I've been thinking a lot about the kinds of projects that keep mysteriously getting upended due to this not-so-subtle meddling.
Is Headmaster Vespertine just interfering with projects that he finds particularly interesting? Or perhaps it's just a whim? A fleeting fascination that drives him to push the limits of our research and abandon it all once he's had his fill.
Well, the answer came to me one morning after days of scouring through staff records when I finally found a former Frostein employee.
She goes by Professor Saros but not even the staff records have much more than her name listed. Anything about her past at Frostein has been heavily edited or erased. It was a wonder I even found her file in the first place. I've been trapped in pensive thought all morning, deliberating the ways I could approach her without scaring her off. Luckily for me, I didn't have to fret over it for too long.
A fellow professor from another department was…terminated recently. It left a fairly old project without an administrator and Professor Saros was tasked with taking over the project. I applied to be her assistant as soon as I heard the news. I imagine it won't take long to hear back from the higher-ups. If I make it through, I'll add the project files to the journal. If not...well, I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
【PROJECT HOLLOW MOON】
「Subject」 Ą̷̦̖̩̒̆̉̏͘s̴̪͑̈́̇̅̽t̶̳̝̥̳̎r̸̨̢̝͉̜̙̥͓̫̒̈õ̷̧̭̘͝p̷̲̾̌ḩ̴̡͕̖̲͙͙̂̐̇̉̎͑̚̕ͅȩ̴̪͒̈̽͗̓̐̉͝l̵͚̦̱͔̖̯̽̈́͛͜
「Administrator」 Dr. Selene Saros
「Assistant Observer」 Dr. Victor Solomon
NOTE:
Large gaps in data as a result of damaged records and removed logs require all staff to revert to base observation methods. Two observers must be present when handling anything related to the subject. Audio and visual recording devices must be on at all times during studies and all staff in charge of the subject must remain behind the pressurized gates unless instructed otherwise.
「Description」
The subject presents as a 1cm x 1cm marking that appears on the forehead and expands over time. The marking takes the shape of a crescent moon. The marking seems to drain individuals of their energy and their capacity to form coherent thoughts.
The first known Astrophel victims (Group A) have been recorded to start growing the mark within two weeks of their routine shifts at the Blue Moon Space Station. Upon their return to Earth, they were taken to █████ ███████ Hospital for treatment. All forms of treatment administered were unsuccessful in removing the mark.
Members of Group A simultaneously began to emit sounds similar to frantic screams when the last of the group was enveloped by the mark. It is unknown how the sound was produced without their mouths. They became extremely violent with hospital staff, resulting in ██ ██████ and 27 injuries.
Group A converged in the hospital lobby, where they began to melt together. The mark that hollowed out their faces spread as their bodies collided. Their merger resulted in a blackened amalgamation of flesh and bodily fluids that pulsed and writhed until it took the shape of a crescent moon.
The incident, recorded as A-1 was reported to F̶̧̢̻̖̺̋̆̀͠͠r̴̳̮͎͈̩͉̿͑͋̓̐̍̆̈̐̊͊̕͜͝ǫ̷̩̳̭̰̙̺̠͖͍͔̒̂̈́͐̅̃̚̚s̴̼̱͊̋̔̿͐͋͛͊̓̀͘͠͠ţ̴̨̯̮̦̤͉̫̱̜̞͉̻̅è̷̺͂̐͗͂̂́͘i̷̡̺͙͎̜͉̺̱̘͖̰͈͐̀̑̈́̌͘ͅṉ̴̭̉͋̇̎͗̊͘ ̸̲͓̱̮̗̬͐̀̅̋͒̐̐̈̎̀̀̈́̕A̵̗̳̻͇̰̥̪̎̋̀̓̓͊̽̐c̷̨̰̗̻̬̪̥̣̗̒̉a̷̡̛͆̈́̇̀̅͗̐͐̉͘d̵̢̙̖̭̮͍͎͍̒̈̃̏́e̴͉̫̥̺̳͋̋̀m̶͖̭͐y̸̻͓̱͖̺̩͈͉͊̾ and the hospital was promptly secured. By the time Academy personnel arrived, any living life form that was unfortunate enough to get close enough to the moon, was quickly pulled in by a strange force that is believed to work similar to Earth's gravitational pull. Their remains were ██████ ████ ███ ██████ and have never been recovered.
The building has since been quarantined by academy personnel.
「Behaviour」
The mark will stop expanding once it has enveloped the individual's face, causing it to cave in, at which point black liquid will begin to seep out of the hole. Prior experiments have concluded that this liquid consists of brain matter and an unknown mucus-like substance that has no relation to any known substance or chemical on Earth.
Faint calls of what sounds like a voice can be heard coming from the moon in the lobby. It seems unable to spread without available hosts for its markings. Therefore all academy staff are instructed to ignore it and stay more than 2 meters away from it. Any closer will leave them trapped in its gravitational pull. Recovery is impossible as the chances of infection are 99.99%. All staff are required to wear a body cam that is being backed up to the academy database. In the event that an incident occurs, we may be able to use the footage to see what happens once a person is pulled in.
Attempts to converse with the "voice" have led researchers to discover that the being that seems to be calling from within the strange moon calls itself Ȃ̴̛̝̮̑̽̾̏̓͋s̶͈͚̏̑̈́̔t̶̗̯̘̲͔̲̝͇̟̰̘̐̊͛͊͛͆͂̋̎̿̒͘̕͝r̴̮͐̇̈̔̌ǒ̶̥͉̗̄͋̍̈́̈͆̋̍͂͘͜͜͜p̷̲̟͍͂̄̈́h̴̪̫̫̜̭̰̠̘̥̹͊̈̀̐͗̓̆̅̾ͅȩ̴̡̫͔͉̹̠͚̺̖͕̟̳̼͎̈̀͒̒̓̐ľ̶̨̲̌. Its motives remain indecipherable despite its many years under academy supervision.
Recovered Audio Transcript
⦾ Hushed arguing is heard.
Dr. Solomon: "Professor Saros please consider—"
Prof. Saros: "There is nothing to consider Victor! Taking down Vespertine is nothing but a pipe dream. Do you think he isn't already aware of your movements? I don't know how you managed to unearth those things about Frostein but I suggest you act as though you never did."
Dr. Solomon: "I agree I may have been a bit hasty applying for this project but it was my only shot at speaking with you without raising too much suspicion! We're already trapped in this academy. I can feel it in my bones, Selene. Our time is almost up. With each passing project, I can feel that sense of dread looming closer. The one so many of our colleagues have faced before their lives were snuffed out in some freak accident or they were mysteriously discharged and never heard from again. I wouldn't have even noticed it had it not been for Vespertine's meddling in my projects.
Prof. Saros: "...I suppose you have been rather unlucky in that regard..."
Dr. Solomon: "Unlucky is one way of putting it. I don't know what Vespertine's end goal is but I know it has something to do with my subjects. All of my recent subjects have had life-altering abilities related to death and an afterlife or mind-bending properties that can alter a person's perception. I only have bits and pieces of the puzzle. I can't figure it out on my own and you can call me desperate or delusional or whatever but you're the only person I can ask to fill in the gaps! If Vespertine is going to get rid of me when he's done screwing up my work anyway, I would at least like to go out fighting. I didn't make it from prisoner to academy staff just to give up on myself now…stop that."
Prof. Saros: "Stop what?"
Dr. Solomon: "Looking at me as if you pity me."
Prof. Saros: "I don't mean to—"
Dr. Solomon: "If you truly pity me then I'd rather you take a chance on me instead of peppering me with sorry looks.
⦾ A beat of silence passes between them.
Prof. Saros: "...I may...have an idea as to what his goals are but...it's only a theory of mine. Even at Frostein, he was very good at keeping the truth from us."
Dr. Solomon: "Anything helps."
⦾ Professor Saros can be heard sighing heavily.
Prof. Saros: "Well, as I'm sure you can tell from those archives you uncovered he has been conducting his underhanded experiments for quite some time. I heard a rumour once when I worked with him back in Frostein…"
. . . . . ╰──╮ꕥ╭──╯ . . . . .
10 Years Ago: ⚜Frostein Academy⚜
My roommate, Velia tugged on my lab coat in an attempt to get me to listen. "Come on Selene! Don't you find it odd? He always rejects our offers to hang out after work and Rahas saw him go into the woods more than once when we were leaving. Aren't you the least bit curious as to what he could be up to?"
I rolled my eyes so hard that it made my head throb. "No offense but if my options were hanging out with Rahas and taking a peaceful evening stroll through the woods, I would choose the woods too. Besides, it's his personal life, why do you care so much? He spends all his time doing those experiments with the boy and the child isn't making any progress. He's probably just got to let off some steam."
Rahas slapped a hand onto my back. "Don't be such a stick in the mud. We're brooding over boring research all day long, we rarely have anything interesting to do. Besides, if it's nothing, then it's nothing. Don't you think it'll be fun! A little spy mission after work! When are we gonna get the chance to have a little fun again?"
It baffles me how they could still have so much energy after such a long day at work. The scent of disinfectant was beginning to make me nauseous. I couldn't finish cleaning my station fast enough. Just when I thought I was home free, Rahas began laughing nervously. I paused, my gloves already halfway off my hand.
"What is it this time?"
"Um...am I going crazy or are the materials we collected today suddenly not there?"
I glanced over my shoulder at the shelf behind us and sure enough, a jar was missing.
Velia, who was in the process of tearing off her lab coat, piped up. "I think Vespertine was in charge of shelving today's experiments...you don't think..."
Rahas and Velia shared a look before Rahas threw his fist in the air triumphantly. "...Oh he definitely stole it! I knew he was up to something!"
"What? Why would he want a disgusting jar of eyeballs?"
"Well, we would know that if we followed him now wouldn't we? Besides, if Vespertine has stolen our day's work, I'd say we're more than justified in hunting the man down for some explanations!" Rahas' lips curled upward in a smug smile.
"Whatever, you guys go ahead and have fun. I'm heading back to the dorms to sleep."
I could see Rahas and Velia giggling and excitedly gathering our other co-workers to follow Dr. Vespertine. A sinking feeling of pity engulfed me the further I got from them. Poor guy probably just wants some alone time.
. . . . . ╰──╮ꕥ╭──╯ . . . . .
Dr. Solomon: "—So you didn't go with them?"
Prof. Saros: "No, I just wanted to crawl into bed at that point. I knocked out almost as soon as I got back to my dorm room. I don't know how long I was asleep. It was still dark out when Velia woke me up. She wasn't looking too good either."
Dr. Solomon: "She came back early? What happened?"
Prof. Saros: "Well..."
. . . . . ╰──╮ꕥ╭──╯ . . . . .
Fingers dug into my shoulder, abruptly shaking me awake. A disorienting panic flooded my veins like ice cold water as I shot up from my bed. Velia was clinging to me as though her life depended on it. Pale as a sheet and sweating profusely, she spat out a slew of words, none of which made sense.
"Trees! The trees! They have eyes! I saw it Selene, I saw it!"
"Wha-huh? What trees? Are you alright? Did...did you run all the way back here? What's wrong?"
Her grip on me tightened, gaze filled with urgency as she spoke.
"There is a grouping of trees in the forest. They have eyes all over them! I saw Vespertine add more! The blood, the stench, oh god...he was talking to them. He spoke to those things!"
"Lia you're not making any sense. Did you have a nightmare?" I groggily pushed myself off of my bed and led Jasmine to her side of the room.
"NO! Listen to me! That jar of eyes that we collected, the one that went missing, he did steal it! He was using it as some kind of offering!!"
I sighed. "I think the long work hours are finally getting to you. You need to sleep."
"SELEN!"
"I can't understand what you're saying right now. Let's talk after we've got some rest and you've had a chance to calm down yeah? I promise I'll listen then."
Velia let me pull the covers over her but even as I settled back into my bed, I could hear the kind of muffled sobs that only ever came from a deep, suffocating fear. Regardless, I let myself drift back to sleep, telling myself I would listen to her properly once we woke up.
I never did get the chance to listen to her though. When morning came and it was time to get ready for another long day at the lab…she was gone. She wasn't in her bed, the bathroom, or even the dining hall. I couldn't find her anywhere.
It wasn't until I walked into the lab and realized that neither her or Ron had come in that day. Before the panic could settle in, I tried to call them, ask if anyone had seen them, anything! But it was to no avail. It was like they just…never existed.
The work day came and went and no one was the wiser. Everything passed in the same dull way it always did. As if trapped in a daze, when I returned to my dorm room I absentmindedly sat down in Jasmine's bed…Velia? Wait…who's Velia? My head whipped around to the small desk in front of the bed. I picked up the thing closest to me. It was a tube of cherry lip gloss.
I grimaced at the sickeningly sweet scent...I hated cherries...why would I buy this?
I stood, examining the desk further. A small mirror hung above the desk. Stuck in the corner was a photo of myself and...who? I carefully removed the photo and flipped it over.
"Here's to our first month as roommates! Love Velia!"
Velia?...LIA! How could I forget so quickly? Velia and...shit! My head throbbed as I struggled to focus. Who else am I forgetting? Velia...Lia...ugh! The more I tried to remember, the more my head felt like it would split open. I blinked away the tears that began clouding my vision and stood, stumbling over to the door.
Velia tried to talk to me last night. What did she say again...something about...Vespertine! That's right, she followed him. I cursed myself for not listening to her when I had the chance. I tried to remember what she said she saw, the expression on her face, anything! But all that came to mind was a dizzying sense of emptiness. A hollow space where something should be.
I swung the door open. The one thing I was able to remember was that she followed Vespertine into the woods. If anyone knows what happened to her, it has to be him.
. . . . . ╰──╮ꕥ╭──╯ . . . . .
Dr. Solomon: "So you began having rapid symptoms of memory loss? Did you figure out what the cause was?"
Prof. Saros: "I only found out when I went to see Vespertine."
Dr. Solomon: You followed him! I thought that was the exact reason for your friend's disappearance!
Prof. Saros: Yes well...it may also be the only reason I'm able to tell you all of this still...
ns 15.158.61.12da2
