Lucky Seven Challenge: "Battle for the Wastelands"

Gary Henderson, a member of the Lawrenceville writing group I've referenced, just tagged me in the "Lucky Seven Challenge." Here are the rules:


Go to page 7 or 77 of your latest work. Read down to the seventh line and then post online the next seven lines or sentences. Then head off and tag seven more writers.

So here are seven lines, beginning on the seventh line, of page seven of my novel Battle for the Wastelands.


He wiped the blood and bits of brain onto his sleeve. Not wanting to let anything go to waste, he picked a particularly large bit off his arm. He swallowed it whole, ignoring the unpleasant taste and texture. 
He looked at his kills. There was no way he could carry both of them home. He’d have to cut them up and pack the meat into his leather bag.

This tidbit provoked a particularly vivid expression of disgust from one of my fellow group members, but this isn't an exercise is gratuitousness. The "he" in question is protagonist Andrew Sutter and he's hunting a dangerous post-apocalyptic mutant critter known as a "ripper" for food during a drought that has left his hometown on the verge of starvation. He's just killed it, at ranges far too close for comfort.

Now here are my seven nominees for the contest: Sean CW Korsgaard, Nicolas Hoffmann, Matt Schafer, Chris Nuttall, Alex Shalenko, Rob Gilliam, and J.M. McDermott.