Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

"Do we take the freezers too?" Mark asked.

"Not for now, we already have several in the basement. If we got more solar panels I'll reconsider. More electronics at home might make the panels give out." I replied.

We placed everything in the truck and it was more than half-full. I gave one more glance at the store and then I placed my hands under the counter.

"HAHAHAHA!!! I KNEW IT!!!" I cackled.

"Shh! You're too loud Sky!" Kaley exclaimed.

"What the fuck! You found another one?!" Jared lost it.

"Hah! I have the nose of a hound~! Still a shotgun though, I hope for something like a pistol but this thing is perfect for defense in a store like this." I said.

"I hope we find a few more in the other stores." Mark said.

"Gonna be hard though. It's lucky we found this thing here. If it was me, I would've taken this when I left this place!" I exclaimed.

I found a pump-action shotgun beneath the counters and I remembered that it's called a Maverick 88. It had a 5-round tube magazine but there were no extra shells left. After unloading the gun, I even found out that there were only three shells inside. I placed it behind the passenger seat and we left the place.

"Where do we go next?" Unc. Zardon asked.

"Hmm? Go there, we will need the stuff there for everyone in the compound." I pointed to a laundry shop that still had the roll-ups down.

We cleared the area of the close zombies first and then we raised the roll-ups. The glass door of the laundry shop welcomed us and it was not broken into like the convenience store.

"What are we gonna get here?" Tatiana asked.

"You know, a few washing machines to help with the clothes. I only have two of these back home. Bringing a few more at home could help the people with the laundry. We go home with blood in our clothes and they really do a good job of removing it, this is the least we could do." I said.

"You're really kind." Tatiana said.

"Well thanks, I try." I replied.

We opened the door while the rest guarded the truck. We placed five washing machines on the truck, several sacks of powdered detergents, large bottles of bleach, and a few boxes of fabric conditioners. We closed the roll-ups though we never locked it. We kept the padlocks and we went home. I made a mental note of other places to take from when we get back.

"That was faster than expected." Jared said.

"Yeah, that backroom was a lucky find. People would just tend to get what's in front of them first when they are in a panic. They would never bother checking the other doors." I said.

"We had a few runners but none of those sprinters." Tatiana said.

"Yeah, I hope they are rare as finding diamonds on the lower levels." I said.

"What?" she was confused.

"Oh, it's a gaming reference." I said.

Kaley once again facepalmed and the look she gave me said, 'of course it was!'.

I just smiled with Jared since he knows what I'm talking about.

We reached the fences and the guys working there were surprised because we were outside for a little less than two hours.

"Good haul kid?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah, more food and water. Found more random snacks and a few cleaning and hygiene products. I brought a couple of washing machines too." I said.

The guys unloaded the truck while the housewives' eyes lit up when they saw the expensive washing machines being unloaded. Rin was busy tallying everything once more.

"Is that from across the street?" Aunt Sharon asked.

"Yeah. You're saving up to buy one, right? Consider this an early birthday present! It's in a few weeks, right?" I said.

"You little... Thanks!" she said while smiling.

It took a bit to unload the trucks so I refilled the ammunition that they used. It was only a few 5.56s and a few slugs.

"Ready for another run?" I said to them.

Everyone seemed to be excited from the haul earlier and they were eager to get more again.

We took the truck for another spin and I decided where to go next. We aimed for the closest ones first where we could get the most yield. We drove past from the ones that already looked barren from anything. We then stopped to a small bakery at the left of the elementary school.

We found a couple dozen of canned goods and a few sacks of flour. Looking at their pantry, we uncovered a few bags of bread where some of them were already stale but still edible. I smiled and remembered, 'No bread will be too hard for a hot cup of coffee'. It was my late grandfather's saying. Aside from that, we also found a few cases of sodas and we took them too. We also took the two gasoline tanks that were under the oven.

"How about we bring this oven? We could make pandesal at home, right?" Unc. Zardon said.

"Oh yeah, that is good paired with coffee in the morning." Jared added.

"Let's leave it there for now. Let's consume the food that is quick to spoil first before we take this oven. It's a good idea though, it's very easy to make those. Besides, we have a bakery much closer to our compound, they also have an oven similar to this but much smaller." I replied.

"You can bake?" Tatiana asked.

"I dabble on a little bit of everything. I can make simple pastries, pandesal is very easy to do than the ones I tried to make before." I said.

"Show off." Kaley joked.

"What is pandesal?" Tatiana asked.

"They're a fist-sized bread that is a staple here. It's made with simple ingredients and always paired with coffee. It's only made in the morning though." I explained.

Across the street was a cheap burger shop that sold burgers for three pieces a dollar. We opened the place up but the patties were already smelling funky. Luckily, we found a few jars of different condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce. There were also a few trays of eggs that were still good for eating. There was also a propane tank at the bottom of the stove so we loaded them up and we drove off.

A few blocks from it was a shop called CDO who sold different sorts of meat products but the place was already looted. Although, right next to it was a pet store that sold several sacks of pet food. I hauled a few sacks for our pets and I grabbed some feed for the animals we breed at home. I also took six boxes of treats for Zeus, Peanut, and Rio and placed them inside the passenger seat.

The aim of the guys shooting the zombies was getting better since I was hearing fewer pops than before. Them being efficient could release me on the burden of looking after them while we were outside. It was harsh talking about them like this but it was the truth. In the future, I hope that we would all be side to side fighting these deadheads and not this babysitting thing that we were doing.

"Experience will always be the best teacher." I thought to myself.

So far, we hadn't met any people outside yet. I saw the appliance store that recently opened and it was now barren and a few zombies were inside. The few who got close had been dealt with the group outside and sometimes by myself when I let them haul the stuff while I guarded outside.

"142..." I counted in my head.

We stopped next to a mineral water station. Although it was already open, we still found a few containers of water inside the office. We placed them in the truck along with the water filter in the corner.

"We're near the public market..." I trailed.

"Are we going inside there too?" Unc. Zardon asked.

"Not yet. Let's go for the ones by the side of the road first. Let's avoid places that we need to walk for a while inside. We might get surprised if we suddenly made a wrong turn without our vehicle" I said.

"Alright where do we go next?" he asked.

"Let's stop for the owner of this place first." I said.

"Who?" Kaley said.

"The owner of the majority of the shops here." I said.

We stopped by a huge gate with a small one on the side. From the top of the truck, you could see three houses inside after a short drive.

"Hello? Dave, you there?" I shouted.

After a moment, I saw a head peeking out and he was holding a shotgun.

"Sky?" the guard said.

"Hey Dave, you guys alright here?" I asked.

"Damn, you guys are looking good! The family is inside, they are resting though. Want me to call them?" he asked.

"No just tell them I stopped by and said hello. You guys still good on supplies?" I asked.

"Yes, thanks to you. Good thing our landlord believed you, we have food that could last us for a long time." he said.

"That's good. We're going now, we're gonna stop by a few more stores. Stay safe yeah?" I said.

"Sure! You too! Hey Zardon! Drive safe!" he shouted while my uncle honked.

I gave a small salute and we went to another shop.

"Who were they again?" Kaley asked.

"The guy there is Dave, he's the guard at that place for almost three decades now. The family residing there is the one who holds the titles to some of the land here. They are a cool bunch, I invited them to come to my place but they decided to build something of their own. They're filthy rich too. If nothing too serious happens, they could last until this pandemic ends too. They were the few people that believed me when I told everyone. They're the closest ones to me location-wise." I explained.

We arrived at a small pharmacy that sold OTC drugs. We slowly cleared the area first before I picked our way in.