[ She straightens, twists at the waist. The now-visible forearm that drops away from her face is a mangled stump ending in a massive metal claw. It swivels and lurches, searching, snapping at the air, like a rabid dog straining against its chains. Alerted, the glowing nodes glow brighter, all over her body.
Stay away from me, she says, in that voice that sounds like three; less human than Simon’s, but more human than most, down here.
She takes a step. She limps with the weight of the claw and the uneven lengths of her legs, metal limbs leading in an archetypal zombie drag. The questing pincers chomp at her side. It brings her a little closer, but it’s mostly a lateral move. She hasn’t seen them, can’t see them. It looks more as if she’s playing hot-or-cold with the sounds of their presence.
Don’t come any closer!
Simon grabs Hank’s shoulder and doesn’t let go, leans in until Hank’s hair touches his temple and tries to catch his eyes — and if he can’t, he taps his shoulder insistently. He mouths “it’s okay”, exaggeratedly, so his lips can be read in the poor lighting — “don’t move” — raises a finger in a “be quiet” gesture, not out of reproach, but to indicate that’s still what they’re doing, that they’re not running yet. ]
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Stay away from me, she says, in that voice that sounds like three; less human than Simon’s, but more human than most, down here.
She takes a step. She limps with the weight of the claw and the uneven lengths of her legs, metal limbs leading in an archetypal zombie drag. The questing pincers chomp at her side. It brings her a little closer, but it’s mostly a lateral move. She hasn’t seen them, can’t see them. It looks more as if she’s playing hot-or-cold with the sounds of their presence.
Don’t come any closer!
Simon grabs Hank’s shoulder and doesn’t let go, leans in until Hank’s hair touches his temple and tries to catch his eyes — and if he can’t, he taps his shoulder insistently. He mouths “it’s okay”, exaggeratedly, so his lips can be read in the poor lighting — “don’t move” — raises a finger in a “be quiet” gesture, not out of reproach, but to indicate that’s still what they’re doing, that they’re not running yet. ]