Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Kaley and Jay's group returned at the same time then Jay approached me.

"Who was that guy on the roof?! Kaley even said that he was always there since this thing started? How?!" Jay exclaimed.

"Yeah... It's a long but boring story, it's very anticlimactic. He's a good shot though." I chuckled.

"Yeah! He is! Every time he howls, a zombie would fall down! How come we never noticed him before?!" Jay added.

"Hah! You'd be surprised if you meet him without holding a gun. I think the food's ready, let's eat yeah?" I said.

We had lunch then I asked about what happened earlier.

"Oh, we started to sweep the houses and the abandoned ones have varying degrees of supplies that we could take. The left side from your old house was pretty easy and we found a few cans of food there. One of them even has a small store there and we got a lot of food items from that place. We mostly got food though, no guns, medicine, or water. Oh yeah, what's that huge wall at the end after the stream though?" Kaley said.

"It's the wall separating us from Woodlands, it's the huge gated community with huge houses strewn about. It extends up to the covered court where we placed the shooting targets from our side. It has huge plots of land but I surmise there is still people there and a few are watching their gates. The guard who was there before was not watching the place and somebody must've taken charge at the place there." I said.

"Oh! When we went to Mercury Drug? Do you think we could get the people there on our side?" Kaley asked.

"We'll never know until we go there. Maybe in the future, the open spaces of land there could definitely help us. The only problem with that is its entrance is close to the highway. Jay, what happened at your side?" I asked.

"While they were on the left side, we went to the right which you guys called the 3rd road. We cleared most of the ones roaming around but we never ventured past the tight alleys. There are a lot more houses there and I think I saw a path that leads to a wooden bridge that connects to more houses that are atop wooden poles." Jay said.

"Hmm, I'll give you more guns later to take care of them. It's dangerous in tight spaces so don't push your luck. Oscar?" I said then I looked at Oscar sipping water.

"I got a lot of medicine from the pharmacy and the dental clinic near the DDR Camp. You've used the PVCs that we got and I went to the DDR Camp to get that drive from their CO. Any place we could go next, kid?" Oscar replied.

"Ken is still rifling through the files that they've given us so here's the plan this afternoon: Jay, I'll give your group a few more guns and I'll entrust you with clearing the alleys there. Ask Rin to give you a few of those timers from the market that I got. Don't be hasty on going in, the key is waiting. Give a few minutes of continued ringing before you head inside, it's much better to fight them in the open rather than a tight spot. Stay level headed at all times and always remember to always strategically retreat." I explained.

"Okay, what does that mean?" Bing asked.

"A fancy word for running away if it gets too troublesome. Your lives are more important than killing all of them there. We could always go back to clear them but we cannot save you if you got infected, right?" I said.

They nodded and I handed both of them a .38 S&W Special and a Maverick 88.

"Those guns would be better if you got caught in a tight space. Have something in close quarters and something to push them back. Always check your back and make sure you have a backup plan. But, always try to kite them outside so it's much easier to deal with them." I added and they got ready.

As for our group, I told them that we would also be bringing Oscar's group with us. We'll be heading to PLV, Jared's old school, and to the Police Academy next to it.

"Why are we going there kid?" Oscar asked.

"Couple of reasons: First, there are mobile and dental clinics next to that school and if we're lucky, we could also snag a fire truck from the fire station next to it. There are also those electric jeepneys which are parked there. It would be nice for the old folks here if we could get ahold of a few. In the police academy, we could get a few guns if they are still there and I would like to grab something from there." I said.

"What?" Jared asked.

"Their servers. We could use the information inside to get more information on people and we could use the hardware for what Ken has been cooking up." I explained.

"Oh, we could match the people from their files there if they are in the camps, right?" Kaley chimed.

"Yeah, that's about it." I replied.

We all suited up and I saw Matthew carrying his shotgun going towards us. I tapped him and said, "Are you sure you want to go outside once more?"

"What do you mean?" Matthew replied, annoyed.

"You know what I mean." I replied.

"I'll do whatever it takes to protect my daughter. If I was in charge, I wouldn't even let her go out." Matthew said with a cold look.

"Then stay here, you're not ready. You're too selfish." I replied.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not the boss of me! Why would I listen to you?!" Matthew bellowed.

"Dad! He knows what he's doing! We're not going out there without precautions! We're always being careful!" Kaley exclaimed and Matthew gave a disgruntled expression.

"Right, let me remind you. I run this place and what I say is final." I calmly said.

"What's wrong about protecting my daughter then? Huh?!" Matthew shouted.

"How about the rest of my group? Are you saying that you'll leave us all to die? Stay here if you're thinking like that. You'll regret saying that if no one saves you when you're in trouble." I said with a cold look.

"…!" Matthew stopped even though he was about to say something else.

"You're in a group now. We just don't go sacrificing or leaving anyone here. Let me get this straight, you're not wrong about protecting her. But, I go outside thinking of everybody and everybody thinks of me. I want everyone to move as one and not have outliers since it will jeopardize everything. I don't plan to go outside with someone thinking like that." I said while looking at him straight in the eye.

"What do you want me to do then? Don't get me wrong here, I know that we're in a group but I would prioritize her if I get to pick between all of you." Matthew retorted.

"Let me tell you something, nobody has died on me because they followed my instructions. I'm thinking about everyone's safety while you're thinking about who to prioritize when shit goes down. It's always a possibility that shit would go down but I know a fuckton of ways to handle it. What I want you to do is the same thing we're doing for everyone. Protect everyone and leave no one behind. If you're fine with that, hop in then, we're losing time." I said as I fastened my rifle.

Tatiana seemed to remember my words back then because I saw her faintly smiling. Matthew was deep in thought but he rode the truck with us regardless. It was kinda awkward though because everyone had already boarded and the two of us were right next to each other.

"Bah! You're the one making us lose time kid! Don't mind this little shit, he means well, he just feels like he needs to establish some sort of order with us. He's a control freak, excuse him." Oscar said while laughing.

"Well call me what you want, I just don't want any surprises. I'd like everything to be in order. No one is dying at my watch." I said.

"See? Control freak. Hah!" Oscar exclaimed.

"Dad, don't feel bad, he says those things but he always puts himself on the front. He's more selfless than you think." Kaley comforted Matthew.

"I'm not feeling bad! I'm just… having something in my eye or something…" Matthew stammered.

"W-Wait. Hold the fuck up... Is this old man a tsun… tsundere?! Oh dear lord… please no…" I thought to myself, cringing.

I was with Kaley, Tatiana, Jared, Mark, Zardon, Dong, Oscar, Matthew, Nicole, Jo, and Lois. We 12 boarded the truck equipped with our weapons while a few people loaded a few items we would be bringing with us. The loadout is as follows:

Sky Ishiyama – Main: IWI Tavor, Secondary: 2 Glock 19s, Melee: Katana

Kaley Payan – Main: AR-15, Secondary: CZ P-09, Melee: Wakizashi

Tatiana Smirnova – Main: Benelli M4, Secondary: FN Five-Seven, Melee: Combat Knife

Jared Pano – Main: Winchester M70, Secondary: Glock 19, Melee: Trench Knife

Mark Goad – Main: Mossberg 930, Secondary: Berreta M9, Melee: Fire Axe/ Combat Knife

Zardon Minac – Main: Glock 21, Secondary: None, Melee: Riot Shield/ Extending Baton.

Dong Iyan – Main: Berreta M9, Secondary: None, Melee: Machete

Oscar Goodman – Main: Franchi SPAS-12, Secondary: S&W 500, Magnum Melee: Combat Knife

Matthew Payan – Main: Remington 870, Secondary: Colt Anaconda, Melee: Machete

Nicole Pano – Main: Glock 26, Secondary: Walther P22, Melee: Butterfly Knife

Jo Iyan – Main: Colt M1911, Secondary: None, Melee: Machete

Lois Pano – Main: Ruger 10/22, Secondary: Glock 43, Melee: Kukri

"We're bringing the cavalry eh?" Oscar said, chuckling. Oscar lit a cigar and I saw Matthew glancing at him. I didn't pay it to mind and we double-checked our equipment one last time before heading out.

We all wore protective gear and we all have extra magazines for our ammo plus a few throwables. We rode past the gas station and the DDR camp after leaving the compound. After a few minutes, we passed Wilcon's Depot as well. There was still a lot of them on the way and we couldn't see any people outside.