Witness Statement made to local police in [REDACTED] Interdicted by Hongsha-Miller Internal Security Services
1 - THE KIDNAPPING
Interviewer #1: “So to recap, you said you were kidnapped?”
Witness: “For the hundredth time yes, I’ve told you. I attended a mass demonstration outside the Hongsha-Miller Regional Headquarters. When I returned to the hostel I had a small meal at the bar, a couple of drinks and then I felt drowsy, really drowsy. I staggered back to my room, I don’t know if I made it that far, I can’t remember anything after that. The next thing I knew I woke up in a cage with three other people I’d never met.
Interviewer #2: “You were drinking?”
Witness: “This wasn’t some hallucination, this was real!”
Interviewer #1: “Sorry we’re listening, go on.”
Witness: “Right, so I was in this cage, it was swaying, if I had to guess I think it was being lifted from a crane. There was salt in the air and I could hear this commotion outside, people screaming and there was this deafening roar sound that I’ll never forget. The container we were in then hit the deck and the hatch swung open. We were on this decrepit old Sea Fort out in the ocean, I’m pretty sure the entire crew of this place were already dead.”
Interviewer #1: “You said a roar?”
Witness: “Yeah a roar, this place was a factory, I wasn’t there for long but I saw enough, Hongsha were harvesting Prisoners from all over the world, I walked through the cells, the surgical rooms, they were transforming people into entirely new creatures. I hadn’t explored for long when I saw it, this burning inhuman mass, us Prisoners weren’t the only ones who had broken free.”
2 - HUNTED DOWN
Interviewer #2: “Oh this was the ‘Brute Monster’ you mentioned?”
Witness: “Yeah Brute was the best way to describe it. Each time that thing roared I knew it was tracking me, it knew exactly where I was. It was stalking me and the others the whole time. I eventually realised if I hid inside Lockers or some of the Wooden Crates strewn around that prevented the Brute from detecting me. One time it found me in a locker anyway, I managed to dodge out of there, it felt like a coin toss whether I was going to live or die in that moment”
Interviewer #1: “You spoke of equipment you found?”
Witness: “There were Fire Extinguishers all over the place, if I sprayed those in the path of the Monster that slowed it down a bit. Enough to buy me a few seconds to get away. Once I found a Welder and Bolt Cutters I could open a lot more things up, Equipment Chests, Medical Cases. There were old Polaroid Cameras in the labs too, I reckon they’d been there since the 1970’s. They were only good for one flash each but those clearly blinded the Monster. There were vials of some liquid around too, which gave me an Adrenaline burst that I needed for a short time to get the hell away from that thing.”
Interviewer #2: “Toxicology found plenty in your system alright.”
Witness: “I’m not making this up!”
Interviewer #1: “You mentioned something about a power system?”
Witness: “Yeah, this Sea Fort, the whole place was falling apart, I think the team there had recently moved back or something, lots of modern equipment among all the old 1970s gear. The platform we were on immediately lost power. The four Prisoners, myself included, needed to get the Power Switches back on, there were power cables everywhere linking everything up so finding the switches wasn’t too difficult but we needed all manner of equipment to get to them, Sledgehammers, Bolt Cutters, Sticky Tape, anything we could find. We could work together too and once we did we got things done a lot faster. I don’t know how we did it but a couple of us survived long enough to get the power back on”
Interviewer #2:”What happened to the others?”
Witness: “I don’t know about one, I just heard the screams in the distance. Another Prisoner was running down a corridor and then the Brute spotted her and closed the distance in moments. I've never seen anything move like that, barreled straight through her, she never had a chance. I knew then never to get caught in the open with this thing.”
Interviewer #1: ”It was still chasing you?”
Witness: “The whole damn time, that thing never let up. I realised I was more manoeuvrable than it was, though. I could jump over railings on stairs to cut corners. I could also crouch and slide through small gaps it couldn’t fit through. I imagine there were other Monsters on that Sea Fort though that could have. There were ladders too, I don’t think the Monster had the dexterity to climb those, it was having to find these vine growths nearby it could use instead.”
3 - THE ESCAPE
Interviewer #1: “Once you got the power back up, what happened next?”
Witness: “There was a second platform that could have been a power plant, or maybe it was some sort of cold storage lab, my memory is a bit hazy, the whole place seemed to be a giant labyrinth. By the time we’d got through that place I was the only one left but I could get to the Moon Pool then and once I saw that Submersible I knew I had a chance to escape. The Brute was getting stronger all the time though, the other Prisoner he just killed in one shot and then I was alone with it.”
Interviewer #2: “Ah here we go, your big final showdown!”
Witness: “You weren’t there!”
Interviewer #1: “Ok, ok, let’s take a moment. So you made it to the Moon Pool at the bottom of the Fort.”
Witness: “Yes, there was a Helipad as well but I ended up in the Moon Pool with the Submersible and that creature. The Submersible needed some work to get it ready to go, it needed refuelling and I had to get the doors open in order to lower the sub. The Monster seemed to know what I was trying to do. Fortunately any time the Brute guarded an area I was able to find another spot where I could continue the repairs. It seemed Hongsha-Miller built redundancy into all their systems.”
Interviewer #1: “And you got the Sub moving?”
Witness: “Yes, once it was over the Moon Pool it lowered into the water and I knew I had a short window to get away, the Brute knew this too and pursued me all the way down there. It missed me by inches as I leapt into the Submersible. The Sea Fort’s computer system handled the rest of the launch, then I was out in the ocean in this metal tub. I drifted in and out of consciousness for days, weeks, I don’t know. Then that coastguard boat found me.”
Interviewer #2: “This is all complete nonsense!”
Interviewer #1: “But how do we explain that Deep Sea Submersible we found him in just floating out on the ocean. Or the scars he’s got on his back. This isn’t the first rumour like this I’ve heard of. Hongsha are definitely up to something.”
Witness: “You have to believe me, that thing is still out there!”
Interviewer #1: “Can the record show that my colleague has just left the room to take a phone call. Interview will resume in a few minutes.”
Witness: “Please, help me!”
Interviewer #2: “This interview has been terminated at 0241 hours.”