Carl stood at the edge of the abandoned parking lot, surveying Jenna's ragtag group of zombies. They were all gathered in a messy circle, groaning and swaying like a group of extras in a low-budget horror movie. Carl rubbed his temples, trying to ignore the constant, brainless noises. He reminded himself that patience was a virtue. Or at least it was supposed to be.
Jenna stood front and center, a hopeful (and slightly vacant) smile on her face. She had taken Carl's "we need to get stronger" speech to heart, even if she didn't fully understand it. The rest of the gang, however, looked like they had already checked out—well, as much as zombies could.
"Alright, listen up," Carl said, his voice firm. "You're not just any zombies. We've got potential here. Power. We can be more than mindless flesh-eaters—if we work together."
One of the zombies in the back let out a loud, guttural groan, completely undermining Carl's serious tone. He shot the zombie a glare. "That means no more useless groaning. We're going to train. We're going to be strategic."
Jenna raised her hand like she was back in school. "Carl? What do you mean by 'strategic'? Like... not tripping over things?"
Carl sighed. "Yes, Jenna. And also not running straight into human traps, or getting distracted by every shiny object you see."
Jenna nodded solemnly, clearly missing the part about shiny objects. Behind her, one of her zombies bent down and picked up a random tin can, staring at it as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
"We're going to start with the basics," Carl continued, doing his best to ignore the can-obsessed zombie. "Strength, speed, hunting tactics. If we're going to survive in this world, we need to be more than just shambling bodies."
Jenna's face lit up. "Oh! I'm really good at collecting things. That's a tactic, right?"
Carl closed his eyes for a moment, wondering how he'd ended up in this situation. "Not... quite. Look, the point is, we're going to get stronger together. Now, everyone get ready for training!"
The zombies all groaned in unison, a strange and almost harmonious noise. Carl frowned, unsure if they were actually paying attention or just making noise for the sake of it. Jenna, however, seemed pumped up, bouncing slightly on her feet.
"Let's do this!" she declared, throwing her fist in the air—then accidentally flinging a random brick from her space into one of her zombie friends' heads. The zombie staggered, groaned, and fell over. Jenna winced. "Oops. Sorry!"
Carl rubbed his temples again. "This is going to be a long day…"