Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I was shaking my head in amusement at how they filled Vera's head of random sponsorship names that's not existing anymore in our time. Aside from that, the two are keeping the morale up by making up random funny bits to run alongside our little broadcast. They're even preparing for a radio play every weekend that other people would participate in. It makes the people inside something to look forward to and it is sometimes the talk of elderly. It was pretty much all they've grew up with when televisions weren't around yet.

We shortly heard Ilya's voice and the two greeted each other with a joyful tone.

"So Nikolas is over there now, is that right? Can I talk to him? Is he there?" Ilya asked.

I'm clearly hearing his voice but I'm trying to listen to the background noise for anything I might catch up on.

"Yeah, he's here. Nikolas, here." Vera made him sit down on the chair she was on.

"Hey, Vera told me you're tending to animals now, is that it?" Nikolas spoke though a smile is plastered on his face.

"Hah! She told you huh? Well, that's right if shoveling up manure to a truck is called taking care of them. It's like my old life before I was in the army. How are you guys holding up there? Alexei said your leader is a crazy fuck." Ilya mentioned.

The radio station suddenly became quiet.

"Hello? Hello~? Nikolas? Vera? Hello~? Is this working? *knock* *knock* *knock* You guys still there?" Ilya was confused.

Alexei and Nikolas are sweating bullets while the rest are holding their laughter. I on the other hand has this smile with a sharp glint in my eye.

"He's not lying though, go on, just talk to him… it's gonna be a fun ride when we pick him up… hehehehe~" I said while the room's temperature is slowly getting colder.

"Umm… *gulp* Ilya… he's right behind me and we could all listen to you..." Vera took the mic away from Nikolas.

"Oh." Ilya muttered.

*line disconnects*

"Hah! I like this guy!" I thought to myself.

Vera hurriedly contacted him again and he profusely apologized with Alexei.

"No worries, I get called that a lot and even my family members do. Tell me, is there any chance I could talk to the person running that place?" I asked.

"Umm, that's a negative. I could only meet her when it's sundown. Everyone's really busy here when the sun is up and I only have 15 minutes to talk to you everyday. After this, I would be walking around their fences to see if there's a breach of some sort." Ilya replied.

"Is that so? Is she with a group going at runs outside for supplies? I hope you have the fuel for it because of how the buildings are spaced there is unlike our own. You'd travel for a while just to get to a general store. They have those there but the other ones would be spread out several kilometers. How are you all on supplies?" I asked.

"Well if we're talking about supplies, food-wise, it's pretty good here because of all the animals, fruit-bearing trees, and crops. They don't use the generators here as much so all the fuel goes into the vehicles. She's just looking for stranded people outside that need help. If you do come here, you two should at least have a talk of some sort. Oh yeah, my time's about to run out, any more questions?" Ilya replied.

"I guess I could just ask you more when we get there- wait, how many are you all there?" I asked.

"Our numbers? There's around sixty working adults here and around the same number for children plus the elderly." Ilya replied, half-sure.

"How about soldiers? There's at least a DDR Camp there, right?" I asked.

"There's only six including me. They said there used to be more but they just left on their own, taking most of the guns and military vehicles. Oh, I really have to go since my time's up, bye." Ilya disconnected the call.

"What do you think?" Tatiana asked while Nikolas is in deep thought.

"Just from that conversation, that place is definitely one of the camps that has gone AWOL though it's not one of the hostile ones. We're not sure why the other soldiers left though. A place that has an abundance of food is something I wouldn't just leave like that. We'll know once we reach the place." I replied.

"Isn't their numbers a little… little?" Kaley added.

"Yeah, before this thing hits, that barangay by itself just has a population of 3000+ and the land they have is several times larger than a barangay here. I'm guessing their leader thinks that most of the residents of that place got stuck in the city next to them and she's trying to get them back. Not only that, like you said, their numbers are too little for a place that big. She's trying to recruit anyone she encounters but the thing is that the population over there is too scarce. They're not in the urban areas like us." I replied.

"So, what's the plan now?" Vera asked.

"I want you to stay here and keep doing that. However, try broadcasting at these frequencies. Look for a guy named Hill." I replied and I wrote on a piece of paper.

"Hill? Who is that?" Vera asked.

"An old 'friend' of mine. He's also staying in the same region they're in. I just don't know where exactly he is but if he's still alive, he's definitely at some place with his radio listening in to anything. Don't mention my name though, just say out loud that someone named 'Julianne' is looking for a man with his name. He'd try to contact you but pretend that you're not hearing him." I replied

"What? Why?" Vera asked again.

"Long story, no subtitles. Just do it and when you hooked him in, he would keep on chattering at the radio. Use that to figure out his approximate location. If we're gonna search blind for your other team members, he's the guy, trust me." I replied.

"How about us? We're gonna pack now, correct?" Tatiana stood up.

"Yeah, same team before but instead of Jude, Alexei will be coming with us. Alexei, just ask any of our group what to bring and if you need anything else, look for me." I replied and he nodded.

"Bro, are we packing the same thing when we went to Manila?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, it's supposed to be a short pickup but we could never be too sure. Let's just pack everything that we need and let's all meet at the pool area before 3:00 PM, okay?" I looked at my group.

"I'm almost ready. I still haven't unpacked and all I needed to do is replenish my MREs and a few bullets." Jared chuckled.

We all headed back and I started to check up on a few more things.

Since I've awarded my Lone Wolf G9 to Micah, Kaley is using her usual AR15 for now. I said I'd fix up another one for her but she said that time's running short and it wasn't much of an issue. She also mentioned that the decreased range for that is something she doesn't like. I just decided that I'll bring out the CQBR or the MK18 for her in the future.

It's the same thing as her AR15 but has a shorter barrel. Instead of the 16-inch barrel that her AR uses, this one uses a 10.3 inch one and has a few more features, positive and negative. If I add all the attachments her gun has now to it, she'd feel how maneuverable and how compact it is and she'd still be able to fire rifle rounds unlike her old G9. It would always take some time getting used to but that's for another time.

I brought a few more things for trade just in case I find something I like and also a few things to give to their group for taking in Ilya. I brought some stuff before when we went to Manila but it all ended up to Iskoh without much of a barter. This time, I'm planning to let out my silver tongue for the few things I'm bringing with us.

I'm bringing the guns we've acquired from the hostile group earlier and a few Hi-Points that would make my sleep better the farther away they are. I'm not providing extra magazines but I'm bringing extra ammo since it could be easily negotiated.

We finally assembled below and Oscar's waiting for us.

"You're gonna fetch the other one, eh? Stay safe. Be back before dinner if possible. Meanwhile, I'll take care of my- I mean your Charger for you, heh." Oscar chuckled.

"How about the couple we brought here?" I asked.

"I took care of it. They're locked up in the DDR Camp and they're being 'questioned' ever since you came here. We'll know everything they'll know before you come back. Oh yeah, are the two pilots coming back today?" Oscar replied.

"Maybe a few more days. It would take time to gather what I requested from your buddy. There's a lot of moving parts now old man, things are slowly coming together." I smiled.

"Hmm, the sooner we solve our shit here the sooner we could move onto more bigger shit." Oscar replied.

"Well, we're leaving again for a short while. Hold the fort again, yeah?" I gathered my group on the Raptor.

A few people escorted us to the S-76 and I checked everything first before boarding. We loaded all our baggage with a few boxes of knick knacks and we said our short goodbyes to everyone present. It took a while before I managed to convince Zeus that we wouldn't be away for long but I finally left him to Olivia's care.

I looked outside and my group is having second thoughts on riding it. Alexei was the first one to board it but he was confused as to why everyone's holding their pistols.

"The fuck are you guys doing? A fly-by? Is that a thing now?" Alexei said.

"You wouldn't get it." everyone answered with a grim look.