Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Irene looked at me while Jared and the rest killed a couple of the bloody figures coming from the opposite direction. The figures were moving much slower compared to the normal ones we're seeing so it was easily taken care of.

"I said earlier that someone placed the lid to cover this well. That doesn't need an explanation but what we don't know for sure is what happened before the lid is placed. Highest chance is that the people you saw last time looting the gas station were the ones who did this. However, there's also a chance that they just saw them already dead and they just covered the lid or they didn't go to this house in the first place and some other players did it. Looking at the state of these houses could already mean that there's not much to take inside, no offense." I started as I thought of more possibilities.

"Then how do you explain that we didn't get to hear them when we came by to this place last time? This is the first time we're hearing these growls. Did they come back here and an accident happened?" Edd asked.

"I'm not sure about your going back theory but it's still possible or it could be that they're still unconscious when you got here. There's not much to go on but one explanation is that they were hit on the head hard and were knocked unconscious. See those large discolored marks on their heads? We can't explain what happened to the bloated one under them since there's too much going on but solely basing it on their head injuries, they were probably thrown down this well after knocking them out. The moment they woke up, the little ones furiously tried to get out but unsuccessful. They tried to climb up but their fingers gave out in the process. " I guessed.

"Jesus… they were so young. Lester would be devastated." Irene had a difficult expression.

"Hold on, what were they doing here in the first place? How much time has passed before you went here last?" I asked them.

"That elementary school was a small DDR Camp. It's being run by a dozen soldiers and a couple of medical staff. They figured it would be much safer here than our place so they stuck it out. We just received a radio call from them that the soldiers were evacuating this place and they're not taking any people. It's around the same time when the soldiers at the DDR Camp at our place left the scene too. We just drove here as fast as we could to get to them." Irene replied.

I started to scratch my head but Kaley tapped me.

"How about the water levels?" Kaley whispered.

I had an epiphany and I smacked her ass hard for being a huge help. However, she kicked my shin and chopped the back of my head in retaliation.

"You!" Kaley has an embarrassed look.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just got too excited! Stop!" I said as I almost limped.

"Enough fooling around, did you have another idea?" Edd was annoyed.

"Here's what I'm thinking, but first, let's understand that it's a random time for anyone that's been knocked out by a head blow to wake up by themselves. Some even wouldn't wake up in some extreme cases. When they were thrown here, the well should be about full or just enough to cover them and they got submerged. The weight of the bags that they're carrying made them sink to the bottom. That makes it impossible to find them or even hear them unless you dive in the well yourselves. They obviously drowned when they were thrown here and when the water level dropped, they're already one of those things. The water level dropped probably a few hours later since the little ones aren't as bloated as the one under them. The people who took water from these wells would definitely have a heck of a problem. This could be the thing that happened or the other one I explained earlier." I explained.

"These wells? Why?" Kaley asked.

"Well, they're man-made and everything is connected by small tubes that run through their house. My family from the Quezon Province also have this same system so I know a bit about it. You could procure water from those hand pumps instead of tying a bucket with rope and scooping some up. Someone probably tried to get water from this place without noticing that there's bodies underneath. They took a huge amount too since this thing is almost empty. I hope they tried to test the water here at least before they try anything with it. It's a very unfortunate way going out by drinking tainted water." I explained.

"This is confusing, what are we gonna tell Lester?" Edd looked at Irene but Irene looked at me.

"It's really hard to tell the correct order of what happened just by seeing them like this. It's also been a while so a lot of clues already disappeared. I just told you a few scenarios that could explain what happened but I'm not really sure which one is the real thing since everything is possible at this point. Well, if we managed to locate the group you're talking about, they could have the answer we're talking about. We could find a few more clues if we managed to get those bags." I explained.

Irene and her group gave a long sigh before she ordered to hook the bags that the little kids were carrying. They used a long bamboo pole with a blade at the end which is used for harvesting coconuts at high places. We cleared them first before attempting it though we only managed to get one. The other bag ripped when we tried to pull it up and the items scattered to the nasty bits of the bloated figure underneath. Well, the ones that spilled out were mostly just toys so it wasn't much of a loss.

We opened the bag we found after pouring huge amounts of water through it by using the well from the other house. Most of what's inside were clothes but there's a little diary though it's already unreadable. The pages were stuck to each other and there's not much inside this bag. However, Irene shone her flashlight at the well once more and noticed a necklace being worn by one of them. She quickly grabbed a hold of the bamboo pole and tried to hook it herself. She has a difficult expression on her face and she's struggling to get it.

"Let me." I took it from her hands and she was adamant at first.

I had to slice a little part of the little one's trapezius muscle up to its neck so I could hook it properly. Wielding this pole proved to be a tad difficult of its length and how it wobbles at the end. I carefully pulled it up and we washed it first before opening the locket. Irene has just a difficult expression seeing the pictures inside and luckily it wasn't ruined. She pocketed it and thanked me for retrieving it.

"Let's go, I'll think of what to say to Lester after we find those guys." Irene has a serious look on her face.

"Just make sure to remember their faces so we can be sure when we start to 'talk' with them." I replied.

We rode the truck and we took a short stop at the gas station. Everything is pretty much taken aside from the freezers and a few random items in the convenience store. We found a couple of cleaning products and three packs of AA batteries. The only food item we found is several sachets of M&Ms underneath the freezers. It must've slid when the looting happened. We also checked the pumps if there's gas still remaining but unfortunately there wasn't.

Irene told Ed to drive away and after a few kilometres, she told him to turn right. We passed by the places she talked about earlier and we made a quick scan to ensure there's nothing else inside. The search isn't looking too fruitful at the moment but we continued on. We're searching through a few houses along the way when we suddenly heard a couple of gunshots further down the road.

We didn't waste time and we decided to go where the source of that gunshot is. It's really close and we found ourselves to a gated community that says 'El Cuervo Heights' on the wall. It's not as fancy and as huge as Woodlands but it has high walls and can be made a workable base. A couple of guards were already eyeing us when we drove closer but they're not even picking up their guns to point at us.

"Could they be expecting someone?" Irene asked.

"We'll see, do you recognize the two?" I asked back.

"No, but they don't seem hostile." she replied.

"Just be ready for anything." I said to my group.

They started to wave at us and they pointed to the little guard house right before the gate. We parked the truck and we're starting to hear music and cheering from the inside. A few from our group can't help but give out an expression of curiosity when they heard the small commotion. Another gunshot resounded from the inside and loud cheers followed. Another wave of cheers followed from a different source but we don't know the reason for it.

"Hey~ You guys must be new. Are you just here to watch or here to participate?" A guy with brown skin wearing nothing but shorts said.