A Rational Zombie

Chapter 64

What is the prey doing? Does it not know how to use a bow? It isnt shooting at me. This prey is a different one; it doesnt have an arrow in its hip. Its standing there, letting me shoot at it. But dodging in some manner when I release my arrow. Like I can hear the preys bow, the prey can hear mine. But its dangerous for the prey, more so than when I dodge. When I hear the sound, I duck. Arrows cant pass through the fence. The prey has no fence to hide behind. It hid behind the big one with the shield before. But now its intentionally exposing itself. Why? Does it want to die? But if it did, it wouldnt dodge.

I only have a few arrows left. Is that it? The prey wants me to use up all my arrows. But how does it know I only have a few remaining? It doesnt matter. Its clearly not trying to shoot me. I waited so long without it taking any action. Even I can shoot a bow with this much preparation time. The prey is intentionally holding back. Its not shooting because it doesnt want to give me arrows. Its baiting me into using my arrows. And its not shooting me, preventing me from replenishing my supply. What do the prey intend to do once I use up all my arrows? There must be a reason theyre waiting. Fine. Ill shoot one last arrow, keep the rest hidden, see how the prey react afterwards.

Twang!

The arrow missed. The prey pressed itself against the ground again, the arrow soaring over it. My accuracy has definitely increased after copying the prey. But thats only on an unmoving target. To hit a dodging prey, I have to predict where itll go. Its all chance. It can go left, right, down. It can also stay still. But it doesnt matter now. I wont shoot anymore. What will the prey do if I lower my bow?

They seem to be talking. I can hear their voices. But theyre too far away to discern their words. Theyre muffled. The creaking sounds coming from the fence is loud too. Can it hold? Will the others press it down? Maybe I should kill some of them, stop them from moving. They want to eat the dead prey lying on the fence. I think it died from losing too much blood. Unlike others, prey can die that way. Thats why stabbing preys necks is so effective in killing them; it drains their blood. But others, they can lose their whole body without dying. As long as their brain is intact, theyll survive. But moving is a different story. Without flesh, they cant move.

The prey isnt shooting at me even though I dont have my bow readied. Like I thought, it doesnt want to give me any arrows. Theyre done talking too. The big one isnt retreating anymore. It lowered the prey it was using as a shield. Is it trying to provoke me into shooting it? Its eyes are hidden behind the domes visor. But I can tell that its looking at me. Watching. Waiting. But I wont shoot, wont expose the very few arrows I have left. Not until I figure out what they want.

After a bit, the third prey came out from behind the big one. The arrow I hit it with was still lodged in its hip. It was testing, seeing if I would shoot at it. Will it shoot at me? It took the bow back from the prey that baited me. The arrow too. But instead of shooting, the prey put the arrow away, back into the bag on its waist. It lay on its back, putting the bow off to the side. The prey that baited me walked away, picked up a white box lying on the ground, then came back. It touched the prey with the arrow in it. What was it doing? It took out a knife. Was it going to butcher its injured companion? No, its removing the arrow. Why doesnt it just pull the arrow out? Why cut away at it? I think I know. Its to prevent the blood from flowing. Blood only leaks out if theres a hole. But if the hole is plugged, blood wont come out until the plug is removed. In this case, the plug is the arrow.

The prey cut away the long part of the arrow. It lowered the injured preys pants, revealing skin. There was a white cloth inside the box that the prey took out. It pressed it against the injured prey. Is that to prevent the rest of the arrow from coming out? Most likely. The big prey is still watching me. If I take out an arrow now, itll pick up the dead prey, use it as a shield again. Its better to not alert the prey, not let them know I have arrows left.

Once the white cloth was in place, the injured prey put its pants back up before standing. It wobbled. Then it steadied itself. It seems like the injury would take a while to heal. My shoulder took several days to fix itself after I was stabbed by a spear. The prey should take several days as well. Perhaps even longer. Prey, theyre more fragile than others. Prey have multiple ways to die: blood loss, smashed brains. Others only die from smashed brains.

Were the prey going to leave now? Or would they resume fire? They seem to have done what they wanted to do: patch the injured prey up. No. Theyre not done yet. The big one, its sitting now. Thats right; the big one fell for my trap, stepped into a hole onto a spike. Its injured too. The prey with the white box took out a container with liquid in it. It took out the long white cloth too. The big one took the container, opened the lid.

Nows my chance. I couldnt shoot the prey before because the big one could use the dead prey as a shield. But its hands are full now. The other prey are distracted. If I dont shoot now, when will I? Theres no better opportunity than this. The big one isnt even looking at me, looking at its foot instead. Perfect.