A Rational Zombie

Chapter 28

Prey are tricky. Theyll do anything to survive. Why should I believe the words of prey? They fool each other, wouldnt they fool me too? Im not dumb. The prey said itd give me more food than Id get from eating it. But thats dumb. All prey expire at the same time once they die. One dead prey, two dead prey, ten dead prey, all of them will feed me for a day. Its better to have one guaranteed prey. Wasnt there a saying? Better a prey in hand than ten at camp.

And I was right. The prey wanted to trick me, fleeing after I brought the others away, not waiting for me to come back. But I knew, knew how crafty prey were. Itd feel safe after I brought the others far away. But how could it know how far I was? Through sound. The louder a sound is, the closer it is. To trick the prey, it was simple. Louder sounds come from harder hits. To mimic me traveling further away without actually moving, I hit the arrow shooter and metal stick together softer and softer before stopping.

Prey see with their eyes, like others. To fool it completely, I guided the others behind it, out of its view. And once it felt safe, it came down. My first arrow missed. Hitting a target is difficult. Hitting a moving target is even more difficult. But the prey slowed down and turned around before yelling at me. I didnt care about what it said; the words were meant to distract me. Once it was standing still, I fired again. The arrow flew off course, veering to the side of the prey. But the prey did something unthinkable. When I released, it jumped to the side to dodge. And the arrow lodged itself into the preys abdomen.

The prey groaned and clutched its stomach. The others behind me stumbled forward. The sound of footsteps echoed through the woods. W-wait! Stop! The prey gasped, climbing to its feet. Didnt we have a deal? Youll get more food if you leave me alive!

I nocked another arrow. It wasnt likely to hit. But it was enough to frighten the prey. It ranno, it tried to run. But it was bent over, hobbling with awkward steps, leaving droplets of blood behind for the others to follow. The others are sluggish, slow when the sun comes out. Theyre sluggish after they eat too. Only when theyre hunting prey are they filled with vigor. The hobbling prey has no chance at escaping. It took off the bag it was wearing, increasing in speed by a tiny bit. But it wasnt enough. The others stretched their arms towards it, the spikes tied to their wrists stabbing into flesh. Or not.

The spike didnt plunge deeply. The preys clothes are thick, heavy. The arrows have a special property, penetrating despite being flimsy and small. The spikes on the prey are larger, heavier. But they arent as strong. Perhaps, for piercing flesh, smaller and lighter spikes are better. Or maybe its the feathers at the end of the arrow. The spikes dont have feathers. The spikes dont stab as deep. It could also be the speed. The arrows fly faster than the spikes move. There are many factors to test.

Wait! Wait! Please!

The preys on the ground. The others are swarming it, biting and stabbing. But their teeth cant chew through. Only the spikes are hurting it. And just barely at that. The prey is wriggling, squirming while stabbing at the others. With what? Is that a flat metal spike? Its lying on its back, grabbing the others hair with one hand, stabbing their eyes with the flat spike. Systematically killing the others near its torso. But the three others it killed are heavy. Their unmoving bodies pressing against its arms and chest, hindering its movements. And more others are coming to take their place.

This prey is surviving longer than all other prey Ive seen. The armored clothes. The glossy dome protecting its head. Can it even be killed? The arrows can penetrate its clothes. But can it break through the dome? The others are in the way, covering it. I cant shoot. If the arrows cant break the dome, is the prey unkillable? Its brain will be left intact. No. The first prey I ate, it died without me eating its brain. What a waste. Then prey can die without injuring their brains. But others cant. Others can live without bones, without stomachs, without anything except their brains.

The prey is still struggling, feebly. It wriggles, trying to get free. But the mass of others is too heavy. It cant move its arms. Cant stab with its flat metal spike. Cant lift itself off the ground. Im too small, too weak to even lift one other. Theres no way this prey can lift seven. Only its legs are still moving, kicking, flailing. But the strikes arent enough to kill others, not flexible enough to knock others off its chest and head. How long will it struggle? When will it die? The clothes its wearing, I want them. Clothes that can protect from bites, a dome that can protect from bites, a metal spike that stabs better than wooden spikes. Why havent I found something like this earlier?

But it makes sense. The more a prey has to protect itself with, the lower its chances of dying, the lower the chances of me discovering the things they use to protect themselves. What else do the prey have that I havent seen? The controllable metal hunks. The black box with the black finger. Theres a whole bagful of items that the prey brought. But Ill check whats inside after the prey dies. If it somehow escapes from this situation, I want to see. Struggle. Struggle more. Dont you want to live? Show me something new. But the prey stopped. Is it dead? Maybe. Is it pretending to be dead? Maybe. The only way to actually tell is by smell. Dead things smell like rot. But the prey covered itself with that stink sauce earlier. The others are stabbing it with the spikes, trying to grab it to tear its flesh with their nails. But their nails cant get past the clothes, like their teeth. It takes this many others to suppress one prey with armor. How many others would I need to suppress a whole camp of prey similar to this? Its a scary thought.