"Jordon, get up!  We have work to do!"

"Five more minutes, Gerald?"

"No!  It is you're fault for staying up who knows how late playing Fortnite!"

"Fine, I'll be up to the lab in just a minute."

"Good, we have the grillout at Daniel and Jaycee's tonight, so we need to get done a little early today."

"Did Daniel want to fence any?"

"Yeah, we'll grab our arming swords and padding on the way out."

"Alright."

Jordon quickly dressed before heading to the lab.  Although he would never say it, he was glad his former college roomate kept them on schedule.  Or else J&G Labs would have never become a U.S. Defense contractor.  The two of them had co-founded the the company right out of Georgia Tech.  Of course, they spent all their money on the lab, so they had to settle for remodeling two of the back rooms into bedrooms and a third into a kitchen for living spaces.  It was still better than the college dorms.  Jordon slipped on his acid resistant lab coat and scrubbed before entering the lab.  Where the magic happened.

Gerald already had Radioactive playing on his phone while he worked on testing their so-called miracle metal.  Which is why the U.S. Armed Forces were interested in them in the first place.  It was bullet proof at a quarter of an inch thick.  It even stopped a tank round at an inch thick.  They called it Ultitanium, pronounced ulti-tan-ium, inspired by many of the comic book metals they loved.  It was also crazy expensive.  Their first sample that they used to get the research loans from the Department of Defense was tiny.

While Gerald was a chemical engineer, he was a mechanical and electrical engineer.  So he worked on their Pressurized Logistics Operations Technical Armor, or the P.L.O.T. Armor.  The two of them thought the pun was hilarious as their P.L.O.T. Armor was definitely the strongest of all armor known to man.  Using Ultitanium, it was bullet proof, and by using nearly microscopic chain mail near joints nothing was left exposed.  The armor also had quite the impressive sensor array.  With thermal scanners, night vision, and a helmet mounted spotlight, no dark terrain would stop you.  It was also extremely light, because Ultitanium was half the weight of normal Titanium.  Unfortunatly for the Armed Forces each of the suits costed more than a billion dollars.  Along with the four that they kept for modification and testing, six other existed.  All of which were being used by a Navy SEAL team for the most dangerous, difficult, or black operations.  The other problem with the armor, was that it had to be shaped to an individual to work effectively.  Hence why only one Navy SEAL team used it instead of the suits being shifted around depending on who needed them.

Previously, powering the sensor array, the HUD, and the climate controlled, pressurized suit was quite the hassle.  However, Jordon was very close to cracking how to make the wearer's every movement provide power to the suit.  The scientists continued tinkering until about noon, when they took their lunch break.  Jordon closed the access panel to the sensor suit and power station, causing them to become indistinguishable from the rest of the mostly white armor.  He stood back and just admired the suits for a minute, each was white, with various colored markings, his had blue markings, Gerald's had yellow, Daniel's had black, and Jaycee's had red.  Their friends occaisonally helped them test the armor, which Daniel had joked looked like a mashup of a couple prominent Science Fiction universes.

"Jordon, I know the P.L.O.T. Armor looks amazing, but if you want to hit up DQ with me we better get going."

"Alright, I ain't about to miss my Blizzard."

"You know ain't is not a word, right?"

"You knew what I meant, it's a word."

"Whatever, hurry up."

Jordon ditched his coat outside the lab before running down to the parking lot and climbing his car, one of two vehicles parked there, his souped up two door Honda Civic.  He had removed a few of the mufflers, lowered the body a tad, added a sports car worthy spoiler, changed the doors to scissor open, and given it a hotrod red with black racing stripes paint job.  It honestly looked pretty good.  Although he had seen someone post to the Awful Taste but Great Execution Subreddit.  After he fired up the engine, Jordon glanced at Gerald.

"Drive through or dine-in?"

"I say drive through, but this car is far to small to attempt to eat in it, so we can go home to eat, watch the news."

"Sounds like a plan."

Jordon pulled out of the former meat processing and distrubting plant and onto the freeway.

"So, what did you work on today?"

"Ultitanium's excessive price.  I was looking into finding a cheaper way to make it."

"Well I know the army would appreciate a price reduction."

"What about you?"

"I've been putting the final touches on the servos that turn movement into power.  I think this afternoon I'll work on the assault crossbow.  It's design is simple compared to the P.L.O.T. Armor, but I think that the Armed Forces will buy a ton of them if we pitch it right, a silent weapon that is more effective than a M16."

"Remind me how it is more effective."

"Kevlar reacts to impacts, so if I make it possible to have a different setting for close quarters and long range, then in close quarters the metal bolts will go straight through kevlar.  The bolts can also be reclaimed more frequently than a bullet.  Not to mention the possibility for stranded soldiers to make their own ammunition from wood or stone.  Since the bow string does not directly connect to the bolt but instead to a small metal disc in the chamber."

"Got it."

Jordon pulled into the drive through at Dairy Queen.

"Welcome to Dairy Queen, may I take your order?"

"Yes I would like a popcorn shrimp basket, no sauce, with sweet tea to drink, and a small Cookie Dough Blizzard.  Gerald, what do you want?"

"A number nine, also sweet tea, no ice cream."

"And can I get a number nine with a sweet tea?"

"I have a popcorn shrimp basket and a number nine, both with sweet tea.  Will that be all for you?"

"Yes."

"Your total is $17.68, please pull around."

"Jordon, I'll pay since you drove."

"Thanks, you catch the total?"

"Yes, $17.68."

After paying for their meal, the duo drove back to the lab, and went to old breakroom, which had a TV.  Jordon noticed that one of their Imagine Dragons CDs was still looping, but the speakers were muted.  He grabbed the master remote and turned on the TV.

"Yes, you heard that right.  People are developing rabis like symptoms and attacking each other.  This is not a joke.  Zombies are real, and they are everywhere.  Many major cities have already been overrun, and some nearby rural areas have reported sightings.  The Armed Forces are warning civilians that guns will not stop the zombies.  I repeat guns do not stop them.  I will stay on the air as long as possible to keep you updated."

Jordon dropped the remote in shock, and speakers came on.

"This is it, the apocalypse. Whoa."