Employees Of The Unnamed Convenience Store

…

I stood up from the cement.

From the moment I woke up, this place was supernaturally foreign to me.

Shit…

Where the hell am I..?

I looked back at the front of the convenience store.

And walked up to the entrance so I could inspect the store’s design.

It looked like a plain old convenience store…

Specifically, it has white brick walls and has a red double-roof on top.

But…

… What the hell..?

The weird part was that there wasn’t any brand name or logo for identification.

What kind of company does this store belong to?

Literally, it was an unnamed convenience store.

…

Well this is certainly a weird predicament.

For now, let’s just head back into the store.

There doesn’t seem to be much outside, other than the terrifying veil of black sludge.

I walked back inside the building.

Once again, welcomed by the entry chime.

Ding~!

I am greeted by the unusually empty gondola shelves and lonely counter.

Hmmm...

I should probably look around.

Step. Step. Step.

From the outside, the building was about the size of a typical convenience store.

However, it felt like the concept of space inside the store was distorted.

The convenience store was unconventionally spacious inside.

If I had to describe it, the entire room was about 2-3 playgrounds wide.

As for the ceiling, I couldn’t even reach it even if I jumped from the counter.

Though, I was only 5 '5. Someone who’s 6 ’6 with long arms could probably touch the ceiling with a light jump.

I’d argue the distance between the floor and ceiling was about 3 times my height.

As for the interior…

When you enter the store, you are greeted by a small counter on the right side.

On the left are 5 aisles with abnormally high gondola shelves.

But as I said before… They were empty.

Following along the gondola shelves to the back, there was a long display refrigerator.

Just like the gondola shelves, there was nothing stored inside.

But…

I opened one of the sliders of the long refrigerator.

Creak.

It seems like there was electricity still powering the temperature-cooling system.

Close-

Or rather... This entire place was still running on electricity.

Now…

Next to the refrigerator, at the edge of the store, was a long hallway with a sign hanging at the entrance header.

‘Employees Lounge and Storage Room’

The storage room…

Shudder.

For some reason, I didn’t want to go into that hallway.

Static flashbacks of unknown origin reminded me of extreme fear and hopelessness.

I-I’ll come back to this area later.

I walked back over to the counter.

There was a bullet-proof glass screen that protected the counter.

In the middle was an oval-shaped hole for handing over items and money.

Within the protected space of the counter, was a cash register with a long receipt dangling on the side.

Seems like someone ordered a long list of supplies..?

But there doesn’t seem to be anyone in this store.

I walked to the left of the counter to head around the back.

Huh..?

I didn’t notice this before.

On the left side of the counter, there were magazine display racks.

But… Unlike the refrigerator and gondola shelves… It was filled with rolled up newspapers.

Though, the newspapers themselves varied in color and sizes.

Weird…

I took one out of the racks.

It was a small blue newspaper.

And opened it up.

My eyes scanned the header,

“Declaration of War…”

Huh..?

“Territorial fight between the Privileged Society and the Outerback Slums..?”

What is this…

I immediately started to the read the coverage content,

“On September 14th, 3004… John Wayne, leader of the Outerbacks, made history by successfully destroying the Energy Barrier that protected the Privileged Society from zombie invasions…”

As I continued reading… I became increasingly more confused at the contents of the newspaper.

What the fuck am I reading?

I continued...

…

…

…

Finishing the contents, I closed the newspaper.

Let me get this straight…

The coverage was set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies…

With two distinct societies: The Privileged and the Outerbacks.

The Privileged were normal people who lived comfortable lives while hiding within a small country, called Zeal, protected by Energy Barriers.

the Outerbacks were barbarians that were left outside of the Energy Barriers, having to fend for themselves from zombies.

This article was covering a massive event where John Wayne breached through the Energy Barrier, and caused havoc within the country of Zeal.

…

Stupid fake newspapers… Seriously, whoever made this article should start a fanfiction.

I crumpled up the newspaper and threw it somewhere in the room.

Crumple.

Once again, I took out another newspaper.

It was orange and rusty, it seemed like an antique.

Open-

“The Mysterious Disappearances In Cadeum Academy.”

What the hell-

“June 9th, 1824… The authorities have identified a pattern for the string of disappearances occurring within the prestigious school of heroes, Cadeum Academy.”

…

This time, it was about a world of superpowers. Where humans have successfully integrated superpowers into society.

Defining and establishing groups such as: Professional Heroes, Villains, Vigilantes…

Specifically, there was a group consisting of a powerhouse of heroes called the International Coalition For Peace.

Fighting against a terrorist group of villains called the Restorational Anti-Hero Association.

But this article specifically covered about the mysterious disappearances happening in the best superhero academy in the world, Cadeum.

…

Crumple.

…

…

Seriously, what the fuck did I just read?