WEBVTT

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The Silent Directive is a horror podcast. There

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are many themes some users may find disturbing.

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Please check the description before listening.

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Thank you. The Silent Directive. Episode 7. The

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Crowded Campus. The last few stories of mine

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have been about creatures. The disfigure in the

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rain, as I've taken to calling it. The Krampus

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and the Wendigo. This is for no particular reason.

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It's simply the events I find myself present

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to observe. I still haven't quite gotten the

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hang of directing myself. Speaking of which,

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my most recent tale. I found myself on a college

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campus. A large one. Arizona State University.

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It was midday as freshman engineering major Sophia

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headed back to her dorm. Long class, long day,

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and it wasn't even over. But luckily for her,

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she had a break in her schedule. Three hours

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before her last class of the day at 5 .30. She

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needed this break. A combination of stressful

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social issues and stressful classes had led Sophia

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to feel overwhelmed. This didn't happen to her

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very often, but it wasn't completely unfamiliar.

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She was new to college and was still learning

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to navigate it all. When she became overwhelmed,

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she found that a little time to herself in a

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quiet space was all she needed to get back on

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track. And so, there she was, walking through

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the crowded campus toward her dorm. Arizona State

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University, for those who don't know, is one

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of the largest colleges in the United States

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of America, less so by acres and more so by the

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number of on -campus students. As of recently,

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this number is upwards of 100 ,000 students.

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I hope this paints a picture of the type of crowds

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Sophia had to walk through. Well, the crowds

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she perceived, at least. She finally got back

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to her dorm, the fourth floor of Manzanita Hall,

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which is a long, curved, 15 -story building with

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15 ,000 first -year residents. But when she finally

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did step into her dorm room, she did not feel

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relaxed. Because her roommate and three of the

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roommate's friends were there. They weren't partying,

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per se. They were just hanging out. But Sophia

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needed time alone. And it wasn't exactly quiet

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in there. So she said a quick hello, declined

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the invitation to join them, and stepped back

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out into the hallway. She just needed a breather,

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a second. But she would soon find a breather

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was not going to come easy. A few other residents

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were in the hall, minding their own business,

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talking to each other. They noticed Sophia but

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said nothing. Embarrassed to be standing awkwardly

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outside her own door, Sophia decided to just

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take a walk. The elevator was full, so she headed

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to the stairwell. This gave her a quick idea.

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The stairwell was always empty, always quiet.

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She could sit there for a few moments, calm her

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vibrating nerves. She opened the door to the

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stairwell to find easily a dozen or so students

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standing there, chatting up and down the stairwell.

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Surprised, she almost turned to go back, but

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she felt too awkward turning around instantly.

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So, feeling her heart beating faster and faster

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as she entered another crowd, she stepped carefully

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through the students and headed for the lobby.

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She just needed to find an empty room where she

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could put her head in her hands and sit in silence

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for just a moment. She wasn't freaking out, not

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yet, but she could feel her stress rising slowly.

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Was it too much to ask not to be perceived for

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just a few seconds? She made it to the first

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floor. squeezed past the last student in the

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now very crowded stairwell, and stepped out into

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the lobby. There must have been some sort of

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event or something, because there were students

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everywhere. She felt her heart sink. Every study

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hall and common room was full with lively, loud

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social people. On any other day, she'd be delighted.

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An hour ago, she would have been delighted. But

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right in that moment, she just wanted to be alone.

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She stepped outside. More students. A bigger

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crowd. The entrance of her hall sloped downward,

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so from her position she could see over the heads

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of many of the people. And there were so many

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people. Not quite shoulder to shoulder, nothing

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too crowded, but it was a lot of people, and

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Sophia wanted to be alone. This was not alone.

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She shook as she felt many eyes turn to her,

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not noticing her, just perceiving her. She quickly

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turned back inside and headed for the bathroom.

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She pushed past a line in the lobby, more people

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who could see her. It got worse as she felt her

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eyes fill. She made it to the bathroom and opened

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the door. She held back her panic best she could

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and stepped around the people at the sinks to

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go to a stall. They were all full, and there

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was a line she hadn't noticed coming into the

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bathroom. She left. She needed to go back to

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her dorm room. Maybe she could step into her

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own bathroom. Anything at this point. Back out

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in the lobby, shaking more, she stepped forward

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toward the stairwell. But it was full. Full,

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full. Students crammed shoulder to shoulder,

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stepping in and out of it. Sophia felt her breath

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tremble as she stepped back. She bumped into

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someone, because of course she did. She wanted

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to cry. She wanted to scream. She wouldn't do

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that with all these people around. The supply

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closet. There was a small... Supply closet at

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the end of the hall. It was supposed to be locked,

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but the keycard lock on the door had died months

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ago. She went to the door, threw it open, and

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there were two students inside making out. She

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stepped back, threw out a quick apology, closed

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the door, and stood there. Someone brushed past

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her shoulder. Then another person. The lobby

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was getting more and more crowded. Every single

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place she could go was full of people. There

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was nowhere to be alone. Sophia, now trembling

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and shaking, looked out over the lobby as the

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bodies of the people grew closer and larger and

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denser and tighter and... And she was gone. All

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that time, she wanted to scream. And in the end,

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she never got to. The anomaly weakened her enough

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to... consumer. Body, spirit, and all. Like the

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story of Sam and the Rain, I don't exactly know

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what happened to Sophia, or where she went, but

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this anomaly struck in that final moment. She

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was, in all intents and purposes, consumed by

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it. Now, I say it purposefully here. It is a

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fact that all creatures and ghosts alike are

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derived from a form of life. Some of the strangest

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paranormal creatures can be explained by ancient

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spirits, possession, and the warping of physical

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form that comes with both. Even that disfigure

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in the rain was once alive. Same goes for Krampus,

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the Wendigo, anything. The same is true for an

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anomaly. However... They are different. While

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it is true they used to be alive, they do not

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possess intelligence any longer. It would be

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more appropriate to call them a carnivorous plant,

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like a Venus flytrap. Most anomalies sit and

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wait for scent of vulnerable prey, then they

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strike in the only way they know how. So there

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could be hundreds of anomalies in one area. But

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they will only strike if someone vulnerable to

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their specific form of attack wanders into their

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territory. As for the anomalies that can move,

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the same thing applies. They drift around until

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something catches their scent, then they chase

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it until they catch up. Not malicious intelligence,

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just hunting. Make sense? I hope so. Now, I was...

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observing Sophia. So I saw the story through

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her eyes. But I could also see it through my

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eyes. I saw the difference between what was real

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and what wasn't. This anomaly was tracking her

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throughout the day, maybe longer. It's hard to

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tell. That moment Sophia first got back to her

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dorm, that was the moment it saw its chance and

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made its first strike. Her roommate and... The

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three friends were there, but that's about all

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that was real in the end. This anomaly just so

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happens to specialize in social vulnerability.

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Fears of crowded places, fear of being perceived,

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whatever it was. It attacked, and it worked.

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The hallway was empty. The stairwell was empty.

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The outside of her building had maybe a handful

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of students here and there. Not the giant crowd

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she thought she saw. The supply closet was empty,

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and she stood there in an empty hallway, trying

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desperately to find some place alone. If I could

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only tell her, help her see the truth, see past

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the illusions of another mind, a carnivorous

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mind, maybe, I don't know. I'm an observer. And

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an innocent person is dead. I saw it happen.

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And now you know it happened. But it happened

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nonetheless. I'm an observer.