Event - Appalachia: Into the Pines

[apocalypsehowmods]

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Appalachia: Into the Pines

Footage plays on the television as a new story comes on, showing a series of sweeping vistas, intercut with clips of wolves that have clearly been filmed at some local wildlife sanctuary. "As far as anyone knows it, the last wolf to ever freely roam the Allegheny Mountains was slain in West Virginia in 1897. Daniel Stoffer Hamrick saw to the beast's passing, and the woods in our part of the world have gone quieter ever since. Appalachia does not forget its history, though. It buries it beneath coal and flyash, debts and white powder and pills. And the blood of people taken before their time, by the mines, by the mountain, by things we don't have names for, just hurt. But Appalachia does not forget.

"This is Cindy Parsons with Channel 5, Wolf News." Footage cuts to a newscaster standing outside a gated apartment complex with FYRE's logo emblazoned on it. "As we know, our beloved Wolf Pen is home to one of the biggest FYRE worker housing complexes in Wyoming County. It is a monument to the history of our town, and this week, we'll be on the lookout for visitors from all over the country, coming to see the grand re-opening of the historic Bluestone Mine as a museum."

Footage cuts to a nondescript businessman, identified by the news footage as Carl Watts, CEO of FYRE. He's smiling blandly as he stands at a podium and gestures to the entrance of the mining tunnel behind him. "The Wolf Pen community has been a partner to us for decades now, and we knew it was finally time to give something back to all y’all. We'll have our soft opening on Monday with a full Rumble Down Under party in the old mines scheduled for June 15th. We'll have a live bluegrass concert and anticipate a huge influx of tourists to the area to help out our neighbors itching for a few more pocketbooks to tend to." A wink.

The footage returns to Cindy. "FYRE has stated that this new museum will provide an educational tool and tourist attraction for those wanting to learn about West Virginia, Wolf Pen, and the hard-working men and women who have made this beautiful part of our nation their home. Time will tell. Time is always telling when it comes to the promises of people who have used our land and our bodies to line their pocketbooks. They fill our blood and our lungs with black tar and-"

Cindy cuts out and is replaced by in-studio anchors. "Thank you, Cindy!" a blonde woman says, smile just a little strained. "I think we're all looking forward to seeing the big opening by FYRE on Sunday and that rocking good party next month. It should be a gneiss one! Now to Tim with the weather. Tim?"

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Comments

[pennedin]

Ethan hurries away, ducking with the tunnel. His voice echoes back to her as he calls for someone named 'Alfie.'

Cortana will find that there is, indeed, something very obviously missing. There's an open space in one back corner with a tarp lying on the ground. On the tarp is the following sign:



The rest of the equipment looks very much like it belongs, and unfortunately, there don't appear to be any computers beyond what's within the equipment, like a few devices that seem to be designed to map rock formations.

[failedpromise]

The thing about AI is most of them are incredibly fucking smart.

The thing about Cortana is she's kind of an expert when it comes to blowing things up in the most massively destructive way possible.

So when Cortana sees the tarp, she goes over to examine it curiously then freezes, blanching as the destructive possibilities of maliciously used explosives in a coal mine immediately start coming to mind. She takes out her smartphone and, after taking a brief moment to check if anyone is coming, snaps several pictures of the tarp and missing ordinance.

Finding a computer has become a much less important issue for the time being, but if there are any rooms connected to or otherwise right next to this one she'll take a brief glance inside, just to make sure.

[pennedin]

There are a few connected storage rooms, but they contain much of the same equipment. As she's looking around, she'll hear angry shouting echoing back toward her. Boss is clearly laying into someone and viciously so. Then, the sound of his footsteps approaching.

"Ms. Halsey, please come with me. We need to head back up while my boys clear the Warrens. We got a safety situation." From his tone, this is clearly an order, not a request.

[failedpromise]

At the sound of footsteps, she moves right back to where she's supposed to be.

"Got it, Mr. Boss." She can see that there's a situation. He might catch a bit of concern in her expression-a glance at the tarp that covers nothing, a bite of the lip-but she schools it back into a calm neutral.

She's definitely not going to argue with him about going back up. In fact, she really only has one remaining question, which she'll ask once they're back on the elevator.

"So, Mr. Boss: why did Bluestone mine close? Is it really that much more profitable as a museum?" She doesn't say it directly but what she wants to find out is whether there's still coal in that mine.

[pennedin]

Boss is drumming his fingers impatiently on his hip as they head up, his mind elsewhere enough that he startles just slightly at her voice and question.

"Why would I know? I told 'em they should've kept digging in there. Seemed like they were gonna reopen it, then all this bullshit about a museum cropped up the last couple years. Higher-ups decided to go with that. Fucking idiots, far as I'm concerned."

[failedpromise]

"So there's still coal in there? Seems pretty odd that they'd pass up on the potential profits."

They might have decided that it was simply more important to have a mine to use for their ritual... or they might be thinking about starting a coal mine fire. Create a fire that is near impossible to put out and renders the surrounding land a smouldering, poisonous, uninhabitable mess for potentially hundreds or even thousands of years? It's what Cortana would do.

[pennedin]

"Yeah, it's weird and it's stupid, but I don't call the shots," he growls. "Why do you even care about Bluestone? You people bothering them with inspections, too?"

[failedpromise]

"Just curious." About whether there's a danger of someone using those explosives to set off a coal mine fire.

Her voice sounds light and playful, however, like she has no such concern.

[pennedin]

He's sighs, and it's a frustrated sound. The elevator makes it to the top and Boss escorts Cortana to the main tunnel entrance. "I got things to take care of. Go give your PPE and badge back to Gina. Then get. Kindly. Good day, Ms. Halsey."

So saying, the man turns and stalks back into the mine.

As soon as Cortana is out, she will notice a marked change. She's still hunger and weaker, but it doesn't feel like she's being actively drained anymore.

[failedpromise]

If Cortana is bothered by his frustration (and she's really not), she doesn't show it. Her expression is as professional and perky as ever. "Got it, Mr. Boss."

The relief hits her in a wave, and she takes a moment to mimic a deep breath before heading towards the admin area. Hmmm... now is there any way she can get a look at what's on those computers before she leaves?

Thank you for your patience!

[pennedin]

Gina is just exiting the trailer as Cortana is coming up. "I'm taking my break. OSHA-mandated. Just put that back inside." She's pulling out a pack of cigarettes as she trots off.

Lol it's not like I can say anything, slow tagger that I am

[failedpromise]

Cortana smiles-looks like things are going her way-and nods.

"Will do." She goes inside.

[pennedin]

Inside, Cortana will be able to find a fully unattended computer. The world is her oyster! What will she go digging for?

[failedpromise]

She grins in triumph and gets to work. Personnel and inventory are what she'll focus on-good to know a bit more about who is involved in this, and with the missing bombs and all...

[pennedin]

She'll be able to pull up recent personnel records. Most of the workers are locals, but there's a good crop who seem to have been brought in by FYRE from elsewhere, mostly in West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky. There are two personnel who have been marked 'DO NOT RECOMMEND FOR FUTURE EMPLOYMENT.' There are notes that indicate they simply walked off the job, didn't even clock out properly. There had been a search, thinking they'd got lost in the mines before they'd emailed their resignations a few days later. The emails aren't identical, but their structure and the phrases used within them are close enough that it almost seems like one copied from the other. That doesn't make sense, though, as the men seem to have had nothing to do with one another. They're not from the same place, they were both brought in from different states, and they worked in different parts of the mine.

[failedpromise]

Huh. That's odd, considering the circumstances. She'll try to see if she can find out more about the two missing miners, and make note of their names and dates of disappearance.

[pennedin]

She'll be able to pick up some details, but information on the men's departure is curiously limited. There's an email back to each from Ethan, castigating them for doing this when they're on a schedule. A note in the file indicates the men's rooms at the FYRE apartment complex were abandoned with all of their belongings left in it. Such things were to be collected and distributed among the other miners or sold for whatever profit could be made.