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Thank you. The Silent Directive. Episode 7. The
Crowded Campus. The last few stories of mine
have been about creatures. The disfigure in the
rain, as I've taken to calling it. The Krampus
and the Wendigo. This is for no particular reason.
It's simply the events I find myself present
to observe. I still haven't quite gotten the
hang of directing myself. Speaking of which,
my most recent tale. I found myself on a college
campus. A large one. Arizona State University.
It was midday as freshman engineering major Sophia
headed back to her dorm. Long class, long day,
and it wasn't even over. But luckily for her,
she had a break in her schedule. Three hours
before her last class of the day at 5 .30. She
needed this break. A combination of stressful
social issues and stressful classes had led Sophia
to feel overwhelmed. This didn't happen to her
very often, but it wasn't completely unfamiliar.
She was new to college and was still learning
to navigate it all. When she became overwhelmed,
she found that a little time to herself in a
quiet space was all she needed to get back on
track. And so, there she was, walking through
the crowded campus toward her dorm. Arizona State
University, for those who don't know, is one
of the largest colleges in the United States
of America, less so by acres and more so by the
number of on -campus students. As of recently,
this number is upwards of 100 ,000 students.
I hope this paints a picture of the type of crowds
Sophia had to walk through. Well, the crowds
she perceived, at least. She finally got back
to her dorm, the fourth floor of Manzanita Hall,
which is a long, curved, 15 -story building with
15 ,000 first -year residents. But when she finally
did step into her dorm room, she did not feel
relaxed. Because her roommate and three of the
roommate's friends were there. They weren't partying,
per se. They were just hanging out. But Sophia
needed time alone. And it wasn't exactly quiet
in there. So she said a quick hello, declined
the invitation to join them, and stepped back
out into the hallway. She just needed a breather,
a second. But she would soon find a breather
was not going to come easy. A few other residents
were in the hall, minding their own business,
talking to each other. They noticed Sophia but
said nothing. Embarrassed to be standing awkwardly
outside her own door, Sophia decided to just
take a walk. The elevator was full, so she headed
to the stairwell. This gave her a quick idea.
The stairwell was always empty, always quiet.
She could sit there for a few moments, calm her
vibrating nerves. She opened the door to the
stairwell to find easily a dozen or so students
standing there, chatting up and down the stairwell.
Surprised, she almost turned to go back, but
she felt too awkward turning around instantly.
So, feeling her heart beating faster and faster
as she entered another crowd, she stepped carefully
through the students and headed for the lobby.
She just needed to find an empty room where she
could put her head in her hands and sit in silence
for just a moment. She wasn't freaking out, not
yet, but she could feel her stress rising slowly.
Was it too much to ask not to be perceived for
just a few seconds? She made it to the first
floor. squeezed past the last student in the
now very crowded stairwell, and stepped out into
the lobby. There must have been some sort of
event or something, because there were students
everywhere. She felt her heart sink. Every study
hall and common room was full with lively, loud
social people. On any other day, she'd be delighted.
An hour ago, she would have been delighted. But
right in that moment, she just wanted to be alone.
She stepped outside. More students. A bigger
crowd. The entrance of her hall sloped downward,
so from her position she could see over the heads
of many of the people. And there were so many
people. Not quite shoulder to shoulder, nothing
too crowded, but it was a lot of people, and
Sophia wanted to be alone. This was not alone.
She shook as she felt many eyes turn to her,
not noticing her, just perceiving her. She quickly
turned back inside and headed for the bathroom.
She pushed past a line in the lobby, more people
who could see her. It got worse as she felt her
eyes fill. She made it to the bathroom and opened
the door. She held back her panic best she could
and stepped around the people at the sinks to
go to a stall. They were all full, and there
was a line she hadn't noticed coming into the
bathroom. She left. She needed to go back to
her dorm room. Maybe she could step into her
own bathroom. Anything at this point. Back out
in the lobby, shaking more, she stepped forward
toward the stairwell. But it was full. Full,
full. Students crammed shoulder to shoulder,
stepping in and out of it. Sophia felt her breath
tremble as she stepped back. She bumped into
someone, because of course she did. She wanted
to cry. She wanted to scream. She wouldn't do
that with all these people around. The supply
closet. There was a small... Supply closet at
the end of the hall. It was supposed to be locked,
but the keycard lock on the door had died months
ago. She went to the door, threw it open, and
there were two students inside making out. She
stepped back, threw out a quick apology, closed
the door, and stood there. Someone brushed past
her shoulder. Then another person. The lobby
was getting more and more crowded. Every single
place she could go was full of people. There
was nowhere to be alone. Sophia, now trembling
and shaking, looked out over the lobby as the
bodies of the people grew closer and larger and
denser and tighter and... And she was gone. All
that time, she wanted to scream. And in the end,
she never got to. The anomaly weakened her enough
to... consumer. Body, spirit, and all. Like the
story of Sam and the Rain, I don't exactly know
what happened to Sophia, or where she went, but
this anomaly struck in that final moment. She
was, in all intents and purposes, consumed by
it. Now, I say it purposefully here. It is a
fact that all creatures and ghosts alike are
derived from a form of life. Some of the strangest
paranormal creatures can be explained by ancient
spirits, possession, and the warping of physical
form that comes with both. Even that disfigure
in the rain was once alive. Same goes for Krampus,
the Wendigo, anything. The same is true for an
anomaly. However... They are different. While
it is true they used to be alive, they do not
possess intelligence any longer. It would be
more appropriate to call them a carnivorous plant,
like a Venus flytrap. Most anomalies sit and
wait for scent of vulnerable prey, then they
strike in the only way they know how. So there
could be hundreds of anomalies in one area. But
they will only strike if someone vulnerable to
their specific form of attack wanders into their
territory. As for the anomalies that can move,
the same thing applies. They drift around until
something catches their scent, then they chase
it until they catch up. Not malicious intelligence,
just hunting. Make sense? I hope so. Now, I was...
observing Sophia. So I saw the story through
her eyes. But I could also see it through my
eyes. I saw the difference between what was real
and what wasn't. This anomaly was tracking her
throughout the day, maybe longer. It's hard to
tell. That moment Sophia first got back to her
dorm, that was the moment it saw its chance and
made its first strike. Her roommate and... The
three friends were there, but that's about all
that was real in the end. This anomaly just so
happens to specialize in social vulnerability.
Fears of crowded places, fear of being perceived,
whatever it was. It attacked, and it worked.
The hallway was empty. The stairwell was empty.
The outside of her building had maybe a handful
of students here and there. Not the giant crowd
she thought she saw. The supply closet was empty,
and she stood there in an empty hallway, trying
desperately to find some place alone. If I could
only tell her, help her see the truth, see past
the illusions of another mind, a carnivorous
mind, maybe, I don't know. I'm an observer. And
an innocent person is dead. I saw it happen.
And now you know it happened. But it happened
nonetheless. I'm an observer.