Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

My group did another checkup on our equipment before we drove away from the pile of bodies that turned to carbon. We'd stop for a few promising shops then we could continue driving. We were driving for a while then Jared tapped me.

"Bro, didn't you say before that there was a crematorium in Obando?" Jared said.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

"Aren't we supposed to make it available to us? Is it clear?" Jared asked.

"Where's that?" Lawrence interjected.

"It's in the barangay right next to Pulo where we broke off with Matthew and Unc Zardon. The route on the other side is Pulo, Obando, a few more barangays because we zigzagged, and then Tawiran. We drove right past the crematorium and it wasn't touched. We'll get to that if we lost one of our own but I hope we don't get to that." I answered then they gave solemn expressions.

"Bro, we're close to another DDR Camp, right? Another hospital after that corner? Should we check it out?" Lois asked.

"Yeah, let's go there. I hope we'll find a few items there even if it's overrun." I replied as I picked up my radio.

"It's overrun? Hope the items there are still untouched. It would be a shame if other groups managed to get their hand on it first. You think Borris and Cyrill managed to get to it first?" Lois replied, looking at me.

"I'm not sure but I definitely saw them carrying a few things that they didn't have before. Borris still has my gun but I saw a Glock 17 on Cyrill's hip. It could be from the nearby police stations, we never know." I concluded.

I told Tatiana and Mikhail to turn left before we reach a small chapel. Lois and Lawrence kept on shooting with their Ruger 10/22s and their body count was slowly piling up. We passed by several looted houses and an old printing shop.

The road was starting to get narrow and we encountered a few armed torsos feasting on a dead corpse. The two immediately took care of it before we got out that small street and entered the other road towards the hospital.

After we took a right turn, I made them stop in front of an old coffee shop.

"What's this place?" Kaley asked.

"I'll show you, come with me. Guys, make a small perimeter, okay?" I said with an excited expression.

I picked the locks and we entered a building which was a coffee shop on the first floor and a small two-bedroom apartment on the second floor. The place was still the same as last time. Old and yellow pictures were still framed on the left side and it was gradually turning to new ones once it reached the other side of the wall. You could still smell the faint scent of coffee once you get nearer on the table.

"This was where Jude and I first met. Cool, huh?" I chuckled.

"Oh~ wait a sec, this is a picture of two of you!" Kaley exclaimed as she saw a picture of us minding our own business.

"Yep, that old guy is the owner. He passed a few years back but his son continued it. However, it was not the same because the way they prepared it is different. It's still good but the signature taste Jude and I were looking for was gone." I said.

"So, you're just here to get this picture among a few other things?" Kaley asked as she removed the pin from our picture.

"Somewhat. It's just surprising to see the interior the same way. C'mon, let's just grab a few sacks of coffee beans and a few more items. Let's make the inside of Tatiana's HUMVEE smell like coffee." I chuckled.

We hauled a few items and we decided to have a quick bite to eat. Lawrence and Lois decided to guard outside while the rest ate a quick lunch. When the two were the ones eating, Kaley and I checked the second floor for any valuables. We found nothing on the second floor and it seemed the son of the former owner left this place when it hit in a hurry. We mostly came out of that place with high-quality beans and a few food items.

We went back on the road again and our vehicles passed by two small chapels and a little shop right next to a looted gasoline station. Right after that was a boutique, another printing station, and a bike shop. We made a left turn and we drove a few meters forward and we reached the driveway of a regular-sized, two-story hospital.

It wasn't as large as the one we have in Malanday and this place only had the dead left. There was a semblance of a DDR Camp being built here but their equipment here was not present. They were either overrun and the soldiers hauled ass or another group took their belongings when the soldiers fell. However, we still haven't encountered the dead here wearing military fatigues.

This hospital was built right next to a river that connects to the back of Borris' house and the canal system that could lead to my place and Tawiran. This was one of the reasons why we built a little pier to traverse places by water. It could lead us to places with high-resource count while having to deal with fewer zombies right until we docked.

"Are we still gonna check the inside?" Lawrence asked.

"Yeah. I don't see a pile of bodies here so the inside might still be untouched after all this time." I replied and we got ready.

I drew my katana and we jumped down and made a small perimeter first. We were in a T-junction and we were lucky to be facing normal ones this time without issue. I took the lead by lopping off a part of the head of a biter wearing a basketball jersey. My blade entered just under its ear and it left just a few centimeters above its ear from the other side.

I made Mikhail and Tatiana go to the other side up until the orange house with a destroyed minivan. We dispatched bodies as quickly as possible and we eventually reached the end of the road where the river divides this barangay to the one located on the other side of the river.

"Isn't that place on the other side leads to the City Hall?" Lois asked.

"Yeah, it's still the backroads after you get to the other side but once you make a few turns, you'll reach the highway. A few more minutes of driving, you'll reach the City Hall and the People's Park." I replied.

"Is there a bridge here somewhere that leads to that place? All I see is the river..." Kaley asked.

"We'd have to clear the road first. We're about halfway to that bridge that leads to the City Hall. If we drove for a few more minutes forward, not turning to that direction, we'll reach where these two main roads connect to reach the City of Marikina. The road to the City of Navotas would be from the other side of these two roads." I explained.

I was about to explain more of the way here but our radio buzzed.

-

*bzzt*

"We're done here. We found a working SUV over here but we just took the gas from it. How about you guys?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Yeah, just watch out from that side since we'll be coming from this side. If we reach your side, we'll slowly try and see what we could take from this place."

*bzzt*

-

We ended the call and we carefully hugged the walls that lead to the other entrance of this hospital. The sun was giving us enough light and the three of us moved methodically. The first turn we made, we saw a couple of cheap ambulances but the equipment at the back was already taken aside from the stretcher and the wheelchairs. Kaley was checking the vehicles while Lois and I were guarding her. She shook her head when she got out and we continued on.

"We're not taking them bro?" Lois asked.

"Forgot that we have a hospital back home with much better ambulances? It's not even fair to call these L300s ambulances. They don't have the proper equipment and they're just mostly used for transporting patients as quickly as possible." I chuckled and Lois smacked his forehead for forgetting.

"Don't forget we got mobile vans too and the expensive one from the airport." Kaley added.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just say I'm a bit of a hoarder too..." Lois scratched his nose.

I was using my suppressed Walther P22 instead of my Maxim 9 since we came with a bit of .22 LR fever. We haven't used much 9mm while we were on this run but we can never be too sure. Well, it didn't last for long because Lois asked for my Walther P22 because his Ruger 10/22 was taken by his brother earlier because he was guarding the other side with Lawrence. Those two were getting concerned about having their magazines not filled to the brim so they went back to using low caliber rifles.

We eventually met with Tatiana and Mikhail and we decided to fly the drone inside first before going in.

Lois and I came back with the drones and the controllers while Kaley was taking shots from a few coming from a street corner. Lois was checking the first floor while I found an open window to make my drone slip inside without issue.

"Lois, make them gather in one spot first while I would do the same on my floor." I instructed him.

"Wait, I thought we were just gonna check the situation then head inside?" Lois asked.

"Well, I just had a better idea. We'll just use the drones to make them come to us. We'd just basically camp by that door and chop their head off. Easy, right?" I said, motioning with my hand pretending I was holding an axe.

"Oh! That's good! Can we also place a stick right below so they'll trip and we'd just stab them? It would be easier if we do that, right?" Lois replied.

"Wait. That's illegal." Mikhail was gobsmacked.