Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

As Quinn struggled to chase down a few 8 to 12-year-olds in my compound, Kaley and I had already sat down by Marisha and Nancy—who somehow already knew where to procure a few snacks and prepared us some. She was the one who also told us that Edith and Rin were picked up by Charlotte and Chris and they were already in the process of setting up a few nucs—our place included—and they were now in Amanda's home, unsealing a couple of them to get them settled.

But funnily enough, Nancy was instantly loved by my aunts and whatnot due to how cute and helpful she was—especially popping up in their kitchen at 4 in the morning to help—while on Mimi's case, she was already put on a pedestal of sorts because after she introduced herself, she walked straight to our hospital to volunteer.

I would've preferred to give all of them a proper tour at the same time but some people were just busybodies and even though they weren't required to work right then and there, it was just a force of habit and their bodies were looking for it.

But yeah, I couldn't explain how funnily uncomfortable Kaley was while Dr. Nichols was casually talking with Marisha like normal mature women would. It was like she could feel or sense something Marisha was releasing that was just going over my head though at the same time, Nancy wasn't feeling anything to as she was just patiently waiting to refill our drinks with a smile.

Then I heard a question being directed at me though I was too deep in my thoughts to hear it.

I turned to Dr. Nichols who seemed to be the one to ask the question, "Ah— Sorry, what was it again?"

Dr. Nichols just smiled as repeated herself, "Chloe. Is she still asleep?"

"Ah. Yes—"

"I would've liked to introduce her to Marisha right now and it's such a nice day for her to start practicing swimming again but I guess we should let her sleep a bit more, huh?"

Marisha then interjected, "Who else was sleeping upstairs then? Besides… Quinn(?) and Dr. Sandara—"

Dr. Nichols cut in, "Please, remove the— you know, we're both doctors but—"

"Right, you asked me earlier… I apologize," then she turned back to me, "Dear? Can you answer me? I would love to meet all of them and perhaps get a chance to talk to them one on one too but my schedule might be full if I wanna have a deep dive with Sandara."

Dr. Nichols, a.k.a. Sandara chuckled, "Oh? Is that so?"

Kaley had to cut in, "Mom? Are you—"

The two older women chuckled before Marisha looked at her daughter after rolling her eyes:

"I know what you're thinking, you doofus, but I'm still very much in love with your father. I'm talking about just simply making her unload everything from her personal and professional life because she just mentioned that she really needed a therapist but with my professional understanding, I think she just needed a friend who shared the same interests."

Kaley tried to rebut, "We share the same interest—"

"In the same age bracket, is what I was trying to say," then she turned back to Dr. Nichols, "That reminds me, I believe you two didn't have a place to stay yet. Have you talked to Rin?"

Dr. Nichols answered, "Ah… Honestly, I usually just sleep in my office because of my workload and I just discovered lately that it damaged my relationship with my daughter but still, I wouldn't mind a small home where I could be able to take care of her more."

"Oh, I see. But she's an adult now, no? She could probably take care of herself—"

"Ah— You're right, that's not what I meant actually but what I wanted to say is that not take care but focus more on our stained relationship. I've been trying to work on it but I… I might've made a mistake and it has gotten umm… Y-You see—"

Marisha definitely sensed something as she cut her off, "I'm sorry but I think I might need to stop you right there."

"Ah—"

"It's not like I don't want you to vent but why don't we continue this talk in my office which coincidentally is also my home…"

"Oh! Right now? D-Do we need to drive—"

"No, it's pretty close actually. I'll also give you a brief tour along the way and before I forgot, we also have a pool! It's not as big as this one but it gets the job done. Shall we?"

Kaley interjected, "U-Umm, Mom… Before you go… Where's Dad and Olivia? And y-you know… Amelia? Is she—"

Marisha rolled her eyes from hearing the question but she eventually realized the little dilemma she was in because Dr. Nichols had just arrived in this place, and if her brief tour included seeing Amelia's state—even though she was already in rehabilitation—it just might be too much of a shock to her.

But Marisha took a deep breath for a moment before talking to Dr. Nichols inaudibly from our side.

It took a few minutes before Dr. Nichols's gaze snapped onto us and her expression was a mix of confusion, fear, and disbelief. Even Nancy couldn't believe the little snippets she heard but as we discovered that Quinn was already listening in from behind, let's just say that it was a small fucking world after all.

As my gaze landed on her, the look of rage or just straight-up pure, unbridled wrath was plastered all over her face as her shoulders were moving up and down due to how hard she was breathing.

It obviously scared the kids off that were trying to climb on her but before I could try to somehow calm her down to explain the full situation, a single tear fell from her face as she shouted at the top of her lungs:

"WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?!"

"Quinn—"

"GODDAMMIT, ANSWER ME! WHO'S THE FUCKER HANDLING THAT OP?!"