All Chapters of Nation 27: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30
45 chapters
CH 21: I’ve Been Losing Time…
Warning:This chapter contains aspects of memory loss and minor descriptions of torture that might be uncomfortable for certain readers. Please read at your own discretion.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[The following day at 8 am--- 15 October 2021, Friday][5th floor of the facility— Jared’s room…]Jared sighed as he lay on the bed.“The sound of a clock ticking had faded over the course of several hours…” he muttered before chuckling bitterly.‘Well, not several hours since it is already the next day…’Jared turned to face a pendulum on the small table by the bedside. Although the novelty was unmoving, he could not help but stare at it in a trance-like manner.‘So, I’m definitely in the game world, right? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be hearing the phantom ticking…’Despite trying numerous times, he still went on to tap at his hip to activate the game manual. His
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CH 22: The Change In Demeanor Was Instant
[Louis] The sound of determined footsteps and the loud banging of doors echoed along the second-floor hallway."Where in the world is she? ...There's no way she'll be here, right?" Louis muttered as he checked yet another room. His mood was worsening by the minute.“Oh! Hi, Louis,” a feminine voice called out from a distance.Louis turned and saw both Clara and Adam walking toward him. The siblings were walking from the start of the hallway- the same way he had come from.“Hey,” Louis answered in an almost sheepish-like manner.Clara’s smile widened while Adam raised a brow in response.“So… what brings you both here, to the second floor?” Louis asked.“Nothing really… Adam and I just wanted to explore the rest of the facility.”“I see…”“What about you?” Adam asked.“I’m looking for Sam,” Louis adverted his gaze slightly, “I need to talk to her about something…” he continued almost inaudibly.Clara giggled.“Ah~ Hm… We haven’t seen her at all. Then again, we were mostly on the third
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CH 23: He Answered Reluctantly
[A couple of days later--- 17 October 2021, Sunday][4th floor of the facility…][6.03 am][Clara]“Uh… I’m barely awake. Why in the world do I need to wake up this early?” Adam groaned as he stretched and yawned.“Well, there are other things I’d like to do later in the day plus…,” Clara cast a warning glance at her brother who was about to roll his eyes, “There’s no better time in the day to farm than early in the morning.”“But why the sudden need to tend to the garden at such an ungodly hour when there’s nothing ready to be harvested?”“That’s what I thought too until last night~ The radishes should be ready to be harvested either by today or tomorrow!”“What? How is that possible? I remember it taking quite some time to grow back at our house. I think it was about 2 months…? You basically started growing stuff here on the 28th of September and it has been about,” Adam started counting with his fingers, “19 days.”“Hehe~ I know right? By the way, it takes about a month for radishe
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CH 24: His Eyes Turned Steely Cold
[20 October 2021, Wednesday…][7.05 pm]The marigold-colored sky soon turned and darkened as the Sun set over the horizon. It was not long before the entire forest was plunged into pitch darkness under the cloudy, moonless sky. The only source of light within the area came from inside a huge facility and the street lamps that stood along a long, narrow road.As the cool evening breeze blew and the leaves in nearby trees rustled, the shuffling of feet can be heard as they seemingly approached these sources of light. Like a moth to a torchlight, who and what can resist the urge to draw closer to the only warmth and light when shrouded in darkness?Then again, given the circumstances, the best place to be would be none other than at the facility. Within its tall fences and sturdy walls, there were sustenance, resources, and comfort. Most importantly, it provided safety from the undead that lurked and stalked persistently beyond the property.Thus, on a night like this for those who stay
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CH 25: Proposition
[20 October 2021, Wednesday…][11.13 pm][3rd floor, recreational area…]Faint rasping from cicadas could be heard despite the wide, thick tempered glass windows whose frames have been completely reinforced to prevent any incidents of the facility’s patients breaking through the glass and inevitably hurting themselves. ‘Strange… I don’t remember cicadas still being around during the late summer. Well, it’s practically autumn now, and those insects don’t like the mild and dry climate. In fact, the heat of the summer would have long subsided by now…’ Jared thought to himself as he gazed out of the window from his seat.Although Jared was seated fairly close to the windows, he was unable to fully see the trees. At best, he could see the very top of some of the nearby trees- but that was about it. Being on the third floor in a facility that was located on the highest ground in the entire county, it was difficult to see much unless one were to stand directly at the window.Somewhat curiou
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CH 26: Completely Gone
[26 October 2021, Tuesday…][9.48 pm][Adam and Clara]“Ouch! That hurts! Can’t you be gentle? After all, I’m your one and only brother!” Adam complained.Clara rolled her eyes.“It’s just a small bruising, so stop whining like a baby. You shouldn’t act so dramatic over something like this when you’ve endured much severe bruisings and injuries over the past few days,” Clara said as she applied salve on a bruise that ran along Adam’s upper arm.Adam grumbled in a low tune that was barely audible.“What is it, brother?”“Nothing…”“Hah… Just tell me. What is it?”“It’s just… I have gotten black belts in a couple of martial arts, but all that feels like child's play after doing hand-to-hand combat training with the ex-military guys. It’s as if I haven’t been cultivating any combative skills despite all my years of training. All those medals I’ve won prove nothing. If there’s an outbreak within the facility tomorrow, I’ll be useless!”Once the bruise on Adam’s arm had been attended to, Cl
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CH 27: Perhaps It Is Something More
[Brien][The following day at 1.23 pm --- 27 October 2021, Wednesday…][3rd floor of the facility— recreational area…]“Whoosh~ Haha! You’re too slow, boy!” David taunted as he did light sparring with Adam.Somewhat aggravated, Adam growled and charged at the former military personnel once more.“Aww~ Angry, are you? Boy, if you’re going for multiple rapid punches, you need to exhale in sync with your movements. It’s not all about imagining that your hands are on fire.”Seeing that none of his punches were landing on target, Adam retreated a couple of steps to take a breather. He then pulled up the bottom of his shirt to wipe off the sweat that trailed down his face.“I’m not moving as if my hands are on fire!” Adam retorted.“Yes, you are~ You were doing this,” David demonstrated by flicking his own wrist in the most exaggerated manner possible.“I definitely didn’t do that!” Adam half-yelled despite his cheeks warming up slightly.“Aww~ I was just messing with you. But seriously, tr
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CH 28: Have You Seen The Way He Watches Him?
[Adam][A couple of days later--- 29 October 2021, Friday…][4th floor of the facility…][10.03 pm]After a rather tedious day of doing inventory checks, and packing of weapons and other essentials for the trip to the annex, Adam was beyond exhausted. In fact, the moment he and his sister had returned to their bedroom, he’d simply plopped down heavily on the bed- making the bed creak under his weight and his sister squeak out of surprise. After ensuring Clara that he was simply drained and not hurt, his sister had nonchalantly settled in a corner and started scribbling away in her notepad. All initial concern for her brother has seemingly dissipated.Adam sighed and closed his closed.‘Who knew that something so miscellaneous could be this tiring? Then again, I was hauling many crates of stuff in the storage area… I guess I need to do more weight lifting to be stronger…’“Ooo!” Clara exclaimed softly.‘Yeah, I’ll need to pay close attention to weight lifting and combat training. Hope
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CH 29: The Case Of Louis (Pt 1)
Author’s note:The following is a recount of certain events from Jared’s point of view. Unlike previous chapters, this chapter has been written entirely in monologue form.I’ll be writing the second part of this recount much later on due to some details… [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]Louis was the first friend I’d made after being admitted to this facility. We met on one of the days I was lounging around in the recreational area. Upon awakening a couple of days after one of Doctor Heine’s therapies, I decided to get a change of scenery. Since the access level for a patient is limited, I wandered about listlessly between the 5th and 3rd floors before eventually finding myself standing in front of tw
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CH 30: The Annex Building
[Brien] [The following day at 6.06 am --- 30 October 2021, Saturday…] [5th floor of the facility] The sounds of footsteps echoed loudly along the long, lonely hallway as the group walked solemnly towards a connecting bridge of the annex building. There were a total of four connecting bridges to the annex building, namely on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. However, the bridge on the fifth floor was chosen because Brien wanted to get a high vantage point upon entry in order to access the situation. ‘It would have been better if the entry on the sixth floor wasn’t blocked by vending machines and chairs on the other side of the door. I must admit that it’s highly suspicious, but it was a good thing that the heavy, metal door had a glass panel just above the doorknob and allowed us to see what was blocking the door… It would have been a disaster if we unknowingly bulldozed our way through that threshold, causing the machines and chairs to collapse and resultingly attracting
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