Face Mask Enforcers

The Midnight Article "Urgent: Local Authorities Encourage the Use of Face Masks to Those Refusing" was written by u/Moondinos and posted to r/MidnightPaper.

The text of the Article was as follows:

URGENT: LOCAL AUTHORITIES ENCOURAGE THE USE OF FACE MASKS TO THOSE REFUSING

Local authorities in the city of [ redacted ] encourage citizens that are not already following the mask mandate to slow the spread of COVID-19 to begin wearing a mask when entering stores, restaurants, or any other enclosed spaces. Those who fail to comply and continue to not only vocally complain about wearing a mask, but also make social media posts are extremely cautioned due to a group of individuals that seem to have a mass in numbers.

These individuals are extremely dangerous and seem to be working almost undercover. Reports have been filed of those failing to comply with the mask mandate last being seen in a public area before seemingly vanishing after an outburst or post about not wearing a face mask.Those who have been taken have later been found dead with the skin peeled off their faces antemortem and a surgical face mask covering the lower half of their faces.

Further autopsy reports show that in most cases the lungs seem to have exploded, being the main cause of death with scarring in the throat which indicates a tube like object was placed into the throat through the mouth and into the lungs to then inflate them while the person who has spoken against the mandate also choked on the tube.

There has been only one survivor of these attacks who has requested to not be named in their interview.

Reporter: did you happen to see any faces or any indicators of where you were?

Anon: [ very hoarsely ] ...no... it was... dark... just dark... the floor...

Reporter: what was wrong with the floor?

Anon: it... it was moving...

Reporter: were you in a vehicle?

Anon: no... I...they couldn't get... the tube... in correctly... why did... they let me... live like this... no face...

Reporter: you're saying that-

The victim did not want to further discuss the attack and has been moved to the ICU after their right lung collapsed hours after the interview.

Local law enforcement heavily urges citizens to wear a face mask and refrain from making negative commentary on the mandate as they try to uncover who is behind these horrific acts. Be aware of your surroundings at all times and do not travel on foot alone when possible if proper precautions are not taken.

Please wear a face mask when possible.

Description:

The "Face Mask Enforcers" is a group of unidentified Oddities that kidnap and murder anyone who is vocal about their refusal to wear a mask during the COVID-19 epidemic. Their methods are incredibly brutal, and with the exception of one victim, fatal.

Victims:

With the COVID-19 epidemic spreading throughout the world, governments enacted several policies in order to slow the spread of the virus and prevent as many people as possible from contracting the dangerous condition. One of the most vital steps that were recognized as necessary to slow the contagion of the virus was the use of face masks in public spaces. Most people readily accepted the masks as a part of the new normal. However, as with any wide-reaching policy, the use of masks was resisted, and even protested, by a vocal minority that felt like contradicting the policy.

The Face Mask Enforcers target this vocal minority.

Process:

Shortly after a victim voices their lack of support for the policy of the use of face masks in public they will be taken by the Face Mask Enforcers. How exactly the Enforcers kidnap one of their victims is unknown, but it can be inferred that they sedate or knock out their target, as the only surviving witness did not mention the kidnapping process.

The victim will then wake up somewhere "dark" where the floor is "moving." It is not known exactly what this "moving" refers to. The reporter conducting an interview with the survivor asked if they meant that they were in a moving vehicle of some kind, but the survivor denied this. Given the precise and intricate surgical process that victims of the Enforcers are submitted to, it is unlikely that they would carry out their process in a moving vehicle. It is also unlikely that the victims themselves are moving or flying over the ground so that it appears that the ground is moving.

What, then, does this "moving" refer to? How the Enforcers were able to kidnap their victims and release them without being spotted by any witness (especially after their crimes became well-known) is a mystery. This moving floor may simply be a product of altered perception. Given the fact that there are no witnesses reporting a violent struggle or a screaming victim, it can be inferred that the Enforcers use some kind of anesthetic or sedative in order to transport their victims quietly and efficiently. This same sedative could alter a victim's perception in such a way that they see the ground move when it isn't moving in reality. However, this does not explain the fact that the victim failed to mention any other moving surfaces, such as the walls or the ceiling.

It is, however, possible that the Enforcers somehow transport their victims to a place that is far removed from the victims surroundings...a place far removed from ordinary reality. An alternate or pocket dimension may explain the moving ground, as it could be one of the bizarre qualities that that dimensions possesses that ours does not. A more simple explanation is also possible, like the idea that the victims are transported inside some kind of living creature, one whose biological processes makes the "ground" the victim wakes up on move.

Once a victim has awakened, the Enforcers will begin to carry out their brutal surgical process. The Enforcers seek to punish their victims by enforcing the face mask policy in an ironic and sadistic way.

From the autopsy report and the survivor's account, it can be inferred that the first procedure that the Enforcers carry out is the removal of part of a victim's face. The Enforcers will "skin" the lower half of a victim's face, most likely using a sharp implement (either a traditional surgical tool like a scalpel or an unknown implement that no other surgeon uses). This removal of skin is a clear punishment for a victim's unwillingness to wear a mask. Now, with the severe damage, a victim's disfigured face serves as an ironic statement, as if the removed skin and exposed subcutaneous tissue is a parody of a face mask. It is likely that the exposed wound makes out the shape of a traditional face mask.

It is likely that, if treated in time to avoid infection and to lessen the effects of blood loss and shock, a victim will survive the skinning of the lower half of their face. However, the Enforcers will then move on to implement yet another ironic punishment, this time with fatal results. Autopsies on deceased victims showed that their lungs were "exploded," having burst within the chest cavity and caused irreversible damage that resulted in death. The cause for this bursting appears to be the insertion of some kind of tube into the mouth, down the larynx, and into the trachea. One in the trachea, massive quantities of air (or another gaseous substance) were funneled down the tube and into the trachea. If the victim was alive and their nose covered, it is likely that they would be taking panicked breaths. The monstrous quantities of air, combined with the panicked breathing, cause the lungs to expand and, when over-saturated with oxygen, literally burst.

The survivor, however, was able to survive the second part of this process, as the enforcers appeared to have inserted either the wrong kind of tube or a faulty variant of the tube they always use on their victims. Regardless of which theory is correct, the end result was the same: the victim survived the ordeal and the Enforcers saw it fit release them into society once again.

Motives:

The reasoning behind this release may have been that the Enforcers are aware that a survivor would spread the word about them, and would draw more attention to their brutal ways. The Enforcers are very clearly aware of the fear that their gruesome murders would inspire in the public. If they simply wanted to punish those who are vocal about not wearing face masks, they could have done so in private. They could have, for example, taken their targets, carried out their process in order to take their lives, and disposed of them privately. However, the Face Mask Enforcers leave the bodies of their victims to be discovered by the authorities.

It is likely that the Enforcers believe that their crimes will make the general population fearful of not wearing a face mask. They are, then, enforcing the face mask policies purely by fear of death.

Origins:

It is unknown who, or what, the Face Mask Enforcers are. They are most likely either Biological-Type or Entity-Type Oddities. It is not known what these Oddities were doing before the COVID-19 epidemic (or if the even existed before then). It is possible that these Oddities were enforcing other laws or other policies before COVID, exacting brutal punishment to those who strayed from the law. What policies exactly they may have chosen to enforce, however, is a mystery.