Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

"Good evening, everyone. I apologize for the trouble of gathering all of you here but I deem it important to straighten everything out while nipping anything in the bud, before it escalates into something we wouldn\'t have any control over whatsoever. You\'ve heard bits of the story from rumors and whatnot but I assure you, this matter is being handled properly and responsibly."

Iskoh paused for a moment before he continued.

"As you can see, it\'s important to know all of the sides available before acting upon it and any other methods would just lead to one making a mistake that could lead to more mistakes. With that said, the matter we are dealing with right now needed utmost secrecy to protect the victims of this tragedy. The only thing I could ask of you all is to trust me in the meantime and I\'ll eventually reveal the whole thing when the time is right."

Everyone was slightly taken aback and before another wave of small talks arrive, Iskoh took their attention once more.

"In the coming days, you might see or hear puzzling, implausible, or curious things regarding that incident but once again, I\'d like you all to trust me. I know it\'ll be difficult to trust someone while you\'re in the dark but… that\'s all I could do for now. Those things you might see or hear might twist into different ways the longer this goes on but all the actions we took or would take are for everyone\'s best interest."

One guy probably in his 50s raised his hand, "This… This secret you\'re talking about… Who else knows? Can we know at least that?"

Iskoh sighed before he answered, "Everyone from Mrs. Aguilar\'s side, me, my officers, Mr. Ishiyama\'s group, and the group of kids that… that was demanded to get hunted down."

"W-Why do they know while we\'re not--"

"Who are you talking about? And if they are, why does it matter? I run this place with my officers while Mr. Ishiyama\'s group were caught in between Mrs. Aguilar\'s family and those group of kids that--"

"That what? Murders entire families without any--"

I stepped up to help Iskoh, "Without what? What are you gonna say? Without any reason? You voicing out your opinion here has some sort of reason. Anything we do has to have a reason, right? With that said, there\'s a reason why Iskoh\'s trying to tell all of you to trust him."

"I just--"

"Also, I doubt any of you wanted to see that shit. Trust me-- I guess I\'m asking you all to trust me too… There are just some things that we should just let go of, even if your curiosity is driving you nuts."

"..."

Iskoh added, "He\'s right but I do promise you all, I\'ll tell you when the time is right and if you really want to hear it… I just wanted to say that if you notice anything off about your family or close friends, don\'t dismiss it as such… Love and protect them too… whatever it takes. It sounds conflicting but we gotta learn how to juggle those things together..."

"W-What do you mean?"

"It means what it means… That\'s what we learned from this thing..."

The guy we were talking to didn\'t say much after but the look in his eyes and some others told us they didn\'t want to be kept in the dark for long. However, what helped them to settle down was that Iskoh promised earlier that he would tell them the whole thing when the time was right.

There\'s a difference between not telling them and telling them later but they\'d still want to know even if we told them that they should just stay away from it.

\'Humans are curious creatures and we crave for the truth. The only difference is whether we could handle it or not. Most of the time, it fucking sucks. Maybe ignorance really is bliss… It\'s just that some people do not want to get called that term...\'

After some time of Iskoh answering a few relevant questions and turning down obvious questions that shouldn\'t be answered at this time, supper was held at the same place we had this emergency meeting.

It wasn\'t as lively as the few times we\'ve been here but everyone still gave thanks for their meals as they all ate together.

I would\'ve eaten at the same place as them but I had four portions plus an extra bit set aside for me, Kaley, Cynthia, and Amy.

The three of them were obviously not present at the meeting we just held so I eventually excused myself so I could go to the closed-off portion of the hospital they were in. However, before I even managed to tell Iskoh that I was about to head back, I saw someone I didn\'t expect to be eating right next to Jade.

I almost dropped the pot I was carrying, "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE, JUDE?!"

Jude just looked at me with a tinge of confusion, "Eating? I was here for a few weeks already… This thick egg noodle soup is really tasty..."

Iskoh almost jumped out of his chair, "WHAT THE-- HOW?! A FEW WEEKS?!"

Jude simply replied, "Yes..."

Jade started to shake her head while pouting, "You two, that\'s rude~ I can\'t believe you didn\'t notice him! He came here when he heard the news! I think I\'m not gonna name our son after you after all..."

Iskoh started to sweat, "Jade, wait! Hear me out! I was busy and--"

"Mm-hmm~ Right~ Busy~"

Jude nodded a few times, "He really is… I like sleeping in his office, he never bothers me… I can cook all the noodles I want..."

"WHAT?! YOU WERE IN MY OFFICE?! YOU\'RE THE RAMEN GHOST?! I SWEAR I SMELLED RAMEN PACKETS AT THAT TIME AND JADE WOULDN\'T--"

"Yes… I offered you some but you didn\'t notice me… like a ghost… My stomach hurt that time since I had to finish it all..."

I was still in disbelief for the past few seconds but after a brief pause, everyone around us just started laughing except for the few people that seemed to have had the same experience as Iskoh. Judging from the look on their faces, it seemed that they were haunted by a harmless ghost of sorts, leaving the smell of instant noodles whenever it passed by them without notice.

"So he was real… I\'m not imagining things..."

"I thought I was going crazy..."

"I got hungry though..."

"That\'s not the point..."

"They really do look similar… but their vibes are too different..."

"True..."

"Hey! I can hear you all!"

"Sorry..."

After a short interruption, I eventually went back to see Kaley and Cynthia chatting with Amy but once they caught a whiff of the food I brought for them, their stomachs just started growling. However, I couldn\'t help but notice Amy suddenly putting up her guard and shrinking down when she heard me just barging in.

I just didn\'t put it to mind but I saw Kaley notice what just happened. Both of us just looked at each other solemnly for a brief moment before Cynthia ran up to me.

"Ooh~ What\'s that on the pot? Smells nice~"

"Easy now, help me with the bowls… I got the spoons in my pocket..."

"O-Okay! Just rinse them?"

"Yep."

Kaley waved me over, "What\'s in that? Put it down here!"

I just smiled before I laid the pot in front of them and lifted up the lid, "Just some thick egg noodle soup with chopped vegetables and some shredded chicken on top! We have some rice too but-- Oh! They gave me soft-boiled eggs too! It\'s still hot, be careful!"

Kaley smiled as she turned to Amy, "Want to eat now? I\'ll-- We\'ll help you again if you want?"

Amy nodded shyly before her eyes started to water, "Y-Yes… T-Thank you..."

It didn\'t take long before Cynthia came back with the bowls and the utensils, and the four of us just started eating together. Kaley was the one feeding Amy and she would make sure that it was cool enough for Amy to eat.

It was kinda awkward for the first few seconds but once I \'accidentally\' burned the roof of my mouth by \'accidentally\' wharfing down a large spoonful, it was the first time I saw her smile and laugh.

"AHHHHHHHH~! IT BURNS! WHERE\'S THE--"

"You doofus! Why\'d you have to--"

"The food\'s delicious, what\'d you think I would do?!"

"You\'re not Tatiana! You can\'t just huff your way out of that!"

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

"Then suffer for all I care--"

"AH, CRAP! IT\'S STILL HOT! DAMMIT!"

Amy and Cynthia were laughing together at my suffering but Kaley already knew that I was just pretending for the last half of my \'accident\'. She just let out a bright smile as she watched me make Amy laugh a few times and perhaps maybe forget a little bit about the things that she went through. She was still a little bit guarded when I started talking to her as we ate but it wasn\'t comparable to earlier.

We finished our meal in due time and Kaley tucked her in for the night.