Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Iskoh's head blew backwards from the impact but he quickly retracted and delivered one of his own. His right hook was too huge a swing so I quickly avoided it by tilting my head left. It gave me a wind up to deliver a body blow with my left hand while he's still in transit. His body folded but I delivered another one to the same spot.

His expression is still dark so I threw in my right knee towards his torso. A vein is visibly popping out of his forehead but I kicked his right shin right after with my left foot. He tried to swing wildly at me but a person without any combat training would be rendered useless. However, there's still a chance of a lucky punch happening so I'm still giving it my all.

He's gritting his teeth hard while he's breathing heavily and it shows that he's bearing through the pain I'm giving him.

Front kick to the abdomen.

"KAH!" he almost retched.

I then grabbed his body and I slammed him on the ground we're standing on. He fell on his face so I mounted him for a choke. His hands flapped around for a short moment before he passed out completely. I let go of him and I looked at everyone around me.

They all look the fucking same.

Jade was about to run to her husband but Jude held her tightly. Rod was bewildered while looking at me and the soldiers around us can't seem to decide on what protocol to follow when their higher ups decided to have a one-sided fight.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! HE'S THE FUCKING MAYOR!!!" Roque suddenly popped out from one group of people and started on shouting at me.

"Now this guy shows up. He's already fucking quiet last time and now he seemed full of life." I thought to myself.

"Kid, you better explain yourself." Rod looks upset but still confused.

"How many did he kill?" I stared right at him with a sharp glint in my eye.

Rod just stared at me the same way but he simply exhaled after.

I felt everyone that came from the City Hall react to the words that I said and it seemed to trigger a not so fond memory.

"It's that bad, huh?" I thought to myself.

"It was a fucking mess there kid. I had to kill a few myself." Rod finally answered.

"Tell me." I glanced at Iskoh for a moment before looking back at him.

"Well..." Rod started.

I found out that right when I left with my group, Iskoh is still hesitating.

The group of people inside started to get rowdy but there was clearly a divide. Half of them wanted to have them executed while the other half didn't. A fight was about to break out and that's right when Jade went down with her brother to check on what's happening. It's starting to get dangerous and the soldiers around can't seem to control the crowd that is trying to break into the circle where Iskoh and the others were.

Despite that, Jade and Jude managed to find their way inside the circle and that's when Kiko tried to do something stupid.

Kiko was actually hiding a small knife and he managed to take hold of a golden opportunity amidst the chaos. Jude was pushed down and Kiko is now holding Jade hostage. Jude's rifle was left in his sister's room and he only has the Glock 19 I gave him. However, even if it's concealed on his back, his sister's life is in jeopardy. One push of the blade and Jade would be bleeding out in mere seconds.

"I actually pointed a gun at Teresa to make Kiko change his mind but Iskoh made a more diplomatic approach. He promised to let them go with supplies, guns, and a vehicle as long as Kiko let them go. He calmly explained that after what they did, they wouldn't belong in the City Hall no matter what they do and the only chance they have is to move someplace else and start anew. The people's trust in his kind judgments before still remained in Kiko's mind and he was eventually persuaded to let them go." Rod said,

"Wait, them? Is she…?" I thought to myself.

I'm listening to Rod and his expression made me think that it still didn't end peacefully.

Iskoh asked for Kiko's knife and Kiko broke down and gave it to him. Rod said that Iskoh's eyes became different the moment he held that knife. Kiko handed the blade handle first but it came back to him several times, blade first. Iskoh gripped that blade so hard and he stabbed Kiko in his torso enough to rip his stomach out and make his guts spill out. The face Kiko made when it happened was inexplicable and he could only look back at his wife one more time before he fell to the ground.

"What happened to Teresa?" I asked.

"Hmm. Iskoh locked her up..." Rod answered.

"What? That's impossible, after all that?" I replied.

"You didn't let me finish. He locked her up with her dead husband and he tied her up so she couldn't run away or do anything. He started to wait for Kiko to turn to one of those things and devour Teresa inside. Teresa can't do anything to her husband so she would be just eaten helplessly. Iskoh said that he wanted to make her feel what the people she locked up inside felt when she did what she did. Teresa was begging to be forgiven and several people stepped up to try to talk Iskoh out of his decision." Rod continued.

"Let me guess, they're either close friends or relatives of Kiko and Teresa and they were late to the party." I said.

Rod just nodded and he looked at Iskoh.

"What happened then?" I asked.

"Iskoh opened the door in the premise that those people could help Teresa but he had other plans..." Rod trailed.

I glanced at Iskoh once more and Rod continued.

"He pulled out the gun one of his soldiers were carrying and started shooting them. Some were killed outright and some were terribly wounded. The moment it happened, the people that were against his decision started a riot. They tried to bum rush every soldier inside for their guns and some managed to succeed just because of their numbers. It became ugly in just a few moments and I even open fired to kill the lot approaching me. Iskoh prioritized his wife though Jude made sure that she's safe. It was contained eventually but the surviving people of the other side were killed by Iskoh himself. More than half of the people inside the City Hall were killed after we went through our list." Rod concluded.

"And Teresa?" I asked to make sure.

"She and her husband are the only ones roaming inside the City Hall. They're still inside the room they were locked in but Iskoh's plan for her happened." Rod replied.

"How about Karen? The girl I shot so you could interrogate?" I reminded him.

"I'll tell you later since Iskoh should be awake." he replied.

"Well, how about the people outside?" I asked again.

"The moment the riot started, they were gone and must've scattered in all different places. I have no idea where they went but they'll soon gather at this place when they discover it or find a new place. Iskoh's been thinking of taking them in to replenish more people but he wants to make sure that they would act accordingly." Rod answered.

"Well I hope it went smoother but he still did it." I said.

"Hey, kid. You still didn't answer me as to why you attacked him. Explain to me why or you two will have more problems." Rod said.

"Well, let's wake him up first. I need to tell him why too." I said as I reached for my pack.

I let him sniff through the small bottle I have and he tensed when he woke up. His glare at me earlier is still there when he saw me but it's been brought down a few notches.

"What did I fucking do to you?!" Iskoh immediately exclaimed after getting his bearings.

"You're letting it out too much. Can't you see your wife and everyone around you feeling uncomfortable? You look like shit by the way." I calmly answered.

"What?! Let out what?!" he grabbed my collar while staring at me.

"This." I removed his grip without issue and the temperature dropped several degrees.

His knees almost buckled when he saw my eyes and the people around us instinctively took a step back or fell on their ass. It seemed that everyone was suddenly in a quagmire carrying a bag full of bricks. I'm staring right at him and the look he is giving me earlier has been wiped out. There're still these dark circles around his eyes but the murderous glare is gone. It was only a very short moment when I released it but he felt it nevertheless.

"You're getting too bloodthirsty so I had to beat you up. That's the only way I could help you with that. Do you even remember anything that you did?" I said after letting go of him.

It seemed that he lost all his strength and he fell down on the ground. He's out of breath but he's still looking at me.

"Bloodthirsty huh? I could only remember pieces of it. I just wanted to kill everyone that opposed me..." he looked at the ground with a difficult expression.

"Taking a life with your own hands is a different matter entirely from ordering someone to do it. Some people, like you, would have the tendency to feel more in power when they do it. It's not bad per say but it's not good either. Do it too much and you'd lose a part of yourself and discover a new part unknown to you. It's different for each individual but similarities could still exist. You get what I'm saying?" I sat down as well to level with him on the ground.

"I don't understand half of what you said." Iskoh is shaking his head.

"Me too." I replied.

"..." he just stared in shock.

"I'm kidding obviously. That's how I interpret what I saw in you earlier. Mine's a bit different from you but I know what you're experiencing." I said.

"..." he was silent once more.

"Also, if you could see yourself in the mirror, you'd beat yourself up too. You're making everyone around you uneasy. You need to fucking control that since you're letting it out without you noticing. I won't be able to beat you up all the time." I added.

"Well what did you do for yourself then? I doubt this is the last time I'll do it. I've been really naive with my decisions and I failed to notice that the foundations I've built are standing on sand." He asked.

"Keep everything in check. Serene mind, raging heart. It's different solutions for everybody. You could start by apologizing to your wife. She's pregnant, right? It's bad for her to be under a lot of stress if she's carrying one inside her." I said as I tapped his shoulder.

I got up and I didn't notice everyone's expression around me. I'm offering my hand so that Iskoh could easily get up

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" Iskoh exclaimed.

"You're pregnant sis? I didn't notice." Jude calmly said.

"WHAT?! I AM?!" Jade was flabbergasted.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Iskoh is losing his mind.

"WAIT, I'M NOT!!! WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA?!" Jade looked at me.

"Rod said earlier, right?" I looked at Rod, same as everybody.

"WHAT?! WHEN DID I SAY THAT?!" Rod is looking at me like I'm talking about bigfoot.

"Earlier, when you said that Iskoh said to let 'them' go?" I explained.

"WHAT?! YOU MISUNDERSTOOD YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH!!!" Rod exclaimed,

"What? I thought- Oops, my bad." I said as I scratched my head.