Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Chapter 1189: Goodbye, Dad. - Back to Business.

But yeah, the airport had never been so busy an hour before the departure because aside from the Eisenhower leaving the Marine Base to get much closer to us, the people that'd leave with the Admiral—plus the ones that would be assigned to this airport—had all gather in this spot.

The noise produced by everyone triple-triple-checking everything and making sure that no stone would be left unturned was just like this buzz or adrenaline the first time you'd walk into a gym.

It was exciting, intimidating, and a little sad in a way, because even if we only met for a few days, it felt like we already formed this small bond with these people.

In addition, we don't even know if all of them would be able to come back next month or if a different ship will come to deliver more evacuees, but with the way the Eisenhower was powered by a nuclear reactor, I guess it'd be one of the few ships that could travel for as long as that reactor would let them.

It's just this melancholic feeling got quickly overshadowed by seeing Ella wearing this gothic lolita outfit, who probably got the idea from seeing June's vibe.

To my surprise, I just learned that June was among the people inside the room Kaley was in last night before we woke them up but I'd just ask Kaley for the details later because her siblings just joined them after waking up due to the noise as well.

Kaley was already with me outside and helping with whatever was needed but the two among others just came out after some time.

Explore more stories with ???

Ella immediately ran up to me, "How'd I look?"

I instantly shattered her confidence, "You look like Annabelle— No, Anab-Ella, get it?"

Or so I thought.

"R-Really?! That's what I was going for! I could've done the makeup too but it'd take too long! Thanks! And where were you yesterday?! W-We should've—"

I widened my eyes as I looked at her, "We should've what exactly? Wasn't I called over to see your dad?"

"Y-You took that long— D-Dumb question, you did, right?"

"That reminds me, why do you look so sad yesterday?"

Ella looked away for a bit before turning back to me, "You know… Goodbyes are just hard, I'll get over it…"

"Morning…" June and the others finally reached us as they greeted Kaley and me.

Kaley smiled at them, "Good morning, want some coffee—"

Cindy quickly ran for the thermos, "Oh God, yes… You have cinnamon powder?"

"Ah—" Kaley was taken aback by the sudden request, "Sorry, no—"

Jeremy cut in, "Just be thankful for the coffee! We're sorry—"

"It's okay, I'll be prepared next time—"

I cut in as I handed her a stick of cinnamon, "Will this work?"

"..."

"..."

"You don't want it?"

"DO YOU JUST HAVE A CINNAMON STICK ON YOUR PACK AT ALL TIMES?!"

"I'm getting judged for helping, forget you saw anything—"

Cindy suddenly snatched the cinnamon stick from my hands as she gave me a sideways hug, "THIS IS AMAZING! YOU'RE AMAZING! THANKS!"

'Good thing I still have that pack from Jericho…'

On that note, as we kept giving everyone who'd stop by their cuppa Joe, Admiral Burke actually went down from the Eisenhower to have one last coffee with us before they go. Obviously enough, he asked to be served by Ella—in which she happily obliged—but I just had to do it when Bartow came in with this grumpy look on his face.

"This… This is just the bag of instant coffee…"

"I ain't making you shit if you look like that—"

"YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A FIGHT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING?!"

"Glad this shit isn't my responsibility anymore…" Admiral Burke said from the side, peacefully sipping his coffee.

Captain Davis shook his head, "I barely survived their last altercation…"

"Hah! You're the Captain now, deal with it."

"Oh, come on! Can't you just order both or either of them to take it easy or get along?!"

"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK THE IMPOSSIBLE?!"

I nodded, "Nope. I don't belong in any unit— I'm special, remember?"

Admiral Burke added, "Out of my jurisdiction now, and I did just order YOU to sort this out yourself."

But yeah, we had a short moment of peace before Ella took five good minutes to hug her father before he finally said goodbye and boarded the Eisenhower, and we did wait with Ella for a while until the ship was completely out of view.

There was a moment of silence where Ella was just staring at the dark horizon, but she eventually wiped her tears and came up to me for a hug.

She wasn't even speaking a word but she was just hugging me for as tight as she could, but as Kaley joined in, it just evolved into complete chaos when everyone else from our circle joined in.

I could definitely feel the daggers on my back from the jealous fucks though it didn't take long before we went back to business.

The first thing on the list was obviously breakfast but even though it was still a few hours away, we had a bigger group to prepare it and we called everybody over just as the sun was barely on the horizon.

At this point, I figured that we would stay for one more day before we go back to our own HQ, and I wouldn't leave this place—and I'd probably stay longer—if we didn't solve the mystery of the cemetery by the expressway.

So yeah, after making sure that the people from GDMWC and the Idress Maritime Academy were sorted out, our hit squad drove to the last place, in general, that was still teeming with the dead because Bartow and his hit squad already took care of the area around the Freeport Zone.

We were obviously welcomed warmly by Jessica's crew watching over the entryway to the expressway, but their eyes almost popped out of their sockets when they saw us come in with several excavators.