Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

It's a depressing afternoon to say the least because of the things we've witnessed here and the earlier talk of whether the person that caused a lot of deaths due to a fucking lapse of judgement should die or not. I could feel that everyone has a lot on their minds right now and this is one of the times that I would always bring up something funny to make them smile at least but I didn't. There are just times like these that we need to soldier on and doing that might make us gain something in the future that we could use even if it's intangible.

Tatiana and Nikolas came out from a room that's the same as us that has a NICU label on its sides. They both have the same expression as us when we met eyes.

"You guys okay?" I asked.

"Well that is something to keep you up at night." Nikolas sighed.

Tatiana just nodded at Nikolas' words.

"C'mon let's continue clearing each room and hope that room is the worst we could see here." I said as I walked forward.

"Sir, how about the other passages where it is dark? I know we have flashlights but some of them are large areas and could pose a threat." Cruz mentioned.

"Hmm, what we could do is take the gasoline cans we prepared just in case for our vehicles and pump it on the generators here. If we're just gonna use lights, I think it could solve the problems here. We just need to go where it is and grab the cans from the truck." I replied.

"We need to be careful about the noise it would produce too." Kaley added.

"Yeah, but it would be easier for us to clear them if almost all of them would gather to where the noise comes from. We just need to be wary of surprises and we're good." I replied.

"You're familiar with this place sir?" Mike asked.

"It's all on the records from the City Hall, remember? This huge building needs approval from the Mayor and the other City Engineers before it gets built. I've found a copy of where each facility is located but we need to clear this wing first before we head into the main building. It's at the back of it right next to one of the fire exits." I explained.

The wing we're in is just a long hallway with a couple of forks and we're now in its last area to clear which is a small cafeteria. I'm hearing low growls from a small distance away and I'm slowly inching towards it since it is just the next turn to the right and it's a bigger area compared to the earlier ones.

I inched closer and closer and when I sprang up to the opening with my gun at the ready, I was shocked.

Several dozen heads turned to my direction which made a running start and I only managed to squeeze my trigger seven times before I signalled everyone to run back where we came from. My group was about to turn and shoot when I did earlier but I pushed their guns down so we could make a run for it.

It's like someone is having a concert inside the cafeteria since it's packed to the brim. Their bodies are sticking close to each other and it made accurately judging the exact number of them incredibly difficult.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

"NyyErghhHARghh!"

*CRASH*

We had already ran away from them for a few meters before we heard the loud crash behind us. We're lucky that the entrance to the cafeteria is fit only for four persons side by side and the walls that are made of glass are only the outside or most of them would have caught up to us easily.

"Fucking shit, RUN! FOREST! RUN!" I shouted at the top of my lungs since I knew none of which we've seen so far has speed that could break the glass walls just in front of the entrance of the cafeteria without almost a running start.

I'm at the last of my group while they almost stumble from the sudden change in tempo so I immediately looked back to somehow see what caused that crash.

I didn't manage to.

There was this huge wall of them when they started to spill out from the cafeteria and some of them are still continuously running straight outside. The glass walls have cracked considerably and a lot of noise was produced due to it. A huge mass of them occupied the whole hallway and their right side where the glass walls are located is cracking while they try to squeeze themselves inside.

I started to shout the directions in which we should run into since going into tight corners would make them lose speed considerably. I fired more shots while I turned around momentarily to thin their numbers as much as possible. Bodies falling in front could disrupt their run because they could tumble upon it and make their advance get disrupted. It's not a simple trip because the ones pushing behind them would make them fall face forward and it would be a chain reaction.

A few managed to climb over them easily though they may need to gain speed once more.

That short moment made me take more careful shots towards them and my magazine is now empty. I switched mags since there's only eight still running towards me while the majority are still getting their bearing since they fell down. However, I saw them falling down with varying sizes of holes in their heads before I managed to chamber a round. I looked back for a short moment and it was Kaley and the rest assisting me. We had a small breather but the surprise was not over.

"BACK THE FUCK UP!!!" I shouted.

I could see from the other side of the wall a humanoid figure running on all fours, curving from its initial path going straight to our direction. The only thing I noticed aside from several glass shards jutting out from its body is its diving motion before it made contact with hard glass.

*CRASH*

It crashed towards the glass wall then the drywall after it.

Instead of us running back to the door a few meters behind us, I shouted at everyone to use the hole that jumping fucker made for us.

"GO HERE!" I shouted as I pulled one object from my pouch with a pin that made everyone who saw it run faster than ever.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

"DON'T FUCKING THROW IT YET!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The figure I saw that crashed is trying to remove half its body from the wall and just as it succeeded and turned around to face me, my Tavor is already facing him and I already squeezed the trigger several times.

*B*B*B*B*BSSHEW*****

The bullets made holes from different parts of its head and it stopped moving. I watched it for a short moment to see if it would move even after that but it didn't.

The grenade in my hand is already back in my pouch and when I turn around to run again, some of my group are covering their ears even if they have ear protection on. The expressions on their faces when they saw me not throwing it and realizing that I did that just to make them run faster is inexplicable. There's still several dozens of them since I only killed a few dozen plus that jumping freak I took care of earlier.

"When we reach the truck, jump in, and fire at will! The distance we covered would be just enough!" I shouted as we're only a few meters away and it's backed up and ready to move after we board it.

The small fence we jumped before running towards the truck helped a lot since most of them just rammed it and they got skewered. Some of them still just run straight towards us not minding the obstacles blocking them. Jared and the rest of the soldiers already heard the commotion and their guns are now raised and Jared is already taking several shots. It didn't matter if the soldier's M16s are suppressed or not since killing the ones behind us is more important. I just made an instruction before to not use it in full auto so our bullet consumption is still manageable.

I jumped in the back of the truck and I helped anyone that needed a small lift. I looked forward and I surmised that a few also came from the other wings of the hospital since their numbers got bumped up.

The moment we're all inside, the truck moved towards the park while we took a small breather. Jared and the soldiers with him are taking shots at the ones sprinting towards us and after I took a small rest, I joined them, same with the others.

The truck has gone offroad and the grass patches aren't balanced so there's a small sway when we're taking shots but it's manageable. We eventually cleared them and we even drove back and honked the horn a few times so the ones that got left behind would come for us.

I finally sat down and Kaley sat next to me.

"That was fucking close." I took deep breaths.

"It is." Kaley replied.

"FUCK YEAH!!!" I then shouted and she pinched my sides.

"DON'T SHOUT CLOSE TO MY EARS!" she snapped.

"Geez, calm down. I still have a bit of adrenaline going through so I'm still excited." I took another deep breath.

Kaley rested her head on my shoulders and Jared spoke up.

"Bro, that was around a hundred. You didn't see them huddled up or something? You guys would've been killed!" Jared exclaimed.

"A bunch of them are just standing inside the cafeteria doing nothing. Good thing I noticed their running motion so we zigzagged across the hallways so they couldn't pick up much speed." I replied.

"But what the fuck is that other one?! That's still a sprinter, correct?!" Tatiana is still catching her breath.

I was about to answer but Cruz interjected.

"T-those were the ones who destroyed the gates." he said, with a difficult expression.

"What?" Everyone looked at him except Mike who is wearing the same expression as him.

"Tell us everything." I said.

He then told the story when their territory here was still large compared to today. Those were the times where the specials would only come one at a time and they never come in droves. The fences they had before are chain linked fences but not as sturdy as we made them and they saw several bloody figures approaching it. They thought that they could easily kill them slowly by poking through the holes but almost all of them suddenly rammed themselves against the fences and it broke down. Cruz and Mike were lucky that they were in the back of the truck and it sped up when the gates fell down.

"Hmm, that's something to be wary about. Okay, let's head back there again." I said nonchalantly.

"CAN YOU AT LEAST LET US REST FOR A WHILE?!" Kaley snapped.

"Oh, sure." I said as I sat down and everyone's smiling.

…

…

…

"How about now?" I asked again.

Rains of kicks and punches came at me not just from Kaley but from everyone still catching their breaths. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would although I received everything while they're enjoying themselves.