Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The chains rattled in erratic directions while my legs were feeling the stress. Moving in a pattern you're not doing everyday adds difficulty in the way I move. It's a few seconds before the fourth one is released and I'm on the 3rd boundary.

"This is cutting it too close!" I shouted in my head.

I had to reset the pattern in my head a few times since I didn't take into account the claws, jagged bones, and teeth coming for me since this idea is just made on the spot. The path I'm seeing on the ground got disrupted a few times before I saw it vividly forming in my head. The moment it solidified, my movements became very fluid.

The pattern is very simple to produce but the process to do it is difficult.

It's the braided pattern Kaley's hair is styled on the side every time we go outside. It keeps her hair from flying to different directions when we start running. I did the same thing to the chains by manipulating how they move. I had to circle around first to make the one in the 5th boundary move in the opposite direction. The ones at the 4th and 6th now have a space in the middle where I could make them weave in a pattern.

It's very easy to do it on someone's hair but it's a few notches harder when your life is at stake.

The announcer was out of words when I sat down at the 6th boundary.

The chains are rattling hard in my area, trying to get loose while the others are still just sliding around. When the fourth one was released, it was a few feet away from me to do any damage the same way the three zombies that got tangled up together due to the chains. I was sitting pretty, annoying everyone from the cocky smile I'm putting out while the rest of them are struggling to run around.

"Hey vato~! How the fuck did you do that?! Teach me later, eh?" Enrique shouted once more but he didn't wait for my answer since he's gunning for another lap.

The chance has already passed for them to do the same thing I did and they're stuck with running as fast as they could. Having more zombies to make them get tangled would be harder than what I did.

"OHH~ SOMEONE'S TRYING TO DO IT~!!!" the announcer shouted.

The guy complaining earlier tried to attempt it but his back was nicked when he tried to weave through them. Fear got plastered on his face when it happened but he was soon devoured by the ones chasing him when he stopped for a short moment. Another bullet made its way to that participant while the others had no time to mourn for his demise.

When I got to thinking how this game works, if you just run fast enough in the 6th boundary, the only trouble would be the first and second zombie. The only problem you'd reach from that is you'd get tired from constantly running while worrying for your life. I just found a solution to have a rest and made the other participants lose their fighting spirit.

A few quickly quit midway though Enrique and a select few kept on running. I'm not paying much attention to the other participants but there's a few special ones. Enrique is having fun running while another one on the right side is just mindlessly running around at the same pace without breaking a sweat. A much taller guy just jumped over the head of two zombies when he's about to get pinned. Cheers erupted from his display since his jumping power is an incredible feat. It got close when he landed since he wasn't on his feet after that high jump though he recovered by rolling.

"I need to watch out for a few of them… that one too… I didn't notice him the first time." I thought to myself while watching them.

I looked at the stage where Mr. Cuervo is and coincidentally, he's also looking at me with interest. Our eyes were locked for a short moment but it was cut off by another person getting bit. Several people have already died from this game and they were getting finished off by Mr. Cuervo's guys. The team that the persons who died belongs to have no one to blame except their player and themselves. They know what they've gotten themselves into and they were not forced to play the game, they were just given a new set of rules and tried pushing more than they could handle. A few onlookers have difficult expressions but they can't do anything about it.

The grueling ten minutes passed and I've rested enough for the next game. I was told by a ring girl that the prizes will be given after all the games are done and there's an extra reward if I won it all like Enrique said. She asked to shake my hand but when I did, a few more vouchers were handed to me again.

"Oh boy. Well, I could trade this for something." I thought to myself.

The other winners were panting after they're done and the zombies that were used during the game were being guided back to the container van. I was about to head back while they're setting up the next game but Enrique followed behind.

"Hey friend, nice going out there!" He congratulated me.

"Hmm, thanks for the tip though." I replied.

"Tiptoe? We're running back there, remember?" he was confused.

"The tip, the tip earlier. You told me moving that way could have problems. I thought you would do the same thing but you just had a minor workout." I replied.

"Ah! I didn't do such a thing friend but I'll take it like you owe me one. Heh, can you 'introduce' me one more time to that blonde chick you have over there? She's Tatiana, right? Wait, you're not with her, right? I saw you with that brunette with the big tatas." he nudged me with his elbow.

"Ah, it's a little bit complicated. She's ah, into women, not men." I replied.

"Chh! Bah~! There's no such thing friend! Why do you think they're using rubber dicks instead of rubber pussies, eh? They're just not receiving good dick, that's all." he chuckled.

"Wait a sec..." the way how the world works confused me again.

"What friend?" he asked.

"That's now how it works!" I exclaimed, chuckling.

"It is! It is! We'll just see if I'm right later, okay?" he replied.

"Suit yourself but that's a great analogy." I said.

"See? You agree with me, right? Just give me a moment with her and I'll do the rest. I'll just invite her to some salsa and I'll work my Latino charm, eh? Does that sound great? Do that for and we'll call it even!" he started to push me towards our truck.

"I thought that I didn't have to owe you, how did it come to this? I'll try to set a meet but don't forget that she's a participant and that she could fight. One wrong move and you'd get knocked out." I said with fake concern as to what would happen to him.

"What?! That's even better! Come friend let's meet my future wife, eh?" he excitedly hopped around.

A few moments later, Enrique is getting pulled away by Mr. Cuervo's other guys since he got knocked the fuck out. That fucking heel came again at a much greater velocity compared to when she first delivered it to me. I think it's a 50-50 chance if he could join the next game due to that.

"I told you so." I thought to myself.

"I hate noisy guys like that." Tatiana mentioned.

"Me too. You knocked him out though." Kaley chuckled.

"Sorry, he just talked his way here. He still had a lot of energy when the first game got finished." I replied.

"Aren't you gonna be in trouble for doing that?" Irene asked.

"No, Mrs. Cuervo likes me and the only rule here for conflict is blood for blood and I barely hit him. He was the first offender too so he might be the one in trouble." Tatiana replied.

"What are they doing now?" Ilya's looking at some of the poles still erected in the center.

"I think I know. That shape says it all." Jared replied.

The way the remaining poles were shaped already gave me a hint but when they installed the chain-linked fences, it made the next game apparent. There are ten small octagons compared to the real one in the central area being formed but they're cleaning off the blood from the mess that happened from the previous game first. The ten winners including me were separated by the list that they have and the previous losers or people that didn't participate in the first game were randomly selected to fill up the gaps evenly.

I'm a few matches away but I was flabbergasted when I heard the name announced for the separate block.

"CALLING VLADIMIR FOR CAGE 9~ VLADIMIR FOR CAGE 9~" the announcer shouted.

"Vlad- Ilya?! You bought in?!" I was in disbelief.

"Yeah. Relax, you're listed on Cage 2, lucky right? We're gonna meet at the grand finals if you win. I want to see how you fight by fighting you, not watching." he chuckled before jumping down our truck. He's already half-naked and made his way to the cage where he's supposed to fight another guy.

"I wonder where my turn would be." Tatiana chuckled.

"How did he manage to buy in?" I asked the group.

They all shrugged their shoulders so I have no choice but to watch his fight.