Being the brains of most of their mission, the rest of the group had always entrusted planning to Chris, but seeing that he had just now come up with a ludicrous idea made them all feel uneasy.
'So let me get this straight, you guys spent so much girly time with yourself only to come up with a plan as stupid as this?!' James scowled.
'Uh-hun.' Chris responded.
'This is dumb. That's it, I'm out.' James said, turning his hands to the air. Then he turned around and was about to walk away.
'Hold up, James, we ain't done.' Drake ordered. 'Well, I'm, feel free to sacrifice yourself to the zombies for all I care, as for me, I still have lots of things I need to do.' James sneered.
'We both know you have nothing better to do. This is the mission you accepted, you can't abandon it like that!' Drake growled
'Urgh! All I'm saying is that I'm not ready to die. Okay? Kapish?' James exclaimed.
'But you signed up for this.' Drake retorted. 'Well then, I'm signing off.' James scoffed. 'Michelle, are you coming?' He inquired as he was about to walk away.
'Wait! James, there must be more to Chris' plan, right, Chris?' Michelle turned to Chris, awaiting his response.
...
'You guys didn't even let me finish.' Chris signed. 'This plan was the best choice I came up with out of many. I have replayed all the scenarios in my head and this is the only one with the best chance of survival...'
'I wouldn't expect you all to understand, but you just have to trust me on this one. I know what I'm doing, after all, when has my plan ever failed...'
'Again, I would like to advise against going back to base empty-handed because the only welcome back you would meet is a bullet to your forehead.' Chris said sternly.
'What the heck are you talking about?!' James snapped.
'Though this is classified information, I just want to let you know that the commander had issued an order for our execution if we don't come back with something capable of sustaining the base through the winter.' He answered.
'What the heck?! Why?!' James growled.
'So that you know, this is more than a volunteer mission. The commander had purposely called us out specifically with intentions to get rid of us since the day he saw us as liabilities...'
'Long before now, the commander had witnessed the number of refugees drastically passing the sustainable level of resources. He had begun a project of wilting out the weakest and the most disruptive persons from amongst the crowd...'
'He usually does so by giving them impossible missions, knowing they won't survive, and if they do survive, what does it matter to him? They only proved themselves to be more useful than he thought them to be, and the plus side is the bountiful gain the base would attain if they complete the expenditure...'
'But if they fail and come back with nothing, the soldier stationed at the gate will shoot them as ordered and would guise their death with a farce that they were infected from the moment they saw them...'
'This evil scheme has been going on for months now, and I'm afraid to tell all of you that it's our turn to be filtered out. Drake can vouch for all that I have said.'
The rest, after hearing what Chris said, had a dismayed look on their faces.
'Did you know about this, Drake baby?' Rose asked. He nodded.
'How did you get your hands on this information?' Diana asked them.
'I can't say for now, just know it's highly classified information and I had a little bird placed amongst the top officials who happened to be in that same meeting as a warden.' Drake responded.
'Those rascals!' Michelle banged her fist on the wall of the nearby building. 'So they were willing to kill us after everything we've done for them?!'
'You all should calm down.' We still have other options. Chris exclaimed.
'Then lay it down for us, smarty pants.' Diana exclaimed.
'The plan I'm suggesting offers us a way out since going back without something isn't an option. I don't know about you guys, but Drake and I had previously agreed we wouldn't be returning to the base after this very mission...'
...
The rest fell silent, flabbergasted by what he had just said.
'What?!' Michelle exclaimed.
'You heard right. We planned to form our base right here amid the zombies. Any of you are welcome to join us...'
'I know a lot about zombies after studying them for years now, from the different types down to how each of them reacts in various circumstances. Believe me when I say that I am a walking zombie encyclopedia. Drake is strong and proficient in weaponry and can handle melee tasks well. So we both are capable of handling ourselves well amid these zombies...'
'That's crazy…' Diana muttered.
'Babe! Did you plan on leaving me?!'Rosaline snapped.
'No, babe. I plan on telling you to come with me during this mission.' Drake replied.
'You should have said so sooner. Of course I will follow you wherever you go, babe.' she pouted.
'I know, I just wanted it to be a surprise, sweetheart.' Drake responded.
...
'Well, if you are so sure about this plan of yours, then I should also come, seeing that there's no place for me back home.' Diana announced.
'Sure thing. We are always open to more hands willing to aid in this legendary quest.' Chris replied.
'Then I'm coming to. No use living with a bunch of traitors.' Michelle said. 'But I do worry about those innocent ones back at base. How would they survive the turmoil of the winter without those supplies coming to them at the end?' She concluded, slightly worried.
'Don't worry about that, I got that covered. We will manage to drop off the resources at an area close to the base. I have one of my buddies in base come pick it up.' Drake answered.
'Oh, if that's your plan afterwards. I am good with it.' Michelle responded, relieved.
'I see that one of us is still indecisive...' Chris said, looking in the direction where James stood with frustration shown on his face.
'What are you looking at me for?! Don't expect me to return to that dog cage. I don't care what happens to scums. They can rot for all I care, it ain't my business.' James spat.
'So that means you are coming with us then?' Chris asked him, and he coldly turned his face away to cover how embarrassed he was to admit it.
'I will take that as a yes.' Chris muttered.
'Good! Since we are all coming, it makes getting this job done much faster in a sense.' Chris exclaimed, nodding his head as he looked at his team members.
'So let me start by making this statement. I am the brain of this mission, but I prefer to call myself the king of this mission. My safety is, of course, of absolute priority because every information needed to handle the zombies is stored in here.' He said, tapping his head.
'I won't be the only king for long because I plan on passing down this knowledge to you all so that in any case you can find the right move to use the zombies to your advantage...'
'So, I urge you guys to try and pay attention to everything that I am telling you because I might not always be around to monitor what you would do around those things. The first course of action is knowing how to use the zombies. So let's begin!'
The rest nodded.
...
'Handling zombies is just like handling every piece in the game of chess. For those who don't know, chess is a classical board game with six types of pieces, each with its special skill...'
'The same can be said for the various groups of zombies, each having their special traits that make them unique from one another. We need to harness these quirks and use them to either assault or defend from the enemy attacks...'
'If we learn how these zombies behave, we won't see them anymore as treats but as playing cards on the battlefield. So let me explain the very basics as we move towards our destination...'
'I don't want us to stay in one place because the other groups aren't just lying in wait. I fear they might catch up to us, and if they find us, it won't be easy to fight them off with our low numbers...'
'And then again, kings shouldn't be on the front line of attack, should they?' Chris insinuated.
'I agree we should move. We are still on the outskirts, far from the main zombie mass. So the zombies we might encounter for now will be very few.' Drake said, checking the load of his gun. 'Something we can't handle.'
He then began to lead the group as Chris continued his talk.
'Hopefully, there are some impromptu zombies we can use to further my explanation.' Chris walked ahead of the others to take the lead.
'I will start by giving you guys three types of zombie tactics, to which other groups of tactics fall under...
'They are Luring tactics, tracking tactics and subjugating tactics...'
...
'So what is luring?' he asked.
'Are we having a class in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?' James yawned.
'James! No interrupting my class. Final warning.' Chris ordered
'Pssh!' James dismissed his childish joke while the other chuckled. James thought for a second his team's brains had been switched with those of preschoolers with their Petty humor.
'oh! oh! I know the answer!' Rose called, raising her hands
'Yes, Rose, what is it?' Chris asked
'Em? Does it mean to lead the zombies?' Rose responded, touching her soft lips in a coy manner.
'Hmmm…Close but not quite. Do you know what it means to lead someone or something?' He continued to ask.
'To bait them?' Michelle answered.
'Yes, but I'm looking for a more accurate word to replace it.'
'To mislead.' Drake answered.
'Yes! That's it. Another one yet is to manipulate. This word has negative feelings attached to it, showing fully well that the use of this tactic isn't beneficial to the one it's used on...' Chris commented.
'So, can someone tell me how it is possible to manipulate zombies?'
...
The group fell silent, pondering the question.
'I guess one could act as the bait to lead them to a particular location.' Michelle answered
'Wonderful answer.' Chris applauded her. 'In gaming terms, we refer to that as kiting. But kiting is often dangerous if you don't have the necessary strategy or equipment...'
'So even though that's a good tactic, it's quite risky and should only be used in case of emergencies. Does anybody have other tactics used in luring zombies?'
The group taught for a second before Diana raised her hands.
'Okay, Diana, what do you have in mind?' Chris asked.
'Okay!' She exclaimed. 'So I was thinking, what better ways are there in luring zombies than with a fresh batch of juicy brains.'
The rest just looked at her with great concern.
...
...
'Eh?' She looked around, confused as to why everyone remained silent while staring in her direction.
'That's disgusting!' James spat as he felt another round of puke coming up his throat.