Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I was ringing their bell but no one answered.

"They might be inside the compound…" I thought to myself.

"Fuck it! Let's just go back to the compound where I'm sure there will be tools to remove this." I said to Kaley.

"Umm, ah... are you okay? You're bleeding a bit. Let me wipe it off…" Kaley sheepishly said.

"Wait, don't! The small threads on that towel might get caught up in the hook making it worse." I said.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean for it to happen…" she slowly followed from behind.

"Yeah, yeah. Flicking the rod definitely wouldn't bring the hook with it…" I jokingly said.

I managed to tick her off and she replied, "Well you said earlier that sometimes you feel you can't die! Right?!"

"Yeah, but I didn't say it wouldn't hurt now would it? Are you really trying to get me killed now?" I replied sarcastically.

She harrumphed, "You already said to don't worry about that, so I'm not worried about it."

"Yeah, stop worrying about that, worry about this hook that's making me bleed out… oh god, I'm seeing the light…Kaley! HALP!" I said then I acted extremely exaggerated.

"Stop moving it around!" she exclaimed.

We continued our banter as we approached the gate. Allan saw us and he first noticed the blood on my ear, flowing to my neck. I also saw Aubrey guarding the gate with them.

"What happened dude?!" he exclaimed.

I just pointed at Kaley and Kaley went back to being her worried self.

"Turns out, Kaley is really good at fishing. She managed to catch a human being while I only caught a milkfish… Ow! Kaley! They're getting hooked, see what I did- Ow! I'll stop!" I joked then she kicked me a few times.

"Hmph! I don't know if you're really hurt or not! Allan, is Oscar back?" Kaley asked as she motioned for another attack.

"Oh, they came back earlier with the tanker and the truck but they went out again." Jenny replied.

"Guess we'll have to do this ourselves…" I said.

We went to our room and then we removed our gear. I stood in front of the mirror to see it initially then Kaley turned all of the lights on. I grabbed all the tools needed and I disinfected them all. I sat in front of the mirror and I tilted my head to see it clearly. Kaley approached me after washing her hands and then she cleaned my ear after.

"Good thing that it's just a small hole and it didn't rip some of the skin apart. Here, cut the hook in that part and pull the other one after." I handed her a small pliers while I readied a cotton ball with alcohol.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, go ahead." I replied.

*ssnnaap*

"Ouch, that stings. Cut it quickly next time so it doesn't bend." I said while I placed the cotton ball in my wound.

We then sat in silence after as we took a breather.

Kaley was just looking at my ear while we were sitting in front of the table.

"It won't heal faster if you stare at it." I said.

"Sorry, I just noticed that you have no piercings. Well, aside from the new one I made… sorry." Kaley said.

"Oh, never really find the charm in earrings. I see you have two in each ear. I'll just leave this wound here and hope it closes up nicely." I said as I looked at her ears.

Kaley chuckled and said, "I thought you would say something like it would get in the way or something."

"Hah! That is true though, what if by some chance you had a dangling earring and someone grabbed it by force? This one time…" I continued on telling her the story where I witnessed a thief snatching an earring off of a lady on the street.

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, that really happened. Her ears were leaking blood all over when the kid ripped it off her ear." I said.

"Good thing I didn't pull it out earlier..." she said sheepishly.

I chuckled then I pulled out my phone.

"Now we need to take a photo of this. Hold the hook in front of us!" I said.

"Wait, w-why?" she was confused.

"Well, this is still a fun memory. You know, considering the circumstances. We'll start to forget about the problem as soon as we start to joke about it." I said as I took the photo.

*click*

In the photo, I acted I was in pain but she was embarrassed from our poses. We took a few more pictures though I would jokingly remind her of what she did. We were talking for a few minutes then her expression turned solemn.

"Hey, I'm sorry again. It seems like all I do is apologize to you." Kaley said.

"Hah! 'tis but a scratch! Well, a hole to be exact. Wait, where's the fish that I caught? Did you bring it here? I only carried the tackle box and the rods." I said.

"I think we forgot it at the small house." Kaley replied then the radio buzzed.

-

*bzzt*

"Sky? Dude? Supreme Leader? Derek said you might have left a fish in a bucket. He brought it here and he said he placed it on your sink."

*bzzt*

-

It was Allan who radioed in.

-

*bzzt*

"Tell him thanks, we forgot to pick it up earlier when I got hooked."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Hah! I told him the story; he's laughing his ass out when he went back."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Alright, thanks for the heads up."

*bzzt*

-

We ended the short talk and we two headed down towards the kitchen.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Kaley asked.

"Oh, I'm making Sashimi." I replied.

"Wow! I like those! Can I help?" she asked.

"Sure, as long as you stay away from the pointed objects. You're like the guy with the glasses on the duo I watch every morning." I joked.

Kaley harrumphed and decided to throw another jab at me.

"Hahaha… this requires a delicate touch." I said.

I cleaned the fish first and then I removed all of its scales. I cut open the fish and removed the guts and the gills.

*shhck*

I then removed the flesh off from the first side and then the next one by removing the bone with its tail and head. I then grabbed two tweezers and handed her one.

"Here, feel the bones with your hand and remove them one by one." I instructed.

Her face lightened up as she picks up the tweezers and started on removing a few.

"There's a lot here." Kaley said while focusing. Her eyebrows are scrunched as she was checking each one.

"Yeah, are you done?" I said as I lifted my part up.

"W-Wait! How are you so fast?!" she exclaimed.

"Heh, I've had lots of practice, that's why. I'll start on the garnish and I'll ready a few things. Keep on doing that and avoid plucking some of the meat so when I slice it later it's still uniform." I instructed.

Kaley nodded a few times and now she was more focused on her work. I thinly chopped radish and I poured soy sauce on a small dish. I also brought out wasabi paste and I grated ginger and garlic.

Kaley finally finished her part then I thinly sliced everything and plated it neatly and symmetrically. It looks like a flower blooming the way I plated it.

"Wow~! Is that Sashimi?!" Rin saw us and she yelled.

"Yeah, want to eat with us?" I said.

"Okay, thanks! I wouldn't be polite! Sorry for disturbing your little date here, it has been a while since I've eaten this." Rin said as we all took a bite.

"Hmm! This is really good! Did you catch this just now? It tastes really fresh!" Rin exclaimed.

"Yeah, I could've gotten more if a hook didn't fly through my ear." I said.

"Drop that subject now, will you?!" Kaley exclaimed while she blushed in embarrassment.

Rin saw the wound in my ear and then I told what happened to her. As I was relaying the story, Kaley was shrinking down more and more.

"That happened?! Hahahaha!" Rin laughed hysterically.

I dipped the Sashimi in sauce and I added a few dabs of wasabi and ginger. We mixed and matched the toppings as we three slowly ate the food.

"Hey Rin, I haven't asked yet. How did you end up in this place anyway?" I asked.

"Oh, I was living with my dad in Japan when I was young but when he passed, my mom and I moved here and started our own lives." Rin said.

"Where's your mom though?" Kaley asked.

"Oh, she overworked herself by raising me. She passed right after I finished high school. I was supposed to go to college as a working student but I need more money to sustain myself. I've been switching between jobs and I finally landed here. Good thing I won the lottery by being noticed by the boss. Heh. Didn't imagine having OCD would save my life." Rin said while getting another portion.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it's also lucky for me to find you. There's so much I wanted to do in the day and if I do what I assigned you to do now my head would get bald." I said with a faint smile.

"Is that so…" Kaley chimed as she told the story about her parents as well.

"My stupid parents decided to go on a trip somewhere where they didn't even tell where they would be going to their kids. They're off the grid too and we have no way of contacting them." Kaley said with a frustrated look.

"Right, Olivia told me too. Well, she said your dad knows a few things and she said that they will definitely come back. It's only a matter of time, right?" Rin said.

"Thank you..." Kaley faintly smiled.

"Right. Rin, is there any chance that you know how to use a naginata? I have a guandao at the armory, could you perhaps substitute it for that?" I asked.