Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Iskoh tried to give me a general idea of their appearance based on the interview that he made but I still asked for the people that caught a glimpse of the group we were talking about. After a short while, two gangbangers were escorted to our location, and aside from the crude tattoos on their bodies, one of them had a fresh gash on the right of his body while the other had a pencil-sized hole on his shoulder.

Their eyes looked tired but they tried to appear as cooperative as possible while giving me curious glances. With that said, two soldiers were right behind them even if they were wearing cuffs.

'Hmm...'

Iskoh looked at them before saying, "Gentlemen, sorry to bother you while you two are resting in your cells. My friend here just wanted to ask you some questions. I hope it's not much trouble?"

"N-Not at all..."

"I-It's fine..."

I gave them a short greeting before asking, "I was told you were the only ones that caught a glimpse of the group that attacked each one of you? Can you tell me everything you could say about them? It could be anything; the clothes they were wearing, the weapons they were using, vehicles, tattoos, general appearance, stance, gait, how they attacked you, and etc."

"U-Umm..."

"Gait? I don't-"

I waved them off, "Don't worry. Any info you could give me is fine. It doesn't need to be too detailed. Let's start with something simple… What caused those injuries?"

The guy with the injury on his shoulder spoke first, "My guy was using an expensive(?) slingshot but he's using arrows instead of you know… rocks. I just finished pissing and a fucking arrow made its way as I turned around."

"I see, what did he look like then?"

"I didn't see much… He's wearing a mask, gloves, and a hoodie. Oh! I almost forgot about the Jordans he's wearing~ Damn, boy! Those are the numbered shit if I ever saw one. Wait- I almost went off- let me restart… the clothes… hmm… I didn't manage to see if he's wearing a belt that had anything on it but he has those bags where you place those arrows in."

"A quiver."

"Right! Whatever that is."

"Is that all you saw?"

"Y-Yeah? Oh! H-He's kinda shorter than I am? He's really quick too. I thought he was gonna kill me but he just stole my knife and my gun. Hurts like hell when he pulled out his arrow though… The motherfucker just pulled it out like he's the pull-out king or something!"

"Sure, but Isn't stabbing you once you're down much easier? Why'd he let you go?"

"I… I really dunno… the others weren't so lucky when they got lit up."

"Lit up?"

"Ask this guy right here."

The other guy waiting for his turn eventually spoke up and told us what happened on his side. Apparently, the house they were staying at suddenly combusted in flames after a short explosion. Almost all of them were sleeping inside as well and our current guy just happened to be fucking someone in the bathroom. Long story short, the door right next to him suddenly blew to his side, causing several injuries.

The only reason they survived was that he and the girl he was fucking jumped through the small window they had available. However, he was also 'let go' because he just saw a group of people running in the shadows, away from everything. He told me that they were all wearing the same scheme of clothes as the first one and it would be difficult to identify them just by looks alone.

I asked a few more questions and Iskoh was right next to me, telling me that he already asked the same questions I did after. He didn't say anything at first because he just wanted to know whether their story would change or not.

"A-Are we done?"

"We've told you e-everything we know..."

I looked at them for a moment before asking, "This is gonna be a long shot but I'll ask anyway… I'll just assume at this point but to the number of people you've taken items forcefully or gave a death sentence, which one of them you let escape? As far as we know, this thing is a revenge plot and they seem to be targeting you guys even with their small numbers."

The two just shook their heads, "W-We really don't know..."

I lightly scoffed, "You guys may go now. Sucks to be on the receiving end, eh?"

I simply tried to fish for a reaction but I've never seen the look of defeat in their eyes more apparent than anyone. Gangbangers like them wouldn't give up or just die guns blazing but it was a different case for them. Their willpower just got shaved off over and over and they were just an empty shell of what they once were. Nevertheless, they were scumbags and they deserved more in my opinion.

They were soon escorted to their cells while Iskoh and I head to one of the roadblocks they've put up in their checkpoints.

They were made by stacking up a couple of shipping containers and adding a few more to the side to act as a plug or a funnel. Some roads are completely blocked off but once the area further out gets cleared, they would be moved a block or two away. With that said, making use of the 'airlock' system was always in place, making the central area between the roadblocks a kill zone for anything that might breach or jump up.

It was a simple way to separate the regular ones from the specials since they would easily have the ability to climb over the shipping containers without any issue. However, in the few seconds that they were trying to climb up, they would easily be met with gunfire to instantly kill them, an entangling device for capture, or a maiming device if you want to do less of the first two options.

Iskoh was successful in catching one mostly intact but he'd always turn their hands and feet into stumps before storing them for transport.

The number of times they've repurposed their shipping containers into something else just gave me a lot of ideas. Aside from using them as checkpoints and using them for storage, Iskoh had his group repurpose them into secure housing units, watchtowers, gardens, a pool, a funnel, traps, and etc. Another advantage is they could build a mobile city because they could just easily move them with the trucks they had on hand.

All they needed to do was to load them up in case SHTF and they wouldn't need to rebuild from scratch. It sounded stupid but they could actually have a bug-out city if they had the luxury of making one. It would look like a city of rectangles but everything they needed to start something new could be in the palm of their hands.

We were casually talking with Iskoh's soldiers but he suddenly had a thought as he turned to me. He was smiling a bit too cheekily and then he opened his mouth.

"Oh yeah, I believe I still haven't shown you the car that I found. Wanna take a look?"

"Ooh~ You found something nice then? What is it?"

"You'll see, you'll see."

"What is it?! Muscle? Tuner? Or those exotic ones?"

Iskoh never said a word as he kept on smiling and I couldn't believe he would keep a secret these past few days. However, it didn't matter as much because I lost all hope when the sheets covering it were pulled off.

It was just a fucking Civic.

Iskoh was wearing a proud look, "Such a beaut- Ow! What the fuck?!"

I was trying my best to not hit him multiple times, "A Civic?! All the mysteriousness for a Civic?! I thought you were gonna reveal an LFA, a DB9, or even a Porsche! Dude! Are you this fucking plain?! What do you have for breakfast every day? Plain oatmeal and white bread?!"

"Excuse~ me?! You're gonna shit on it even if you haven't seen what it's running on?! I'm so fucking disappointed..."

"Oh! It's a sleeper then! Pop the hood! Lemme see!"

As soon as Iskoh popped the hood, my head got all confused because something was definitely wrong. Aside from this Civic having a V6 engine, some parts are different or shouldn't be present. It took me a second to figure everything out and I smiled from ear to ear once I came to the realization.

"It got converted to rear-wheel drive, right?! RIGHT?! KEYS! I NEED TO DRIVE THIS THING!"

"Only if I'll ride shotgun!"

It didn't take long before the two of us were inside his car and I gunned it from the get-go. It was unbelievable to hear his Civic roar differently but the look on everyone's faces when it drifted in the first corner was fucking priceless.

I gunned it straight into the Rizal Park and Iskoh was already clutching his hands on everything.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! THIS IS A MISTAKE!"