Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The figure was too busy scooping the gray bits from the cracked head in front of it to its own discolored mouth that it didn't notice me inching bit by bit. I only had to apply a little bit of pressure at the side of its head with my katana to end its mealtime. The fluids coming out of its stomach and the grime that remained on my blade were almost the same aside from the chunks that were spurting out of its ruptured stomach.

Little worms were also present in the chunks, parasitically taking part in the meal it was eating earlier.

I slowly laid the body down while Ibarra moved a few feet forward to stab another feasting on its own forearms. A single thrust was all it took to put it down and the rest of us saw a few pieces of its teeth stunk on the mangled arm of the one Ibarra took down. However, the deadhead that Ibarra took down was a soldier wearing combat gear so Ibarra made the executive decision to check it first.

A service pistol which was a Glock 17, a K-Bar knife, handcuffs, pepper spray, a couple of pistol magazines filled with 9mm, and one 30-round magazine filled with 5.56s were found along with its dog tag and set of keys. We quickly divided the gear found but I made sure to secure the set of keys with my set of lockpicks. Ibarra asked for the dog tag and he handed the rest to Matthew and Kaley.

"Why do these people don't carry as much as a single slug? Well- we found a few in some bodies but still..." Matthew commented, carrying the rest of the equipment that wouldn't fit Kaley's bag.

"Why don't you bring a rifle then? Sky has a lot to choose from~" Kaley added.

"Eh~ I'll think about it." Matthew replied.

There were still several rooms to go through and we proceeded as quietly as we could. It seemed that Tatiana and her group attracted most of the ones roaming around below because we were facing a lot less than usual.

The only room we had to put down more than a dozen was a room where a few families have barricaded themselves but died due to hunger. It was apparent as to what had happened in this room because almost everyone was missing everything that could be chewed on. However, the last one that survived offed itself by hanging itself with a make-shift rope.

We had to cut it down after shooting it with a suppressed .22 but that was the only shot we fired on this floor.

The fourth floor seemed to be the designated lodging area for most of them because a few rooms had several bags under the beds and inside the cabinets but most importantly, there were ledger-like pads right before the doors that checked attendance and the equipment brought inside.

'We'll see more once we check the other rooms and the other floors...' I thought to myself.

We were slowly checking each room right until we reached the staircase to the 3rd floor.

Several deadheads seemed to be victims of a stampede because a number of the ones that were left were either flattened on the marble flooring or stuck on the wall due to intense pressure. The ones stuck on the wall seemed to have acted as cushions for the ones that came after them because their bodies were crushed to bits, making a fucked up mural in the process.

We descended to the third floor and we still had our weapons at the ready. A quick glance gave me a general idea of this floor but it seemed that the ones left here were locked inside their rooms.

We still haven't taken a step when we heard light footsteps coming from below. Two tall ladies came into view followed by two other guys bickering with one another. Their weapons by themselves were recently wiped but the bloodstains on their clothes increased by a few increments compared to when we left them.

"You guys are fast." Kaley commented.

"Hmm? I thought you guys would never come. There's a lot on the first floor but I think we took care of most of them." Tatiana mentioned, seeing Kaley and the rest of us.

"How about the second floor?" Matthew asked.

"They all headed to the first- well, it seems that the ones on the third floor also did the same. We encountered a few but it isn't a lot compared to the first floor. Just a lot more ruined dissections from the volunteers." Tatiana replied.

"Ruined?" I asked.

"Correct, it's like they used a blunt scalpel to check on the bodies." Tatiana replied.

"It's like they played with them and didn't do any sort of research." Katya added with a scrunched brow.

"Sir, there's one more thing… on the second floor..." Brian chimed, looking dejected.

"Oh yeah... we forgot about that. Go ahead, tell him. It's fine." Tatiana turned around and shone her flashlight around the corridors.

"They umm- they managed to catch a few of those tongue-zombies and they worked on it as well. They're dead now but..." Brian trailed.

"But what? I thought you're a fucking Chad? Speak up!" Matthew started to get irritated from the pauses.

Looking at Brian now, he seemed to be disturbed from what I normally see him in. It was almost the same time when Cynthia saw the number of dead kids we had to put down for good.

"I don't know any way to say this Sir but- umm… one of them is… is my… is my dad, Sir..." Brian continued, looking down blankly on the floor.

Carlo was just looking at what Brian would do next while the rest of my team were surprised by the piece of news Brian gave us.

"What do you want to do then? I'll give you the choice. It would be a bad idea to bury your dad but we already got ahold of a crematorium near the outpost Lawrence is guarding. We could either do that or-" I was about to continue but Brian cut me off.

"I'd- I'd rather have his body sent to the president's scientists… Sir. I wanted his remains at first but I already made up my mind. I understand our need to know more about them..." Brain continued.

"You sure?" I looked at Brian in the eye.

"S-Sure, Sir." Brian replied.

"You still have until the president leaves to think about it. We'll keep their bodies secure but we won't do anything about it until they leave, got it?" I gave Brian more time.

Brian didn't say anymore but he just nodded a few times while still looking down.

Tatiana and Katya were already waiting for us so I made Carlo accompany Brian for the moment. However, they didn't need extra time and joined us in clearing the third floor.

I was paying a bit of extra attention to Brian just in case he decided to do something stupid. His situation right now was a little fragile because discovering that your father was dead after all this time and not only that, discovering that your father not only turned to one of them but was also being studied improperly was something inexplicable. I could only imagine what was going in Brian's head right now so I made sure to stick a little bit close to him while we were putting down the ones in front of us.

It was apparent that what Brian discovered affected him because he was putting a lot more power in his strikes.

"Brian." I called out.

"Sir?" Brian turned to me with a blank face while breathing heavily.

"Silent and serene mind, raging heart." I reminded him about one of our oldest lessons.

"..." Brian just looked at me.

"Do you understand what I just said?" I asked Brian.

"Yes, Sir. I'm- I'm trying..." Brian replied, taking a small breather.

"Hello Trying, I'm Sky." I added then Matthew immediately chortled.

As soon as I said that, Kaley just left me and joined Tatiana and Katya while Ibarra slipped away with Carlo in tow. Matthew was the only one left with me and Brian because he was trying so hard to contain his laughter while clutching his sides.

"Permission to hit you, Sir." Brian said with a deadpan look on his face.

"Later at the gym, try all you want. Well, if you can." I immediately anchored the conversation.

"Gladly, Sir." Brian shook his head before walking forward with a nasty grin.

It seemed that the short bit cheered him up even for a little bit because he was back to normal. My group was worried at first when we joined them because I made Tatiana swap places with Brian for the moment. Carlo did the same with Katya and the two guys spearheaded the clearing of the dead on the third floor. They did as intended for the most part but not as efficient when Tatiana was in front.

"What did you do?" Kaley whispered to my side.

"I just introduced myself… didn't you hear?" I whispered back then Kaley jabbed me.