Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I was cheekily smiling when Jared's gaze landed on me.

"You have something bro?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, something like that. We wouldn't be able to do it this instant though." I replied.

"Can you at least tell us the general idea of it then?" Kaley asked, curious.

"Well, if you want to know, it involves a few cheap phones and the relays we have installed all around this area. The devices fully cover our barangay but in other places such as this, we are only following a pseudo-straight line, simply speaking. I could do it myself but I'll ask Ken or Kris to code a simple app to semi-track where the phone has been. It doesn't have to be accurate, as long as it moves from its original position, I want it to send data through the relays back to our place." I explained briefly.

"That makes sense." Tatiana chimed.

"Hmm, I agree. I would be better to know where they've gone through our phones than randomly looking for them when their body disappears. A body disappearing at this time especially a zombie could be for different reasons. Right, bro?" Jared nodded his head a few times.

"Yeah, that's the idea. It's like a simple GPS receiver but instead of using the satellites from all around the world to locate them, we'll be using the relays instead. We'll take a few more bodies back home and we'll install it on their bodies securely so it wouldn't get shaken off by a simple bump or something." I added.

Some people understood the general idea of what we were doing. They also nodded in agreement while the others continued to do what they know. However, they still asked a few things for clarification. It wasn't a bad thing not to know about such stuff but letting yourself be in the dark was something much worse.

It was standard procedure to clean up the rest of the bodies after securing a few but we were faster by a few minutes this time. Some of the group were with Jared and Kaley helping with clearing the ones approaching like Ashley and Max but I couldn't help myself smiling from watching Ibarra become uneasy of the bullets being used.

'What if I bring him with me later with Rin so I could assure him by a bit that we could make bullets? I'll be teaching Rin a new skill but it's dangerous for her so I'll let someone assist her aside from me.' I thought to myself.

"Okay guys, we'll leave you here and I'll leave it to you if you'll loot the other places around because we've already looted this chapel here. It seemed that they mostly took everything from around this block but we could never be too sure, right? We'll start to drive inside the barangay of Rincon, after driving inside the barangay of Malinta, and possibly meet up with Dong's group, okay? Also..." I left a few instructions and they all nodded.

Aside from clothing, food items, random electronics, IDs, and random utility equipment, we managed to scrounge several rifles, shotguns, and pistols from the chapel. It wasn't much compared to what we would get from a loaded DDR Camp but it was enough to arm a small community.

However, I found three boxes of .270s but the rifle or rifles that could shoot them weren't present. The .270 was a great caliber for hunting and it was popularly used for deer even in other countries. Not only that, but the .270 also had an advantage over energy, velocity, and even drop compared to the 6.5 Creedmoor that my Daniel Defense DV uses. However, there were also a few things that the 6.5 Creedmoor had an advantage so it was better to just simply use what one prefers.

It could be for other reasons as to why the rifle was missing but now was not the time to think about it.

"This is where we'll turn, correct?" Tatiana asked because she was the one driving the Humvee.

"Yeah, let's stop by that pharmacy first." I replied.

We eventually reached the intersection that could lead us to the barangay of Rincon or to the hospital we looted before that was near the City of Malabon. However, the presence of the dead hadn't diminished one bit. The smell wafting through our nose was always horrible so wearing a mask to cover our faces didn't become an issue.

My people have been clearing the road near our place but in these areas, we haven't done much. The main focus was around our area then slowly extending to places like these. We would get to this place soon enough but doing that kind of operation was not the main priority.

We came across another pile but they didn't belong to the type that we were looking for. They didn't even reach a few feet high but it was important to check everything. Stab marks and gashes made by bladed weapons were apparent on their bodies and especially on their heads but one of them had its skull cracked horribly it jutted out to the other portion of its face.

There were a few deadheads roaming around so to exchange safety with time, I made Jared press the horn for a few seconds.

Bodies in varying degrees of decay started heading in our direction and all of us had our guns at the ready. It was because the sprinters would most likely arrive at the fastest time possible and it was dangerous if they come in droves.

As soon as Jared depressed the horn, we heard them coming and even Ibarra raised his rifle.

"Fire at will." I muttered.

The first one I saw crashed into a car but I managed to clip its head before it fell down. My group started firing shots and they were all coming from different directions. We were surprised at the amount that was coming for us because it was pretty controlled earlier.

"Bad luck today, bro?" Jared muttered as he fired three shots in a row.

They fell one after the other and the ones behind them tripped on their bodies. I just aimed farther because the ones that tripped were basically CC'd for a few seconds. I bore a hole in the head of one wearing a police uniform before I sent one bullet to a lanky deadhead sprinting with its head forwards.

The ones that tripped just managed to get up but Kaley made quick work of them.

"Jeez, can people stop KS'ing me?" I joked.

"What?" Kaley asked after quickly reloading.

"Nevermind, there's only a couple left. Let's go melee. Ibarra! Come with me!" I shook my head, feigning disappointment, but I was already heading for the ones with my katana.

Ibarra followed behind me as I rushed while side-stepping on the bodies sprawled on the floor we just shot. The one in front of me jumped head-first but all I had to do was point my katana at his head. It basically impaled itself and the length of my blade was enough for me to avoid its disfigured hands.

I pulled out my blade by tilting it sideways and applying power, pushing it to the left, then I immediately swung it to the right with a quick flourish for the other one coming at me. My blade entered its cheek but its forward motion allowed my blade to slowly cut deeper and deeper. The entry point was shallow but the final cut was horrifying. It was like someone saw its head in half and stopped midway.

Ibarra saw everything close up but he ran forward for the slow ones that followed. Tatiana and Mikhail went for the other ones on the other side of the road while Kaley and Jared were watching out for latecomers. We managed to clear out bodies close to a hundred and we only used our bullets for the sprinters.

To avoid burning the buildings they were piled over, we pulled them in a safe distance so we could turn them into cinders. We made sure the Humvee was on the right side of the road before we drove forward to look for our main objective for this run.

It was unfortunate but we didn't find another in this area.

However, we killed enough bodies driving inside the barangay of Rincon enough to build another wall of the undead by ourselves. It was because Dong's group made a blockade to the road that could lead to our place as instructed by myself a few meetings before, making this area essentially a dead-end of sorts. The only other place we could drive to was the barangay of Isla but the road over there that could lead to our place was also blocked by Jay's group.

I noticed that there were already bodies in this area that were made as practice targets for shooting so I didn't put it to mind. It would be always better to train with moving targets aside from stationary ones. Smoke was billowing out of the bodies we used as firewood and I decided to give Dong a call so our group could pass through.

-

*bzzt*

"Dong, you guys still here?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Boss? Yeah, we heard the gunshots and figured it was you guys."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Thanks for helping, heh."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Hah! C'mon boss, I know you guys could handle it. We might hit you accidentally too, yes?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Yeah, we're still quite far where that action happened. Help us remove the blockade from your side so we'd be a little faster."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Sure, did you find more of those things?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Not in this barangay but we found a couple. There might be more but I'll do that tomorrow."

*bzzt*

-

We quickly ended the call and removed the blockade. Mikhail was always a huge fucking help when it comes to these kinds of things and he almost did everything by himself. Dong and his group decided to come back with us for lunch. We had chicken drumsticks smothered with mushrooms, onions, and gravy eaten over rice paired with cold iced tea. No one gave a fuck about how hot it was as we all chomped down on our food. Someone almost died by choking from a bone but he was saved after taking several pictures.

After eating, I gathered my materials for casting bullets.

I also looked for Rin and Cynthia came with her. Kaley decided to accompany Tatiana while Mikhail and Jared went with another group to scout other areas. Ibarra wanted to come with them but I asked him to assist me.

I changed clothes to a certain captain wielding a shield and I placed my foot on top of a chair and said with the same exact tone with a faint smile, "So, you want to know about casting?"

"..." Rin.

"..." Cynthia.

"..." Ibarra.