and then we'll build the world again (Outlast)

Chapter 2- Miles

If there was one way to describe Miles Upshur, it would be that he would do anything for a news story. His ambition and desire to go on dangerous escapades for possible media coverage were often described as admirable, if a bit crazy. But he never did it for fame or fortune, mostly. He simply enjoyed doing it. It was thrilling. It made him feel as though he could accomplish anything.

His ambition inevitably ended up being his greatest downfall, however. After one particularly scandalous article regarding current events led to him being promptly fired from his job and losing his place in Georgetown. He only managed to still live somewhat comfortably in his shitty one-room apartment in D.C. thanks to freelance work, and the occasional Buzzfeed article. Not a great resume, but it kept food on the table.

Then, he received the email that would change his life forever.

You don't know me. Have to make this quick. They might be monitoring.

I did 2 weeks of software consulting at MURKOFF Psychiatric Systems' facilities in Mount Massive. All sorts of NDA's I am very much breaking right now but seriously, fuck those guys.

Miles practically had that cryptic message memorized by now. He departed the second he received it, red flags be damned. Everything about it screamed dangerous, maybe even a scam. And yet...he wanted to learn everything he could about this place. The opportunity arose, and he took it. It wasn't like he had anything to lose.

People are being hurt and Murkoff is making money. It needs to be exposed.

He was called in this time of need to stop whatever the fuck was happening there—and from the sound of it, it was pretty bad. So naturally, he took that chance.

Most people would have left the email alone. Most people would have let it stay tucked away in their drafts, long forgotten. And most people certainly wouldn't have looked up the address and traveled several states, just for one simple news story.

However, most people were not Miles Upshur.

He had a job to do.

Murkoff clearly made an effort to have no one find out what they were doing. Miles half expected to see other more successful journalists there snooping around when he finally arrived. Either the Whistleblower thought he was the most capable reporter out there (unlikely), or they had no other options (much more likely).

Aside from the occasional military personnel vehicle, there was no one else in the area. It made the whole place even creepier, and way more suspicious.

Like every horror flick ever, I'm the moron strolling to his own death. Don't mind me, folks, just gonna check out this not at all suspicious building.

No way in hell was he gonna turn back now. He traveled all this way, and he was not gonna come back empty handed. With his camcorder and notepad in hand, he was finally ready to face the truth behind Mount Massive Asylum.

There was no wonder why the executives at Murkoff didn't want any evidence to be leaked to the public. Mount Massive was a disaster in the worst way possible. It was not a mental hospital, no, it was a slaughterhouse.

Bodies everywhere. Miles had never seen so many dead bodies before in his life. Most of them were decapitated or mutilated so badly that any recognizable human features were indistinguishable. Blood soaked the walls and floors, leaving a putrid stench of gore everywhere he went. No human deserved this torture, this...massacre that somehow got swept under the rug.

Film it. Nobody would believe it otherwise.

That was only the beginning. Nothing compared to the variants themselves. He had been warned of them roaming the asylum by a dying officer without realizing how dangerous they really were. Once regular patients, Miles had done some digging through various documents to discover they had been tortured beyond repair and some of them even horrifically disfigured as a side effect. Something called the Morphogenic Engine had changed them.