Desertcrawler

9

Hunger and thirst had brought out the animal in him. All his thought processes, his memories, and his purpose for moving towards zone thirteen had been reduced to a single animalistic intuition: survival. His wife and daughter had vanished from his mind and in its stead came food and water. He was transformed to such an extent now, that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill for those. He had torn open all his clothes and had gotten stark naked. He had eaten his clothes, for god’s sake! He was not a human anymore! After he had finished his meal of the fabric, his hunger was stilled somewhat but his thirst? How could he quench his thirst? Where would he find water in this vast dryland? His eyes fell on his legs. Yes! His useless legs… full of meat… and blood to quench his thirst… yes! He sat up and leaned forwards, towards his feet. He crunched his left thumb toe and chewed it off. There was no pain. The nerves were gone. Good for him. Thickened blood oozed out of the foot. The lack of oxygen had turned his blood darker. But what did it matter? He put his foot in his mouth and sucked on his. The coppery taste of the blood relieved him and calmed him down. The blood trickled down his throat and he felt it moistening his cracking throat. He had never felt so much satisfaction. He sucked till the bleeding lessened. Then he lay on his back and rested. Jake was not Jake anymore. He had been transformed into an animal. A creature with nothing else but survival as his purpose in life. He had become the Desertcrawler.