End of the world (1)

This story begins in a hospital's waiting room, on August 26.

On the wall, there was a poster where it was written 'Welcome to the emergency room of Nantes's UTH'.

Ah, I'm bored.

Sitting in a wheelchair among other people waiting for a physical examination, I took out my phone and checked if new chapters of my favorite novels came out. However, there was nothing.

I absentmindedly stared at my phone screen, not knowing what to do.

I hadn't eaten since this morning and it was already the afternoon.

I'm hungry.

I went to the message app and decided to ask for photos of food.

Looking through my contacts, I clicked on a friend's number.

My contacts can be divided into 4 types of persons: my family, my classmates, people I don't talk to since years ago, and friends.

I first sent a message to Friend Number 1.

- Do you have pictures of food to send me?

- I warn you, the emergency service doesn't feed people. If you need to go ask your parents to feed you before you come.

Then, I switched to Friend Number 2.

- Do you have pictures of food to send me?

- Pleeease…

Friend Number 2 answered immediately.

Friend Number 2: Why?

Me: Because I'm in the emergency room and I haven't eaten since this morning.

Me: Show me what's edible in the world please, I miss it so much! They don't even feed people these ***!

While that friend was searching for pictures of food, I reiterated my request to Friend Number 3.

- Send me pictures of food please!

- This is for your frieeend! Moreover, nobody is responding to me!

Well, I have only three friends…

Then, I received pictures of food from Friend Number 2.

Friend Number 2: Why are you in the emergency room?

Friend Number 2: *more pictures*

Me: Thank you. You at least, you're a true friend.

Friend Number 2: Thank you. Why, did the others not want to?

Friend Number 2: And just sending these pictures makes me hungry.

I looked through the pictures one by one, trying to ease my hunger.

Me: I fainted at the hairdresser. So the haircut is not complete~.

Friend Number 2: 🤣🤣

Me: Others aren't answering.

Friend Number 2: Ah rip.

Friend Number 2: I just looked through more than 3000 pictures to send you food.

Me: You're fast.

Friend Number 2: Well, I tried to hurry.

I sent him the picture of the poster on the wall.

Friend Number 2: 👍

On it was written 'NO to violence in the hospital.' in big letters as well as 'In accordance to articles 433-3 and 222-8 of the penal code.' in smaller letters under it.

Me: I think there is violence in the hospital. I don't know why…

Friend Number 2: But it's stupid.

Me: There's even the NO in capital letters and two articles of the law in asterisk.

I switched to Friend Number 3.

Friend Number 3: I don't have any pictures of food 🤣

Me: Liaaar!

Friend Number 3: Wait, I'm searching.

Two minutes later, I received more pictures.

Friend Number 3: I only have this.

Me: Thank you~.

Friend Number 3: You're welcome.

I received another message from Friend number 2.

Friend Number 2: That's true.

Me: UTH is also in capital letters. They're really enraged.

Friend Number 2: 🤣

The poster had three lines in capital letters accompanied by paragraphs of smaller letters below them. They were: 'Welcome to the emergency room of Nantes's UTH', 'Be accompanied' and 'NO to violence in the hospital'.

Me: Must admit that the first point highlighted is still 'Welcome to the emergency room of Nantes'.

Friend Number 2: That's true. It's to make people be at ease.

Me: After that it's 'be accompanied' then it explains that it's for people lying down.

Friend Number 2: Ah.

I yawned.

Me: We can feel that this poster tells very deep things.

Friend Number 2: 🤣

Me: And I'm going to search for articles 433-3 and 222-8 of the penal code if they don't let me out.

Friend Number 2: Oh okay.

Me: We learn new things everyday, now you know the numbers of the articles of the penal code on violence in the hospital. It's so useful 👍.

Friend Number 2: Yes.

Then, I continued to talk to many people at the same time.

Friend Number 1: What

Friend Number 1: Wut

Friend Number 1: Whatisit

Friend Number 1: Whatsthematter

Friend Number 1: Is there a problem?

Me: The matter is that I haven't eaten since this morning since-

I sent the picture of the poster on the wall as an explanation.

Friend Number 1: Since?

Friend Number 1: Why are you in the hospital???

Friend Number 1: Did you have an allergic reaction?

Me: I fainted.

Friend Number 1: Why?

Me: Nothing but I was originally at the hairdresser so they didn't finish the haircut~.

Friend Number 1: But

Friend Number 1: You fainted just like that?

Me: 'Just like that', no. I tried to not faint before that. So the pictures of food~?

After a while, I received an answer from Friend Number 1.

Number 1: Lol, I'll send it as soon as possible.

Me: Thank you. ☺️

Friend Number 1: *pictures of food*

Me: Thank you~.

Friend Number 1: *more pictures of food*

Friend Number 1: Here.

Friend Number 1: Are you free tomorrow?

Me: Yes.

Friend Number 1: Nice.

Me: Why, do you want to come?

Friend Number 1: Yes, are you free?

Me: At what time?

Friend Number 1: Around 2 p.m.?

Me: Ok. See you tomorrow.

It's so long, when will it finally be my turn?

Since my phone would soon be out of battery, I put it down and tried to close my eyes.

It has been so long since I fainted, why do I still feel dizzy?

Shouldn't I stop feeling bad by now?

I leaned back in the wheelchair but felt even worse with my eyes closed.

A brown-haired nurse opened the door of the check-up room she was is, letting the patient she was talking to leave, and called out the name of someone.

However, it still wasn't my turn.

A man with a ponytail got up and followed the brown-haired nurse into the room before closing the door.

Meanwhile, a male nurse came to check on the little girl holding a teddy bear in her arms who was lying on a chair connected to a heart monitor in a corner of the room.

"How are you feeling?"

The little girl replied:

"Fine."

"Do you feel pain anywhere? Or are you dizzy?"

"No."

The male nurse wrote it down and asked more questions.

My elbow resting on the armrest of the wheelchair with my hand on my cheek, I looked at all this.

Then, the stranger on my right spoke up.

"It's so long, when will it be our turn?"

I turned to the person complaining. It was a young woman who seemed to be in her thirties with a bandaged arm. She was dressed in casual clothes, had short blond hair and sharp facial features.

She was staring at me.

"It's boring, isn't it?"

I nodded.

"Yes."

The young woman continued to chatter.

"It should take a long time due to the lack of manpower in hospitals. It often appears in the news how they aren't paid enough."

"…Yes."

"By the way, since we're mentioning the news, have you heard about it? The terrorist organization Iblis has struck again. They destroyed the Jardin des Plantes this time. Last time, it was the City Hall…"

I reluctantly answered.

"No, I didn't know."

After that, unable to stand the silence, the woman complained.

"I've been waiting here for two hours. I hope they will come soon."

I nodded.

"Originally, I was riding a bike with friends near Loire when I fell and fractured my arm. We had to call an ambulance and they gave me first aid on the way here. And you, why are you here?"

…Ma'am, could you stop speaking to me? I don't feel good.

I politely replied.

"I fainted."

Bored, the young woman continued to babble.

"Ah, youth these days. Young people often have anorexia. You are thin enough, you should eat more."

I'm an adult, Ma'am.

I politely nodded.

"I know someone who forced herself to vomit her meals and was anorexic. You shouldn't take it lightly, not eating enough is bad for your health."

I nodded again.

No, please, I beg you, stop speaking to me. I don't want to talk.

And I'm not anorexic, the only reason I didn't eat lunch today is because I'm stuck here since this morning.

At that moment, a commotion was heard from the corridor.

A frowning man in a suit wearing glasses and neat clothes entered the emergency room while pushing a boy in a wheelchair holding a dog.

A red-haired nurse rushed to them and the angry man yelled at her.

"Why can't my son be checked in priority?! He has a weak health. With all the money I've given to this hospital, shouldn't you at least treat my son?"

I was dumbfounded.

Wow, so people like that exist?

The red-haired nurse tried to calm him down.

"Sir, don't be so loud, and you aren't allowed to bring pets here."

The apparently rich man was enraged.

"Are you ignoring me? Is it because I'm only a vice-director?! If you are so ungrateful, maybe I should take back the funds I gave you!"

The rich man with an inferiority complex toward the director screamed at the red-haired nurse.

"No, Sir. Please calm down, we will treat your son…"

As I silently stared at the scene, my mouth slightly agape, the young woman next to me intervened.

"Hey, don't you see you're disturbing everyone? You should wait like all the others. I've been waiting here for my turn for hours."

Ma'am, don't you think you're making the situation worse?

If they ask, I don't know you.

"What?! How dare you, are you underestimating me because I am only the vice-director of this hospital?"

I still don't understand how such a shameless man can exist in reality. The only person I've ever seen scream in public before was a mentally ill person who hurled insults at the people around him, until others finally snapped and yelled back at him because they were annoyed to be sworn at by a stranger.

So, is this man mentally ill or was he only raised with a severe case of insecurity and inferiority complex?

I think he should just be paranoid, like the people who always think you're speaking behind their backs. In that case, if he's used to think that people are questioning his authority, it's useless to try to talk to him since he won't understand…

The young woman argued with the rich man.

"I didn't even know you were this hospital's vice-director or whatever, and I don't care. All I know is that you're bothering others by shouting like you're doing."

Stop Ma'am, he's just paranoid. Moreover, you're shouting too.

In the wheelchair, the rich man's son silently stared at the scene while holding his dog. It was a teenager with messy brown hair and blank eyes.

The dog got out of his arms and jumped down. Then, the teenager reached out to try to catch it but failed.

Cute little boy, please don't grow up like your father.

Meanwhile, the red-haired nurse attempted to stop the argument in panic but didn't succeed either, and the dog wandered elsewhere.

It arrived next to me and sniffed the hand of the young woman.

Frowning, I shrank back to avoid it while it bypassed me and the young woman caressed its fur.

I sighed and subconsciously turned on my phone, bored.

Then, I decided to check the number of views on my stories. It's like when I analyze the writing style of the author while reading a novel, it's an occupational disease.

I can't help but be curious, so it became a habit to calculate how many more views there are since the last time I checked.

I glanced at my latest novel titled 'How To Survive at the Border of Hell', which was still ongoing.

It's less popular than my other stories, not that my other novels were popular to begin with.

I always write failed novels.

Number of views: 257.

It was two more than last time. I wonder if it means that around 200 people read my novel or if they added the number of views of each chapter. I think it is the latter.

However…

'There aren't even 300 views.'

Compared to my fanfictions with thousands or tens of thousands of views, this wasn't much.

I don't know why I wrote an original story. It's just that I wanted to try writing a real novel for once…

Then, the hour changed from 17:12 to 17:13 and the lights turned off.

The screen on my phone also changed and the novel which was previously there disappeared.

A green panel suddenly appeared in front of my eyes, the message written on it also being read out by a mechanical voice so that both deaf, blind or illiterate people could understand its content.

[The program has finished loading.]

[Analyzing the people present here…]

This corresponded exactly to what happened in my novel 'How To Survive at the Border of Hell'.

At that moment, I knew that a long apocalypse would begin.

[The scenarios will now begin.]

This August 26, in the emergency room of Nantes's University Hospital, and in many other places around the world, a massacre was about to take place.

[Prove yourself...]

As the lights were turned back on, I looked around the room.

[…And good luck.]