned how to preserve food. If I had to hunt prey every day, I’d die. After receiving one injury, another injury is more likely to happen. Injury after injury, eventually I’ll be injured to the point of being unable to hunt prey. With the food-preservation techniques, I can rest after every encounter without worry. It’s a good thing I prioritized finding a preservation method.

But in the end, that’s not enough. Just preserving food isn’t enough to satisfy me. I want to grow food, have an unending source of it. If I can do that, I won’t have to hunt, ever. Hunting is dangerous; my injuries are a clear sign. If I can create an unending source of food, I won’t have to worry about losing my brain to hunger, won’t have to worry about dying to prey. After that, I can spend my time leisurely looking for God, ask him about what I’ve forgotten, find out why he changed me. Then, maybe, I could even eat him.