Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I looked over Johnny and said, "Johnny, hear me out. I won't just teach them how to fight, alright? There are lots of things to learn here and being able to use guns is just one of them. We have teachers, engineers, farmers, soldiers, doctors, mechanics, and etc. that we could all learn from."

Johnny turned to me with the same expression, "No, no. I already get what you're trying to say. I'm just… just wondering when did I lose my edge. I guess I'll follow after you two to get it back. Is that okay?"

I smiled faintly as I replied, "Of course."

Johnny looked at me for a few moments then he contemplated for a short while. After that, he pulled out his holster and a gun with an extra magazine were in it.

"Here. I want you to have this. Take it as a sign of goodwill."

My eyes lit up, "Oh~ A Desert Eagle!"

"Yup. Take care of that will ya? I--"

Oscar whistled, "That's a sweet gun. Hmm~ .50 AE?"

Johnny scoffed, "I have a few more chambered in smaller calibers but if you're gonna have one of those, .50 AE is the way to go. Who gives a damn if you'd have fewer bullets when one shot is all you'd need."

I pulled it out from its holster and discovered that it was fully loaded and had one in the pipe. I felt its weight and placed it back in its holster before looking at Johnny checking Oscar's S&W Model 500. He was giving an approving look while Oscar was nodding incessantly.

'These old dudes with their hand cannons...'

"Well, you can't go wrong with a wheel gun. This one packs a wallop too!"

"Heh, nothing but the big toys for the big boys."

"You're goddamn right."

Kaley and I were just hearing them talk on and on but Johnny turned to me after they were done, "As I was saying earlier… You see, I have that for a few--"

I cut him off as I said with a straight face, "Can I have an S&W M&P M2.0 instead? Oh! The one chambered in 9mm if you don't mind."

The two old-timers choked at the same time while Marco started to die from laughter. Kaley was still by my side facepalming and Jimmy Jr. who just walked up to us was looking at everyone with confusion. Nevertheless, he made his way to Johnny's lap and got comfortable.

"Kid?! You ruined a good moment there!" Oscar roared after composing himself.

"What is wrong with you?" Johnny added.

"Well, you're gonna give me a gun, might as well negotiate for a better one," I said as I scratched my head.

"Oh no..." Kaley felt the aura of every gun nut emanating.

"Wait, you mean to say you don't like the Eagle?!" Johnny's face was starting to redden. It was the first time seeing him giving a different expression from his usual stoic demeanor.

I chuckled, "Well~ You see... It's heavy, clunky, and the recoil from a .50 AE round is too strong! How could I shoot accurately fast with that?! Who even uses them normally? I could do with a 9mm and I'd have no problems! To top it off, 7 rounds per mag? Seriously? The S&W M&P M2.0 could hold 18 or 26 depending on the mag!"

"But! W-Who turns down shooting .50 AE bullets! There are custom mags for that to be mediated!" Johnny exclaimed.

"I do! And those extended mags you're talking about would make the gun even heavier!"

"BUT IT'S A FREAKING DEAGLE!!!"

"Who cares if it's an eagle, hornet, or a platypus? It has its merits but I'd rather stick with the M&P. So… can I have that instead?" I replied with an innocent face.

"Woof!" Zeus tried to join the conversation.

"YOU!" Johnny was about to explode as his body shook all over.

"What?!"

"If you have enough, you have enough! This is not a battle of numbers!" Johnny was still red in the face.

"Of course it is! Are you comparing 26 dead zombies over 7?!"

"B-But! Those bullets have great s-stopping power and in the right circumstances… t-they could pass through those things and hit a few more! It's not like we'd only be facing those things outside!"

I rolled my eyes as I exasperatedly exhaled, "The point remains! Besides, why would you need stopping power if I could easily aim for their head? And bullets passing through?! Hah! Are you perhaps gonna wait for them to stand in a line?! What are you gonna say? Okay~ Mr. Zombie~ Could you please raise your arms and fall in line while I load this big-ass bullet and shoot you in the head?"

No one could paint Johnny's expression right now and even Oscar joined in with Marco who was dying-laughing. He was out of words to retort with but he eventually calmed himself down and looked at me helplessly.

"Kid, this… this gun… this gun is just a sign of good faith, okay? Can you please just freaking accept it?! Haaa… Jesus, my blood pressure is going haywire… They never told me you were like this..."

Oscar chuckled as he tapped Johnny's shoulder, "Don't mind it that much. He's a good kid but with guns… Whoo~ Whee~ He's the fucking devil's incarnate."

"Fine… Accept it, please?"

"But--"

I wanted to plead my case once more but Kaley nudged me, "Hey, just accept it. I thought you really love pistols? He's not telling you to use it, he's just asking you to accept his gift."

Johnny raised his hat as he chimed in, "Listen to her, kid. I don't do this much."

I looked at everyone first before I let out a smile, "Okay then, thanks! To be honest though, this is really cool. I always pick this gun when I'm playing games and I enjoy shooting it irl from time to time."

After that, Johnny shook my hand and he excused himself to check on his son who was on the catwalk with Allan. Marco followed after him and we just stayed in place for a while until I heard a voice from behind me.

"Thank you."

I turned around to check who it was and I discovered that it was Johnny's wife, Joanne.

"Oh, Ma'am Joanne… Have you guys settled down yet?"

"Don't worry about us… We're really good. I was just surprised to hear him like that."

"Hmm?"

Joanne smiled as she looked in the direction where Johnny was, "It has been a while since he has been like that when he was talking to you. He's more passionate before but ever since… ever since he lost his leg, he… he became more withdrawn. Add that to what's happening right now..."

Oscar chimed in, "It's a damn shame that he lost his leg but he lost it while doing his duty. If that was me, I'd keep my chin up and be proud of that."

Joanne sighed, "You're right… but he just views things differently. I'm sure he'll get back to the way he was and he just needs some time. He just needed someone to talk to, like you guys."

"Well, it's great for all of you to come here," Oscar said.

Joanne let out a faint smile as she leaned over to us, "Just don't tell my husband you know… that time. It was a temporary lapse of--"

Oscar cut her off, "Of course, I get it. No worries, my late wife gets lonely too. It's really difficult to be apart for so long but my wife and I always talk as much as possible. It was hard but we made it work."

"We do too. It's really hard for me staying at home not knowing whether the next doorbell will be him or a letter."

"Hmm, freedom isn't free. That's why we have to do some stuff even if we wanted to be with our loved ones."

"True..."

"..."

"..."

After a while, I decided to excuse myself and decided to do my daily workout. A few people were already present and doing the same routine, and Kaley was still being trained by Tatiana. She was making her perform a different set of exercises and they were progressing bit by bit.

Kaley already had a great figure but despite that, a few tweaks were needed to be done so she could have a better foundation when she start to learn fighting techniques. Not only that, being able to have full control of your body was the first goal. Our bodies were the base of everything and with a weak foundation, everything would be meaningless.

I walked over them and discovered that Kaley's routine for today was focused on strengthening her lower body.

I turned to Tatiana, "Legs today, huh?"

Tatiana replied, "Yeah, she's holding her rifle most of the time so this is the better choice before brushing up on her upper body."

"Yeah, that's great. Not only are our legs stronger than our arms, but we also use it for running, standing, moving, and etc… I--"

Kaley suddenly called out to me, "Hey! Look! I can do this now-- Err-- Well, I didn't know I could it this easily… I guess I just didn't try. Look!"

As soon as I looked at her, she slowly lowered herself on the mat and performed a split where one leg was in front while the other was in the back. She stayed in the position for a few breathes before she adjusted her position where her legs would be on her sides.

I was already amazed at her progress but she didn't stop there.

'Holy shit...'

Kaley wore a cheeky smile before she placed her hands on the floor before lifting herself up as slow as she could. Eventually, she was upside down for a few moments before she continued with the splits once more. After that, she performed a few more advanced movements before she flipped over and landed safely on the mat.

Her body was already starting to bend on angles but it was still very far from what Tatiana could do.

"What do you think?! I did great, right?!" Kaley approached me with a bright smile.

I smiled brightly as well, "That was fucking impressive! You know, you learn stuff really fast. It's not that you didn't know you could do it… I think you just figured it out way~ easier than normal people could. Great job-- Well, both of you."

Kaley looked so excited and happy and even Tatiana seemed to be enjoying her time as well. I left them to do their own thing as I finished my workout though we three showered at the same time again after we cooled off. It was the same level of awkwardness from the first time and I sure hope that rumors don't start going around.

After a while, we just gathered in the pool area to wait for dinner. A few introductions were made but my stomach grumbled when the food arrived.

For this night, we ate a dish that was locally called: 'Sinampalukang Manok'. It was a chicken dish that had a hearty broth made with its stock, tamarinds, and other herbs and spices made to taste the umami flavor with a bit of sourness.

As usual, we ate it with rice though I have a separate bowl for the broth. What I would do with it was after I wharf down a spoonful of chicken and rice, I'd drink from the bowl right after. It was another one of my eating habits though a few of us were doing the same things as me.

Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed our meal and we started our meeting after clearing all of the tables.

"Good day again today! I'm kinda troubled though..." I trailed with a somber expression.

"What's the problem, kid?" Oscar asked.

"We got no Halloween decorations for tomorrow. Everyone outside has gone over the top this time..." I almost chortled while giving a double finger gun.

"…"

"..."

"..."

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Unc Zeidrick with a few others suddenly burst out laughing.

"That was too dark, kid..." Oscar said as he shook his head.

I chuckled before clearing my throat, "Anyway, let's start this thing properly. Let us first welcome our newest addition to the group. Johnny and Marco's family and Bobby who we met earlier. Most of you met them already but let's just say that this is their formal introduction. Can you guys please stand up?"

They stood up for a bit to be welcomed officially.

Bobby commented before sitting down last, "Let me say thank you again for taking me in. This is more than I have ever hoped for."

Oscar chuckled, "You're kinda cringe, you know that? Loosen up a bit, heh."

Bobby just smiled awkwardly before replying, "Ahaha… sorry. But I really am thankful."

I just nodded at him before I continued, "Moving on, our group got a good haul today as well and we managed to secure an ample amount of guns from Ma'am Joanne's shop. In any case, we'll continue gathering more resources tomorrow while our builders will continue fortifying the place. What's our status on our fences and the farm? Could you start Unc?"

"The fences up front are well fortified and we need to work on dismantling the houses in the squatter area tomorrow," Unc Zeidrick replied.

"Thanks, Unc. Charlotte?"

Charlotte stood up so everyone could see her clearly, "I planted a few seeds in small cups first so we could have seedlings to transfer in the farm outside. I also helped Mrs. Amanda with their small garden at home and we could harvest a few stalks of lettuce and beans tomorrow."

"That's good, that's good. Derek? You went to the large fish ponds, right?"

"Yeah. I uh- Umm, checked the fish ponds earlier. We could start hooking up a few but if we're not eating them at the moment, we could just let them stay over there and grow larger. In any case, I know how to smoke them to make them last longer if you decide to fish them."

"How about the ones here?"

"Yeah, I went over them as well and we got a few eggs as well and-- Oh! The rabbits are gonna give birth soon so I separated the males from the females when I noticed it the first time. Soon enough, they'll be more than double when we found them. They'll give birth any time soon..."

"Okay, that sounds great! Raphael? You got something too, right?"