Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

0All three of them instantly sped past the slow ones and the sound of their bare feet hitting the ground was concerning. Furthermore, streaks of their leaking bodily fluids would leave a trail and their ruptured bits would flap because of the speed they were going. They were beginning to close the distance at a rapid pace and they would reach us in a matter of seconds.     

I immediately changed targets as I shouted at everyone, "AIM FOR THOSE THREE FIRST!!! DON'T LET THEM GET NEAR!!!"     

"W-What the fuck are those?!"     

"BOSS?!"     

"T-They're way too fucking fast!"     

"JUST FUCKING SHOOT!!!"     

"I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE OTHERS, KID!!!"     

"SHOOT AND MOVE!!! SHOOT AND MOVE!!!"     

Almost all of the people we brought got shocked and were about to run but our main shooters taking more and more deadheads down with a cool head made them stay in place and trust us. They were shaking as they fired but I'd pick it over turning tail and exposing their backs. Those things would catch them in a second and the better choice was to fight head-on.     

Kaley was on her 2nd mag after a shaky reload while Jared switched to his pistol to get more bullets out of it. At the same time, Oscar advanced as he unloaded on a cluster while Tatiana was in the middle of quad-loading, easily sliding four shells twice before aiming at the rotten bastards. The sprinters just managed to get past the bulk of the herd and they were only a few feet away.     

"HERE THEY COME!!!"     

The first sprinter that came close got peppered by bullets and it fell down immediately when everyone simultaneously aimed for its head. It slid and tumbled down past us but I made sure to double-tap it while my group aimed for the second one. I was a little slow with firing because of the wound on my right hand and I could feel it sting every time I held my pistol tightly.     

When the second one appeared, it didn't circle around its brethren and just mowed right through them, pushing everything aside. However, that was a stupid mistake on its part because its speed ground down to a staggering halt. It just came face-to-face with the muzzle of Oscar's shotgun before a large hole appeared on its head. Its brain and pieces of its skull scattered on the ground and all that was left was the third one.     

It was a few feet behind and I could've easily nailed but the moment I aimed at its head and pulled the trigger, it tilted its head at the last second and I missed.     

'What the fu-'     

I didn't put it to mind at first but when I de-pressed the trigger for the reset, it surprised everyone because it began to bob its head while still dashing at full speed. It was as if its head and feet were moving independently but Oscar just came out of a fresh reload. Oscar was at the forefront and when he aimed at it, the sprinter actually sped up even more. However, just as Oscar pulled the trigger, it suddenly cut to the left and leaped, knee first.     

The scene came in slow motion as I saw its shoulder got blown off and how I heard a faint crack when it cut to the left, but the pressing issue right now was the old man.     

Everyone was caught off-guard but all we heard after a split second was a loud creak as something hard bent and cracked violently. Next thing we knew was that Oscar flew several feet and landed on his back while the irregular sprinter also failed at its landing because its knee was bent in the opposite direction while its tibia from its other leg was jutting out from its rotten flesh.     

It still tried to come for Tatiana who was the closest when Oscar came flying but she unloaded four shells one after another at its sorry head. It already plopped down from the first shot but Tatiana was actually pissed off. She scattered its brain matter on the pavement with the other three shots but she quickly recovered and took a stand to not let anything pass. I could only see Oscar's shotgun broken in two places then something flicked off.     

I shouted, "DRAG OSCAR FURTHER BACK AND CHECK ON HIM, KALEY!!! TATIANA!!! ON ME!!!"     

I could still hear Oscar groaning in pain as I rushed past him but the issue right now was still the herd. The initial plan was to keep a fair distance or else we would be all swarmed. However, as Tatiana did, we needed to take a stand and start cutting them down, or else it would be more trouble if more of those sprinters popped up. I switched the grip of my gun to my right hand then I drew my wakizashi with my left hand.     

I rushed past everyone and Tatiana did the same as she pulled her pistol and her knife.     

My first target was a deadhead with an open chest cavity but lopped part of its head before I stabbed the one right next to it. Once I pulled my blade out of its skull, I fired three consecutive shots from the others that followed and then I strafed to the right to kite the ones after it. I was whittling their numbers down as I slowly changed their path and their rotten flesh with what I was holding offered little to no resistance.     

I started a massacre with my group though Tatiana and I were the only ones taking them down. It was because firing towards us was just a little too close for comfort though Jared and Jenny were confident enough to fire a few feet away from us. Kaley was still tending to the old man but we would need her help soon. Bullets boring through heads and blades cutting through flesh was all that we could hear and it was actually… satisfying.     

I kept lopping off heads like there was no tomorrow and I would only take a few steps back when my pistol clicked empty. I would reload by quickly sheathing my blade and pulling an extra magazine from my hip. After that, I'll just shove it up the mag well before pressing the slide release, racking a new round in the process. The whole process would only take a few seconds and I'll unsheathe my blade once again.     

Tatiana was doing almost the same thing as me and she would either kick them down when they would get dangerously close or send her knife through their eye sockets if they're too far. Her movements were a perfect mix of violence and finesse but she was slightly leaning on the wild side. My group at the back who weren't firing couldn't take just watching us so they eventually joined the fight and advanced with us.     

"JUST KEEP MOVING! WATCH OUT FOR THEIR HANDS!!! TRIP THEM DOWN AND RETREAT IF IT'S TOO MUCH!!!"     

"YES, BOSS!"     

"GREAT JOB, TATIANA!!!"     

"ON YOUR LEFT!!!"     

"RELOAD!!! RELOAD!!! ON YOUR BACK!!!"     

Mark, Dong, Russel, and Arnel with their melee weapons were right behind Tatiana and me while Jared and Jenny were much further, shooting their guns. Unc Zardon was with Kaley as she checked Oscar's condition and everyone just gelled together. The four dudes were working together to take down even a single biter while Jared and Jenny were trying to aim for the ones further away.     

Tatiana and I could hold our own but my mind was still thinking of the old man. With that said, I just suddenly heard the sound of Kaley's AR-15 and once I looked back, Oscar was sitting upright with Unc Zardon. I don't know what they're fighting about but I surmised that everything was fine and the old man would live another day. Our two shooters from the back became three and our push went even faster.     

It didn't take long before the herd became a few scattered dozen so I holstered my pistol and just used my blade.     

The group behind me did the same and I let them take down the few remaining biters. They were the slow ones that could only pose a little threat but Tatiana was with them to make sure nothing happened. I just looked back and saw the pile of corpses we left and I was sure it would take some time to clear them. I flicked my left hand to slightly remove the grime from my blade but I just noticed the blood had reached the handle.     

I barely noticed it earlier but my grip would sometimes loosen with each attack. Good thing I held it with my left hand or else the grime would get in my wound in my right hand.     

'I'll need to clean this later… very thoroughly...'     

I just wiped my blade and my hands with a spare cloth though I found a faucet to wash the blood off. It still didn't feel right because I had no soap but it was enough to look okay from the surface. Despite that, I made sure to not make contact with my eyes, nose, or mouth, or else it would all be over. I just tried to fight the itchiness in my head when I jogged towards Oscar and the rest.     

"You good, old man?"     

Oscar suddenly roared as he raised his shotgun, "SEE THIS, KID?! THE SPAS-12! THE FUCKING RUNNER BROKE IT!"     

'I guess he's fine...'     

I chuckled as I shook my head, "More concerned about the gun than your life, huh?"     

"Hah! If I was younger, I would've shot those three without issue and would never have to block! Shit! My hands are numb after that! Do you think I could fix this? Fuck… the barrel is all bent and jagged..."     

I briefly glanced at his gun but I got more concerned about the last sprinter that we took down. It didn't take long to find it and I immediately called Oscar over to take a closer look. My group didn't care to notice because of the chaos but a few things needed to be examined.     

Oscar lifted its legs with the broken remains of his shotgun and his face was solemn.     

'That's not just a special… maybe a special-irregular… different from the irregulars from the bakery...'     

"Fuck me… The damn thing lunged so hard its body couldn't take the damage."     

I pointed to the protruding tibia, "That too, its shin bone just cracked when it immediately cut to the side."     

Oscar scoffed as he scratched his beard, "Can't we just have the deadheads from the Pacing Unliving?!"     

"Then it'll be over in a month. Just move your hands faster next time..." I joked.     

"Fuck you, you little shit! But yeah, I should've just shot it. Got surprised, that's all. It would've torn a hole in my chest if I didn't block in time though. The hit felt like getting hit with a sledgehammer. Still, damn shame on the gun."     

"Well, you still have the other one to use."     

"Yeah..."     

I chuckled, "And all those fucking guns you have on your armory. You got what, a few dozen of each kind?"     

Oscar started cackling, "Heh. Maybe. Fuck me, I only have this Model 500 with me."     

Tatiana interjected as she handed her Benelli M4 over, "How about this one? You can use it for now."     

'They're done, eh? That's fast.'     

Oscar's eyes immediately lit up, "Hmm~ Not bad, not bad. I like your taste. An Italian shotgun, eh? I prefer my Remmington 870 and that SPAS-12 but I like this one too."     

I commented, "Old man, that SPAS-12 is also Italian."     

Oscar scoffed, "What? It's French! You high, kid?"     

I scoffed as well, "No, it's fucking Italian. You doubt my memory, old man?"     

"Kid, kid, kid. I'm the shotgun expert here, okay? You'll just get embarrassed! It even says it in the name of the gun! The French SPAS-12!"     

I immediately facepalmed and said, "It's FRANCHI F-R-A-N-C-H-I, not French! It just sounds like it but it's fucking Italian! Shotgun 'expert', huh?"     

"What?! I swear I-"     

I cut him off by showing the full specs of it through my phone, "Here. Want me to read it for you?"     

Oscar looked smug the first few seconds from looking at the screen but it didn't take long before it morphed into something else entirely. He just walked a few steps back in a small corner and my group didn't know what to do with him. Kaley tried to approach him but I held her hand and I slowly did a countdown with my fingers.     

Kaley was confused, "What are you-"     

'3… 2… 1...'     

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"     

Oscar started mumbling like a madman as he ran around the same area shouting unintelligible term after unintelligible term. I almost thought he lost it as he started slamming his head against the concrete but I'm sure he would bounce back soon enough.     

Kaley changed the subject as we ignored the old man's ramblings, "Could that be all of them?"     

"It could but I'd strongly recommend checking every nook and cranny. Tatiana, the old man is incapacitated so I'd trust you with leadi-"     

Oscar instantly bounced back as he interjected, "You little shit, I'd break your bones if you replace me! I'm fine! You'd all be lost without me!"     

"Sure… sure..."     

"So, what's the plan? Same as last time?"     

"Yeah, just watch out for any flying knees..."     

"Fuck you, you little shit! I-"     

"HAHAHAHAHAH!!"     

The group started laughing but we carried on with the second part of our plan.     

I made Tatiana go in the front while I watch the back, keeping Kaley in the center. We rattled windows, checked corners, bust down doors, and walked very carefully. We discovered a few more deadheads stuck in some places but it was easy enough to take them down. A simple takedown and a swift stab to the head was all it took to end their suffering.     

After a while, I marked each door while teaching Tatiana each symbol. She easily remembered them and we met up with the rest of the group after an hour.     

Oscar chuckled when he saw us, "Took your sweet time, eh? What would you find worth looking at in this dump? Everything else here is barren though we did find a few things worth taking, very few things. I'd suggest we dismantle everything here in the future because everything here is just hammed in. We could somehow make use of that and just place all of them in the scrapyard."     

I nodded, "Yeah, that'll be the way to go."     

Russel chimed in, "Hey bro, a question. Why aren't we going to the shops outside first? There would be a lot more to take there, right?"     

"True, I plan on going runs outside after this place is secure."     

"I m-mean we have the compound over there which is already secure, right? We should've been able to acquire more supplies if we went to the places where a ton of shit is stored! Like the gas stations or the convenience stores when it hit, for example. Other people might've gotten to them first, just saying..."     

My workers were in agreement with him while the rest seemed to think otherwise. Oscar was just shaking his head in amusement while Tatiana kept a solemn expression.     

I sighed as I said, "That's also true but there's a problem doing that at that time. When it hit, I think only Oscar and we would've been able to go out."     

Mark got taken aback, "Huh? W-What do you mean? We're doing good, right?"     

Russel added, "Bro, I think I could handle myself pretty well. Didn't you see what I did back there? I took down more than these three-"     

I shook my head as I pointed my pistol at Russel, "Don't move."     

0

Russel took a step back as he raised his hand in front of me, "W-W-Whoa! Bro! Dude! I'm ju-"     

"I told you to stop moving, didn't I? Don't move."     

Russel stopped in his tracks and didn't move a muscle the whole time I was staring him down. Mark and the rest of my workers stopped moving as well but the rest of my group already knew what I was getting at.