A Rational Zombie

Chapter 99

It dodged just now, didnt it? You all saw that, right?

Well, Ill be. Chris was right about the infected listening in on our broadcasts. Its radios still playing.

The prey in the trees are relaxed. They havent readied their bows after shooting, chatting with each other instead. Are they dumb? Confident? Both? The others cant reach them; theyre too high up. But that doesnt mean I cant shoot them with arrows. Theyre wearing armored clothes. Domes on their heads. The standard gear of prey, similar to what Im wearing. Theres three of them. In the time it takes me to shoot one arrow, they can shoot three. Im at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. But Im in a better position.

The three prey, theyre up in trees, unable to be attacked by others. But its actually not that good for them. If I shoot an arrow at them, how will they dodge? By jumping off the tree? They cant. Taking shelter isnt an option for them either. The branches dont wrap around the tree. Theyll have to climb higher to reach branches out of my line of sight. But when they spend time climbing, thats less time they can spend shooting. For me, its different. I can duck, jump to the side, make large movements to avoid the arrows. Theres dozens of trees perfect to hide behind. If I didnt have a bow, the prey would be in an excellent position. Too bad for them, I do.

First, Ill hide behind a tree, prevent the prey from seeing me ready my bow. If Im lucky, they wont be prepared to shoot me when I reappear, giving me a chance to fire one arrow. Theres a one out of two chance Ill hit. Depending on where I hit the prey, Ill only have to deal with two prey in the trees after. Theres a lot of others in the way from me to the nearest tree. But the prey havent readied their bows; I have plenty of time.

Its hiding. If theres a smart infected, its certainly that one.

Yep. Ill call it in to the chief. Hey, Chris was right. Theres a smart infected leading the herd. Over.

Their voices are loud; they have to be to be heard over the groaning others. But theres another voice, crackly, that I cant hear as well. It must be coming out of a black box.

Yeah, were safe, just chilling in some trees. The herds huge by the way, way more than a hundred infected here. Well thin it out, but I dont think we have enough arrows to get all of them. Over.

Thwip.

Thwip.

Were they shooting at me? No, the prey were killing the others. Two others fell down, an arrow planted in each of their heads. The prey were out of my line of sight currently; the others they shot were not. Are the prey trying to kill all the others? With just the three of them? How ambitious. But its possible. I can kill all these others by myself if I had enough arrows. But the prey are forgetting about me. I readied my bow, taking it off my back, loading an arrow. Ill wait. The prey are shooting the others. Once they fire, theyll have to spend time to reload. In that time, Ill shoot them.

Thwip.

Thwip.

Thwip.

Now. I stepped out from behind the tree, raised my bow. Which prey do I shoot? They all look the same. There wasnt any way to tell which one had the black box. If I knew, Id shoot it first. But since I dont, the closest prey is the priority. The closer something is, the greater my accuracy. The prey noticed me. But what could it do? Jump off the tree?

Twang!

The arrow flew true. It hit the preys chest. The prey screamed. Then it fell over, falling backwards off of the branch. It landed on top of a few others, breaking its fall. But that didnt matter, the others got ahold of the prey.

Gerald!

The two prey still in the trees shouted. But they didnt panic. They didnt run either. Instead of using the prey on the ground as a distraction to flee, they drew their bows, pointing them at me. They really were relaxed earlier, taking their time to ready their arrows. After they realized they were in danger, their loading speed increased a lot. But they cant hit me if I step behind the tree. It doesnt matter if I ready my arrows slower than them. Well shoot at the same time. Im lucky the first arrow I fired knocked the prey down. But at the same time, it means Ill probably miss my second shot.

Gurgles came out of the prey on the ground. There was the tearing of cloth, then the squishing sounds that accompanied others when they ate. The prey in the trees were unfazed. They didnt shoot any arrows to try to save their companion, waiting for me to reappear instead. These prey are different, not acting strangely after their companion fell into a helpless situation, waiting for the best result. What do I do? Ill see how they act once I step out. If both prey shoot at once, Ill have a chance to fire back. But if they alternate shots, itll be tricky. I hope they both try to shoot me. I stepped out and

Thwip.

only one of them fired. How annoying. Ill step out again, force the second one to fire before the first one can prepare another arrow.

Its not shooting, staring at me instead. I raised my bow.

Thwip.

And stepped back behind the tree. Isnt this simple? The prey were talking earlier, said they might not have enough arrows to kill the herd. Ill force them to use all their arrows. Then they wont be able to defend themselves. It might take a long time. But I have plenty of that.

We need some help. The smart infected knows how to use a bow. It got Gerald. Over.

Or not.