Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Everyone on the roof continued to watch the live feed but the same thing would just happen over and over when a deadhead approached that area. The only different thing that they would do was that sometimes, they wouldn't let them go and somehow 'absorb' them into their fold. Jared and Lois tried to follow where the hollow ferals were located but they were still walking straight in a set direction. However, the feral that started leaking out different fluids from all of its orifices was something new.

"So, does that mean that those tongues are somehow toxic or something?" Kaley asked.

"What do you mean?" Cynthia asked.

"It's because that one managed to bite off a tongue, right? After that, it just started acting weird and died..." Kaley replied, then turning her head towards me.

"It's a possibility but we still couldn't explain how could they somehow suck out the brain of its victims and making it go in a certain direction." I replied.

"The only way is to catch one and bring it to the president's scientists, correct?" Tatiana chimed.

"Yeah, there's more question to that though..." I trailed.

"What do you mean bro?" Jared asked.

"Is that thing whole or are they congealed together? Well, fuck it. We'll just know once we get to them. If not, the important thing is we could get a sample of that thing slathered on their tongues. It looks like the same fluid that came out of the heads we cracked open before." I replied.

"What are we gonna do now?" Lawrence asked.

"You just continue to watch out for more ferals while the rest of us continue what we're doing. We have a few more hours before we fly back." I replied.

"Can't we just sleep here?" Lois asked.

"Not gonna happen. It's a relatively safe spot but I'd rather lay my head on a place not crawling with those fuckers. What if they all turned to sprinters or even worse, ferals, in the middle of the night? I'd rather waste fuel." I replied, shaking my head.

"I doubt you could even sleep with the zombies growling and snarling as white noise, can you?" Jared added.

After a short talk, we continued with my plan. The funnels they made weren't identical to each other but it still did its purpose. Kaley and I started to snipe the ones at the DDR Camp while Tatiana would sometimes check on Matthew and Ibarra while walking around the roof, checking the other angles for blindspots.

Glancing around, this area was literally a treasure trove of resources once we completely clear it along with the DDR Camp. The area we were in would yield a lot of resources because of the hospital, the malls, the pharmacies, small shops, and even the convenience stores scattered about. The only way we could take them for ourselves was to set a proper place to set up camp while methodically clearing the bodies littering the streets. It would take a while but the rewards we could acquire would be bountiful.

As we continued to shoot the deadheads below, we passively discovered something that could relate to their hearing. We already knew that they could still hear sounds and noises but due to the decay of their bodies that they were suffering from, their hearing compared to us was not as good as a normal person. We noticed it because their bodies were right next to each other and they acted like ripples in water when they turned their heads due to the noise. However, it was still dependent on how much time the body was in the state of decay.

'I wish they'd all turn deaf in the future or better yet, just croak and die naturally… it would've happened to the ones infected in the early stages but it seemed that the decaying process was a lot slower than imagined...' I thought to myself.

"Where do you think they're keeping most of their equipment? I mean, their guns and ammo specifically." Kaley asked, reloading her magazine.

"In that DDR Camp? Hmm, probably in the frontal area near the parking lot where most of their military vehicles are. I mean, they could put some in other places but they probably made a place where most of the soldiers are gathered to act as their HQ." I guessed, reloading a few magazines as well.

"I can't believe we still haven't gone through that ammo can of .22 LRs, how many could that ammo can for .50s hold again?" Kaley continued.

"This one? It could hold 6000+ .22 LRs. If we're just here to put them down, I guess we'd be on our 2nd ammo can. We're sometimes waiting for them to get in position so we couldn't just shoot like there's no tomorrow. Also, the ones we're aiming for now are a little far so we sometimes need to shoot twice or thrice the ammo." I replied.

"Hmm, well… if we shoot them all they'd just step onto each other and we'd waste the funnels we made even it's just on this street." Kaley added.

"Yeah, we still haven't established a proper road to drive into this area too so it's better to do this." I concluded.

Time continued to pass and I made everyone stop when it was an hour before 6:00 PM. It was because we need to clear up the casings we used and secure the items we procured from this love hotel. However, we would still leave a few items behind in one of the rooms just in case.

When we boarded the helicopter, I flew it to the other side, heading in the direction of Malabon to catch an aerial view from that city and to somehow lead the dead congested in Monumento away from their original spot. To avoid getting swarmed like the last helicopter that flew to that area, I flew a few meters higher just to be extra safe, avoiding tall buildings. On the way over there, we discovered more walls erected, blocking passages that we haven't been to before.

The problem with those passages getting blocked was because they were a tad higher than normal and we needed to clear those roads for a straight shot towards Iskoh. I wasn't sure if they would be higher in the coming days so as Kaley said, I need to delegate more people to clear them aside from my main group. I would like to do it myself but we already changed our plan to clear the mass gathering at Monumento by reclaiming the DDR Camp first.

-

*bzzt*

"Hey, we'd be home shortly."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Hmm? Kid? Sure, I'll ask someone to bring a truck over.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Oh~ too busy to pick us up?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Bah! I'm taking a look at Mauricio's Land Rover. By the way, the lift kit is collecting dust, do you want me to put it on your Raptor? Well, I'd also change the suspension, tires, and everything else and since you're using the chopper, I could take it away from you for a few days.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Nah, that's fine as it is. I'll bring that back to Batangas to be installed in the Tacoma we won. I'm sure they're driving it offroad as much as they could because of the terrain."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Gotcha, just focus on flying, kid. Your uncle will be there soon.]

*bzzt*

-

When we reached our home base, Unc Zardon was already waiting for us with Zeus excitedly running around the back of the 8-wheeler. He kept on guarding the luggage we were loading on the truck bed and we soon drove back to the compound with some of my people that took watch on the DDR Camp. We didn't bring back a lot of essential items but we came back safe and sound, with more information, a new plan, and another job well done.

We soon had a simple meal then we started the meeting right after. We started to discuss what happened on our side but that was when I received some very important news when Vera raised her hand to catch my attention.

Iskoh and his soldiers managed to form their first outpost. I thought they claimed the whole pier for themselves but he learned his lesson. The pier was too big a place for his soldiers and people to occupy so they opted for a much better solution. Not only that, even if they didn't manage to reclaim the whole pier, they would still have access to all of the resources inside the shipping containers.

What they did was they reclaimed the Manila South Harbor where the Philippine Coast Guard National Headquarters was located. This place was located in the southern area of the pier and it was easily defensible. It also came not only with just boats and ships but all the facilities available in that headquarters to assist them with their fight against the undead. If Iskoh wanted, he could now make a fishing charter for acquiring marine resources, reach our place by water, or even get to the president's location by using the resources available to him.

"Is there more to that report?" I asked Vera.

"Yes, they said they might solve one of our problems. They mentioned that they might send a ship to check the Manila North Harbor in Navotas City and build the second outpost there to check for the people you're looking for. They also mentioned that they wanted to compare the sea routes used by both places so they could better navigate the waters." Vera reported.

"Then that's good to hear. However, tell them that once they do send a ship, give us a call so we could send backup just in case the group I'm looking for is quite big. We could always help them or I could bring the SuperCobra and wreak havoc. I'm just keeping it as a trump card in special cases like this." I replied.

"Okay, I will." Vera nodded as she took a seat.

"Oh yeah, kid, I forgot to tell you something." Oscar raised his hand.

'Why does this scene look so familiar...' I thought to myself.