A Rational Zombie

Chapter 56

I tested on one of the unmoving others. It took fifteen plates to expose its brain. Useless. Its head wasnt protected by a dome; the hits required were still doubled compared to killing an other with a metal stick while it wore one. Its not as accurate either. And with more distance, the number of plates needed would increase. As for the bowls, theyre like smaller, less effective domes. Ill let the others wear them. Maybe I can tie plates onto their heads too.

In the drawers underneath the countertop, there are small knives. They dont seem like they can cut anything. Perhaps its meant for the preys food that they keep in the metal box. That makes sense. The plates and bowls too. Now I understand. The food goes on the plate. Theyre afraid of setting their food on infected blood. Would that cause them to turn into others? Most likely. The innards I smeared others blood on turned black. The ones I didnt stayed pink. But as an other, I dont have to worry about turning. These items are useless to me. Unless. Can I turn back into prey if they bite me? No, it doesnt work that way.

There doesnt seem to be anything else of use. There are a few boxes underneath the depression in the countertop. Inside of them, theres glossy, thin material that looks like metal. Its wound up over itself, pulling on the edge extends it. It doesnt seem like it can be used for anything. Even my fingers can tear it. Maybe the prey use it to keep food off of infected blood. But once its used up, where do they get more? Prey create the oddest things. Or it grows on trees too. Other than the metal rolls, theres clear, translucent rolls. Theyre stretchier than the metal, harder to rip. They seem to serve the same purpose, being in the same place. No, therere more uses for these than just keeping away infected blood.

Like the tarp covering the first pit trap I saw, I can use these rolls the same way. Dig a trap. Extend the rolls over. Keep them in place with spikes. Cover them with leaves, dirt, make it look like theres no hole underneath. Then, when a prey walks over it, theyll fall in. Adding spikes to the bottom will cripple their movement. Even if they crawl out, theyll be hampered, smell like blood, giving the others a chance to catch them. I want to monopolize them for myself. But thats difficult. Trapping prey without letting others get them, there has to be some way. Other than killing all the others. If I have no others around, all the prey are mine. If I have no others around, Ill be in danger. What a dilemma.

Maybe I shouldnt worry about monopolized prey. I should worry first about trapping them. Two prey walked in on me, injuring my shoulder. I killed one while the other got away. Afterwards, I let the others out for protection. But what if the prey that got away comes back? It has knowledge of the building. Scaling the fence, it should be able to do that despite the spikes. I can climb the fence without being injured. Its only meant for dumb others. Yes, I should prepare some traps to catch the prey in case it comes back. If Im lucky, the others wont eat it if it falls into one. If Im not lucky, Ill still be safe. And Ill have brains to eat for the day, marrow for another. Theres no reason not to set up traps.

Luckily, there was a hole-digging tool outside, leaning against the building near the food-preservation room. I can use that, dig holes, add spikes, cover holes with these thin things, mask them with grass, or even others blood. As long as the prey cant see the holes. Place them right by the fence. Once they climb over, theyll fall right in, crippling their movement. If I move fast enough, I can disable the others in the surroundings. Yes, its perfect. But before I do that, there were still the traps the prey left outside that I want to gather. The metal spikes in the grass. And the ropes meant to trip others, making them fall on spikes. Those are obvious, wont work on prey. But the gathering the spikes means I wont need to create my own for my traps. And rope is always useful.

While the suns still out, Ill collect the metal spikes outside. Theyre hard to see in the dark. But the prey know where they are. They know the region to avoid; otherwise, wouldnt they step in them themselves? But I dont believe prey have better vision than I do. Theres no way for them to see these in the dark. If I relocate the spikes, shift the region theyre supposed to be in, wouldnt they be effective on prey? If not, at least theyd slow prey down. They wouldnt want to step on them if they saw them. While theyre crippled from my hole traps, theyll have to slow down even further to avoid these when trying to escape. Its perfect.

Ill move these rolls outside first. Place them next to the food-preservation room. The others wont touch them since theyre too dumb to realize their importance. Now, Ill climb over the fence since the others are still stuck at the only entrance, preventing them from entering or leaving. I still dont know how they did it. Maybe two or three tried to leave at the same time. As I thought, climbing the fence isnt hard. Its not very high, only a little higher than my neck. It mustve been designed with spears in mind. The spikes on the outer side of the fence keep others from approaching, keeps their hands out of reach. The prey dont have to worry about distance with their spears. If the others were more careful, they can maneuver through the spikey portion of the fence, climb over. But theyre not. Only I am. And prey. Thats why, I should add some of the tiny metal spikes onto the ground underneath the spikes on the fence. Make it harder for them to approach.