Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The moment I laid my eyes on her, I found out that she's looking at me with 'that' look. She's still breathing faster than normal and she's slightly biting the tip of her thumb while smiling at me. Her eyes have this glint while looking at me sideways and it's the same glint I have when I'm looking at a perfect steak. Her eyes always accompany her lips when she's smiling and there's a slight blush present now.

"Show off..." Kaley trailed.

"Hmm, I need to. There's this really beautiful girl I want to impress." I replied.

"Really~? I could say that she's 'almost' impressed. Is that all you got? Hmm?" Kaley chuckled.

I just smiled while raising my eyebrow. We're just staring at each other's eyes but my hands started to move.

We're at a complete stop and I placed the gear on reverse.

I stepped on the throttle hard and the car went backwards aggressively. I'm still looking at her and she's doing the same. We're nearing the roundabout we came from earlier and once we're a few tens of meters close, I lifted my foot from the throttle and I quickly turned the wheel. Our body swayed from the car suddenly turning though I have already placed the car on the right gear halfway through the spin.

The moment the car was facing the right direction, I turned the wheel back in position and I pressed the gas pedal so we would accelerate. The J-Turn or the Rockford Turn is perfectly executed and I attacked the roundabout with even more speed compared to earlier. I performed the clutch-kick method once more and now I'm looking at the road. The angle my Charger is moving is much tighter and I exited the roundabout after completing one lap.

I noticed Kaley exhaling but a smile quickly formed after.

I picked up even more speed and I'm planning to attack the last corner violently. The gate is still open but there's more soldiers outside patrolling. They all moved to the side when they saw us coming in with speed though I started to slow down a bit since the speed I'm approaching the corner is too much. I did the same thing as last time though the speed of entry is really a bit much. My heart is about to jump out of my chest when I noticed that we're only a few centimeters away from hitting the side railings when we exited from that fast drift.

"Whew! Now I'm impressed." Kaley chuckled.

"As if you weren't earlier. Are you fine coming out from that first roundabout?" I asked,

"Yeah, it was a surprise but I didn't have the same 'accident' like in the helicopter." she replied, blushing.

"Good thing I didn't see a ramp or I'll Dukes of Hazard the fuck out of this car. I wonder how much air time we'll get!" I said, excitedly.

"Sure, just warn me next time so I'll be ready." she said and I nodded.

I just made a simple exhale after and continued to drive inside.

I quickly pinpointed where Jared and the rest are and I gunned it towards them.

*bzzt*

"Stay in place or you'll get clipped!"

*bzzt*

*bzzt*

"BRO?!"

*bzzt*

*bzzt*

"JUST FUCKING TRUST ME!!!"

*bzzt*

I shouted through my radio and they all tensed when they processed the message. I'm coming close at a violent pace and when the timing is right, I hit the brakes and my Charger stopped right in front of them with barely an inch of space remaining. The president is in front with a huge smile plastered on his face and his hands are casually just inside his pockets.

"So kid, how was it?" he asked.

"Cool, the brakes work." I replied smiling and Kaley almost choked with everyone.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU THOUGHT THEY DIDN'T SEE YOU OUTSIDE?! HAH! FUCKING BRAKES, YOU TESTED MORE THAN JUST BRAKES!!!" The president's mood is at an all-time high.

"Hah! Whoever made this thing knows his fucking stuff. Everything is crisp and smooth." I added.

"Hmm, I just burned the tires earlier by making donuts here. Anyway, start to pack up since we'd be leaving soon. Come to Iskoh's new office later after an hour so we could finalize a few things. As much as I'd like to stay here or at your place, I have to take care of my city too- well, I'm the only one with a city, eh? You sons of bitches need to get some work done! HAHAHA!!!" Rod said.

"Give me full command of your military and I'll take my city faster than you did." I cheekily said.

"Hah! Well Iskoh already told me you'll be taking a few here for your place. I think he needs more here though you really deserve it. Anyway, eat something first since we still haven't eaten a thing from that operation. You guys are good on food, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, we still have a few MREs. We'd just eat what's available since we'd be eating aunt's cooking when we get back later." I replied.

"Then it's settled, an hour, okay? Micah, can you come with me for lunch?" Rod said.

"Yeah, sure." Micah said with a smile.

Micah followed after him but she turned around and waved at us before finally catching up to him. Jared and Nikolas waved back while we three just smiled and gave a small nod. I started to unbuckle my seatbelt and then Tatiana went over to Kaley's window and rested her arms. She's looking at us two first but then she smirked. She glanced at Jared and Nikolas first then she spoke in a hush tone.

"Hmm~" Tatiana hummed.

"What?" Kaley asked her.

"Nothing." Tatiana replied, smiling.

"Oh... really?" Kaley trailed.

"You didn't get me." Tatiana looked at her with widened eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Kaley is confused by her.

"What I meant by 'nothing' is that you two actually didn't… over there, correct?" Tatiana trailed but she signalled with her hands to finish part of her sentence.

"What makes you think we didn't? Hmm?" Kaley tried to hide the truth.

"I just know. *chuckle* You don't need to hide it from me. You squeezing your legs like that is one clue, correct? Anyway, are we gonna board this inside a shipping container?" Tatiana asked while Kaley tried to compose herself embarrassingly.

"That sounds about right. Rod actually brought a lot here from their runs yesterday. Iskoh could start in preparing them for our other plan if he wants to execute it in the future. However, he already told me earlier that he'll lay off on expanding his territory that much. If that's the case, I'd suggest to him later to clean up the Pasig River. It's chock full of garbage because of the people from the slums throwing their stuff there like idiots." I replied.

"That could help when we start to use our boats, right?" Kaley asked.

"Yeah, it's faster with the helicopters but we need to always have different options. Not only for us but for them too. Worst comes to worst they may need to evacuate this place and head to our place. It's impossible to reach our place by car because of how dense the zombies are here and the only option for them are the helicopters and the boats. It would make me wonder if they have a place to bug out on if they use a car or something." I explained.

"They just need to kill a whole lot more of them here so they could use their cars, right bro?" Jared added.

While we're still conversing, Jude approached me and he is handing me the Glock 19 I gave him. Everyone saw him do that and I think I know what he's about to say next.

"Well, his family is here. It's only obvious." I thought to myself.

"What's this about?" I asked since I didn't take his gun yet. I tried to play it off since I could still be wrong in my assumptions.

"It's pretty obvious, right?" he replied, robotically.

"Are you sure?" Kaley asked with a solemn expression.

"Yeah." he replied promptly.

"Well your sister's here so we can't help it. However, I'd like you to keep that and get good with it. Next time we see each other, I'd replace your .22 AR with a Scorpion or something much higher, deal?" I said.

"What are you talking about?" Jude actually gave a confused expression.

"You're staying here, right?" Jared was listening from the side.

"What? No, I'm still coming back. Here, take it." Jude handed me his Glock 19 and realization dawned.

"You just need a reload… my bad. Look for Avalos or Honassan and they'll show you where our ammo cans are located. Make sure to grab from our pile since the people here can't refill their own. We just found a place with a few of them so we have several extras." I replied.

"Okay." Jude said and left us.

"..." everyone but me.

They're still getting used to Jude but Nikolas is gobsmacked because he has least interactions with Jude compared to the rest of us. I parked the car and ordered a few soldiers to push it inside one of the shipping containers and to be marked appropriately after.

"Okay, let's have a bite before we do anything else, I'm kinda starving." I said.

"Our food is upstairs where the tents are bro." Jared said.

"Then let's head up. Kaley and I will be having the one with meatballs with marinara sauce." I said.

"Is that so? I brought the veggie burger with me. It's been sitting on my shelf and I kinda want to try it. Lois said it's good since he brought one once for camping in his school." Jared said.

"I'm having the same thing as last time." Tatiana said.

"The mac and chili one? That's my favorite though that's the only one I've eaten, haha..." Kaley trailed and it seemed that she's just feeling the hunger now.

I looked at my watch and it's already past noon and we're just about to eat breakfast.

"Hmm, how about we have a few days in a month where we fast? I'll bring it up later." I thought to myself.

"FUCK THIS THING TASTES LIKE CARDBOARD!!! I'LL SMACK THAT FUCKER WHEN WE GET BACK!!!" Jared roared in anger.