Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

As Kaley and I took our spot, the rest couldn’t help but give us knowing glances but a select few—Cynthia and the twins—were about to take off and make do with my rubber counterpart that Tatiana was already regarding as a national treasure. However, Kaley was still a little frisky after our short time with ourselves, and she was sticking to me even closer than before.

I didn’t mind Kaley leaning against me with all her weight but it’s just that the next game piqued my interest, and this time, I had to participate.

With that said, the third game was hosted by a younger guy— maybe around the same age as me, and he had long silver hair on a ponytail and a darker skin tone. Instead of wearing something fancy like everyone else who hosted the games, he was simply wearing baggy shorts, a messy tank top, and metal-plated boots that were high-cut. Furthermore, the watch-like device on his right wrist seemed to be custom-made and even the earpiece he was wearing was different.

But judging from the crowd’s reaction, like me— no one seemed to know who the fuck this guy was.

However, he still looked at the camera with a forced smile before speaking at a lower volume.

[Tsk— I didn’t want to do this but— Fuck, I’m not supposed to say that— Ah. Apologies, Mr. Cuervo— Y-Yes, I’m sorry! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!]

‘…’

The whole place was quiet but everyone grimaced when a screeching feedback assaulted our ears, and it seemed to be caused by the different earpiece our host was wearing. With that said, another person wheeled in a cart that had the same watch-like devices on his arm but I couldn’t tell how much they were because they were piled on top of one another.

[S-Sorry about that— Anyway, I’m Jericho and I’ll be the host for the third game— *cough* *cough* To begin, umm~ I’m gonna need umm~ How many did I— Right… I made around thirty right here but to give the family with the fewer numbers— Ishi— Ishigaki, Izanagi— Ah! Ishiyama! That’s it, u-umm— We’ll let them decide how many members they want to participate. After that, since everyone else had a bunch of people come, we’ll keep it as even as possible. So, Ishiyama Family, how many are participating?]

At this point, everyone’s eyes were on me but I glanced at my group briefly before I let out a chuckle.

“One. Just me—”

[Huh?! A-Are you sure?!]

“Yep.”

[A-Alright… fine… Very well…]

My group wasn’t even able to react when I declared that I would be the only one participating blindly in the third game, and it was already too late when Nikolas spoke up.

“Wha— Are you serious?! By yourself?!”

Cynthia added, “Y-Yeah! You should’ve said two or three at least!”

“I wanted to go with you…”

“Me too!”

“Me as well!”

“You gotta be kidding me, bro…”

“Well, Nikolas said we need to conserve our strength, right? Trust me.”

“…”

All sorts of worries and complaints assaulted my ears but my attention was shifted to Quinn when she decided not to participate. She let Number 8— Dave, pick out their team members and she casually took a bottle of Jimmy’s Cervezas and a couple of tacos and started snacking right next to us.

“You’re not going?”

“Nope. Fuck that kid.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah… he used to be a prospect but Mr. Cuervo took him in. He’s… He’s… Let’s just say he’s a little special while being a little fucked in the head.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Hah! You’ll see soon.”

I was still trying to figure out what Quinn was trying to say before Jericho’s words came out of the speakers once again. At this point, the other families were still in the middle of choosing which member to come down but he started to explain a few things.

[U-Umm, if you’re done choosing your members, I’ll have them gather by the stage so we could fit them with my bracelets, and ah— just to be on the safe side, please choose members without heart problems or something…]

As soon as he said that, I immediately stopped in my tracks— the same with everyone else on the viewing platforms, but Quinn was already grinning like I’m gonna be going through the nine circles of hell. However, even if I was given a little surprise, that was actually a hint about the game we were about to play.

[Right… Where is Enrique by the way? He told me he’d help me with my— hey… can you please call for him— Ah— Right, he could hear me from the speakers… Enrique~ C’mere for a bit so I could explain the rules.]

I only took a few moments to get inside the play area and be right next to the stage with the other participants but when Enrique appeared on stage, no one expected him to be bound by ropes. To top it off, he was pleading for his life and between cries of help, he managed to say a verse or two to Tatiana which was obviously picked up by the microphones.

However, he never got so quiet when the ‘bracelet’ was attached to him and Jericho smiled genuinely.

[Hehehe… Nice and tight… Anyway, I didn’t have much time to prepare a unique game so why don’t we just play something really easy? Oh! Right~ I gotta show you guys how the bracelet works—]

Everyone else was casually watching Jericho stumble his way into a proper explanation of the rules when it happened.

*KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!! WHAT THE FUCKKKKKKKKKK~!!!”

It only took a couple of seconds but Enrique suddenly jolted up like he got electrocuted by a yellow pocket monster or a green-haired baby from hell. Well, he literally was fucking lit up by a dozen or so voltages of electricity and everyone else that joined unconsciously took a step back.

[Enrique, calm down~ calm—]

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM DOWN?! YOU FUCKIN LIT ME UP AND YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?!”

[Enrique~ You’re not letting me finish… The more you are agitated, the stronger the electricity would be. I’m wearing the same thing, right? Watch.]

As soon as he said that, we heard a very short crackle that came from Jericho’s bracelet, but on the contrary, it only made him flinch before his expression turned to normal. However, right when he finished his own demonstration, he turned to Enrique with the same smile.

[See? Let’s try again.]

“WHAT?! TRY WHAT AGAIN—”

*KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!! WHAT THE FUCK?! I’M GONNA SMACK YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

[See? It’s lower actually—]

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!! I’M GONNA—”

*KRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!! WHY’D YOU TURN IT ON AGAIN?!”

[I told you to calm down, didn’t I? It actually went a little higher! If you get really, really, really agitated, it might kill ya. Be careful.]

Like me and the rest of the participants, everyone from the viewing platforms was fucking speechless, and I fucking swear Enrique was starting to smell like cooked bacon. However, he kept shouting at the top of his lungs as he was getting electrocuted and it surprised and amazed me how high the output of the bracelets were even after several dozen electrocutions.

It’s just that Quinn’s cryptic message was confirmed in the best/worst way possible, whichever wau I might look at it.

With that said, Enrique was eventually sent off almost lifeless and even I felt the chill when Jericho turned to us sacrifices— err, players.

[Alright, now that you know how the bracelets work, it’s time to put them on! Don’t worry, it won’t work until the game starts so you won’t get cooked while I’m explaining the rules… I think. Let’s start with the Ishiyama Family. Ooh! Nice tats. Come on up and receive your bracelet please!]

As I came up on stage, the whole place was still eerily quiet because everyone else was fucking afraid of the guy in front of me. Looking at his expression, he seemed like he had a few screws loose but to be completely honest, the bracelet was a fine piece of work. He was the one who picked up a bracelet from the pile and put it on me, and he never looked so proud when it went ‘online’.

[There you go! Fully charged and ready for action!]

“T-Thanks…”

[Next!]

In all honesty., I was a little terrified when the bracelet was put on me but when he started explaining the rules, a smile formed on my face and it was getting wider and wider with each passing second.

[The game we will be playing is my version of Red Light, Green Light but aside from wearing those bracelets, I added a few more twists.]

[The first one is that I’m gonna be a little~ tricky and the other one will be maddening… for larger members. You’ll find that out once we start, heh.]

The host in front of me was one crazy motherfucker but he was starting to grow on me.