Chapter Five: Civilisation

Gareth felt movement return to him. He blinked and tried to move his arms, but found himself still stuck in the spider web. Gareth frowned. Obviously the gnome had hit him with... Gareth caught a glimpse of the huge mass of the purple worm sliding towards him and swore. He struggled in the spider web wildly but only ended up more entangled. Gareth saw something fly towards him from a distance away and jerked his head. A moment later a crossbow bolt landed in the web next to him. Gareth panicked. It wasn't bad enough to be stuck in the web with a purple worm coming towards him, no now the strange gnome-killer was nearby as well. Gareth's mind raced. There had to be some way to get out... Of course! Gareth twisted his arm around to grab the elven dagger of his belt. With all his remaining strength he broke the webs holding his other hand and scrawled hastily on the dagger. The purple worm was far too close for comfort and began to open it's huge mouth. The elven dagger glowed and suddenly changed. Gareth could feel the dagger grow slightly longer and his messy words become neat engravings: Sting. Gareth swung Sting around and the webs fell from around him. The purple worm leapt at him and he threw his body to the side. The purple worm clenched down on him, causing a painful wound on his shoulder. Gareth screamed and staggered to his feet. From nearby he could hear surprised shouts from Joe, and running feet. Gareth reached into his pocket but found it empty. The gnome must have stolen his ring of teleportation. There was another twang from a crossbow nearby, but this time the bolt flew into the purple worm. The purple worm swung around as though looking for it's attacker. Gareth moved as fast as he could manage away from the purple worm. Gareth could hear several more twangs, and it seemed whoever was wielding the crossbow seemed intent on slaying the beast. Gareth watched for a moment as the worm began to charge in the direction of their unknown ally. Gareth drew upon his strength and cast a few force bolts that slammed into the purple worm. From the corner of his eye he saw a movement, so he turned around. Gareth saw Joe struggling up to him.

"Gareth! I thought you were dead for sure! How did..." Joe said. Gareth held up Sting in response.

"I swear, when I get my hands on that gnome..." Gareth began, leaving his threat hanging. Joe shook his head.

"You're too late. Bill got him just a few minutes ago," Joe said. The two were silent for a moment, then the roar of the purple worm caused them to look around.

"Who is that?" Gareth asked.

"I don't know. We'd better help him," Joe replied.

"How are we supposed to help him defeat that... that... thing?" Gareth questioned, motioning at the purple worm.

"I don't... what the heck?" Joe exclaimed. To Gareth's surprise the purple worm was gone, changed into some kind of giant.

"Ah, fu-dge!" a strangely familiar voice called. Before Gareth had a chance to say anything the giant was gone. In it's place was a small creature that Gareth couldn't make out clearly. Gareth waved his hands around to cast light. Just inside the illuminated square was a small newt.

"Ow!" Joe said suddenly, clutching his arm. He tugged at it and pulled a bloodied dart. Gareth watched as another dart flew out of the darkness, colliding with, and killing, the newt. Gareth stepped forward towards the remains.

"Who are you?" Gareth called into the darkness. He saw the person walk forward, gradually becoming more clear.

"Oh, you don't know yet? I'm a ranger," the person said. As the person stepped fully into the light Gareth gasped. "I'm just not very good at it yet."

"Mark!" Gareth called, smiling. It was indeed Markus that stood before him and Joe. He was dressed in light armour and a flowing elven cloak, and he was carrying an assortment of long-range weaponry at his side. It looked like Gareth was an elven ranger, but of what alignment Gareth didn't know. Actually he wasn't even sure of his own alignment, though he felt relatively neutral.

"I don't suppose you have a clue what's up with being in this game or anything? I've given up trying to figure that out!" Markus said, walking up to Gareth and Joe. Joe shrugged.

"I don't really know either. There was just a flash of lightening or something, then here we were. What happened to you?" Joe asked.

"It was pretty strange. I'd just gotten home from school and I'd gone to play Nethack. I'd loaded up my character, a ranger if that matters, and I'd gone to get myself a drink. As I walked downstairs I heard a smashing. This strange guy was standing in my living room, dressed in black. He was holding a knife, so I ran upstairs. It was really weird though, because aside from the fact he had just broken in and was armed there was this strange... I dunno, dark aura around him. It was scary. Heh, or maybe it was just me being a wimp. I reached my room and went to grab my baseball bat..." Markus began recounting.

"Wait, you were going to fight him? What are you, crazy?" Gareth interrupted.

"It was that or let him steal everything... though looking back perhaps that would have been the best option! Anyway, so he runs into my room and tells me to get on the floor. I swing my bat at him and he steps to the side. I tried to hit him a few more times, but he just avoided them like it was nothing. I was pretty angry now and he started laughing at me. He muttered something about me being the first and then there was a bright flash. Next thing I know I'm in a cold dungeon and carrying an assortment of ranged weapons," Markus finished.

"Interesting... I wonder who the intruder was? You don't suppose it was him..." Joe began, leaving his sentence hanging.

"Who knows? So how'd you end up here?" Gareth asked.

"Easily?" Markus answered questioningly. Gareth shook his head.

"Considering how much trouble... and losses... we've had to get here, I'd like a bit more of an answer than that," Gareth said.

"Losses? What do you mean?" Markus asked.

"You know my sister Tara? She came into the dungeon as well... She was killed by another player," Joe said sadly.

"Ah... which other player?" Markus questioned.

"A rather hostile barbarian. We've also seen an honourable rogue and some destructive player that we're not sure the class of," Gareth answered.

"An honourable rogue? Right... I've seen another player as well. He was an archaeologist I think, by the name of Ronald. He seemed quite intent of relieving me of my money one way or another. First he tried to sell me junk, and then offered to join with me... for a price of course," Markus said.

"I wonder how many people this has happened too?" Joe considered. "So could you tell us what happened to you?"

"Oh right. Well once I got over the face I was inside of a game I just began descending quickly. I figured if this had happened to anyone else then the most likely place to meet with them would be mine town. I had a bit of trouble getting through the mines until some strange player came along killing everything in his path. It was only due to my stealth I managed to get away. That was when I met Ronald. After he finally gave up trying to get my gold I kept going downwards, collecting everything that destructive player had left behind. I'd just entered this level when I saw Joe. Not much later I found that purple worm, and here I am!" Markus recounted. The three were silent for a moment until Joe spoke.

"We'd better get moving. The sooner we reach the safety of mine town the sooner we can rest properly," Joe said. Gareth nodded.

"What makes mine town any safer than here?" Markus asked.

"The buildings make it easier to defend if necessary, hopefully the guards might actually help now, there are shops to get some equipment..." Joe began. Markus held his hands out in front of him.

"Okay, okay! I get it. Let's just move on shall we?" Markus said. "I can show you the way down from here. It's not far off."

"Speaking of equipment, do you have any spear armour or anything? It's a long story, but we don't really have much stuff at all," Gareth asked.

"I don't have that much. I've spent most of my time camping out here in the mines, and for some reason there haven't been that many monsters. I was going to collect up the assorted items but then someone just began to collect and take them all. In the last day all I've found is this crossbow," Markus said, motioning towards his crossbow.

"I wonder why he just left the crossbow..." Gareth wondered.

"I'll make a wild guess here and say because it seems to be cursed," Markus said, waving his hand around wildly. Gareth watched in amusement as the crossbow stayed stuck to his hand. Joe sighed.

"Do you have any scrolls of remove curse?" Joe asked. Much to Gareth's surprise Markus nodded.

"Yeah I do. These bloody scrolls must be the one thing I haven't found in short surprise. I've used... six so far I think, and I've still got two left. I'm going to wait until mine town though, since if the altar is co-aligned I can probably just pray to get them uncursed. I haven't tried, but I bet you could actually ask your god for a certain favour," Markus explained.

"I guess... so where's the way down then?" Gareth asked.

"It's about twenty metres that way," Markus said, pointing into the darkness. Gareth, Joe and Markus walked over and sure enough the staircase down was there.

"Could you just wait here a moment?" Joe asked. "I want to go get Bill." Without waiting for an answer Joe darted off into the darkness.

"Who's Bill?" Markus asked.

"A horse. Joe is the only one who has a pet left alive. I think he's getting a bit attached," Gareth replied. The two were silent for a while until Markus spoke again.

"Hey, did you get that English essay finished? I don't think I'm going to have time to do it myself once we get out of here," Markus asked. Gareth was surprised at this. How could he think of something as trivial as an essay when their lives were in danger?

"Does it really matter? We're stuck in a bloody video game without any obvious way to get out. Our lives are in danger. Joe's sister has already died in here, and you can worry about a god-damned English mark?!" Gareth half-screamed.

"Gees, I was asking. How do reckon we'll be getting out of here anyway? I know we can't just walk out of of the dungeon. I'm thinking we should try to get levitation and just level-teleport out. I have no idea where we'd end up, but it can't be much worse than in here!" Markus suggested.

"It could work, but for some reason I don't think it will. It would be a bit convenient don't you think? If we can't leave via the staircase then we might not be able to leave at all..." Gareth said, trailing off.

"I'm sure we'll find some way. Besides, with Joe with us we can always just win the game!" Markus said.

"I'm glad at least you are optimistic," Gareth sighed, slumping onto the ground.

"By the way, your a wizard right?" Markus asked. Gareth nodded. "What spells do you know?"

"A whole three. Force bolt, light and invisibility. I've got another spell book with me as well, but I'm going to wait until mine town to read it," Gareth said. Markus rummaged around in his backpack for a moment and drew out another three spell books. Gareth's eyes bulged at the length of the third book.

"Then here's a present for you! I can't be bothered learning any of them, and any way I'd rather focus on my ranged combat," Markus said, handing the books over. Gareth placed them in his own backpack.

"Thanks," Gareth said. Markus laughed.

"You can thank me by saving my ass every time I get in trouble," Markus said. Gareth smiled to himself and watched as Joe rode up on Bill.

"Let's go," Joe said, and the three descended the staircase.

Joe looked around and resisted the temptation to groan. Annoyingly Gareth and Markus didn't resist that temptation at all. They were in another dark level, and it didn't look like mine town.

"Not another one..." Gareth moaned. Joe looked around and heard Markus's crossbow twang. Joe felt a sharp pain in his side and he turned around angrily. Markus was standing next to a yellow mold that had appeared next to him. Gareth glared at him.

"I can't help it! The stupid bolts are cursed as well!" Markus pleaded. Gareth walked up and cast force bolt on the mold a few times, killing it.

"How is your standing with your god? Can't you just pray now?" Joe suggested. It wasn't that he wasn't sort of glad that Markus was with them, but he was going to be a burden if he didn't do something about his weapon.

"I don't know! I've prayed a couple of times for healing while I've been here, but unless someone explains exactly how long a turn is it's a bit hard to tell without an altar," Markus said. Gareth looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Maybe it depends," Gareth said. Markus looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Markus asked.

"In Nethack time didn't pass until you did an action right? But some of those actions would take different amount of time. A single attack on an enemy would take a few seconds, but sitting down and eating a food ration would take five or ten minutes. These still took a single turn though. So what if the 'turns' in the game are effected by what we do? If Joe was fighting and I was sitting down eating a food ration the actual turn rate might be different, meaning Joe could pray more often than I could," Gareth explained. Joe thought about this for a moment, and Markus stared at Gareth.

"Uh... I have no idea what you just said," Markus said.

"Never mind. I'm probably wrong anyway. It was just a thought," Gareth said. Joe began to walk away from the Gareth and Markus.

"I think we should split up just for now. As soon as someone find the staircase, yell," Joe suggested. Gareth nodded and Markus shrugged. Joe took a few steps forward when Markus screamed in his ear.

"JOE!" Markus screamed. Joe stepped back clutching his ear.

"Ow... what?" Joe said in annoyance.

"I found the staircase," Markus said. Joe followed him all of two metres to find the staircase down, just out of the three's initial line of sight.

"Did you have to yell?" Joe said angrily. Markus grinned.

"You told me to," Markus said, stepping down the stairs. Joe frowned and lead Bill down the stairs. As he reached the bottom he saw the area was lit up at least. The cavern seemed smaller, and squared shaped. Joe was relieved to see a welcome site on one wall: a door. They had finally reached mine town.

"Well it's about time," Joe said, opening the door. Gareth came down the stairs as he did so.

"Oh good," Gareth said.

"Hey, I know you're going to have trouble believing this, but I just had a thought," Markus said.

"What?" Joe asked curiously.

"It's pretty obvious we have different alignments in theory, even if they don't seem to be effecting our actions at all. Has anyone stopped to think that the classes have different gods?" Markus said.

"You know... I hadn't thought of that. How often does the actual god matter at all in Nethack anyway?" Gareth pondered.

"Now. In any case we'd still better go and look," Joe said. He began to walk down the passage, killing a hostile gnome in his way. At the end of the passage was another door which Joe opened. Behind it was the main area of mine town. Joe stepped out and looked around. The area seemed to be one of the rectangular designs, a more open one. From where he was standing Joe could see several buildings and one of the fountains. Several tough looking guards were wandering about. Joe noticed one of them seemed to be keeping an eye constantly on them.

"It seems a lot larger than in the game," Gareth commented.

"So where do we start?" Joe asked.

"I think we'd better check out the altar first," Gareth decided.

"I think I recognise this layout. The altar should be over there," Joe said, pointing to one of the nearby buildings. Joe walked up the building's door, and as he past the guard Markus whispered in his ear.

"Dude, do you think he's gay?" Markus whispered, chuckling to himself. Joe frowned. It wasn't that he had anything against Markus's 'humour', it was just that now was perhaps not the most appropriate time. He always had though. Joe hoped it wouldn't get him into serious trouble like it had... but this wasn't the time to be thinking of that.

"Keep your mouth shut or you'll taste my steel!" the guard threatened. Markus just shrugged and kept walking. The three soon arrived at the temple and Joe swung open the door. Inside was the priest and the altar as expected... but there was also a second altar near the wall. Joe walked over to it and took a look. The designs on the altar were unfamiliar, but from the gist of it it seemed like it was an altar to some chaotic god... The altar itself was very crude. It had probably been carved from a large metal object of some kind.

"This is strange," Joe said to himself. Gareth wondered over to take a look at the altar.

"Interesting. I wonder who tried to carve this?" Gareth considered, looking up and down the altar in interest.

"No idea. Whoever it was they must have a lot of strength. The real question is what was it carved from?" Joe wondered.

"A boulder perhaps? I don't know. Does it really matter? I wonder if it works or not. Some of the designs look unfinished, like whoever was carving it had to stop very suddenly, and unexpectedly," Gareth said, running his fingers over the carving of what look like the top half a demon.

"Hey! Guys! Guess what?" Markus called out. Joe and Gareth turned away from the crude altar and faced Markus, who was kneeling nearby the main altar.

"What?" Joe asked, rather unnecessarily.

"The altar is for my god! All hail the great and glories Mars!" Markus yelled, motioning towards the altar and making gestures towards the heavens. Joe noticed the priest nearby was becoming annoyed.

"I guess it's better than not having an altar at all," Gareth reasoned. Joe nodded his support.

"You guys are so cruel," Markus said, taking out a collection of assorted items from his backpack. Gareth quickly followed and Joe did the same. Joe handed his spare items that he wasn't either wearing of wielding to Gareth, and began to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Gareth asked.

"To see an old friend. I wont be too long," Joe said, leaving the room.

Gareth stared at the empty space in the doorway for a moment. 'To see an old friend'? What was Joe on about? Well it didn't matter too much. Gareth walked over to the altar and saw that Markus was already dumping the contents of his backpack over the altar.

"Markus! I think you'd better do them one at a time," Gareth instructed.

"Why? I can't be bothered checking each thing individually. The sooner I can get these done and go shopping the better!" Markus said, continuing to pour things. Amongst the items Gareth noticed several flashes, both light and dark. "Eh? Which ones were those?"

"That's why you should do them in ones," Gareth said. Markus muttered something under his breath and began gathering the items up. Gareth approached the altar and dropped down one of the spell books Markus had given him. Nothing. Gareth dropped a second spell book. This time there was a sudden darkness emanating from around the spell book, though only for a second or so. That must be cursed then. Gareth dropped a third book. This time the altar and the book were momentarily emerged in a pale amber light. Blessed. Gareth sighed and continued to check each item one at a time. After he had done about half of his items he had a thought.

"Hey, Markus," Gareth said. Markus looked up from his own monotonous work.

"Yeah?" Markus asked.

"What day was it that you entered this place?" Gareth asked.

"Uh... Wednesday afternoon. Why?" Markus answered. Gareth thought for a moment.

"It was Thursday night when we entered. No one has had to sleep yet though..." Gareth considered.

"So? It's Nethack. Your an adventurer and hero! Why sleep when you can kill things?" Markus said.

"I know it's Nethack. That's not the point. I'm just wondering, what do you think will happen if we manage to leave somehow?" Gareth asked.

"Uh... we'll end up back in the real world?" Markus suggested.

"Yes. But what would happen if we've been in here a while? After a week or two without sleep, imagine how tired you'd be the instant you needed it again. What about thirst? We don't need to drink here, but if we haven't drunk enough when we leave..." Gareth said, leaving the comment hanging. The dungeon was clearly dangerous, but if he was right leaving could be even more dangerous.

"We could just appear the instant we left. Your just a pessimist," Markus shrugged, though Gareth could see that he was at least a bit concerned about this. Gareth thought about this for a while. If he and Joe appeared when they had left, that wouldn't be too great. His memory of the exact event was a bit hazy, but he was sure that lightening had struck the computer when it had happened. Perhaps it was only by going to into the game that had saved them. And hadn't Markus been in danger when he had entered too? But that would make leaving almost suicidal either way...

"At what point in the game were you when this happened?" Gareth asked.

"The wizard's tower. I'd like to say I was kicking serious arse, but realistically I don't think my ranger was going to survive much longer. Hey you know what would be cool? Winning this game now, while we're in it. That would make one screwed-up YAAP," Markus laughed.

"Joe's character was in danger too..." Gareth considered. "We need to get in touch with one of the other players. I have an idea."

Joe threw open the door in front of him. Behind the door lay a small room, with two angry gnomes inside. Joe frowned and killed them. This was the... fourth now, time this had happened. There seemed to be a complete lack of any shops here. Joe walked out and went to the next door. Crossing his fingers he threw the door open. Behind this one was a small shop, filled with candles and a single lamp. Standing near the entrance was the familiar figure of Izchak.

"Izchak," Joe said.

"Random adventurer," Izchak replied, smiling.

"My name's Joe," Joe said.

"Well, Joe, why don't you come in? I've got a great sale on today. By a candle and get a candle free. Conditions apply," Izchak said, taking a sip from a large cup that he held in one hand.

"And what conditions might they be?" Joe asked, walking into the shop and shutting the door behind him.

"You can only get the candle you just bought for free!" Izchak laughed. Joe stared for a moment, unimpressed.

"Do you tell that to everyone who comes in here?" Joe asked.

"Uh... yeah," Izchak admitted. There was an awkward silence, then he spoke again. "So, can I get you anything?"

"Actually I'm not here about that. A shopkeeper from near the dungeon entrance sent me. He called himself 'TG' if that helps," Joe said. Izchak grinned.

"Oh, that guy. So you're one of those adventurers then?" Izchak asked.

"What do you mean?" Joe asked.

"Apparently in the last few days there has been a group of assorted adventures who claim they have come from another world. Like, they didn't enter the dungeon of they're own choice. It's strange," Izchak explained.

"Wait, you mean there were adventurers here before that?" Joe asked.

"Of course! I get adventurers come through here every week or so. TG has told me he's had customers every few days. I guess a lot of them don't make it all the way down here. Good for you that you were one of the luck ones, eh?" Izchak said. Joe wandered over to the single lamp, thinking. If that was true then... could it be that they were not so much in a game as in a whole different world? So why couldn't they leave the dungeon? Maybe the shopkeepers only remembered previous adventurers, but that hadn't actually happened?

"Could you tell me anything about the other shopkeepers?" Joe asked. Izchak stopped smiling.

"Okay. But if anybody asks, it didn't come from me alright? It works like this. Most of the shopkeepers didn't actually come into the dungeon to sell stuff. Why would you set up shop in here when you could just set up one out of the cave in perfect safety? TG was the only one crazy enough to go into the dungeon. He's always going on about the one of the amulet not knowing his name, but it wouldn't make a difference at all. You ever wonder why the shopkeepers are so tough?" Izchak began.

"To protect their stores?" Joe guessed. Izchak shook his head.

"Wrong. Whenever the wizard himself manages to kill an adventurer, which doesn't happen that much really, he doesn't actually kill them. He just enchants them and destroys their minds to become slaves. He will weaken ones that are too strong, just in case they manage to resist the brain destruction. Then they becoming shop keepers," Izchak explained.

"So what about you then? Why are you crazy enough to risk the dungeon for a single sale a week?" Joe asked. Izchak laughed and grinned again.

"I ask myself the same question every morning. Not that you can really tell morning from night here... I might as well tell you my story. Don't worry, it's not very long. It was... oh... thirty or so years ago. I can't really judge time in here. But a long time anyway. I was an aspiring adventurer myself at the time. So this hero of the time, Bob the Bold, finds these caverns. He goes in for a week, and comes back out. Rumours of treasure and power hidden deep in the caves spread like wildfire. As it turned out Bob had fled the dungeon when he became too difficult. The treasure he had supposedly found was supposedly stolen by criminals, so people pitied him. As far as I know he's still living for free. After a few months nobody had managed to survive the dungeon, though a few a fled early on with little treasure. Stories about a town of gnomes, an all-knowing oracle, a huge puzzle and other assorted things began to circulate. At that time I had just finished my training, so I myself decided to have a crack at the dungeon. I has managed to get down to here okay, though only by using an assortment of magical items that my parents had purchased for me. I met up with the gnomes and the start of this town, so I decided to rest for a few days. Suddenly the amount of monsters and their difficulty seemed to increase hugely. It got to the point that this town was invaded and monsters walked the streets, leaving the town in ruin. I hid in one of the buildings for a while, until a large group of guards found me. They had begun to fight off invading monsters, so I could come out. It was still too dangerous for me to leave the town though, so I set up this store. Time past. People came and left. I've tried many times to leave, but the gnomes outside here are all hostile towards me, and I could never get through," Izchak recounted.

"If it's the gnomes that are the problem, you don't have to worry about them any more. Almost all of them above here were killed," Joe said.

"Sure they were killed now, but there's some strange magic in these caverns. You'll probably find them replaced by wolves or something if you went up now," Izchak sighed. "I'm pretty much stuck down here for life. It ain't all bad though. TG comes down to visit by magic sometimes, and I talk with the guards most days. This place gets pretty interesting when you lot come through as well." Joe examined the lamp as Izchak spoke.

"Speaking of such things, I need help. For some reason I'm not aware of, the exit out of here is blocked by magic for me and my friends. Do you know anything about that?" Joe asked. Izchak shook his head.

"Strange. I've never heard of anything like that before. You could ask the oracle perhaps, she seems to know everything. Though with the events of the last few days... who knows?" Izchak said.

"Oh well. Thanks anyway I guess. By the way, how much for this lamp?" Joe asked.

"Ten gold," Izchak said.

"Damn. I guess I'll take it anyway," Joe said, handing over the gold. There didn't seem to be much point in buying candles, at least not yet. The thought of having to need them frightened him somewhat, and they could always buy them later. Joe waved good-bye to Izchak and began walking back to the temple. If he was going to go find the other stores he had better get the rest of the money, and there was much to discuss about what to do next...

The TV screen faded from darkness into colour, and the image of a laughing family was displayed. The image was shown for only a moment until it changed, twice. Now the picture of a jail was shown. The jail looked relatively normal save for a section of wall which had been knocked down. Standing beside the spectacle was a tall young women holding an ordinary-looking microphone.

"...prisoners escaped in the break-out earlier this morning. No one saw how the escapees managed to break down the wall, but it has been assumed that they had somehow obtained an explosive device. The strangest thing though is that though the security tapes were running the whole time nothing was seen. We now cross live to PC John Clork who was the first to arrive at the scene," the women reported. The image switched to one of a police officer standing in front of a few reporters. In the background there appeared to be a much larger crowd, though what they were crowding about was not clear.

"At the moment we are looking into the possibility of a corrupt worker in the jail itself who has stolen the real footage. The tape we received only shows the wall in it's undamaged state, until a burst of static for a few seconds. After this the wall is shown destroyed and nobody around. We warn the public that these criminals are dangerous and if you see them you should not confront them in any way," PC Clork said

"Rumours have it that this hasn't been the only break-out, and that there was a worse one at a secure prison. Is this true?" one reporter asked. PC Clork frowned slightly.

"We can confirm there was a minor security breach in other prisons, but the details are not to be released at this time," PC Clork answered coolly.

"Is it true that all of the escapees were murders?" another reporter asked.

"Again, the details of..." PC Clork began, but was interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone. "Excuse me a moment." The reporters only crowded in closer as he spoke into the phone.

"Yes? ... No nothing important ... Not yet ... Sorry sir I... he what?! I'll get to it right away!" PC Clork clicked the mobile shut and strode hurriedly away from the even more eager reporters. The screen switched again the women near the prison.

"We'll be bringing you updates on this story every hour. Back to you Tracy," the women said. The screen now showed Tracy sitting a desk with some papers in front of her. In the background was the logo for channel NAM.

"Thank you Samantha. In other news, fear in the suburbs increases as the number of missing children has risen again to thirteen. As yet there have still been..." The TV suddenly went black with a quite click. In the near-darkness of surrounding room a strange figure slowly placed the remote down.

"So. It has begun," the person said quietly.