Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Kaley and I eventually went down when it was time and we discovered that everyone was already present. A few of them were still hanging around by the catwalk but almost everyone was in the pool area. Aunt Sharon and the others made a nice spread of food for everyone and on one side, containers for refreshments were present along with a keg of beer, and bottles of hard liquor.

Once my group saw us walking up to them, they all greeted us and we finally met with Andrew Sr., his wife Estrella, and the kid we found who was discovered to be named Peter. He was keeping quiet the whole time but he approached me and introduced himself roughly when we met eyes. I slowly signed while talking at the same time to introduce myself and he just bowed before getting kidnapped by the kids to play.

'One step at a time...'

Kaley tapped me, "Hey, isn't that? They came."

"Yep, they said they would. Come on, everyone's welcome. It's already settled."

"O-Okay..."

We approached Arthur and his family and they were just casually talking with Aunt Sharon and the rest. He seemed more docile now and the funny thing was he was trying to keep his hands of a beer bottle this early. I bet he wanted to get his hands on a bottle of hard liquor because it wasn't specified on which bottle he was allowed to partake in. Besides, the party hasn't started yet and it seemed like they were waiting for us.

I greeted them, "Hey, you guys doing okay?"

Amanda answered, "We're good, really~ good. Everyone seems nice especially the kids."

Kaley turned to Alex, "How about you? Doing okay?"

Alex just shook her head, "The opposite… the kids kept pointing out how tall I am..."

The two got to talking but Arthur took my attention, "H-Hey, sorry again for earlier. It won't happen again."

I replied as I placed my hand over his shoulder, "No worries. Just remember our deal, okay? In the meantime, just enjoy yourself and get to know everybody a little more."

"Y-Yeah… I'll l-look for the ones that are not glaring at me..."

"Heh, they're cool. Just have one drink with them and then you're friends… Unless they give you poison..."

"W-WHAT?!"

"Kidding! I'm kidding! Take it easy, hahaha!"

I got Arthur to open up a little more but the loud old dude was already barreling towards me. He was already double-fisting a couple of beer bottles and he was the only one that touched them.

"HEY, KID! THE FUCK ARE YA DOING THERE?! SHOULD WE START OR WHAT? WE'RE JUST WAITING ON YOU!"

"Waiting on me? Didn't you just start by yourself? Just start it right now! Why did you have to wait for us?"

"Haa?! Don't we need to say something first?"

I shook my head, "Nah, up to you if you want to say something."

"Fine! Let me say a few words then!"

"What are you-"

Oscar held his two beer bottles between his fingers as he pulled out a knife and started clinking them, "AHEM! AHEM! EVERYONE! THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY AND NOW THAT I GOT YOUR ATTENTION~ *grins devilishly* THE KID HAS SOMETHING TO SAY! LISTEN UP!"

My face winced as I shouted in my head, 'This motherfucker!'

Kaley and the rest close to me just started laughing heartily but the ones who just heard Oscar's voice started cheering loudly.

"WOOHOO!"

"SPEECH! SPEECH!"

"WE'RE HUNGRY, BOSS! HURRY IT UP!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"SPEECH~"

'Well, fuck it! Here goes nothing~'

"Well~ Hello everyone! Nice of you all to be here for our small celebration! I'm just happy to say that having our own safe area here is a huge weight off of my shoulders. It took us a few days but we did it! We fucking did it! Anyway, we're still far from our goal but in the meantime, something like this is in order."

"YEAAAAAAH!!!"

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

"SOMEONE GIVE HIM A BOTTLE!!!"

I instantly waved them over, "We'll do that later but for safety reasons, I'll be taking the guns of the ones that are drinking so we avoid any accidents from happening. Please pace yourselves or first enjoy the amazing cooking of Aunt Sharon and the rest! It's unfortunate but I won't be having a sip of-"

Jared interjected, "You're not drinking, bro?"

I just faintly smiled as I shrugged my shoulders, "Sorry, no. Why would I take your guns and still partake? Don't worry, I'll still enjoy myself. Just a reminder, I'll be keeping close watch with everybody here. If someone makes a ruckus from drinking too much, you'll know you fucked up because you'll feel something when you wake up. Is that understood?"

I looked menacingly at the people I know that were prone to doing stupid stuff when intoxicated and they gave nervous smiles while everyone started laughing. After that, I took the firearms of anyone that would be drinking and I brought them to my room. However, as soon as I went back, everyone was still waiting for me and they simultaneously cheered.

Oscar roared, "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED~~~!!!"

"WOOHOO!"

"FOOD! THIS IS FUCKING DELICIOUS!"

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

Cheers erupted for a second time and almost everyone had a bottle in their hands. Olivia wanted to sneak a bottle but Kaley instantly shot her down after running past me, stealing away Olivia's bottle, and actually drinking from it herself.

"Sis~! Please, please, please!"

"Nope."

'Heh, I'll leave them alone for now...'

On one side of the pool area, Rin was holding onto two bottles while she was right next to Tatiana who was devouring our food like a monster. Rin seemed to have taken a sip from her bottle but the latter was more focused on eating.

When I tried to look for Zeus, he was actually busy being the lifeguard for the kids because several floaters were by the pool, and the kids wearing vests were having a swim with him. However, the kids started giving him more and more food but he kept on wharfing them down.

Music was played at an appropriate level as the celebration continued and everyone was having fun. Aya suddenly popped out of nowhere and she handed me a plate before running back to her big sister Nicole and Alicia. They were just by the tables of food and she was told to tell me that I could still eat while keeping watch of everyone and besides, Allan, Jenny, and a few others didn't drink and we had more people available for guard duty.

As I start to pick up a few pieces of drumsticks and a scoop of mashed potatoes, Tatiana bumped into me who was probably on her nth plate. However, I noticed that she haven't had a drink yet and the bottle Rin was holding for her was still full.

"Hey, this food is amazing! Try those- oh, you already have them."

"Yeah, try the carbonara too, it's good."

"I already did. It was amazing!"

"Heh, why didn't you drink though?"

"Ah... Alcohol is something I would normally partake in but I still have my duties. It dulls the senses and reason considerably, and you need more people to keep everyone in line. You need more than just extra persons to take care of drunk folks, or it would be just a mess. They're wobbling but they're still stronger in most cases."

Aunt Sharon interjected, "Tatiana! If my husband drinks a little too much, you're allowed to knock him out!"

"Mine too!"

"She could do that? Mine as well! Give him a good beating!"

"Me too!"

Tatiana smiled brightly, "Of course! I'll just keep oxygen from getting into their brains and we're done! Wow! This other pasta is really good! What do you call this?!"

Aya interjected, "It's sweet spaghetti with hotdogs!"

Tatiana turned to Aunt Sharon and the rest, "How do you cook like this?! Everything's good!"

Aunt Sharon chuckled, "That's what being a mother should be! Our cooking should always be perfect but we're really just great cooks!"

'A mother's cooking huh? Mom was the best though...'

After I got my plate of food, I decided to relieve Allan and Jenny from the catwalk but Tatiana followed after me. I climbed to my favorite spot as I ate my food with her who was just leaning on the wall eating, and I found one thing she could definitely beat me senseless. I wasn't as sure as earlier but she had an endless stomach.

'I bet she could beat Matt Stonie...'

I took Tatiana's attention momentarily, "Hey, how can you eat so much and not gain weight? I had a hard time doing that."

"Hmm? I really don't know... A metabolism thing, maybe? Wait. So~ you mean to say that you didn't look like that before, correct?"

"Yep, take a look." I pulled out an old picture from my phone.

Tatiana's eyes widened and then she looked at me and picture alternatingly before saying, "Wow. This is really surprising… you look so young, innocent… and round… really, really~ round. Here-"

She was just about to return my phone but Kaley suddenly popped up from behind us. She was holding a plate of food and probably her second bottle. Her face was a little flushed but she got excited when she saw my old photo.

"Hey! Is that you?! Let me see! Lemme see! When was this?!"

I chuckled as I saw Kaley's excited and flushed expression, "Sixth grade. It's when I participated in a folk dance at my school. That's why I was wearing a Barong Tagalog in the picture."

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU LOOK SOOOOO CUTE~ SO SQUISHY~"

"Kaley! Stop! You're drunk! Stop squishing my cheeks!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU TWO ARE SO ADORABLE~"

It got chaotic for a short moment but we eventually chilled while Kaley was trying to feed me. We were still on top of the catwalk but Oscar eventually made his way towards us. He brought a few bottles of beer and he handed me one with an open cap.

"Kid. I know you're not drinking but it wouldn't hurt just to have one, right? You know, to keep the buzz going through everyone~"

"Sure~ Thanks but no thanks! I think I wouldn't be taking any more drinks from you!"

Oscar acted like he just got the shock of his life, "W-WHAT?! KID! IT'S JUST A DRINK!"

I shook my head as I laughed, "Hah! Did you just fucking forget that you admitted to me that you would sometimes give me spiked drinks?! I'm just a little suspicious of that opened bottle of yours!"

"Hah! What~? Kid! Listen! That was before you refused to be with anyone! You have someone now~! Just a little bottle like this wouldn't hurt! C'mon! You have two beauties left and right, have some fun! You hear me?"

Oscar was looking a little too obvious as he negotiated with me but he kept egging me on. Glancing at the two beside me, they were both chuckling at our conversion though Kaley was smiling a little extra because she already had a few drinks. I thought that they would actually help me with Oscar but they didn't.

Kaley interjected, "It's just a b-bottle, right? Just avoid the hard ones and you'll be good."

Tatiana added, "I agree with them, you deserve a little drink."

"See, kid? They want you to get a little buzzed! Just one! C'mon!"

"Fine."

"Great! Here ya-"

"Nope. Not that one. Give me the closed one!"

"Bah! Fine! Tsk..."

I feigned ignorance, "What does that even mean?! You put something on the other one, eh?"

"Nothing! Here!"

Oscar was grumbling when he left us and I just twisted the cap off of my bottle. I raised it momentarily and Kaley did the same while Tatiana just raised her plate of food. We got to talk for a little bit before Kaley excused herself to get more food. Tatiana and I were alone for a while and I decided to pop the question.

"So, are you gonna tell me about that prison tattoo?"

Tatiana still had her other plate with her but she flinched once she heard me. She was silent for a while and I didn't say anything, but she put her plate down and climbed on the edge of the wall I was on though she was looking at the opposite side. We could faintly hear the noise from the pool area but it was silent on our side.

"What about them?"

"If I saw what I saw, you have a tattoo of a rose enveloping a dagger that's piercing it and a skull baring sharp fangs right underneath it. If I remember correctly… that means that you were in prison before the age of 18 and you have something against the authorities. With that said, how did you become a soldier? Kinda weird, right?"

Tatiana looked melancholic, "Why do you know so much?"

"Yeah… I have Photographic Memory. I only need to see something once and I'll remember it forever."

"I see… A memory thing then… that's really impressive. Speaking of which, these tattoos… out of all the things I could still remember… it's the worst out of all of them. What sucks is I'd always relive it when someone speaks about it or if I saw it in the mirror or even a reflection. In short, it's always on my mind..."

I looked at Tatiana solemnly, "We could cancel the bet?"

"No, bets should be honored. You want to know about them then?"

"If you insist, I'd really like to know what happened."

"Okay, I never told this story to anyone after I joined the military. After all these years, you'd be the first one to hear it."

"Really? I'm very lucky then. Sorry, I just love hearing real stories no matter what it is. I'm kinda fucked up in the head… Worst case, I'll never forget it too. Well, I happen to know to keep a secret and we'll just treat this thing with Lawyer-Client Confidentiality."

"Hmph! I'll only tell this once… are you gonna finish that?"

"You can have it. I still haven't drank from it so it's still clean."

"Hah! You think I'd care?"

Tatiana started drinking from my bottle and she didn't stop after five gulps. I thought she was gonna finish it for a moment there but she wiped her mouth before turning to me. She was looking at me seriously and her blue eyes were staring right at me. Her mouth slowly opened and then she started to tell me everything.