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

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…

After an earthquake the previous day, Keith Helm and Karen Morris had managed to get off of a crumbling bridge without major incident, but were yet to find any more survivors who hadn’t already been picked up by rescue operations…

Leaving the coach, we made our way past some containers and cement pipes, but tremors began to damage the nearby bridge support, causing bits of the road above to crumble and fall towards us! We ran out onto the road, away from the bridge, and turned back to see that the outer concrete had been destroyed leaving a thin inner support surrounded by some metal bars. Given the way everything had been shaking moments ago, we needed to get away from the bridge as fast as possible.

With the road blocked by a truck and two buses, we walked along the waterfront as another tremor hit and shook the sections of path up and down. I kept walking, though, and it was a good thing too as the truck toppled onto the path behind me, luckily Karen had been hanging back so it also missed her. I climbed back onto the road only to notice the bridge waving from side-to-side, and other supports similarly damaged. Rather than risk using the road beneath the bridge, I walked the long way to ensure I could pass where the bridge had already totally collapsed.

The shutter which should cover the door of the convenience store had been damaged, so it was up high enough for us to get inside. The place had obviously been looted, but Karen wanted to stop to ask me about my job, before saying that I didn’t seem like a reporter. She indicated a map on the wall, noting that it didn’t list the Town Crier Newspaper on it, but that we should take it, so I did. I also picked up an island guide and Juice Mix, then went into the area behind the refrigerators to get a Bottle M and also snagged some sunglasses which I put on. Unfortunately, my bag was pretty full, so I combined the Juice Mix and my existing Bottle M to make some Juice.

I went behind the counter and stole money from the cash drawer, then I drank some water before going into the back area where I found a Knapsack. It was bigger than the Survival Pack so I swapped it out and we left the store, heading around the corner where I had seen the police car go earlier. Tremors hit and broke up the road ahead, but also dislodged a stone orb situated on top of a building! I didn’t have to ‘Indiana Jones’ it, however; it settled after rolling only a short distance.

The only way to reach the dislodged section of road was for Karen to climb on my back again and look for a rope. She returned in moments, but it was to hand me a fire extinguisher before she left again. I heard her footsteps retreat before she let out a scream! Since I couldn’t climb up, I grabbed the extinguisher and headed back the way we had come, hoping to find a way around. A massive tremor hit, and this time the bridge had finally had enough as it crashed down onto the road barely a metre away from me!

As luck would have it, a fire blocked the route I needed, so I put it out and continued on my way, though part of a building dislodged and landed behind me, blocking me into this route. Using a car to climb up to the next section of road, I heard a sloshing sound from behind me and turned to watch the Pacific Ocean beginning to encroach on the city. Just minutes earlier, the water was on the other side of the bridge and a couple of metres down, so clearly Stiver Island was starting to sink.

Entering a nearby building, I found a man lying prone with a trail of blood behind him. Asking if he was okay, he weakly asked for water which I gave to him, and in return he handed me a business card. Our interaction was interrupted by Man in a Suit rounding the corner and telling me that “a man with a gun” had just gone around that corner, and had probably shot the prone guy. Assuming that he was, in fact, the “man with the gun”, I decided to follow his advice when he told me to go on ahead while he took care of the prone guy.

Taking a look at the business card, I saw that the prone man was Frank Hudsen, a supervisor at Christophe Construction. But that wasn’t the interesting bit, as written on the reverse was “Moore’s The Pity”. I had no idea what that could mean, assuming it to be a passphrase or something, so headed into the kitchenette for a drink and to listen to the radio. The news report said that Stiver Island was being evacuated because it was breaking apart and bits were sinking, and survivors were being told to head to the central area of Capital City.

I picked up the radio and an umbrella then left, exiting through an alleyway to hear a helicopter! Ahead and through a breezeway I saw someone holding a rifle just as a ladder pulled them up to the helicopter I could hear flying away. As I headed into the breezeway another tremor struck and I ran for it, lest the building fell on me. I was knocked to the ground by the shaking and turned just in time to see buildings fall into the rising water! There was no immediate sign of Karen, but I did locate the police car which had crashed into a building which presumably hadn’t used to lay across the road. As there was no other way through or around, I used a hole in said building to get inside where I located some drinking water and gauze.

Calling out for survivors, I could hear someone respond so made my way up by climbing on office furniture and steel beams which had in some instances pierced that very furniture. At the top, Karen popped her head around a hole in the wall and expressed gratitude that I’d found her. After jumping over a gap, I spoke to her properly and she explained a “freaky girl” was chasing her before escaping through an open window. So, with no other way out, we followed, using an upended truck to climb down to the street.

There were more vehicles in this street as well as severe road damage, and as I finished a quick search for anything useful some buildings began collapsing! We ran for it, reaching safety just in time for a downpour of rain to begin. Quickly equipping my umbrella, I noticed Karen sheltering beneath a building overhang next to a map and a poster. I grabbed the map then looked at the poster — it was the guy who I left to treat the shot dude! He was Albert Sims, director of the Land Development Department, and due to his position she doubted that I’d actually seen him.

Leading the way around the corner another tremor almost caused a sign to clobber me, so we backtracked a little to Sullivan’s Jewelery where the shutter had a small gap that we could get through. Inside we found someone rooting through the jewellery that hadn’t been looted already — or perhaps she looted it before we arrived. Her arm was bleeding so I offered help but was refused, so I grabbed a King’s Compass from a display and we left, heading back past the fallen sign. We were beckoned through a hole in a fence surrounding a construction site by a man in glasses who claimed that someone needed help.

First, however, I took a drink and then followed the man up a ramp. Before joining the map up a second ramp, I went into an area behind it and found a First Aid kit and a Hardhat. I put the hat on, but had to clear some space in my Knapsack for the kit. I disposed of my Bottle S and two Gauze to make space for it, then headed up to formally meet Greg, a freelance photographer. He was the one who needed our help, because some metal poles blocked a door, and he needed someone to go up a bit higher so that they could be moved up there at the same time.

Up I went, following the only path open to me as tremors shook the building. A big one knocked me off of my feet and dislodged the floor plate that I was on, but it stayed up. As I reached the plate above the others, I could overhear only some of what they were saying as the wind was quite loud. It sounded like Karen was explaining that she hadn’t made it to the airport on time, and that Greg assumed we were dating, but with the missing words I couldn’t be certain. I called down and moved the poles, then started heading down, only to be knocked off of my feet again. With one of my ramps now horizontal, I had to go around and climb on some boxes, though I managed to brace myself before the floor plate fell. The next one also fell once I had leapt up to a different one, then I finally arrived at Karen who was now alone — Greg had gone on ahead.

Before we could climb down the ladder, Karen asked that I allow her to climb down first. When I asked why, she suggested that she might not be wearing any underpants, so I readily agreed to let her go first. I hadn’t even been conscious for most of the original earthquake, so there could have been many reasons that she was currently going commando. We climbed down but only got about halfway before the ladder was dislodged by a tremor and we both fell down! We were only hurt a little, so followed the route around to the left (the right was blocked by running water) and found drinking water, so I slaked my thirst.

After going down another ladder, which remained in place, we found a dead construction worker, presumably having fallen from higher up, then took a third ladder down. We caught up with Greg who was taking photos of a huge water pipe with a massive flood of water openly flowing into it. He brushed off queries of why he was photographing it and we continued trying to find a way out.

I drank some tap water and found two First Aid kits and a Bandage in an area off to the side, but had no space in my Rucksack for them. As we continued on, the building shook and I stopped walking while Greg and Karen ran ahead of me. The construction site had clearly had it, as a tremor hit and things began falling and by the time I could move Greg and Karen were up a ladder! Giving chase up a ramp, the floor plate suddenly dislodged and knocked me down, almost getting me crushed by some metal plates! I hurried to the ladder, but was knocked down again and the ladder fell — and so did a huge piece of machinery, almost crushing me! Luckily, it was in the right position to allow me to climb up to the next level, then jump across and climb the still-collapsing floor plates back up to reach the other side of the running water. It had been a huge circle, but given how everything behind me just… fell… I’d say it was a good thing the circle wasn’t any larger!

Hurrying to catch up to Karen and Greg, I was almost hit by all of the falling scaffolding and two huge girders before I finally followed them out into the street and rain…