A Rational Zombie

Chapter 93

I didnt tie the motorcycle to the others until I reached the road. If I tied it beforehand, the others wouldve pulled it into a tree. Theyre not reliable. I have to create situations where they cant fail. I tied the motorcycle to eight others, keeping the rope tying them almost the same length. That way, they could walk side by side, pulling at the same time. It wasnt hard to get them to stand still. While the sun is out, theyre sluggish. Lately, theyve been getting sluggish at night too. Im not sure why. Hopefully it doesnt become an issue.

While fiddling with the box, I discovered a knob. Turning it increases the sound. Along the knob, in letters that curved, it said volume. It shouldve said sound. Maybe they mean the same thing. But with the knob turned to the highest volume, it was enough to project the voice of the prey on the other end very far. Especially on such a quiet path with the others footsteps as the only other source of noise. The preys voice echoed through the surrounding woods on either side of the road.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of others nearby, stationed along the edge of the woods. They mustve been attracted by the sound of the motorcycles when they passed through. But the motorcycles traveled too fast. The others mustve lost interest, turning sluggish instead. Now that a new source of sound appeared, the box in my hands, theyre becoming active again. Their population density is much higher. This time, I dont think I have to walk in a circle around the preys camp to gather others. All of them have already been gathered for me.

But why werent they on the road? If they were attracted to the motorcycle sounds, they shouldve been on the road, not alongside of it. Did the prey do something to prevent others from walking on the roads? It makes sense if they did. Their motorcycles cant travel smoothly if others are in the way. The others might die if theyre run over. But colliding against many of them cant be good for the motorcycles. The prey mightve marked the edges of the road with stink sauce. Or the trees by the side were marked. I dont smell anything. But it doesnt matter. Whatever the reason, the others are on the road now, following the voice coming out of the box.

Several hours passed. There was still no sign of smoke in the sky. What if the prey knew I could find them by looking for smoke? Then theyd stop burning their fires. But how would other prey locate the garrison? If they already knew the location, it wouldnt be a problem. Do prey really recognize all locations by name? If thats the case, I mightve walked past the preys camp already. They dont necessarily have to be at the end of the road. Like how the building I was just in wasnt connected to the road, just nearby it.

Ill climb a tree. The higher up I am, the further I can see. And the trees are blocking my view of the sky. Maybe there is smoke. Ill put the box down as I climb. It doesnt matter if the others reach it. I already know they wont try to eat it. Climbing up this tree is easier than the first time I tried. Last time, I had less stuff on my back too. Its because I got stronger. Once I reached the top, I raised the visor of my dome. Its tinted, wearing it obscures my vision. But it protects my face, a worthy tradeoff. I looked around, circling the tree too to get a full view of the surrounding sky. Way off in the distance, there was a tiny pillar of smoke. It was faint, possible I was just seeing things. But thats fine. It meant I didnt miss a camp if there was no smoke nearby.

I think any nearby camps were already overrun. Otherwise, why would there be so many others? After walking several hours, I already doubled the number of followers I had. And from my viewpoint above, I saw dozens of others ahead, walking towards the crowd, attracted by the voice. I climbed back down. The smoke was still quite a distance away. If I hadnt discovered the method to preserve prey, theres no way I couldve made the walk. The camps are too far away from each other. Id have lost my brain to hunger before getting there. Im lucky. I still have several weeks of food. Maybe enough to last a month. If prey didnt rot after being bitten, I wouldve had much more. But then there wouldnt be as many others following me. Theres a balance.

The sun is setting. But that doesnt matter. I have the cylinder that shines light. When it gets too dark to see, Ill use it. I dont think prey would leave traps on the road; they cant since the road is too hard to dig holes in. But I have to shine the light anyway, just in case. I might step on a spike. Or miss something important without light. I havent heard any motorcycles either. A shame. I want to test my metal spikes on them. But even if there was one, all the others would be attracted to it. The prey would probably flee before running into my spikes.

The voice coming from the box changed. The pitch is lower. It must be a different prey. The first prey mustve gotten sluggish, went to bed. Another took its place despite it being nighttime. Maybe, like me, for some prey it doesnt matter whether its day or night; they wont get sluggish. I still dont know why the others get sluggish. The only difference between us is I eat food every day. And Im smarter. But the others, after eating, they turn sluggish. I dont. It cant be about food. Then its because theyre dumb. Their bodies dont realize they have to keep moving to find prey, to secure food. They think itll come to them instead. Which isnt wrong. They just have to wait a very long time. But I cant afford to do that. I still have my brain. It must be fed every day.