Transcript From Interview #495829 Found in Ruins of Police Headquarters Three Weeks After the City Died Pertaining to the Escape of Four Prisoners

TW: Racism and rape mention

POLICE: This interview is being recorded. I am Robert Barnes and I am with The Fuzon Corporation who is working with Internal Affairs on the recent disappearance of four prisoners. Please state your name.

SUSPECT: Do we have to be so formal? You know who I-

POLICE: One.

SUSPECT: It doesn’t have-

POLICE: Two.

SUSPECT: Please, please you do-

POLICE: Thr-

JL [Crying]: J-Jonathan Lucas! Officer Jonathan Lucas of precinct 15-04.

POLICE: You said you would prefer to be called “Jon.”

JL: Yes, Barney.

POLICE: Three. Please recount for us the events that occurred three nights ago.

JL: It was like any other night. I had just brought in a group of [racial epithet deleted] rapists, when Chief McCrery had us all come to his office.

POLICE: For future reference, do not use distasteful words like “rapists” in the context of these interviews. Continue.

JL: As usual, we were being assigned our various assignments. The first of which was for which one of us would be stuck with clean up duty. I was the unlucky one who got stuck with the job.

POLICE: Please state for the record how you were assigned this duty.

JL: Chief McCrery had a bowl on his desk where he would pull out a name of one of us for the job. The names were put in there for every detriment we received. The only one of us who never had his name in the bowl was Officer John Denton. Fucking kiss ass.

POLICE: Officer Denton was killed last night by a mob of “protesters.”

JL: Oh…

[JL proceeds to shuffle in his seat. He tries to cover his face with his hands, but the handcuffs restrain him.]

POLICE: State the name of the prisoners who you let escape.

JL [Restrained Anger]: Robert and Franklyn Masters, Willis Stevens, and Billy Fredrickson.

POLICE: Our records state that his name was “Billy Banner.”

JL: Yeah, and I bet there’s another record that says his name’s “Billy Williams.” And another that says its “Billy Belmont.” Guy’s a fucking con artist. Wears names like we’d wear hats.

POLICE: Was that what he was arrested for?

JL: Nah. We got him with the others during one of those homeless purges. Fucker had the gall to sleep three blocks away from HQ. Broke my arm trying to escape. I was shocked that he didn’t end up at the factory. Guess they wanted him dead.

POLICE: Please tell us the nature of clean up duty.

JL: It’s right there in the name. We clean up the bits of the city that have been overtaken by vegetation. It’s been bad these past couple of years. My childhood home got eaten up the week before, and I was miffed to say the least. Still, better the house than me I suppose. Nobody I knew died.

POLICE: Was there anything different that day than any other day you’ve done clean up duty?

JL: Not really, no. Only did it the once before. I was lucky in that only one of my prisoners died. I’ve talked to my coworkers about what it’s like for them, and they just look at me like I’ve taken a piss on their mother’s grave.

POLICE: Four. What tools did they use to clean up the vegetation?

JL: Dull knives, didn’t want to repeat what happened to poor dumb Harry Sullivan. They were cutting the roots and vines to an unsatisfactory degree. I picked Billy as the one to make an example of, as he seemed to be the one doing the least amount of work. There was a sneer on his face when I approached, as if he knew what I was about to do to him. But he did nothing to stop me. Must’ve thought I would’ve relented without probable cause.

[JL and Robert Barnes softly laugh.]

POLICE: What did you do to him?

JL: I hadn’t decided until he stopped working.

POLICE: When did he stop working?

JL: Oh, shortly before I got up to him. It was then that I decided to give him a good pistol whipping. His kind deserves worse. I didn’t notice that his sneer had gone away. Nor that the other prisoners had also stopped working. I didn’t even notice the chill going down my spine until it was too late. I was too busy getting ready to bash a nigger’s skull in when I heard it.

POLICE: Heard what?

[JS makes a noise akin to a toddler being eaten alive by someone with only rusty instruments of cutting. Not of the toddler screaming for his father as the cold grip of death refuses to come for him, it should be noted, but of the person eating the child raw.]

JS: Only more mechanical, like it was a robot trying to make that noise. That’s when I turned and saw them. Deer. Deer in places no deer should be. Deer on rooftops looking down upon humanity with contempt. Deer in alleyways too thin for mere morals to fit within. A murder of deer surrounded us, all making that sickening, unnatural sound. All but one. It was larger than the others. It was in front of me as if it had always been in front of me. It did not move. It huge, like a shark surrounded by minnow sized piranhas. It looked at me, with its dead eyes. They all looked at me with their eyes. I could hear their choir of discordant pain and suffering and torment and cruelty and hatred. It hated me. It hated me. It wanted me dead. I aimed my gun at it.

POLICE: Why, you knew it was un-

JS: OF COURSE I KNEW! Of course I knew, but that was the only thing that made sense to do it was a deer it was a deer it was a deer IT WAS A DEER!!!!!

[Robert Barnes slaps JS]

JS: Thank you. It wasn’t making the same sounds the others were making.

POLICE: What sounds was it making?

[Ten seconds of silence]

JS: But less. It was as if the sound it made was removing the sounds that surrounded it. It was the sound of space. It was the sound of the void where nothing exists. It was the sound of [REDACTED]!

[Three minutes of silence]

POLICE: So you aimed your gun at the… “deer.” Then what?

JS: I was afraid. I was so afraid. I could hear screams. Human screams. Screams that weren’t mine. Someone was calling for his mothers. Someone was praying. Someone was screaming. Someone was screaming. Someone was screaming. Someone was-

[Robert Barnes slaps JS]

JS: I. Was screaming. I couldn’t stop, even though every fiber in my body was telling me that if I didn’t, I would die. I would drown in the air that I was screaming into and I would die. But if I didn’t stop, the Deer would kill me. Have you seen what the Deer do, Sir?

POLICE: I’ve heard the stories.

JS: But have you seen it? I have. I’ve seen the torn remains of humanity laid bare on the city streets. I’ve seen the blood on a Deer’s face. I’ve seen them. Stories don’t tell you shit about what Deer do, all they do is obfuscate the Truth to make people feel better about what happened so they don’t have to acknowledge what Deer do to people!

[One second of silence]

POLICE: You had the gun aimed at the “deer’s” head. What did you do?

JS: I pulled the trigger.

POLICE: And then?

[Ten seconds of silence]

JS: Have you seen the leader of the Deer? It’s a large deer, larger than the rest. It doesn’t have fur like a normal Deer does. Even these Deer have fur. It’s flesh, like fish from a pond that’s been returned to after being abandoned since childhood. Its ears, sharper than a blade of grass. Its teeth… Its teeth… ITS TEETH WOULDN’T END! ROW UPON ROW UPON ROW DEVOURING AND CONSUMING AND THEENDNSSJ DJADFFDJJFSGSHDOJN DSJDBJDSBIFSBDHD CD HD DH DHS CJD JDSFHJBFDHKJS DHZ DCD D SDFNJFDNKFJDBGDFHBFDB The Deer’s eyes consumed all hope! Snsdjsdd sjdnfjnefjnfwj cj dhcdhbdf khbdfs hcd jd dsnk dhb cdh cdbcdhbcbdchdc hcs chbchbcdhbcdshbcskjhfvjfv fvjdnvjdfnifncihcdjhdb sc vdk vdhdbbdv vdvsdsbdd ddbdhdvbvbbhcdhbdc  d ndsxb svhdihbvbdhjdvbvdbkdvs sdvjbvdbvhksdv vdsjdvbidvsbv mxnkvz si fhiswfbihfbyifewbfdbfidabsk dfsbndfsbdfkbafbkafbkadfbdfs hbfdb efdnnfdkhjsdfhbfdsdf dfseouf[nfr4 4 h4ifh  fhjnfljndfjfdsnfdbfdbfdhbdfbjdfjon cn jnopwqoff dfjbkfskadlasdkjlhsd jheqohufufbnfdjoaka ddjfdaldhdfsb jsdfbhhfdkaflfadhfdfa fjadfhlfhfaklwfehwbrruihb a haafjifpoihf afjhiajhafnfbjkadf fadfaj they would not stop they would not stop they would not STOP DFDJDDJVDS JDSVBFNIHBF HAD HCD HACBHXB ADKHJADB KNF BDKSFA,B AFKHB SFHDF BSAKAS ,SDM SD,BFKJBFIHBF JHA HFDA FIHDFB  DAFKDFBB!H HSBVHHFKBB DFAKBFAKJDBJD FB FDBKFBDFADF DNJSDF NFDIHBFDIHBFDSIHDFB HDF  FBFDMBDFSKJFDBHKDFB CHAINS OF LIFE CONSUMED US!!! FDNFJFDNGS DJB HBF IFBIUDFBFYBFABHFAKJDFBDKFJBDSKJBDFSKH BGFDBABAFKJFA FADAFKJFBD KJADFBADFHBFBFA F JFDABFDAJKADFBDAFKBFDJHBDFAUFBD CHBCHBCJHBF AFHFBAIFBFDBDFIABDBAFB BBCCBIADBIBHCBI HDAHBIDAHDBBFBFABABKKBF BAJBADHIJAFBFAKBDSBD FEAST OF MANKIND WILL NOT END!

[JS frees himself from the handcuffs]

POLICE: Holy Fuck!

JS: ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! ALL THESE SQUARES MAKE A CIRCLE! I’M CLOSER TO DEATH THAN BIRTH!!!

[Note: Last sentence sung]

POLICE: SEVENTEEN!!!

[JS starts to beat his own skull in. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.]

JS: I AM NOT BOUND BY THE CHAINS THAT YOU WISH TO CAGE ME WITHIN: THIS MORTAL FORM! I AM THE VESSEL OF A LIVING GOD! DOST THOU NOT WISH TO SEE MINE MAGNIFICENCE?

[Robert Barnes slaps JS. JS proceeds to be silent for far too long]

POLICE: Speak son, speak!

[JS does not speak. JS’ eyes flitter at speeds too fast to see. JS does not speak. JS does not speak. His lips move, but words do not come out.]

[Ten seconds of silence]

POLICE: Medic.

[Medic (Ryan Chack) enters]

MEDIC: Is he all right?

POLICE: He better be. Nearly tore my arm off. Tell him when he gets up that he’s on three week’s leave. Unpaid.

[Irrelevant chatter]

POLICE: I thought you said he was getting better.

MEDIC: He is getting better, Bob. It must have been too soon to bring up the incident. Permission to speak freely?

POLICE: Granted.

MEDIC: I think he’s telling the truth.

POLICE: And you’re basing this on…

MEDIC: Have you seen what a Deer does to a person?

POLICE: I’ve watched over people doing clean up duty; of course I know what deer do.

MEDIC: Not to a dead person, but the ones who survive?

[Thirty-Five seconds of silence]

POLICE: End recording.

[Transcript ends]

[In my research of the City, I have not found any trace of Robbie or Frank Masters. There are rumors that they were responsible for several acts of wanton violence throughout the City in the build up to its end and died along with everyone else. Given what little I could find on them from the remains of the police head quarters (coincidentally destroyed the same day Billy found the remains of employee 7877 in a rather unfortunate fire. The only officer to survive being inside it was Janet Moorcock) does not allude to a history of violence, it is more likely that they ran off together and lived happily ever after. Or perhaps the Deer, or the Thin White Duke, or some other force in the universe got them in the end. Such answers may never be found. But stories such as theirs, of the disenfranchised and demonized rebelling against those in power, are very popular on all sides of the political spectrum, and so they dissolved into myth like Hercules, Santa Claus, and Mary Christian before them.

In the case of Willis Stevens however, his fate is far more clear. On the eve of the death of the City, I came across a gang of Wolves wandering the desert. They were one of the kinder gangs and offered us some food to eat and we swapped stories. While we were talking of our various adventures, I noticed a flag they were flying. It was decayed like the carcass of a pig left in the sun for too long. There was an odd design to it, like it was a snapshot of a maze that led to other mazes. Inside it, I could see a red bird navigating it, never realizing that it could just fly out and into the world. Perhaps it was like asking a bird to fly out of the world and into space, I thought in that moment. I asked one of my fellows the origins of the flag. They informed me that during their travels, they came across a body of a starved lonely lad who had died three months prior just outside of where the City ends. Evidentially, someone was able to keep the body preserved for long enough for the Wolves to get to him. There was evidence that Deer were in the area. The Wolves, and indeed most people outside the City, have a policy of not messing with the Deer. They are a typically kind species who only attack when others mean them harm, even symbolically, so the Wolf said. They were kind to the body, even though it was dead, so the evidence showed. The Wolves were intrigued by the design of the tattoo so much that they tried to replicate the design and use it as their flag. Sadly, such a design could not be replicated and they were forced to cut the flesh off of the corpse. In an odd twist of fate, the flesh felt more like fabric than skin. What life did he live, I wonder. Was it a happy life that ended poorly? Was his death a mercy? Who was he, really? All we have is a body and a biased file that wanted him to be a villain. The hole he left behind is a chasm that will never be filled.

Jonathan Lucas’ was killed three years later, during the week the City died. His skull was bashed in and his gun never fired. He was found ten feet away from the remains of employee #7877.]

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