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Description
"And you call me stupid."
Brad and Steve had found themselves alone after Ashley left. She was given a set of instructions to follow regarding her journey on a piece of A4, a swirl of messy arrows making the sheet cryptic to anyone peering from above or behind her. As well as this she was given some newspapers and a booklet. Ashley thought they would hide her directions- Brad thought they would help her learn faster.
"I don't want your daughter enrolling here, Steve. You have not thought of the consequences at all, have you?"
The two experienced employees had now moved to their second topic- a subject even more potent then the contents of Ashley's journey- the addition of a young college student to the gleaming pride of Virtius.
"I am her father, Bradley. You may hold authority over this institute, but I am the owner of my child."
"Your child is no possession. And I do not hold authority over this place. Your wife has equal control over her ambitions, but neither of you will ever have as much authority as your daughter."
"Yes, we do! She wants to study photography, Bradley! I do not know much about the topic, but it is nowhere near as prestigious as psychology in this fine university. Bradley, why do you look so offended?"
"You call this place a university? Steve, this "university" has caused me to send an innocent girl on a mission which will remain stitched within her memory until the day she dies! Would your daughter like to be in her shoes? Exactly, she deserves better."
"Bradley, you cannot comprehend the firmness both my wife and myself feel over this. If you were married, you would be able to emphasise better."
"If you were not married, you would learn that outside of work I have a lot of spare time in my hands. I could easily use this spare time to prevent your daughter from coming here. Rigged exam results, exam disqualifications, these procedures are lengthy but they can be arranged."
"Helen's results are safe. Even you have superiors, Bradley. Oh, and if you have a lot of spare time only when you're outside work, that's too bad."
"And why may that be?"
"Because she's in here now."

Virtius, having the combined status of a psychology institution and a university, usually meant that nearly every potential psychology student would be guided towards its doors. However, talk of corporate controversy and other strange events had lead to a divide between two generations; the first desired the second to follow their tradition. While the second wished to attend a university more friendly to students (Virtius was only half a university, after all) and more social. Fewer Virtius veterans were more rigid than Steve White, who wished for his daughter to attend.
To compensate for its loss of recent student numbers, Virtius held more open days than most universities, which only confirmed some of the crazy theories posted on the internet. Today was another one of those days.

Ashley had still not left the building, instead deciding to position herself in the company's cafe, reading "The Daily Taberner". She would be escorted to her train by a stranger in around an hour. The taste of hot coffee filled her mind while she read an interesting article called "mind condition revealed".

Mind Condition Revealed
Today, in local corporation Virtius, a new mental disorder was discovered. The effects of the disorder, although unknown, have been found to be catastrophic. Melissa Dutton, chief researcher, gives us a summary. "The condition has been identified as a mental disorder which affects each victim personally. We are currently unaware of the disorder's effects, so we have taken all patients afflicted into an intense caring unit. So far, the only distinguishable symptom is frantic hallucinations, although this seems to differ from other disorder as patients afflicted claim to have lost all recollection of dreams. Richardson et al have so far conducted a study..."

Ashley stopped reading. A tallish figure had approached her, the outlines of the figure appearing behind the edges of the newspaper.
"May I help you?" Ashley asked. The phrase was used by most Virtius employees.
"I'm sorry, but I noticed you were reading a newspaper written in 1998. That normally doesn't happen."
Ashley looked tense.
"It's alright. I'm a photography student, you see. I think that seeing you there, in a modern environment reading an old newspaper, seems artistic. Would it be alright if I took a picture?"
"Sure, if you... want?"
"Good. Could you hold the newspaper like you're reading it? Thanks, that works fine. Thanks!"
In a flash, the figure had disappeared. Looking onwards, she noticed the photographer disappear into the distance, resumed her reading, but was again interrupted by the voice of Brad.
"Ashley, have you seen a girl holding a camera? Rather tall, freckles, moderate weight, dirty-blonde hair?"
"Yeah. She just took a photograph of me now for photography. Are you looking for her?"
"Yes. I need to find her. She went off that way? Are you sure? Thank you, Ashley. I need to give you something. It's a bit suspicious, but I couldn't give it with Steve around. He would alert my boss."
Brad gave Ashley a thin, navy blue book with the title "Virtius: the encyclopedia of myths, discoveries and more".
"Published in 2003 by a senior Virtius official who disagreed with the system. This should tell you everything you need about the Nox. If that girl saw the date on that newspaper, that means it's possible for others to become suspicious. At least with this book, people can think you're just bored or interested in a general subject. Leave the newspaper to me, I'll keep it safe.
Brad arose and began pacing down the direction Ashley indicated. However before leaving, he turned one last time.
"Ashley, check page 7 first. It will tell you something important."
She obeyed, and searched for the page number. Inside it lay a sticky note saying "your escort is ready early. Proceed to the main headquarter gate in ten minutes."
Brad ran along the hallway, passing many fellow employees as he searched for the future victim of corporate control. The number of people he passed seemed to increase dramatically alongside the amount of those not wearing a uniform. Paths soon became narrow gaps and hallways turned into the nightmares of the claustrophobic, swarming with gossip and casual chatter. Steve relaxed against a wall, his eyes fixed on a small crowd of girls. He knew Brad was looking for him, but did not attempt an escape: both knew one would be found by the other eventually.
"Oh, hello Bradley," Steve muttered, avoiding eye contact.
"Don't look too nervous, Steve. It's only an open day," Brad turned to face the crowd of girls "he's new here. Virtius attracts a variety of people, so expect a lot of diversity if you enrol here. In fact, we seem to be receiving a particularly large amount of applications from those related to current workers. Does anybody here have a relative working here?"
One nervous pale hand rose into the air. Brad could not help but smile triumphantly.
"Excellent. Most universities you visit will inevitably show some form of bias. This is particularly true if you have a relative working here," Brad paused and seemed to let out a mechanical laugh, "if you would like to experience an objective tour of the university, please follow me. Steve has children applying here, and I don't, so it might be safer if we..."
"My children aren't even here," Steve said casually, arms folded.
"I'm your daughter, Dad!" a voice wailed out.
"There we go then. You can stop giving your daughter an evil look and help with the coffee. Let's start."

The headache struck too quickly. The second she stepped out from the shade and into direct sunlight her head began to feel a pressure as if a shockwave exploded with every heartbeat. Her vision blurred and then refocused in sync with her pulse, clarity fading into obscurity before rebounding back to normal in a frightening cycle.
Smoke. It comforted her, its vapours slowly dancing in the air. Ashley felt guilt in being a smoker, but it offered one of two exits to the chains of stress which often restricted her from living happily. To her horror, this did not help relieve what she hoped was a headache.
Smoking in Virtius was not acceptable in any of its divisions worldwide, although many people seemed to find the hobby inconvenient and stopped after several free therapy sessions offered by the corporation. Ashley found smoking to be an easy method of escape and avoided most therapy sessions as a result.
The instructions were for Ashley to wait for a red ford focus to come across the driveway towards her. The car park seemed crowded, although there were barely any ford focuses in sight. Ashley spent the next few minutes thinking why, analysing everything for the best possible answer. This seemed difficult at first, as the pain in her head seemed to distract her from thinking. However, the pain quickly faded away and a whole continent of thoughts swirled around in her head as if a bottlecork had been set loose. Multiple answers struck her simultaneously and everything unresolved in her personal life blazed for attention.
The sound of a raucous horn stopped her thinking entirely. She looked forward to see a red ford focus, its windows spotless and its red paint gleaming. The driver's window slid down and a head leaned out.
"Ashley? Hurry up and come in. Thanks to you, I didn't get my day off."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Call me Zack, not sir. For christ's sakes, don't slam the door that hard! I bought this three weeks ago."
Zack was Ashley's worst fear- a judgemental character who did not care for the feelings of others. What made it complete was his brutal honest and talkative nature.
"So, you smoke?" he asked, attention split between the road and the anger he would spout upon hearing her answer.
"Don't do it. You look really young. Life doesn't become a bitch until you're about thirty and lonely. Smoking's a waste of your time, never mind your lungs."
Ashley felt violated.
"It's my decision."
"You've got a shocking taste in making decisions then. I hear you're investigating the Nox?"
It started to rain. Zack immediately activated the windshield wipers.
"Classical name, Nox. Just say it. Nox. When you say it your tongue goes to the roof of your mouth, so you feel like you've just closed something. But still, bad decision to go out investigating them. If you can't deal with me, there's no way you're going to deal with the Nox. Or a Nox. I'll make sure your funeral's well attended if it's the former."
All Ashley knew was that she would be looking for a lonely male named Richard. The Nox, as far as she knew, were not real and had no involvement with this mission whatsoever.
"How do you know they even exist?"
"The Nox? I used to have one."
"How did you know?"
"Well, it's easy to notice when you start seeing the scariest shit in your life appear before you, and only you."
"How did is start?"
"Headaches. Really bad headaches. My vision blurred a lot. Gradually, my thinking became less clarid, and then I had nightmares. Hundreds of them, all in a row."
Ashley felt herself began to shake. "And what were they about?"
Zack hesitated to speak. He stopped the car at a red light, turned to her, and gave her a look of fear which made her freeze in horror.
"A demon. A disfigured monster with my face."

Description
"And you call me stupid."
Brad and Steve had found themselves alone after Ashley left. She was given a set of instructions to follow regarding her journey on a piece of A4, a swirl of messy arrows making the sheet cryptic to anyone peering from above or behind her. As well as this she was given some newspapers and a booklet. Ashley thought they would hide her directions- Brad thought they would help her learn faster.
"I don't want your daughter enrolling here, Steve. You have not thought of the consequences at all, have you?"
The two experienced employees had now moved to their second topic- a subject even more potent then the contents of Ashley's journey- the addition of a young college student to the gleaming pride of Virtius.
"I am her father, Bradley. You may hold authority over this institute, but I am the owner of my child."
"Your child is no possession. And I do not hold authority over this place. Your wife has equal control over her ambitions, but neither of you will ever have as much authority as your daughter."
"Yes, we do! She wants to study photography, Bradley! I do not know much about the topic, but it is nowhere near as prestigious as psychology in this fine university. Bradley, why do you look so offended?"
"You call this place a university? Steve, this "university" has caused me to send an innocent girl on a mission which will remain stitched within her memory until the day she dies! Would your daughter like to be in her shoes? Exactly, she deserves better."
"Bradley, you cannot comprehend the firmness both my wife and myself feel over this. If you were married, you would be able to emphasise better."
"If you were not married, you would learn that outside of work I have a lot of spare time in my hands. I could easily use this spare time to prevent your daughter from coming here. Rigged exam results, exam disqualifications, these procedures are lengthy but they can be arranged."
"Helen's results are safe. Even you have superiors, Bradley. Oh, and if you have a lot of spare time only when you're outside work, that's too bad."
"And why may that be?"
"Because she's in here now."

Virtius, having the combined status of a psychology institution and a university, usually meant that nearly every potential psychology student would be guided towards its doors. However, talk of corporate controversy and other strange events had lead to a divide between two generations; the first desired the second to follow their tradition. While the second wished to attend a university more friendly to students (Virtius was only half a university, after all) and more social. Fewer Virtius veterans were more rigid than Steve White, who wished for his daughter to attend.
To compensate for its loss of recent student numbers, Virtius held more open days than most universities, which only confirmed some of the crazy theories posted on the internet. Today was another one of those days.

Ashley had still not left the building, instead deciding to position herself in the company's cafe, reading "The Daily Taberner". She would be escorted to her train by a stranger in around an hour. The taste of hot coffee filled her mind while she read an interesting article called "mind condition revealed".

Mind Condition Revealed
Today, in local corporation Virtius, a new mental disorder was discovered. The effects of the disorder, although unknown, have been found to be catastrophic. Melissa Dutton, chief researcher, gives us a summary. "The condition has been identified as a mental disorder which affects each victim personally. We are currently unaware of the disorder's effects, so we have taken all patients afflicted into an intense caring unit. So far, the only distinguishable symptom is frantic hallucinations, although this seems to differ from other disorder as patients afflicted claim to have lost all recollection of dreams. Richardson et al have so far conducted a study..."

Ashley stopped reading. A tallish figure had approached her, the outlines of the figure appearing behind the edges of the newspaper.
"May I help you?" Ashley asked. The phrase was used by most Virtius employees.
"I'm sorry, but I noticed you were reading a newspaper written in 1998. That normally doesn't happen."
Ashley looked tense.
"It's alright. I'm a photography student, you see. I think that seeing you there, in a modern environment reading an old newspaper, seems artistic. Would it be alright if I took a picture?"
"Sure, if you... want?"
"Good. Could you hold the newspaper like you're reading it? Thanks, that works fine. Thanks!"
In a flash, the figure had disappeared. Looking onwards, she noticed the photographer disappear into the distance, resumed her reading, but was again interrupted by the voice of Brad.
"Ashley, have you seen a girl holding a camera? Rather tall, freckles, moderate weight, dirty-blonde hair?"
"Yeah. She just took a photograph of me now for photography. Are you looking for her?"
"Yes. I need to find her. She went off that way? Are you sure? Thank you, Ashley. I need to give you something. It's a bit suspicious, but I couldn't give it with Steve around. He would alert my boss."
Brad gave Ashley a thin, navy blue book with the title "Virtius: the encyclopedia of myths, discoveries and more".
"Published in 2003 by a senior Virtius official who disagreed with the system. This should tell you everything you need about the Nox. If that girl saw the date on that newspaper, that means it's possible for others to become suspicious. At least with this book, people can think you're just bored or interested in a general subject. Leave the newspaper to me, I'll keep it safe.
Brad arose and began pacing down the direction Ashley indicated. However before leaving, he turned one last time.
"Ashley, check page 7 first. It will tell you something important."
She obeyed, and searched for the page number. Inside it lay a sticky note saying "your escort is ready early. Proceed to the main headquarter gate in ten minutes."
Brad ran along the hallway, passing many fellow employees as he searched for the future victim of corporate control. The number of people he passed seemed to increase dramatically alongside the amount of those not wearing a uniform. Paths soon became narrow gaps and hallways turned into the nightmares of the claustrophobic, swarming with gossip and casual chatter. Steve relaxed against a wall, his eyes fixed on a small crowd of girls. He knew Brad was looking for him, but did not attempt an escape: both knew one would be found by the other eventually.
"Oh, hello Bradley," Steve muttered, avoiding eye contact.
"Don't look too nervous, Steve. It's only an open day," Brad turned to face the crowd of girls "he's new here. Virtius attracts a variety of people, so expect a lot of diversity if you enrol here. In fact, we seem to be receiving a particularly large amount of applications from those related to current workers. Does anybody here have a relative working here?"
One nervous pale hand rose into the air. Brad could not help but smile triumphantly.
"Excellent. Most universities you visit will inevitably show some form of bias. This is particularly true if you have a relative working here," Brad paused and seemed to let out a mechanical laugh, "if you would like to experience an objective tour of the university, please follow me. Steve has children applying here, and I don't, so it might be safer if we..."
"My children aren't even here," Steve said casually, arms folded.
"I'm your daughter, Dad!" a voice wailed out.
"There we go then. You can stop giving your daughter an evil look and help with the coffee. Let's start."

The headache struck too quickly. The second she stepped out from the shade and into direct sunlight her head began to feel a pressure as if a shockwave exploded with every heartbeat. Her vision blurred and then refocused in sync with her pulse, clarity fading into obscurity before rebounding back to normal in a frightening cycle.
Smoke. It comforted her, its vapours slowly dancing in the air. Ashley felt guilt in being a smoker, but it offered one of two exits to the chains of stress which often restricted her from living happily. To her horror, this did not help relieve what she hoped was a headache.
Smoking in Virtius was not acceptable in any of its divisions worldwide, although many people seemed to find the hobby inconvenient and stopped after several free therapy sessions offered by the corporation. Ashley found smoking to be an easy method of escape and avoided most therapy sessions as a result.
The instructions were for Ashley to wait for a red ford focus to come across the driveway towards her. The car park seemed crowded, although there were barely any ford focuses in sight. Ashley spent the next few minutes thinking why, analysing everything for the best possible answer. This seemed difficult at first, as the pain in her head seemed to distract her from thinking. However, the pain quickly faded away and a whole continent of thoughts swirled around in her head as if a bottlecork had been set loose. Multiple answers struck her simultaneously and everything unresolved in her personal life blazed for attention.
The sound of a raucous horn stopped her thinking entirely. She looked forward to see a red ford focus, its windows spotless and its red paint gleaming. The driver's window slid down and a head leaned out.
"Ashley? Hurry up and come in. Thanks to you, I didn't get my day off."
"I'm sorry, sir."
"Call me Zack, not sir. For christ's sakes, don't slam the door that hard! I bought this three weeks ago."
Zack was Ashley's worst fear- a judgemental character who did not care for the feelings of others. What made it complete was his brutal honest and talkative nature.
"So, you smoke?" he asked, attention split between the road and the anger he would spout upon hearing her answer.
"Don't do it. You look really young. Life doesn't become a bitch until you're about thirty and lonely. Smoking's a waste of your time, never mind your lungs."
Ashley felt violated.
"It's my decision."
"You've got a shocking taste in making decisions then. I hear you're investigating the Nox?"
It started to rain. Zack immediately activated the windshield wipers.
"Classical name, Nox. Just say it. Nox. When you say it your tongue goes to the roof of your mouth, so you feel like you've just closed something. But still, bad decision to go out investigating them. If you can't deal with me, there's no way you're going to deal with the Nox. Or a Nox. I'll make sure your funeral's well attended if it's the former."
All Ashley knew was that she would be looking for a lonely male named Richard. The Nox, as far as she knew, were not real and had no involvement with this mission whatsoever.
"How do you know they even exist?"
"The Nox? I used to have one."
"How did you know?"
"Well, it's easy to notice when you start seeing the scariest shit in your life appear before you, and only you."
"How did is start?"
"Headaches. Really bad headaches. My vision blurred a lot. Gradually, my thinking became less clarid, and then I had nightmares. Hundreds of them, all in a row."
Ashley felt herself began to shake. "And what were they about?"
Zack hesitated to speak. He stopped the car at a red light, turned to her, and gave her a look of fear which made her freeze in horror.
"A demon. A disfigured monster with my face."