Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

On that note, they didn't seem to be too famished, probably because they rationed well but a lot of questions were popping in my head the more I looked at them. However, the best course of action was to get through checking George first, before anything else, and here comes the frisk we were talking about.

Doing this type of shit before the world ended could land us in a lot of fucking lawsuits but at this point, it should be the minimum requirement for strangers to be eligible to pass.

"Alright, I'm giving you another choice, George."

"What is it?"

"It's gonna sound extreme if you choose the first one but I'm gonna need you to either strip and take a bath in front of everyone here or you do it semi-privately with some of our soldiers watching you—"

"I-I thought this was the check we're talking about?!"

"The only thing we've checked you is for obvious places where you could hide bites or weapons. Besides, wouldn't you want a nice warm bath and a fresh set of clothes after a— Question, how long have you been here, exactly?"

George looked a little difficult before he answered, "I… I honestly don't know, you tell me."

"Well~ It's been a year and a change of a few months since it started so—"

"Then a year and a few months is our answer."

"What? No shot."

George looked defeated as he turned to his family, "We're all here and everything, at least what's left of us. We even got our documentation with us, if that matters…"

"Huh."

"Look, I dunno how hard your place was hit but this place got hit hard. It's… We did try and make this a place where everyone could be safe with the help of the soldiers who came to rescue us but they still couldn't make it like those camps they said were fortified. We weren't even sure if those camps are still standing… You gotta believe me, man… I—"

I cut him off, "Alright, George. I'm gonna hear the whole story from you and everyone else present but we got to move things along first. What do you say? Wanna do it here or in one of the restrooms?"

"There's no more water coming from the pipes—"

"Ah, right. It wouldn't be warm and nice but we do have water outside, enough for a wipedown with a cloth or a rag."

"W-Why do all this?"

"I dunno, you tell me. Your group has been here for god knows how long so I was just giving you the choice to do whatever if they aren't too keen with ya going someplace else. Let's just say I'll accept some degree of paranoia, alright? If you don't trust us to be away from your family for a short bit, it's cool. It's on you to assure them and sacrifice a bit of dignity for them."

"Hah… What else can we do?"

"Honestly? Not much. We could've just blown up this door and done something that could've saved us a lot of fucking time but we didn't. Trust me, there aren't a lot of people who'd do something like this outside. Also, we'd even give you the option to go your merry ways after we hear your story and feed you but we're slowly building up this place and we need more people."

"So… Same shit as before—"

"Well, if you want a change of pace, we have other places we could send you along… totally your choice but we recommend this place, the Freeport Zone, or the Marine Base. We have something a bit further—unfortunately, it's another airport, but that place has seen more action with raiders than deadheads. They're not actually under me but we're working together, if that matters."

"..."

"George…"

"H-Huh?"

"C'mon, man… You're just gonna take a bath, how hard could it be?"

"Well… Umm… I'm sorry but I might need to do it here. I don't want my kids to be worried… It'll reassure everyone else too."

"Alright, we'll bring you everything you need. Just wait a sec."

"A-And the restraints?"

"We'd cut it off too. No worries. We don't get off in this type of shit, it's totally just for security—and to give you some peace of mind, I'm part Japanese and I've been through my fair share of public baths. I usually bathe with them but this is just a special case, alright?"

"A-Alright, thank you."

Obviously, not all the hundreds of troops were watching George and I talk—just a few dozen or so—but as weird as this might look, George got down into his bare muddy ass as he cleaned himself with a bucket of water, a bar of soap, and a clean cloth that soon turned murky.

But yeah, It didn't take long before George looked decent and human and from my astute observation, he was clean from any bites and just needed a bit more food in his system.

He couldn't hide the delight of wearing a fresh set of clothes but he didn't even care when they got a little dirty when he beckoned Regine, who seemed to be his wife, and his two girls: Allie and Reba, to come out and give him a hug.

"I-It's totally fine, alright? I'm okay! See? New clothes too!"

"Dad! Stop hugging us! We're s-slimy! It's getting on your clothes!"

"Yeah, dad! Stop!"

Regine turned to me, "A-Are we—"

"It's your choice, actually. My wife, Kaley, and a few others had already prepared the proper area for you three. All we'd need is a little bit of trust from both sides."

"A-Alright…" she turned to George, "W-We'll be back soon, okay?"

"Of course, I love you."

"I love you too." Find additional tales at m,vl-em,py-r

Their two daughters cut in, "We love you too, DAD!"

"Ah— R-Right, right— I love you two, too!"

Obviously, it'd be a different type of ball game to have these three women strip and bathe in front of me so I asked Kaley, Tatiana, Quinn, and five other soldiers who were women to accompany them in a more private area to have them checked and run through the same process George did.