Nation 27

CH 20: Unease

Warning:

This chapter contains a slight indication of Derealization Disorder that might be uncomfortable for certain readers. Please read at your own discretion.

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[About a week later--- 14 October 2021, Thursday]

[6th floor of the facility--- Doctor Heine’s room…]

*Tick*

*Tick-tock*

*Tick-tock, tick-tock*

The ticking from a clock echoed loudly within the enclosed mint-colored room. All alone and isolated in the room, Jared continued to scribble on a paper he had found in one of the drawers.

‘So, by my count, I’ve been in this world for about 127 days… I’ve been in this facility for about three months,’ Jared thought as he drew out a timeline chart.

*Tick-tock*

‘A lot has happened yet I haven’t been able to make any progress in terms of returning to my own world. Besides…’ Jared paused and tapped his left hand onto his hip. 

When nothing happened, Jared simply sighed.

‘...the system is still on the fritz.’

*Tick-tock*

Jared gritted his teeth as he tried to focus on his train of thought. Although the sound of the clock was beginning to annoy him, Jared refused to reach out and shut it off. In a strange way, it was calming to have a constant sound in the background since he was the only person on the fifth floor.

‘Hah… Isn’t it strange that I frequent this room more than even my own? Worse, this is the room I hate most in this facility…’ Jared laughed bitterly as he glanced at a bed that has been rolled toward a corner of the room. Upon seeing the straps at the ends of the bed, a slight shiver went up Jared’s spine.

Jared squeezed his eyes shut.

“Never again,” he muttered to himself.

*Knock, knock, knock*

The sudden sound startled Jared.

“Jared, are you in there?” a feminine voice called out from the other side of the door.

“Ah, yes… I’m in here. The door’s open,” Jared answered as he attempted to hide the sheet he had been scribbling on. He then grabbed a random book from a nearby shelf and placed it in front of him.

“Hey, Jare- Oh! I’m sorry for suddenly popping in. I must have surprised you, huh? Looks like you were busy working on something,” Samantha entered with a shallow bowl in hand.

Jared was about to check on his scribbled sheet to ensure it was still hidden but stopped just in time. 

‘Calm down. I’m sure I’ve hidden it… Anyway, I wrote it out in my own code. Aside from the timeline, she shouldn’t be able to understand anything else that has been written…’

“...Oh? What makes you say that?” Jared asked as calmly as possible.

*Tick*

‘Stay calm… After all that has happened to me, I don’t need more people listening to my truth… She’ll only think that my meds- though I’ve been only pretending to consume them- are not working. Things may only worsen… I mean, neither my own mother nor best friends believed me…’

*Tick-tock*

“Oh, I was guessing… I haven’t seen you in a while, and you’ve been spending most of your free time reading up on stuff,” Samantha trailed off as she gazed pointedly at the book Jared had placed on the table.

‘Ah… I was worried for nothing. She didn’t notice anything amiss…’ Jared exhaled a breath he was unconsciously holding.

“I just want to learn more about various subjects in case things worsen. Even if it doesn’t, I still need to find my mother. I need to know that she’s safe…”

“Jared, you should just stay here. It’ll be safer…” Samantha just watched him with eyes of pity and concern.

“I know, but I can’t just stay here indefinitely. At least, not without knowing…”

“Ah, I understand…” Samantha mumbled awkwardly. 

‘I should change the topic. Samantha doesn’t like it whenever I talk about leaving,’ Jared thought when he noticed Samantha’s saddened expression.

“So, is there something I can help you with? Oh… Is it about one of the patients?” Jared asked.

“Oh, no. Nothing like that… I just brought your lunch,” Samantha placed the shallow bowl she had been carrying onto the table.

“Ah,” Jared laughed, “I really wasn’t paying attention to what you were holding in your hand.”

Samantha laughed as well.

“See? You clearly have been pushing yourself too much!” Samantha pretended to be angry by putting her hands on her hips and pouted in the most exaggerated way.

However, this only made the two laugh even harder. It took them nearly a minute or so before they could stop their laughing fit.

“Haha… Hm… You know, I could have gone downstairs to get my lunch,” Jared said.

“Yeah, but you often forget the time and would end up eating hours past lunchtime. So, when you weren’t down by 12.30 pm today, I decided to bring up the meal for you.”

“Ah,” Jared rubbed the back of his head, “Thanks, Samantha. That’s very considerate of you.”

“No worries, and it’s ‘Sam’.”

“S-Sam,” Jared said hesitantly.

‘Hah… I don’t know why I can’t ever get used to calling Samantha and Louis by their nicknames. I’ve been friends with them for quite a while now yet I can’t get around to doing it… I wonder why…’

*Tick-tock*

“By the way, did you guys ever manage to find that figure the siblings saw outside the perimeter?” Samantha asked.

‘Oh yeah… Samantha has been very busy handling the patients and was thus, unable to help with the search… In fact, it has been getting more difficult to see her these days…’

“No, we didn’t find anyone. There didn’t seem to be a breach within the premises either. We’re beginning to think that the person didn’t ‘make it’... But regardless, we’re still staying on the lookout for anything unusual.”

“I see…”

“Samant- Ahem… Sam, I noticed that you’re getting busier with handling the patients. It must be difficult doing it all on your own. How about I give you a hand?”

But Samantha looked somewhat uncomfortable.

“That’s sweet of you. Really. But I’ve got it all under control. It’s my job anyway… Ah!” Samantha clapped her hands together as if she remembered something, “That reminds me… You should take your meal now. Sorry, I just got carried away talking about other matters.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all… Also, sorry for the trouble, and thanks for the… stew...”

Jared stared at the dish with unease.

*Tick… Tick-tock*

“What is it, Jared? Is something wrong?” Samantha asked with her head tilted to the side.

“Ah, n-nothing at all. Just… tired, I guess. Haha.”

“Okay then. I’ll leave you to it. Don’t be picky, and make sure to finish everything!” Samantha said as she headed towards the door.

“Ah… I’ll try…”

Jared sighed when Samantha left the room. Picking up the fork, he poked around at his food.

‘I don’t know if I’m just tired of eating the same dish for most of my meals or…’ 

Jared attempted to stab his fork into one of the meatballs. However, the meatball slipped from under the pressure of his fork. 

“Oh,” Jared exclaimed as the meatball rolled off the table and fell onto the floor.

‘The meat is quite tough… I wonder what kind of meat it is. I don’t think it’s chicken…’

As Jared picked up the meatball from the floor, he noticed that it had landed on one of the patients’ case files that were stacked on the floor. There was a gravy splotch left from the meatball.

Jared attempted to wipe off the splotch with the end of his shirt, but a faint stain remained on the file. Sighing resignedly, Jared was about to put the files into one of the cabinets that had other similar documents when he abruptly paused.

‘Wait… After entering this room so many times, how come I’ve never come across my file?’

Jared slotted in the patient file that was in his hand and turned to look around the room.

“I’ve already checked every shelf, drawer, and cabinet in this room… twice…” Jared said out loud before settling in his chair.

*Tick*

‘Maybe this is only Doctor Heine’s office, and his bedroom is somewhere on this floor? No… We’ve already checked all the rooms on the sixth floor, and none seem to be inhabited at all…’

*Tick-tock*

Jared’s jaw clenched as he heard the annoying sound again. Mildly annoyed, he started the tap the table with his finger as he continued to ponder.

“Wait… In a facility as enormous as this, how come I’ve only found a few dozen files? There must be another archive that I’ve missed…”

*Tick-tock*

“Hahhh…” Jared huffed in frustration.

‘I don’t usually notice the clock, but it’s especially irritating today. Perhaps I could just switch it off or leave it outside the room. Otherwise, the constant ticking is going to drive me insane.’

Without looking, Jared reached across the table towards the opposite edge. But when he felt only an empty space, Jared looked toward the direction he assumed the clock to be located.

“No way…” he said in bewilderment, “I clearly heard the-”

*Tick-tock*

Jared whirled around quickly.

“Where is it?” he started to look around the room as paranoia began to swell within his chest.

*Tick-tock*

*Tick-tock*

*Tick-tock*

Then Jared came to an eerie realization.

“No…”

No matter which side of the room he ran to, the sound of the clock ticking never seem to fade nor become louder.

‘But I’ve seen the clock before… right?’

*Tick*

*Tick-tock*

“Didn’t I?!”

*Tick-tock*

*Tick-tock*

*Tick-tock*

“Ah!” Jared exclaimed as he felt a familiar throbbing in his head.

“What’s happening?”

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[[Author’s note:]]

This chapter is on Day 127.

*The ‘present’ (the prologue, which is listed as part of chapter 1) is Day 305.

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