The experience with the zombie really shook me. I didn't think it would affect me so much, especially since I had many encounters, particularly on top of the roof. But I guess the distance of 10 feet had made it less personal. Now, being so close, it felt entirely different. I knew I would need to go back in there. The zombie was wearing rugged overalls that would definitely come in handy if I could get them clean. Moreover, I needed to investigate where the power for the building was coming from and how much longer I would have it. There was also the other section of the building that could have valuable supplies. If I didn't get rid of the body, it might start to smell even worse. Zombies had a distinct odor, but I couldn't imagine it being as bad as a week-old corpse. There was also a lot of information to be gathered from examining one of them. The quicker I did it, the more useful the information would be. If they were still alive, warm, or full of parasites, whatever I could figure out would be helpful. I decided to sit in my chair, grab the Johnny Walker, and see how I felt in five minutes.

  I had no way of telling, but probably an hour passed. I put a pretty good dent in the bottle and was able to get the vision of the creature trying to climb up my body out of my mind. I started to put the precautions back in place. I collected the ladder and wedged it in front of the door. I knew that a blow to the head seemed to incapacitate the zombies when I was dealing with them on the roof, but I wasn't sure it killed them since it typically turned into a feeding frenzy every time one of them was taken out. Maybe they had some recovery or healing processes. I didn't want to be surprised again, so I went into full cautious mode, kicking myself for lapsing in the first place. I knew it was probably the alcohol, and now that I was even more drunk, I realized this was probably not the best time or idea, but the longer I left it, the harder this would be.

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  Again, I made some noise to try to lure out any potential threats after I unlocked the door, but I didn't get any reaction. I positioned myself to be away from the door, swung it open, and jumped back. To my relief, the zombie was exactly where I had left it.

  That was better than I expected. The possibility of another zombie was still not ruled out, and I've seen enough horror movies where the creature plays dead. With an abundant amount of caution, I quickly stepped in and stabbed the zombie with my trusty "Zombie PokeMaster 3000," a.k.a. my improvised spear made from a trekking pole. Poking the zombie felt like jabbing a particularly stubborn piece of overcooked meat that just wouldn't fall off the fork. No reaction. After a few more pokes, I was pretty sure it wasn't going to get up. The door to the power room was open. The immediate danger seemed to be over, but I wasn't going to let my guard down just yet.

  The experience with the zombie had left me rattled, but I knew I had to press on. The overalls the zombie wore would be useful once cleaned, and I still needed to figure out the power source for the building. Gathering my courage, I approached the body.