Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Bodies on top of bodies were in front of us and they were either mangled, cut down, or shot between the eyes. All of them were put to rest but I wanted to check the station we blew up as soon as possible. With that said, the group Iskoh sent us walked up to us and then we checked our inventory first before anything else.

We refilled our mags, replenished our grenades, wiped our melee weapons, and took a look at what we caused.

"Let's clean up the bodies before we check the station."

"Yes, sir."

"Free up at least almost two lanes so that we could have some wiggle room."

"Yeah."

"If we could, push the cars aside so it would be easier..."

"I'll hook the winch then..."

Our group started and we helped with stacking them higher. After that, we burned a few mounds we put up right until they sent a truck to help us. They brought more people to haul the bodies at the back while the rest of us formed a larger perimeter so that they could work easier.

We put down a few more bodies and once we got a proper driveway running, we drove back to the station. However, we first cleared the fire exit of the building right next to it. It was done so that our shooters could have a better line of sight compared to simply looking from below.

With that said, the rest of us parked on each side of the stairs leading up to the station while leaving a few of our team in each vehicle.

Mikhail was watching my back as the two of us ascended the stairs while Katya was following right behind Artem. They had their formation but I was sure that on my side, Tatiana was watching Kaley while Ibarra was with Jared. Everyone was keeping proper comms but there was little to no threat from our ascent.

Almost everything we saw was just piles and piles of broken-down body parts that had no point of reference. It was like painting by flicking a paintbrush in random directions but this time, it was dipped in coagulated blood and messed up body parts. The sight was just as horrible as the smell and we were just about to head inside.

-

*bzzt*

"We're heading inside."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Yeah, I still see you.]

*bzzt*

-

As soon as we walked inside, we were met with a disgusting picture of torn, burnt, and minced body parts. It was like several suicide bombers met on the same day and decided to spice up the surroundings. Pieces of flesh were present on the ceiling, walls, and flooring, and most of them were located around the center of the explosion.

It was already a sight to see if it weren't for the body parts that were 'organized' to the side.

A select few survived the blast but it was apparent that the deadheads living here had some sort of organization when it came to their meals.

Artem waved me over, "Hey, look over here."

"Hmm?"

Katya added, "Just come here and take a look."

Artem and Katya were standing at the blast radius and where the pulsing blob should've been… pulsing. They were picking off the broken-down pieces that were scattered on the ground and what's apparent where the amount of brain matter almost centralized in the blast radius.

As I instantly looked around their 'cupboard', there seemed to be no heads lying around and it seemed that the blob was a huge collection. We had no way to explain what's going on and the only thing we could tie it to were the specials that could wear their own as their armor or part of themselves. However, this collection seemed to be too specialized to be the same thing.

Artem crouched down and lifted another piece that had the same texture, "What do you think? Looks the same, right?"

I scratched my chin as I replied, "Yeah, but why?"

"No point thinking about it now, right?"

"But still, there could be more of these nests outside."

Katya interjected, "It'd be easy if they're located in this sort of place. If they're hidden someplace, I could only imagine what this thing could become. It could be something really dangerous or something completely worthless."

Mikhail tilted his head, "What are you talking about?"

Katya folded her arms, "Not everything that's unique could pose a threat."

I nodded a few times, "True. They're evolving but that doesn't mean they could only go forward. They could go backward too."

Katya looked at me, "Yeah, my point."

Artem waved us off, "Are we gonna look at the same thing or are we gonna pack it up? Same thing as before?"

I nodded before saying, "Yeah, a few pictures, videos, and maybe a sample or two. They could look the same but we never know."

I thought we'd have more problems but things ran smoothly in the few minutes we cleaned up and collected data. There could be more to it than what we could comprehend but doing nothing with it would be a mistake. Everything and anything we acquired would always be sent to the president's side so trained professionals would have more samples to work with.

Bullets haven't failed us yet but I was always open to more solutions. With that said, I heard several suppressed gunshots from below but the shots weren't directed in our direction. It seemed a few stragglers appeared and lead projectiles proved their worth once more. A small radio call assured us that they were safe so we continued with what we were doing.

After a while, when we were about to head down, something shiny caught my eye and I instantly wore a solemn expression.

'Paulo Madriaga… thank you for your service...'

I just washed that flat piece of metal with some water and wiped it with a piece of cloth. It was already scratched up and missing its chain but I pocketed it, hoping to at least return with something to remember him or even honor him by.

Artem looked over to me, "You actually found it?"

"Yeah..."

"At least we got one… I couldn't say the same for the rest here."

"True. The only way we'd find out is to subtract it from the ones that are living and the dead then do some guesswork. In the end, some would stay missing..."

We drove back with the rest of our group and we even caught up with the rest of Iskoh's soldiers.

Speaking of Iskoh, he was waiting atop one of their barriers and he immediately asked for his soldiers and everyone's wellbeing. He looked helpless when he discovered that he lost another soldier but all hell came loose when the brother of the soldier who died, Pasco, discovered the news.

He came running with a distraught expression, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S DEAD?! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING WHEN IT- FUCK! YOU MEAN TO SAY HE DIED BECAUSE THOSE FUCKING OLD COOTS WANTED TO HAVE SOME SUNSHINE WITH THOSE WHEELCHAIRS?! BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T WALK OUT THEMSELVES?! AND THOSE OXYGEN TANKS KILLED HIM BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T BREATHE PROPERLY?! FUCK ME! IF MORE OF US-"

I was about to fold his clothes while he was still wearing them but Iskoh grabbed his collar and pushed him against a wall, "Pasco. I know you're fucking mad but I'd-"

"FUCKING LET GO OF ME! WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO-"

Iskoh tightened his grip around Pasco's collar and he looked at him dead in the eye, "I deeply apologize for what happened but your brother is a soldier and he even volunteered for that mission that everyone agreed we would be doing, even you. The moment they leave our barriers, we could only do so much to help them when something goes wrong. We're never certain what would happen next and unfortunately, your brother died doing his duty. Don't tarnish it by implying that we should've left our old to die by being unable to breathe or even enjoy what's left of them."

"BUT HE'S- FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! HE'S MY ONLY- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Pasco's expression turned sour while Iskoh's expression was still the same. He eventually slumped on the ground crying while Iskoh tried to comfort him. He tried to push Iskoh a couple of times but he just experienced a rollercoaster of emotions.

We could only look solemnly but as cold as it sounded, he wasn't the only one who lost someone. I just placed the piece of cloth containing his brother's dog tag in front of him before we left him alone.

I thought Pasco wouldn't even look at us at first but before we drove back to our city, he simply thanked me by giving me a small bag of fresh fruits he cultivated himself. His eyes were still swollen from crying but he was now wearing his brother's memento. We exchanged a few words before we left him once more but I'm sure the following days would be difficult for him.