Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-25941663-20170529112703

The following document is a heavily redacted post mission summary of codename OPERATION DOWN LOW that has been approved for limited release to the public.

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On July 12th, 2XXX, Agents *REDACTED* and *REDACTED* undertook a small scale rescue operation in *REDACTED*, New Jersey. For the safety of said operators and their families, they will simply be referred to as Agent 1 and Agent 2. The operation, code-named Down Low, was executed after local police had been informed that 5 young adults had gone missing the week prior on July 4th. Due to the strange nature of the disappearances, the investigation was taken off the hands of the local police, and given to *REDACTED*. Following evidence gathered by the authorities, the operatives were able to zero in on a single location, a small strip mall in the eastern part of the neighborhood that had gone out of business several months prior. This is the last place the 5 victims were seen. Agent 1 was equipped with a helmet cam, a Beretta Carbine, and a Beretta 92FS 9mm pistol. Agent 2 was equipped with a Mossberg 500 and a Walther P99. Both had breathing aids to protect from asbestos. The operation officially commenced at 1:54 AM, July 12th, 2XXX.

The following is a transcription of the interrogation of Agent *REDACTED* following the operation.

INTERROGATOR: So Agent 1, what exactly happened that night?

AGENT 1: Well, we uh… we geared up expecting a simple extraction job. Nothing complex, just get in, gather evidence, and people if possible, and get out. We were expecting no resistance.

INTERROGATOR: Well, obviously you thought wrong. You discharged your primary weapon and your side-arm multiple times, whereas *REDACTED* didn’t.

AGENT 1: His weapon malfunctioned.

INTERROGATOR: So what exactly did you encounter?

AGENT 1: When we entered the building, all was quiet. We checked our corners and when I gave the all clear we started searching. We were looking for the missing persons obviously, but between you and me, we weren’t expecting to find anyone. We assumed the locals would’ve found them already if they were in there. So it was mostly evidence gathering: Clothes, accessories, biological material, anything that could give us a lead on a location and/or cause of disappearance. We found nothing, for the most part, until I came across a small backpack in one of the jewelry stores. Inside was a small hand-held camera.

INTERROGATOR: Was there anything useful on this camera?

AGENT 1: The view-finder was completely broken, but the on-board transcription tape worked fine. What we were able to gather was that the owner of the camera was documenting he and his friends’ 4th of July celebration. They laughed, they swore, they made racial slurs, typical teenager shit. They had walked to the beach, there was loud music blaring in the background, and one the teens screamed something along the lines of “asshole in a BMW” following the sound of a loud horn, so there were cars around. Nothing particularly interesting happened so we fast-forwarded through the tape until we got about two thirds of the way through it. The group seemed to have left the beach, and were again walking. No cars could be heard in the background, so they must’ve been in a more remote area, probably close to the mall.

INTERROGATOR: Anything that could’ve given you a lead?

AGENT 1: They’d clearly been drinking, their speech was slurred, the subjects of their conversations were beyond illogical. Whoever was holding the camera decided it was a good idea to look around in the mall. The sound of broken glass indicated they had entered the building. Fast-forwarding again, we were in the last fifty-seconds of the tape. Almost complete silence, only the sound of heavy breathing could be heard. Then the tape ended.

INTERROGATOR: So the victims were still in the building presumably?

AGENT 1: After listening to the contents of the tape, that was the only logical assumption, and finding the backpack gave us a little more hope of maybe finding them in there.

INTERROGATOR: What did you do after this?

AGENT 1: We switched our priorities to searching for the persons. As we ventured further into the building, we began to detect the smell of burning wood, and it got stronger as we kept walking. *REDACTED* suggested that maybe the missing persons had built a sort of fire to keep warm, but the smell was strong enough to get through our filters. The only thing that’d could’ve produced a smell that strong was an immediate, raging fire. But there was no smoke. As we rounded the corner, the smell became so strong that my eyes began to tear up. And lying up against the wall down the hall was what seemed like a human figure. I shouted at them to put their hands above their head. Its head darted quickly to set its eyes on me. It quickly stood up and began sprinting toward me and *REDACTED*. He tried to fire his weapon but a jam occurred. The creature pounced on him, and I could see its flesh: completely charred. Long, fleshless, bony fingers began clawing at my partner’s head and face.

INTERROGATOR: Any idea what these thing was?

AGENT 1: No, and I didn’t really care. What I did care about was living. I emptied the magazine of my rifle in the general direction of the creature, and then drew my pistol and did the same. Due to the darkness of the building, the muzzle flash was almost blinding. The only indication I had of how close the damn thing was was its stench. The smell, though still invasive, was not as strong. I quickly topped my rifle off and then ran for the exit. Then the smell began getting stronger, until I saw the creature round the corner, appearing almost right in front of me. Being too close to shoot, I simply threw my weapon at the thing and kept running. I made out to the street, and was able to commandeer a civilian vehicle with my pistol.

INTERROGATOR: You know we’re not, under any circumstance, allowed to interact with civvies.

AGENT 1: What was I supposed to do?

INTERROGATOR: Stick to the mission.

AGENT 1: *REDACTED* is dead and you-

The transcription ends here. Agent 2 is officially KIA, though a body was never recovered. The helmet cam footage is still undergoing strict review, and will most likely never be released. The victims were never found, but as of *REDACTED*, the investigation is still open. --- 