Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I wouldn't dare joke around with someone holding something like a grenade, so I just made sure to apply pressure on all the parts of the chunk I sliced off before kicking it off in the distance. I saw that Kaley was already putting the pin back but I took the grenade from her and threw it further into the public market right by the small stalls scattered about. It bounced a few times until it disappeared from my sight but it didn't take long before it happened.

*BOOOOOOOOOOM*

As soon as it exploded, a loud noise assaulted our ears, and debris flew across the distance.

"Why did you throw it?!" Kaley exclaimed.

"The ones hiding inside the public market needs a wake-up call! I wouldn't enter that place if I could help it, just let them come while we're still close to our vehicles!" I replied.

It didn't take long before I noticed more crooked bodies started appearing one after the other and they numbered more than a few dozen. However, not only did we attract the ones hiding inside the public market, but we also attracted every deadhead in the radius the explosion resounded in. Despite that, everyone was itching for a fight because being blindsided by the sprinters in those schools was one of the few times we got to retreat.

This time, we were back for round 2 and the ones in the public market were just the starting bout. I just cracked my neck left and right before I dashed in ahead of everybody.

I dove in with my katana and pistol in hand and the first one I cut down was a fat deadhead wearing a tiara. My blade entered its jawline, slicing up before I gunned down the two beside it which were about to claw onto my face. They fell down almost immediately while the seven that came from a back alley fell to the side of their heads after I heard several gunshots from behind me.

"THREE MORE WILL BE COMING FROM THE ALLEY!!! I'LL GO ON AHEAD!!!" I exclaimed.

A silhouette just came from my right and it was Tatiana holding her Benelli M4. I was seeing everything in slow motion as she unloaded eight shells one after the other before pulling out her FN Five-Seven and shooting the ones just about to crawl up from under the pile where the grenade exploded. The ones she unloaded eight slugs with were unrecognizable and what was left of their heads were now just a grotesque decoration on the floor.

Everything was being handled smoothly right until both of us heard a loud thud and a horrifying crunch.

Mikhail was just right behind Tatiana and I saw him swing with full power right after he switched his grip to the hammer-side of his weapon. His weapon colliding with the zombie's head did more damage compared to it hitting the floor violently. Its head was cracked open and pieces of its skull were jutting out, but the most fucked up thing was the distance it flew right after Mikhail delivered his strike. It was like it performed a ragdoll animation once it got hit dead-on and it bugged out, flying off more than necessary.

Ibarra on the other hand was just right behind Mikhail and he took care of the one in his blindside. He was the one floating to provide support while Tatiana was the one right next to me spearheading the advance.

Only the four of us were at the forefront while the rest were taking care of the three other sides and protecting our vehicles. At the same time, Kaley and Jared were always providing support from a distance and giving out pieces of information we couldn't see from fighting the dead up close and personal.

"RELOAD!!!" Tatiana exclaimed as she took a few steps back.

It was then that Ibarra and I raised our rifles and we took down ten each before we put down our rifles and advanced once more. Tatiana was already done reloading her shotgun and her pistol the moment we were done and she instantly joined us after covering for Mikhail. She drew her bastard sword this time around because the initial wave where most of the dead that came in clumps was over.

We also made our vehicles move a few stores forward while a portion of Artem's team started to pull the ones we put down to the side. It was because even if we tried to kill them by sticking by the sidewalk, we wouldn't be able to control the direction they would fall down. Even if we tried, it would take away a few precious seconds that could be used to put down more of them.

'A dead deadhead is more important than a proper driveway in this situation...'

We have now advanced past the salons and we were just by an intersection with a few fast-food stores and a medium-sized pharmacy on either side. Right across it was the public market and I could see the mess we did on this place when we passed through earlier. It was the same situation with the schools where the bodies that we ran over survived and they just resorted to crawling erratically with the limbs that they have left.

That was when Mikhail started playing whack-a-mole with each downward swing while the rest of us picked a road from the intersection and moved forward.

I took the road to the left that would lead to a bridge, Tatiana took the road forward that would lead to the school, and Ibarra took the road that we exited earlier when we ran away from the schools. We just started the second advance alone while the reinforcements that cleared the other side just started to reach us.

"Reporting for duty, samurai boy- I mean sir." Bogdan commented.

"You're gonna get DA'd for that." Natasha followed.

"No problem, I'll take the right side which is the nearest to the public market while Natasha would be in the middle for support. Bogdan, you take care of the stragglers from the other shops and take note of the ones coming from the bridge! Fire at will!" I immediately barked out instructions.

"That's what I'm fucking talking about! Da, you're alright!" Bogdan gave a hearty laugh before he blew off a deadhead's head.

"Affirmative, sir." Natasha just commented before gunning down the ones that were just coming out of the public market and the ones just about to reach us.

"Natasha, just focus on the front! Kaley and Jared will handle the ones at our backs!" I exclaimed, pulling my blade off the dead butches I sunk my blade in.

Natasha just nodded before turning around and advancing with Bogdan. Our vehicles were now parked by the intersection we just passed earlier and they started a new perimeter while half of Artem's team was watching the back. My team of three now just needed to clear the dead coming out right until the bridge before we turn back and dead with what was left of the public market.

The road was starting to get difficult to traverse because aside from the dead bodies we left ourselves, the ones here left for a time had no one to clear and burn them. We had to avoid tripping over them while dodging the attacks of the ones that were still alive, and we had to make sure we wouldn't overextend too much away from our vehicles while we were increasing our body count.

Their influx of the dead had lessened considerably but it would be wise to be careful not to underestimate them.

I was looking at Natasha as she lopped off part of a zombie's head but I immediately noticed the thick black goop that flowed out after it. I was just about to warn her, but she already stepped forward and left her back open as she was just about to cut down the next one to her left. At the same time, the one she left behind twitched and turned abruptly while its skull was beginning to empty of the dark fluids.

I only had a few seconds to act before it swiped its claw-like fingers towards her neck.

"VNIZ!!!" I roared.

As soon I shouted for Natasha to duck down, Bogdan heard me as well and they both followed me without hesitation. They ducked at the same time but Bogdan turned to me to give me a look of confusion. However, he immediately understood as he saw the predicament Natasha was in.

By a hair's breadth, the swipe to Natasha's neck missed and it gave her the opportunity to roll to the side as Kaley sent a bullet to the one she was just about to cut down while I leaped to the hollowed one to ravage and dismember it, making sure it wouldn't be able to move a muscle.

"Only know 'zdravstvuyte', huh?" Natasha commented, grinning with an eyebrow raised.

"What? You might be talking shit behind my back, I had to learn the language!" I immediately gave excuses.

"Hmph! I- thank-"

"Thank me later, we need to find that thing." I said as I turned to the public market.