last point was worth emphasizing,
so she said it again. “Remember that, even the best spotters and cleaners will
stay away from a zombie after it’s broken. They won’t try to fight it or go
after it. It’s too dangerous. Run and get to a place where it can’t reach you.”
Senna looked closely at Jack, and then
at Sasha. “Now,” she said, “do you understand that no one should ever try to
take on a zombie like that, one that’s broken and moving very fast?” She looked
at them expectantly.
“Yes,” Jack said.
“Yes,” Sasha repeated.
“That’s really good, Jack,” Senna
said. “What you should also tell your alien friend is that if he meets a zombie
and it breaks, run to the nearest safety platform or indoor hiding place where
you can lock yourself in. While you run, just run. Never stop and turn around
to try to shoot a zombie after it breaks. Their movements are too erratic, and
their speed and the changes in their speed can take you off guard.
“Never engage. You have to keep moving and get high
up or inside, somewhere that’s got locks or ladders and other obstacles they
don’t deal with well. If you’re too far from a safety platform or a house but
you’ve got woods, you have to get up in the trees and wait it out.”
She wasn’t being entirely forthcoming.
There had been many confrontations with broken zombies, both by choice and out
of necessity, but the children didn’t need to know about that.
23
“How long do I have to wait?” Jack asked.
Senna was silent for a moment, then
said, “As long as it takes. They’ll go to sleep eventually and wander away. You
may be able to get some clear shots in and kill them, but if you keep missing,
save your bullets, and never give up your safe position for a better shot. The
way they move when they’re broken, they’re very hard to hit.”
“That’s why you have to get them
before that,” Jack said, “like you did.”
“Yes, while being careful not to cause
the break.”
“That’s what you’re good at,” Jack
said, “spotting the break before it happens, right?”
“Something like that,” Senna said.
“How do you do that? How do you know when
they’re going to break?”
She pursed her lips and considered how
best to answer. It was hard to describe what she saw in the zombies’ movements,
or what she sensed when they were around, and she knew that she never did a
good job of explaining it to anyone.
“Senna?” Jack said.
She looked at him and realized that
she’d been thinking it over for some time. Sasha was watching her and looked
worried. In her hand the girl had a few layers of Jack’s onion, which she’d
been peeling apart while they talked, finding layers in the layers and
separating them out.
“Well,” Senna said, “it’s like when
you’re about to sneeze. Do you know that feeling you get, like your nose is all
itchy on the inside?”
Jack nodded. The expression on his
face was growing more serious, and he appeared to be aware that he was
receiving information that most people weren’t privy to, and that might one day
save his life. Sasha, on the other hand, seemed to be absorbed entirely in the
mysteries of the onion.
“Okay, good. There’s a point when the
itchiness is at its worst and you know you’re going to sneeze, or at least that
it’ll be very hard not to. That’s what it’s like. The zombies begin to move
differently when they’re about to break, but the changes are slight, and there’s
a lot of them, and a lot of levels. Like, more and less itchy, I guess.”
“Okay,” Jack said, “I think I get it.”
“And how do you kill a zombie, Jack?”
Senna said.
“You have to get the brain.”
“That’s right. A well-aimed shot, a
hard strike with a blunt object, a stab, they’ll all do it.”
Jack looked to be deep in thought for
a few moments, then he turned to Alan. “Do you think I could be a cleaner one
day,” Jack said, “like you?”
“Like I was, you mean,”
so she said it again. “Remember that, even the best spotters and cleaners will
stay away from a zombie after it’s broken. They won’t try to fight it or go
after it. It’s too dangerous. Run and get to a place where it can’t reach you.”
Senna looked closely at Jack, and then
at Sasha. “Now,” she said, “do you understand that no one should ever try to
take on a zombie like that, one that’s broken and moving very fast?” She looked
at them expectantly.
“Yes,” Jack said.
“Yes,” Sasha repeated.
“That’s really good, Jack,” Senna
said. “What you should also tell your alien friend is that if he meets a zombie
and it breaks, run to the nearest safety platform or indoor hiding place where
you can lock yourself in. While you run, just run. Never stop and turn around
to try to shoot a zombie after it breaks. Their movements are too erratic, and
their speed and the changes in their speed can take you off guard.
“Never engage. You have to keep moving and get high
up or inside, somewhere that’s got locks or ladders and other obstacles they
don’t deal with well. If you’re too far from a safety platform or a house but
you’ve got woods, you have to get up in the trees and wait it out.”
She wasn’t being entirely forthcoming.
There had been many confrontations with broken zombies, both by choice and out
of necessity, but the children didn’t need to know about that.
23
“How long do I have to wait?” Jack asked.
Senna was silent for a moment, then
said, “As long as it takes. They’ll go to sleep eventually and wander away. You
may be able to get some clear shots in and kill them, but if you keep missing,
save your bullets, and never give up your safe position for a better shot. The
way they move when they’re broken, they’re very hard to hit.”
“That’s why you have to get them
before that,” Jack said, “like you did.”
“Yes, while being careful not to cause
the break.”
“That’s what you’re good at,” Jack
said, “spotting the break before it happens, right?”
“Something like that,” Senna said.
“How do you do that? How do you know when
they’re going to break?”
She pursed her lips and considered how
best to answer. It was hard to describe what she saw in the zombies’ movements,
or what she sensed when they were around, and she knew that she never did a
good job of explaining it to anyone.
“Senna?” Jack said.
She looked at him and realized that
she’d been thinking it over for some time. Sasha was watching her and looked
worried. In her hand the girl had a few layers of Jack’s onion, which she’d
been peeling apart while they talked, finding layers in the layers and
separating them out.
“Well,” Senna said, “it’s like when
you’re about to sneeze. Do you know that feeling you get, like your nose is all
itchy on the inside?”
Jack nodded. The expression on his
face was growing more serious, and he appeared to be aware that he was
receiving information that most people weren’t privy to, and that might one day
save his life. Sasha, on the other hand, seemed to be absorbed entirely in the
mysteries of the onion.
“Okay, good. There’s a point when the
itchiness is at its worst and you know you’re going to sneeze, or at least that
it’ll be very hard not to. That’s what it’s like. The zombies begin to move
differently when they’re about to break, but the changes are slight, and there’s
a lot of them, and a lot of levels. Like, more and less itchy, I guess.”
“Okay,” Jack said, “I think I get it.”
“And how do you kill a zombie, Jack?”
Senna said.
“You have to get the brain.”
“That’s right. A well-aimed shot, a
hard strike with a blunt object, a stab, they’ll all do it.”
Jack looked to be deep in thought for
a few moments, then he turned to Alan. “Do you think I could be a cleaner one
day,” Jack said, “like you?”
“Like I was, you mean,”
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