Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

It didn't take long for my group to reach TAMU, Three Angel's Message University, and once again, the guards didn't even bother checking our shit because it seemed like I built a small reputation from my last visit. Furthermore, though not as apparent, the vibe was a little different too but I was happy they didn't check our "baggage" because it'll definitely go down the moment they discover we recently witnessed a murder.

'Eh~ They'll probably wouldn't mind if they know the whole story but there's no need to tell everyone about everything…'

This time, Logan and Jesus drove in—but they went ahead and headed straight for the lake because my house wasn't technically mine anymore and to just further avoid complaints from our neighbors. Besides, everyone else in this area was just one call away and it was a little unfortunate that Andy wasn't in the gate to welcome us.

But yeah, I couldn't quite explain the emotions running through my head right now when I drove in the emergency bay because the first person that came out was Dr. Sandara Lopez.

'Ah, fuck… Here we go~'

And yeah, she never looked so happy when we met eyes but she quickly noticed my change in demeanor, "Hi~! Welcome— What… What's wrong?"

I glanced at my truckbed before sitting her down, "Are you the only one on call?"

She followed my line of sight earlier before looking bact at me, "I— We have a few other p-people but they're doing something and I'm already h-here… W-What's wrong? You're scaring me—"

"Alright, I'm gonna need you to grab on my wrists…"

"What?"

"Please… I'd like you to really grab them you can squeeze them like you're trying to break them in two—"

"W-What are you—"

"We have a body at the truck…"

"O-Okay?"

"It belongs to a 50-year old male, Asian, medium to stocky build, used to be in charge of the ROTC program in this university…"

"...!" Dr. Lopez's grip on me started to tighten.

"But when the world ended, he was commissioned to accompany the General's son, the current Baron because of his blood type and so that he could be a donor in case something went wrong but this time… something did go wrong…"

"O-Oh my God… W-What happened to—"

"He was too far on the deep end… I thought he'd try to change his ways as I loomed behind him but the moment we set foot back on the Academy, one of the cadets that came with us… he uhh… he…"

"Oh God… Why would he…"

"Technically… He hadn't done anything yet but once he saw that she was at the bottom of the rankings, the look he gave her implied that he'll have his way with her one way or another…"

Dr. Lopez's whole body was shaking as she was looking me straight in the eye, "D-Did you? W-Were you the one that—"

I shook my head, "As much as I didn't want you to hear me say this, no, unfortunately… I would've wanted to be the one to put him down but—"

"T-Then who?"

"JP— I mean, the Baron… the General's son…"

"W-What?"

"Yeah… I didn't need to tell you this but he was kinda doing the same thing to one of the cadets—but that also didn't excuse his behavior and it wasn't technically the same reason—but he more or less woke up from that stupid notion that power could give him anything and for once, he did something he thought was right."

"..."

"D-Dr. Lopez?"

"I-I need a s-second… This…"

At that point, Dr. Lopez was on the verge of tears as she kept a tight grip on my arms though now she was looking down and was still shaking all over, but one of the medical students came out of the doors she came from and saw what was going on.

"U-Umm… Do you need help?"

I glanced briefly at Dr. Lopez before looking back at the guy, "Yeah… We have a fresh body that came from the Academy and the General ordered… ordered us to…"

As I was trying to speak to this medical student, Dr. Lopez's hold on me tightened even more before her voice entered my ears:

"W-What did the General order? Please, tell me…"

"Ha… He ordered us to h-harvest— I mean, make use of his body for whatever reason because—"

Then the medical student cut in, "T-That's great! Mrs. Priscilla, Dr. Marteno, and a few others are in need of—"

I cut him off with a glare, "Then you should move fucking fast, right?! Grab another doctor in charge so you can save those people!"

"B-But Dr. Lopez—"

"HER HUSBAND'S THE VICTIM! CAN'T YOU FUCKING PIECE THAT TOGETHER?! WHY WOULD SHE BREAK DOWN LIKE THIS, HUH?! THINK, DUDE! THINK!"

"A-AH— I APOLOGIZE, DR. LOPEZ! I'LL GET ON IT QUICK! I'LL ALSO CALL MIMI ON THE WAY! SHE'S ON HER BREAK BUT—"

"STOP TALKING AND START WALKING, DUDE! GET ON WITH IT! WE FORGIVE YOU!"

"Y-YES, SIR-DUDE? SIR!"

With that said, the guy took off running and almost hit his head on the way in but it only took a short bit before more people came out to retrieve Lopez's corpse while Mimi didn't know what to do exactly because she was extremely happy that we were back but her soul was crushed from seeing Dr. Lopez in this state.

However, we just exchanged glances before she politely asked if Dr. Lopez would want us to walk her to her office, but there was also another person who wasn't aware of the news and it was Chloe.

But at this point, Dr. Lopez excused herself to go to the bathroom in her office while I was sitting on the couch with Mimi and Kaley. Kaley didn't look too worried about Dr. Lopez's mental state but Mimi couldn't help but steal glances at the open bathroom where the Dr. was.

I tried to get her attention, "Where's Chloe anyway?"

Mimi answered, "Her suspension period is over, she's attending classes once again… A-Anyway, welcome back…"

I pulled her in and put her under my arms as I ruffled her hair, "Easy shift today, huh? You don't look too haggard—"

"You— I spent an hour fixing my hair—"

Then Kaley smacked both our foreheads, "You two! Now's not the time alright?!"

"We're sorry…"

At that point, we heard Dr. Lopez vomiting from the bathroom but the moment Mimi was about to provide some assistance, the same dude came knocking on our door.

"E-Excuse me, sir! I-Is Dr. Lopez here, by chance?"

"She's in the bathroom, why do you ask?"

"Dr. Avila's just wondering if she wanted to see her husband one last time before—"

Dr. Lopez exploded from the back:

"WHY WOULD I WANNA SEE THAT SORRY PIECE OF SHIT?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HE DID TO ME AND MY DAUGHTER?! HUH?! I'D RATHER DIE THAN SEE THAT DISGUSTING, LYING, ABUSING, PATHETIC BASTARD! TELL DR. AVILA TO CHECK IF HE HAS ANY DISEASES FIRST! BETTER YET, JUST SEND THAT BASTARD IN THE INCENERATOR FOR ALL I CARE!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am! I-I'll get on it right away! And again, I'm sorry for—"

"JUST LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE! GET ON IT!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am~!!!"

At this point, the room was quiet except for Dr. Lopez trying to catch her breath as her chest was heaving up and down, but she glanced at me momentarily before wiping her mouth with bits of vomit and then slumping down on her chair with a difficult expression. She looked like she was thinking hard about something but then she turned to Mimi:

"Mimi…"

"Y-Yes?"

"C-Can you please go to the medical director and tell him I'm going to take a few days off?"

"F-Few days?!"

"What—"

"Take a few weeks at the least! He might be a bad person but you lost someone that was still a part of your life and—"

"Mimi. I'm sorry but can you please do what I asked? I can't take a week off because of my responsibilities but a couple days or two might just help…"

"H-How about Chloe?"

"Don't worry about her, I'll pick her up— W-What time is it again?"

"It's 10:30—"

"So she's probably in Biology, the building's a ways off—"

I cut in, "Let me drive you there and drive you both home… It's the least we can do…"

Kaley added, "Mrs. Lopez… I-I don't want to intrude as much but i-if you want to have someone else other than your daughter to talk to… I'll— We'll be here for as long as possible…"

Dr. Lopez looked at Kaley with a gentle smile, "Thank you, I've been meaning to go to my therapist but she's the mother of the lying bitch my daughter beat up… I'll actually put you up to that… I'll take anyone at this point…"

Kaley smiled gently as well, "I may not be as good as my mom but I'll definitely give it my all! I can talk with you for hours on end!"

"Hmph! We'll see about that. D'you like Grey's Anatomy?"

"Of course!"

"Then let's go! Let's rip one more bandaid after picking up my daughter and I'll put you to the test!"