Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I got to thinking then I slowly nodded my head in agreement. Furthermore, I decided to lend my Beretta M9s to Mark and Dong. Their eyes lit up in excitement but I reminded them it was temporary before I gave them a short run-through with properly using them. Oscar seeing me do that prompted him to let Jonathan borrow his SPAS-12 and he instructed him how to use it.

I push his buttons, "You're making him start with a shotgun? Do you want him to blow his shoulder off with those mAgNum rOuNds?"

Jonathan flinched at the remark but Oscar just rolled his eyes as he scoffed in derision, "Shut up, kid! We all know starting with a pistol is harder! You—"

"W-Wait, is it dangerous to use a shotgun first?" Jonathan interjected as he was about to hand the shotgun back.

I waved him off, "There's nothing wrong with that but if you're just starting, I think it's advisable to use something with a little less kick from a slug, like a .22 or something similar. I know a guy who started with airsoft and he could clear drills faster than the ones who started regularly."

Oscar glared at me and he replaced it with his S&W Model 500 with a 10.5-inch barrel chambered in .500 S&W Magnum, "Here, kid. Just hold it fucking steady, alright? Point it to where the problem is then pull the trigger. BadaBing BadaBoom, no problem."

'Wut?'

I instantly facepalmed and Oscar just raised his hands in disbelief, "What do mean by that, kid?! It's the only gun I have left besides the shotty!"

"Just give him the shotgun, will you? That fucking hand cannon will definitely break his hand."

"What's something that's not gonna hurt me?! A shotgun or a pistol?!" Jonathan flinched once more but Dong slowly inched closer and closer.

"W-Well, how bad is it? C-Can I?"

Oscar and I gave a demonic smile and said at the same time, "Hah! Try it then!"

Unc Zardon was just looking at us from the side, shaking his head, but a smirk was hidden on his face. It didn't take long before Oscar handed the huge-ass revolver to Dong and everyone instinctively took a few steps back. Despite that, I allowed Dong to handle it because I would occasionally bring my employees with me to the range and just have some fun. They all know the basic firearms safety rules though they still have lots more to work on.

Oscar started to give Dong a run-through, "Hold it tight with both hands but watch your thumb on that side. I SAID TIGHT!!! Yeah, that's good. Now aim it on the water and pull the tri—"

*BOOOOOOOMMM*

"I HAVEN'T EVEN FI— HAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU SEE THAT, KID?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! MY HAND FUCKING HURTS— AHHH!!! FUCK ME, FUCK!!! I'll just stick to the small one, sheesh!!!"

The sound reverberated around the whole area and we just saw Dong shaking his hand violently. Oscar snatched his hand cannon before Dong waved it around and Jonathan was already shaking his head the moment Oscar tried to give it to him. He stuck with the shotgun instead and he asked for the lower loads as I recommended.

"Heh, here. They're called 00 Buckshot with regular loads so it wouldn't be a problem for you, I think."

"Y-You think?!"

"I'm a combat medic, you'll be fine. I'll fix you up if something happens."

"That doesn't comfort me one bit!"

"Hey, I take care of problems after they happen, not before."

"WHAT?!"

Jonathan was now in a dilemma on whether he would continue using it but he soon steeled his mind. We laughed hysterically at the way his legs were shaking but we continued with the plan.

I turned to Oscar, "What do you say we go for the smaller one while they split up for the last two houses? I was about to vault over it. Picking the door wouldn't be too tough either."

"Yeah, that sounds great. Hey! You two split among yourselves and figure your way in yourselves, got it?"

The residence we let ourselves into only had a single floor but it had a nice backyard and a small swimming pool. After checking the perimeter, I managed to pick the lock of the front door but we still entered carefully. Looking inside, the place was full of dust and it looked like the house wasn't used for months.

It had medium to high-end furniture though the vases had fake plants for obvious reasons. A few paintings and art pieces were on display plus a few vinyl records in the corner.

Oscar ran his fingers on the dust below the flatscreen TV, "Is this a vacation house or something, kid?"

"I think so, we've been in this neighborhood a few years and we've never met the person living here. We might've bumped into them in passing but I'm not completely sure."

"Eh~ What could we do? Anyway, when are you gonna fucking tell me about that woman you've been hiding all this time? I gotta tell you, I think she's a keeper. A damn beauty, kind and fierce as fuck, and furthermore, she shoots better than everyone else here besides us! Well— err— my late wife is better in the looks department but you know what I mean, right? Right?!"

I immediately choked and I was fucking surprised that Oscar remembered that promise. His eyebrows were going up and down as he kept on twirling his gun like a cowboy and holstering it with a stupid look on his face.

"Haaa~ Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Everything, of course! Tell me everything while we work! Quick!"

'This motherfucker...'

"Fine, we met in 2nd year in high school. It was when high school was still 4 years in this country—"

"Gonna give me more details than that! I don't care about how the school system works! I need details of you and her! Not this bullshit!"

I scratched my head furiously as I took a seat, "Okay, you win. When I was in high school, I was this huge nerd and I was very introverted. There are people like me but they avoided me like the plague. A small group of people has been making fun of me because back then, being a nerd wasn't cool..."

"What?"

"Remember, I don't look like this at all. When you met me, I've already started working on myself and my fat has changed to muscle."

"Eh~ I don't get it. You don't have an ugly mug and I'm telling you from experience that you don't need a six-pack to get girls or even friends. I believe not all of them are gymnasts, right? Is there something else?"

"Yeah..."

"Then tell me!"

"Haaaaa~ Back then, I would always ace everything and that made me a fucking target. I don't know why but I started getting picked on by a group of people."

"Why don't you just approach someone and start talking to them?"

"Are you listening, old man? They avoided me like the plague, remember? I don't know why back then but that's what has been happening. I really wanted to make my own circle of friends but aside from the first reason, I was really shy and I can't talk to anyone unless they talk to me first."

"Ah, well... I know that too but where does Kaley come in?"

I chortled, "I'm building on it, that's how a good story works, you know?"

"Bah! Get to it!"

"Heh. Okay, okay. There was this news of a new transfer student but I never really cared who it was at the time. I just assumed that it would be the same whoever it was but then this beautiful girl walked in. To be honest, I was stunned for a few seconds and..."

"And?"

"Ah… I never really did anything about it..."

"Why? Fuck, WHY?! WHY?! You could've at least talked to her!"

"I responded when she greeted me but forgot the part I was wearing 1002 jeans instead of 501?"

"What do you— You mean fat?! HAH! You're just husky at best! I saw your pictures when you were young! Wanna see fat? Visit where I'm from!"

We started laughing then I continued, "Heh. Like I said, I was just there, sitting alone in a corner then she sat next to me. She introduced herself and I did too, after a stumble. I thought that was the last of it but we had plenty of interactions after that."

"Now we're talking! What else happened?"

"Why are you smiling like an idiot?"

"Don't look at my face! Continue on!"

"Okay, she discovered I was a little smart so she tried competing with me. She only managed to tie me in a few subjects but nevertheless, we got full marks with those. I thought she would get mad or something but she was actually happy, congratulating me on what happened. The whole class was surprised at that time but that was when my bullies appeared and 'told' me to flunk some subjects to let her win. As if that's gonna make her happy..."

"By 'told' you mean..."

"Yeah."

"I never knew you were bullied, kid. What happened then?"

"What do you think? I never let up. I have some pride too, you know? My bullies back then were smarter than they look. They would do all sorts of things like stealing my backpack and throwing it in the trash or over the school fences so I'd have nothing to pass. When they beat me up, they would only hit my torso or someplace it wouldn't be seen directly..."

"Jesus… You never told anyone?! Kid! You're an—"

"Idiot? I know. That's what I've been telling myself back then."

Oscar looked like he meant something else but he just kept quiet.

"You don't know what it's like. I just endured all of it and never told anyone. My parents thought it was just bruising from Karate or Kenjutsu and I even told my mom it was nothing as I nursed myself back to health. I know I should've fought back since I know a few things but that's not the way I think back then. I'm just… afraid… of doing anything about it..."

"What about the teachers though? They never noticed anything, kid?"

"No..."

"Those fuckers—"

"But Kaley did."

"Huh? Stop smiling like an idiot and tell me!"

"When we're in class, she dropped her eraser and asked me to pick it up. I didn't think it through at the time but the moment I bent my body to pick it up, I groaned and grimaced in pain and I saw her looking at me with worry. Turns out, she already had a suspicion and she was just confirming her thoughts."

"Shit… she read you like a book, huh?"

"It was then that she introduced me to her dad, her very~ scary dad, and for a moment, he thought I was her boyfriend! I was scared shitless and I didn't know what to do but luckily, her mom just came home from work. Kaley cleared everything up then her mom told me that she knows someone from school. We—"

"OH SHIT!!! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"Stop interrupting me and let me speak!"

"I tell you, all that's missing is popcorn— ah… continue, continue..."

"To make the long story short, the kids who were responsible got expelled. The number of injuries I sustained would make anyone grimace just from seeing it. I sustained broken bones and bruises enough for the news to almost pick it up. I asked for it to be buried down while the families of the kids who did it donated a huge sum of money for any 'damages' or so they say. We never really needed it but— Anyway, I still came to school the next day and they were all gone, even the others from the other sections. It was then that I found out the reason I was being avoided was due to them as well. Anyone who approached me would get the same treatment as me."

"Damn, kid…"

"Do you know what the kicker is? At the last meeting, I asked them, 'Why me?' They could've picked anyone or is there someone I did bad things to that I didn't know about? No, they just said, 'No reason, just to pass the time. You just happened to be there.' When I heard them say that, I almost let loose. You know what happens when I let loose, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"I would've done much worse. I would've bent fingers, I would've broken bones, I would've snapped necks— Well, not that actually but I would've done so much more than what they did to me… The places I would've gone for would've left them wishing they would've been hit by a truck instead! Passing the time?! What kinda fucked up reason was that?! HUH?!"

"Kid..."

"Well, I never managed to do it. I would've been expelled if I did that."

"Good..."

"Well, I almost did it. To be honest... Kaley just went ahead of me. She threw water on them and she shouted at their faces things I didn't think would come out of her. She was crying the whole time and the guidance counselor managed to stop her before she slapped the living hell out of them. Who does that to someone you just met for only a few weeks? A-After that incident, I met more friends and I started to enjoy school with her."

"Oh, so she's your ex? What—"

"No, you got the wrong idea. We hung out a lot but we went to different schools when college started. We remained in contact for a time and that was all that happened. We never became together if that's what you're asking..."

"Y-You never asked her out?! Kid, kid, kid..."

"Heh. No, never had the chance to..."

"AFTER ALL THAT?! TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING, KID!!! Do you even have feelings for each other and vice-versa?!"

"I was pretty oblivious at that time, you know? Maybe? I just respected her a lot and things just played out without me knowing. We both studied our hearts out and we graduated as friends. Hmmm... Part of why I didn't ask her out is maybe I got really scared of her dad or I just thought that I wasn't good enough..."

"Hah! I wish I would've met you sooner, kid! I would've taught you a lot of things if you were my neighbor. You're really lucky that you met her at the airport."

"Yeah, I was about to walk past her because I thought she wouldn't remember or even recognize me."

"But she did, right? You little shit."

"Yeah, who would've thought?"