Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

In any case, it didn't take long before I shook hands with Ruben and gave him a slightly lower score than I gave Nia—though my next three students went by quite quickly. They didn't fit the bill like Ruben—slightly less than him, even—but even though they failed in that regard, they were still invaluable as soldiers and the extracurriculars they tend to spend their free time on.

Finding Eden amongst these people was already a bonus in itself but I still have a handful of people I was definitely hopeful for and one of them came in at the right time.

"'Sup, Marvin?"

"What's up, sir? Can I come in?"

"That's the plan. Sit down here with me."

"Alright…"

"..."

"..."

"Marvin—"

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"Are you gay?"

"WHAT?!"

"Not in a derogatory way, of course, but are ya? You and Ashley, I though—"

Marvin couldn't hide the shock in his eyes, "W-We're still a thing, sir— S-Seb and I just found we had a lot in common."

"Such as?"

"I mean, we're both pretty chill, same music tastes, same poison, minus the bisexual part— I get along with him more than the rest of the guys in my group. We're the black sheep and all. To be honest, sir, I'm surprised you paid attention to us again, I thought we'd just be send all over to see where we fit."

"Ah— You do understand that your group's a little out there, right? Especially Brian and Carlo?"

"Ahaha… That's true. Brian's more out there though Carlo just follows him around whenever. I just know Brian has some beef with JP too, he's an interesting guy as well."

"In what way exactly? From your perspective, of course."

"Seems pretty tight-knit? Goal-oriented, bit of elitism, the works, you know?"

"I see that, actually. But you, let's focus on you for now."

"A-Alright, sir. What do you wanna know?"

"Yesterday. What do you think?"

"Umm… It was intense, to say the least… I really thought I died—everyone… I thought everyone died…"

"You know I just talked to Ashley, right?"

"Yes…"

"Do you know that she's mad at you?"

"Yes…"

"Do you know WHY she's mad at you?"

"It's… I called for Seb first before— no, I just called for him. I didn't call for anybody else…"

"Right—"

"It's not a gay thing, really— It's just— I was with him when it all happened and I was still in the heat of the moment… I should've realized that Ash is with us too—in the group, I mean—but Seb's just the first one that came to mind. I just felt really responsible that that happened because of me."

"Really?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Why did you say you feel responsible? It's not like you threw him to the wolves. I attacked both of you."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Marvin let out a long sigh, "I mean— Sir, with all due respect, you're a fucking psychopath—"

"Why, thank you!"

"Ah— You're welcome, I guess… but yeah… Everything felt real and when JP and Tennyson are shouting at us to keep calm, I still thought we're all about to die. I wasn't able to actively participate like when I was supposed to be fighting side by side with JP— I just… I froze. It's totally different from when we're outside but what if I froze when it actually counts?"

"You mean you're afraid of taking the step or making some sort of mistake? Like— Like adding on to the chaos that's happening mistakenly?"

"WHA— T-That's exactly it, sir! I— I-It's a bad habit of mine—something I hate to admit—but yeah, that's something I'm really ashamed of. I can handle things well but when everything gets so messed up, I start to freak out mentally and break down, staring at everything as it collapses on its own. I try to stay on top of things but one mistake would just make me spiral…"

I smiled, "Then you're a lot more like me than I thought. I'm the same way, actually."

Marving shook his head, "You, sir? Don't kid me—"

"I mean— I worked on myself, obviously, but I was really like you when I was just starting out. Don't worry, I might be able to help you—"

"Then—"

"One at a time. What's the special thing you thought about before we started Phase 1?"

"Umm… my friends?"

I chuckled, "You don't sound too sure."

"Ashley's there, for sure— Seb too, but… I dunno… I don't have a lot of friends so I really treasure the ones I have… Small as they've been in number…"

"I see, I see… Now think about this… You, Ashley, and Seb are stuck on a deserted island and you only have enough food to last two of you for one day—"

"We'll share the two servings between the three of us."

"Smart. But then the next day—"

"We'll still try to share the remaining portion between us—"

"Hmph. And after that?"

"Same answer."

"Okay. A few more days passed and the three of you were losing strength because of the lack of food. And in order for all three of you to have a fighting chance, one of you has to eat whatever's left of your food so that he/she can have enough strength to find food for all of you. Who do you choose to take on the burden?"

"I— Umm… I-I'll take on the burden but I'll make sure to—"

"Not so fast. Let's say you ate what's remaining of your food so you could venture out to forage, hunt, whatever… But fucking jackpot! You came across a tribe that doesn't only speak your language but also welcomes you with open arms! You're fucking saved! They have food and everything!"

"Huh? Wut? I don't follow—"

"It's because I'm not done yet. However, since you love taking on the hard stuff and sharing the burden among your friends when it's easy enough, this tribe just had a particular thing they do before they welcome guests…"

"W-What is it?"

"It's either you give one of your friends—even you as tribute—or you cut off a limb for you three plus another one for good measure. What do you do?"