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Hi. As I said on my last review on Part 2.2, it's easy to read which I like. I must agree with @Vita they are oddly calm. I think in the 2.2 part we can get the tension better. I found it interesting when Maria said "I’m not really anything, I just read books and that’s all.". As a person who reads a lot, I had the same opinion as her but now it started to change. Books are more then pages or words with a nice title. They can save your life, make you dream and they are simply fun(most of them). I didn't read yet the others chapter, except from the clock one, but it would be nice if she would find out that too. It's just an idea. I really liked and I want to read the first and last chapters as well.

You asked me to tell you if the story is dragging, so I'll go ahead and say it, yes. But only a little bit.
The problem, I think, is that this chapter has a lot of dialogue for a very urgent situation. They are conversing quite calmly considering that they are all in mortal danger. I would have preferred a lot more action and some more emotion from the characters. Since it's revealed that Maria has had experience with this in the past, it makes sense that she wouldn't be as alarmed as Wenton would expect, but she should still be at least somewhat alarmed.
However, I think that your characters are really good and strong. I want to learn more about them and see them interact more, just after they are done diffusing the bomb. A scene with a bomb is an opportunity to add a lot of dram, suspense, and emotion, and that didn't quite get across here.
Other than that, I really like the story so far. I absolutely love the personalities of each character, and I'll definitely read more if you continue. You have a really interesting world so far with the device and all its mysteries. Great work!