A Rational Zombie

The large infected refuses to die. No one’s willing to get close to it after it made an example out of the three shield bearers who did. The spearmen are poking its limbs when it overextends into our group, but none of them are willing to get up close to deliver a headshot. I can’t blame them. I was the first to retreat when that thing approached. I didn’t let Jen go forward either. Everyone else can die, but not her. With every step the large infected takes, our line of defense retreats a tiny bit. It’s a miracle the formation hasn’t fallen apart yet considering it’s still under attack from over a couple hundred infected. It’s breaking though; this situation can’t last for long. Soon, our backs are going to be touching the chief’s building if we keep retreating like this.

“Get out of the way!”

A roaring sound drowned out all the groans and grunts and sounds of struggle. It grew louder and louder, like a motorcycle approaching. The people to my right were scattering, and Jen tossed her spear aside before yanking me back. A three-wheeled motorcycle, two in the front, one in the back, drove past me, nearly running over my foot. Someone in camouflage clothes and a motorcycle helmet was driving it. I didn’t get to make out any details before the unlucky person that was to the left of me screamed and tumbled through the air towards me. It looked like he tried to jump, but the motorcycle clipped his legs.

The motorcycle kept going, ramming through our formation. It didn’t hit that many people since most of them scattered, but because of that, the motorcycle passed through without falling over or stopping. It continued out of the formation, hitting a few infected before disappearing around the side of the chief’s building. The roar of its engine got further away, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to where it was going. An infected was right in front of me, and I bashed it with my shield, pushing it away to make space for Jen to retrieve her spear. “Stab it!”

“R-right,” Jen said. She picked up her spear and stabbed the infected, but there was another one right behind it to replace it. In fact, there were another three infected about to surround me. Where was everyone else? Jen stabbed another infected, but this time in its chest. It fell backwards with its limbs flailing. “Retreat!”

The formation had broken. The left side had suffered the most. The right side had ample time to prepare for the motorcycle; they probably saw it coming ahead of time. Those of us in the center and on the other side were too distracted to see it. If Jen hadn’t pulled me out of the way, I’d be like the person on the ground who’s being dogpiled by three infected. His assigned spearman didn’t even go forward to try to save him—which meant there was no reason for me to try either. Jen and I pulled back, running with the group of people who were retreating.

“Regroup!” the chief’s voice cut through the din. “Shield bearers on the outside, spearmen on the inside! Keith’s group is right there! Just hold on for a little longer! If we all try to escape into a building at once, at least half of us are going to be left outside. Stand your ground!”

I think the chief was purposely avoiding using buildings as a defensive position. I would too after seeing the smart infected set two buildings on fire. If we went into the chief’s building right now, even if everyone miraculously made it inside despite there being only one entrance that was a person-wide, we’d be screwed as long as the smart infected’s alive. It was probably the person on the motorcycle. I’m pretty sure the driver had a large bag similar to the one the infected carried around. Where was it, anyway? The motorcycle’s engine was faint, but it permeated the area, acting like the fin of a shark circling a boat.

“Stick together; there’s no room to retreat. We have to kill that large infected. Once it dies, the rest will be easy. Chris, distract it. Jen, while it’s distracted, stab it underneath its helmet. Poking its shoulders and hips isn’t going to work.”

We’ve been called out. Now that the chief’s specifically named us, we bear the responsibility of killing that large infected. In the end, it’s just an infected. A really large infected that can lift me with one hand; not to mention there’s dozens of infected surrounding it. “If you want me to distract it, the rest of you have to kill the little ones around it first!” I’ll die if I approach as is, and I really don’t feel like dying today. If the other people distract the large infected while killing the ones surrounding it, that’ll be great.

“The motorcycle’s coming! Scatter!”

“Don’t scatter!” the chief shouted. “Ball up! Shield bearers, ball up! It’s a motorcycle, not a car! If we don’t spread out, the one breaking will be it, not us!”

That’s a good point, but the chief really overestimates people’s bravery. Who would be willing to stand in front of a motorcycle? Sure, the motorcycle would stop, but the first person to get hit is going to be in for a world of hurt that may lead to death. We have a cure for being bitten by infected, not a cure for getting run over by a motorcycle.

As expected, the shield bearers on the right didn’t ball up. They scattered, and the spearmen scrambled out of the way. The smart infected must’ve been banking on the fact that we’d dodge. Even still, it was taking a huge risk driving straight into us like that. I took a step back, out of where I expected the motorcycle to go and swung my shield like a bat. The motorcycle and my shield collided. Since I held my shield at an angle, it slid up the motorcycle’s frame and smacked straight into the driver, knocking the smart infected off. It felt like my arms were going to break, but it was worth it.

The smart infected tumbled off the motorcycle, near the group of scattered spearmen and shield bearers. Before anyone could take advantage of the smart infected, the large infected broke into the formation because someone … wasn’t doing their job of distracting it. Oops. It lumbered towards the shield bearers that had to run forward to avoid the motorcycle, and the smart infected used that chance to stand up. I wanted to tackle it, but I had no weapon and my arms were really stiff. Also, the large infected was in the way, and I didn’t want to cross its path. The smart infected looked around, seemingly for a way out. Then it ran towards a spearman. The spearman had a helmet, but the visor wasn’t down, probably, because there was blood splattered on it that blocked his view. The smart infected stabbed a knife into the spearman’s face before pushing his head away with its other hand. Without stopping, it ran towards the door to the chief’s building, opening it and shutting itself inside.