PiePillager
Chojin
July 25th Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Resort town. Half the population wasn't even native, surprisingly. Or at least it was to first-time tourists. Beautiful beaches, wondrous vistas. Even a Disneyland resort. This was the perfect place to retire. Or it would be if it wasn't typhoon season. Late summer was the typical period for when the storms got really bad, but for whatever reason, be it bad luck, global warming, or divine providence...the storms had been kicking off earlier than usual since March. Nothing devastating. At most, there'd be a flash flood that might be of concern but preventative measures taken up by the citizens and the local government seem to have waylaid the damage from that. And on the days when it didn't rain and the sun peaked out of the cloudy sky...it was nice.
This, of course, was not one of those days, but Andy Chow was hoping. At age 68, he was The Daily Discovery's oldest active field reporter. He and that paper went way back. Back to when it was JUST a paper even. He'd seen it go through a few editor-in-chiefs. Each one he hated and respected in different ways. He'd even been offered the position once, but he turned them down. Just wasn't his way to sit behind a desk when he could still sniff out the truth from miles away.
Nowadays, though...well, his nose weren't working too well. Either that or the truth is just muddier than it ever was.
KCRACK!!
Andy turned his head over towards the crackling lighting flashing over the ocean. Even with the rain pouring down, it was kind of a nice view at this particular beachside hotel where he awaited the subject of his interview. The awning extended far enough past the balcony, to keep him from getting drenched as he sighed and idly sipped his tea at the white round table he sat at. He began to recall about three or so years ago a storm like this had formed after a cruiseliner had gone missing out at sea. Worse than this even. That was an angry fucking storm. Almost like it was lashing out.
A lot of odd disappearances began to crop up like that over the past few years. Not always out at sea either. A couple of aircraft had been reported to have vanished without a trace. Hikers too. People were scared more than ever. And it didn't help that the usual crowd wanted to ruffle feathers. They claimed these disappearances heralded the end times and many people believed them. What such doomsayers didn't have was facts, of course, but that didn't stop them from trying to drag the whole world down to their level and halfway succeeding.
Call it arrogance, call it whatever you want, but Andy felt it was his responsibility to make sure at least some people were sane enough to listen to logic and reason once the facts got out there. And since this was supposed to be his last job, well....he sure hoped the others at TDD were up to the task. He hoenstly didn't know. Didn't fraternize much. Especially given the unsavory connections they sometimes had to uphold to skirt the law when they needed to.
SH-SHUUUM!
The storm grew louder as the winds picked up, the palm trees could be seen swaying on the ground below. Andy had to admit, the scenery while still breathtaking in it's own way, did look rather apocalyptic. He sighed, glancing at his watch. She was late. The woman he was set to interview for his last piece. She was a voice of reason and a loud one too. Once a reporter herself, he'd learned. Miki Tezawa. Moved to HK in January. Always a loud proponent against the doomsayers, but that wasn't exactly anything groundbreaking. Here's where the kicker came in. She had tons of followers on social media. Many, practically converted from supporting the doomsayers to supporting her. Why? They claimed she was psychic. And she doubled down on it.
Andy had seen her blogs. Spoken to her even a little before this interview. She was very well educated, and reasonable. So why pull off this psychic ruse, he just didn't understand. He heard a screech opposite the balcony. It was Tezawa herself. Upon seeing her, Andy was honestly taken aback. She had become something of a recluse by her admission....but this was the first time he perhaps understood why. She looked sick. Pale as a ghost. She had to use a walker to aid her movement and she had an IV injected into her wrist with numerous fluids hooked up to some medical hodgepodge tied to her walker. So thin her robe was practically draped over her like a cape. Still a bit of youth in the face, she was only 25, but the bags under her eyes made it seem like she hadn't slept in a long time.
"My God..." Andy put his glasses down to clean some droplets of stray rainwater on them. "I...I didn't know...Sorry," he apologized, having defaulted to English, as he did for most citizens of this area. He'd forgotten to ask which language she was most comfortable speaking in. In his time, he'd haad to learn quite a few and-
"English is fine," Miki smiled, interrupting his thoughts as she hobbled towards the other chair. Andy sat up to pull out the chair for her to sit in. She moved like she was two decades older than him. Gratefully she nodded to sit down and continued in a shaky voice. "Doctors...haven't been able to figure it out yet. By all appearances, it looks to be a degenerative disease. Something attacking the cells, I've taken multiple tests from the finest doctors in several countries and they can't find anything amiss. No degenerative cells, nothing cancerous. I'm a bit of a modern medical marvel."
"Huh..." Andy paused, placing his glasses back on. "That's....I'm so sorry. I-I hope you don't mind but I'd ordered us some tea," he stammered as he pulled up a manilla folder from his briefcase, where his notes were compiled. He liked to keep physical copies as well as backups on his phone. No reason to not embrace the way things had progressed without keeping to what he liked. It was possible to have your cake and eat it too. He took out a pen as well to jot some quick notes down. "How long have you uh...how long have you-?"
"Symptoms first appeared two years ago. That's when I started developing my powers..." she answered with a sad smile. "How's your son Mr. Chow?" she asked.
Andy gave her a puzzled look. If she was hoping this would convince him of her alleged psychic powers, she'd have to try harder. He paused as he looked at his notes. She smiled, almost at what he was thinking. It was nothing but kind, but he couldn't help but get a bit of an eerie feeling. Still, he didn't feel too convinced. If she's a con artist, she's a well-practiced one. But still, he couldn't help but feel there was a story here. "Wei is fine...working security with some pop band," he responded. Which is something one could easily look up for themselves if they knew how to do some digging, which she assuredly did. "So, your condition is tied to your 'powers'? he asked. And the doctors really couldn't find the cause huh?" he'd asked both for confirmation and out of genuine concern. No one this young should have to suffer all this.
Tears began to stream down her pale face and Andy's heart dropped. He didn't want to press too hard with his line of questioning. "Your family used to work in waste disposal if I'm not mistaken..." he went on as Miki had taken to looking out at the storm past the awning."I'm sure they've already thought of possible delayed exposure to radiation maybe, or..."
He was startled once again as she stood up, struggling a bit, tears streaming down her face as she nodded. "This interview is going to have to be cut short. I'm sorry. Neither of us will make it in time. I wish I had seen this sooner. But it's earlier than expected..."
"I don't understand..." Andy shook his head, his expression growing ever more puzzled as he glanced at Miki with concern. "Are you sure, you're alright, Tezawa-San? If the storms' bothering you we could reschedule, perhaps?"
"Don't be a hero...." Miki smiled sadly once again, cupping his face with her hand, shakily. "I will be okay."
Andy shook his head, wondering if whatever illness that was affecting her had begun to take a terrible toll. Maybe he just had bad timing with this. She didn't sound like this when she had spoken to him over the phone. As a matter of fact-
"URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
A near-deafening noise came over the horizon. And after it sounded off, it was as if everything fell silent for a moment. "What the hell was that...?" Andy asked in shock, standing up to look out over the towards the tumultuous seas. The winds were rapidly picking up and it seemed that the waves had grown dangerously large. "Miss Tezawa, I'm starting to think we should make our leave. This hotel is supposed to be barricaded in case of typhoons, so...."
"URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
The sound echoed louder than before as a wave, without any buildup or warning proceeded to cast a menacing shadow over the hotel where the reporter and the alleged psychic were standing, taking with it, several trees and a car headed right at them. "Miss Tezawa!" was all Andy could shout as he pushed her aside, back away from the balcony before the vehicle could hit them both. He felt bad about it, almost. He knew she was sick, but he'd hoped she be okay. No reason they both should die like this. Before everything faded, he'd seen her reach out to him. And behind him it was as if everything slowed but the sound of rushing water and that deep screeching rumble that sounded like nothing on this Earth.
***
Three Days Later...
It was only after three days, that they emergency response teams declared all survivors found. Extensive efforts had been made in those few days, and there was a lot of rubble left to sift through but barring a miracle. Those that had not been found yet, could not have survived. It was as if a mass of flotsam and jetsam had washed ashore on the beach alongside a tide of fish that had made it to shore. It was complete chaos. As families waited for responses with bated breath, more emergency teams poured onto the scene along with the various members of the international news press and the military. At least five helicopters flew overhead now safe to travel amidst the cleared skies. Some loved ones of the potential victims had even made their way to the island, just to aid in the search efforts as today was the first time volunteer groups had been allowed to survey the aftermath.
Among the missing were Andy Chow and Miki Tezawa. Many members of The Daily Discovery and associates were present at this point both to do their job and perhaps also to pay respect. After all, even if they had not met Chow personally, the legacy of his work did not go without mention to any who so much as glanced at TDD. This was an international tragedy. One of the biggest recorded Typhoons to date, but it had died far quicker than it should have.
Wei Chow had stood out, looking aimlessly at the rubble since he had arrived. He hadn't helped the volunteers just yet like many of the other family and friends of the victims that could make it there. He simply listened and watched with a five-yard stare as he breathed heavily on the busy, gloomy beach. There was only one thing that seemed to get a reaction out of him. And that was the murmurs of the rescued victims.
Murmurs that Miki Tezawa was alive...that they'd seen her after their rescue, walking away from the rubble. And Wei's hand shook in anger. He was no reporter like his father, but he had his own lead to follow...
Resort town. Half the population wasn't even native, surprisingly. Or at least it was to first-time tourists. Beautiful beaches, wondrous vistas. Even a Disneyland resort. This was the perfect place to retire. Or it would be if it wasn't typhoon season. Late summer was the typical period for when the storms got really bad, but for whatever reason, be it bad luck, global warming, or divine providence...the storms had been kicking off earlier than usual since March. Nothing devastating. At most, there'd be a flash flood that might be of concern but preventative measures taken up by the citizens and the local government seem to have waylaid the damage from that. And on the days when it didn't rain and the sun peaked out of the cloudy sky...it was nice.
This, of course, was not one of those days, but Andy Chow was hoping. At age 68, he was The Daily Discovery's oldest active field reporter. He and that paper went way back. Back to when it was JUST a paper even. He'd seen it go through a few editor-in-chiefs. Each one he hated and respected in different ways. He'd even been offered the position once, but he turned them down. Just wasn't his way to sit behind a desk when he could still sniff out the truth from miles away.
Nowadays, though...well, his nose weren't working too well. Either that or the truth is just muddier than it ever was.
KCRACK!!
Andy turned his head over towards the crackling lighting flashing over the ocean. Even with the rain pouring down, it was kind of a nice view at this particular beachside hotel where he awaited the subject of his interview. The awning extended far enough past the balcony, to keep him from getting drenched as he sighed and idly sipped his tea at the white round table he sat at. He began to recall about three or so years ago a storm like this had formed after a cruiseliner had gone missing out at sea. Worse than this even. That was an angry fucking storm. Almost like it was lashing out.
A lot of odd disappearances began to crop up like that over the past few years. Not always out at sea either. A couple of aircraft had been reported to have vanished without a trace. Hikers too. People were scared more than ever. And it didn't help that the usual crowd wanted to ruffle feathers. They claimed these disappearances heralded the end times and many people believed them. What such doomsayers didn't have was facts, of course, but that didn't stop them from trying to drag the whole world down to their level and halfway succeeding.
Call it arrogance, call it whatever you want, but Andy felt it was his responsibility to make sure at least some people were sane enough to listen to logic and reason once the facts got out there. And since this was supposed to be his last job, well....he sure hoped the others at TDD were up to the task. He hoenstly didn't know. Didn't fraternize much. Especially given the unsavory connections they sometimes had to uphold to skirt the law when they needed to.
SH-SHUUUM!
The storm grew louder as the winds picked up, the palm trees could be seen swaying on the ground below. Andy had to admit, the scenery while still breathtaking in it's own way, did look rather apocalyptic. He sighed, glancing at his watch. She was late. The woman he was set to interview for his last piece. She was a voice of reason and a loud one too. Once a reporter herself, he'd learned. Miki Tezawa. Moved to HK in January. Always a loud proponent against the doomsayers, but that wasn't exactly anything groundbreaking. Here's where the kicker came in. She had tons of followers on social media. Many, practically converted from supporting the doomsayers to supporting her. Why? They claimed she was psychic. And she doubled down on it.
Andy had seen her blogs. Spoken to her even a little before this interview. She was very well educated, and reasonable. So why pull off this psychic ruse, he just didn't understand. He heard a screech opposite the balcony. It was Tezawa herself. Upon seeing her, Andy was honestly taken aback. She had become something of a recluse by her admission....but this was the first time he perhaps understood why. She looked sick. Pale as a ghost. She had to use a walker to aid her movement and she had an IV injected into her wrist with numerous fluids hooked up to some medical hodgepodge tied to her walker. So thin her robe was practically draped over her like a cape. Still a bit of youth in the face, she was only 25, but the bags under her eyes made it seem like she hadn't slept in a long time.
"My God..." Andy put his glasses down to clean some droplets of stray rainwater on them. "I...I didn't know...Sorry," he apologized, having defaulted to English, as he did for most citizens of this area. He'd forgotten to ask which language she was most comfortable speaking in. In his time, he'd haad to learn quite a few and-
"English is fine," Miki smiled, interrupting his thoughts as she hobbled towards the other chair. Andy sat up to pull out the chair for her to sit in. She moved like she was two decades older than him. Gratefully she nodded to sit down and continued in a shaky voice. "Doctors...haven't been able to figure it out yet. By all appearances, it looks to be a degenerative disease. Something attacking the cells, I've taken multiple tests from the finest doctors in several countries and they can't find anything amiss. No degenerative cells, nothing cancerous. I'm a bit of a modern medical marvel."
"Huh..." Andy paused, placing his glasses back on. "That's....I'm so sorry. I-I hope you don't mind but I'd ordered us some tea," he stammered as he pulled up a manilla folder from his briefcase, where his notes were compiled. He liked to keep physical copies as well as backups on his phone. No reason to not embrace the way things had progressed without keeping to what he liked. It was possible to have your cake and eat it too. He took out a pen as well to jot some quick notes down. "How long have you uh...how long have you-?"
"Symptoms first appeared two years ago. That's when I started developing my powers..." she answered with a sad smile. "How's your son Mr. Chow?" she asked.
Andy gave her a puzzled look. If she was hoping this would convince him of her alleged psychic powers, she'd have to try harder. He paused as he looked at his notes. She smiled, almost at what he was thinking. It was nothing but kind, but he couldn't help but get a bit of an eerie feeling. Still, he didn't feel too convinced. If she's a con artist, she's a well-practiced one. But still, he couldn't help but feel there was a story here. "Wei is fine...working security with some pop band," he responded. Which is something one could easily look up for themselves if they knew how to do some digging, which she assuredly did. "So, your condition is tied to your 'powers'? he asked. And the doctors really couldn't find the cause huh?" he'd asked both for confirmation and out of genuine concern. No one this young should have to suffer all this.
Tears began to stream down her pale face and Andy's heart dropped. He didn't want to press too hard with his line of questioning. "Your family used to work in waste disposal if I'm not mistaken..." he went on as Miki had taken to looking out at the storm past the awning."I'm sure they've already thought of possible delayed exposure to radiation maybe, or..."
He was startled once again as she stood up, struggling a bit, tears streaming down her face as she nodded. "This interview is going to have to be cut short. I'm sorry. Neither of us will make it in time. I wish I had seen this sooner. But it's earlier than expected..."
"I don't understand..." Andy shook his head, his expression growing ever more puzzled as he glanced at Miki with concern. "Are you sure, you're alright, Tezawa-San? If the storms' bothering you we could reschedule, perhaps?"
"Don't be a hero...." Miki smiled sadly once again, cupping his face with her hand, shakily. "I will be okay."
Andy shook his head, wondering if whatever illness that was affecting her had begun to take a terrible toll. Maybe he just had bad timing with this. She didn't sound like this when she had spoken to him over the phone. As a matter of fact-
"URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
A near-deafening noise came over the horizon. And after it sounded off, it was as if everything fell silent for a moment. "What the hell was that...?" Andy asked in shock, standing up to look out over the towards the tumultuous seas. The winds were rapidly picking up and it seemed that the waves had grown dangerously large. "Miss Tezawa, I'm starting to think we should make our leave. This hotel is supposed to be barricaded in case of typhoons, so...."
"URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
The sound echoed louder than before as a wave, without any buildup or warning proceeded to cast a menacing shadow over the hotel where the reporter and the alleged psychic were standing, taking with it, several trees and a car headed right at them. "Miss Tezawa!" was all Andy could shout as he pushed her aside, back away from the balcony before the vehicle could hit them both. He felt bad about it, almost. He knew she was sick, but he'd hoped she be okay. No reason they both should die like this. Before everything faded, he'd seen her reach out to him. And behind him it was as if everything slowed but the sound of rushing water and that deep screeching rumble that sounded like nothing on this Earth.
***
Three Days Later...
It was only after three days, that they emergency response teams declared all survivors found. Extensive efforts had been made in those few days, and there was a lot of rubble left to sift through but barring a miracle. Those that had not been found yet, could not have survived. It was as if a mass of flotsam and jetsam had washed ashore on the beach alongside a tide of fish that had made it to shore. It was complete chaos. As families waited for responses with bated breath, more emergency teams poured onto the scene along with the various members of the international news press and the military. At least five helicopters flew overhead now safe to travel amidst the cleared skies. Some loved ones of the potential victims had even made their way to the island, just to aid in the search efforts as today was the first time volunteer groups had been allowed to survey the aftermath.
Among the missing were Andy Chow and Miki Tezawa. Many members of The Daily Discovery and associates were present at this point both to do their job and perhaps also to pay respect. After all, even if they had not met Chow personally, the legacy of his work did not go without mention to any who so much as glanced at TDD. This was an international tragedy. One of the biggest recorded Typhoons to date, but it had died far quicker than it should have.
Wei Chow had stood out, looking aimlessly at the rubble since he had arrived. He hadn't helped the volunteers just yet like many of the other family and friends of the victims that could make it there. He simply listened and watched with a five-yard stare as he breathed heavily on the busy, gloomy beach. There was only one thing that seemed to get a reaction out of him. And that was the murmurs of the rescued victims.
Murmurs that Miki Tezawa was alive...that they'd seen her after their rescue, walking away from the rubble. And Wei's hand shook in anger. He was no reporter like his father, but he had his own lead to follow...
