Past the Yellow Tape: Red Harbor Mall Incident
An indie journalist wants to get the truth out to the citizens of Acme.
Hey y’all. We’re back with another update, where we give you the full, uncut news by going places where ordinary reporters aren’t allowed! By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about Red Harbor Mall and how it basically got cut in half. The primetime news channels are too cowardly to cover it properly. Or maybe they’re being paid off. I, however, cannot be bought! I knew there was more going on here, so my loyal crew and I sprung into action to find the truth.
When we arrived on scene, everything was already taped off to the public, but that’s never stopped us before. My buddy Audrey and I snuck in as "forensic photographers” from the Acme Committee. I tell ya, the Committee is so disorganized that the guards bought our lame story almost instantly.
The inside of the mall looked like it had been chewed up and spat out: bent metal, crushed concrete, mangled bodies (yes, really), bloodied glass… It was not a pretty sight. Representatives and investigators from the Lancer Association, the Acme Committee, Kepler, and Eastvale were all arguing about what the best course of action would be. Both Kepler and Eastvale seemed pretty interested in studying the bodies, but who’s surprised by that? I know Kepler’s been getting a lot of heat lately (as they should), but that doesn’t mean the other corps are any better.
I pretended to be interested in taking a photo while eavesdropping on Lancers Broker and Hollowpoint's report to the Committee. Apparently, a massive glunite rift opened up in the mall that slashed right through it. We've seen rifts before, sure, but Broker reported that this rift was bigger and much more aggressive than previous ones, which is why the Lancers couldn’t stop it in time.
Either that's true, or the Lancers are incompetent. Not great options, so pick your poison.
Audrey swiped a clearance card off a guard, which I used to sneak in to the security offices. There was loose glunite all over the place (hopefully that doesn’t mean I’m radioactive now), and two Kepler employees were busy cleaning things up. I overheard them saying that more than 80 people have gone missing, likely sucked through the rift into a new Shard. One of them asked if they'd be staging search-and-rescue missions. The other replied that saving people would be pointless, since everyone is already as good as dead anyway. If the rifts really are getting worse, he said, then that means Acme is heading towards a "glunite apocalypse.”
Unfortunately, my camera decided to start beeping at me during that pivotal moment, so I was forced to book it before the two Kepler goons could liquidize me or something. I ran, grabbed Audrey, and we got out of there.
Back home, my crew and I went straight to researching and picking apart all that we had learned. Of course, the first thing we got into was the scary new term, “glunite apocalypse.” And the unfortunate thing we discovered is this: Shards involved in a Smash-Up are unstable...and continue to grow more unstable over time. Eventually, it gets to a point where the Shard straight-up collapses on itself. Poof. Done. Gone.
If this is true, how on earth could Kepler keep this from us? Do they want us to just wait here to die?! Why not make evacuation plans, or warn the public, or at least something? I know this report will be taken down by those idiots in a matter of hours, but if you see the truth, spread it. People need to know.
The bottom line is: Acme is in real trouble, and it’s getting worse. You might think this is a bunch of bogus nonsense, but if you do believe me, it might be good to start looking into Balamtok vacation homes (I hear the weather is very nice this time of year). I, however, will stick around till the very end. There’s more secrets and lies to unearth, and believe me, I’m going to dig.
-Leith
