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[center][color=89767D]𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦[/color][/center][/b]
[/h1][/sup][/color][indent][sub][COLOR=89767D][I]ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA[/I][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][COLOR=89767D][b]1.00 // CORAL CITY: THE CITY WITH HEART[/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr]
[indent][indent][indent][color=dcdcdc]For the first time in months, Lonnie Machin was able to rest properly without something awakening him in the dead of night. And it was dawn, which gave him time to prepare for the sun. Something that he wasn't used to. Living in Gotham City made him appropriate for the cooler temperatures and the unnecessary amount of skyscrapers. But anywhere was better than Gotham. Hell, the Greyhound bus that Lonnie had been on for two days was the safest he had been in a long time. There were only a few other people on board, and the driver was paying attention to the freeway. Still, being a Gothamite made him rightfully paranoid of strangers. 

Otherwise, he would have been gunned down in an alley.

By the time that the sun was up, the bus had reached its destination: Coral City, California. Lonnie had no clue where he was going when he bought that ticket. But again, [b]anywhere was better than Gotham[/b]. When the bus stopped for the final time, he knew that it was time to depart. The passengers started doing the same thing, and several noticed his attire. He didn't have to turn around to feel some of them making faces at him. One of them was brave enough to comment on the ACAB patch stitched on the vest. [color=white]"Disgusting."[/color] 

Lonnie was unfazed by it, grabbed his duffle bag, and left the bus. Inside the bus station, he took a free map of Coral City and started searching for a motel. There was still enough money to stay at a decent motel for a week. It should be enough time to find work and start earning some cash. On his way out, Lonnie felt someone bumping into him and reaching into his back pocket. He immediately turned around and saw that no one was behind him, but he checked his pockets to be safe. That was when he found a small piece of paper and something messy written on it:

[indent][right][color=395158][i]Rebuilding your life after the system threw it aside?
Go to Angel's Hand, if you want to [b]take a stand[/b].
[b]You aren't forgotten[/b]. - M.[/i][/color][/right][/indent]
Lonnie was more curious than afraid. So, he got the map and searched for the name. He eventually found out it was a bar located near the coast. He wanted answers, and the only way to get them was head to the bar. And that's what he did, not knowing what the future was in store.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[indent][indent][indent][color=dcdcdc]It was another busy day at the Coral Reef Boardwalk. Since the virus was contained, more people began going out since they were stuck in their homes due to the shelter-in-place order. They were enjoying life again. And that made Miguel Barragan jealous of them. It had been four months since he left his hometown and trying to survive on the road. His travels brought him all over the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles. Now, he stayed at Coral City since being let go after asking his boss (a farmer) for more pay. Afraid that he called border patrol, Miguel gathered his things and headed west on the same day.

Miguel, on his fourth day of job hunting, decided to take a break at a cafe. He didn't have enough money for a proper meal, so he settled with some fries and a cup of iced water. While eating, he was cautiously glancing around his surroundings and looking for ways to leave the area as quickly as possible if the authorities showed up. Unfortunately, he was still homeless due to the cost of living here. It was too expansive for an undocumented citizen like Miguel. For now, he had to deal with living in the alleyways.

Once done eating, Miguel threw the tray away and took the cup with him to finish drinking it. But on his way out of the boardwalk, someone rudely bumped into him hard enough to lose his balance. It was already too late to confront the stranger, but he did notice a piece of paper, with his name written on it, on the ground. It was odd, but Miguel picked it up to have a closer look, thinking it was harmless. That was until he flipped it over and read the note:

[indent][right][color=395158][i]Hiding in fear of being taken from your birth country?
Go to Angel's Hand, if you want to [b]take a stand[/b].
[b]You aren't forgotten[/b]. - M.[/i][/color][/right][/indent]
There was fear in his eyes as Miguel desperately looked around for anything unusual activity. Yet, there were only people enjoying living. He took a moment to calm down by breathing in and out for a minute. After that much-needed breather, it was clear that someone knew him and using his status to their advantage. What would happen if he didn't go to this Angel's Hand? Will ICE be called? No choice, but to meet them and demand an explanation. As for the place, he recognized the name for that bar down the way.

So, he started making his way to the location.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[indent][indent][indent][color=dcdcdc]It took Roshanna Chatterji two weeks to settle in Coral City. She found an affordable place and work as a customer service representative from a clothing store chain. Of course, it wasn't much money as she had hoped. But, it was enough to pay her fair share of the monthly rent. She was still unfamiliar to her roommates because they were full-time students, making interacting with them more difficult. Roshanna was kind of grateful for it because it meant not explaining how she ended up here. It was still too painful to talk about it openly.

Her phone went off, telling her that work was over for the day. Roshanna went to look for the manager in order to receive her paycheck. After waiting a few minutes, she went in and told her boss to have a good evening before grabbing the paycheck. On her way out, though, she noticed a piece of paper with her name on it. Roshanna hoped that it wasn't a note for one of her male co-workers. She had noticed how they were looking at her during the day. So, she flipped it around and tried to read the messy writing:

[indent][right][color=395158][i]Moving on with your life without getting true justice?
Go to Angel's Hand, if you want to [b]take a stand[/b].
[b]You aren't forgotten[/b]. - M.[/i][/color][/right][/indent]
After reading it, she was confused and alarmed at the same time. There was no way that her co-workers could have written it. So, who did? Roshanna didn't have an answer, but she recognized the name. Angel's Hand. Recently, it was forced to shut down for good due to low profits caused by the pandemic. Even know some businesses were slowly recovering their losses, plenty were forced to close. Now that she knew the location, was it worth going there? Probably not. 

However, it was her only lead. In order to protect herself from potential danger, Roshanna went to a nearby store and bought some pepper spray. Just to be safe. And then, she went on her way to the bar.[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
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[indent][indent][indent][indent][right][color=395158][i]Running away from the pigs that haunt your life?
Go to Angel's Hand, if you want to [b]take a stand[/b].
[b]You aren't forgotten[/b]. - M.[/i][/color][/right][/indent]
[color=dcdcdc]Holly Rae-Hunter looked at the strange note and then shoved it into her pocket. At first, she was terrified that her past was coming back to bite her. Who found her? How? She immediately contacted her mom, praying that nothing wrong happened to her. Thankfully, she was safe as were everyone else in the immediate family. It was relieving to hear their voices again. Holly learned that the authorities knew that she vanished, but seemed to have lost interest in targeting her family. That was the best news she had heard since coming to Coral City about a month ago.

Now, she was standing in front of the abandoned Angel's Hand. Holly made sure to look up the name and found out its location and rocky history. Its former owner died of a heart attack years ago, leaving his children to fight over it. While both of them were busy fighting, the quality of the food and drinks fell sharply. But what finally killed the family was the virus. Shortly after the stay-at-home order was imposed statewide, Angel's Hand was forced to close until the virus was contained. It remained closed for good. 

But for some reason, the front door was unlocked.

Holly cautiously entered and found the place to be mostly empty with the expectation of anything drilled to the ground. She closed the door behind her and slowly made her way to the counter. It was just collecting dust, but there was something on it. A cell phone? It wasn't working when she tried to turn it on, but it wasn't left behind by the previous owners. Something was going on. Then suddenly, the front door started opening. In a panic, Holly hid behind the counter and hoped they were only sightseeing.

Yet, she heard the door closed, but the footsteps getting closer. Holly was ready to fight the stranger. But, she then heard a voice.

[color=7D529A]"Hello?"[/color][/color][/indent][/indent][/indent]
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