Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

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[Dude, do you copy? This is Ken again.]

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"Copy. Yeah?"

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[This radio is loud with this buzzing noise. Oh right, I was just flying the drone overhead and never tried to fly it low. Well, I did just now and found something you might want to check out first. See the drone hovering near the covered court? Careful around there, there are about three dozen inside it. The gate inside seems to open a bit and that is where they slowly come from.]

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"That's good looking out, thanks."

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"What's the plan, kid? Want to check the court first?" Oscar asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, let's go there first. It's a few more houses down the road but the gates around are secure so we head to the one where it isn't."

The only places that we would pass before the covered court were the three large houses, an apartment building, and a few smaller ones strewn about. We headed to the court first and the difference with this court from the first one was that it was roofed with metal sheets and there was a 5-foot wall surrounding it where a metal screen was welded on top. Aside from that, it also had two gates from the front and the back and the dead were passing through the front gate.

As we were walking straight for it, a huge gust of wind blew past us. With it, a smell of rot and decay assaulted our nostrils and it was vomit-inducing, to say the least. I commanded everyone to draw arms and I sneaked forward to peek through the gaps in the wall and the metal screen. It was as Ken said, about three dozen zombies were inside but they were just wandering around. A few were near the front gate though they could only pass if they walked sideways.

I returned to the group a few feet away and said, "Okay, let's put down anything that isn't supposed to be moving. We'll draw them out to hug the walls where we could pick them off by stabbing them with our melee weapons. Remember, they move slower after they've turned for a few days but going melee with a group could still get dicey."

Oscar cleared his throat, "Okay, kid. How about the ones that couldn't stab with what they brought? Mark brought a sledgehammer for example."

"Let them come with you but the ones that brought knives, pikes, or machetes should come with me."

"That'll work, I'll just shoot down anything that comes through that gap. I wouldn't want to reveal I'm far stronger than anyone here even at this age..."

'Sure~'

As soon as the plan was formed, my people with their proper handheld weapons came with me and we started making noise by making metal bang against metal. Almost immediately rotting and discolored heads turned in our direction while we stood 5-feet apart. It was so we could have ample distance with our weapons and so that the dead would spread apart evenly.

They came walking with staggered movements and their bodies ridden with bites were in full view, making me recognize a few familiar faces. They were one of many that I invited to my place but flatly refused or just scoffed and laughed with derision. Hesitation filled the eyes of my people that recognized them but I made the first move by thrusting my blade forward.

'It's too late for that...'

It silently entered an eye socket and as I pulled back, it got stained with a viscous, dark fluid. It made a thin film of the substance but coagulated blood clots filled it as well. As soon as the first body fell, the rest of my team followed after me as we took down bodies one after the other. However, the dead started to crowd on the other side of the wall, reaching over our side with their crooked hands.

Their darkened nails were in the same state as my blade because it was filled with what came gushing out of their victims. Furthermore, their fingers were either bitten or chewed off until the bones were jutting out. Their hands and arms were either twisted or crooked in different directions and some had weird lesions where bite marks and scratches were present.

'It's gonna be hard to do that with makeup...'

"Don't try to reach their head if their hands are reaching out! One scratch and I'll chop your arm personally, I'm not even sure if it works in this case!"

Kaley turned to me, "What? This case?"

"Oh, in The Pacing Unliving and other shows, they would chop the body part off to offset the spread. It's the show though, this is real life. We're not even sure how fast it spreads and if it's even consistent with everybody. But if any of you want to learn if it works, go ahead and get scratched, I'll make a clean cut." I said jokingly.

The rest gave me wary gazes but it actually made them more careful in dealing with them.

"Too dark, kid!"

I scoffed-chuckled, "It's for the best. What we need to remember is that these things are still dangerous. Though they move really slow, one mishap and you're off the list. If you see this as a game, don't. I-"

I wasn't able to finish my lecture as the fences clanged and a deadhead almost bashed itself against it, "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

It didn't take long before the deadheads started to pile up as they were getting footholds. They were actually using their fallen brethren as their stepping stone to get to us. They were still doing it clumsily but they were slowly making their way, adding up to their numbers. I had to quickly stab or trip a few but the ones that managed to climb up made the situation much worse.

I shouted, "FALL BACK!!!"

Everyone else followed but Dong commented, "What?"

"THEY'RE GONNA FALL!!!"

"B-BUT BOSS!!! THEY'RE-!"

"LET THEM DROP FIRST AND THEN WAIT FOR MY SIGNAL!!! OLD MAN!!! HOW'S IT LOO-"

"JUST GO AHEAD!!! I GOT THIS SIDE!!!"

It was then that I drew my pistol and held it with my left hand. We were all waiting for everyone else that was climbing to drop but as soon as the first one fell, Mark rushed past me. He immediately swung down with force, breaking the victim's head like a watermelon. Its brain and pieces of its skull flew and scattered by his feet then he looked at us with excitement.

"Finally! Sledgehammers, right?!"

I was about to shout at him as he made a triumphant pose, but everyone just turned to the eight figures that were about to reach the top. Everyone was expecting them to fall sooner or later but no one noticed the screen wobbling and the supporting beams starting to bend. The smaller bars have already started to twist at a dangerous angle and a few seconds more would allow it to snap.

I just turned to the area where it would fall and it was right below where Mark was wearing an idiotic expression.

'Shit.'

Without a second in delay, the screen snapped on one side and it began to fall faster because of the deadheads holding on to it. Aside from that, it wouldn't just fall straight but would swing in a wide arc, sweeping or grazing Mark in the process. Time seemed to slow down as I instinctively lunged at him to pull him by his clothes. He dropped his sledgehammer in the process but the screen just missed him by a few centimeters.

"FUCKING SHIT!!! THAT WAS CLOSE BOSS!!!"

I frowned as I shouted, "I TOLD YOU TO WAIT, DIDN'T I?! GO TO THE BACK!!!"

The ones that came down were now slowly getting up and a few were slowly climbing their way over the wall. Except for me, only Dong, Chris, and Jo were carrying weapons with proper reach because Mark's sledgehammer was under the screen, and Kaley's tanto was only a few inches long. There were still less than two dozen zombies to go through but Oscar decided to open fire.

Bodies started to fall down one after the other but the noise from the gunshots rang out. Luckily, nothing came from the other side of the road so we took down anything that shouldn't be moving. When they were only a handful, I holstered my gun and made everybody stop firing as I lunged and took care of them myself.

After everything was over, I turned to Mark that had a bitter look, "You good? You know I hate shit like that happening."

Mark just looked at me as he scratched his head, "My bad, sorry. I just can't stand doing nothing."

"Pick up that hammer first and switch to a machete or something when we get back. I know you mean well but don't let that excitement get to your head, yeah?"

Mark just looked at the ground and said, "I understand, I'll stay all night for watch duty later."

Oscar started cackling, "Giving yourself punishment now, are we? You a masochist or something?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"Someone who gets off being punished or something similar," I said flatly.

Everyone's eyes went wide but all of my workers nodded in unison.

"What?! I'm not one! Why are you all agreeing?!"

Dong interjected, "Well, you know... I see you with Alice a lot and it seems to be the case."

Then Jo immediately added, "Yep, that sounds about right."

"What?! That's not the ca- AHHH!!! SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! I'M SERIOUS!!!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

They started a few pages worth of back and forths while the rest of us started laughing. The atmosphere earlier had already vanished and we went back to the apartment building just behind this covered court.

The apartment building was a two-story building shaped like the letter 'U'. It had a small gate made with thin metal bars welded together and there was a total of seven rooms from each floor. Looking around, it seemed that everyone seemed to have left this place in a hurry when the broadcast aired. However, each room needed to be cleared so we split up into two groups.

Not even a few minutes have passed by when we heard a loud gunshot that probably came from Oscar's side. Everyone immediately tensed as they heard it but the sound of glass breaking and a few shouts followed.

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"Old man, you doing okay there?"

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[Yeah, just shot an old lady who hung herself.]

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"You're really noisy, you know that?"

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[Useless to put a suppressor on my shotgun now, right?]

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"Then what's the point of buying a fuckton of Salvo 12s?"

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[Bite me. That's my money I used buying them, not yours.]

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"Shotgun addict."

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[Pistol addict.]

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"Ooh! Look at me! I can't aim well so I always use birdshot!"

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[I'M USING MAGNUM ROUNDS, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!]

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"Oh? You ran out of birdshot then?"

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[AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!]

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[Umm guys, this is Ken, again. What happened in keeping the line open for emergencies?]

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"..."

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[...]

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Oscar and I fell silent while our groups struggled to keep their laughter in. We eventually finished checking everything and then we marked the rooms appropriately. We then locked the gate and we went to the last three houses we went over. The smell of rot would still waft over us and I'm guessing a few were still hiding some ways forward.

'Why aren't they coming? They should have by now...'

I was about to vault over the first gate but Oscar tapped me, "Kid, how about we let them handle these houses. Nothing beats experience and we let Jonathan here for a test run too? What do you think?"