Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The moment he declared for the games to begin, bright lights illuminated the central part of the whole area. He started to light a cigar and I caught a glimpse of a handgun on his torso. At the same moment, a few of his men started to set up the stage. Everyone was moved away from the most central part and was told to go back to where their vehicles were. Several metal pipes that are 10-feet long were erected at the center while being 10-feet apart while two container vans appeared with people holding long poles with a noose at the end. There's already a socket buried with dirt that they had to clean out before they managed to secure them in place.

"Oh, it's that thing first, eh?" Jerry commented.

"That thing?" Kaley asked.

"Yeah, just let them finish setting up and it's pretty self-explanatory." Jerry replied.

Kaley still has this curious look though we all waited for them to finish. While they were setting up, the announcer from earlier is now holding a megaphone.

"ALL~ PARTICIPANTS~ LISTEN THE FUCK UP~ Here are the rules for this week. We've been in the process of making the games exciting for everyone that's watching and participating even before this muerto thing started. This time, our tinkerers managed to make this whatchamacallit. This thing could hold up to six of them in place and the gears inside will turn for five minutes. After that five minutes is another five minutes where all of them are chasing you. It's all a game of how large your balls are." he started by raising a mechanical device with six metal wires with different lengths sticking out.

The poles were tested if they're tight enough while another person is creating 1 foot circles around it getting bigger and bigger until the 6 foot mark that's looking like a target. Those 'whatchamacallit' devices are currently being installed on the poles while the ones where they have it already would have six zombies held in place by the device, six circular discs, and chains with a shackle at the end. The wires were running through the chains with different lengths holding the zombies in place. Each chain is placed in different discs so that they just spin around and not get rolled when you have run around for a few laps.

"Hmm, interesting. It's something like an alarm to get rotated and the countdown is represented with the release of the wires." I thought to myself.

I thought it was gonna take long but it was finished in a matter of minutes.

"PARTICIPANTS~ EVERYONE IN THIS LIST WILL HEAD AT THE BORDERS~ NO GUNS~ NO WEAPONS~ NOTHING~ ALL THAT'S LEFT WHEN YOU COME HERE ARE YOUR PANTS AND SHOES~" the announcer shouted once more.

He continued by stating the rest of the rules. Once the signal is given, everyone is prompted to head inside the circle while the zombies are released each minute except for the first one. Each participant will play a game of cat and mouse inside the circle without leaving it and the ones still inside after the time runs out will be the winners. The catch is that we're not allowed to attack them of any sort and even pushing is prohibited. Any sort of contact where we initiate is grounds for disqualification.

The moment the announcer said those rules, complaints erupted.

"Hey! That was not part of the rules before!" A guy getting ready shouted.

"Not even a shirt?! What the fuck?!"

"I need my gloves!"

"What?!"

"At least leave us with a knife!"

"This new rule is bullshit!"

It started to get rowdy but Mr. Cuervo fired his gun. It's a silver-plated Desert Eagle with what seems to be are tribal engravings.

"Hey! Just be a pussy-ass bitch and drop out the first second. Did you forget that this is a game for who's the better man? You're not chained with them, you're free to leave as you are. Can't even last ten minutes vato? I feel sorry for your wife." Mr. Cuervo replied with a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. He puffs his cigarette before holstering his gun back.

The guy shrinks down the same as everybody else who's complaining. Mr. Cuervo was led by a few people to the stage where the announcer is.

I began to remove my mask, plate carrier, shirt, gloves, elbow pads, and a few more things I have on my upper body. I gave them to Kaley along with my war belt, leg holster, Tavor, Maxim, knife, and katana. I squirted a bit of hair gel on my palm so my hair would be styled back. I don't want the strands poking my eye when I start to move in ever changing directions. My upper body is now on display with my tattoo on my arm and continuous training for years kept me in shape. Kaley gave me a worried expression but I made my pecs move to annoy her.

"Hah! Who figured you're hiding that body coach! You should've fought as well so our profits would be more than double." Ilya chuckled.

"Yeah, too bad. For the record, I took down Nikolas, Alexei, and Mikhail without a scratch. Tatiana too at one time. I'm just waiting for that Artem to come so I could test myself." I chuckled before jumping down.

I didn't wait for his reply but his expression is priceless.

I'm now on the outermost boundary and I'm just waiting for the signal. I'm looking at the figures on my pole and it's like a fucked up rotating elevator or Lazy Susan. They're spinning around due to the discs rotating when they try to push each other. Blood has already seeped through their necks where the huge shackles are placed. The only good thing from my side is two of them have their arms broken in two places. However, it was almost counteracted since the tallest one that's already circling around had part of its ribs jutting out due to a strong blow to its chest cavity. I'm locking eyes with it and it's a few inches away before its claws reach me.

I made the bones in my neck and fingers crack then the signal started.

I circled to the other side quickly to avoid the one that's already trying to eat me. I'm backing away at a moderate pace while watching it make its way towards me. The others still in place are trying their hardest to break away from the shackles but all they could do is either rotate helplessly or rupture the skins of their neck.

It wasn't even 15 seconds when I heard a scream next to me.

The person's eye was dangling on his face.

His face has a huge cut made from the bones of the ones chasing him. I've got no time to watch him scream and I just dismissed it as him flying too close to the sun. This first obstacle is quite easy at the initial phase and I'll see the difference when it gets harder.

A commotion occurred when he tried to back away but a bullet made its way to his head before he accidentally bumped to another participant. I've already made a few laps before the other chain was released. Since the chain holding it is much shorter and the radius smaller, the 2nd zombie could reach me much faster compared to the tall guy earlier while I'm running in the middle of the 5th and 6th boundary. I heard two buzzers immediately after when two participants moved away from the border.

"I see where this is going. Those disc would make it impossible for the chains to wrap around the pole. I guess this is a new thing for them too." I thought to myself.

It seemed that everyone was simply backing away when it started to release the third zombie. A few quickly followed after a few seconds of having close calls. The amount of alcohol, cigarettes, and women they've had before this game affected their performance.

The pace is starting to get harder on the folks who didn't do much cardio since doing this is completely different than simply jogging in a circle. Three more people opted out and the buzzer resounded signalling their disqualifications. More people are getting disqualified but a voice resounded.

"Pussies. I thought men are the only participants but I smell~ a ton of fucking pussies." I heard a familiar voice.

That voice seemed to have fueled something from the other participants and a few I thought were gonna quit stayed in place and held on. It was Enrique still wearing shorts and flip-flops. I caught a glimpse of him dodging differently and he hollered when he saw me.

"Hey vato~! You're still kicking eh? I didn't know that you look like a cholo papi under that armor~ I saw the putas in that house over there checking you out. Good luck friend but I hope you last long for the other games too!" he shouted.

"HEY~ ENRIQUE~ NO CHATTING HERMANO~!!!" the announcer shouted at him.

"WHAT~? THERE'S NO RULES FOR THAT EARLIER MIGUEL~" he shouted back.

"IT'S JUST ADDED NOW~!!! ASK MR. CUERVO~!!!" The announcer said.

"WHAT?! STUPID!!! ALRIGHT THEN~" he shouted back.

"Is that another tip perhaps? That announcer wouldn't change the rules like that if he wasn't worried about Enrique's words." I thought to myself.

I got to thinking of the rules set in place and how everyone's trying to evade them. It seemed that speed and endurance are the things needed to win on the surface. Well, I did a couple more laps to properly see what everyone's doing since I'm being chased by three dead people now. Sweat started to appear in some places of my body so I started to think how to do things differently.

I'm still running backwards at the 5th boundary while the zombie at the 4th boundary is the one closest to me because of the distance compared to the other two. Its mouth can't reach me but its hands can. The rest are still going in a circular motion and the only chain that has slack is the one on the 6th boundary earlier since it's now running towards me while also inside the 5th boundary. I had a bit of trouble computing the movements I needed to make and the steps after that since I'm still moving.

A few seconds remain before the 4th zombie gets released but the plan in my head is already set. I suddenly jumped closer to the 2nd boundary where the hands of the ones that are left chained up are almost about to reach me.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT IDIOT DOING~?" the announcer saw me and shouted on the radio.

It wasn't speed or endurance the things you need to excel at to win in this game, it's always the same thing I've been operating in ever since.

Intelligence, Tactics, Strategy, and Control.

I weaved through the bodies as if I had the correct path painted over the ground.

Claws and teeth from all sides came at me due to this path I've chosen. However, If I come out successful, things would be fucking easier. I'm feeling my heart beating rapidly and I almost wanted the ability to tuck it in since it would pop out if it beats any harder.