Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Chapter 89: 89

I was ringing their bell but no one seems to answer.

“They might be inside the compound…” I said to myself.

“F.u.c.k it! Let’s just go back to the compound where I’m sure there will be tools to remove this.” I said to Kaley.

“Umm, ah, are you okay? You’re bleeding a bit. Let me wipe it off…” she sheepishly said.

“Wait, don’t! The small threads on that towel might get caught up in the hook making it worse.” I said.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean for it to happen…” she slowly followed from behind.

“Yeah, yeah. Flicking the rod definitely wouldn’t bring the hook with it…” I jokingly said.

I managed to tick her off and she replied, “Well you said earlier that sometimes you feel you can’t die! Right?!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t say it wouldn’t hurt now would it? Are you really trying to get me killed now?” I replied sarcastically.

She harrumphed, “You already said to don’t worry about that, so I’m not worrying about it.”

“Yeah, stop worrying about that, worry about this hook that’s making me bleed out… oh god, I’m seeing the light…” I said then I acted extremely exaggerated.

“Stop moving it around!” she exclaimed.

We continued our banter as we approached the gate. Allan saw us and he first noticed the blood on my ear, flowing to my neck. I also saw Aubrey guarding the gate with them.

“What happened man?!” he asked.

I just pointed at Kaley and Kaley went back to being her worried self.

“Turns out, Kaley is really good at fishing. She managed to catch a human being while I only caught a milk fish…Ow!” I joked then she kicked me.

“Is Oscar back?” Kaley asked as she attacked me a second time.

“Oh, they came back earlier with the tanker and the truck but they went out again.” Jenny said.

“Guess we’ll have to do this ourselves…” I said.

We went to our room and then I removed my gear and I stood in front of the mirror while Kaley turned all of the lights on. I grabbed all the tools needed and I disinfected them all first while Kaley cleaned my ear after.

“Good thing that it’s just a small hole and it didn’t rip some of the skin apart. Here, cut the hook in that part and pull the other one after.” I handed her small pliers and she positioned herself while I readied a cotton ball with alcohol.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yeah, go ahead.” I replied.

*ssnnaap*

“Ouch, that stings. Cut it quickly next time so it doesn’t bend.” I said while I placed the cotton ball in my wound.

We then sat in silence after as we took a breather.

She’s just looking at my ear while we’re sitting in front of the table.

“It won’t heal faster if you stare at it.” I said.

“Sorry, I just noticed that you have no piercings.” She said.

“Oh, never really find the charm in earrings. I see you have two in each ear. I’ll just leave this wound here and hope it closes up nicely.” I said as I looked at her ears.

She chuckled and said, “I thought you would say something like it would get in the way or something.”

“Hah! That is true though, what if by some chance you had a dangling earring and someone grabbed it by force? This one time…” I continued on telling her the story where I witnessed a thief snatching an earring off of a lady on the street.

“What?!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, that really happened. Her ears were leaking blood all over when the kid ripped it off her ear.” I said.

“Good thing I didn’t pull it out earlier…” she said sheepishly.

I chuckled then I pulled out my phone.

“Now we need to take a photo of this. Hold the hook in front of us!” I added.

“Wait, w-why?” she said.

“Well, this is still a fun memory. You know, considering the circ.u.mstances. We’ll start to forget about the problem as soon as we start to joke about it.” I said as I took the photo.

*click*

In the photo, I acted I was in pain while she makes an embarrassed pose. We took a few more.

“Hey, I’m sorry again. It seems like all I do is apologize to you.” She said.

“Hah! ’tis but a scratch! Well, a hole to be exact. Wait, where’s the fish that I caught? Did you bring it here? I only carried the tackle box and the rods.” I said.

“I think we forgot it at the small house.” Kaley replied then the radio buzzed.

*bzzt*

“Sky? Derek said you might have left a fish in a bucket. He brought it here. He said he placed it on your sink.”

*bzzt*

It was Allan who radioed in.

*bzzt*

“Tell him thanks, we forgot to pick it up earlier when I got hooked.”

*bzzt*

*bzzt*

“Hah! I told him the story; he’s laughing his ass out when he went back.”

*bzzt*

*bzzt*

“Alright, thanks for the heads up.”

*bzzt*

We ended the short talk and we two headed down towards the kitchen.

“What are you gonna do with it?” Kaley said.

“Oh, I’m making Sashimi.” I replied.

“Wow! I like those! Can I help?” she asked.

“Sure, as long as you stay away from the pointed objects.” I joked.

She harrumphed and decided throw another jab at me.

“Hahaha… this requires a delicate touch.” I said.

I cleaned the fish first and then I removed all of its scales. I cut open the fish and removed the guts and the gills.

*shhck*

I then removed the flesh off from the first side and then the next one by removing the bone with its tail and head. I then grabbed two tweezers and handed her one.

“Here, feel the bones with your hand and remove them one by one.” I instructed.

Her face lightens up as she picks up the tweezers and started on removing a few.

“There’s a lot here.” She said.

“Yeah, are you done?” I said as I lifted my part up.

“W-wait! How are you so fast?!” she exclaimed.

“Heh, I’ve had lots of practice, that’s why. I’ll start on the garnish and I’ll ready a few things. Keep on doing that and avoid plucking some of the meat so when I slice it later it’s still uniform.” I instructed.

She nodded a few times and now she’s focused on her work. I thinly chopped radish and I poured soy sauce on a small dish. I also brought out wasabi paste and I grated ginger and garlic.

Kaley finally finished her part then I thinly sliced everything and plated it neatly and symmetrically. It looks like a flower blooming the way I plate it.

“Wow~! Is that Sashimi?!” Rin saw us and she yelled.

“Yeah, want to eat with us?” I said.

“Okay, thanks! Sorry for disturbing your little date here, it has been a while since I’ve eaten this.” She said as we all took a bite.

“Hmm! This is really good! Did you catch this just now? It tastes really fresh.” Rin exclaimed.

“Yeah, I could’ve gotten more if a hook didn’t fly through my ear.” I said.

“Drop that subject now, will you?!” she said while she blushed in embarrassment.

Rin saw the wound in my ear and then I told what happened to her while Kaley shrinks down.

“That happened?! Hahahaha!” she laughed hysterically.

I dipped the Sashimi in sauce as I add a few portions of wasabi and ginger. We mixed and matched the toppings as we three slowly eat the food.

“Hey Rin, I haven’t asked yet. How did you end up in Manila anyway?” I asked.

“Oh, I was living with my dad in Japan when I was young but when he passed, me and my mom moved here instead and started our own lives.” She said.

“Where’s your mom though?” Kaley asked.

“Oh, she overworked herself by raising me up and she also passed right after I finished highschool. I was supposed to go to college as a working student but I need more money to sustain myself. I’ve been switching between jobs and I finally landed here. Good thing I won the lottery by being noticed by boss. Didn’t imagine having OCD would save my life.” She said while getting another portion.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Well, it’s also lucky for me to find you. There’s so much I wanted to do in the day and if I do what I assigned you to do now my head would get bald.” I said with a faint smile.

“Is that so…” Kaley chimed as she told the story about her parents as well.

“My stupid parents decided to take on a trip somewhere where they didn’t even tell where they would be going to their kids. They’re off the grid too and we have no way of contacting them.” She said.

“Right, Olivia told me too. Well, she said your dad knows a few things and she said that they will definitely come back.” Rin said

“Right. Rin, is there any chance that you know how to use a naginata? I have a guandao at the armory, could you perhaps substitute it for that?” I asked.