Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

"It worked this time." I smiled inwardly.

What we did and what we discovered from this operation could make any sane person up at night. All I could do to ease that feeling in our heads was joke about it and hit at places where thinking of what happened earlier disappear for even a moment. The things we did and would be doing would haunt us for the rest of our lives if we didn't have an outlet, even if what we did was justified or in the right. I know that I was doing was not the absolute solution but if every little bit could help, I'd be happy to make them smile.

"Marisha will be busy these coming days. Maintaining good mental health is also vital in these times. You could be physically fit but if your mind is not up to it, nothing else matters. Everything should be in check and in complete balance." I thought to myself.

I was in deep thought for a moment but I was sent back to reality when I heard the large casing being ejected out from the Barrett. Kaley picked it up after laying the Barrett down. She was examining it but then she handed it back to me after a few seconds.

"So? I'm right, right?" I smiled cheekily.

Kaley didn't reply but her bright smile was enough of an answer. Jared and Lois tried to fire a round from my Barrett as well but Oscar bonked them.

"The fuck are ya two idling for?! Work those asses and help burn those bodies on the corner!" Oscar roared.

Jared scratched his head and followed orders but Lois ticked Oscar even more. Lois made that hand gesture that pointed at his eyes first then to the one he was telling 'I'll be keeping my eyes on you.' who was Oscar. Jared dragged Lois away before Oscar loaded his shotgun up to capacity.

I was with Kaley, Oscar, and Mattew and we were just simply idling about while giving orders when someone radioed in.

"We should have long shooting classes back home kid. Using just a single bullet to neutralize an enemy from a great distance is something I'll pick over a shootout." Oscar said.

"Sure, though we already have a few proficient ones." I replied.

"Hmm? I didn't notice." Oscar shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, aside from me, there's Jared first and foremost. He could easily shoot up to 600 yards but his highest record back then was 810 yards. We also have three soldiers who are Lawrence, Alexei, and Max. I don't know how far they could shoot though but I think Lawrence and Alexei are better than Jared because of experience. There are Kaley and Matthew too but I don't know how far you two have shot unassisted." I started.

"Hmm, we never counted though but it wasn't as far. The farthest I've done is 700 yards but I obviously needed to use my M70." Matthew replied.

"Kaley, how about you? I've only seen you shoot around 200 yards the longest." I looked back at her.

"Hmm? I don't know but shooting that bell was the farthest I've aimed at. Wait a sec, how about Lois?" Kaley asked.

"Pssh! Lois? Jared and I tried teaching him but like I said before, he gets bored easily. He got to 300 yards before and he started to sleep in the range when we took him once. But still, if he gets his motivation, he could shoot far as well." I was shaking my head.

"What? That kid is that lazy? Hmm." Matthew grumbled.

"Don't worry, he'll get his motivation soon enough." I assured him.

"He better." Matthew scoffed while Kaley and I exchanged helpless glances.

"To be fair though, training long shooting isn't as fun as the other drills we were doing back home." I explained.

"Hmm. Well, that's true." Matthew shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, teaching that kind of class could help us save a few bullets." Oscar said.

"You're gonna make them use that .50 BMG?" Matthew's eyes lit up.

"No." Oscar and I replied.

"Why?" Matthew's eyes dimmed.

"We'll start with something a little bit lower and we'll work our way up." I replied.

"What? A .338 Lapua then?" Matthew looked at me.

"No."

"A .300 Win Mag?"

"No."

".308? I'm used to that already!"

"Close but please don't say .307."

"Heh, .270 Win?"

"No, go back a little bit and a choose something a little bit recent." I smiled.

"Ah, fucking 6.5 eh?" Matthew nodded a few times.

"What's that?" Kaley asked.

"Oh, 6.5 Creedmoor." I replied.

"What? I don't know much-" Oscar cut Kaley off.

"Cheh, a .30-06 is still better in my-" I cut Oscar off.

"You use .30-06? A rifle round? Stop kidding me Mr. One Ounce Slug." I retorted and Matthew choked.

"KID?! Don't fucking start with me!!!" Oscar's eyebrows were twitching.

"Heh, sorry Mr. Fifty Lead Pellets." I corrected myself.

"What is that?" Kaley asked.

"The number of lead pellets needed for a BB Birdshot..." Matthew was about to lose it but he was keeping it together for his buddy.

"Yep." I nodded innocently.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Oscar lost it and he started helping Jared and Lois haul the bodies.

Kaley and Matthew were wearing the same expression but I answered Kaley's question from earlier.

"To explain a few more things, a 6.5 Creedmoor is just as accurate as a .308 Winchester but it has less recoil, less wind drift, and a flatter trajectory. We have a few rifles for competition shooting and I prefer using it more than the .308 Winchester. We won't be shooting targets farther than a thousand yards so a 6.5 Creedmoor is a fine place to start with. You started with a .308 so you'll have to adjust a little bit." I concluded.

"Why do you only have a few?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, I bought more expensive scopes." I replied.

"Huh? Scopes? Why?" Kaley asked.

"If you're long shooting, it's better to spend more on scopes than rifles. It's easy to trade-in a used rifle than a used scope. Once you've saved up on a great rifle or for trade plus cash, you could simply place your old scope on it, not buy a rifle and a scope again. I've saved more that way." I explained.

"Son of a bitch..." Matthew just had a revelation.

"I still don't get it that much… I thought I knew a lot already..." Kaley trailed.

"Heh, you'll know more when I teach another class. You focused more on your AR-15 so you started to veer off from using long guns. You'll pick it up soon enough." I replied.

"HEY!!! YOU LITTLE SHITS BETTER HELP WITH THE WORK HERE OR WE'LL BE HERE FOREVER!!! MOVE!!!" Oscar roared at us and we helplessly obliged. Even Matthew was dragged with us because Oscar had fallen victim from one of the classic blunders and had no one to take it out on.

In the end, we abstained from burning the church to the ground because we could repurpose it to something else in the future. However, now that two of the biggest hoarders were here, Oscar and me namely, we took everything that we could from this barangay. We started making rounds through the houses and we started tapping to walls and floor to somehow find a hidden passage.

If those hidden supplies could shudder, they would've already.

Everything that we would be taking home would be split 70-30 where the 30% was for our outpost in Meycauayan which was my old high school. There weren't any qualms about the division because I came up with the plan and most of the resources we used came from our camp. Besides, most of the soldiers that came with us even came from the DDR Camp in our place.

Most of the essential items were located in the large pantry of the church. Most of the places in this barangay were already looted and all the supplies were moved in a centralized location. We only found important particulars either in houses with hidden compartments or in the vehicles the cult members used. We took all of their guns and their personal belongings before burning them and my only complaint was that the ammo left was a bit lacking and their guns needed some fucking deep cleaning.

A few had even broken parts but all we could do about that was take them apart and use the working parts as spares or combine them to fit with each other.

It took us the whole day to finish everything up and we even managed to start some of the vehicles that the cult members brought that weren't riddled with holes. We marked the places we have been through and we secured the places with sturdy gates with our own locks. It would depend on our goals whether we drop by this place again so we decided to have fewer places to check for threats when we come back.

"Everything ready? Let's go home." I said to everyone.