Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

After a short while, Johnny and the rest finished packing and they loaded them into their vehicles. They have a minivan and a coupe but most of their larger items were placed at the back of their delivery vans. When everything was ready, they locked up while the rest of us opened the gate. We took down a few zombies before driving away but the rest of the trip was uneventful.

When we reached the entrance to the compound, we discovered that the fences were reinforced. They added another roll of chain-linked fences and attached a thicker metal strip to hold everything together. It looked much sturdier but it was much heavier. We were let it as the fences were rolled and opened to the side, and the gate was opened for our vehicles to park inside.

With that said, Johnny and his family didn't park their vehicles inside and just stopped by the side of our walls. He came outside their minivan and Marco and his son Jimmy followed right after. My group was looking curiously at them but Oscar was already approaching them as I followed right behind. They were all wearing solemn and curious expressions but Oscar opened up the conversation.

Oscar offered his hand, "Hey, welcome. You're Sgt. Johnny Myers Smith, right? I'm Col. Oscar Goodman. Well, I'm just a veteran now but I'm doing good."

Johnny shook his hand first before looking around, "Glad to meet someone like you. I gotta say, I'm retired too. Very recently because of my accident. Anyway, this compound is a lot bigger than I expected but I'm not seeing a fence from the other side. Is it clear? Where does it lead?"

I interjected, "Everything's clear here right until the canal system at the end. That's where another set of fences were put up to keep everything else boxed in."

Johnny nodded a few times, "I see… I might need to check everything personally though. I just need to see everything for myself. Are all of you staying inside? The other houses here, are they all occupied?"

'He's definitely staying.'

I just faintly smiled, "I see no problem with that. Most of us are staying in my compound but there are other families still living inside their homes. With that said, other than two houses and our compound, everything here is running on a first-come, first-served basis. You could just pick a house and flick the main switch on and twist the main valve open to get some power and water."

Marco interjected, "So, we could just pick any house and it's ours?"

"Yeah."

Thelma went outside as well, "Where are the places that are occupied then?"

I replied, "The one right across the open court and the one further in with a large gate right across one of the fishing areas."

Johnny and Marco were looking around but Bobby tapped me.

"Hey, I was told I could pick a house for myself?"

"Yeah, just like them."

Bobby looked sullen, "B-But… are there any more rooms inside your compound? I'd feel kinda weird being in a house where I'm the only one there..."

"Sure, no problem. Just pick an empty room between Oscar's house and mine."

"O-Okay! Thank you again!"

"Sure."

After a while, Johnny decided for them to stay at the nearest house where we found a cat while Bobby decided to stay in the room right next to Allan and Jenny's. We left them to their own devices for a while but I reminded them about the time for dinner and the meeting right after. The supplies they brought were all shared and accounted for but we didn't take the guns Johnny's family brought, except for Bobby's which we already did beforehand.

Oscar and I were just standing on the catwalk before he said, "So, kid. How much did we get from their stash?"

"We got a bit but all of them are .22s. It's not bad at all but they still have the good stuff. What they have personally is much better than what they gave away."

"Heh. As if their stash is better than ours."

"Heh. Of course, of course. So, what happened with the broadcast?"

"Nothing too important was said. A day had just passed, right?"

"I see, I'll start making use of their guns then."

"Gonna teach a class? Go ahead, I'll just stay here."

"Sure."

There was still daylight to burn so I announced that I would hold another class for basic firearms training. This time, I decided to bring .22 pistols with me so that the others who struggled last time with 9mms would have an easier time with recoil, and they could pick which one to start from. With that said, the last crew came once more but Alex, Lois, and Russel joined as well and they all went ahead of me.

I was carrying a duffel bag filled with everything we needed and this time, Kaley came with me. We were walking toward the court when she noticed that Lois was also trailing behind everyone who was already at the bleachers.

Kaley asked me, "Hey. Lois is Jared's little brother, right?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Can he shoot like Jared?"

"Ah~ Well… let's just say that he's a special case. He'd only excel at things when his interest is piqued. When he starts to get bored, no matter what it is, his performance suffers drastically."

"Really?"

"Yep. He's a quick study too but he easily gets bored once he gets the hang of something. That's why Jared would go to lengths just to get him to move, pushing this sibling rivalry whenever they're together."

"Oh~ What made him want to go to practice now?"

"I dunno. I guess we'll know when we start. Are you gonna join?"

"What? No. I'm just here to watch out for that bitc- girl… Esther..."

I started shaking my head as I looked at Kaley's irritated expression, "Sure~ sure~"

Kaley and I arrived on the open court and I started the class by giving the same lecture I did last time. It was to drill into their minds the importance of properly handling firearms and the discipline needed to do so. All of them listened intently but their eyes immediately lit up when I started pulling out the guns from my duffel bag.

Since there were nine of them, I pulled out nine Walther P22s so they would have the same pistol to work with. My workers wanted to continue using their M9s initially but I just persuaded them with using the P22s instead so they would know more guns to properly operate. However, I would still let them practice with their M9s so they wouldn't lose their touch.

Esther commented, "Aren't they pretty small? You call them .22 LRs?"

I nodded, "Yes, but they could still kill you if you got hit in the right spot. Furthermore, they're quieter than the 9mm and works even better suppressed since with the right setup, you could run it without hearing protection. They won't pose any threat from a distance but we just use normal rifle rounds for those types of scenarios."

Lois interjected, "Bro, you didn't bring long rifles? I saw a few 10/22s earlier, right?"

I shook my head, "Not today, no. I could let you borrow one in the future but we'll stick to pistols for now. Do you want to start?"

Lois just nodded a few times, "Ah, sure."

'Has he started to lose interest already? I hope not...'

Russel chimed in, "We're not gonna go at the same time? I heard-"

I cut him off, "Yeah. We'll do it a little~ differently this time. Watch Lois closely, yeah?"

Lois just waited for my signal before he approached the table and picked up one of the Walther P22s on it. He removed the magazine first before checking and clearing the chamber then he started to strip it and assemble it again. After that, he loaded the 10-round magazine with the bullets provided and shoved it in the mag well before chambering a round.

He then aimed at the cardboard targets provided before taking the first shot.

*BANG*

A small hole appeared at the target's head before he exhaled and shoot once more.

*BANG*

It hit the torso this time but I added specific instructions to keep him from getting bored.

"Go two shots per breath. Make them fucking quick."

*BANG* *BANG*

Lois just nodded at me before firing two shots in quick succession but his last shot was a bit offset compared to the other which was almost at the same spot. It didn't take long before he exhaled and fired once more and the sound of gunfire rang out.

*BANG* *BANG*

The shots hit the torso once more but all of them were fucking tight.

"Again. No breaks."

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The groups Lois made were more spread apart and since his magazine ran out of bullets, he removed it by pressing the mag release before checking and clearing the chamber.

Everyone was just fucking dumbfounded by how smooth it was.

I started chuckling, "Good job, dude. Do you wanna join my scouting team?"

Lois gave me a face, "Eh~ maybe. I'd like to just stay at home though."

"Okay, no problem. There's plenty of us anyway but I might drag you with me a few times. Try holding it with your left but still with both hands, here's a fresh mag."

"What? I haven't tried that yet. This is gonna be bad…"

"Just try it!"

"S-Sure..."

Lois loaded the fresh mag and he raised his pistol shakily. Once he made a few attempts, it was clear to see the distance between shots was way off compared to the shots he made earlier. They still hit the target but he needed more time before firing each shot. With that said, he got annoyed but I gave him another loaded mag so he could get his rhythm back.

The groupings were now much better than before and he started shooting faster with great accuracy.

Kaley commented, "He's good, you're good."

"Of course, I am. Heh." Lois smiled cheekily and he took his seat after giving a short bow in front of everybody.

I then turned to everyone, "So, what can we learn from that?"

Russel instantly raised his hand, "I know! It's sv_clienttrace 9999."

I instantly snorted with the ones in the know but we eventually started to have a proper discussion. They listened to my explanations while they asked more questions but I made it quick for our other students.

"In the future, I'd like you all to at least be able to do that. Lois is kinda~ in the next level and he would've been higher if he diligently practices in which he doesn't. However, what we learned from that if we make shots in quick succession or if we use our non-dominant hand, our shots and the ones following that would be away from our intended target."

Jonathan raised his hand, "And how do we go around that?"

"It's what we've been doing since the beginning. Basics. We keep our breathing steady, we hold it with the proper grip, and we do it with the right posture. However, there are cases where we wouldn't be able to do that but that's a lesson for another day. Alright, let's continue..."

I made them go on turns once more and we would discuss every time someone finished their course. However, there wasn't much to discuss in between but a few corrections and improvements with what they were doing. We finished before it was dark and we cleaned up by storing the targets and picking up the casings we've used.

Russel approached me, "Hey, bro. I noticed that this thing kicks less and didn't hurt as much."

I chuckled, "Are you talking about the shotgun you let loose in the gas station? You've used it last time, right? Still hard on the shoulders?"

"That was fucking fun, heh. It still kinda hurts but- Hey! You said I could exchange it with anything, right? Can I have this instead? It's kinda weaker but I wanna work my way up until I could use that shotgun again. Is that okay?"

"Sure. I'll give you a belt and a holster later but always keep it in check and out of your little sister's reach. That never leaves it unless there's an emergency and you don't point it around even though it's weaker. A gunshot wound is still a gunshot wound, understand?"

"Fuck yeah! Thanks, bro!"

I almost bonked him since he almost started to dance with it but I kept my promise. I let him have 10 rounds for now but I didn't give him an extra mag. I would like to test the waters first and if he doesn't fool around, I'll let him keep both guns in the future. After talking with him, Nicole approached me as well.

"Hey. Can I ask when can I have my own gun? I'm doing pretty good, right?"

"Yes, you're doing good but I think that it's still not time yet."

"Really?"

"Wait. Hmm~ I can give you that pistol but without the bullets."

Nicole furrowed her brows, "How could that help then?"

"For starters, you could practice dry firing and field stripping. However, I'd like you to work more on sight alignment. I noticed that every time you look at the sights, well, most of you, it would take a few seconds. What I'd like for you to do is once you draw it from the holster, it's already aiming at its target and ready to go."

"How about my trigger control and recoil management?"

"You could work on that too but don't forget to tell me to put on snap caps on it before you try dry firing. It could mess up the gun since it's a rimfire weapon. I'll add in a few fake bullets too so you could practice with reloads and some other stuff. Cutting your time as low as possible could be the difference between life and death in the future."

"Sure. Thank you. I'll keep this one then."

"Clean it first, yeah? Remind me to give you a belt and a holster too."

"Sure, sure. I won't forget."

Once we cleaned up and went back, we found Johnny and the rest were inside our compound. They were chatting with everybody and Oscar waved me over when they saw us. Johnny turned to me as well and we just exchanged simple nods before I sat down. Everyone else that came with me except for Kaley just dispersed and did their own thing.

Johnny commented, "You trained a few of them, eh? That's good. Any diamonds in the rough?"

"Yeah, we have a few. Anyway, how about the rest of your family?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, do they know how to use guns? I could train some of them?"

"My wife Joanne and my son Jimmy know how to use them, Marco too. I just want the rest of them to stay here while we do the hard work. They could help in other things but I wouldn't let them touch guns."

Oscar interjected, "Johnny, it wouldn't hurt for them to know a few things."

Johnny shook his head, "Tell me, does everyone here know how to use firearms?"

I replied, "Not yet. But I plan to train everyone in the future."

"Do you have enough ammo for that? Isn't it better to shoot those things outside compared to cardboard cutouts?"

"Personally, I'd trust a marksman with five mags compared to a make-believe operator with thrice the amount of magazines. With that said, it doesn't have to be training with just guns. I'm also planning to teach a class about hand-to-hand fighting or the use of close-combat weapons. Well, anything to defend oneself."

"I still disagree. I don't want to get my family conscripted as soldiers. As I said, they could do other things but not fighting those things outside."

Marco interjected, "Johnny as much as I hate to say this, I agree with them."

Johnny frowned as he turned to Marco, "What? You'd let your wife go outside?!"

Marco shook his head, "That's not what we're saying. Isn't it better to have-"

"You're being stupid."

"Listen-"

I raised my voice enough for everyone around us to shut up, "Listen to me, you stubborn old oaf. I'd rather let them have the knowledge to protect themselves when the time comes rather than shouting for help every time there's trouble. Isn't it better to have queens across the board instead of the usual setup with pawns and everything else? You see, I learned that shit the hard way."

"I…" Johnny was finding the right words to reply.

Everyone was looking at my somber expression even though I was forcing a smile.

I went back on the subject, "A great man once told me that it's better to have and not need than to need and not have..."

Oscar was chuckling, "Heh, thank-"

Then I cut him off, "I was looking at a mirror that time..."

"Kid! What the fuck?! I'm the one who told you that!"

"I said a great man! A GREAT MAN! You're an old man!"

"YOUUUUUUUUUU~!!!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

The mood quickly changed for the better as everyone started laughing but the stubborn old oaf continued to look at me with a solemn expression.