Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

We were now by the outskirts of the City of Manila right after passing through a bridge with a small checkpoint in the south.

There were four checkpoints in total and they were used to keep tabs on the soldiers and the dead that might pass through. We used the one that would lead to San Rafael Village since I've received word that Jose and his group were over there. They seemed to have fanned wider because just driving by the edge of the ports wouldn't cut it.

It was because a simple flank from a pack of ferals was all it would take for things to get ugly so it would be better to have a lot of wiggle room compared to a single linear road. I could almost feel how the tension rose the moment we crossed the checkpoint because everything in front of us was uncharted territory.

'We're now at Tondo...'

We drove straight to Honorio Lopez Blvd., taking a left to Kalakal St., passing through Tondo's General Hospital and Medical Center.

There were no sightings of the undead yet but we noticed a group of soldiers parked in front of a small eatery. They rode in two jeeps in total and they put up some sort of barrier on the driveway. They raised their rifles when they saw the nose of our vehicles but they instantly lowered them once they saw our faces. I asked Ibarra to drive close to them so we could get some information.

I waved them over, "What are you guys doing here? Aren't you part of Jose's team?"

One of the soldiers named Ricky replied, "We are… but- Some of us are tasked to wait in these parts right around the bridge to keep our exit free. There are also groups by the junkyard, the unfinished school, the small church, and the gas stations further down the road. Most of us are still going at it in the village and I think they're now by Doug's Cold Storage and Daniel's Trucking Services."

I nodded, "I see. Where do you guys need help?"

"I'm… I'm not really sure since they just instructed us to hold our ground at this place... Well… our team by the gas station has seen more action?"

Oscar interjected, "Then that's the place, kid. We better not dip into whatever Jose is doing over there since we might just disrupt their operation. We could just start blasting heads or whatever just to thin them out, no worries. Make it a relaxing day, hmm?"

"Sure, sure… I wanted to know how the threat is over here as well..."

Everyone seemed to be in agreement so we just drove a few blocks to get to the gas stations. Both of them were further down Honorio Lopez Blvd. and it just a stretch of road that spanned until another bridge with the same name.

Another group of soldiers which were double the size of the ones we talked to earlier were present and aside from a military truck, they also had a garbage truck filled with corpses almost halfway. They greeted us promptly and they told us the same information as the earlier ones did.

Aside from that, what we noticed firsthand were the same barriers placed right in front of the areas where the dead might come running. The road further in could still be traversable but our vehicles would need to swerve a few times just to avoid the barriers in place.

'Probably just to slow down the fast ones to a degree… If they're not planning to drive on it any time soon, I guess that's a simple solution...'

Oscar was about to jump down and start walking through the gaps but I jumped on him and rode his back so he would slow down considerably.

"KID?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Can't you see that this road is between those strewn-out houses?"

"SO WHAT?!"

"It's like a squatter area but made with some cement and shit! Anything could pop out from them! Let's fly the drones first before you let loose, you old coot!"

"BAH! FINE! FINE! JUST FUCKING GET OFF OF ME!"

We took a few minutes to set everything up then four drones went on each side to scout the surroundings and quite possibly, lure out some deadheads in the process. Everyone doing nothing was looking at the feed where my drone was flying since I started to fly it lower. It was because it would be almost impossible to see anything clearly because of how the living areas were situated and how it was orientated.

'This is a fucking mess...'

There were some nice buildings further out but one section of the road had the pseudo-squatter area made with tougher and rigid materials. With that said, it was as if they were built so randomly, they just made sure it was enough for two people to walk side by side while touching elbows. It was like a mountain pass with all the curvatures it had but this time, it was cramped enough to make someone claustrophobic shiver.

With that said, a lot of the dead we saw from the feed were coming from blindspots and almost all of them were just regular joes. However, I was sure that there was more in hiding and we needed to smoke most of them out before we even attempt to try and send people in.

I called over one of the soldiers named Ray, "The path to the right leads to Pier 18, right? How far have you reached over in that side?"

"We've already reached as far as the skate park but the ones coming from this side were trouble. That's why we needed to clear this area before proceeding in that park."

Oscar interjected, "Can't you just block off the small bridge?"

Ray replied, "That's the plan from the start but the dead are also pouring in from Brgy. 101. It's either start with this side of the city or the other. It's easier to have a wider route to go around than to-"

Oscar waved him off, "I get it, I get it. What about the other side?"

Ray scratched his head, "It leads to Brgy. 125 Zone 10, only an estero away from eight blocks of squatter areas. There are a lot more dilapidated areas there but once we clear the San Rafael Village, it would be possible to pick them off from a distance because of the estero."

Oscar turned to me, "Estero? What? What's that?"

I replied, "It's a tidal channel used as a drainage canal in populated areas such as this. Some of our boats could traverse it but you'd have to bring some masks because of the smell coming from it. Add to that the dead that's probably floating around there too."

"Isn't it the same as the canal system back home?"

"Much worse, I tell ya. It's never been cleaned ever since. But yeah, I'm not sure since the ones polluting it are probably dead now."

"Whatever, whatever. What's the plan, kid?"

"Hmm..."

I reviewed the footage for a while then I thought of the proper approach. It was still dangerous with a proper plan so the first step was to thin them out even more.

After a while, we set off an alarm about 60 yards away from us to draw out the ones much closer. It only took a few seconds before more deadheads popped out, wobbling and straddling over. The barriers in place were now set differently to act as a pseudo-funnel to take care of them more easily.

Their rotten bodies would get scraped as they try to squeeze even more but a few would get thrown over the side where a few of us were already waiting. We didn't even use our guns for the regular deadheads since it was like shooting fish in a barrel. All we needed to do was stab gently through their earlobe or eye socket and it would all be over.

Each body we took down would instantly get transported via the pushcarts available and they would all just get dumped in the garbage truck.

We were doing the same process for 30 minutes but then a stray cat just came into view. It was chasing a small rodent, dodging and weaving under the legs of the undead but a much larger figure just swiped both of them before biting their heads off. We could hear the short squeal that they produced before getting beheaded gruesomely but Oscar's shotgun already rang out.

A 10 gauge shell instantly blew off its left shoulder and the humanoid figure just dropped what was left of the stray cat. It tried to flee in the other direction but its legs were blown to shreds with another buckshot load from our old veteran.

It stumbled down as it tried to claw its way out but more and more ferals just came into view. They just popped out of nowhere and one of them just jabbed its claws into its injured comrade's head, ending its life. It licked what was left of its fallen comrade before the others started feasting on it.

Oscar and I just looked at each other for a brief second before pulling out a grenade and throwing it in their direction.

We both yelled, "THEY'RE HERE, MOTHERFUCKERS!"