The Aftermath: The Thompson Family and Mayor Greene's Rise to Power (1985-1994)
When the Thompson family vanished without a trace, it shook the small community of Origin to its core. Initially under investigation for tax evasion, the family's unexplained disappearance suddenly turned the case into something far more puzzling. Mayor Regina Greene, who had recently come into office under mysterious circumstances, swiftly suppressed all media coverage related to the Thompson Extension. She dismissed it as "urban legends" and "child's play."
The Enigmatic End of Mayor Croft
Jonathan Croft, the previous Mayor of Origin, had himself ventured into the Extension shortly after its discovery. Days after his return, he died in circumstances that were never fully explained, opening the door for Regina Greene to rise to power. Leveraging the uncertain climate, Greene declared a state of emergency, citing vague "public safety concerns." She proceeded to seal off all related records and zones, effacing most of the public memory surrounding Croft's troubling end and the enigmatic Thompson Extension.
The Covert Expeditions
Confidential documents reveal that from her election year in 1985 up until 1994, Mayor Greene allocated substantial resources to "unspecified community development." In truth, these were a series of secret expeditions into the Thompson Extension. Bound by strict non-disclosure agreements, those who were sent into the labyrinthine maze either returned deeply scarred or didn't return at all.
By 1994, Greene, perhaps unnerved by the unsettling findings or realizing the hazardous nature of the Extension, made the executive decision to seal it off. Though she cited "structural instability" as the reason, those on the outskirts of these shadow operations whispered about strange rituals performed during the sealing.
The Sealing of the Extension
Though Greene's machinations have been effective in quelling public discourse, they've spawned a host of unanswered questions. How did she ascend to power so smoothly after Croft's mysterious death? What were the true outcomes of her expeditions into the Thompson Extension? While the people of Origin have moved on with their lives, the ghosts of their past—represented by the lingering, unspoken gaze exchanged between Croft and Greene—remain imprinted on the town's collective memory. Whatever secrets lie within the sealed Extension, they will forever be a part of Origin's enigmatic history.
