A Rational Zombie

Chapter 102

The prey know of my existence. They know they lost three prey to me. They know I listen to their voices through the black box. So why? Why havent the prey done anything? The message still comes through the black box. Come from the south, the herd is heading north. Are the prey giving up? Giving me free prey to eat? Im in the south, digging traps while waiting. But nothings happening. Maybe, the prey have another black box that connects to different ones. The information Im getting could be different from the ones prey are getting. Its impossible for me to know.

Or the prey arent coming since its night. They get sluggish, resting in beds. Then I have to wait for morning. Is making traps all I can do? No, I can scout the garrison. If its night, are the prey with bows still waiting by the fence? Im far enough away from the garrison that the sound of the others shuffling and groaning dont reach the prey inside. That also means I cant hear the prey. Its a long walk to the garrison. But I have time. Maybe Ill find a way inside during the night. It was too well-defended during the day. Even if I dont find a way in, I can stick to the same plan. Hunt the prey outside. Wait for the prey inside to come out, leave their defenses behind.

It took a while to arrive at the garrison. I crawled to avoid tripping. I didnt want to shine a light, in case prey noticed. The south of the garrison, theres a hill overlooking it. The view is much better here. Theres tall trees that I can climb for an even higher vantage point. At night, the garrison looks the same. There are still prey with bows waiting around the fence. But theres less prey wandering around. I suppose most are resting in the buildings. If I wanted to approach the garrison without being noticed, it might be possible. The fire inside the garrison lights up the prey. But theres nothing over here producing light. I dont think the prey can see me. Then why are the prey with bows waiting around outside? There arent any ropes with metal on them, nothing to produce sound. Is there something else that alerts them? I want to check by approaching. But its dangerous. An unknown method of detection; I wont know how to avoid it. Then Ill be shot at by arrows. How tricky.

Is there no way inside? It doesnt look like it. Actually. Theres a hill. Theres tall trees on top. Havent I encountered a situation like this? When I brought the others to attack the building on top of the slope, the prey stopped the others by rolling trees down. Can I break the fence if I roll trees down? The trench might be a problem. But it might not be. If I cut down all the trees on top of this hill, a few trees might fill the gap, the rest crossing over to knock over the fence. Yes, it might work. Its a good thing I encountered those earlier prey. Their ideas are useful. Ill cut these trees. But the wood-cutting tool is too loud; the prey might notice. Ill have to use the bone saw. Its quieter. But its slower too. But that doesnt matter; I have plenty of time.

Ill cut these trees to the point where I only need to push for them to fall over. If not a push, I can put the hole-digging tool into the cut, then step down on the tools handle, forcing the trees to fall. Ive cut down a few trees before, to test the wood-cutting tool while waiting for my food to preserve. Its easier to cut out a small piece of wood on the side I want it to fall, then cut a line from the opposite side. But its difficult. The bone saw is small, the trees large. Theres not a lot of room to move the saw back and forth. This is going to take a while, a lot longer than I first expected. But it still doesnt matter. I have food. I have time. As long as its dark, I can continue.

I dont know how long it took to get one tree ready to fall. I didnt count. But I ate before I started. And Im not hungry now. It couldnt have taken too long. I still wasnt hungry by the second tree. Or the third. After the fourth, I needed to eat. I dont think the prey noticed me. I was the only one making sounds throughout the night. But they never shined a light up to check. And if they cant see me, they dont know Im cutting trees. When I got to the eighth tree, the sun was rising. As long as I crouch behind the tree to saw, they cant see me. It makes cutting even slower. But thats fine. Ill make this tree my last, then return to the others, see if I can catch any prey today.

When I was almost done readying the tree, a large sound came from the garrison. Lots of shouting, lots of banging. Lots of noise. What was going on? I finished up the last few strokes with my saw. Then I put it away. I poked my head out from behind the tree in case they noticed me, ready to shoot me with an arrow. But they werent. The prey were inside the garrison, all of them gathered around the south area. They were standing like a herd of infected with their hands cupped around their mouths. And they were shouting. A few prey were standing next to the fence, banging on it with metal sticks. Its almost as if they were trying to attract all the others in the area to them. But why? No, it makes sense for them to do that. Instead of leaving their defenses to fight the others, the prey are luring the others to their advantageous position. The thought of prey controlling my others with sound never crossed my mind at all. How dare they.