I am a reporter. I am jogging through the park for an early morning run when I see a giant chicken behind the trees on the park edge, walking down Main Street! [[Take a picture and write about it, then publish it!]] [[Wait, you moron, that can't be real!]]I take a picture on my smartphone, then sit down to type my observations of this odd sight. But wait... [[The press closes in thirty minutes. If I hurry, I can make the morning edition!]] [[There's something very conspicuous about this chicken...]] [[Why isn't anyone panicking? Shouldn't someone call 911?]]Of course it's not real. [[But what if it is?]] [[Then what is it?]] [[Just walk away and forget it.]]I jot down some quick notes about the chicken and rush off toward the press building. After a bit of a jog, I enter the front door and run into the chief editor. I tell him about what I just saw, and he immediately looks dubious. He asks, "Did you get a close look to know for sure if this was a giant chicken?" I respond no. I am absolutely wiped out after all that jogging. He then said, "Well, why don't you go back and get up close this time, so then you'll know exactly what it is?" [[Run to the street to investigate]] [[I say, "But that can be tomorrow's news. This is way more exciting!"]]Its feathers look pretty smooth and round, and so does its beak. [[Must have been part of the mutation process.]] [[Wait, you moron, that can't be real!]] What do I do? [[Run to the street to investigate]] [[Get out my phone]][[Get out my phone]] [[This is pathetic]] If it were real, it would make a big clucking sound. [[Listen for a sound]] [[This is pathetic]]It's still pretty far away to tell for sure what that chicken-thing is. [[Run to the street to investigate]] [[Keep your distance]]This will take care of itself. Back to beginning: [[Opener]] I run over to the street, and I see the full profile: the chicken is a parade balloon, for it's floating off the ground with multiple cables hanging from the bottom. There are only two men at the bottom holding it down, and they appear to be stuggling at it. [[Run over to help]] [[Record these new findings]]I pull out my phone and dial 911. The operator answers and asks, "9-1-1. What's your emergency?" I respond: [["There's a giant chicken walking down Main Street! Send for the army!"]] [["Is there a parade today or something? I'm seeing a giant chicken on Main Street."]]There's something very sketchy about this. [[Listen for a sound]] [[Get out my phone]]There is nothing unusual to be heard. However, you do hear some men grunting over where the chicken is. [[Run to the street to investigate]] I'm thinking stupid now. It's just a parade balloon. [[Just walk away and forget it.]] The operator pauses, then says, "Please, sir. This number is for real emergencies", then hangs up, apparently convinced I was playing a prank. The chicken is still moving along smoothly, not bothering anything. [[The press closes in thirty minutes. If I hurry, I can make the morning edition!]] [[Run to the street to investigate]] I cry out, "Hey, do you need some help?" The taller of the two answers, "Yes, please!" I grab several cables and hold them down. Then I ask: [["What is this chicken for?"]] [["Are we walking the whole way?"]]The operator responds, "Where are you?" I say, "In Jackson park on Main Street and 7th. This chicken thing is moving down Main." The operator, in an assured tone, says back, "I'm sorry, but we were not informed of any parades today in that area." [["Well, what's going on here?"]] [["Alright. Thank you. Goodbye."]]The operator asks if I want to speak to the police. [["No thank you."]] [["Yes, please!]]I hang up the phone, still looking at the chicken. [[Then what is it?]] [[Just walk away and forget it.]] I hang up a little frustrated. I look back at the chicken. [[Then what is it?]] [[Run to the street to investigate]] I'm patched over to the police, when an officer asks what the trouble is. I tell him all that I've seen and where I am, and he responds, "That does sound very strange. We definitely don't have any parades going on today or anything else that exciting. I'll send a couple of men over to check it out." I say: [["Alright. Thank you. Goodbye."]] I use my phone to record this new image of the balloon and the two men. Maybe they're taking it over to a warehouse where a parade is being planned, or about to play some major prank on someone. Surely, whatever is going on here, it's not bad. Maybe it'll make a funny short story in the paper though. [[Hand the notes on my phone over to the chief editor for publication]] The shorter man answers, "Well, there's a new fried chicken restaurant a few blocks down, and it's opening day is today!" I then say: [["Are we walking the whole way?"]] [["I haven't heard of that. I write for the paper, and we didn't have any flyers come through us or anything."]] The shorter man stammers for a bit in confusion. The taller man cuts in, "We don't know much about advertisement. We're new in the business." I then say: [["Okay then."]] [["This is all a little strange. You could easily scare someone."]]We walk furthur down the road for a few minutes, and arrive at the short man's car and tied the cables to the bars on top. [[Ask for a ride so I can check out where they're going and write about it.]] [[Be on my way]]The taller man answers, "Well, this is our business, pal." [["Okay then."]] What now? [[Hand the notes on my phone over to the chief editor for publication]] [[Just walk away and forget it.]] The editor says, "Alright, alright. Let me see your notes." [[Hand the notes on my phone over to the chief editor for publication]]The chief editor uses my notes and photos to put in a short story in that day's paper. Then he aks which title I would want. [["Giant mutant chicken storms city?"]] [["Lost chicken parade balloon found"]] [["Unknown fried chicken restaurant opens"]]This is published. Later that day, we get visited by the police. They tell us that they arrived on the scene of the giant chicken, based on a phone call, and it turned out to be just a parade balloon carried by two guys. Beyond that, these two guys claimed they were taking it to a fried chicken restaurant grand opening, but furthur investigation revealed they had actually just robbed a jewelery store and hid the stolen jewels in the "feet" of the chicken to help weigh it down more. They were going to tie it to their car and make their escape. At the end, the police told us that our "article"'s lack of professionalism actually looked like we may have hired those guys to use the balloon in order to stage some prank on our readers. [[Plead innocent frantically]]This is published. Later that day, the police arrive. They tell us that they arrived on the scene of the chicken parade balloon, based on a phone call, and it was being carried by two guys. The cops say they asked the two guys if they found the balloon, or were the owners. The two guys responded that they owned it, and were on their way to a fried chicken restaurant grand opening. The cops told them they weren't aware of any such events happening that day. Then, a nearby jewelery store owner ran up declaring theft. After investigating further, they found out that the guys were the jewelery robbers and had stored the jewels in the "feet" of the chicken to weigh it down more. Then one cop asks me why I didn't look into the matter further when I took the photo and took the notes. [[Plead innocent frantically]] [[Be calm. Say, "I thought they had that balloon for a good reason. I didn't feel like additional prodding was necessary."]]The shorter man answers, "We're just taking this to my car over there. We'll tie it on, then drive it the rest of the way." I then say: [["What is this chicken for?"]] [["Okay then."]] [["This is all a little strange. You could easily scare someone."]] The shorter man gets defensive and asks, "What are you? A cop?" He then tells me to go just go home. [[Be on my way]]Pleading isn't helping. Me and the chief editor are suspected of aiding the jewelery robbers, and escorted outside to the police car, headed to face judgement. Back to beginning: [[Opener]] We're off the hook, but the cops still give us a warning about thorough research and misleading readers away from an emergency. Back to beginning: [[Opener]] This is published. Later in the day, the police arrive and say they arrived at the scene of the giant chicken based on a phone call, but didn't find anything. A jewelery store owner then caught the cops and told them his store was robbed earlier that morning when noone was there. They looked into that, then they received word that our paper had the unusual "Fried Chicken restaurant" story, with me helping those two guys, and the photo. The cops informed us that there wasn't any major events like that happening today, then asked me where those guys went. [[Plead innocent frantically]] [[Be calm. Say, "I have no idea where they went. I just helped them carry the balloon to their car."]] The cops then ask me to describe the car. I recall it's features to the best of my ability. They then leave with us off the hook. They track down those guys' car and arrest them. They find the stolen jewels stored in the "feet" of the chicken balloon, which kept it weighed down. The police call us and thank us for the right information, though contacting them about sudden occasions, like a restaurant opening, before publishing something like that was recommended. Maybe morning jogs aren't as useless as I thought. Back to beginning: [[Opener]]