Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The sound of the truck started to attract the ones in the vicinity towards our direction but instead of waiting for them to come to us, we steadily advanced. I've instructed two soldiers to stay near the guard house to watch the gate just in case someone or something approached it. They could take care of a problem if it's easy enough though I ordered them to radio in if something important happens.

On our side, there's several of them coming from different directions but most of them are coming from the canteen which is still several meters away. They're coming at us at different speeds but they're not at the level of a sprinter yet.

We tend to use our melee weapons as much as possible on the normal ones but if one is even seemingly like a sprinter, we shoot it down immediately. Not only for the chance that it might be one but also for the reason of its rotten body getting close to us being a huge risk to everybody present.

Some of them still have their bodies completely intact though some have their bodies already rotten to the point that some of it is already like mush. If one of those zombies with that body type, or even the ones that have their guts torn or have parts that are almost falling off, if they started to run towards us with speed, we shoot them down.

The reason why them being close to us is a risk is imagine placing water on your hands and flailing them around violently. The water would scatter in every direction and anyone close to it is gonna get sprinkled. Now, imagine a zombie running at you at violent speeds, the nasty bits and pieces on it would also reach places when it starts its running motion. It poses a risk of it getting into our eyes or something that would lead to infection. We faced them before up close and personal but I figured that we'd only do that again if we do not have any other options. Yes we're covered from head to toe when we go out but a lucky punch is a lucky punch, and that is one stupid way to go down.

I sidestepped from a bloody figure that was slowly pacing while I made an upward slash from below that entered its chin and left the top of its head completely removing its face. Black and red sludge came out from the severed parts and a shorter one is running towards me. Slightly opposite of what I did earlier, my slash came from above, entering the top of its head but it left around its nape.

I'm at the front leading the way towards the canteen. I'm curious about the appearance of some of them and I want to know what caused it.

The building is facing a small fountain with the rest of the other buildings next to it and that made it face sideways so we can't see its entrance from where we came from. It seems that we've killed a number of them since the zombies coming from that place has significantly lessened.

The moment we reached that area and saw the entrance of the place, I immediately understood as to why they're looking like that. I thought it was something else entirely but it was caused by the design of the building itself.

"Uhh, that is some fucked up shit." Cruz remarked.

It's a wall of hands.

Aside from the doors which are kinda loosely wrapped around by chains, the front walls of the canteen are designed differently. It looks like the pattern of a beehive where there are small holes which an arm could barely fit into. This place and the other building have a theme of insects and this place seemed to get the memo for bees. It's several hexagonal patterns formed by cement that is just as high as the average person.

However, what we're seeing right now aside from the hexagonal holes are several hands waving around where their hands are the only ones that have skin remaining. A few of the hands waving around are getting chewed up by some of the bloody figures outside that happened upon them. There is this greasy consistency that is flowing below every time they try to pull their hands out. There's a few skin gloves at the floor where I surmise came from some of them that have successfully freed themselves from that predicament.

"New rule, be careful eating Fringles. Just angle the can downward instead of trying so hard to reach it." I mentioned and everyone around slowly turned their heads towards me.

"What?" I said as they all shook their heads with varying expressions.

"I think I'm gonna trade the small Fringles can I packed for something else..." Cruz trailed.

"Hah! I have something I could trade with that. Let's take care of everything here now. We could easily just poke them through the holes instead of removing those chains. Let's just do this first then we go to that small office. I think we've thinned most of them coming here, we'd have to check this place again when we come back just in case." I instructed everyone.

"Sir, I have a question." Cruz approached me.

"Hm? What is it?" I replied.

"Who locked them there?" he asked with a serious look.

"It wasn't me." I quickly replied.

Tatiana snorted.

"No! I mean, this place is always open to the public and I'm just wondering if they got locked up here when it started or the other way around." he explained.

"It could be anything now really but look at their clothes." I replied.

"Their clothes?" he said as he looked at some of them.

"Most of them are still wearing their daily uniforms and some are even wearing flip flops. That could mean that they were either locked up here when it started and it turned out that there's one of those infected inside or someone gathered them here sloppily since they can't kill them that instant or something else entirely. Like I said, it could be anything. It's up to us to notice a few things so our deductions could be closer to the truth. We'd find out more clues if we clear this area." I replied.

We gradually cleared everything up and we hauled everything we found useful inside. We found most of the food from the canteen obviously but there's a few snacks in the souvenir shop and gallons of water in the other buildings placed in a dispenser.

"So they were here when it started." I said after looking at our haul.

"Because of the amount of food, correct?" Tatiana said.

"I think so too." Nikolas suddenly chimed.

"Oh shit, I thought you started a vow of silence. You've never spoken a word and just kept on nodding at me!" I exclaimed.

"W-well… I'm still lightheaded..." Nikolas embarrassingly said.

"Hah! You'll get used to it." I replied.

"Used to it?" Nikolas was confused.

"What do you think we're gonna use to go back to our place? Unless you know how to fly a helicopter, I'd still still be driving home." I'm smiling devilishly.

"Oh no." Tatiana chimed.

"What are you guys talking about? That was cool seeing from below! I wish I was there." Cruz excitedly said but everyone besides me were clearly against it.

"Well I'm not gonna do it when we go back since Oscar might kill me. I surprised him once and I got beat up by all his veteran buddies. I thought they would like it but they clearly don't!" I'm shrugging my shoulders.

"Sir, I think there's still the issue of the person who did it." Cruz brought us back.

"I think it's pretty obvious already." I replied.

"Sir?" he was still confused.

"Unless a person that is always carrying chains and that huge ass lock randomly came in when it happened, I'm betting that the people who maintain this place did it. They might've panicked and made a boneheaded mistake like this or something similar but they'll pay for it. Something like this happened at my place and that person was executed." I replied.

"Sir..." one of the other soldiers chimed to our conversation.

"Mike, right?" I replied.

"Yes, t-the people who were maintaining this place are actually in our City Hall." Mike announced.

I made a long sigh and then I wiped the blood off my blade.

"Well they better have an excellent explanation as to why they did it if they are the ones who did it unlike the principal at our place or this would be their last day." I casually mentioned.

They were giving me solemn expressions.

"I think we're done here for now. Let's head back, shall we?" I said.

I wanted to hit the hospital but our truck's full and we need to take a short rest before doing something more strenuous. We rode the truck and the woman we tied up is bearing through the pain and still glaring at me.

I simply smiled at her and said, "Having fun playing gangster yet?"