Courtyard Massacre

"The soldier saluted, turned on his heel, and beckoned three other armed men over. The four ran out, waving at a few others as they lined up on the podium deck. The men cocked their weapons and opened fire. A retreating crowd, still weeping and crying out in sorrow from the verdict, found themselves fighting to run from the guns. The soldiers sprayed bullets across the waves of heads, dropping a few here, a few there. Little clouds of red mist hung in the air, slowly drifting down again onto the piles of the dead. The doors to the Courthouse entrance slammed shut, and the soldiers reloaded."

--the massacre, Chapter Six 

The massacre
The massacre instigated by the Relievers and ordered by The Superintendent claimed around 40 lives, leaving many critically wounded. The shooting began when The Superintendent ordered the several Relievers who had been standing by to fire on the crowd. The entire chapter is slightly confusing, as the crowd obviously gathered out of faith to hear the verdict, but then was assaulted by the Relievers.

After the soldiers empty their magazines, they begin to reload. As they are doing so, someone in the crowd fires a weapon and injures or kills a Reliever. His gun drops and a young boy rushes from the crowd to retrieve the weapon. He is shot multiple times by other guards:

''"A soldier saw from above and fired into the child. Blood spurted from a dozen wounds as the boy screamed in agony. His back arched and the soldier emptied his magazine into the dying youth. Sixteen bullets later, the boy lay still. The soldier looked around and spotted a woman running across the dusty courtyard, and he fumbled madly for a third magazine. The woman reached the fallen boy, and a mixed expression of horror, anger, and confusion crossed her face. She picked up the weapon as the soldier screamed for help. His comrades turned, but it was too late. Bullets ripped into armor plating, and six fell before the P90 ran dry. The last soldier pulled out his pistol slowly, watching the woman from behind his dark visor. She dropped to the ground, embracing the bloody corpse of her son. The soldier aimed and fired. She sat there on her knees, arms wrapped around the boy and scarlet dripping from the void in her forehead. The soldier turned and looked over the fallen shooters. One moved slightly, fingers twitching incessantly. A raspy please emanated from the dying man. The remaining soldier kicked him in the ribs and grunted with disgust. A shot rang out, and the dying was rendered dead."''

Significance to plotline

It is presumed their is still rebellion in the camp, a dissent of sorts, as someone had accessed a lethal weapon and shot a guard. Perhaps this was a hidden member of The Gauntlet, or simply a rebellious party. Whichever it may have been, it is left to debate why they didn't kill The Superintendent when they had the chance. They may have been waiting for chaos from the massacre, but that was hardly anticipated.

The massacre could have been a way to cut back on camp population, but they have multiple other ways to do so without expending resources such as ammunition or soldiers.

Nonetheless, an individual who Wallryder staff clarified was probably the anticipated protagonist was present at the scene of the mass killing, and will usher in a new plotline, giving the Crimson Earth series more of a backbone.

The massacre killed 40, wounded 19, and took place at Camp Sodom.