Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Anyone could hear a pin drop or a butterfly's wings fluttering the moment we heard the short phrase from the radio. The whole place went silent and even the people outside chattering stopped dead in their tracks.

I still had a few more things to tidy up in the system I was creating but we needed to take action.

-

*bzzt*

"GIVE CHASE BUT WATCH YOUR SURROUNDINGS! FLY YOUR DRONES OVERHEAD AND A FEW METERS AHEAD!"

*bzzt*

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Natasha picked up my call.

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*bzzt*

[S-SIR? B-BUT!]

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

"LEAVE ISKOH'S MEN TO THE OTHERS! YOU NEED TO FIND OUT WHERE THEY'RE TAKING HIM!"

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

[YES, SIR!]

*bzzt*

-

Iskoh and I just locked eyes for a short moment before he gave me the go-ahead to catch up with Artem and his own team. With that said, as soon as I saved my work, the door to Iskoh's office swung open before Kaley and Tatiana rushed past everyone in the hallway. They were almost out of breath and it seemed we were already on the same page.

Kaley exclaimed, "DID YOU HEAR THAT?!"

I ran past them before replying, "I HEARD. WE'RE THE BACKUP!"

"WHAT?!"

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! THERE'S ONLY ONE REASON WHY THEY'RE GATHERING MORE PEOPLE!"

"Wha- What are you talking about?!"

Tatiana almost slowed down as she came to a realization faster than Kaley, "The City Hall?! Like our City Hall?!"

"YEAH! LIKE THAT! OR SOMETHING MUCH WORSE!"

Kaley suddenly grabbed on me, "Then we should come up with a plan first! Not this rushing into things bullshit! It took us weeks to plan last time!"

I scratched my head before I relented momentarily, "WE'RE JUST GONNA CONFIRM THEIR LOCATION! WE'RE COMING BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE MORE AND OUR TEAM NEEDS ALL THE HELP THEY COULD GET TO HEAD THERE AND COME BACK!"

Iskoh yelled from behind, "I'M SENDING TWO TEAMS TO FOLLOW AFTER YOU THREE! THEY ONLY NEED A FEW MINUTES TO GET SOMEONE TO REPLACE THEM AND GET READY!!"

I turned around and nodded, "MAKE THEM DRIVE PARALLEL TO THE ROUTE WE'RE TAKING THEN! WE'RE GOING AHEAD! I'LL TAKE THE CIVIC!"

"WAIT! THE KE-"

"I GOT IT! I NABBED IT FROM YOUR POCKET!"

"WHAT?!"

"IT'S ALREADY MINE, RIGHT?!"

"FUCK! GO ON AHEAD THEN!"

The three of us starting running towards my newly acquired vehicle because my Raptor was currently in Jared's care. It was already a machine built for war but we only had a custom Civic on hand. With that said, we always had our bags with us, so we just picked them up and lugged them inside.

We drove away in a matter of seconds and I was the one behind the wheel.

This time, Tatiana was the one keeping communications with our group that started giving chase to a pack of ferals. Surprisingly enough, our Raptor and our Humvee were keeping a healthy chase because of their drones keeping up with their agile movements. It was easy enough to step on the gas pedal but watching out for obstacles or even hidden threats was the trouble they were currently facing.

We were kinda in the same spot but the further they continue their pursuit in the uncharted areas, the more the threat level increases.

-

*bzzt*

[APPROACHING VASQUEZ ST.! THERE'S NO SIGNS OF THEM STOPPING JUST YET!]

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

"WE'RE STILL AT… AT… OROSA AVE! WE'RE ALSO RUNNING PARALLEL FROM THE STREET YOU'RE DRIVING! WATCH OUT FOR FLANKS!"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[OKAY! THEY'RE JUST STILL RUNNING STRAIGHT THOUGH!]

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

"JUST KEEP GOING AS FAR AS YOU CAN!"

*bzzt*

-

As we were driving, Kaley was shooting down anything that might pose as a problem while I continued to weave through dead bodies and abandoned vehicles. It prompted me to drive more on the right side of the road but she would occasionally peek outside when it was convenient. We could still hear Natasha's voice through our radio while Tatiana was trying to make contact with the group that was supposed to follow behind us.

We were driving for a few minutes and we've already reached the upturned vehicle with another group watching over them. I would've stopped and offered help but their own medic seemed to be applying treatment to those who survived and weren't infected.

I just gave them a brief glance before driving past them to reach our group that was still in pursuit.

-

*bzzt*

[THEY'RE CLIMBING THE STATION! THEY'RE CLIMBING THE STATION!]

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

"WHAT STATION IS IT?!"

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

[Q… QUIRINO?]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"YIELD FOR A BIT AND LET YOUR DRONE HANDLE IT! FLY THROUGH THE GAPS AND WE'LL SEND OURS SOON! BUILS A PERIMETER WITH THE OTHERS WHILE YOU'RE DOING IT!"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[G-GOTCHA!]

*bzzt*

-

We were only a couple of blocks away from where they were but we were met with a small herd of deadheads from another side. They were a mix of sprinters and regular ones and surprisingly enough, there weren't any ferals in the mix.

"TATIANA! I'LL TURN TO THE LEFT AND YOU SHOOT WITH KALEY FROM THE OTHER SIDE!"

Tatiana didn't respond verbally but she put down her radio and grabbed her AK, waiting for me to take an abrupt turn. I started to ease on the brake while I was hugging the right lane and once I confirmed that there would be no obstructions on the inside lane of the route I was taking, I tapped on the brake for a short moment so that I could start sliding. It eventually led to a tight drift and the two ladies managed to send a few projectiles their way.

The moment I stabilized the car I was using, the two paused for a short moment to continue firing.

Sprinters were the worst at taking turns and even if they were the ones that instantly bridged the gap, they either fell to our bullets or just smashed straight to the wall we just passed.

We weren't able to completely finish them all off but we were out of the woodwork.

I easily turned to the right to get to the two vehicles parked upfront and I was more concerned at the station Jared and Natasha were flying their drones around.

It was almost in the same state as the one we had in Monumento but it had more than a few quirks than imagined. For starters, a small herd of regular deadheads was just circling around the stairs and the pillars of the station, doing nothing even if we were just a few dozens of meters away. Furthermore, the ones passing would be subjected to the same state, rendering them incapable of doing anything.

A lot more deadheads were present upstairs and roaming around, but the ones perched on the roof of the station were just staring us down. They look like the guy who killed his entire clan and left his brother but instead of the moon leaving a nice silhouette, bits and pieces of human flesh and bone were strewn around.

Blood was dripping from the edges of the station and the staircases were in the same state.

It would be a fucking slid-n-slide if we started to climb up the steps but before I thought of a plan, Jared and Natasha approached me with their controllers.

"Bro, the inside is just packed with whatever the fuck is in there! Much worse than a butcher shop forgetting to clean up after a hard day's work!"

Natasha added, "We tried flying closer but the ones perched on the roof tried to swat our drones down. We could only take a peek from the small gaps and this… flesh wall blocking the entrance of trains."

I asked just to clarify, "The soldier they took, was he still alive when they got here?"

Jared shook his head, "That'll be a negative, bro. I could show you the footage but he just got dragged while being held in the neck. We could see him struggle when we started chasing after them but he became a vegetable after a few meters."

I asked a few more questions but Artem approached me while wiping his knife with a spare cloth. Blood had sprayed onto his clothes and his forearms and he was giving me a serious expression once we met eyes.

Artem started, "That's a nest, right?"

"Definitely."

"What are we going to do then? We could start storming it but we need to have people down here taking care of the vehicles and anything approaching. Not to mention maintaining a clear exit path for us."

Katya interjected, "We could start thinning them off, right?"

I rubbed my glabella, "We could do all those but those perching above the roof are just guards. If we're gonna try and hit them, we do it hard and fast as always. Some could escape or some could do something we don't even know if they're capable of."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"Hmm~ I'm thinking of a very~ explosive delivery service."

"A what?"