Disaster Report Diaries (SOS: The Final Escape) Part Four

This is my exploration of the Disaster Report series where I will chronicle my playthrough like a text-based Let’s Play. Now let’s continue SOS: The Final Escape…

They had survived falling buildings and white river rafting on a makeshift raft, but Keith and Karen had almost reached her house…

I was a little nervous as we walked past a service station, especially since Karen insisted on leading the way so we never went faster than a normal walking speed. The sound of the wind blowing down the street made everything seem eerie, especially since we didn’t encounter even minor tremors. There are two scientific laws that govern earthquakes: Utsu-Omori law says that aftershock severity decreases over time, and Gutenberg–Richter law dictates fewer large aftershocks. Whatever was wrong with Stiver Island didn’t seem to conform to either, since we had so many major aftershocks, some occurring right after one another — then this quiet patch.

Karen pointed out an area that was still being developed and was planned to have a convenience store. Suddenly, the radio in my pocket went off with a news broadcast: there was going to be a massive rescue operation the next day, using boats along the Lucas Canal which went through the centre of the island, and that survivors should head to Windrunner Park, May Stadium, Capital Elementary School, Capital City Control Center, and Stiver Gardens.

We finally reached Karen’s building, and to my surprise, it was the only one out of eight of which the front door hadn’t collapsed inwards. She went inside to find her dog and change her clothes, so I waited outside. After a couple of minutes, I decided to look around and found a Flower Compass, and some glasses with a false moustache which I couldn’t pick up, as I kept instead looking into the girl’s room window they were perched next to.

Returning to Karen’s house, I approached the door but decided not to enter. She came out and explained that her bedroom had caved in, so she was unable to change her clothes. I did hope that she managed to find some underwear at least.

When I asked about her dog, there was a bark and the little pupper named Gen came running over. She suggested that we use her bicycle to return the way we had come, and gave me the key for the lock, so we got on. I confirmed that we had to head back as the way ahead was now underwater, and we set off on our peaceful cycle ride. No, but actually a massive tremor hit and signs began falling from the skyscrapers along our route!

As we approached the bus which I had moved earlier, the tanker truck in the service station exploded, filling the air with black smoke. I hurriedly led the way through the bus as the ground continued to shake and tilt at Dutch angles, and we got away from the vehicle. Suddenly, Gen ran away from Karen and she gave chase! I lost sight of them, so it took me a minute to follow them down into the subway station, though I managed to grab a drink before I did so. We could hear the dog, but I was more concerned about the falling ceiling that chased us downstairs!

The rumbling finally subsided and I tried to assure Karen that there must be another way out. I had a drink and went into an office, where I found Fluid (for a lighter), but to fit that in my bag I needed to put on my gloves. There was also a Worker’s Diary which explained that before the earthquake, sounds of rushing water in the tunnel and vibrations had been reported. A whiteboard in the room talked about a tunnel collapse between there and Hope Street as well as a crack in a wall, and mentioned how they had rescued some people from a train.

Heading down some stairs to the subway platform we moved towards the sound of Gen barking. I grabbed a quick drink and was almost crushed when the ceiling fell! However, we found Gen in a train, and Karen put him in her backpack, so hopefully he wouldn’t run away again. We went through a train, which got us through some rubble to a blocked tunnel which was partially flooded. Although a nearby gate was locked, the fence beside it had a hole large enough for us to squeeze through, and that’s where I found the crack in the wall, with a door behind it? After walloping the concrete with my crowbar, we went through.

We found ourselves in a waterway with some still intact gantries allowing us to cross the rushing water, so I had a quick drink and we followed the walkway where it led us, going up to give us a good view of the hole in the middle. Karen observed that the water line used to be much higher, and the hole seemed bottomless. Neither fact gave me a sense of calm about this whole situation… I suggested it might be a reservoir, and Karen recalled the old man mentioning an adjustment reservoir earlier, meaning that the hole was designed to drain water in an emergency. Well, job done.

The gantry eventually led us back up to street level, or thereabouts, so we found a ladder and climbed up — but a tremor caused a tanker truck to fall and explode, as well as knocking my ladder loose, instead giving me some monkey bars over the flames. I didn’t immediately know what happened to Karen because I heard her cry out, but she must have been high enough behind me as I pulled myself up onto a wall and spotted her standing across from me when a coach fell and took out my monkey bars. I told her to climb the next ladder while I looked for another way.

Another ladder lay across the road behind me, so I carefully walked across it, then used the now-bare steel posts used to strengthen the road as platforms to get higher. I found a Tire Compass along the way which I took as a good sign, but upon reaching the remains of a ladder another tremor shook it loose before I could get on. It also sent multiple vehicles tumbling down so I quickly used them to reach a steel beam, jumped to another beam, then used some more vehicles to jump across to where Karen was waiting for me…

The day was late, as the sun had all but set as we walked towards the fiery orange sky. Karen suddenly realised that we were next to the offices of the Town Crier newspaper, and looking up we spotted a light shining through a window. We quickly went upstairs and found a lit candle, so we investigated the rest of the floor. The building wasn’t very badly damaged, but some hallways had collapsed. The news bullpen was undamaged, however, and that’s where we located the sole resident, Editor-in-Chief William Hardy. He asked if I’d gotten lost, from behind a mountain of cigarette butts, and I explained events to date including that I’d met Greg who William knew, while he continued working on his laptop.

Karen asked if William reckoned her uncle would be prosecuted for this disaster, and he confirmed that if the earthquake only hit Stiver Island then it was probably a structural issue so yes. But, it would also be the government held responsible and not just him. Moving right along, William put me to work despite the devastation, telling me to head to the building next door and retrieve a file from Christophe Construction. He had been told by a whistleblower that the Manmade Island Construction Report on the 12th floor was different from the public version, and now was the only chance to get it.

William gave me my company ID and a tape recorder (just in case), and told me not to get caught. I grabbed a Document room key from the table (I didn’t have space for the cowboy hat), a Water Filter from a cabinet, and a Town Crier News 3 from another desk. It told about nine deaths in relation to Stiver Island from before it was even built, dating between 1992 and 1997. No doubt that was the tip of the iceberg, and I was heading to the right place to find out how much was still hidden underwater…