[A/N: Hello everyone.
New cover, what do you think of this one?
Important chapter. As I've already mentioned, the days will pass much faster than usual, drawing ever closer to the day when it all begins.
Comment or support with power stones.]
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In Alex's room.
"I thought it would last a little longer", I thought resignedly. I had a feeling the dreams would stop helping me because of the failures of the previous two days, but I never believed they would go away forever.
I wanted to sink into despair, but I knew I wouldn't get any answers by remaining dejected. The first time the dreams failed, I spent a long time grieving for something so important, but I only lost time, and perhaps the opportunity to remember key things about the base that was located in the opposite direction from the kindergarten.
I knew I should get up, start my morning routine, get ready for the morning shift at work, then withdraw all the money from my savings account at the bank, and begin preparing everything I could to face this approaching apocalypse. However, this time I will prepare to know that the future after the last dream is unknown to me.
"You give me something and then take it away. God, you're quite cruel", I said in a sarcastic voice as I stared up at the ceiling, as if looking beyond it, communicating with the one I thought had given me a gift that would last forever.
A couple of hours later.
I had finished my new shift, which was only in the mornings, and was a little exhausted. It wasn't that the workload had increased because of this new shift, but mentally I felt tired. I wanted to ignore the frustration of losing my gift, but every now and then some memory of my dreams came back to me, not letting me work in peace.
"I should have just quit", I said with annoyance as I drove toward the bank.
It took me about 15 minutes to get there. Since it's a Monday, the streets are jammed every hour, which made me arrive later than I had agreed with the executive. However, given the importance of this agreement to the executive, I assume there would be no problem in delaying the meeting a little.
"Good morning, I'm here for a meeting with an executive regarding an appraisal", I told the Customer Service representative.
"Sure, tell me your name", she replied in a helpful tone.
"It's scheduled under Alex's name…", I was saying to the manager when a voice coming from the offices interrupted our conversation.
"Mr. Alex, I was expecting you", said the executive I spoke to earlier, inviting me into his office.
"Sorry for the delay; traffic is terrible today", I said apologetically.
"I understand, don't worry. It must be the military and police who cordoned off a couple of streets this morning", he said, unconcerned about my delay.
"Did something serious happen?", I asked suspiciously.
"It's nothing serious. According to my boss, it's a joint rehearsal exercise between the two forces. They're also inspecting key utility installations, you know, gas, electricity, water, and the grid, among other things", he said casually.
"It seems like it's getting closer and closer, and they're aware of this", I thought upon hearing his response.
"Well, Alex… We can be a little more informal, right?", he asked me in a friendly tone.
"Sure, no problem", I replied. "It seems like you're getting a pretty good commission on this deal", I thought upon seeing his attitude.
"I have good news. First, your withdrawal has been approved, and you can withdraw your money today. However, if you need all this money for an investment, we can handle the transactions directly for you without you having to risk carrying so much cash", he said in a serious but friendly tone.
"Great… No need, I need the cash", I said, rejecting his proposal.
"No problem", he said. "On the other hand, the appraisal of your property has turned out to be very successful. The estimated value is higher than you assumed. However, the type of loan you requested will remain the same, but at the current appraisal price. You will also be able to access these funds starting tomorrow; if you wish, you can withdraw them in full or in small amounts. The money will be credited to a temporary account for security", the executive explained without stopping.
"That's very good news. Thank you very much for your help", I said, a little surprised by the increase in the property's value. This extra money would be very useful for me to prepare more things.
"I know you're a busy man, and I don't want to bother you any further. If you want, we can sign the papers right away", he suggested.
"Yes, I'll sign them right away", I said.
A couple of hours later.
"Sir, you already have three confirmed leases with our company alone", said the executive from a real estate leasing office. "I must tell you that I have to inform my superiors about this", she said tactfully.
"Sure, no problem", I said, not giving much thought to his suspicions.
"Mr. Alex?", said the company owner.
"Yes, that's me", I replied.
"From what I understand, you've been requesting leases for three different properties in our company, and now you're requesting another. I know this may sound a little rude. What's the purpose of making these leases?", he asked me subtly. "You're free not to respond, but unfortunately, I'll have to reject the rest of your requests if your response poses a threat to the integrity of our properties", he said without hesitation.
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[A/N: I don't know how real estate agencies deal with people who hoard properties, and I don't know if the government should interfere. If anyone knows, please share it in the comments.]
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"I'm in charge of locating new engineers and technicians for our technology company. They come from different countries, and we'll have private accommodation for each of them. Unfortunately, I can't explain much more because they're still trade secrets, but I was allowed to show you the funds, which we'll manage exclusively for your company", I explained the excuse I'd thought of a while back while showing him the record of the new temporary account with the funds I'd have available tomorrow.
"I see", he said, accepting my explanation. "However, why are you making the payments in cash?", he asked hesitantly.
"That's because we have competitors who are headhunting some of the engineers we've contacted. Unfortunately, I can't explain much more than that. However, I can offer to sign a voluntary lease termination agreement for one month if you find that our operations or the people who are renting those properties aren't meeting your standards", I said, offering him a deal that might allay his suspicions. I'd never been in a meeting like that before, but I used all my acting talent, and some of the lines I'd seen in movies, to try to get those houses.
"Yes, we signed that agreement. I have no reason to reject your request. In fact, I can offer you similar properties in different parts of the city, or outside of it. If your number of properties increases, we could even give you a different price for the joint lease. However, you must include an agreement in the clauses to rewrite the contract in the name of the company once it opens", he said, accepting my proposal.
"We'll do it however you want", I said, accepting his new terms.
That night.
"Fuuu... What a tiring day", I said after letting out a long sigh. "At least now I have access to eight houses whose security will be very easy to improve", I thought after remembering the agreement with the real estate agency.
They were very friendly and cooperative after I signed the agreement. I managed to secure eight houses in different locations around the city for less than the market price, but I had to pay a larger down payment on the rental of the properties. I was fortunate that the money I had withdrawn from my account was enough for that payment, but that left me with very little cash to buy things for today. I will have to wait until tomorrow to withdraw part of the loan and start buying supplies.
"Alex, I can get the medications for you, but we have to pay in cash no later than Wednesday", Ron texted me.
"Good news to end the day", I said wearily. "Thanks so much, Ron. Give me the address to go with you, I'll have the money ready", I texted back.
"I hope I can dream about the future again", I said in a tone that showed little hope before falling asleep.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 5 days until day 0.
"I guess that's a done deal", I said regretfully, noticing that once again I hadn't dreamed anything. I felt frustrated, but not as much as the day before.
The morning went by just like the day before: wake up, eat, go to work, talk with Rick, say hello to David, and finish early. However, there was one difference: I didn't feel as exhausted as I had the day before. My mind had already assumed that my dreams wouldn't return, and since there were only a few days left until everything began, I couldn't just sit idly by, waiting for everything to resolve itself; I had to gather determination and control my own destiny.
The afternoon, unlike the day before, was quite different, but it all started in the same place: the bank. I went back to that den of thieves to withdraw part of the money I already had available. I met with the executive in charge of my agreement, who kindly reminded me that I would have a six-month grace period, and then I would have to start paying the loan installments.
After leaving the bank, I returned to the real estate company to get the keys to the eight houses and made copies to give later to the teachers who would work on improving their defenses. Then I went to a security company that would install a surveillance system in each of the houses. For an extra fee, they would do it as quickly as possible, and I only had to leave them copies of the keys.
Next, I went to a company that rented containers. After some negotiation, I managed to get access to five of them and their respective keys. I would only buy the best lock available on the market for these, to replace the fragile lock provided by the company. The advantage of this company was that I could have access to the container location 24/7, which helped me move some materials that needed to be kept secret, such as weapons and medicines. After finishing the containers, I went to a construction company with my home improvement orders for the houses I had rented, and like all businesses, I had to pay a little more so they could work as quickly as possible. The price they asked me was much less than I thought, which made me somewhat happy.
Leaving the construction company, I headed to the cheapest wholesale supermarket in town and spent all my funds buying a wide variety of food, toiletries, and other items. I started by purchasing things that had a long shelf life to store in the containers, and then I would rent some with refrigeration capacity to store some perishable food, which I would buy in the last few days before the chaos began.
At night.
"Another very tiring day. At least in the mornings I don't feel as tired as before", I said, remembering how tired I felt after the dreams.
I was lying in bed, having spent much of the afternoon filling two of the five containers with things. I didn't separate the items by type, but rather left a portion of each type in each one in case I lost some keys and didn't have quick access to any of them.
"See you tomorrow", Ron texted me. "I have bad news", he continued.
"What's going on?", I replied.
"I have information from every city in the country. The army is moving in all of them under the guise of joint exercises or checking essential supplies, but we both know that's not the case", he wrote. Seeing his confirmation of my fears only made me panic again; I had even seen them today checking some places in the city.
"It seems there's no denying it anymore", I wrote to Ron regretfully.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
The cover image was generated with x's AI, grok. I spent an entire afternoon making corrections, hahaha.
I hope you liked it.
Comment if you'd like another cover.
The title of the next chapter is: Days that pass quickly (N)
Read my other novel, Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
You can find it on my profile.]