Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I just asked a simple question but I didn't know that I would receive a weird response. It seemed that my group just wanted me to decide for themselves and they found it surprising that I would ask for their input on such a simple matter.

"C'mon bro, you've probably decided on the route we would be taking already and you're just being 'mOdEst' once more! Just tell us where to go and we'll come with you!" Jared chuckled.

"Or are you starting to run out of ideas?" Kaley joked.

"Well, we could really go either way but if we're gonna stop to grab some lunch, we would be at the love hotel we reclaimed before noon." I said as I scratched my head.

"..." everyone else.

"What? Eating at the right time is good for the body! We shouldn't skip meals, you know?" I said with a motherly tone.

"Hah! What did we even bring?" Tatina chuckled.

"Well, I brought MREs of Chicken Burritos. It's as good as the Beef Chili but this one came with a tortilla wrap!" I replied like a hungry kid.

"Oh, I like the Spinach and Pasta ones-" Ibarra added but Jared was gobsmacked as he interrupted him.

"Hold up- What the fuck is wrong with you?! Spinach and- What?! The only thing that shit is good for is padding for a pillow!" Jared exclaimed.

"What? I really like it though." Ibarra said without a hint of offence.

"Let's just say that Ibarra would last longer than you if food began to run out because he'd be eating the MREs you don't like." I concluded.

Jared was shaking his head in confusion when Ibarra actually explained every flavor that he liked. I actually agree with Jared's preferences because Ibarra had some weird choices.

In the end, we decided to continue driving to the main road that would lead us to the Monument.

The Monument or 'Monumento' was a district of the City of Caloocan in which an above ground rail system was built and the Bonifacio Monument was built. Before this shit started, this place would always be packed with people from all over the place trying to board the rail system or catch a bus that would lead to the City of Quezon.

The Bonifacio Monument, on the other hand, was built to pay homage to one of our country's heroes, Andres Bonifacio. I held a brief history lesson to my group but it was more directed to Mikhail and Tatiana.

"I see, so he's a valiant warrior eh?" Mikhail nodded a few times when we hit the road.

While we were driving, I asked Jared and Kaley to stop shooting down each deadhead we came across not only to conserve ammo but to attract less attention. It was because the moment we drove past the Valenzuela City Hall, it would be unexplored territory.

As we were driving, my group passed Arca Yard and it triggered a little bit of nostalgia. Tatiana was already there with us and that was the place we first took down a hostile group performing unspeakable acts. We just looked at each other solemnly before we continued to drive forward.

By not shooting our guns, we would spend extra time to stop and clear a small herd with our melee weapons or our suppressed .22 caliber pistols or rifles. A suppressed .22 LR wouldn't produce much noise so it was a goto in these kinds of situations.

The moment we reached the barangay of Karuhatan, it was a surprising sight.

This place used to have heavy traffic and bustling with people but this time, it was clear… too clear.

The intersection we parked by has no signs of the dead or even an abandoned vehicle. There were bloodstains or signs of a fight but this place was cleaned up nicely.

"Is it another group?" Ibarra asked.

"The obvious answer, yes. Unless there's a new one that's a clean freak, in which something I am not against, a group was present here. They're keeping the road clear from obstructions which is a good sign of being organized." I replied.

"Should we continue driving though? In a sense, this is their turf now, right?" Jared said.

"Yeah~ let's try a diplomatic approach." I said as I picked up my radio.

I turned it to the first channel and spoke into it. But before I did that, I asked Mikhail to join Kaley and Jared behind the Raptor, Tatiana on shotgun, and Ibarra right behind me. I decided to be the one behind the wheels because I was the one most familiar with the terrain.

-

*bzzt*

"Good day to whoever's listening from the other side. We're a small group just trying to pass through without any incident. We don't want to step on anyone's toes so I'm giving a little heads up or a courtesy call."

*bzzt*

-

I continued to say the same exact message over and over on the other channels as well before I deemed it enough of a reminder about our intentions. We didn't need to tell them our exact purpose or offer a toll fee of any kind just to let us pass through. It was already too much to ring their bells and inform them that my group was passing through.

We waited for a response of some sort but after a good 15 minutes, there was no response.

Instead of casually driving forward, I repeated the same exact actions I did earlier. My group and I waited by the intersection for half an hour in total while clearing the dead that would wander randomly. Jared even flew his drone around to check for encampments but we found nothing of the sort.

"If they're not gonna respond or do anything, we're gonna go now. Just watch out for anything that might come up." I said to my group as I started the Raptor.

We assumed the same position and we continued driving without issue.

We reached an abandoned bottling company and right past it was a bridge that would lead us to Monumento. It was an easy ride because the road was clear and the dead we were encountering were surprisingly fewer than what we expected. Also, the walls we were looking for weren't even present on the route we drove on.

'Did they clear them as well? Did they also discover what we discovered?' I thought to myself.

The road started to have an elevation of a few angles but it wasn't enough to impede us. It would only be a few kilometers before we reach Monumento but we would always circle on a street block just to make sure we weren't being silently followed or we didn't miss that construct made of the dead.

However nothing happened until we reached Monumento.

The moment we arrived at the border, the clear roads turned to be extremely congested paths blocked by the dead or abandoned vehicles with one or two passengers inside that would bite our faces off the moment we put our heads inside the window. The smell turned much horrible as well because the smell of the sewer and decay were being mixed together.

The only thing blocking them from coming towards us was several train cars that might've lost control and crashed below the Bonifacio Monument. In all its chaos, it managed to block a great portion of the road and it would take the dead to pile on top of each other, like the hollow ones, multiple times to be able to vault over the train cars. However, there was a steady trickle of the dead that were coming from the open paths that were left traversable.

"Is there any way to get to the other side?" Tatiana asked.

"We could drive to the backroads but we need to record some footage first." I replied.

"Can we start shooting a few of them? I bet I could make my bullet pass through a few of them if I aimed at the right area." Jared asked as he started to raise his rifle.

"Wait, that would be a bad idea." I said as I held his muzzle down.

"Is there a problem?" Kaley asked.

I glanced at the train cars one more time and said, "This accident is a blessing in disguise. Shoot a few down and it would be a curse. We won't be able to pull the bodies away from that area and that would allow them to pile up higher and higher until they could cross over the border made by the train cars. The people behind us must be holding out on clearing this area because it minimizes the presence of the dead in their places. Also, that gave us a little bit of information about them. I could be wrong but it's possible…"

"And that is?" Tatiana asked.

"The group that ghosted us must be a small one. If they're a big and armed group, they would've started to drive towards us now that we're in a deadend of sorts." I replied with a pensive expression.