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

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…

Having been finding out the hard way that surviving an earthquake isn’t easy, Keith and Karen had avoided falling buildings, flooding streets, and a collapsing construction site, and had met Greg…

I told them about what I had heard on the radio earlier, about the island sinking and how we needed to reach the centre of the island. Greg said that he could get us to Windrunner Park, but we’d have to help him out again. I spoke to Karen to see what she had to say, but instead wound up offering her my umbrella. We rounded a corner and saw a large gap in the road ahead with a fire engine on either side, each with an extended ladder. The closest one bridged the gap, the other ladder reached into a building which was missing the entire front of it as well as some floor space.

Venturing across and up, I found some drinking water and then went up a couple of flights using the stairwell, finding myself in a locker room with half a floor. Squeezing past the lockers, I headed up the collapsed floor to the next level where I found Best Mag, Vol. 17, an Escape Route map, and an Angel Compass. The magazine had a feature about Stiver Island, saying that it was a controversial product to sell “the Honeycomb-Caisson method”, which sounded like it would complicate an already complicated construction method…

There was also an emergency exit in the floor, covered by some bookcases. However, it meant that there was another one on the floor below! So I went down and then noticed an area behind the lockers which had a Backpack, so I replaced my Rucksack with it and grabbed the Bandage and Gauze nearby. Once I had inched around the lockers again, I cleared some rubble and went through the emergency exit before falling almost immediately on my arse as the floor shifted, a desk almost pushing me off and into the abyss!

I managed to crawl beneath some furniture and found two survivors! One had something spikey through their thigh and asked for help, but I had no tools and didn’t know the whereabouts of any rescue teams. Suddenly, a flash went off and they snapped at Greg who had somehow managed to catch up with me, along with Karen.

When they realised that Greg was a member of the press, Charlie Baxter (an attorney) told him to write down what they were going to say. They explained that the island had too many holes, or in more complicated terms, the adjustment reservoir had problems with its location and structure, laying the blame directly at the feet of Terry Stiver, the project leader. Apparently, Greg just wanted to come to the office and leaf through his case documents, so it was a treat for him to get to speak to the man himself.

I found Complaints 1 and Complaints 2 on a bookcase nearby, and when I approached the one door I was told by the other survivor that it needed a key, which was in a desk across the office. I crawled through to get it, and also found Island Research A and a Family Photo before returning the photo to the person I took to be Baxter’s wife, as the photo was of them and a child. The documents described vibrations and a growling sound heard throughout the island after heavy rain.

The Baxters told us that the photo was of them and their grandson who they had promised to take to the amusement park. As I headed for the door, Karen noticed the sound of a helicopter! I unlocked the door and went for help, though I stopped for a drink first from a fountain. The building began shaking as I went down two floors via the stairwell and didn’t stop even once I reached the street. Looking back, I saw the building begin to collapse in on itself, and heard Karen call out. I hurried back as Greg ran past me and I helped her up. We both barely managed to escape the crumbling office block, and given the fact that the Family Photo tumbled down to the ground, the Baxters hadn’t…

We caught up with Greg who had waited for us at a crossroad, and he explained which direction we needed to go, and for some reason pointed out a road which had been blocked by a fallen building. However, Karen said that she wanted to go back to her house to check on her dog, which was in another direction. Greg apparently had someone waiting for him, so he was as committed as Karen in his decision, so I had to choose who to accompany. I chose Karen, as I felt responsible for her and Greg had managed so far on his own already.

Greg told us to meet at a tower near Windrunner Park to the north-east and we went our separate ways. As we crossed a bridge over a roaring river, I was a little irritated that Karen chose to stop and wonder aloud if her house was alright — with the island sinking we didn’t exactly need to tempt fate to dunk us in the drink. In fact, we weren’t very far from the bridge when a big tremor brought down a building in front of us as well as that very same bridge behind! It also damaged the road, sending a barrel ominously rolling into the river. However, that gave me an idea, so I gathered the barrels as well as some nearby tyres into the middle of the road, and some paint I found tucked away. I also found a Surfer Compass near some damaged benches which I was able to crowbar apart for the wood. Around the corner was a window washer cradle dangling some rope over the river, so I got Karen to sit on one side while I grabbed the rope.

Once the raft was put together, I painted it with flames and then we set off as I pushed it into the river! The ride was really quite short, dodging a few obstacles, as another tremor landed a building directly in our way.

Breathlessly, we went ashore and rested at a bus stop where I lit a fire to try and dry us. Karen took the opportunity to tell me that Terry Stiver was her uncle, though she hadn’t seen him in “a long time”. She recalled him being very nice to her when she was younger, so that was partly why she worried that her uncle would be forced to take responsibility. She apologised but I encouraged her to get it off of her chest. When we left, we found the road ahead was blocked by vehicles, so we had to enter a train to go up and over them via elevated train tracks.

Some way along the tracks, buildings began to collapse behind us as a result of a small tremor, so we ran like hell and got knocked down by the destruction. We carefully left the elevated rail back down to street level and took a look around. A clothes shop shutter was open a little, so I squeezed inside and found a Purifier which I grabbed, then spotted another shutter being held open by boxes. I was able to squeeze through, but the shattered glass on the floor hurt me, and all that was inside were some Cool Glasses (which I equipped) and five Hangers which I grabbed before leaving.

I took a drink, then kept exploring, but had to brace myself when a massive tremor shook everything, making the world seem to tilt at a 45-degree angle! Once it settled I couldn’t be sure what had changed as I hadn’t finished looking around when it hit… I went into another store after picking up a newspaper from 20th June which mentioned the tremors from Baxter’s notes, name-checked the Land Development Department Director Albert Sims, and summarised the next episode of Zoe’s Tales. I went under a barrier to look for stuff when a tremor started the roof collapsing so I took shelter beneath a table. When it was over, there was a First Aid kit which I couldn’t fit into my bag and some Gloves which I could.

Outside I located a Subway Map and I approached a flaming bus, where Karen wanted to check the map and told me where her house was, and a subway station that we had just walked past. As there was a cable above the bus, I climbed up onto a bus shelter, then used a sign to reach the roof and find an Eyeball Compass. Then, I went back to the cable and used a Hanger to zipline across, leaping inside the vehicle at the last moment! I didn’t have space for the Driver’s Hat, but since the engine was running I was able to move it out of the way, and Karen followed me through the barricade. We were almost at her house…