A Rational Zombie

Chapter 111

The four prey approached the chokepoint. I readied my spear. I didnt have any traps prepared. Using my own strength, I have to fight prey. But Im smaller than them. My strength is weaker. But thats what weapons are for. The spear gives me reach, the ability to kill without getting hurt. Its a shame the prey have spears too. A direct confrontation is the worst. But its my only option. It could be worse. At least the chokepoint exists. The prey are hesitating, not entering the doorway.

What are you waiting for? Go.

Shut up. How about we switch? Ill stab, you block.

Theres no space for you to stab if I go first.

And you want me to go?

Youre skinnier than me. Look at how fat I am. Theres literally no way for you to stab around me if I walk into that doorway.

Stop wasting time.

Then you go.

Theyre arguing with each other. Are they scared of me? Like me, they dont want to die. If one of them kills me, thatll be perfect for them. They wont be in any danger if that happens. Thats why they cant decide who goes first. If I was the one outside hunting the prey inside, Id let the others go first. But the prey cant do that since none of them are dumb. Too bad I cant do anything to them while theyre hesitating. The bow takes too long to ready. Is there something I can throw? Nothing that can kill.

Just go up there and stab it!

Chill. It has a knife. The first person definitely needs to have a shield.

Alright, how about this? You take the shield and charge in. Dont even give it a chance to react, just bulldoze over it.

Why me?

You said it yourself, youre the largest. Theres no way itll be able to stop you. Just run up there, bash into it with the shield and hit it against the wall. Then, while its stunned, well take care of it.

It seems like the prey have a plan. Its not a bad one. If one of them rushes in, pushes me away from the door, my chokepoint disappears. Theyll all come inside. Then Ill be dead for sure.

Alright. Fine. Give me that.

The prey swapped its spear for the other preys shield. The shield wasnt that large, not enough to cover its whole body. It should be easy enough to stop. If the prey protects its head, Ill stab its legs, stop it from running. If it protects its legs, Ill stab its neck. The prey raised its shield up above its neck, below its eyes. The visor on its dome was clear, letting me see its face. Then, it ran towards me.

Instead of waiting for it to get close, I lunged forward as well, stabbing towards its leg. The prey brought its shield down. But it didnt react in time. The spear plunged into its thigh. Then the shield slammed down on the spear. I let go. The spears shaft lowered. But the head was still in the preys leg. It howled, its face contorted, before it stumbled forward. I took that chance to take my knife out of my bag, stepping to the side to avoid the prey crashing into me. Its neck was in plain view, unguarded. With a simple plunge, the knife sank into and through the preys neck. Its scream turned into a gurgle, its hand pressing against the injury.

Shit! Toby!

The three prey hadnt followed the first one. They were still outside, a few steps away from the doorway. It didnt look like they were going to attack me. And the first prey was still alive. While the prey were dazed, I stabbed the first prey a few more times, aiming for its arms, its legs. It wouldve taken too much time to take off its dome. Disabling its movements is quicker. Now, with the first prey in the way, the prey outside cant attempt another charge. The first prey is too bulky to run past. Maybe they can run on top of it. But prey are squishy. The footing isnt firm.

Fuck. What do we do?

Why didnt you follow Toby? It was your plan.

None of you moved either!

The prey were still arguing. While theyre busy, Ill retrieve my spear from the preys leg. And Ill stab the prey some more since theyre not done. Were prey originally this weak? Not all of them can be like Big Other. If they were, I dont think any others wouldve existed in the first place. Now that I think about it, the majority of others arent special. The only thing separating prey from others is their intelligence. But if you take that away, arent prey just weaker others? They panic easily. They flinch when injured. When they try to escape, they show openings to attack. Disregarding the fact others are easy to kill because theyre dumb, prey arent much better. They have weapons. But so do I. They can think. So can I. Killing sixty prey, its not impossible.

Shit, wheres the bows? Lets just shoot it.

Ill get them. You two keep an eye on it.

One prey turned around, jogged away. The other two prey grouped up, the one with the shield standing slightly in the front. They gave up on fighting me up close. I put my spear down, took out my bow. I expected them to charge at me, readying myself to drop the bow at any moment.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

But the prey didnt react. They just crouched down instead, making themselves a smaller target, hiding behind the shield. They seemed to be struggling against each other too. Were they dumb?

Let me hide behind you!

Get your own shield!

Why would I aim for the prey with the shield in the first place? The prey that left to get the bows, its back is defenseless. Its a moving target. But its moving in a straight line. It probably wasnt expecting me to use a bow, thinking the two prey it left behind would stop me. But why would they? Prey only care about themselves. Theyre unreliable. Any prey should know that, being prey themselves. I dont know why this one forgot. My arrow flew through the air, striking the prey in the back. I was aiming for its shoulder. But I missed. I hit its heart instead. Darn. But it didnt matter. The prey collapsed anyway.