Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

They were waiting for my answer but I didn't need to give them one because the doors to our vehicle opened eventually, and they caught a glimpse of Amy's figure once Kaley and Cynthia went out.

Their eyes made contact with Amy for a short moment before she averted her gaze, and their expressions turned glum and somber right after.

With that said, Kaley almost immediately went for Marisha's embrace and It didn't take long before Cynthia made her way to our side after pulling out a wheelchair. Marisha gave her a hug too and Kaley started to carry Amy over to the wheelchair.

Johnny was the first one to extend a hand among the old-timers while Oscar and Matthew were looking at me.

"I ain't hugging both of you."

"KID--"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT WE--"

Johnny snapped at us, "CAN YOU THREE SETTLE DOWN FOR A BIT?! JESUS!"

The three of us instantly tried to defend ourselves, "We're just--"

We weren't even able to finish our plea when Marisha and Kaley bonked Matthew and me while Cynthia was aggressively contemplating doing the same thing to Oscar.

Johnny was just shaking his head at what was currently happening but Amy let out a light chortle.

It surprised everyone present and Marisha took the initiative to introduce herself and everyone. Amy was still a little bit guarded but once the realization came that she was speaking to Kaley's mother, her withdrawn expression softened before she tried to lean forward for a hug.

What was left of her arms extended forward and seeing that simply broke everyone.

Marisha spoke softly as she hugged her back, "You've been through a lot, haven't you? Don't worry, you're safe now..."

Hearing that, Amy just started to sniffle before she broke down in tears. Cynthia followed soon after while Kaley and Marisha cried silently.

My eyes were starting to water but I had to fend off an old man that decided that he wanted a hug, and we were almost beaten to death because of making more ruckus than necessary.

"I JUST WANTED A HUG~!"

"WHY DID I GET BEATEN UP TOO?!"

"YOU TWO ARE IDIOTS!"

After a short while, Kaley accompanied Marisha inside the hospital while the rest of us went home. It was best to let a few people in at a time to help her but it was obvious that Johnny wanted to do more. The pain in his eyes when he saw Amy in such a state was indescribable but sometimes, doing less is more.

He kept looking down at his prosthetic leg on the drive back but everyone else just gave him the space he needed.

'Hmm… Is it possible? Well, a lot of therapy and rehabilitation comes first...'

As soon as we got back, Zeus was already trying to make me lift him up but once I did, his little brothers and sisters who have grown a few sizes larger were trying to do the same thing. He's still my favorite doggo but I just sat on the driveway to equally pet them while receiving their kisses.

I pulled down Cynthia too and it was just a boost of serotonin.

Everyone else who saw us greeted us soon after but Artem and his group just finished breakfast, and were about to head out once more with Jared and Gemma. I thought Natasha would be present but it seemed like she was still in the hospital and was still taking care of Ibarra.

'All the best for those two...'

Artem approached me, "We'll be back before sundown."

"Where are you guys heading?"

"Well..."

Artem just told me they're just gonna head for a memorial garden a few kilometers past Brgy. Caingin, not to do anything special but just to take down enough deadheads to require deep cleaning of their weapons.

As much as I love ARs, AKs could still run despite getting buried on the ground, submerged in water, or even frozen beforehand so I was sure they'd come back with enough casings to keep us busy for a time.

'Well, I doubt they'd use their rifles to bash their heads in since they have proper melee weapons.'

I even let them use my Raptor so they'd have more room, and everything else that's inside it was for them to use freely.

Artem nodded approvingly, "I guess I'll take Stefan and the rest too… whoever wanted to come..."

I just watched them drive outside but I began to contemplate the situation of my own team.

'Hmm… My main roster is me, Kaley, Jared, Tatiana, Mikhail, and Ibarra… But now, Tatiana and Ibarra are taking a break… Kaley might do the same thing too… Well, we'll know about that later but I could pull people like Lois and Cynthia. But it's gonna be difficult to find another--'

I was still in my thoughts when I felt Cynthia pulling me to the pool area. Rin and Tatiana were present but the latter was too busy stuffing her face with food. Aunt Sharon just gave us a plate so we could have some breakfast and Cynthia sat right next to me.

"Have some breakfast already so you could take some to Kaley! She hasn't eaten too, right? If Amy-- If they're gonna do the same tests here, that would take a while so..."

"Ah-- That's right… Thanks."

Rin turned to us, "You two are gonna go back to the hospital?"

I replied, "That's the plan… Why? Did something come up while we're gone?"

"N-Nothing of importance… It's just we've heard about her... Amy was it--"

Tatiana cut her off as she slammed the table, "CAN WE STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS AND THAT FOR ONE FUCKING MINUTE?! YOU'RE MAKING ME LOSE MY APPETITE! EVERY FUCKING CHANCE YOU GET-- ARGH! AT LEAST LET ME FINISH EATING!"

Everyone close was surprised by the sudden outburst but Tatiana kept eating even if she was wearing a frown on her face. At the same time, all Rin could do was look down before she excused herself, running back to our house with tears in her eyes.

Cynthia followed after her while I stayed with Tatiana.

I took the first bite of my food before I muttered, "Angry at something?"

Tatiana scoffed, "Don't ask me stupid questions. You know why I'm fucking upset, she does too. And it doesn't help to bring it up every goddamn second."

'Too close to home then...'

I sighed before I let out a faint smile, "Okay. Wanna hear a joke?"

"What?

"Wanna hear a joke? You're upset, right? Lemme cheer you up a bit."

"Hngh… Fine..."

"Great! My dad used to tell me this when he was still alive. He said he heard it from these two comics he used to watch back then."

"I'm drinking a cup of hot coffee, mind you."

I inched away, "You're that pissed, eh? Anyway, this story is about this guy who slept with countless women. Probably someone close to beating Genghis Khan's record."

"Hmm~ Sounds like someone I know..."

"It's not me! H-Hear me out! Anyway, he fucking claims that because of the number of women he slept with, he could discern who someone is and where they live just by the smell of their… u-umm… you know… their beef curtains..."

Tatiana almost slammed the table a second time, "Really? Right when I'm eating some beef bowl?!"

"You eat both either way--"

"PFFT! FUCK! DAMMIT! WHY'D YOU--"

"That's not the punchline! Fuck! Lemme finish this one at least!"

Tatiana was shaking her head, "You should've ended with that… that fucking got me… Okay, okay, what happened to this guy? This better be good..."

"Well, his… let's just say he started bragging about it to his friends and no one fucking believed him. So, he issued a challenge and he said, "Okay, don't believe me? Get it on with a girl tonight but remember to poke their 'piggy bank' so I could smell it after. If you could give me something I can't recognize, I'll buy all of you drink until you're fucking out!""

Tatiana was already facepalming but hiding a smirk, "Oh god, this is so fucking stupid… What happened next?"

"Then it was on! He had a few friends, they were in a bar, so they got to work. The first friend came to him after a while and he brought his finger that poked a piggy bank. Soon after, the guy smelled his finger and he was like, "Hmm… Mercy, from Manila.""

"And?"

"And he was fucking correct! His friend was so fucking shocked but it continued on and on until they were losing their heads! Each time he smelled a finger, he'd just say a name and a place then BAM! Mindblown! However…"

"However?"

"There was this friend they were waiting on… Everyone in their circle had some game but this one… He hasn't even lost his V-Card… But… You know what he did?"

"Stop asking me and continue!"

"He uhh… Everyone was waiting on him and he can't get anyone in the bar so… He stuck his finger down his butt and came back..."

Tatiana started losing it, "WHAT?! NO~! WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?!"

I started chuckling, "Well, once he came back… you know, the guy smelled his finger for the first time..."

"And? AND?!"

"The guy started drawing blanks! He was so confused! He didn't know where that came from! But! He smelled that fucking finger for the second time, the third time, on and on trying to figure out from who owns that fucking smell because he was so fucking sure he's been with every lady in that club!"

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! I'M DEAD! HAH!"

"Let's just say that that finger-in-the-butt guy won the bet but his smell-yo-finger friend became too curious and wanted to get to know who he stuck his finger in. He had no choice to make up lies just to protect his V-Card from the back."

I concluded my story and Tatiana was in tears as she was laughing uncontrollably while slamming the table. She almost slammed her injured arm and she was almost choked from the food at one point.

A few of the guys around who already knew the story was just amused that Tatiana was laughing so hard at a stupid joke but as stupid as it is, it did its fucking job.

Tatiana was wiping her tears, "Please tell me you have a copy of those comics! I gotta watch them! What are they called?!"

"I do have a copy. It's really, really old though and I got to translate some of them for you. Well, we'll watch it later with everyone. Their name's a little scuffed but they're called Porkchop Duo."

"Oh~ I want some porkchop too..."

"You're still aren't done with your beef bowl!"

"What about second breakfast?!"

"Hah! Dammit, you're getting good at this!"

After some time, the two of us eventually finished eating and once I packed a meal for Kaley, I stopped by Tatiana for a second time. She was still sitting by the tables in the pool area and she was quietly sipping her cup of coffee. Furthermore, she was glancing in the direction of where their room was located in our house before she would look down and think about something.

I waved her off, "Don't fight, alright? Talk it out... calmly."

Tatiana nodded, "S-Sure..."