A Rational Zombie

Chapter 63

How did it come to this? What went wrong? I know most plans go awry upon first contact with the enemy, but I didnt expect it to deviate this badly. It was the repositioned caltrops that triggered it all. Brett stepped on one and drew the infecteds attentions towards us. Was the smart infected expecting us to come this way? Infected wont move caltrops around; they have no interest in things that arent living. Not only that, but it dug holes in the ground and covered them with plastic wrap with grass and dirt on top. Upon close inspection, theyre obvious. But why would there be close inspection in the first place? Vlads mobility was hampered by that spike.

Wait, Vlad, theres another trap.

They really are obvious after seeing them once. Theres four stakes stuck in the ground, pinning the plastic wrap into place. The dirt and grass cant hide the lumps. Ill dig it out and hopefully save someone else from stumbling into this. Its a very crude holetwo or three scoops with a shovel is enough to make it. But the wooden spike at the bottom. Its black.

Vlad. How are you feeling?

The fuck are you asking me at a time like this? Vlad avoided the hole in the ground while moving backwards. Theres a fucking hole in my foot, and Nelsons heavy as shit; my arms are killing me. Ive never felt better.

Are you feeling hungry? When Mark was stabbed in the eye, he had turned into an infected extremely fast. If this wooden spike had infected blood on it, theres a high possibility of Vlad being infected. But theres also a chance that the blood isnt infected. I dont want to alarm Vlad; people start acting irrational when theyre suspected of being infected.

Really? Vlad stomped backwards, almost stepping on my foot. Am I hungry? If I said yes, would you pull out a towel and a fancy little picnic basket? Have ourselves a tea party?

Anger is a symptom of an early infection. The virus or bacteria or whatever it is messes with the brain. It has to or people wouldnt be turning into brainless eating machines. But Vlad does have every right to feel anger right now. Two of his companions just died. And as hes stated multiple times, theres a hole in his foot. If he is infected, I hope its not obvious until after we make it back and hes in quarantine.

Perry, how are you holding up?

Id like to say Ive been through worse, but Im having a real hard time thinking of a situation shittier than being shot by my own arrow. I guess Im lucky it hit my hip and not my balls like Nelson over there.

Wait a minute. Why would the infected shoot you with your own arrow? It hit Nelson with wooden arrows. And after those, it started using yours, right?

Yeah? I guess? Its been taking my arrows off the wall.

Is the smart infected low on arrows? Even if its smart, I dont think it can manufacture arrows. Theres more to fletching than finding a straight stick and sharpening it. Crude arrows dont fly straight. I think it doesnt have its own arrows. Try baiting a shot. Step out from behind Vlad and point your bow at it.

And you dont want me to shoot back?

Yes.

Yeah, no. How about you do it instead? Id rather not have another arrow inside of me.

Perry poked my back with the back of an arrow. I turned around and took the bow and arrow. I slipped the arrow into place and stepped out to the side. The infected pointed its bow at me, but it didnt shoot. Was I too close to Vlad? I moved further away.

Bern?

Hold on. It still wasnt shooting, so I moved even further.

Twang!

I dove to the right, and the arrow whizzed towards the left. If I had dodged towards Vlad, I wouldve gotten hit. I dont think it wouldve hit me if I had stayed still, but thats something Id rather not leave up to chance.

What the hell are you doing? Vlad asked. He didnt move to cover me, so I scrambled back behind him by myself.

You said you couldnt do much because the infected was pointing its bow at you, right? If it runs out of arrows, then therell be nothing holding you back. We dont have to retreat just yet.

I retreated because it doesnt look like your fence can hold for much longer. Vlad took another step back. Unlike you, Im injured. If a hundred infected rush at me, I cant run.

Once I make it waste all its arrows, we can kill the infected pushing against the fence. Itll hold. I readied my bow and stepped out from behind Vlad again. I checked the ground for any traps before making my way further.

Twang!

I dropped down, pressing my stomach against the ground. The arrow went over my body. Thats two. How many arrows did you shoot at it, Perry?

How the hell am I supposed to know?

Dont you know how many arrows you started with? Count and subtract.

Uh, I just put arrows in my quiver until I cant fit anymore. Who actually counts that shit? I think I shot five or six or seven arrows?

Well, Ill just bait the arrows until they stop coming. Its risky. Im tempted to use my backpack as a shield, but then the infected wont shoot at me. Its not shooting at Vlad because it knows it cant hurt him. If I block its arrows, it wont shoot at me either. Luckily, its aim seems to be good. If I avoid where its pointing, I should be able to dodge everything.

Twang!

I jumped to the side, barely dodging another arrow. It passed right by my face. That was extremely close. If I had jumped a little further, it wouldve hit me. My hearts racing, and my legs are shaking. Ive seen videos of people running across the roofs of buildings, leaping across gaps thatll kill them if they missed their jump. I wonder if this is what they feel when they do it. I cant believe Im doing this. This is so stupid.