Nation 27

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. Hopefully someday soon, I’ll be as strong as David. I’ve never seen someone as strong and resourceful as him.’

“Yes! Like this~” Clara said in a sing-song tune.

Adam continued to ignore her and burrowed his face deeper into his head pillow.

‘I’ve already learned so much from him, but I still have a long way to go… I need to be able to protect Clara. We are the only family we both have… Ma, Pa… I’ll do you both proud-’

“Mm~ Yes~”

‘...Even if your daughter is a little odd,’ Adam sighed.

‘Oh. Speaking of which, I wonder how are Brien’s and Mike’s fighting skills are like. Unlike David who is aggressive, the two could be more on the defensive side. In fact, I wonder who the winner would be if the men were to fight with each other. Yeah, that would be-’

“Hehe~” Clara giggled.

Adam half-growled and rose from his bed.

Clara immediately stopped giggling.

“Oops! Did I wake you?”

“No, I never got to fall asleep because of a certain someone…” Adam replied grumpily.

“Ah, sorry~”

Adam lifted a brow.

“What were you writing about?”

“Oh! Uh… You know, stuff…”

“What kind of stuff? Is it for a script or something else?”

“It’s for my blog… Well, supposing that this zombie-thing finally ends…”

“Yes, that seems reasonable,” Adam said as he got out of bed, “What were you writing about?”

“Erm… Life…?”

“Uh huh?” Adam stood with crossed arms as he stared at her.

“I…” Clara gulped.

Moments passed without a sound from either sibling.

“Let me see that,” Adam finally said as he reached for her notepad.

“Ah! No, you can’t!!!” 

Clara struggled to hold on to the notepad but it was already a won battle whenever it came to physical strength. It was not long before Adam had successfully snatched the notepad.

“Hah… I should have known,” Adam just looked at his sister in exasperation, “A romantic fantasy! Really?!”

“Well, I had some ideas, and they came out quite nicely…”

“But did you really have to pair up our friends and write delusional fantasies of them?” Adam questioned as he flipped through the pages.

“It’s just for fun. It’s not as if someone will be hurt if-”

“I don’t know how I’m going to face them after reading this. The story is about the men having a love triangle… How does that make sense?”

“It does!” Clara retorted, “Thinking about how subservient Mike is to Brien. Many of times, I don’t see any sort of signings or words being passed between them and Mike somehow always knows what Brien wants of him. Then we have David. That muscular, hot-head who is extremely protective of Brien~ Doesn’t that excite-”

Adam, who was glancing through the pages, gasped.

“What kind of love story is this? It’s not even a love triangle! You wrote here that Brien has some sort of a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ relationship with Boyan while pining after Louis?! Are you out of your mind?! One is a missing comrade while the other is probably young enough to be his grandson!”

“It’s a romantic fantasy, not an article. I can write whatever I want… Are you saying that it’s forbidden to have a crush on someone younger? How can you be so-”

“Clara, just a few years ago, Louis was a minor. Brien, from his appearance, is probably in his late 40s. Are you being serious right now?”

Clara huffed in annoyance.

“That’s why Brien is not acting on his desires. What kind of person do you think I am? It’s just a little zest for a potential drama aspect. Besides…” Clara leaned close and spoke in a low tone, “It’s not as if it’s completely false. Have you seen the way Brien has been staring at Louis? Although there are no expressions that I can read into, it is a constant thing.”

“Wha-”

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

“Yes?” Adam asked without moving an inch.

“It’s me, Mike,” a familiar, calm tone replied from outside the door.

“Ah, yes!” Adam immediately unlocked and opened the door, “Is something the matter?”

Unlike the others, Brien and Mike alongside Louis have been scouting the few entry points to the annex building before later scouring through all related surveillance footage to the annex building.

‘Did they discover something bad?’ Adam wondered upon seeing Mike’s solemn expression.

“After a thorough search and investigation, we’ve decided on a route that would provide us the best chance of safely entering the annex building. But due to a couple of variables, time is of the essence and we’d like to enter the building as soon as possible.”

“...How soon are we talking about?” Adam asked as Clara held on to his right arm.

“Tomorrow morning, when the Sun is up and shining.”

“Oh…”

“Brien is going to have a discussion now. Come down to the 3rd floor.”

The siblings shared a look before following after Mike.

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[Jared]

[3rd floor of the facility --- recreational area…]

[10.42 pm]

As the rest begin to gather around a table, Jared glanced up at the large clock which hung at the very center of the recreational area.

‘Why do I feel so anxious whenever I look at a clock? …Is it because I’d then be reminded of the amount of time I’ve spent trapped in this facility?’

As the hand of the clock ticked away, Jared could feel his heart rate quickening. Placing a hand on his chest, he attempted to slow down his breathing as an act of calming down.

“Jared, are you alright?” Louis immediately asked upon seeing Jared’s behavior.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”

“Ah, you should rest as soon as this discussion is done.”

“Mm,” Jared smiled slightly.

Louis watched Jared’s expression for a few more moments before continuing to help Brien set up some objects on the table.

Once Louis’ attention was no longer on him, Jared’s smile faded. There was a worried look on his face.

‘For how much longer do I need to pretend?’

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[Question time:]

Do you think that any of Clara’s fantasies hold any meaning or important information? What do you think is Jared’s intention? Why is he pretending to be alright, or to be in a certain way? Is this a glimpse of Jared’s true personality?

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