Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Everyone just chuckled at Mylene's expression but they soon excused themselves. It was because it was still a few more hours before their departure and a little bit of sleep wouldn't hurt. I thought they would just crash on the couch but they figured that sleeping on a bed was much better even if Zeus was sleeping with them.

With that said, Kaley and I walked back to our room with Tatiana to do the same. It was nice cuddling Kaley from behind but it was funny seeing Tatiana fall asleep the moment her head touched our pillow. She was almost snoring the way she slept and it amused me seeing her sleeping face.

Kaley chuckled, "I thought she wanted to do a little something..."

I shook my head, "She must've been pretty drained hearing what Ilana had to say..."

"True..."

"Let's have some sleep too… I guess I'll bring out the M2 tomorrow..."

"Hmm? M2?"

"You'll see..."

"Okay… Good ni- good sleep… nevermind… I'm really tired too..."

"Sure..."

We took advantage of the few hours that we had but Kaley and I still woke up just at the right time when our alarms were about to ring. I simply carried her to the shower while we let Tatiana sleep a bit more. After we were done, we went back to our room and discovered that Tatiana just woke up. She was still a little groggy and all she did was wave at us before waking everyone else inside the other rooms.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP! I COULD BARELY GET TO MY DRESSER! STOP GROANING OR I'LL PLUG THOSE HOLES DRY! YOU GUYS AS WELL! IT'S ALREADY MORNING AND YOU'RE SLACKING OFF! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

"Tatiana..."

"Hngh… Five more m- no~~~ My pillow..."

"Why do you hate sleep?!"

"Tatiana! I'll hide your underwear!"

"Do it! I could go without!"

"Argh..."

"Help~ A blonde-haired demon is terrorizing us~"

Kaley and I were laughing our asses off hearing everyone else groan or cry for help. It was chaotic for a few moments but I pulled out one of the few shotguns I have on my safes. It was a Benelli M2 made for a 3 Gun Competition. It looked slick as fuck even if it was a shotgun I rarely use.

My M2 was chambered in 12 gauge and it came with a 26-inch barrel, a red front sight, an extended magazine tube, a traditional stock, and all the custom jobs done by TTI. A few examples were the custom stippling jobs for the stock and forearm, the modified recoil pad and the cheek pad, and more.

Kaley instantly reacted, "Wha- Why is the magazine tube longer than the barrel?! Won't it get hit in the process?!"

I chuckled, "Don't worry, it wouldn't hit it. It looks weird but the old man would howl if he sees this. In any case, this extended magazine tube could hold 12 rounds."

Kaley looked at me weirdly, "Just twelve?"

"That's already a lot with shotguns but yeah~ That's one of the reasons I don't use them as much. Well, if you want some power… nothing could go wrong with shotguns. It's really just a little bit limited due to shell capacity and how cumbersome it is."

"Oh~ Are you gonna bring your rifle at least?"

"Of course, I'll bring it as well. However, it's just gonna be the backup with my other shotgun today. I gotta live up to my promise to the old man or else I'll never hear the end of it. Just bring a few extra magazines for me since I'll be loading up a few shells in these shell carriers. I'll have almost the same setup as Tatiana if she brings her M4, not her AK."

"Oh, okay. Wait, you aren't using those baby shells? You use them for Hexa-loading, right?"

"Hah! Not this time, no. It's better for Tatiana's M4 since it could cycle lighter loads better. I could make some custom baby shells but it'd be just too much work and I rarely use them. Hmm, maybe in the future?"

'I doubt it but I guess I'll make some if the old man starts to… nevermind...'

"I see, I see… Oh! Can't you just use a pump-action then? It could cycle rounds regardless of ammo type, right?"

My eyes lit up, "Of course, they can. But~ Let's just stick with this for now. My M3 could do both but I just felt like using the M2 today."

It took us a while to get ready but we left our bags and gear in our room first since we still needed to have some breakfast. With that said, I discovered that Morales had a little request. From our meeting last time, I gave him instructions on how to make spud boxes and he wanted to have one made in front of them first. It was because some of his team were visual learners and just needed a little help.

To my surprise, Charlotte volunteered to do the job and Chris would be obviously dragged along. Amanda could do it as well but that would mean bringing Arthur to the mix.

Charlotte ran over to me while still eating a sandwich, "I could do it, right? I'll just be inside too! I won't cause trouble! I promise!"

I replied, "I know you could do it. Can I ask why you want to do it?"

"N-Nothing… I just want to go outside o-once in a while. Chris will be there with me too! That's fine, right?"

Chris interjected, "Bro-Dude, Charlotte doesn't want to say it but she just wants to ride in a paddleboat for a few minutes. I told her just to do it here but she insists on doing it in a different place. She'd obviously help but it would come with a price."

Charlotte got red, "You! Why would you say that?! It's-"

I chuckled as I cut her off, "Sure, you guys could come. I'll watch over and help you guys for a couple of hours but you two need to listen to what the soldiers there have to say. Don't fool around as much because Morales is a little uptight."

"Reall?! Thanks!"

We were talking about a few more things but Oscar excused himself since he already finished eating. However, I was already facepalming the moment he arrived with his 'new' shotgun. He was smiling like an idiot and his entrance would've been cool if he didn't trip over a small pebble.

Oscar grumbled, "Motherfuc- Hah! Kid! Do you see this shit?! I decided to take it for a spin! Haaa~ a 12 gauge could already bring a smile to my face but it has one flaw… it's not a 10 gauge! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

I shook my head, "Uh-huh~ Are you sure you could still use that?"

"Hah! I just paused for a bit since 10 gauge is so scarce-"

"Scarce? You know we could make them, right?"

"I mean- we could but- enough with your fucking logic! Tada~ It's the Ithaca Mag 10, kid! Do you remember when it was just able to hold three rounds? It could hold five now with this extension I installed! Neat, huh?!"

Kaley interjected, "Just five? That's worse than his 12-round tube, right?"

Oscar placed his hand over Kaley's shoulder, "Kaley, Kaley, Kaley… you sweet summer child… five-round tube, three-round tube, or even the ones that have a break-open action… a 10 gauge is a 10 gauge… one shot from these bad boys, you'd have no problem at all."

Kaley scratched her head, "S-Still..."

Oscar waved her off, "Tat-ta-tat-ta-ta… Shh~ As I said, enough with the logic, okay? It ruins things. Do you hate fun? I'm sure you don't hate fun, right? Let's just agree that if there's a problem over there~ CH-CHKK!!! BOOOM!!! Problem solved, alright? I guess it's cool to bore holes with your 5.56s or your 9mms but there's nothing better than making head mulch with a 10 gauge."

I interjected half-jokingly, "Really~ Oh! Can it do it with birdshot as well? You said it's powerful, right?"

I really thought that Oscar would explode immediately but his face turned a shade of mischievousness. He nodded mockingly a few times but once he pulled out his knife, I started to panic.

Oscar grinned as he pulled out a birdshot shell, "You always call me birdshot this and birdshot that… do you really want me to prove a point? Are you willing to risk it, kid? I know you hate me doing it with this, right?"

I stood up and tried to calm him down, "Okay~ Old man~ You win this time, okay? Now drop that knife and the birdshot shell before it's too late. We can talk about this peacefully, okay? Let's not waste-"

"Oh~ Talk, eh? I'm not really good at talking like you, okay? I think it's better for everyone here to stop assuming birdshot shells are weak, right? It's just one shell… that couldn't hurt, right?"

I was still in panic mode but everyone's curiosity got piqued.