Archivist
Statement of McKenna Wayne regarding a series of encounters with a young woman who kept giving her poor directions at a library in Sacramento, California. Original statement given on July 22nd, 2014, audio recording by Jonathan Sims, head archivist of The Magnus Institute, London. Statement begins.

Archivist (Statement)

Sacramento was a bit of a disappointment to say the least of the traveling I did in the states. Unfortunately, my experience there ended up overshadowing the rest of my trip, and I was not really able to enjoy myself. There was this beautiful library I visited on my first evening there. I was a little tired at the time. It was quiet, and there were not many people around. There were just so many stairs and turns. The building felt so much bigger than it should have been, and I never really understood why I did not run into anyone else when I was there.

At some point, I realized I had to use the bathroom, and I had not realized I was lost at this point. Then, I saw this older woman in the distance. She was wearing a long-sleeved blouse with an ugly floral pattern and a knee-length khaki skirt. Her hair was tied back, and a pearl necklace tight to her neck shined beneath the lights.I shouted at her, trying to get her attention, but she turned the corner. I ran to where she had been, but there was no sign of her. I did find a younger woman sitting on the ground with her legs crossed reading a book though. She was very involved in her book, I felt bad when I finally managed to get her attention. I asked her if she had seen anyone else, and she responded that she had not.

"What are you reading," I asked her.

"Just an old classic," she said, turning a page. I tried to take a peek at what was on the page, but it wasn't in English. She noticed me looking, and said, "I'm reading it in Latin." Her eyes were so dark, and tired. She had these heavy bags beneath them and was wearing mascara that she had probably slept in.

I apologized for disturbing her, asking her if she knew where the bathroom was. She told me to take three rights, and then returned to her book.

If I was in my right mind, which I very much was not, I would have realized that three rights is a left turn, and she led me in a circle. By the time I was back where I found her, she was gone.

I was on my own at this point. I eventually did manage to find the bathroom, which was a miracle because I was not sure how much longer I could hold it. I did my business, and I heard someone come in and begin washing their hands. I left the stall to do the same, and there she was again, the girl who had been reading.

"So you managed to find it!"

Not with the help of her directions obviously. "No thanks to you."

She gave me a blank look as if she did not understand. "Oh, I am sorry I wasn't very helpful. Is there anything else you're looking for, maybe I can give you a hand."

I decided to accept her offer because I knew I had no clue how to leave this place. I asked her about the exit, and she told me to follow her. I followed her down a right turn, a left, another left, and another right. The more I followed her, the taller the shelves and walls seemed to be, and the less natural lighting was visible. We were under these awful bright fluorescents. She took a sharp turn, and she was gone, and I was even more lost than before.

I was in there for hours looking for a way out, and I ran into her so many times. She always had that stupid book with her. I remember angrily shouting at her as my frustration grew, "Do you even work here?"

She shrugged, "Sometimes. I'm not here much longer though." I saw the older woman glaring at us from a distance behind her, and her face became quite bitter. "You should leave while you still can."

As if I had not been trying to for hours! I stomped away from her in the direction of that nasty old woman. It was no use speaking to her because she had been playing all these games with me, and I was hopelessly lost. Her words twisted what should have been a scenic library visit into a twisted labyrinth. I hated her and her book. I remember coming across her discarded book, and I only thought that if I had to suffer, then she had to too. I took it. You can have it. It only reminds me of everything. Maybe it means something.

Anyway, I obviously found my way out eventually, but as I was leaving, I saw a crowd of people heading in.

I am aware that this doesn't sound like the kind of thing that you investigate, but I just wanted to tell someone.

Archivist
Statement ends.
It is fascinating how many seemingly mundane statements seem to be hiding away in this archive under the pretense of being anything other than ordinary. This statement is not even one that we can investigate. For one, it takes place in the United States, which is not worth the trip, and without direct supernatural evidence or a compelling pattern, this incident remains outside the purview of our investigations.

Although, the description of the older woman does remind me of someone mentioned in a few other statements, and she is associated with some disappearances. I believe her name is Renee Solomon. As for the young woman, she makes an appearance in some statements as well, and if I am correct, she is Renee's daughter, Asteria. This, in itself, raises some questions, none of which can currently be pursued.

Tim did look into what he could, but his research did not turn up anything worth mentioning.

As for the matter of the book. It appears to simply be an old book; however, given the propensity of old books to be strange things, I suppose I will have Martin take a look. It is in Latin after all. It is not a Leitner, but still. Maybe it is worth considering.

End recording.
[CLICK]

[CLICK]

Supplemental.

Helen
"Woah, are you alright? What happened to your hand?"

Archivist
"Excuse me? It's none of your business. Who are you?"

Helen
"No, look, me too! My name is Helen-"

Archivist
"You're not Helen."

Helen
"Yes. I am. I work in Artefact Storage."

Archivist
"Sorry. There was a Helen who came in to give a statement earlier."

Helen
"Ooh, what was she like?"

Archivist
"She was. She…She was nice I think."

Helen
"Did it hurt?"

Archivist
"What?"

Helen
"Did the thinking hurt? Sorry, it was a joke…a bad one."

Archivist
"I think Martin's mentioned you before, now that I think of it, but why are you here?"

Helen
"I'm waiting."

[sound of door creaking and rushed footsteps]

Martin
"Helen, I am so sorry! I forgot the time."

Helen
"That's okay. I got to say hi to Jon. Hey, Jon if you ever have any questions about any Leitner's, feel free to ask for me or to have Tim or Martin ask me. Bye."

Archvist
"I am having a hard time imagining Martin making friends, but they looked like friends. Weird."

"End recording."

[CLICK]