Carl was at his limit. He had spent what felt like an eternity trying to drill basic survival skills into Jenna and her gang, and every step forward felt like ten steps back. But now, after their accidental victory in the alley, he figured one last push might just make something stick.
"Alright," Carl said, pacing in front of the group. "We're going to attempt a real hunt. This time, no distractions, no random hoarding, and definitely no tripping over yourselves. Got it?"
Jenna saluted dramatically, her eyes wide with determination. "Got it! No distractions. No... shiny things." But as she said that, her gaze was already wandering toward a glimmering broken bottle on the ground.
Carl snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Jenna. Focus."
She blinked, startled. "Right, focus. We're hunting! Like, actually hunting."
The zombies groaned in unison, their bodies swaying slightly, as if they were ready... to fail miserably again. Carl let out a long breath, his frustration barely contained. He knew this was probably going to end in disaster, but he wasn't ready to give up. Not yet.
They moved out, heading toward a more populated area. The humans there had fortified their positions, making it harder to sneak in without a proper plan. Carl motioned for them to crouch behind some debris. Jenna crouched too, mimicking Carl's every move with an exaggerated sense of seriousness, though her posture was more like a toddler playing hide-and-seek than a seasoned hunter.
"Okay," Carl whispered. "We're going to strike fast, overwhelm them, and—"
Before he could finish, Jenna opened her spatial space again, but this time, instead of hoarding random junk, she accidentally sucked in one of her own zombie gang members.
"Wait—what?!" Carl hissed, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Jenna panicked, trying to close the space, but instead, another zombie disappeared into it. "Oops... I—uh—oh no!"
Carl's eye twitched. "Are you... serious right now?"
In the midst of Jenna's blunder, a group of humans spotted them and started shooting. But in her panic, Jenna inadvertently activated her space again, sucking in the bullets and some of the humans' weapons.
Carl watched in stunned silence as the humans, now defenseless and bewildered, turned and fled. The remaining zombies chased after them, Carl's instructions long forgotten.
Jenna stood up, grinning sheepishly. "See? I totally meant to do that."
Carl stared at her, utterly defeated. But, as much as he wanted to scream, he had to admit one thing: Jenna's chaos, somehow, worked. "You... you're impossible."
Jenna beamed, clearly taking it as a compliment. "I know, right?"
Carl shook his head, rubbing his temples. "Fine. We're done for today. But I'm not giving up on you. Yet."