Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

My group was the only one in this place that went on multiple expeditions that would span several days. Darelle's group could be said to be doing that as well but his team would always come back before sundown and their main purpose was just for gathering intel while being hands-off. I wanted a group that could do the same thing as us and Artem and his group was a perfect choice.

What I wanted for Artem and his team to do was to explore the places that Darelle's team have scouted and deemed to be an infested structure, a point of interest, or simply an untraversable road due to obstacles that needed to be cleared or the presence of the dead being multiple times greater than normal. My group had several jobs lined up but we couldn't simply abandon the ones that needed immediate attention.

"I wanted your team to make a dash for Iskoh's place but since the port had a water fiasco, I wanted to make sure the place where our water is mainly coming from being secure."

Ibarra interjected, "Sir, isn't that place secured by the military already?"

"As far as we know, yes. However, I still need to have an assurance that that place is still up to standards. Maintaining that place needs a lot of resources too so we should make the effort to establish a line between us. Doing that could ensure we have safe drinking water and they have the means to keep it that way."

Ibarra nodded a few times and said, "I see, I could come as well? I'm slightly familiar with the place. They might need a familiar person wearing their uniforms too."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll ask the president to make contact with that place as well via radio. I'm sure he could give that place a heads-up."

"What place are we talking about? Is it the dams?" Artem chimed in.

"Yeah, the La Mesa Dam and Reservoir to be specific. It's located north of the City of Quezon and South of the northern part of the City of Caloocan. It would take the better part of the morning to drive straight to it before it all started but it's much different now. I'd like your team to not only gather information from that place but also gather information from the places you've passed by."

Natasha joined in, "A reservoir? La Mesa Dam?"

I turned to Natasha and said, "Yes, it's a large artificial dam that could hold more than 50 million cubic meters of water and occupies an area of around 27 square kilometers. That place supplies the water for our own region and its surrounding provinces."

Natasha replied, "So, we'll make a route by hitting places that could contain records like what we did last time until we reach the dam?"

"That's the idea but I'd like for you to take a different route on the way back to maximize the fruits of the expedition. However, the priority is still for all of you to come back in one piece and still in the same way you drive outside those gates. Take down any threat as quickly as you could, and the way is always extreme violence. You could try and save people needing help but I will leave that to your judgment. Also..."

I explained a few more things but after a couple of hours, they were gathered by the gates. I equipped them with proper and ample gear. The supplies that they have on hand could last for a few days if they ate normally and they would have to resort to scavenging if they ran out. They were given a heavy-duty laptop, a drone, long-range radios, relays, and whatever they should need to aid with the trip and gathering more information.

Artem brought his usual group with him and they decided to use Tatiana's Humvee. Aside from that, Ibarra and Jared came with them, bringing Marvin, Max, Ashley, and a couple of soldiers from the DDR Camp. They made use of a 'borrowed' Lincoln Navigator from a car dealership and it was heavily modified to look like a pseudo-APC. It had the bells and whistles of my modified Raptor and Oscar lent one of his V8 engines to replace the V6 engine it had.

"Take care of my baby! It just got finished today!" Raphael exclaimed, looking like he was sending his son through college.

Jared was smiling nonstop, "I will! Don't worry."

Before they drove away, I walked by Jared's window, "You sure about this, dude?"

"Yep. Bring five more people so they could properly replace me, okay? I just need a little change of scenery because I'm starting to get sick of your ugly mug."

"Oh? Is that so? Yeah, about that… I think Lois with a SCAR would suffice, no?"

Jared immediately tried to get outside, "Wait~ a~ fucking~ second~ broooooooooooo, WHAT THE FUCK?! LET ME OUT!!! I'M STAYING!!!"

I held the door tight as I pressed on the horn. signaling Artem who was in front of us to start driving. However, Jared was still hesitating to drive away. The Humvee was already a fair distance away and it stopped when they noticed that Jared still hadn't moved from his original spot.

"Bro, just tell me you're joking! That shit would get in my head!"

"You know I always am. However, get everyone back safe and sound and I'll really give it to you, for real this time."

"Wai- for real?"

"For real."

As soon as I said that, words couldn't describe the way Jared's face morphed into something… something… something literally indescribable because I really couldn't put it into words. They all just drove away and disappeared into view and the rest of us that sent them off slowly dispersed to different groups.

'Stay safe, you fucker.'

"Woof!" Zeus immediately called for help.

"I told you, you're their big bro. They'll follow you wherever you go and there's nothing I could do about it! You got to keep them safe too, right?"

Zeus whimpered as he went ahead of me, being followed by his little brothers and sisters with little bells on their little collars. The kids were following him as well but they were running by the sidewalk, following our traffic rules to the dot. I made sure they were following them because their other guardians excused themselves to start doing their jobs. I just have to get them inside the compound so I could rest easy.

On the way back, I was greeted by everyone that noticed me and they stopped me for a while just to simply catch up or to bring up a topic that should be discussed in the meetings. Despite that, I listened to their suggestions and pleas but I used the kids as a reason to get away from a redundant situation. I managed to get away from those people and deliver the kids home and I was more drained by talking to a lot of people compared to doing my usual job.

I needed some time to recharge and the best place was my own room, covered with darkness, tucked under my blanket, and away from the noises coming from the outside world. However, I still had to facilitate a few inquiries from Rin because we had more projects lined up and it needed my immediate input. Cynthia was helping her with everything but Tatiana was being dragged along, doing the heavy lifting.

"Where's Micah?" I asked.

Tatiana answered with a grin, "Resting, with the president."

'There goes the time for the notebook… I guess I'll give it after the meeting...'

I eventually reached my room and the darkness immediately greeted me when I opened the door. I quietly closed the door and I walked as softly as I could so I wouldn't disturb Kaley who was supposed to be sleeping soundly. However, the 'sound' I was hearing wasn't exactly the sound produced by someone sleeping. I walked each step like a cat and the noise became more and more vivid.

I could hear heavy breathing, sharp exhales, pained cries, and most importantly, Kaley calling out my name several times. Aside from that, I could also hear our blankets getting pulled and being thrown out of place.

It had all the signs of something I feared for and I immediately thought in all honesty, 'She's having a nightmare!'

I immediately flicked the switch on as I tried to wake her up.

"KALEY!!! WAKE UP, YOU'RE HAVING A- HUH?!"

"WHA- HUH- SKY?!"

I couldn't be more wrong.

Kaley's face was flushed red and her body was partly covered with our blankets. However, I noticed that the shirt I just changed from was clutched by her hand as she was slightly trembling and out of breath. She tried to hide it under the pillows but I already caught her red-handed.

"Umm, what are you doing?"

"N-Nothing..."

"What are you doing with my shirt then?"

"H-Huh? I-I just found it here… you shouldn't leave your stuff lying a-around..."

"Then what's this?"

"W-What?"