It's my first day at Belgrave University, and I am totally and utterly nervous. I've moved country for this uni, and as much as I'm nervous, it's a new start, away from the memories and in a place where newer ones can be formed. I am however exited for the new chapter of my life, and with a full scholarship and board as well, an unexpected surprise for me. Oh, wow! It is way bigger than any secondary schools or colleges back home; well, I guess that is expected as it is a university.
So far I have found my accommodation and set up my room. My dorm room is of nice size, with an old fashioned desk sat in front of the window, a small bed by the left wall with a bedside table near the headboard, on the right wall was a collection of dressers and wardrobes. I think I was lucky with this room as a large number of dorms are double rooms, and a lot of people have to bunk with a random roommate. I think I would absolutely dispise that as I prefer my privacy and I enjoy the peace of my own room where I won't be irritated by a roommate, or if they go through my stuff.
The view from my window overlooks the centre of campus, with the trees and flowers along with the vegetable garden. I also view the main buildings , the library. Sciences block, English and philosophy blocks as well as arts and engineering subjects; but also an old derelict building that is opposite the dorms and is fenced off. Surrounding it is rusted fences, a garden of dying or dead plants, and an ivy that is climbing up the side of the building and through the peeling windows. Some gut feeling inside has me wanting to avoid the haunted house of horrors.
After fixing my bedsheets, tidying away my clothes into their new spots and decorating the rest of the room with reminders of home, my trinkets and previous adventures; I set off on my adventure around campus in an attempt to gather my bearings on campus. The dorm rooms live westside on campus, and there are multiple that sit in a collective . Each building is for the different years that are studying on campus from first years to fourth years. Passing out of my building, I wandered around each building with an attempt to follow my simplistic, primary school level, chess board of a crappy map that looks like it should be used for an orienteering course on summer camp. It got me incredibly lost.
Somewhere in one of the main buildings, I had become especially lost , so I wandered up to a mousey-brown haired boy and lightly tapped his shoulder. Spinning round, his bold blue eyes glistening, "Hi, how can I help you?" He asked politely.
"Umm, hi. I'm a tad lost, I've been wandering campus to kinda sus it our and I feel like I've been wandering in circles for ages just to try and get out of this building, alone, and I was wondering if you didn't mind showing how to get out of this maze." I explained.
"Oh, that's fine. It is easy to get turned around here, especially if you're not used to these larger campuses like Belgrave." He smiled, "to be fair, I can give you a tour of campus if you want, I'm currently not tied up with anything. If you would like."
"You really don't have to... but if you could, it would be a major help." I begged slightly with thanks, "only if it's truly no trouble."
"Trust me, no trouble at all. Anyways, to begin, I'm Jack, a second year student who is still deciding on a major." He announced with slight amusement.
" Dam, well then, hello Jack, I'm Sam, and if it wasn't obvious enough, I'm a freshman who spent the past 18 years of my life living in England and attending small colleges and secondary school." I introduced.
"Well then, Sam, shall we begin?" Stated Jack. He guided me around the buildings, and he showed me the small passages to hide in and the ones to use to get to different classes faster. Jack took me from building to building and stated random facts as we went about each spot. It was probably, simultaneously, the weirdest and yet he best campus tour I have ever had. He was able to answer every question I had as well as other answers to questions I didn't realise I had. Jack even took me around the forest surrounding, showing fun walks or running routes to go on, even though he knew everything about any of the other parts of campus, he seemed to quieten down as we passed an old house that stood in a clearing. I began to question this house, but it got repeatedly dismissed.
"Jack, hey. Jack. What's this building?" I asked in a gesture towards the wooden shack. He avoided. "Jack, what is this place? It isn't clear as to what it is on the map. It seems well used from the outside and almost lived in." I questioned once again.
"O, it's nothing much, Sam. It's only an old janitor building or something like that." He was clearly avoiding he the questions, but I allowed it, I'll just snoop later. "Shall we continue on, Sam." Snaping my attention back, we passed on; but that building lingered in the back of my .ind all the way back to campus.
Reaching the student bar, Jack concudes the tour.
"Aaand, here we are then. Hopefully, that helps with your getting lost problem." Choughtled Jack.
"Well thankyou Jack." I decided to leave and put any further questions about the shack in the woods. "I gotta buy you a drink now, as a thank you. Please, it is only right." He pondered my inquiry and took me up on the offer.
"Well, if your offering, might as well." Jack smiled. I bought us a beer each and we decided to sit down at a small table near the window. We chatted mindlessly for a short while until Jack started acting strange. He was wincing like a knife was being twirled in his ear. Wincing away from the table, he looked as if he was coming to tears with the pain.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Ye-yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He replied with an attempt to hide the immense pain he was suffering. " I gotta go now, ugh, you gonna be alright finding your way back to the dorm safely from here? Good, good...bye." He begun stumbling out of the room.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, but will you be?" I really was concerned now.
"Yeah, yeah. See ya round Sam." Jack breathed as he stumbled out in a rush.
As fast as I could, I downed the remains of my pint and attempted to follow Jack out. Stepping out of the door, I noticed no sign of Jack, anywhere. When scouring the area more, I only noticed the slight rustle of the bushes and a random white shoe. Just a shoe!
Telling myself that random shoes outside of bars on university campuses are normal, I tried to look around for any other signs of Jack. Yet the shoe was itching in my mind. Turning around, I walked over to the location where I saw the shoe, I noticed further clothing; a familiar pair of trousers, a shirt, a jacket, and the other shoe. Now, who on Earth leaves entire outfits in random bushes outside bars? Students are a weird breed. Whipping my head round, I thought I heard rustling coming from further into the bushes in the direction of that mysterious cabin. Deciding against sanity, I decide to follow this rustling into the bushes just as the sun is beginning to set. What can I say, curiosity runs through my veins.
Pushing away rogue branches and nettles as well as leaves and sticks and the odd fern. I was fighting my way in the direction of the cabin and losing track of time quite easily. The sunset had dimmed the light vastly, and it was getting harder to figure out what I was bumping into each step towards the cabin. Following the distant light of what I believed to be the cabin, I was stopped in my tracks as a large hairy shadowy creature blocked my path. I don't think that it noticed me, so I used that to my advantage and hid as well as I could. Following the shape loosely, it led me to the wooden house in the clearing.
Watching as the shape became clearer, I noticed a wolf-like shape that was propped on its hind legs in an upright position. Now I've never seen a wolf do that before, nor have I ever witnessed a wolf as grand as this one. Rubbing my eyes, I believed the dark and thinks and figures you see in them, so I wasn't going to believe this random shape in front of me. Watching as the wolf darted into the house, I decided to follow the shadow. After scanning the clearing for any other mysterious shapes, I dashed towards the house with the lingering thought of, 'We don't get large, mysterious wolf-like creatures in real life, this is all from the mythology books. Right?'
Creeking open the wooden door, the entire house seemed to growl. Entering with caution, I ventured into the candle-lit house and found three random, fleshy shapes sprawled on the floor to what I could guess to be the living room all covered in mud.
"What. The actual. Fu-!" I exclaimed until I was knocked aside by a furry beast. Fangs beard and saliva dripping from its mouth, I cowered in fear, and with the attempt to find my feet, I kept losing them. I was terrified. As the creatured edged towards me, I was constantly searching for escape. Noticing a random door in the corner, I scrambled towards it as the monster began its pursuit. Descending a number of rickety stairs, I was led down into a dingy cellar that had boxes piled high with random assortments of items perched on each shelf and surface. Hearing pounding on the door, I darted into a small cupboard-like room.
Catching my breath, I noticed 6 crates that were illuminated by candle light. Each of them had inscriptions that read: 'TUNDRA', 'SILVERBACK', 'TIMBER', 'GREYBEARD', 'ALPHA', and a final one that had a crossed out inscription that read 'Cannon Fodder' but further up the chest in larger letters there read the inscription 'MIDNIGHT'. Each of them were simplistic, wood, and had leather straps that seemed to be unlocked and mainly there for decoration.
As Bannging and bashing continued to echo from the cupboard door and each of them becoming more and more intense. One of the intense bangs had me jumping backwards, startled, I fell backwards and landed on one of the boxes. It shifted. I felt the box move by itself. Now that is not normal. I am now become more and more TERRIFIED! It is only my first day on campus and I have already been chased by a wolf creature thing, found moving crates and got lost. If this is day one, I wonder what the rest of the year is going to be like. Or if this is a dam dream and I got too blackout drunk at the bar with that Jack kid. "Fuck thi-!" Year again I was interrupted. A slam came from the moving box I landed on, it seemed to have shifted around and the lid flew open. With a moment of realisation, the only box that was moving was the box with 'MIDNIGHT' inscribed on it. Peering into the dark centre of the crate, I was startled by a furry thing that began to wrap itself around me. It was freezing me in place, I couldn't move. Trying to scream, I was frantically looking around and watched as the doors to the cupboard burst open and I watched as the wolf that had been chasing me descended down into a familiar blue-eyed boy. The creature constricting me felt as though it bonded with my skin. The pain was unvearrable and I think I fainted, but I do not remember. What is happening?