"WE ARE RECIEVING LIVE INFORMATION OF A SHOOTER IN THE PORTLAND EXPO CENTER, WE DO NOT HAVE A NUMBER ON AMOUNT OF DECEASED OR INJURED, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOVED ONES IF THEY WERE IN THE AREA."
*A Helicopter camera shows a view of the expo center, surrounded by police cars*
*silence is heard on air*
"WE HAVE RECIEVED A NEW DEVELOPMENT, THE PERPETRATOR EXITED THROUGH THE FIRE ESCAPE AND GOT INTO AN UNMARKED VAN, BEFORE PULLING OFF INTO NOTHINGNESS. WE HAVE RECIEVED VIDEO FOOTAGE"
*A replay shows the shooter entering a white van, and the van disappearing as soon as it moves forward, leaving no trace*
"WE BELIEVE THIS WAS WORK OF A NEW WORKFORCE THAT HAS BEEN DUBBED 'CONTRACTORS' THAT HAS BEEN RUMORED ABOUT"
"WE WILL UPDATE YOU FURTHER ONCE MORE INFORMATION HAS BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC."
*The tv tunes back to whatever channel was on beforehand, as if nothing happened*
The following footage is taken from a news-report off an unknown channel - the full video is out there, but this specific upload is only a small segment. There are no-known dates for the following footage.
The bottom-left of the screen shows the Reporter's name - Kenneth Morgan. The front shows the reporter in-front of the aforementioned home - a ranch-style house, with similar homes adjacent. The living room notably has busted, blackened windows; and the front door has been blown outwards, sitting on the lawn, charred and singed. The area is coated with police officers, police tape, and chalk-outlines.
"Well, we're here at the scene of the incident - a small, rural house. A rural home where on a cold Friday afternoon, there had been reports by neighbors of a bright, blinding light emanating from the living room for several hours."
The footage pans to scenes of the living room, where a circle with illegible iconography drawn in chalk still sits, juxtaposed with the entire room being charred and singed beyond comprehension. Nothing is left unscathed. It looks like a fire had localized in the middle of it all - where the chalk circle resides.
The camera then cuts back to Kenneth Morgan, the time of day has changed - the location has not, still set on the front lawn of the house. The scene has been cleaned up of police tape and people. This report is, blatantly, taking place at a different time.
"After a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, authorities have pinpointed this horrific event as belonging to a group called 'Dreamweb', an occult collective that appears to exist on the internet through supernatural means. An official report by authorities state that having attempted to probe the websites recovered from the man's browser history have yielded no results - there 'are' no websites, every attempt has seemingly been redirected through unknown, likely supernatural obfuscation-"
The footage jumps time once again. The area is still the same, but the house that once was, has been bulldozed.
"And this here is the house that, on a cold Friday afternoon, where one 'Liam Fairbanks', had opened a portal to hell."
The footage jumps time for one, final occurrence. Kenneth Morgan stands in-front of a grocery-store with much of the same visage - blackened broken windows covered in ash.
"And it was due to the incident in that quiet home that caused Congress to establish the Department of Supernatural Predication, and to help curb these incidents in the future - with the primary goal of assisting relevant authorities in the investigation of such supernaturally criminal acts."
A Detroit news channel comes on tv. Sitting on screen is a lady, a reporter facing the audience. The headline reads "Gang Wars in Detroit". The reporter sits up straighter and starts talking to the camera.
"Last night, in an abandoned warehouse in a scarcely populated section of the city, police suspect a gang deal was taking place. Police have found 6 corpses, 5 have been identified as part of a local gang. The lone individual is not currently revealed to have been affiliated with anyone."
Her tone of voice sounds like she is sad, but the haste at which she speaks about it gives off the feeling that she isn't affected much.
"Police were called onto the scene after a mother going on a her daily run called 911, saying she's found multiple bodies. Police have restricted entry into the warehouse, but citizens have flown drones near the windows and have refused to provide images, reporting corpses mutilated horribly. Forum users are speculating that something super natural may have been involved, and the police may be keeping it under wraps. No other information has been provided."
"On the other hand, Wayne County Police are telling news stations that the situation is a drug deal that spiraled out of control. They claim that another another gang must have taken the Cicada's by surprise, shot them and left without paying. One fell in the process, leaving the odd corpse."
The tv shuts off.
The News Channel on the television is suddenly interrupted. While the male and female reporter were talking about politics relating to the state, the male reporter - Stephen - placed a hand on his ear-piece, and interrupted the news-cast.
He begins to speak. The logo for WNBC-4 New York rotates into place.
"We have breaking news. As some viewers may remember, a week ago we had discussed an event at the night-club known as 'The Mirror Garden', where partygoers and staff had witnessed people becoming pale and passing out, wherein ambulances had arrived to take such partygoers to the hospital. We bring you tonight our man on the spot, Patrick Brennan, to further discuss this incident with an expanded story - Patrick?"
The camera switches to the scene outside of the eponymous nightclub, where a clean-cut news-reporter with a microphone is standing in-front of the camera.
"Well, Stephen."
He pauses.
"It turns out some-... Harrowing stuff occurred here last week. What started as poisonings ended up as brutal murders. Police after learning of a tortured body in one of the stalls had swarmed the building, not too long after Paramedics began filtering in to usher in those who - at first glance - appeared to have been suffering from overintoxication of some type of narcotic, biopsies and other studies had revealed an unknown substance within their bodies - the same among all patrons affected by such an ailment. Investigation is, apparently, still on-going"
"In addition, learning that there was yet another mutilated body within the club's back-rooms was also another cause for concern - even more-so when it was revealed the footage for the night had been tampered with by an unknown party."
The camera pans around the scene. The club is still cordoned off as authorities investigate. Some of the men and women present are in professional attire.
"Authorities say that the only lead they currently have is an unknown man of Balkan or Slavic descent being dropped off by a man and a woman in tuxedos at a local hospital. After being questioned by one of the leading doctors of the facility, the duo ran back to their car - a stolen Nissan Sentra - and drove off. Soon after this, the man with the stab wound was nowhere to be found."
The camera fades back to the original news-crew. Stephen once again begins to speak.
"Harrowing story, folks... Now, with that update out of the way, what IS the deal with airplane food, and why does it taste so bad?"
"The city of Las Vegas was glued to their TV's last week as a news story unfolded where a supernatural maniac driving a stolen S.W.A.T. Truck had gone on a rampage! KNTV-13's Brayden Pierce brings you the full story. Brayden?"
The camera switches to a Gas-Station off the I-15 in Nevada, on the outskirts of Las-Vegas. The scene, even a week later, is still slathered with police tape. A clean-cut man in a suit, who looks like he just stepped out of an air-conditioned car, begins to speak.
"Hi, Stacie. As you can see, the chaos from last week is still in full-effect. Criminal Investigators are still struggling to piece-together what all went wrong. The body-count is staggering, and eye-witness testimonies are somewhat lacking, as it appears that there have been, almost, no survivors."
The camera cuts to a middle-aged officer with a thick moustache, with the name "Sebastian Dean".
"This is just... Wrong. I don't get it, we don't get it - the morticians don't get it. The detectives don't really know what's happening, there's an abandoned truck towards Vegas that was all.. Beat up, and we figured out it belonged to the old man who was dead in the back-room, but right next to that truck my Deputy got-.. Got killed. Miles and miles before that, we took down the freak that did this, and when the Coroners loaded him up for transport-... They look in the bag, and he's gone. We lost so many good men that day, and we don't even know what happened."
The camera switches to shots of the scene. Casings, white-chalk, and now-dried bloodstains still litter the area with Police Investigators idly arguing in the background. Brayden resumes talking.
"It gets more puzzling than that. Besides the S.W.A.T. Truck full of bodies mutilated beyond recognition, the empty bomb-suit coated in runes and bullet-holes, an unknown gang of slavic men, the "Sunset Devils" who robbed the Excalibur Hotel & Casino, and the unidentified man with a bullet in his head in the beer-cave, nobody, truly knows what went on. Innumerable bodies have bullets in them, but there's no bullet-casings that match the caliber, to be found at the scene."
The camera switches back to Brayden.
"The LVPD would humbly like to ask the public about any information about what went down off the I-15. Though they are hard at work, this is an unprecedented incident. If anybody who was driving down the I-15 at this time could supply information about anything they saw, please contact-"
You turn off the television. That's enough of a spew of violence for today.
"Most people know Offr.com as the home of the gig economy: a website where you can find a buyer for your old couch, and a worker to haul it away. It’s the home of everything from marketplace goods and bespoke commissions to task fulfillment and transportation services. Some whisper about less-than-legal deals being available on a 'dark web' version of Offr.com. The company denies these claims."
Sooner or later, all Contractors receive an invitation to join Offr Red, the secret membership tier. Offr Red members gain access to exclusive high-confidence, anonymous services. They can sell extraordinary items to Offr or put them up for auction for other Offr Red members to bid on. Crafty Contractors rejoice!
On rare occasions, Offr can even make deals to tie up pesky Loose Ends. However, they always demand a special favor in return.