Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

After a long fucking sigh, I opened the door for the third time but I didn't even try to put on a fake smile. It was because I was getting a little frustrated and it was starting to show on my face and my speech.

Almost the same words were used but if the same people that I just talked to talked to me again, they would've probably noticed.

"Yeah? Oh– What?"

'Nicole and Alicia…'

"Bro– Wait– You're not busy, right? W-We'll be really quick though!"

"Umm–"

Kaley called out, "Come in! We're just hanging out."

'Well there it goes…'

Nicole looked past me and hesitated when she saw Kaley, "Oh! Hi, Kaley! We didn't see you there. Can we really? Sorry–"

I waved them off since Kaley already decided to put a pause on what we were about to do, "C'mon in, c'mon in… Excuse the mess… We're just waiting for dinner…"

"A-Alright… Alicia, c'mon…" Nicole said as she waved Alicia over.

"O-Okay… Excuse the intrusion…" Alicia said as she started to look around as they came in.

I tried to tidy up a little bit though Kaley just stayed in the same spot and didn't mind that she wasn't wearing a bra and only wearing her panties in front of two other women. It seemed the two didn't mind as well but I noticed the slight change in their expression when they figured out that they might have interfered with something that required a locked door.

Nicole just turned to me, a little apologetic with her facial expression.

'Too late for that…'

I broke the silence, "So, what's up?"

Nicole answered awkwardly, "Oh! R-Right. Remember this g-gun that you let me borrow? Can Alicia have the same one too? No bullets too, of course. It's because we're trying to practice when we have free time and sharing the same gun is a little… you know…"

"Oh, no problem. Lemme get it then…"

"Thanks, bro! We'll take good care of it!"

"I know, I know…"

I turned around and looked for the Walther P22 that I gave her while Kaley chatted with them. Well, it was just a simple conversation where Kaley asked what's for dinner while Alicia replied and said that we'd be having stir-fried vegetables.

Their conversation stayed on the topic of food but once I found the pistol I was looking for, I picked it up and handed it over to my cousin.

"Oh– Thanks!"

"No problem. That reminds me, since we're talking about food… I remember that I'll need to cook that rabbit too. I'll probably prepare it tonight and do the actual cooking tomorrow."

Alicia turned to me with a somber expression, "You're really gonna cook it? That's a little sad though..."

Kaley chimed in, "Well, she would keep eating her babies if she gets pregnant again… It's sad but–"

I interjected, "Hmm? You're not against it now? Wanna try it with me then?"

"Umm, sure. Let's try it– Oh! I remember Aya asking for some too."

"Great! It's decided then!"

After talking for a bit more, Nicola and Alicia eventually excused themselves after thanking me for the second time, and I just jumped on the bed with Kaley after locking the door.

I was laying on my back while she was hugging me from the side, using my left arm as a pillow while placing her leg over my body. She let out the softest sigh when she buried her head on my chest and I just chuckled while I was caressing her hair.

"Sorry about that. Lost the mood then?"

"Don't be sorry but yeah… people kept knocking on the door and when we talked about the rabbits– it's a bit, you know… I dunno what to do now though…"

I gave her a kiss on the forehead, "Want me to show and maybe teach you how to prepare a rabbit then? It's very easy."

"Oh– U-Umm… Sure, I guess."

I chuckled, "You don't sound too enthusiastic."

"Wha– I am! A l-little bit but– L-Let's just go! C'mon!"

"The rabbit or the sex–"

Kaley didn't know whether to laugh or facepalm, "The rabbit, you doofus!"

"Hahahahaha!"

We got a good laugh after that and I just waited for her to get dressed before we made our way to the barn.

The rabbit in question was already separated and once I picked it up, it felt really fluffy and most importantly, a little fatty– good for eating. However, Olivia was actually sneaking up on us and she just ran away when she discovered that we were about to butcher it.

Kaley just petted it a few more times before I took it back and knocked it out.

That was one of the first few steps and it was usually done by striking hard on the head with a wooden hammer or something similar.

After that, I hanged it upside down after tying its feet with some string, and that was when I used a sharp knife to slit its throat and let it bleed on a container. Turning around to check on Kaley, she seemed a bit squeamish after seeing a cute little thing get butchered, but she was paying attention to the things I was doing and saying to her.

As soon as the rabbit completely bled out, I started to cut around the joints by its feet before making a little tear so I could just pull the skin off right after.

Once I did, Kaley was a little surprised to see how easy it gave way and she seemed a little more excited now.

"First time seeing that?"

"Y-Yeah… Wow, I thought you would slowly scrape it off with a knife. It's that easy, huh? It looks skinny now too."

"Right. I remember that you used to hunt with your dad. I thought you would hate to see this happen. I guess I'm wrong."

After pulling off the skin, I then cut off the tail, the hands, and the head then placed them on a bin. However, I kept the skin in a separate container since I might be able to do something with that later.

'Maybe a hat or something but I could pass this off to Oscar too…'

Kaley waved me over, "You're gonna take out the insides, right? Can I do it?"

"Sure. Do you know how?"

"N-Not exactly but you'll teach me, right?"

"Okay, here," I said as I handed her the knife I was using.

"Then… where should I start?"

"Right there… make a small slice and break that bone between the legs."

"This one?"

"Yeah."

"Done."

"Good. After that, put your finger down the same area and gently slice down so you won't hit the guts. Do it up to that area and you could slowly pull the insides out."

Kaley followed each instruction to the dot and she was just looking at me while holding rabbit insides like it was nothing, "Do I throw all of this away?"

"Oh! Check the liver first and see if it has any worms. If it does–"

"There's nothing, I think. Looks fine to me? The worms you're talking about are the white-thingies, right? There's none here."

"Great! We'll keep that one and we'll put the rest in the bin. Good job!"

"Thanks! This was fun. We're done, right?"

"Yeah, we just have to clean up but I'll probably start marinating this one for tomorrow. Hey, great job, I mean it."

"Thanks…"

Kaley was blushing a little while wearing a proud look on her face, and we just went back to our house after cleaning up.

With that said, I kept the rabbit's feet since a few people believe it to be lucky. I wasn't a superstitious guy myself, but the reason I kept it was that I could probably trade it for something more valuable because different things might cost differently for some people.

When we got back, Kaley followed me to the kitchen so I could prepare a marinade.

The first thing I grabbed was a mortar and pestle, and I used it to mix various seasonings and a few herbs for a dry marinade. A simple salt and pepper with garlic, onions, and chives could go a long way though I added some dry basil and oregano to expand the flavors a bit.

After that, I just rubbed it against the meat of the rabbit and I set it aside for tomorrow. Kaley watched me work the whole time while I explained some of the steps to her.

"It doesn't look like a rabbit now; it just looks like a skinny something, haha."

"Hah! Wait till you taste it, it will blow your mind. You'd wish we'd have this everyday."

"Hmph! Just say that you're a good cook!"

"Well, I dabble. How about you though?"

"Oh… I could cook very simple things… Olivia and I just used to eat outside when mom and dad are out. I can't– I mean, I dunno how to make it fancier like you do."

"I see… Cooking became fun for me because it relaxes me in some way so I took a few lessons. Oh! Before that, I really wanted to taste the foods I saw online, especially the ones in anime. I know it's different IRL but I wanted to at least replicate them. See how it tastes like… Well, there's other IRL food that I wanted to try too but I doubt I could go to their restaurant when I have a lot of things on my plate."

"Oh! Like Gordon Ramsay's? We've been to some of his restaurants and I've even met him once. He's a really nice guy and the food was amazing!"

"What?! I'm jealous now, dammit!"

"Hehe~ There are other good restaurants out there and some of them aren't even that expensive."

"True, some local restaurants around the corner could sometimes give us a surprise. But damn, I want to taste his cooking at least once. I've watched his videos online and tried to replicate some of them but you gotta wanna how it really tastes like, right?"

"To be fair though, I'm not even sure if he's the one who really cooked it. He got other chefs working for him, right?"

"But it's still in his standards! Fuck it! We're kidnapping him now! Grab your gun! We'll go to the airport to steal a plane and bring him here with us! I'll fly the plane and–"

Kaley was laughing hysterically before she stopped and cut me off, "W-Wait, don't tell me you also know how to fly a plane?"

"The big ones you use? Haven't tried yet but I could fly a small one. I think it's pretty much the same."

"What can't you do?"

"Be gorgeous like you?"

"Stop it, you doofus! Hngh… be serious…" Kaley blushed as she glared at me.

I chuckled, "I'm perfect but not that perfect."

"What does that even mean?! You can't use those words together!"

Kaley and I were having a good time as we shared more stories but it didn't take long before someone came to tell us that dinner was finally ready. We had stir-fried vegetables as Alicia told us and we had our meal with everyone.

After that, we cleaned up briefly before we started the meeting with everyone present.

I stood up in front and started to formally introduce Jay and his whole group. They've mingled with everyone from the brief time they were here, but it was still important to make everyone feel at home by welcoming them.

A few words and pleasantries were exchanged before I began with my report.

"Okay, let's start. We're now on our 7th day since this thing started and it's safe to say we're doing more than being good. We have secured a place for ourselves and we have a decent number of people but this is just the beginning."

I paused for a moment before I continued.

"The group I'm leading outside will continue to do the same thing of scouting places that are not hit yet before trying to scour said place of resources that could help us. We'll always prioritize the essential items before anything else but do tell us if you just had to have something and we'll keep an eye out. Also–"

Russel interjected, "Tell them about the gas we took!"

I chuckled, "Sure, sure. I was just about to do that when you cut me off."

"Ah– continue, continue…"

"Okay, about the gas… We just got another tanker's worth of fuel and if you're wondering where the first batch went, they were either in our vehicles or in the containers we placed in the apartment right in front of our compound. With that said, the goal is to squeeze each gas station for every last drop but we still need to procure more containers to store them in. Another tanker would be nice but let's keep our expectations a little realistic, okay?"

Oscar nodded approvingly, "Is that all, kid? How about the others?"

Charlotte stood up first, "U-Umm… I'm still taking good care of our plants in the greenhouse but the other thing I did was that I kinda taught a few people that took interest in taking care of plants. I shared what I know and in turn, I got a lot of help with my job… Thanks everyone."

Derek followed, "Same thing with me. My family's always giving me a hand and a few people are also showing interest. I'll teach them what I know and we'll see what happens in the future."

"Thanks guys. How about the squatter area, Unc Zeidrick?"

"Oh! Right. We cleared almost half of the squatter area and we separated the usable materials on one side. We just stacked them on top of one another but we'll start to haul them and put them somewhere permanent as soon as we finish dismantling the patched-up houses. It'll take a bit of time but we'll have an open area that will be free to put or build anything on."

After Unc Zeidrick's report, we heard a couple more before we concluded the meeting.

Everyone else did their own thing but I pulled out my laptop and watched the recording of the broadcast earlier. Well, it was just the same progress report as before and nothing of note was worth mentioning.

It was already past 9:00 PM when I looked at my watch, and when I went to the gym, only Kaley and Tatiana were present because it was that late. People had other stuff to do than lift weights but it was still a blessing since I didn't have to wait my turn with the gym equipment.

On the other side of things, Kaley's body was slowly getting toned and she could bend her body further thanks to Tatiana's training regimen. Even if she improved a bit, progress was still progress and it would all pay off in the future.

With that said, we three still had our awkward shower together and when we headed down, we saw Olivia and Rin sleeping on my bed. A movie was playing in the background and it was already rolling the credits.

Tatiana chuckled, "We were supposed to watch a movie, correct?"

Kaley nodded, "Yeah… and we forgot about them…"

"Good thing we're not on watch duty…"

"Need some help taking them to their rooms?"

"Yes… Thanks, Tatiana…"

"No problem."

"Wanna watch a movie with us after?"

"I would but I need to sleep for tomorrow."

"Okay, no worries. It's just us two then…"

"Tatiana, I'll take Olivia, you take Rin?"

"Sure."

It was easy enough to carry the two to their rooms while Kaley kept the door open for us.

Tatiana bid us goodnight right after and even if Kaley and I planned to watch a short film, we just fell asleep as soon as our heads hit our pillow.

After a while, I just woke up to Kaley's sleeping face and I just gave her a kiss on the cheek before I carefully tried to remove myself from her embrace. It was so that I could finally cook the rabbit I prepared yesterday but aside from that, I also made some mashed potatoes for a delicious pairing.

It was almost 6:00 AM when I was done but I made sure to drop by Aunt Sharon's place to tell them that Kaley and I will be eating breakfast separately.

To my surprise, Jay and Faith were present to help them prepare breakfast and we had a little chat. They seemed to be getting along and Jay just couldn't stop thanking me the whole time I was there.

With that said, Kaley might wake up any time soon so I eventually excused myself.