A Rational Zombie

Chapter 118

I shot one of the three prey. It fell over. But it was still moving. The prey that the three were hunting burst out into an even louder laughter. Great! Great! Blood splashed against the inside of the preys visor, coming out of its mouth, covering its vision. It ripped the dome off its head, discarding its greatest source of protection. Its eyes were unfocused, looking in two directions at once. The prey attacking it recoiled, taking steps back. Why? They shouldve taken that chance to advance, stab its exposed head. But they didnt. It looked like the prey would die at any moment from the blood pouring out of it. Maybe thats why the two prey didnt attack.

I readied my bow again. But the two prey ran out of my field of vision. There wasnt a way for me to shoot them through the window, not without ruining my posture, leaving myself wide open at the same time. Thats probably why they ran. But they left behind the prey that I shot. The prey without the dome stared at me with a wide smile. Thanks, buddy. But who are you? Aint one of our people, thats for sure. We dont wear janky helmets like that.

The prey that was on the ground reached forward. It pulled at the dirt, crawling forward. The prey without the helmet snickered before stomping down, crushing the crawling preys hand. Where are you going? Want to run? After stabbing me so many times, you want to run? Oh, thats right. You cant. Theres an arrow in your leg.

This preys dangerous. It should be dead. Or on the ground. Blood is pouring out of it. I can smell it even though the whole air in the garrison stinks of rot. The prey bent down, picked up a knife that was on the ground. Then it raised it into the air. The prey on the ground whimpered. The knife came down, over and over. Even after I was sure the prey was dead, the knife kept coming down. While the prey was distracted, I fired the arrow that I had prepared. It struck the preys face, a little underneath its right eye. The prey staggered backwards, raised its head. It opened its mouth. Blood poured out. It gurgled while walking towards me, its mouth opening and closing as if it were speaking. Was this an infected or a prey? It reminds me of the prey with spicy brains.

I dropped my bow, switched to my spear. When the prey came up to the window, waving its knife around, I stabbed its head, through its eye, attacking its brain. It collapsed. I pulled the spear out, licked the tip of it. There was a faint taste of spiciness. Were all the new prey like this? Ill die if theyre the victors. The chokepoint wont work on them unless I can kill them in one strike. Theyre like others, unflinching. But unlike others, theyre still agile. I have to help the old prey kill the new prey. But I have to find the right timing. I dont want to help the old prey too much; they have to be weakened enough for me to survive once all the new prey are dead.

But it seems like the prey have completely forgotten about me. The new prey shouldnt know about my existence in the first place. The old prey dont have time to attack me; the new prey are a greater threat to their survival. Can I take this opportunity to escape? Im not sure what condition my motorcycles in. But since the new prey are here, the southern road is safe to go through now. Maybe they left their motorcycles behind too. I didnt hear them during the shouting match between the prey. But theres no doubt the keys to the motorcycles are on the prey. Would there be one on the prey I just killed? Since it doesnt seem like anyones around this area behind the building, it should be safe enough to climb out to check.

I cant climb through the window with my bag on. I could push it through first. But what if a prey runs by, snatches it away? What if a group of prey appear around the corner, not letting me retrieve the bag while Im forced to retreat. This bag holds everything I need to survive, including food and tools for preserving food. I cant afford to lose this bag. Ill go to the entrance of the building, see if theres any prey around. Maybe Ill get a better idea of whats happening. The shouts arent as loud, arent as frequent. But theres still fighting going on. Neither side of the prey have run away yet. But its going to be soon. There werent that many prey in the first place. If they all split up into groups like this one I encountered, the results will appear quickly. One side doesnt flinch. The other side has strength in numbers. I wonder which ones winning.

I didnt encounter the strong prey on the way to the front of the building. I wonder if its still downstairs. Too bad I cant dig holes in stairs; I cant trap it. I dont have metal spikes either, used them all on the southern road. But it shouldnt matter. I dont plan on sticking around to fight it. Unless I cant find any motorcycles to use. If theres no motorcycles available, theres no point in leaving the garrison.

The front of the building was clear. The three corpses were still blocking half the door. There wasnt any prey in sight. Theres no way the prey would stay around in one place when theyre being shot at with arrows. Either theyd find a defensive building to take shelter under, or theyd charge the prey with bows. Whichever the case, they left the immediate area. I pulled one of the corpses off the pile to make space, just enough for me to crawl through with my bag and weapons. Then I circled around to the back of the building, where the prey with the spicy brain was. The sounds of prey came from far away. They mustve moved closer to the fence. Is it because the old prey pushed the new prey back? Or did the old prey retreat that far? I think the old prey retreated. The new prey dont flinch, dont waver. Theres no way theyd be the ones to leave the area.

I checked the dead preys body, searched its pockets, searched the bag on its waist. I couldnt find any keys. Didnt it come on a motorcycle? Why didnt it have a key? But motorcycles are pretty rare. What if more than one prey rode a single motorcycle? Then not all the new prey would have keys. This is troublesome. Im all alone, surrounded by prey. The prey are killing each other. But they have allies amongst themselves. Theres no one to help me. Every prey is hostile. And I have to find a key to escape? Maybe I should just find somewhere to hide instead. At least Ill live a little longer that way.