Total destruction. Atrocity. Chaos. The cozy island of
Karissa off the coast of Greece has never seen anything so hideous nor horrific
in the past. In fact, Karissa was especially known for its peaceful ways. Ever since the
reign of the Karissa family, violence was no longer known. The new monarchy, in
order to maintain stability, exercised a new method of control. They called it compliance
with freedom, essentially tyranny with equality. The Karissian rules were
simple: live, work, and die for the greater good. Any interference was to be
avoided, or forgotten. If something did not benefit society, it had to go. Feelings and desires, if it did not help the
community, was looked down upon. For a long while in isolation, this system
developed.
Pretty soon, the enchanted island
radiated prosperity and contentment. The reign of the Karissian Empire became
legend. To the eyes of the preying public, there was no place more perfect than
this island; it was even rumored that the island was a gateway to paradise. A warm
island with clear waters and sunny skies, what more could be desired? A place
where the tropical breeze blew, it was the perfect setting for a cliché story,
the ones about summer romance. Karissa was pleasant, filled with the harmonious
music of singing birds and the calming hum of the ocean waves. Plus, with all
the perks of industrialization, Karissa was not at all a bad place to live.
But now, bodies—corpses—covered
every inch of the island. A pool of blood had formed on the earth. Every
inhabitant had been found, twisted in a grotesque fashion, stained with
splotches of scarlet. The stench of rotten flesh burned. Karissa was covered in
bodies with once gaping wounds whose faces were frozen in a state of absolute
terror. The bodies that still looked like bodies had suffered blunt force
trauma and hemorrhaging, but these scientific terms described nothing. In fact,
there really wasn’t a way to fully describe what had happened, and no one knew,
either.
Everyone simply assumed a political
conflict. After all, the Karissian family had been ruling for quite a while,
longer than anyone else had in the past. Conspiracy was a possibility. The
prosperous island was something to be eyed; it would be of no surprise if someone
wanted to become the ruler of it themselves. After a period of long reign,
there is bound to be conflict. It made perfect sense.
Regardless of the assumptions of political conflict, everyone
wanted to know what really happened. However, despite the curiosity, no one
wanted to go to the ill-fated island; they were all waiting for a scapegoat to
do what they did not want to do. Every single person, all around the world, had
been waiting for someone like Angie Taylor.
These sort of things always happened to her. It’s a big
break, huh?, the tall slender girl, thought. She had been afraid of getting
fired, but instead, she got a shitty job that no one else wanted. Might as
well been fired, she sighed as she twirled her long brown locks out of
frustration. If only I got the pleasant jobs... The girl, not quite an
adult, yet not exactly a child, walked rapidly down the corridor from her
boss’s room, taking no notice of the bulletin of successful journalists of all
time. It was part of her philosophy; why bother if there is nothing to be
bothered about? It’s not like I’m going
to be on there, anyways. Getting swiftly back to her room, Angie Taylor sat
down heavily. On the way back, she had decided against the resignation she had
previously proposed. She had duty, unlike the rest of them—and also unlike
them, she had no power. My life is a series of unfortunate events, she
concluded.
It
had started ever since the death of her father fourteen years ago due to
pancreatic cancer. A terminal illness, he had died quicker than any of his
family members could react. After that, Angie’s life became a stream of bad
luck. Her mother, presented with new financial problems, could no longer take
proper care of her two daughters, six and sixteen at the time. Eventually, the
older one ran off, leaving only Angie with her mother. However, even with one
less child, their family had financial problems.
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