Carlos arrived by boat at the actually fairly big atoll that looked nothing like Midway. It actually looked like someone had nuked everything around Honolulu and left the city itself in the middle of the ocean, with mixed color sand in concrete gray, black, white, and the more normal dull yellow riding around it in wide circles. He was glad to be off the ferry- it had been a long ride in the rickety thing. Carlos hadn't had occasion to realize before but he knew now- he did not like boats. He did not like sleeping in boats. He did not like the smell of boats, or fish, even if the species had gotten stranger and more fascinating as they neared what he had assumed, apparently incorrectly, to be Midway. While the other members of his new graduating class spent their time on deck drinking pina coladas and taking advantage of the rather lax captain and international waters Carlos had been propped up in a chair, only above deck to minimize the rocking and plead with the captain to avoid rough water. The other students hadn't approached him, laughing at his attempts at dignity and making bets about whether or not he'd puke in the ocean or hit the side of the ferry. Thus far, the latter was winning- much to the captain's horror. Eventually he gave up and stayed in his room with a trashcan and a bag full of Pepto packets. He swore to himself as he looked out the window that he'd petition to get a helicopter ride back home- the things were in the air nearly constantly as they neared Nightvale. Some Black, some blue, some yellow with weird bird pictures….
But here he finally was, late as it was. It must have been 1 or 2 in the morning? Jetlag was weird on boat time. He looked up at the sky as people filed past him, trying to decide- scientifically- whether or not he was hallucinating the weird colored lights above him. And was that an arbys? Right on the beach? This felt very mainland America. It wasn't until the ferry was pulling away and leaving him alone at the end of the dock that he started forward. There was a board at the end of the dock- looking very lonely at the end of the beach- with one of those mounted speakers on it- the kind generally reserved for emergency bulletins. Only… this one was playing a radio show. Odd. He looked at the clipboard and half listened to the announcements. The board was interesting- there was a helicopter guide with cheerful captions in a spidery handwriting next to the three helicopters he'd seen thus far.
World government! Take the freshman on indoor tours, and use the tunnels to get to classes.
Campus police! All clear here folks, remember to give up any freshman they need to reeducate. The mainland is a scary and deceiving place. Deceit will not be tolerated.
Next to the yellow patterned helicopter were several scratched out lines and the decidedly less cheery Wait for the carnation. You will be safe indoors. Soundproof the doors. All of them. It is the law.
Carlos blinked. He'd known the school was odd- but this-
A commercial airliner flying through local airspace disappeared today, only to reappear in the gymnasium during basketball practice, disrupting practice quite badly. The jet roared through the gym for only a fraction of a second, and before it could strike any players or structure, it vanished again...this time, apparently, for good.
What?
Carlos looked up at the speaker in bewilderment, leaning on his suitcase.
And now, Community Calender. It's welcoming day! So everyone go out and stare down the new freshman. Stare at them. Stare until they start to wonder if something is off- like acne, or an extra eye. Stare until their soul is visible in their eyes, until the begging begins- who are you, what do you want from me. Don't worry freshman. New limbs usually wait a few months, and your soul is no less visible then it is in that nervous smile of yours! Welcome to NVU. I'm sure you'll like it here. I'm Cecil. I'm sure we'll be very close. VERY close, Indeed.
WHAT?
He looked back at the board. His eyes swam- none of it made any sense. There was an outline of a dog with a cartoonish questionmark in the middle and the caption- in that same handwriting- Barks Ennui says "Citizens be alert! But not too alert, there is much that you should not see. Only you can prevent your dorm room and everyone you love mysteriously catching fire. Woof, woof!" His eyes fell on a friendly looking purple sign in the middle with three rectangles- an eye, a mouth, and a bottle. "If you see something, say nothing. And drink to forget."
Carlos needed a minute. Maybe an hour. God maybe he should have taken a gap. Used the money from his lab internships and gone to Europe. Yeah. Europe. That would have been nice. Maybe Italy.
His panic was interrupted by a figure in a leather balaclava and- a cape? God could this day get any stranger- approaching him. The voice sounded female.
"Are you Carlos Diego Fernandez Durante?" He winced visibly. That was simply inefficient.
"Yes. I'm Carlos Durante."
"You were expected in the OT dorm for mandatory introductions 20 minutes ago. You have missed your tram, so you will have to give your introduction in the RC Auditorium." She figured if he liked abbreviating things so much, he should get used to campus slang easily enough. She looked him up and down.
"Major?"
Carlos blanked.
"S-Science." She handed him a labcoat.
"Mandatory for all science majors. Put it on, and we're going to the podium."
She covered his mouth with a rag, and he woke up being walked into the auditorium full of students- most of whom were upperclassmen holding notebooks or iphones. Or was he being dragged? It didn't matter. He had to say something. He must be in shock, he rationalized. He must have just blanked out. There was no way they could drag him in here without anyone thinking it was odd. He must have walked. He smiled. This was fine. He knew why he'd come here.
"I'm Carlos. This is the most scientifically interesting college in the US, By far. I've come to figure out just what is going on here! I look forward to getting to know you all." He smiled. The crowd was smiling back. Everything was going to be fine, except that he thought he might be about to pass out, and as the crowd starts to leave he left the place at a sprint, only to find himself on the edge of a canyon. RC. R- canyon?
It wasn't that deep, but it had odd lights in it. He sat down hard on the ground, looking up at the moon. What a night. Mama and Papa really hadn't warned him properly what college was going to be like. On the breeze he could hear the radio coming from the auditorium.
...just what was going on around here! He grinned, and everything about him was perfect. And I fell in love
"...no way." He shook his head. Was that a quote from the speech he'd just given? Did the radio announcer…? no. No. not a chance. What a weird coincidence. He looked down at the lights in the canyon again. It was a beautiful night.
"...Where am I?"
"Radon Canyon, honey. Are you lost?" He looked up, and met the smiling eyes of an old lady. She looked fairly active, but her silver hair gave away her age.
"Um. Scientifically speaking- I mean, technically, rationally-"
"Oh sweetheart. You're OT right?"
"...Yes."
"I'm your dorm mom. I'm Josie. Or, Old woman Josie if you like to draw things out. Come come, have a muffin, and we'll get you home." She offered him a muffin that proved to be good, but lacked salt. He didn't mind, and followed her as she led him to the bus stop and showed him the campus map, point out the OT dorm (Old town he noted) as well as the science building and a few more places-
The library (very dangerous. Not a good place to study) Big Ricos (mandatory pizza?), and the radio station, where she said he might be spending time further on. She answered his confusion with a wink, and he was left to try to figure out why this place kept throwing curveball after curveball. He followed Josie out of the bus and was faced with a dorm that looked more like a colonial style mansion. Actually, all the buildings looked pretty colonial- shopfronts in carved stone and white paint all hudded together with their hanging flowers species Carlos had never seen before, and some he had- but much bigger...and was that dragonsnap looking at him?
There was music playing from somewhere, making everying feel dreamy and strange. Carlos adjusted the sleeves of his labcoat as Josie stepped ahead of him and opened the door to the dorm- letting him into a large friendly space with staircases leading up on either side. He took it in- the projector screen with a beam apparently coming from a space above his head, the huge wraparound couch with a few sleepy students on it. The music was still playing. Josie was explaining that this building used to be for the principal and his favorites, but it had been sitting empty since the principal died mysteriously and horribly.
"...now its the science dorm. He used to do the radio!" She told him. "Old friend. Really tragic what happened. Horrible." She stared absently off into to space.
"All that blood..."
"Miss Josie, sorry, but It's getting pretty late." Carlos was sure he'd have nightmares already, and really wasn't interested in adding more fuel to the fire.
"Scientifically speaking, a human needs 8 hours at sleep to function at top efficiency. 6 at minimum. And it's...what time is it?"
"Midnight dearie. Sorry to distract you. Here's your room key." Carlos was still silently mouthing midnight? as Josie handed him the key and gave him a guiding push in the direction of the right stairwell. He passed the kitchen, dismissing the hallucination of 7 foot tall beings with wings as he walked up the stairs. His door had a pretty broze emblem with the taurus symbol on it. Well that was nice. He supposed. Really it was just something else strange. Normally he'd be fascinated, but he was just tired. His boxes were already in the room, and he ignored them and dropped the suitcase on the floor as he hit the bed. He fell asleep on the bare mattress in his labcoat, glasses falling askew as the voice on the radio finished- saying
"Goodnight Nightvale. Goodnight."
