Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Raphael stood up in his spot and everyone turned to him.

"Okay… I've taken a look at Oscar's SUV earlier and I'm gonna share what I think. If we'd mount the M134 on top of that vehicle, it couldn't just raise up like we see in the movies. It would be facing up first and not only that, I would need to mess with the SUV's wiring itself since I'd hook it up with the button that could open up the sunroof."

"How long do you think would that take?"

"Hmm… I'm not really sure but if everything goes well~ we're looking at a time frame of one to two weeks. It's more of an estimate really but if really wanted to do this right, I suggest I measure ten more times before I start cutting."

Oscar chimed in, "Two weeks? I thought you'd need a month or two. But yeah, it's better to make sure that everything's accounted for before you start messing with it."

Raphael nodded a few times, "Yeah, yeah. Of course."

I nodded approvingly, "Okay, we're good on that now. What's next on our list..."

Looking through the things on the top of my head, I remember our small discussion with Johnny earlier. I decided to address it now so I thought about what to say for the moment before I opened my mouth.

"Okay, listen up! From this point on, I will be teaching classes every afternoon right after the broadcast ends. We will alternate between firearms, melee weapons, and hand-to-hand combat. Everyone is welcome to attend but I'd only be able to teach a dozen or so at a time. However, those who weren't able to get a slot could still sit in to watch."

A few of the younger generation wore excited faces then I continued as I turned to everyone else that had a thing or two that they could impart to others.

"Just a reminder, don't be afraid to approach anyone in this place if you wanted to learn something from them. You could learn to tend to plants and animals, work on an engine, perform basic first-aid, and etc., and now is the best time to expand your skillset. Also, if you have something not much of us know here, please, don't be afraid to teach."

A small discussion started to break out between everyone and each person had their own thing of what they wanted to learn first or wanted to impart. Before I let them go, I ended with a simple reminder.

"If no one would ask any questions, we'll end it here tonight. Remember our rules in regards to lights and our schedule on who would be on watch duty-- Bobby?"

I saw Bobby raising his hand from the corner of my eye and I called out to him.

"U-Umm… can I ask when I could have my gun back? I'm… I saw a bunch of people carrying their own firearms openly… I know I'm the new guy b-but-- I'm not saying that it's not fair but--"

I nodded before cutting him off, "Honestly speaking, I don't trust you with a gun yet."

"Oh… It's fine… I--"

"Hear me out first. You just had it on the back of your hips without a holster with no extra bullets. Other than that, I don't see a gun license in your person even if you gave Rin a copy of some of your IDs. No offense but… I think that it's not yours."

Bobby's eyes widened before showing a depressed look, "I-- It's my--"

"Bobby, you seem like a good guy but I'm just worried that you might now know how to use it. I was gonna look for you and ask you to come train with the others earlier but I was just told you just locked yourself in your room. Is there any problem?"

"Oh, I should've come outside... T-The reason is very embarrassing..." Bobby said weakly.

Oscar chortled before chiming in, "What? You milking the dragon or something?"

"Ah! N-No! I'm not-- No! That… T-That was my brother's... He... uh, earlier..."

It didn't take long before everyone came to a realization and the ones closest to him tried to give some consolation. His eyes got really watery for a few moments but after wiping his eyes and breathing deeply a few times, he seemed better.

"Bobby, I can give you that gun back but I'd have to take the bullets. If you come to my classes and prove to me that you can properly handle one, I'll trust you with more. Is that okay?"

"Th-That's more than great… thank you… sorry, I keep crying like this..." Bobby's eyes started to water once more.

I sighed deeply before saying earnestly, "Hey, I know what it's like to lose someone extremely close, I lost both of them at the same time before… All I'll say is that it's strong of you to not show it earlier when we encountered you. We were outside and you approached us, keeping a level head and following our orders until you could have a safe place to be vulnerable. That's something..."

Bobby didn't reply but he kept eye contact while wearing a somber expression.

"Just keep in mind that you have us in your back now. Whatever happened in your home, you could talk to anyone here about it when you're ready. However, I'm gonna be completely honest with you. It's gonna be fucking hard the following days, weeks, or months. Heck! It could even take years! It's gonna feel like everything's over but remember that it isn't."

"..."

"I can't just tell you to man up or brighten up since the way on how you cope with your less is your decision. Just… just remember what I said earlier."

Bobby just nodded a few times as he was looking at me before mouthing another word of thanks. Everyone was silent for the moment and I turned to the group once more.

"Anyone else has any questions or inquiries? Now's the time--"

"Yeah, kid. I almost forgot... You mentioned that you traded numbers with the soldiers from the DDR Camp, did anyone contact us yet?"

"Ken is keeping contact with them but as far as we know, they seem to be doing the same thing as before."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Well, they have a working system that could do a bit more work but that's just my take on it. Every few days, we'd still see their own helicopters either to bring supplies or transfer more people. Aside from that--"

"Transfer? To and from?"

"We really don't know where they're taking them but what we know is that they accept everyone after passing through their checks. In a way, we're lucky to have them here because people would stumble upon their place first instead of ours. We're kinda deep and hidden while they are just my the main highway."

Oscar nodded a few times before turning to Ken, "Hey, what have you heard from them then? You touched bases, right?"

Ken was slightly startled, "Ah-- Yeah! I uhh… I only talked to them once but I listen to their conversations. It's mostly just checking on each other's position and what not plus a few banters here and there. Nothing seems out of place from their side and they're just keeping things in order."

"Hmm. Okay, just keep checking in with them so we know what they're up to. Just don't reveal too much of us when they ask questions or else that'll be a whole other problem."

"Yeah, I gotcha."

Johnny interjected, "I got a question too. Mind answering them for me?"

I smiled faintly, "Of course."

"I heard that aside from that fence outside, you only have another one of those located at the canal system. Why don't ya just cover your whole territory? Isn't it safer that way?"

"Oh, we just have what you'd call a natural barrier. If those things managed to climb over the houses and the walls far back, they'd just drop in the water and eventually get washed away when they reach the canal system. So far, we have never seen zombies swim much less float."

"But Oscar mentioned that there are sprinters, right? How sure are you that we'd never have swimmers?"

"Oh, you're asking about the special ones? So far, I've only witnessed two types. The sprinters from up close and the completely still ones from the broadcast. However, when I took Kaley outside to practice with her AR-15, we noticed a few that exhibit irregular behavior but not like the special ones. If you're worried about a few of them turning to a special type that could swim in the water, it would still be unlikely for them to reach us."

Johnny squinted his eyes as he looked at me, "How so?"

"The fishing areas here have nets that act as their boundaries between each other plus a few more in separate spaces to separate other fish from each other. They'd have to go through them first and if by some chance they weren't caught, they'd have to learn to leap from the water since it's a 3-foot gap to reach the road."

"Have there been any breaches though? They're still nets and they aren't strong as steel. If one of them gets ripped apart, that's all it would take."

'He's really thinking things through, eh? That's good though...'

I smiled briefly, "So far, none. If there were any, Andrew and Arthur's family would be the first ones to spot it and report it aside from our drones that fly and scouts around in intervals."

"Hmm..." Johnny nodded a few times and I felt that his worries were decreased somewhat.

"Okay, any more questions?"

After looking around and no one raising their hands, we finally concluded the meeting. We cleared up the tables while the first batch of people for their watch prepared a few items before heading to the catwalk. With that said, I discovered that Kaley's name was listed for the second batch but we still gathered inside my room to watch a film. However, before we even get to start, someone started knocking on our door.

I called out, "Yeah?"

"Hey! It's Derek! I thought I needed to tell you this too..."

I walked to my door and opened it, "What?"

"I thought it would be for a few more days but the rabbits are about to give birth like right now-- Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Watch it! Sheesh!"

The two of us almost got trampled to death when Kaley, Olivia, and Rin rushed down with excited faces, giving me a glare before breaking eye contact. Only Tatiana was left behind with us wearing an amused expression.

"Rabbits, huh? Those are delicious creatures, why did they stare at you like that?"

I chuckled, "Well, we usually don't eat them here. But yeah, they're fucking delicious. If you want to get on their good side, you know what to do."

Derek added, "They'll probably lynch you if they found out you've had your fair share of rabbits."

"Then I'll keep that in mind," Tatiana commented before coming down with us.

As the three of us made our way, a small crowd had already gathered inside the barn and most of them were the kids that Derek called over beforehand.

"They look like little rats!"

"They're a b-bit ugly without the hairs though..."

"They still look cute!"

"Why are they hairless?"

"We need to wait a couple of weeks..."

Zeus tried to get in front, "Woof!"

"Be quiet Zeus, you're scaring the mother."

"Look! It's giving birth again!"

"OOH~"

"It's kinda gross, not gonna lie..."

"Wait-- What is that one doing?"

"That one? She's just cleaning her baby... wait..."

"NOOOOOO~!"

"She's eating them!"

"Stop it!"

"Zombie rabbit~!"

"RUN!"

"THE BABY! WHAT ABOUT THE LITTLE BABY?!"

"Crap..."

It was already a magical moment but it went chaotic in a matter of seconds. However, we took the time to make this a learning experience for the younger folks. We calmed them down before separating the mother from her kids.

Olivia asked, "Why did you separate that one though?"

I replied, "Because she'll probably eat all of them if we let her be. Hmm~ We're probably gonna eat that one tomorrow..."

"NOOOOOO~!" all of them protested.

"It's no use keeping her though. Every time she gives birth, she would just keep on eating her babies. I don't know about you guys but I'd never wanna see that happen ever again," Derek added.

I nudged Olivia, "After eating her, we could make a small hat out of her fur..."

Olivia slapped my back before pouting, "No~! Stop saying that! I'm going back now!"

Tatiana chuckled, "The other ones are still giving birth though… you might miss it..."

"Right! I forgot! Mmm… Fine! I'll stay a bit more just to watch--"

"NOOOOO~! Another one is eating their baby! Separate it! Separate it!" Charlotte screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Ah, no. She's not eating them, she's just eating the placenta, see?" Derek explained.

"Ohh, I see… I see..."

Kaley commented from the side, "They're still a lot though."

I chuckled once more, "Yep, and we know what to--"

Kaley pinched my sides, "Stop! Hngh..."

Aya pulled on my sleeves, "Do rabbits really taste good?"

I whispered to her as I crouched down, "Of course, I'll share some with you tomorrow~"

"Really?! Thanks!"

Kaley heard everything but she couldn't glare at Aya's cute expression so she eventually let it pass. After a while, we let Derek took over and he brought out a few more blankets and he planned to stay with them for a bit. The people inside the barn started to get fewer and we eventually said our goodbyes and went back to our room.