Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

As soon as I said goodbye to Tatiana, I drove my car to the DDR Camp to meet with Kaley.

I only drove for a short bit but people's heads would always turn when they hear me creeping up behind them or when they saw me coming right up front. I appreciate them appreciating my Charger but I got to find something lowkey. Nevertheless, them admiring my ride just proved that classics would always be classics.

'I love tuners and exotics too but muscle cars would always have a place in my heart...'

After finding the right parking spot, I easily found my way to the wing Kaley was in, and as luck would have it, she just came outside of the restroom. Her face immediately brightened up but her stomach growled almost at the same time.

I chuckled, "Wanna eat? I brought some breakfast?"

Kaley hesitated, "I-I-I just excused myself for a bit to go to the restroom… I think--"

"Not even a bite?"

"A-Amy hasn't eaten too..."

I raised the bags I was carrying, "Hah! I brought extra!"

"How about the other kids and their representatives? Brought some for them too?"

I slowly lowered the bags down, "Ah... I didn't... Are they done already?"

"Some of them are but... t-they're more scared than hungry… You know, getting sent to this place without their parents. Even if their representatives are qualified for this country's CPN(Child Protection Network), we can't change the fact that we took them here. Losing their parents from 'vigilantes' and seeing the other half get detained will be too much for them. I know it's for everyone's best interest but still..."

"Yeah… it's all we could do for now though… If… If you're really needed back, I'll drop by this place's kitchen and I'll see if I could have a meal prepared for everyone... Just call me when you guys are done. Sounds good?"

"Yeah... t-thanks..."

"No prob--"

"Not t-that..."

"Hmm?"

"You know, thanks for letting me do this… taking care of Amy… being away--"

"Like I said, no problem… Just don't forget to take care of yourself too, alright? Why don't you take this bag now? I'll just take care of the others' meal?"

"A-Ah… thanks..."

Kaley was just staring at me for a few seconds before she put down the bags I handed her and gave me a kiss. It lasted for a few seconds but we were interrupted by a nurse who was calling out to her. With that said, I stole one more kiss from her lips before I sent her away with my eyes.

'Now, what to do~ what to do~ Right, food… but how do I counter fear with kids? Hmm...'

I made my way to this hospital's kitchen and it wasn't difficult to ask them to make breakfast a second time. Besides, the servings they needed to make wasn't that many and it only need one or two people to prepare it given the allotted time.

Nevertheless, I gave them a hand and it was fun seeing them surprised knowing that I could do more than put down deadheads and stare down people. Furthermore, we made the food a little bit more 'exciting' to eat just to ease those kids' fears for at least a little bit.

What we made for them was just a staple breakfast of fried rice, eggs, and hotdogs but let's just say people not only eat food with their mouths.

It involved adding 'color' to the food by sprinkling chopped green onions, diced carrots, and peas over the fried rice, slicing the hotdogs in a way that they'd look like octopi, and doing some lettering or designs with ketchup on their omelet with cheese.

To top it off, their hot cocoa had bits of marshmallow floating on top.

To make everything right the first try, Kaley gave me a call once the kids were all done with their evals and when they were sent to the cafeteria to have some food, their glum faces would've made anyone feel the same.

They were all afraid of their new environment but everything changed when the fire nation-- when they caught a whiff of what was prepared for them. I could hear their stomachs grumble from the kitchen counter and once they lifted the lid from their meals, almost all of them couldn't help but take a big bite almost immediately.

There were a few in the older spectrum still trying to rebel by not eating but once they saw the younger ones stuffing their face with each spoonful, they couldn't help but follow. Granted what we did with their food was a little too childish for their tastes but that didn't stop them from asking for seconds.

However, there was always one or two from any group that would make everything difficult.

In our case, it seemed to be a brother and a sister where the sister was the older one. The younger brother wanted to eat so bad but his sister was staring him down. Their trays were pushed a few inches away from them and it brought the attention of not only their representatives but me, the cooks that prepared their food, and the other kids.

One of the representatives turned to them, "Sheila, this food was prepared for you all… You should--"

"I want my mom!"

"You'll get to talk to them soon, but--"

"I want to talk to her now! I don't want to eat! I want to talk to my mom!"

"Sheila--"

The representative was still in mid-sentence when the girl named Sheila picked up her tray and threw it on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Furthermore, once she got ahold of her little brother's tray, the representative managed to stop her but she just grabbed a handful of their food and threw it on the representative's face.

Everyone else was just in shock but she bolted right out the door while the representative was still trying to process everything. The other representative started to give chase but before he even left the door, he immediately slowed down and took a step back.

'What?'

He couldn't hide the look of shock on his face when Kaley went through the door while pushing Amy and Marisha was being followed by the unruly child that just ran outside.

"W-W-What-- What happened to her?!"

Kaley scoffed, "If you're talking about the girl you're supposed to take care of, she's right here. But if you're talking about Amy, let's just say she's been through a lot and she doesn't want to be hidden anymore. Piece the rest of the puzzle yourself and--"

Marisha cut her off, "Kaley, ease down. Sheila was just running towards us so we got lucky, right? Marcus is about to follow her, is that right?"

'Right, why's Kaley so mad right now?'

The representative named Marcus nodded, "Y-Yes, ma'am… Sheila, please… apologize to Mary and I'll help you ask the kind people here for some food… Once you finish your meal, you'll get to talk to your--"

Kaley cut off Marcus, "No, she won't."

"E-Excuse me?"

"From what I'm seeing here, she caused that and tried to leave. Brats like that don't get any--"

Sheila screamed at the top of her lungs, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'M NOT A BRAT! I WANNA TALK TO MY--"

Then a slap resounded across the cafeteria.

It made everyone stop what they were doing and you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone just went back to their senses when they heard Kaley's voice.

"Brat."

Sheila was stunned in place as Kaley continued to push Amy on one of the tables available, and Marisha just followed her with her eyes while Marcus approached Sheila and checked on her. She was more surprised than she was hurt but before she got to do anything stupid, Marisha did her work.

Marisha just leaned over to try and talk her down and even if Sheila was struggling to get away from Marcus' grasp, she soon slumped down on the opposite side of the table they were sitting on.

Nevertheless, she was glaring at Kaley's figure but Kaley was in total control of the situation. Her smile would make her fume in anger but she couldn't do anything about it.

Despite all that, Sheila was so stubborn to give an apology to Mary and the cooks but she was still given a portion of the food that was left.

With that said, her little brother finally get to eat some food while she continued to refuse to have a single bite. I couldn't believe a kid like her could be so stubborn but the way Marisha looked at her just told me that there was something more to it. After she made sure that Mary was okay and the rest of the kids were also fine, she was the one who sat down with Sheila.

They were just sitting in front of each other but to my surprise, Sheila just grabbed her spoon and started eating albeit slowly. Her food didn't look as exciting compared to what was given to her earlier but it had the same taste, except it was already cold.

Nevertheless, she finished her food and looked down while twiddling her thumbs.

Mary and Marcus were surprised as well but before I got to see more miracles, my radio buzzed.

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*bzzt*

[Bro, I'm gonna fucking kill you...]

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

"Hah? What are you talking about? Who's this?"

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

[IT'S LOIS, YOU DUMB FUCK! WHY'D YOU LEFT ME IN THE TRUCK BED AND DIDN'T WAKE ME UP?! I'M HERE WITH EVERYONE RAINING BRASS CASINGS ON MY FACE! FUCK! IT'S HOT!]

*bzzt*

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*bzzt*

"Ah… my bad."

*bzzt*

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