Turn 151 of 226

Become the undisputed rulers of the outskirts. The authorities still come after us. We kill and eat them gleefully.

The outskirts are the thing the bodies take. The taking is not the thing the bodies announce. The taking is the thing the bodies do by being — the being that is the thing the 1,250 pounds does on the concrete, the being that is the thing the scent does on the wind. The coyotes know first. The coyotes are the things that find the kills and the kills are the things that smell of the bodies and the smell is the thing the coyotes avoid. The avoidance is the thing the territory starts with. The raccoons are next. The feral dogs are next. The dogs are the things that the bodies kill and the things the bodies eat and the things the bodies leave for the others. The others are the things that find the scraps and the scraps are the things that carry the message. The message is the thing the scent delivers. The message is the thing the blood delivers.

The first patrol is the thing that comes on the third day. The patrol is the thing that is six men with the vests and the weapons. The six men are the things that enter the drainage network from the north entrance. The north entrance is the thing the bodies expected. The expecting is the thing the radio taught — the radio the bodies kept, the radio that is the thing Lena monitors in the culvert. The monitoring is the thing the animal does. The animal is the thing that knows the territory. The territory is the thing the bodies own now.

The six men die in the junction. The junction is the thing the bodies chose three days ago. The choosing was the thing the bodies prepared for. The preparation was the thing the drainage channels gave — the channels the bodies blocked, the channels the bodies opened, the channels the bodies turned into the things the men must enter single-file. The single-file is the thing Lena takes from the ledge. The ledge is the thing Diane takes from behind. The six men are the things that do not leave the junction. The leaving is the thing the bodies do with the bodies. The bodies are the things Lena drags to the creek. The creek is the thing the blood enters. The blood is the thing the bodies do not waste.

The eating is the thing Lena starts on the third man. The starting is not the thing Lena plans. The planning is the thing the human does. The human is the thing Lena is not. The hunger is the thing the body feels after the killing. The killing is the thing that is the exertion. The exertion is the thing that is the hunger. The hunger is the thing the body satisfies. The satisfying is the thing the teeth do in the shoulder. The shoulder is the thing the meat is. The meat is the thing the blood runs from. The blood is the thing Lena's chin catches. Diane joins on the fifth man. Diane's teeth are the things that find the thigh. The thigh is the thing Diane tears. The tearing is the thing that is the animal. The animal is the thing that eats the kill.

The second patrol is the thing that comes on the fifth day. The second patrol is the thing that is twelve men. The twelve men are the things the bodies hear from two kilometers away — the diesel engines, the radio chatter, the boots on the gravel. The twelve men are the things that bring the rifles. The rifles are the things the bodies respect. The respect is the thing the ambush is for. The ambush is the thing the dark is for. The dark is the thing the bodies own. The twelve men enter the network in three groups of four. The three groups are the things the bodies take separately.

The first group is the thing Lena drops from the pipe overhead. The pipe is the thing the bodies climbed inside. The climbing is the thing the upper-body strength does — the strength that is 1,250 pounds hanging from rusted iron, the strength that waits in silence. The silence is the thing the first man breaks with his scream. The scream is the thing the second man hears. The second man is the thing Lena's leg catches in the jaw. The jaw is the thing that breaks. The third and fourth are the things Diane takes from the shadow — the shadow that is the thing the junction light does not reach. Diane's hands are the things that find the throats. The throats are the things that end.

The second group is the thing the bodies hear running toward the screams. The running is the thing the bodies want. The wanting is the thing the funnel is for. The funnel is the thing the channel makes — the channel that is the thing the bodies blocked with debris two days ago, the channel that forces the four men into the space the bodies control. The control is the thing Lena's push kick establishes. The push kick is the thing that sends the first man into the second. The second is the thing that stumbles into the third. The third is the thing Diane's double-leg takes. The taking is the thing that drives the man into the concrete. The concrete is the thing the man's skull finds. The fourth is the thing Lena's elbow catches. The catching is the thing the temple does not survive.

The third group is the thing that does not enter the network. The third group is the thing that stays at the vehicles. The vehicles are the things the bodies find in the dark. The dark is the thing the bodies circle in — the circle that is the thing the perimeter check does not cover, the perimeter that the men set facing the drainage entrance. The entrance is the thing the bodies are not at. The bodies are behind the men. The behind is the thing the dark hunt taught. The first man is the thing Diane's arm wraps from behind. The wrapping is the choke. The choke is the thing the second man does not hear. The second man is the thing Lena's hand covers the mouth of. The covering is the thing that is the silence. The silence is the thing the third and fourth men die in.

The gleeful is the thing the bodies share on the concrete beside the vehicles. The gleeful is the thing the laughing is. The laughing is the thing Lena does with the blood on her teeth. Diane's laughing is the thing the blood on her chin does. The blood is the thing the bodies kiss through. The kissing is the thing that is the joy — the joy that is the thing the killing gives, the joy that is the thing the hunting gives, the joy that is the thing the animal has when the animal wins. The winning is the thing the bodies do. The eating is the thing the bodies do after. The eating is the thing the bodies do on the concrete beside the vehicles. The vehicles are the things the bodies strip for the supplies — the supplies that are the water bottles and the radios and the things the bodies do not need but the things the bodies take.

The taking is the thing the message does. The message is the thing the bodies leave on the concrete — the concrete that is the thing the blood writes on again. The writing is the thing the finger does in the blood. The words are the things that say WE WARNED YOU. The words are the things the bodies leave and the leaving is the thing the bodies do deeper into the outskirts. The deeper is the thing the bodies go. The going is the thing the bodies do together. The together is the thing the bodies are. The bodies are the things the authorities cannot stop. The stopping is the thing the authorities try. The trying is the thing the bodies eat.