A Rational Zombie

Chapter 84

I brought some others with me. They followed me out of the building. I didnt do anything to encourage them. I must smell like meat. Once twenty others came out, I closed the door. It didnt lock. The others had broken that when they got it. Instead, I had to tie the two doorknobs together, keeping the door shut, the others inside. I wasnt going to go far, only to the woods near the building, check for ropes growing on trees, maybe traps. When I walk, I press down with the butt of my spear ahead of me, make sure theres no hidden pit to fall into. I do it everywhere; the others dont mind going slow. Safety first.

First, before I went to the woods, I looted the others that were injured by the rolling trees. I took their clothes. Took the ropes out of their shoes. Picked up the one blanket bundle that a severely injured other was carrying. It was filled with plates. I put the clothes and ropes inside, tied it back up, bound it to one of the others that was following me. The woods were noisy which was odd. Theres usually never any noise. But since there is, the others are heading towards it. The sound is like a rumbling. Its echoing from all directions except behind. The others are fanning out, walking by themselves.

If the others leave me, there was no point in bringing them out. I raised my spear horizontally, swung it to tap the metal stick on my back over and over. The ringing sound was louder than the rumbling, the others turning around, coming back. But what was that rumbling? Its getting quieter. Like somethings moving away. It reminds me of something. What? Its rumbling accompanied by cracking. The large metal hunk? I was almost hit by one. It was loud, broke the branches on the ground, lots of cracking sounds. It must be it. A metal hunk is passing by somewhere close. I always wanted to learn how prey controlled them. If I follow the sound, I might find out.

The metal hunks move fast. If I dont hurry, Ill miss it. But I dont think I can catch it no matter how fast I go. The sound is already fading. At least the direction it went is clearer. Ill leave a few marks on the trees with a knife as I head towards the sound, markers to track where I went. I brought a lot of food with me. But theres still the food Im smoking, still the hundred of others that I left behind. Itd be bad if I got lost. Im certain the metal hunk was in this direction. Theres one other that wasnt with me before. Its walking in the same direction. I might not be able to catch up to the metal hunk. But I should find something, anything that might help me learn more about it.

Theres more rumbling coming from my left. Its louder than before. Banging the metal stick isnt enough to draw the others attentions back. Theyre leaving. Is another metal hunk coming? Its not coming from the direction the last one went. It must be another. Prey travel in packs. Why wouldnt their metal hunks travel in packs too? If theres one, there can be two. Up ahead, theres a clearing, not very long. But its very wide. Theres no trees in that clearing for a large stretch of land, beyond what I can see with the trees blocking my view. Is it a road? I havent seen a road in a long time, not since I ate my first prey.

I see it, the source of the noise. Its not a metal hunk. Its smaller. It has three wheels, one in the front, two in the back. A prey is sitting in the center, holding two handles attached to the front wheels. The preys ignoring the others, they cant catch up. Its impossible to catch up. What is it? Why is it so fast? How can I stop something like that? I only saw a glimpse of it; now, its already gone, past the trees, beyond my field of view. I can still hear it. Its getting further and further away, the rumbling fading to nothing. Theres a few cracking sounds, not from branches. But from the thing itself. Like somethings exploding.

Its fast. The preys clothes are armored. Theres a dome on its head. As long as the prey is on top of that thing, theres no way to kill it. Im not sure arrows can move as fast as it. Maybe. But its impossible for me to hit a preys exposed skin when its moving that fast. I wont be able to run up to stab it with a spear. The metal stick wont work, knives too. Are prey invincible when theyre on that thing? Then why dont all prey always have those? There has to be something preventing them from doing so. Trees. That must be it. The thing can only go fast if its on the road where there arent any trees in the way. Thats why I havent seen any in the forest. If it goes too fast, itll crash, unable to weave through the gaps.

If I want to catch one of those three-wheeled things, it cant be in motion. Ill block the road. Cut down a few trees, have them lie in the roads path. The prey will be forced to stop then. If I wait long enough, I might catch one, force it to stop, shoot the prey on top of it with an arrow. But what if the prey notices me after it stops? Itll turn around, go back the way it came. I cant block it from both directions if I use trees. If I try to cut down a tree behind it while its stopped, itll take too long.

Then a hole? Holes are good. It didnt look like the wheeled thing could jump. Itll fall straight in. The problem is, if its anything like a metal hunk, its heavy. Too heavy for me to carry out of a hole. Ill be able to catch it. But I wont be able to use it. But thats not a bad thing. If I catch one, Ill learn a lot about it. See what can destroy it. Maybe figure out how it moves. After learning more about it, I might figure out a way to preserve one for my own use.