by Girl Behind the Lens – Daiyu Tang
The Hathian Observer has seen many things. As a paper we have investigated crimes across the spectrum. If we had, as an Editorial Board to pick just some of the more (in)famous, notorious or otherwise notable cases we could give you the death of the Headless Harvester, the multiple fatalities at a masquerade ball, the hanging bodies at Hangman’s bridge, or individual sick crimes such as the head of a women left on a stake… More recently our intern spent time investigating a rogue ex-officer with a penchant for basements.
As a organisation, we are fully familiar with the city we live in and have seen citizens, law enforcement officers, gang members and even our own staff put at risk, hurt or worse. We also receive on a regular basis threats against our work and our individual staff. Very sadly, reporters have died in the line of duty, colleagues who tried and to this day keep trying to find the fine line between all the various competing groups within the City.
We’ve seen that when certain Groups want their ‘News’ out, they approach us, only later to threaten our staff when bad news is tagged to them. Our colleagues at the Observer are jugglers, balancing the needs of citizens to know what is happening in Hathian with the demands of various groups of the population.
It is with this context, we move to discuss this article. Here our reporter, Daiyu Tang, has been witness to some awful sights and terrible abuse in her desire to out the bad, the wrong and the evil within Hathian. The Observer is aware that these articles make no one happy. When HPD officers are quoted, we are seen as shilling for them if we take anything they say as fact. When gang members are identified or quoted, we have HPD push us to take a different view, or another gang try and slide in with additional ‘evidence’ to try and make their competitors look worse. This is therefore, a very difficult balancing act. We ask you, our readers, to support us in our journalism and critique fairly without dragging out staff into disputes. Remember this is our Hathian, if people do things in our Hathian, then we all should get to know…
Background
Our newspaper has always been aware that there are controversial figures in both the HPD and in the wider city. In fact, the Twitter of our Hathian citizens can often represent an urban battleground of competing egos and messages. It was through this noise that we first became aware that there was a brewing enmity between Corporal Fyre from the HPD and Rhys Pentewyn who Fyre identified as belonging to the Rejects, a notorious Hathian gang, vying for the top spot as contenders like Jackals, DoMC and others wither or collapse.
Daiyu Tang as part of her intern duties keeps track of incidents in Hathian that might have resulted in the death of a Citizen. Where possible she then tries to write an online obituary for these citizens so as to provide a place for friends and relatives to share memories and create a permanent memorial. During early Autumn of 2022 she became aware that Lumi, partner to Rhys Pentewyn had apparently died in an act of suicide, consumed in flames after lighting herself on fire with gasoline. She pre-announced her on death on Twitter
Our reporter Daiyu did not have any intimate knowledge of Lumi’s relationship with Rhys, but did have an understanding from their prior work interaction and discussions with other citizens that they had been or were still a potential couple. She therefore approached Rhys for any contribution towards an obituary but he refused to comment, forcefully.
For a while nothing further appeared to happen, but then word came out (confirmed on Lumi’s Twitter) that she was back, burned, but back. She soon announced that she was back together with Rhys, although investigations with close family contacts indicate this wasn’t likely to have been the case. Her apaprent death and then return though seems to have triggered something in Corporal Fyre (see below) and so, events started to rush forward, culminating in our lead image, a fight in Rhys’ tattoo parlour where Daiyu was able to snap a picture of the enraged Corporal fighting with Rhys before throwing him out the window. Rhys, heavily injured, survived the fall, but as you will shortly read, the fall seems to have triggered him to find, hurt or destroy all the connections Fyre has… leading to collateral damage across Hathian as the two men continue to fued.
This article will interview key players and witnesses to the violence that has unfolded since Lumi became (at least for a while) a torch. This violence has blighted many lives and continues to be a risk to everyone, whether gang member, HPD officer or even reporters. While this article explores many different views, the Observer notes that the Rejects have made their opposition clear to anything that paints them in a less than rosy light and therefore considering past form (as explained below) and the fact that sources indicate that key characters are or were locked away inside HPD they were not at this time given a right of reply as by attacking Observer staff they have proven some of the accusations suitably credible and none of our staff wanted to meet with them face-to-face. Should they wish to write in, then the Editor will review their correspondence and publish if appropriate.
Interview with Corporal Fyre
Interviews in this section were conducted by our roving reporter, building-repairing and general office assistant Daiyu Tang, ‘Girl Behind the Lens’.
I had heard that around the 11th December Corporal Fyre had been admitted to HGH with potentially serious and life-threatening wounds sustained in some form of shootout with members of the Reject Gang. Apparently a number of them were now in jail as a result, but it seemed that Fyre had got the worst of it, perhaps unusually. Taking some vegan Chinese food with me as a ‘get well’ gift I wandered in and found the Corporal in a chair by the window looking stiff, uncomfortable and as still rather bloodied. As you will have seen from the background section, his brinkmanship with the Rejects and in particular Rhys Pentewyn was leading to a spiralling level of violence, impacting all those around him and perhaps, if comments received on Pentewyn’s state of mind were given weight, to others, randomly lashed out at by Rhys.
Once Fyre found a comfortable position, which looked quite hard, we engaged in a robust interview as noted below.
GBTL – Daiyu Tang: “Looks like you’ve been in a warzone. What can you tell me about what happened and who did it?”
Corporal Fyre: “A bunch of Rejects opened fire on my patrol vehicle, I caught a couple of bullets. It was Rhys, Jarrah, Parnell and unfortunately Xena as well. Seems she is a genuine Reject now as well.”
Daiyu: “That’s disappointing to hear. I thought she was perhaps as much a victim in this as the other girls. So I guess, based on what you’ve said my next question is; does this settle matters? You arrest some Rejects and perhaps seriously injured Rhys, now they’ve shot at you and put you here. Both sides have struck and lots of people have got hurt. Is it ‘done’ or is there another chapter?”
Fyre: “It’s far from over. To understand Rhys Pentewyn’s breakdown we need to return to the summer of 2022, when Pentewyn’s life was spiraling out of control… the drugs, the relationships, his troubles with the law, it was all beating him down. And I know a broken man when I see one, I’ve been there. And I reached down to Rhys Pentewyn and pulled that man back to his feet. I arranged for him to be on probation and to receive counseling and help for his dependencies, We even arranged for Rhys to receive parenting classes, because I believe a man has a right to see his children. And over the course of those months I helped Rhys turn his life around, no one has done more for him than I have.“
As a balanced newspaper we need to offer a slight word of caution here. While we can cite evidence that Rhys has been in trouble with the law and that he has certainly had some family issues, the details of whether he attended parenting classes or not are not a matter of public record (nor an over-riding journalistic concern warranting obtaining them). We therefore request that readers keep an open mind.
Fyre: “Everyone knows I’ve been to prison, and juvenile detention before then on account of my dyslexia and mental health issues. Every day is a struggle with my disabilities, but I reformed myself and I believe others in the system can too. But I reached too high with Pentewyn. I was standing on one side helping him become a better man, and his gang, and his family, were on the other side weighing him down and slowly, inevitably, Rhys Pentewyn’s momentum faltered and he began falling again. So he bypassed his parenting classes and a path to lawful custody, by assaulting a babysitter and abducting the children. It began a series of fateful events, where the mother, in desperation of wanting back her children and receiving nothing from Rhys but his threats and taunts set herself aflame. And I was there, Rhys tried to halt her and he caught fire. I tried to smother out her flames and I burned my body in the process. Nothing can describe the sensation of a girl burning up in your arms and you’re powerless to stop it. I still have nightmares. I still carry the burns all over my body. There’s a monster beneath these clothes and that’s never going to change. Thanks to Rhys Pentewyn, I no longer have intimacy with anyone, the last woman I invited home, I paid her three hundred dollars to stay the night and she wore a blindfold. That’s how I’m living now and I have Rhys Pentewyn to thank for turning me into a monster no woman wants to see naked.”
Daiyu: “Christ… Where are the children now? Why did you… fight in the tattoo place, was that because of this then? Oh and you’re claiming that he had the potential to be better, but others brought him down? Parnell? That Espi character? So what’s next? You know these things can end really badly, isn’t being here in Hospital enough?”
Fyre: “When the mother fell into a coma from her injuries, Rhys and I mourned her loss. The grief from him was palpable, so we arranged for custody of the children to be transferred to Pentewyn’s family. Where they continue to be cared for, far from this city and all its ills. Also my scars… Aren’t that bad, Daiyu? There’s some irony here, for Hathian’s most photogenic man to come to terms with his recent disfigurements. I’m still journeying through the stages of denial, grief, self-loathing and now I’m just numb. The women I once cherished no longer want to see me. Literally do not want to see my formerly impeccable physique, because the skin’s all melted and fused together, and I look like something out of Wes Craven’s horror workshop.”
The Observer notes that Corporal Fyre has previously announced himself ‘Hathian’s most virile man’ so these revelations to Daiyu were certainly rather shocking. Daiyu informs us she offered the officer points around the XXX shop and certain things that might assist.
Fyre: “Rhys Pentewyn’s other victims have suffered worse than I. Serious life changing and long-term injuries with physical and psychological consequences everyone. When I came to hear he was assaulting innocent girls around Hathian, I confronted Rhys, he took a swing at me and I threw him out of a window. It was time for him to be injured and face the misery he inflicts upon others.”
The Observer further notes that the above may not be the exact chronological order of events during ‘Windowgate’. Daiyu informs us that while attending she would suggest that it was possible that Rhys didn’t throw the first swing and that Landon was on the warpath. The Observer notes that in the public, post the event this descended into a lot of name calling here, but at the end of the day, the material fact was that Rhys went out of the window with Landon swiftly following.
Fyre: “Do you have any idea what it means to be a HPD officer? I average two hospital visits a month, that’s how often I’m being beaten up, stabbed and shot at. In November I was shot six times and took near the whole month to recover. Yesterday I was shot seven times and I’ll be out of action for December too. No HPD officer in history has my average of two injuries a month, but when the people need me I keep coming back… What’s next, is bringing in Rhys and all of his accomplices, all those awful individuals who forced him down a darker path. Since his violence began, Rhys Pentewyn’s assaulted no less than eight girls. Eight defenceless, innocent girls. In his sick mind, Pentewyn’s somehow associating these females with me and targeting them specifically to taunt me. And like any criminal, he’s resorted to issuing false statements on social media too. Well Rhys Pentewyn, I challenge you to release our messages, where I offered to exchange myself for your hostage, I repeatedly stated I would surrender myself if you released her, but you wouldn’t. And I also challenged Rhys to a fight, man to man, with no more girls involved, but he wouldn’t accept. Because men like Pentewyn, Parnell and all those other Rejects are only good for going after girls. And those individuals who’re supporting Rhys Pentewyn on social media. Those celebrating violence against women are known as incels. Y’all need to take a good, hard look at yourselves in the mirror. I’m no longer in the business of helping Pentewyn, I reached too high and like Icarus before me, I was burned. When the Rejects assaulted an officer on HPD’s grounds, they declared war on HPD. Now we’ll respond!
Daiyu: “You know, most don’t appreciate the good, they just want to see whatever the latest bad is. The town holds you up to a moral standard they can’t achieve and finds sand in your eye while leaving the log in theirs. That’s not to say you probably haven’t done some real shitty stuff, but the thing that people don’t do, is they don’t weigh it up… everything is held to ‘here and now’, a social media lifestyle of NOW, NOW, NOW…. It sucks. Feels like evolution ended when Hathian residents got onto Twitter… Did Navi turn up? Or do you fear the worse?”
Fyre: “It’s as you say, the people will see what they want. Infact, Pentewyn keeps telling me that I’m making him do this. How? How am I making him assault those girls. When I’ve been telling him to stop. I’m also going to state, the Hathian Observer has published incredibly hurtful and false statements about me in the past. But this is America and I support the freedom of the press. Even when they’re wrong about me. However, these gangsters are setting foot on American soil and they haven’t made our sacrifices and they do not respect our values. Immigrants like Parnell and his gang of misfits are challenging our way of life. Well I have a message for these people, you do not come to America and threaten our Freedom of Press. Either you boys will learn American freedoms, or it will be taught to you. Further threats to murder the Observer’s journalists and torturing them in their office will not be tolerated. Those whom persist in their attempts to compromise our press freedoms, I’ll build a wall and I’ll start throwing the offenders over it.”
The Observer staff appreciate this statement, although we would note that perhaps stronger security in the office as well as more respect for the dangerous work we do by all Hathian Citizens might be more impactful.
Interview with Victims
The Observer staff, primarily Daiyu Tang have spent Winter following the trail of destruction that appears to have been left by Rhys as he tries to get at Corporal Fyre. In the interview above, Fyre states that he offered himself in exchange for some of these victims which if true, then it seems that while Pentewyn was posting to Twitter seeking out Fyre, he might have been choosing softer targets instead. Perhaps biding his time until he had sufficient support for the audacious attack against Fyre that left him in hospital.
“It is all very well to throw a man through a second-floor window when he does not expect it but to be too scared to face him after it, willing to sacrifice all the ones he wants to convince he protects to save his own hide and run and cower like a little bitch? Shameful.“
Rhys Pentewyn (Twitter)
Memories of Maxine – assaulted
“I was just standing near the comic shop using the app to look at profile when he came over and saw my phone then proceeded to act like he wanted a date since ya know I was looking for one. Anyways, what happened was after pretending to want a date Rhys and I went to the beach and he pretended he was going to start a fire and then he hit me with a rock, busted my nose and then after i fell down he straddled me and tried to choke me to death. I made him eat sand but he then busted my ribs with a rock and left stating something about turf and spray paint… He was nuts!”
Maxine
While some allege that Max’s fault was spray painting a Hopper tag in the Reject area, this level of violence and subterfuge was clearly a precursor to subsequent attacks. Max suggested that perhaps Landon threw Rhys from the window to avenge her having had his help to get to hospital after Rhys’ attack.
Memories of Navi – murdered?
Navi Prakash, Hathian Laywer who worked at the Hathian Civil Services was reported missing in early December. While details of any HPD investigation have been kept under close wraps, our reporter Daiyu Tang saw texts stating that Navi had been murdered and was told about an accompanying photograph of her execution, very much similar way to that of Xena (also see below). While the final fate of Navi cannot be confirmed, there is some hope as Xena’s apparent execution which was also directed at Fyre turned out to be fake. The Observer and staff hope that Navi remains well and that she can be found alive.
Memories of Kay Hunt – Assaulted
We received from HGH details of a serious assault on Kay, a worker herself at HGH. The report from HGH is awful reading – severe blood loss, open wounds to the neck, head and palm. Concussion… Kay needed emergency blood and plasma transfusion among other medical intervention. We understand she was found by Josh Kaufman and although direct evidence has not been found to point Kay’s assault to Rhys, we have received testimony that the attack was linked. However the Observer should note that this one has less direct proof then the others.
Memories of a anonymous victim
It was in early December when our reporter joined Corporal Fyre on a search party to try and find another missing woman. The woman, who will remain nameless was linked to Fyre through having taken a single date with him via the Cupid Dating App, which was the second time the app had come up in this investigation. Searching the long coast line near the Hathian beach, the woman was eventually found in a bad way; a broken angle, grade 3 concussion, bruising and cuts as well as concussion.
After a period of recovery, Daiyu met with the woman to ask her what had happened:
“I was sitting at the bakery when a man approached me. We spoke about astronomy and he told me he had a telescope and asked if I would like to use it sometime. We exchanged numbers and then a few days later agreed to meet up at Batterie beach. He called himself ‘Ryan’. I went to the beach, looked through the telescope and then after I was done looking, he had a baseball bat… He hit me in the knees and then this girl appears with a bat and also hits me. They beat me horribly and left me there unconscious. While he was beating me he said it was for the date I’d had with Officer Fyre… Ryan said they were coming after anyone Fyre cared about because Fyre had attacked one of their members… the Rejects”
The victim – as told to Daiyu Tang at her studio
The victim was shown pictures of potential attackers and thought that ‘Ryan’ was a good match for Rhys and also identified the other attacker as ‘Jarrah’ a known associate of Rhys and the Rejects.
Officer Lizette Zero – Assaulted
“Says the cowardly man who stalks and lures women so he can attack and rape or beat them to a bloody pulp?” … “He stabbed me in the lower belly and left me for dead after saying the world doesn’t need any more Aryan babies.”
Lizette on Twitter
Our reporter was not able to get timings to work to get a full interview with the Officer, but her Twitter and evidence provided through other means confirmed that she was a victim of Rhys as well. Her crime? An alleged relationship with Fyre, which the Scarlett Hand (see our article on them as well) exposed further with apparent partial nude photos between Lizette and Landon.
Our own journalist – mock executed
The Observer wishes readers to be aware that this story has injured our own staff. While Stanley can sometimes be seen watching and re-watching the tape, we assume out of sympathy for Daiyu, the fact remains that she was assaulted viciously and violently by a member of the Rejects. The assault, claimed as retaliation and a warning for her having accompanied Fyre when he defenestrated Rhys was captured on our grainy CCTV and shows an unprepared Daiyu offering her hand to the attacker before the man viciously headbutts her and then unleashes a drawn out assault including with a firearm. This is what reporters receive for their dedication to the news.
Conclusion
It’s been a long few months for our reporters, pulling together this article. The Observer wants to highlight two key things:
- Open warfare between the HPD and a Gang is in the interests of no citizen. Officers are unavailable for calls due to injury or attending gang related matters. Innocent civilians may also get swept up in the violence (by either side) and from the perspective of the Gang, it seems a losing proposition. the Observer is littered with examples of HPD getting the final word, the final shot and even the final execution… Strike them once, strike them twice, but they’ll come back. Business, in our view, is better when violence is not present.
- The specific animosity between Rhys and Fyre has hurt many women, perhaps more than those listed above. No one makes someone hurt another human; life is precious and the casual violence metered out to people associated with Fyre by Rhys appears to evidence a state of mind and rage that scary as it is, is also pitiful. Are ego competitions (including by Fyre) really needed in this day and age?
Never-the-less, based on the evidence presented and the final quote shown below, we have to question why Rhys remains on the street, surrounded by a family intent on hurting others in order to get at one man. We could mention the story on Xena again where yet another woman appears to be have been hurt, not mentioned above because she warranted her own article. Maybe Rhys and Fyre they should agree to that final fight, just the two of them, or maybe they can gain stature and walk away from each other, damage done already immeasurable.
In closing, we thought we’d end with this quote below. We wish good tidings and a happy holiday to all citizens and especially those troubled, hurting and on the wrong path. Everyone can become better, everyone can heal with help and we’d ask HPD, the Rejects and others to heal over this special time and start the New Year with hate buried and a vow to be that better brother, son, sister, wife, husband, father or mother that your family needs. Your blood family.
“I do not know why Rhys is the way that he is. He was raised better and was given every opportunity including a full ride through college with no debt. He has squandered every chance that he has ever had and is on a pathway to nowhere good. My clever boy, the good student, the teacher, my pride and joy has turned into the biggest source of anguish and disappointment in my life. I have done everything that I can do for him”
‘Trevor’ Pentwyn
