A Rational Zombie

Chapter 91

A long time passed: four weeks. My injury is healed. I think. Its been bothering me less. My accuracy with the bow increased again, back to hitting with one out of two arrows. Im no longer hunched over from the bag on my back. It even feels lighter. Do I get stronger every time an injury heals? Ive been injured seriously twiceboth time, I became stronger afterwards. Is it a coincidence? If I injure myself on purpose, wont I get stronger despite not growing larger? If so, I should do it. But if its a coincidence, Ill have hurt myself for no reason. I might not even heal properly. The risk isnt worth it. I already know others cant recover from everything. Theres still others outside, lying on the hill, their legs broken or missing. Its been so long. Yet none of them moved.

Right now, Im packing the meat. It finished smoking a while ago. But adding on more smoke should preserve it for longer. Right? Im not actually sure. I shouldve conducted an experiment to find out. But its too late now. Even though four weeks passed, not a single prey came to the building. Maybe I wasnt paying attention if they did. They couldve checked inside, peeking through the windows. If they saw all the others, theyd definitely leave.

The others, theyre active. What are they stomping around for? Usually theyre idle, sluggish, unwilling to do anything. If theyre moving, they mustve caught sign of prey. Just when I thought there wouldnt be any while I was waiting, some arrived after I healed. How convenient. I finished packing away the meat first, wrapping the chunks in clear sheets before putting them in my bag. Then I moved to the window. I didnt see anything, no sign of prey. The injured others outside werent trying to crawl. I must be on the wrong side of the building.

I opened the door to the makeshift smoke room, went across the hall to the room directly across. It had a window too. But there still werent any signs of prey. Were they already inside? The others downstairs are all moving. Theres faint voices too. I cant discern what theyre saying over the others footsteps. In a crowded situation, the best weapon is a knife. Theres not enough distance to use my bow, too much cover for the preys if theyre already inside. The spear is too large, cant maneuver well in a crowd. The metal stick too. Only the knife works. But its risky.

Actually, I dont have to do anything. With over three hundred others on the first floor, the prey inside are as good as dead. But how did they get inside in the first place? Through the window? Are prey stupid enough to try despite seeing others at every step? They must be; otherwise, I wouldnt be hearing them. Theres no sounds of eating or panic. Just in case, I looked out windows for the last two directions. There wasnt any prey. If prey entered, they all entered at the same time, not leaving a group behind.

There wasnt any screaming. The voices were still speaking normally. Where could they be? The layout downstairs, there shouldnt be anywhere others cant reach. Unless the prey hid inside a closet. All the doors were wide open, the rooms filled with others. Even after so much time has passed, the others havent dealt with them. Ill have to check personally. Three hundred others, still unreliable. If only their intelligences could be added together. Maybe theyd add up to half a preys.

I went downstairs, stepping over the bodies that I used as a barricade to prevent the others from coming up. It was rotting, the smell pungent. Disgusting. But it works. As for the prey, it should be easy to find them. The others are all facing the same direction, shuffling into each other. Its clear where the voices are coming from. Getting past the others though, a little more difficult. At least Im not as large as a lot of others. Its easy for me to slip past. If I was as large as Big Other, itd be impossible to get through without killing.

cure.

Cure? The others are loud, not just their footsteps. Theyre groaning too. And drooling. Theyre trying to press their way into one room. All of them are at the doorway; I cant get in despite my small stature. But unlike others, theres another choice for me. I climbed up an other, then crawled over. And stayed on top. There were so many others, it was like another groundan unsteady, swaying, filled with gaps ground.

We are a hundred percent serious. Weve developed a cure. Come to the garrison.

The sound is coming from above. On a shelf, theres a black box with a thin stick poking out of it. The others are reaching for it, scratching at the walls. Other others behind them are pressing them into the desk beneath the shelf. It turns out there was no prey inside, only their voices. The box is a larger version of the long-distance communication tools I have. I think it serves the same purpose. But since its larger than the smaller version, its louder. Maybe the distance prey can communicate becomes larger too. Im not sure. If I could speak, I wouldve experimented with them.

Come to the garrison. Even if youve been bitten or scratched, we can cure you. We found the cure.

The prey on the other end of the box must be trying to communicate with the prey I already preserved. Its a shame I cant respond. If I could, I couldve tricked them into coming here. But it seems like the prey on the other end want prey to come to them. The garrison. Where is that? And the cure. Is it what it sounds like? If people have been scratched or bitten, they can be cured? It must be referring to the infection. The cure should prevent the preys flesh from turning black, prevent the prey from turning into others. Maybe, it can turn others back into prey? This garrison, I have to find it.