pegwin
Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2023
- Messages
- 50
- Thread Author
- #1
Heavy thuds echo throughout the barren nexus walls, hassling along your heavy gear; A heavily modified kevlar vest stolen from a cop and a multitude of advanced weaponry is slung over your bag. As you make your way down the functional elevator, you find yourself shrouded in the endless maze of the lower-levels. Each step feels like a second spend in eternity as you traverse through the rubble and metal doors within this level. You come across an otherwise uninteresting room; A room filled with beds stacked ontop of eachother.
You gaze top to bottom, left to right across the endless alley of beds purposed for the regime's police force. Most beds are in horrible shape, their sheets on the floor and untended, as if someone has gotten out of a rush. The ruined beds don't seem to exhibit anything in terms of items, until you come across a peculiar bed. The sheets are as you have expected; Messy, thrown onto the sides like someone just had the worst nightmare of their life. One thing stands out... is that...?
An old digital camera? Odd, you've never seen one of these in ages. The closer you look at it, it doesn't exactly seem to be in the best shape, considering the world that this lone camera has gone through, you're not exactly surprised.
Out of curiosity of what is held within the confines of this singular camera, you reach out with your gloved hands, gently scooping it up before gazing down upon it as it rested on your former empty palm. The straps of the camera swing by the sides of your left hand, with it swaying for some seconds before it comes to a complete halt.
Now, that you have acquired this piece of old-world technology, you move your thumb over to the top of the steel-white device. Your fingertips lay ontop of the power-on button. A strange force beckons you to turn it on, maybe it still has some use to you?
You begin pressing down onto the worn-down button, it returns a simple CLICK in return. For a moment, nothing happens, the deafening silence of the room continues and faint gunshots ring outside. But then, you're flashed with a bright white light. You immediately blink in response, your vision temporarily becomes blurry as you take note of the device; It has been turned on.
The screen is pretty straight-forward. You're greeted with a blank screen, with black text donning the otherwise empty background. You move your other unoccupied thumb over to the touchpad convenientally installed onto the back of the apparatus. Your thumb presses down onto the DOWN-button, onto the 'Photos' section. You move your thumb to the centre, pressing onto the central button as to open up the photos section. Empty, completely empty. No photos or anything. In dismay, you gaze over to your side, giving the thick air in the room a sideye. You return back to the menu to go down the list even further, videos. You press the central button once again expecting the same emptiness from the previous folder but instead, you're greeted with one singular video. It immediately catches your attention, the video itself is labeled "14_11_2021_03-21". The title seems to correspond to the date and time that this has been recorded, only a day ago? Someone left this for someone, possibly for you to discover.
A sense of dread and fear looms over you, what could this unknown video be about? Ideas circulate through your mind but your curiosity beckons you over to the controlpad. You press the central-button as the screen cuts to black, complete black. A video starts playing, with audio included.
You're immediately greeted with an unknown figure boasting the Civil Protection gasmask, the video itself is blurry at first as the person recording this video seems to keep their camera in place. Thuds are heard as the camera is placed down somewhere.
You're unable to make sense of the environment they're in, but it seems to be recorded here. A Civil Protection officer walks into the frame, hands clasped together as they greeted the audience; you.
"<:: Hello? Is- Is this thing working? ::>" The functionary said through their vocoders, as they stared down onto the recording camera. For a moment, there is silence. Before they continued. "<:: My name is UNION-Seven-Three-Four. I am- I.. I am recording this video to make my final goodbyes to those I loved and to those I care about, and most importantly... a message to myself. ::>"
The functionary waltzed around the room, letting a faint white static fill the room for a moment before they continued onwards with their talk.
"<:: I'll- I'll start with my Mom, Aunt, Cousin and Grandma, here it is- ::>" They took a step closer to the camera, as they stopped their waltz around the place of recording choice. Their voice shrunk, their vocoder growing more... 'vocoded'. "<:: I'm sorry that I failed you, I promised to you that I would keep you safe, but now... I- I failed. ::>" Their hands sprung out towards their faceplate, letting it slide down the smooth surface of their gasmask before they let out a deep breath beneath the mask. "<:: I should've done something about me losing contact to the Combine, my failure was easily preventable and yet here I am! I was there when I was defending the tower and I FAILED! ::>" They abruptly began shouting towards the camera. The last word echoes for a solid second, before it cuts to silence as always. "<:: Mother, Aunt, Grandma and Cousin, I hope you're safe out there, because I won't be. I certainly won't be. ::>" The functionary sniffled, their head perking up for a moment as they stared off to the sides, staring at something out of your vision. "<:: I- I hope the Combine is still keeping you safe, regardless of us having our contact cut with them. I hope that my perks are still active and that you stay unharmed. If they kill you... then- then... ::>" They halt for a moment, dipping their head down as slience filled the room once again. "<:: It's all my fault. I'm sorry. ::>".
And thus, the first part of their goodbye message has ended. They began leaning into a more upright position as they prepared for a continuation of their speech, beginning with
"<:: Now, onto myself... ::>" The functionary tucked their arms behind their back, clearing their throat as they let out a series of coughs. "<:: You're a failure. You could've done more, yet you decided to join Civil Protection at the worst time possible. You did all of this only for it all to come crashing down with the fall of the regime that you have been working for the past month or so. ::>" Their tone perpetually increased in tone, anger and rage riling up in their voice as they continued. "<:: Look at you! Scheiße! I- Why did you bring yourself into this situation, why? I just hope- that maybe... maybe in a new life, I won't screw up this badly for myself... and my family. ::>"
"ADAM!"
"<:: You brought this upon yourself! It's all your fault, you- you did this! You brought the family in the gutter- and you're the ones to blame for it! ::>"
"ADAM? ARE YOU DOWN HERE?"
"<:: If you, or I find this tape again, I hope you find it when you have sorted things and done the right thing, and if this isn't me viewing this video... :>"
"ADAM? ARE YOU HERE?!"
"<:: Goodbye. ::>"
The video cuts to black, completely pitch black. You are immediately returned to the main menu of the device. Amidst the functionary's berating to themselves, you have ignored the shouts of your fellow co-hort calling out for your name in the distance. As you get to your senses and gaze around the room left to right like someone who has just gotten off anaesthesia, the sounds of boots clashing against the metal grating and concrete floor becomes louder with each passing second. A medic with the red-cross sewn onto their shirt's elbows rushes in, submachine pistol slung as they rapidly approached you with worry within their voice.
"ADAM? ADAM IS THAT YOU?!" They rush up to you, confronting you in the face as the barrel of their Civil Protection standard-issued submachine pistol rests against their abdomen.
"Oh thank god, Adam, you're alright... I was wondering where you went off!"
Your friend glances over to the apparatus that you have been holding in your hand, he releases their right hand from the handle of their submachine pistol, hand moving over to the camera that you have been holding for the past minutes, the one device that you have seemingly been locked looking at for what felt like years. Their index finger pops out, pointing towards it. "What were you doing with that?" They curiously ask, tilting their head to the sides as their beanie adjusted to the angle of their head.
You shake your head in response, wrapping your fingers around the old-world technology before chucking it in your pocket. 'It's nothing', you said to your friend, despite the fact that it was obviously something. Your body bends sideways to face your fellow resistance fighter, this time establishing eye-contact.
"Listen- we gotta go! Something's happening on the surface." They exclaimed, taking a sidestep to reveal the entrance to the barracks, the place where they had come from.
You dip your head down, nodding to their request as you both rushed outside. The camera sits idly within your pockets, waiting to finally be taken out or be taken by a warrior on the opposite faction, or merely an item rusting to nothing as it withered away in time. One thing's clear; It contains the goodbye note of a regime's enforcer. Their sorrows merely contained within this piece of technology, until the end of reality itself.
You gaze top to bottom, left to right across the endless alley of beds purposed for the regime's police force. Most beds are in horrible shape, their sheets on the floor and untended, as if someone has gotten out of a rush. The ruined beds don't seem to exhibit anything in terms of items, until you come across a peculiar bed. The sheets are as you have expected; Messy, thrown onto the sides like someone just had the worst nightmare of their life. One thing stands out... is that...?
An old digital camera? Odd, you've never seen one of these in ages. The closer you look at it, it doesn't exactly seem to be in the best shape, considering the world that this lone camera has gone through, you're not exactly surprised.
Out of curiosity of what is held within the confines of this singular camera, you reach out with your gloved hands, gently scooping it up before gazing down upon it as it rested on your former empty palm. The straps of the camera swing by the sides of your left hand, with it swaying for some seconds before it comes to a complete halt.
Now, that you have acquired this piece of old-world technology, you move your thumb over to the top of the steel-white device. Your fingertips lay ontop of the power-on button. A strange force beckons you to turn it on, maybe it still has some use to you?
You begin pressing down onto the worn-down button, it returns a simple CLICK in return. For a moment, nothing happens, the deafening silence of the room continues and faint gunshots ring outside. But then, you're flashed with a bright white light. You immediately blink in response, your vision temporarily becomes blurry as you take note of the device; It has been turned on.
The screen is pretty straight-forward. You're greeted with a blank screen, with black text donning the otherwise empty background. You move your other unoccupied thumb over to the touchpad convenientally installed onto the back of the apparatus. Your thumb presses down onto the DOWN-button, onto the 'Photos' section. You move your thumb to the centre, pressing onto the central button as to open up the photos section. Empty, completely empty. No photos or anything. In dismay, you gaze over to your side, giving the thick air in the room a sideye. You return back to the menu to go down the list even further, videos. You press the central button once again expecting the same emptiness from the previous folder but instead, you're greeted with one singular video. It immediately catches your attention, the video itself is labeled "14_11_2021_03-21". The title seems to correspond to the date and time that this has been recorded, only a day ago? Someone left this for someone, possibly for you to discover.
A sense of dread and fear looms over you, what could this unknown video be about? Ideas circulate through your mind but your curiosity beckons you over to the controlpad. You press the central-button as the screen cuts to black, complete black. A video starts playing, with audio included.
You're immediately greeted with an unknown figure boasting the Civil Protection gasmask, the video itself is blurry at first as the person recording this video seems to keep their camera in place. Thuds are heard as the camera is placed down somewhere.
You're unable to make sense of the environment they're in, but it seems to be recorded here. A Civil Protection officer walks into the frame, hands clasped together as they greeted the audience; you.
"<:: Hello? Is- Is this thing working? ::>" The functionary said through their vocoders, as they stared down onto the recording camera. For a moment, there is silence. Before they continued. "<:: My name is UNION-Seven-Three-Four. I am- I.. I am recording this video to make my final goodbyes to those I loved and to those I care about, and most importantly... a message to myself. ::>"
The functionary waltzed around the room, letting a faint white static fill the room for a moment before they continued onwards with their talk.
"<:: I'll- I'll start with my Mom, Aunt, Cousin and Grandma, here it is- ::>" They took a step closer to the camera, as they stopped their waltz around the place of recording choice. Their voice shrunk, their vocoder growing more... 'vocoded'. "<:: I'm sorry that I failed you, I promised to you that I would keep you safe, but now... I- I failed. ::>" Their hands sprung out towards their faceplate, letting it slide down the smooth surface of their gasmask before they let out a deep breath beneath the mask. "<:: I should've done something about me losing contact to the Combine, my failure was easily preventable and yet here I am! I was there when I was defending the tower and I FAILED! ::>" They abruptly began shouting towards the camera. The last word echoes for a solid second, before it cuts to silence as always. "<:: Mother, Aunt, Grandma and Cousin, I hope you're safe out there, because I won't be. I certainly won't be. ::>" The functionary sniffled, their head perking up for a moment as they stared off to the sides, staring at something out of your vision. "<:: I- I hope the Combine is still keeping you safe, regardless of us having our contact cut with them. I hope that my perks are still active and that you stay unharmed. If they kill you... then- then... ::>" They halt for a moment, dipping their head down as slience filled the room once again. "<:: It's all my fault. I'm sorry. ::>".
And thus, the first part of their goodbye message has ended. They began leaning into a more upright position as they prepared for a continuation of their speech, beginning with
"<:: Now, onto myself... ::>" The functionary tucked their arms behind their back, clearing their throat as they let out a series of coughs. "<:: You're a failure. You could've done more, yet you decided to join Civil Protection at the worst time possible. You did all of this only for it all to come crashing down with the fall of the regime that you have been working for the past month or so. ::>" Their tone perpetually increased in tone, anger and rage riling up in their voice as they continued. "<:: Look at you! Scheiße! I- Why did you bring yourself into this situation, why? I just hope- that maybe... maybe in a new life, I won't screw up this badly for myself... and my family. ::>"
"ADAM!"
"<:: You brought this upon yourself! It's all your fault, you- you did this! You brought the family in the gutter- and you're the ones to blame for it! ::>"
"ADAM? ARE YOU DOWN HERE?"
"<:: If you, or I find this tape again, I hope you find it when you have sorted things and done the right thing, and if this isn't me viewing this video... :>"
"ADAM? ARE YOU HERE?!"
"<:: Goodbye. ::>"
The video cuts to black, completely pitch black. You are immediately returned to the main menu of the device. Amidst the functionary's berating to themselves, you have ignored the shouts of your fellow co-hort calling out for your name in the distance. As you get to your senses and gaze around the room left to right like someone who has just gotten off anaesthesia, the sounds of boots clashing against the metal grating and concrete floor becomes louder with each passing second. A medic with the red-cross sewn onto their shirt's elbows rushes in, submachine pistol slung as they rapidly approached you with worry within their voice.
"ADAM? ADAM IS THAT YOU?!" They rush up to you, confronting you in the face as the barrel of their Civil Protection standard-issued submachine pistol rests against their abdomen.
"Oh thank god, Adam, you're alright... I was wondering where you went off!"
Your friend glances over to the apparatus that you have been holding in your hand, he releases their right hand from the handle of their submachine pistol, hand moving over to the camera that you have been holding for the past minutes, the one device that you have seemingly been locked looking at for what felt like years. Their index finger pops out, pointing towards it. "What were you doing with that?" They curiously ask, tilting their head to the sides as their beanie adjusted to the angle of their head.
You shake your head in response, wrapping your fingers around the old-world technology before chucking it in your pocket. 'It's nothing', you said to your friend, despite the fact that it was obviously something. Your body bends sideways to face your fellow resistance fighter, this time establishing eye-contact.
"Listen- we gotta go! Something's happening on the surface." They exclaimed, taking a sidestep to reveal the entrance to the barracks, the place where they had come from.
You dip your head down, nodding to their request as you both rushed outside. The camera sits idly within your pockets, waiting to finally be taken out or be taken by a warrior on the opposite faction, or merely an item rusting to nothing as it withered away in time. One thing's clear; It contains the goodbye note of a regime's enforcer. Their sorrows merely contained within this piece of technology, until the end of reality itself.