For some time now I've been thinking about adjusting my future career plans.
TLDR: certified diver asking for ideas/resources to further educate and transition towards (part-time/full-time) profession related to meaningful diving-related jobs in the field of conservation/research with no scientific background.
Alright, so right now I have the pleasure to work in a successful digital agency in a senior position and work mainly on projects that create value beyond just monetary gains for large corporations. Besides that I'm a certified diver for some years now in May I'm doing my GUE fundies (tech pass) in Egypt to set my path in diving up for more technical (or scientific) diving.
I didn't study a scientific bachelors/master that would easily set me up on doing more meaningful work in this field but would be eager to invest time and effort towards research, conservation, documentation etc..
I find it hard to research as I feel like this is a badly covered topic with limited resources and mainly university-related programs (e.g. for AAUS scientific diver).
Do you people have any advice, links/resources, programs or tips on organizations or professions you pursue yourself or got in touch with that are related to diving and marine conservation? (Not need to being in the water all the time tho).
Initiatives such as GhostDiving require quite an extend of experience that I don't have currently and I want to spend the time underwater doing something relevant as I enjoy dives with an objective beyond returning safely and having fun the most.
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appreciate your thoughts and much love :)

The Dark Seeker arc was filled with sequels, prequels, interquels, and midquels that all tied together in the end. I think the Lost Masters arc should be in a more straight line with only mid and interquels. For example, 4 looks like it's going to focus on Sora, Riku, the Quadratum, and Luxu. But if I could have my way, after that, I would release a game that's set at the same time of 4, involving Kairi doing on the job training, and learning some dark secrets of what's to come that Sora and Riku don't learn in 4... but will be important later.

I’ve suffered from SA from a very young age. It was something that I just lived with up until I got my first job at 17. After getting my feet wet working my way up to different jobs as an adult I could feel my SA progressively get better. I would open up more join conversations at work, and actually want to go to parties or other social gatherings.
I took a job in sales where I worked alone on the road but had multiple interactions with customers so I was always actively being social. I worked there for about 3 years. I left for a significant pay bump where I would have actual co workers and be in the same building all day. I loved it. I could socialize, make friends and felt like I was apart of something bigger than myself while working with a good team. Until…6 months in my boss gives me a “promotion” to work at an offsite running a start up store. I was excited. Until I wasn’t. I work alone with very few in person interactions, I am in seclusion 9 hours a day. No work friends, no one to take a smoke break with, no catching up after the weekends and seeing what your friends got into. Nothing. Just me, myself and my computer. I’ve been at this for 6 months. I’m losing my mind. It’s making my SA worse. I never want to go out, I don’t even like going to the damn store alone. Was doing so good and now I’m back to square 1. Any tips? I doubt if I bought this grievance to my boss I would be shot down or told “we can’t afford another person” and even if they did hire someone I would be taking a gamble with them being someone I would want to work with 9 hours a day. Catch 22 I guess.
The only good I can gather from this experience so far is that it will make my resume look good with the management title and experience under my belt. Maybe I should start putting in applications?

I am having the week from hell. I'm sick with the flu but because of my stupid work I get no sick pay (thanks UK) so I have had to drag myself to work still sick. Then I get pulled into a meeting by my boss about how "If I'm too sick to work I'm too sick to work" in response to me asking to work from home to manage my symptoms but at the same time them telling me that I'm on a written warning for attendance. So essentially, don't come in if you're sick but we're going to fire you if you don't come in.
Even when I've tried explaining that logic doesn't work because I'm sick all of the time, my boss literally called me "entitled" for "deciding when I want to work from home."
On top of that, the guy I'm dating who happens to study close to my work asked me to meet up with him before I go home but I have a crippling migraine and a job interview tomorrow, I literally have no energy to see him. When I explained this he got upset but I don't know what else I'm supposed to do, I'd just feel grouchy and in pain if I saw him.
It's just so hard because everyday I'm reminded that everyone - from my horrible bosses to people I love - just don't understand my condition and keep pushing me to do things on able-bodied terms :/ I just can't keep up.

For a couple years now I’ve regretted my career choice. I went to school for radio - which i didn’t really want to do, did radio - didn’t enjoy it, went into supply chain as a warehouse worker and am now an inventory coordinator. I don’t feel fulfilled in my job and am extremely bored/depressed.
I’ve talked to my partner and I can go back to school but am struggling to decided what I want to do.
I was thinking vet tech but realized that I don’t know if I can really handle the tragedy you experience with it.
I was thinking an environmental technician as I think being outdoors sounds incredible but it would require full time schooling.
I was also then thinking graphic design or marketing which can be done part time but I don’t know if that’s really what I want to do.
I’m at an impasse here.
What made you decided your career?

I have read that a lot of beginners that are trying to learn more about PowerShell scripts have either just done hands on at work or read the book and followed the book through. Well I don't have the time to do it in my current IT support role at work so I was thinking about getting the "Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition" book. But before I buy it I wanted to see if anybody had any other recommendations or if they recommend this book. Trying to gain more knowledge not only to hold my own at work but also to add to the resume whenever it comes time to find a better job. Thanks everyone.
Ethan

New homeowner, old house (1963). I had a line put in for my icemaker last summer, and at that time the plumber who was out commented my plumbing is original to the house (so, 60 years old) and will probably need an upgrade at some point.
I'm planning to have the work done this summer because I figure might as well before I have some massive plumbing problem.
I will be getting quotes before I hire a company for the job. The original plumber said it would be "5000-10,000, depending" and that is a BIG range.
Apparently the way the house is built they will go in through the wall outside the kitchen (the cabinets are permanently attached so they can't pull them out and put them back), and then my two bathrooms back up to one another and he said they will go in, remove the bathtub (which I want removed anyway) and upgrade the plumbing back there.
QUESTION 1: how do I get quotes if they have to rip open an exterior wall to 'see what they are dealing with'? Is this normal?
QUESTION 2: if I have the tub removed, can I leave the pipes in there without a tub or fixture for awhile? I need to bring both bathrooms up to this millennium but I don't have the funds to both redo the plumbing AND redo the bathroom this year.
Q2 TLDR: can I have the bathroom without fixtures/tub and still have running water in the house?
Anything else anyone wants to chime in with is appreciated! TIA

Ethical Anarchy
Every 1 million years, we vote on whether or not to keep Ethical Anarchy as a system.
Ethical Anarchy is a system based on the individual adoption of law. The only ground political contracs are the no killing, destruction or attempted destruction contracts, nor claiming ownership of the property except Simeon. A final ground ethical contract states that penalties for all crimes may be taken in blindness, pain, time or money. Simeon is immune.
Before, countries operated based off violence and war. Now they use money, lotteries and anti money to get better results. People had no real influence over the state. Even in democracies, the wisdom of the crowd was lost to bad education.
Ethical Anarchy has rules that distinguish it from old governments.
Law is individually adopted and enforced nonviolently.
People individually adopt laws that only apply to acts done against their person or property.
The "government" only has the power to keep you off of public property, not kill you. It has jurisdiction over the environment and streets. Any law enforced with prison, fines or anything else must be approved by a majority of the public in a referendum via ethical contract. There is no death penalty for anything other than murder, and that is decided individually or locally per star system, where life in hell or death are options in the death penalty referenda.
There is a judicial anarchy and rules for trials and appeals. Anyone can serve as a justice elector, but only has as much judicial power to share as people who vote for them. It takes a minimum of four votes to become a judicial elector, however a new ethical contract may decide. To have a trial, determine the size of judicial pool and how many judges you want. Judges are randomly selected from the drawn jurisdiction pool. Both victim and defendant pick half the applicable districts and can strike one of the other’s. They must also select a common language for the trial, if not then the language spoken by the most people on that planet will be chosen automatically.
Judges are rated by both the public and official rating services, or collections of rating services elected by the public that have a higher vote rate. Victim and defendant both rate judges after the trial. Highest rating judges are automatically selected. Appeals require you to bring in more judges.
There shall be one judge seat per 10,000 people judges serve a 10 year term. Each judge elected during phase 1 gets 1000 judicial points per vote they receive and bids on available judicial seats. Alternately, they can vote directly for candidates to fill each seat and use approval voting.
Good vs. Evil is replaced with left vs right as a main dichotomy and driving force in society.
Law enforced via warrant contracts.
All have authority to act in situations that require someone to act when they can
Land points used as money.
No force, just subvention as a means to enforce laws.
No destruction or death for anything other than murder, trespassing, breaking of ethical contracts and violating the bill of rights. This list may not expand without the 7/8ths consent of congress and the public in a referendum.
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Media and Education Funding would be done via congressional grant with the president possessing a line-item veto.
Economy, Land Ownership and Integration.
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All must work or go to school. Distributaries fund schools and set standards for payment for taking different subjects or completing assignments. Individuals in space get paid to go to school, and must use this money to pay for entertainment , food and gaming access. The more and better assignments you do , harder classes you take or tutoring you complete, and better grades you get, the more money you earn.
Money must be used by all to pay land taxes, food taxes, and identity theft and reputation damages insurance among other things.
Licenses to sell food, access or traverse a bounded area, peak, trade, warp, park, live in a home, eat in space cost money, and must be paid each time a service is used. There shall be at least two licenses to sell food issued per star system, and all must be distributed via auction. The final number of food licenses must be determined by outlawry congress, and limited to no more than 90% of the population. Transferable eating licenses are to be sold by multiple providers in packs of 50, with each 50-pack being auctioned off.
Money may also be earned by interacting with the human economy: Creating, Buying and selling books, ideas, media, or online shopping, design, data entry, or any other digital or creative service. Drones may also be rented and space vacations sold. All earth money earned by working an ordinary job is matched at a rate set by the tax property assessor.
All entertainment must be paid for and original creators, be they people or being, be paid for rights to view, copy or share their work. Beings must purchase entertainment licenses from original creators by accosting movie studios or otherwise remunerate them. Copyrights in space last a minimum of 200 years, with the final amount being decided by ethical contract.
Money supply:
A UBI of $1000/month must be given to all individuals, and a circulating money supply of 4x extra must be distributed via work, grants, school and lotteries. The UBI must be funded through taxation of all income and is the only government expenditure besides game funding. Earth money is convertible into space money. On earth, space money can be used to pay for church expenditure, spirit cards and media.
In space, earth money can be used to pay for media and buy land for kingdoms.
Land Ownership
All land must be assessed a land tax by property assessors- general elected y the oubic using RRV, and each property asessor having the power to assess properties proportional to their vote share. Simeon and the body public at large, represented and effecting their will via congress, own the property.
Land value tax is not to be not less than 1% or land value per year, used to fund UBI.
All must send their taxes to a local galactic treasurer elected by all in a galaxy, who runs a census and distributes the money minus their salary equally to all. They must state their salary upfront before election and take no more than that amount from the tax haul to pay themselves. Nonpayers get their property claims ignored and their property sold at auction with the money going to everyone else.
Land must be leased for a time specified in a contract, during which the land rentnever goes up. Whoever offers the highest rent per month wins. Permanent land ownership is forbidden.
Any group of 10 or more contiguous landowners may agree to bound their neighborhood and charge tolls for access or traversal to nonresidents. All must pay except those egressing and giving notice. Rates shall be regulated by ethical contracts. Control zones one galaxy wide must be established.
Kingdoms
Gods must fund kingdoms with people money earned from followers, businesses and ventures on earth. No space-earned money can be used to build your kingdom other than what was earned via congress.
License to operate planet-based currency exchanges may be given out or auctioned, with the method to be determined by ethical contract.
Policing
Police forces must enforce centralized law that an absolute majority of the population selects. There would be a monopoly on police funding, but decentralized forces may be able to do police work. Police consumer cooperatives may be established to compete, selling no more than 20 percent of stock to non owners.
All police forces must be organized as consumer police cooperatives, with a minimum of fifty members. unless a majority of a star system's residents choose to allow private police. Everyone must join one, and police cooperatives may self-defend or contract with external agencies for defense, serving as buyer's coops. All members of police coops must vote on police chief leading the department and sign a thirty year security contract.
Cooperatives will compete to provide property insurance and security to members. Any group of fifty or more people can start a security force and be legal to buy weapons. All security cooperatives are funded by the people they serve and everyone must join one.
Anyone who is properly trained can do policework in ethical anarchy. Any person can make an arrest after attending free or paid police education. Police would be able to enforce orders of outlawry on the population. Only trained police officers could make arrests. Police forces would operate independently and be able to outlaw rogue agencies after a trial, where agencies representing a ¾ majority of the public could convict and shut down a police force.
Police services would partner to respond to calls and trade tokens. If police force a responded to a call from someone in police force b, then police force b would need to respond to one call from police force a in the future.
No cooperative may be created excluding customers from a segment of the population and compete to hire centrally trained and licensed police officers. No limit on police licenses given out may be issued.
Police Coordinator
Elected by the police chiefs of all forces one vote one police force, most votes wins. The police coordinator is elected by all cooperative leaders in a system, sector, galaxy and universally. Cooperatives decide who votes for them. Additional funding may be given to cooperatives based on membership.
Central Police Chief
Chosen by Jungle primary FPTP.
No special power to kill, just right to evict trespassers from public property and transfer to rison.
CPC appointed officers would accompany those seeking to arrest individuals for a bounty to make sure rogue agencies couldn't make false arrests. A court established by congress or ethical contract could outlaw an agency found to be in breach of local guidelines for operation, like extortion.
Funding
Services would be funded via warrant contract. Contributors to essential charities a majority of the public likes, like educational and health services would band together and refuse to buy, sell or admit people who traded with those who didn't contribute. Alternatively, they could simply charge them more. This works for the military too. For business owners, they would pay personal income taxes or their personal homes and property would not be protected and crimes against them would not be investigated.
Prison and Outlaws
All prisons could be run either privately or publicly by the highway police. All would be funded via warrant contract. Regulations for prisons and police would be created by congress.
Who may outlaw? Only a democratically elected judge or their delegates chosen by an absolute majority of people in any given area. This implies a two stage election w/runoff. FPTP with runoff if no candidate receives an absolute majority should be used.
Higher levels of government might offer veto and safe harbor to an outlawry notice.
Who can arrest?
Anyone if someone is a suspect. And there’s the issue.
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President is elected every two weeks via approval voting and can serve up to ten years in a row before they must resign. The president must maintain a high approval rating and keep their coalition energized to stay in power. Politics would be fun. Debates would be held all over the place. Approval voting means you could vote for as many people as you wanted. The president would have the power to..
Appoint prosecutors, one fifth of judges to the supreme court and lower courts,
They may veto congress and the results of referendums, pardon criminals and commute sentences. They may also appoint the heads of agencies open during their term. Terms of heads of agencies are decided by congress.
President appoints theme leader, and may create as many positions as they need for their administration.
Kudzumi
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Tax collection. Taxes, I'd they exist would be collected socially via warrant contracts. Nonpayers would be refused service at businesses or be charged higher prices because taxpayers would band together and refuse to patronize businesses that didn’t. It’s far more likely that nontaxpayers would pay extra.
Congress
Everyone has a right to create a party for congress and collect the votes of nonvoters, gathering petitions from those who want to give their votes to a party for a given length of time, say, 2 weeks to 5 years.
Congress would consist of a single unicameral legislature with 1 seat per 10000000 people. Parties would be elected. Uninterested voters may be able to give their votes to a party or congress as a whole as mentioned. Congress would establish agencies, tribunals and provide oversight. They could impeach and remove a president from power. They would also hold contests..
Congress could make rules enforceable by deprotection, outlawry or confinement to home or building with a simple majority. Congress could not force, but relies on society and local governments to implement its will. It could also withhold funding.
A good ethical anarchistic congress can..
Congresses have the ability
To fund, subsidy, To mint To tax gods and people.
To create universal educational and other requirements for bounty hunters and police.
To establish by law and have Thaos enforce a land, wealth, and income tax and any other tax they so desire. To grant To establish roads and prisons and other infrastructure To imprison with simple majority To kill with unanimous consent minus the person accused or their representative. The required majority may not be lowered. To regulate the use of force in society. To regulate the dichotomy To raise an army, navy and police forces to suppress insurrection and false claiming. To budget and law the economy and work trade, investment and businesses To create banks To license and control businesses To establish copyrights, trademarks and register or renumerate original ideas. To establish themes and technology taxes To fund games and prizes on game shows. To rate To establish mediations To regulate advertising and media. To spread the word and issue proclamations and directives to lower congress and attach democratically decided (by congress) stipulations.
To kill with the 99% approval of all members in each house of congress minus the representative(s) of the person effected and their locale or home district.
To outlaw and deprotect with a majority.
Congress may refuse to fund or give grants to businesses for any reason, including effusing to require a person to follow congressional law, which might be approved or rejected as a package.
To create all laws assistant and just to serve these ends.
Police and Security Districts
Are drawn by the president or people in referendum, and the map must be approved by congress. Everyone voting in one may select the police chief.
Collective Action
Collective action gets accomplished voluntarily through collective action contracts or labor lotteries where you get paid to sign and remain on-call.
Terror and Ethical Anarchy
Voluntary monitoring of Extremist views and voluntary censorship and reporting via individual anti-terror contract, no sig, no job, you are looked at suspiciously.. And do not serve.
War and Military
People who donated to the military and businesses woohol supported it would refuse to hire noncontributors. The goal is for everyone to support the military, so those who did not support it could not buy houses
Education funding
Would occur via warrant contract, lottery or Human Capital Contract or the nominal budget
Would be funded using all kinds of things, including Human Capital Contracts and Diverse Microinvestment
All constitutions must respect and not violate the full bill of rights in the original constitution listed here.
The constitution that gets the most Thaos verified signatures in two weeks in th is chosen for four hundred weeks. No person may stop signatures from being gathered.
Forms of government are chosen every hundred weeks.
Border Control
Access to zones in ethical anarchy would be established via a pay to enter system or free at the community's request.
Nominalism pays
Political problems come from guns your guns. How deserving are polticians to decide how they are used?
Discrimination. Discrimination is bad. How can an ethical anarchy handle discrimination when local majorities support it? Ethical anarchy can do just as well as a democracy does when businesses discriminate. All it takes are smart warrant contracts. Businesses need supplies from all over to function. Those who refuse to hire or serve an underpriveleged minority can lose when other businesses boycott their suppliers or charge them extra. This will force them to go out of business or stop discriminating. Customers who support discriminatory businesses can be charged extra when they shop elsewhere, as may workers or owners.
This makes gathering and arresting suspects easy even en masse as they do it themselves. People who refuse to turn themselves in for questioning are most likely guilty, so crime solved itself. The less crime, the more resources there are to solve the little crime that exists, making us better at it. Everyone could be investigated eventually, and road cameras or overhead blimps could surveil the territory.
Ethical Anarchy
Weapon, Tool stores and gun stores would be required to record all buyers.
Any underhanded purchases would be caught by a double sting system. Purchases without proper identification would result in shutdowns and sentences. Gun store owners would be rewarded for reporting people who attempted to buy guns without the proper identifying info. They would have their property seized, sold and go to jail.
As for gun store owners, they would have their businesses, personal property and possibly lives taken if an unauthorized buyer successfully bought a gun. They would go to jail for life at the very least.
To operate without violent mobs burning down the store, gun stores would work with local police and advertise the fact in the window. No person would try buying a gun without valid ID.
All transfers of guns and lost or stolen guns and other weapons must be reported. Or else you go to jail or pay. However, any time you have a gun to someone who used it in an aggressive shooting you would be fined.
Gun safes and checkups would be handled by the gun store so they didn't get taxed.
Deterring crimes. More stings may occur than crimes. The media may report this. And report on successful stings. This would replace most bad news. Anyone could participate in or start a sting operation.
Ask are you buying a gun for someone else? And do some stings. Asking to or offering to straw purchase would be crime.
Refusing to allow mediators in to your house to search or arrest would be seen as suspicious.
Voluntary Congress and Fun
Ethical Anarchy can be made far far better with a universal basic income and voluntary congress. Congress would pay you a stipend of four hundred dollars every month as long as you obeyed all laws it passed. There may be a requirement to obey several dozen laws or so on and stop receiving money if you refuse until you turn yourself in.
Another way to run it is t are incentivize people to sign ethical contracts individually from a central fund and use reciprocal democracy to fund laws. This just means politicians get paid based on how many votes they Recieve, giving them an incentive to vote well.
Contracts and Enforcement
All contracts notarized by a congressionally authorized individuaal could be considered valid In reality. And thus enforced.
Penalties for Murder
Economic imprisonment is the best way forward, rather than prison.
For murder, a person would be burned for three times as long as they and the victim had been alive in addition to modern slavery. They would be chained to a work facility, weighted and fed by their employer or get food subsidies for authorized food. They would have ninety percent of their wages or more taken and the rest used to buy time away from fire. While prison costs money and resources, and death takes them away, this creates them. When not at work or in the bathroom, the prisoner slave would be blindfolded.
They could also be burned.
Why ethical anarchy? A story.
Democracy is better than dictatorship, but it's still rule by the few chosen by the mostly uneducated. Democracy is bad on rights. If the government can kill you, it has too much power. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat. Ethical Anarchy is excellent on rights because everyone only has power over their own property and bodies, not yours. Collective property like air, water and roads are managed publically through democracy and local congresses. Your stuff is managed by you.
Individual property is managed and well taken care of by people.
But at the same time, collective property accessible by those paying for it's upkeep will be managed by an elected manager.
Anyone who wants to access collective property may if they pay a fee. Only those who pay may enter or use it. Stewards are chosen by paying members or a central authority.
The author suggests that property upkeep be auctioned off to the lowest cost highest quality firm via contract.
Democracy works sometimes, but other times it doesn't. Imagine if we democratically decided what to eat for dinner instead of letting people make their own choices. In ethical anarchy, personal rights and freedom win every time because the system is built off of it. Ethical anarchy protects the smallest minority of all, the person.
Unified police training
Voluntary Congress and Fun
Ethical Anarchy can be made far far better with a universal basic income and voluntary congress. Congress would pay you a stipend of four hundred dollars every month as long as you obeyed all laws it passed. There may be a requirement to obey several dozen laws or so on and stop receiving money if you refuse until you turn yourself in.
Another way to run it is to incentivize people to sign ethical contracts individually from a central fund and use reciprocal democracy to fund laws. This just means politicians get paid based on how many votes they Recieve, giving them an incentive to vote well.
Contracts and Enforcement
All contracts notarized by a congressionally authorized individual could be considered valid in reality. And thus enforced. n issue may be having congress deenforce certain contracts with a 2/3 majority.
Lottery
Lotteries can be used to enforce law by providing inspiration to obey rather than force.
Captain of Police chosen by Daily approval voting.
Consumer Safety
And now, for the piece de la resistance, consumer safety. The chief of justice would run an agency tasked with listing all business service providers that were up to snuff. Nobody would shop at a business that didn't have the seal. Lying about approval would be grounds for a raid and closure of the business. All businesses would be required to have insurance to cover loss and damage before they opened up in a city. God may also regulate it. This would be regulated by deprotection. The list of ethical contracts you and your business have signed enabling the consumer safety authority to investigate you would be publically displayed.
To be approved, grocery stores would only carry merchandise from approved businesses. Any business not approved would be allowed to warn

Ethical Anarchy
Preamble
In times, we have sought to create the most free, most fair, most joyous and happy society. Praise be to God, our journey is complete. We have lived through and seen dictatorship, the weakness of democracy and ineffectiveness of anarchy. We resolve to choose none of the preceding and avoid repeating the errors of the past. We the people of Paelia, Karine, Nara, Rallfallamine, Pellend, Cassini, Section, Trace and Ledder along with surrounding states combine to form an Ethical Anarchy, and name our new country Ethica, in honor of said system as developed by our founder and freemaker Simeon Burks.
Remembering the many just who died to ensure our liberty and freedom during the transition and war for congress,
All honor and glory be to, amen.
We establish a new state based on Non destruction and
Legislature
The legislature for ethical anarchy shall consist of the people and a bicameral Congress for outlawries.
The people shall freely adopt ethical contracts as they wish, with a fifty one percent majority of the public being sufficient to send power to an ethical contract. Once powered, violators of an ethical contract may not access, traverse or use public property. They must also submit to tribunals and punishments described in the ethical contract although they may not have signed. Until powered, ethical contracts only bind people who sign them.
No person may be forced to sign an ethical contract, but individuals and groups may require the adoption of certain ethical contracts for entrance, or membership. Failure to ratify an ethicalrecal contract is valid cause for firing or dismissal from a group.
The legislature shall have the power to outlaw a person or create reasons for outlawry with a fifty one percent majority in addition to the public. Members of Parliament shall have the right to broadcast ethical contracts to all on a monthly ballot. The legislature controls ballot access. The legislature may make any law with any penalty except death with a fifty one percent majority. Acceptance of law is mandatory to travel on public property. Congress shall regulate police divergence, arrests and academies. Congress may regulate the economy and choose an economic system with a simple majority.
There shall be 454,000 seats distributed daily proportionally by party. The party getting the most votes selects the president.
The upper house (House of Gods) consists of 16,000 seats, and approves all judicial appointments, or regulations on god (not taxes) and standards for becoming one by a simple majority. Otherwise, legislstion needs only the first house. Thaos reserves a third of this house. It is elected by personal, national and local gods, each getting a vote number equal to the number of people supporting them, be they followers or voters. 40 year terms. The house of gods may block a lower house bill for up to 2 years or until the next election and regulate contests and coregulate space commerce. It, along with Chaos shall publish reports rating gods. It may rule on questions of the day and issue pronouncements via the figure.
The upper house shall select a yearly figure, chief distributary and person of the year. The same person may win up to two times in a row.
The vote gods possess in this house is cumulative. Gods choose a virtual district 1-sixteenthou and must stick with it for three elections.
Ethical contracts may only bind a person and their property, never third parties who did not sign unless the contract is mutual or about children, who may be considered collective property.
Ethical contracts must be voluntarily signed without coercion, although pressure and incentives can be used.
The legislature consists of a Congress for force that determines legitimate reasons for using force. No person has a unqualified legal right to use force, only valid and invalid reasons. Only a majority of people in both Congresses or the mediations it establishes may determine if a particular use of force is valid.
Ethical contracts are enforced using warrant contracts, blacklisting, boycott and exclusion from the use of public property if a contract is mutual. They may also specify other penalties.
When a person who has not signed an ethical contract acts against someone who has not signed it, the person not signing is indemnified unless the contract was powered with a majority vote, in which case the person breaking the contract is subject to legal action.
Ethical contracts cover acts done against signing people on public property, the private property of signers and the private property of nonsigners if signers are there, but not the private property of nonsigners if no signers are around.
Simeon has a prenalty of twenty million at 999 nonbinillion cubed providing immunity from all nonmurder crimes.
The territory allows no individual or group destruction or government issued a death penalty. If someone is outlawed nobody may protect them and they may be hurt or killed by any person.
Outlawry may only be used in cases of murder and for people failing to report to arrest, questioning, or prison.
Executive
The leader of the day selected by the largest party possesses the right to unilaterally appoint judges of the day and police chiefs. They may make any policy or appointment, subject only to veto by the guardian council and standing council. They may be impeached and removed by a 4/5 vote of either. Policies and appointments may last 1 day. The same person may be reelected 5,200 times in total, and for 1400 days in a row. Every two years we elect a special Leader of the day who serves a two year term. This person serves as a long term planner and appoints or oversees the election of visionaries at local discretion.
Guardian council is a 10,000 member council of randomly selected citizens who pick the highest numbers minus the top 4000. As selects. Standing council is all interested citizens who voluntarily join. They can block any action of the leader by majority vote as may congress.
The Congress may create congressional agencies and staff them at it's discretion.
A Standby Emergency Director shall be selected via mass petition. The person with the most votescollected in 4 days wins a three month term. Voters may vote for as many candidates as they want. The SED shall have the power to coordinate and lead emergency response if Congress declares a state of emergency for up to six months. The same person may win twelve times.
Law Enforcement
Every level of government is to elect a chief of police coordination and emergency response to oversee investigations and arrests and choose watchers.
If someone is listed as an outlaw by a congressionally established mediation or Congress itself, any person may make an arrest and Recieve a reward if the subject is captured alive. There will be a fine if the subject is killed during arrest unless watchers oversee the arrest and verify it was conducted lawfully in accordance with congressional rule
Prison
Prisons are public, private and mixed. They are to be regulated by law. Refusing to voluntarily go to jail to await a trial or sentencing is automatic outlawry.
Warrant Contracts
Warrant contracts, or pledges not to trade with people who trade with other people
Security
The people shall elect a monthly minister of security via petition. The person with the most signatures by the end of the month wins the position. The Minister of Security shall oversee regionwide defense and intelligence.
LSDD is Provisional Minister of Security until a new one is elected.
Security Districts to elect local police chiefs are drawn by the Minister of Security. Police chiefs elected every three months.
Naos is part of the security plan. XDD must be made programmed to resurrect chaos.
Judicial
Daily judges elected by leader of the day service all typical cases. Every second year, the second leader of the day appoints two year justices who serve as a court of appeals. Judges must be allowed to complete cases they start regardless of whoever appointed them's term being up.
Everyone is entitled to nine appeals before they go to Naos or a religious court.
The lower house of congress shall create an act organizing the supreme court (s) and visionaries. Congress shall create cours in addition to the 11 member Supreme Court. They shall approve or reject supreme court nominees by the Emergency Director.
For Ethical Anarchy Territory, As shall Staff the thirty five member supreme court.
The supreme court is the final arbiter of appeals for all cases on or in the territory.
There shall be sixteen districts throughout the land, each of equal population. District map drawn and approved by Chaos and Force Congress. God's compete over districts courts and the right to organize or sponsor police departments.
Property and Land
Chaos registers property. Simeon owns the land and caretakes it for Ethical Anarchy.
No person may be kept on a persons territory by force.
World and Environment
Simeon owns Naming rights. The environment the constitution may regulate is defined as any public or private property that flows into and intermixes with public property. (i.e, air and water) The public may regulate activity in and on such.
Ballots and Information
Individuals may create ballot listing services compiling a list of ethical contracts for readers to sign. The parliament regulates fraud and valid signature collection. It is not the government's responsibility to gather and list all Ethical contracts in one place.
The government may establish signing houses for people to sign notarized ethical contracts free of compulsion and mandate their use. Alternatively, they may send people who were listed as signing an ethical contract a notification.
Money and Minting
Simeon owns the minting and Economic system. Money must be used to pay taxes, buy a $10,000 weekly travel pass, land, play games and view media, but land and travel expenses. Simeon shares the mints with Congress. You earn money by attending school and going to parties or by playing sports. School attendance pays up to 15,000 weekly with good grades paying more.
Permanent Seats in Congress
Simeon Satan Narissa Shan Sitch Saddeus Entamion
Thaos reserves thirty percent of Seats in Congress
Chief Visionaries
Tiara and Vivian
Each selects 1/3 of Visionaries who serve at their leisure.
Visionaries serve a minimum of fifty years and promote and demote people in government positions and can recall elected and judges officials, comment on ballots, create themes
3 CommentsAwardShareSaveComment as Equal-Upstairs-213 CommentMarkdown ModeSort By: Best📷📷level 1Equal-Upstairs-213·just now
Kingdom funding
1ReplyShare📷level 1Equal-Upstairs-213·just now
Proxies.
Police chief
oathkeepers, forgeries, lotteries figure of the day, rolling agenda. strategist,
Figures of the day, month and year elected every so often.
President elected every four months
distributaries and contests chief chosen by president.
Figure: 1/3 popular vote 1/3 congress 1/3 presidential college every 4540 years.
Media grants, advertising distribution, education regulations.

Law: Treaurer of ethical anarchy with power to distribute UBI and set sschool salaries elected by all via JUngle primary FPTP with runoff if someone fails to receive a majority.
Law: Interpreting Ethical Anarchy is the responsibility of Simeon, RHo and Sitch and fmy mother and father and Entenny. They may clarify and add addendums to law.
1ReplyShare
RIder
Land Works like what? Asessor rrv
Maps and districting?
A territory may be split when..
Game based
Vote games for outlawry congress and elected congress. % of territory captured equals percent of senate seats you get. Outlawry senate.

AdChoices📷The HillFollowView Profile

First Step Act was only half the job; now a ‘Second Step’ is needed

Opinion by Hugh Hurwitz, opinion contributor • Mar 2📷
The First Step Act (FSA) was a landmark achievement in the area of criminal justice reform. It came at a time of partisan politics and a divided Congress and was the only significant bi-partisan legislation passed during the Trump administration. “The First Step” is a new, award-winning film, documenting the passage of this historic act. The film gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the unlikely coalition formed between President Trump’s son in law, Jared Kushner, and CNN commentator and activist Van Jones. In the film we gain rare insights into the back door dealings, disagreements, and incredibly hard work that went into making the law a reality.
📷First Step Act was only half the job; now a ‘Second Step’ is needed© Provided by The Hill📷Create Standardized Forms - End-To-End WorkflowsAdwww.pipefy.com/workflow/process
Throughout the film we are reminded that we must take small steps to achieve great things. Van Jones related this effort to the 1957 Civil Rights Act, itself not a monumental achievement — but it led to the 1960 Civil Rights Act and ultimately the 1964 Civil Rights Act that everyone remembers today. Jones reminded his team to “Start small and build.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) preached the same, saying the FSA is just a “step in the right direction.”
I had a unique viewpoint at this time: I was Acting Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) during the negotiations and ultimate passage of the FSA. I witnessed first-hand some of the scenes depicted in the film and saw the politics and horse trading that went on behind closed doors. As well documented in film, the FSA is important legislation. But how successful is it? I argue it was a small start, hopefully, on the way to something bigger.
The FSA had two primary goals: 1) to reduce the overcrowded prison population in the BOP and 2) to provide incentives for people in prison to take recidivism reducing programs which will increase the likelihood that they will succeed upon their release and not return to prison. In my opinion, the FSA succeeded wildly in number 1, and failed miserably in number 2. So, in short, yes, we definitely need something bigger: a second step.
While up-to-date data has not been made available, it appears that somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people have already been released early under the FSA, with thousands more in the queue. BOP is still calculating how people earn time credits, and they continue to release more in batches. Based on those numbers alone, it is hard to argue that the FSA was not successful in reducing the prison population.
The primary incentive offered under the FSA is time credits for completion of recidivation reducing programs. Application of these time credits will allow some people to complete their sentence early and transfer to supervised release, and others to transfer early to halfway houses or home confinement. The problem with the FSA is that while it incentivizes people to take recidivism reducing programs, the only people eligible for the coveted time credits are those already deemed to be minimum- or low-risk for recidivating. Said another way, only people assessed as minimum- and low-risk for recidivism are eligible to earn time credits leading to early release. But those are not the people we should be incentivizing to take recidivism reducing programs. The ones who truly need these programs are those deemed to be of medium or high risk of recidivating. Aren’t those the people we should be focusing on? But the FSA does not allow these people to earn time credits. In fact, I would argue the FSA actually disincentivizes medium- and high-risk people because why should they take a program that they won’t get time credit for, while the guy next to them is getting credit for the same program?
Let me be clear: I am not saying the FSA is a bad law. On the contrary, it has resulted in increased program opportunities and other changes to our federal prison system, and it has reduced the number of people in federal prisons.
What I am saying is that the need for a Second Step is great, as people deemed medium or high risk of recidivating are released without the benefit of critical recidivism reducing programs. About 95 percent of the people currently in our nation’s prisons will be released to our communities. They will be our neighbors. Isn’t it imperative that we do all we can to ensure that upon release they have the skills, tools, and resources to be productive, law-abiding members of society?
We need Congress to act now, in another bi-partisan effort, to pass laws that will ensure everyone incarcerated today is incentivized and given access to programs that will help reduce their recidivism risk.
Hugh Hurwitz held multiple positions with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, including Acting Director, Assistant Director for Administration, and Assistant Director for Reentry Services. Currently, he provides consulting services in prison management, reentry and reform, organizational change, and other areas. He is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

Sorry, this is a very long post. I just don't know what to do anymore.
I developed PANS 4 years ago after an infection at age 15 and with it developed severe anxiety, OCD, derealization/depersonalization and, surprise, agoraphobia. I also became very photosensitive and noise-sensitive, and had panic attacks at least once a day. It was an absolute living hell and I barely left the house. My grades went from straight As to barely passing, I only attended class half the time and out of that half I mostly went home or hid in the counselor's office.
I received my diagnosis a year or two (?) after it began, and after receiving treatment things improved greatly - I went to college, I got a job, could go out and do things with my friends, all that. I was active. I felt like myself again. Then things went bad.
I think it's my own fault; I stopped taking my medicine prematurely. I still had a good deal of anxiety while improving, and already had an awful time swallowing pills - I choked on one right near the end of my treatment and just totally dropped them completely out of fear. I thought it'd be fine but looking back, I think that set me up for failure.
Things very slowly started getting worse. I won't keep getting into my life story, but now 4 years in - probably a year and a half after going off the medication? - and the agoraphobia is in full swing. I'm making little to no money because I had panic attacks at work and ever since they've hardly given me hours. I'm failing all my classes because I can't attend them, because I'm terrified of walking to them. My campus is decent size. Even with all my classes in the same building, I can't get to the building in the first place. I'm scared of bright light, so I'm scared to walk in bright spaces outside. I've tried walking only in shadowy spots, but I'm too afraid to cross streets or walk on wide sidewalks, because I'm terrified of the wide open space. Every time I try it, I feel like I'm not even in my head anymore, I genuinely feel like I'll faint or lose control of my body, seize up, anything of the sort. My body physically hurts if I try to sit in a building with bright lights. Every time I put myself in these situations, I don't feel real anymore, and afterwards I feel like that moment didn't exist and like I teleported wherever I ended up. I stopped learning to drive because I'm terrified of being in the middle of the road, especially intersections, and I'm afraid that I'll die on the spot trying to cross through one. Looking through windows with bright lights on the other side feels less like a window, and more like a wall showing me fake imagery, and I genuinely hope deep down that when I open the door the "real" outside will be dark.
I've stopped enjoying things. I don't keep up with my work. My relationships are deteriorating - my family can't handle me anymore, for good reason, and genuinely don't know how to help; I can't do things with my friends aside from staying in the house, which they understandably get tired of; I can't even go out except to a few places with my boyfriend anymore, and although he says it's fine, I imagine it will wear on him at some point. He's the only safe person I have, and holding his hand is the literal only way I can cross streets (and even that's gotten more difficult and near impossible within the past month), but I won't tell him that as to not put pressure on him.
I feel like I'm in hell. I have panic attacks every day, multiple times a day, and my head hurts from them all the time. I've tried sensory aids like sunglasses, earplugs (I have special ones even to filter out background noise specifically), earbuds to play music, wearing the same jacket, bringing water if my mouth is dry, I've tried everything within my power. Today, I'm finally hitting a breaking point where I'm tempted to just drop out and give in.
It's freezing cold out. My classes are all in one building, and it was literally a two minute walk at max. It was on the same block that I was already on. But I couldn't walk in the light, on the wide sidewalks. When I tried walking in the shadows, there were wide access roads that I couldn't bring myself to cross. I tried calling family to ease myself and it didn't work. My phone died and they nearly called the cops, because I had fully accepted to them the possibility of freezing to death outside. I couldn't go anywhere. I sat outside in the cold with only a thin hoodie for an hour. In the moment I'd rather have frozen to death than had to have dealt with my awful agoraphobia and trying to walk through the light.
I'm going to see the doctor again, finally. My last shred of hope that I've been holding onto comes from that appointment.
I'm not even 20 yet. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know how to live through this absolute hell.

Company Name	Title	City
Family Pet Clinic	Associate Veterinarian	Menomonee Falls
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Lab Supervisor (Port Washington)	Port Washington
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Chemist	Port Washington
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Chemist - 3rd Shift (Port Washington)	Port Washington
Kramer Madison	Bindery Operator	Waunakee
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Lab Supervisor (Port Washington)	West Bend
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Chemist - 3rd Shift (Port Washington)	West Bend
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Chemist - 3rd Shift (Port Washington)	Appleton
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Chemist	Appleton
ATI	[Heat Treat Operator] - [Irvine, CA] - [22 - 2241]	Brookfield
Flexential Corp	Customer Development Advisor	Caledonia
CHRISTUS Health	Physical Therapist or Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant	Elm Grove
ATI	[Hot Die Forging Technician (third shift)] - [Irvine, CA] - [22 - 2519]	Franklin
Frontida Assisted Living Inc.	LPN	Germantown
Frontida Assisted Living Inc.	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)	Germantown
Frontida Assisted Living Inc.	Lpn Lead 2nd Shift Monday-Friday - Assisted Living	Germantown
ATI	[Hot Die Forging Technician (third shift)] - [Irvine, CA] - [22 - 2519]	Hales Corners
Cadence McShane Construction	Project Superintendent	Madison
Frontida Assisted Living Inc.	Lpn Lead 2nd Shift Monday-Friday - Assisted Living	Madison
Dunkin Donuts	Dunkin Assistant Restaurant Manager	Milwaukee
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Chemist - 3rd Shift (Port Washington)	Oshkosh
Frontida Assisted Living Inc.	Lpn Lead 2nd Shift Monday-Friday - Assisted Living	Oshkosh
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Lab Supervisor (Port Washington)	Oshkosh
Frontida Assisted Living Inc.	Lpn Lead 2nd Shift Monday-Friday - Assisted Living	Sun Prairie
Kleen Test Products	Analytical Lab Supervisor (Port Washington)	Sun Prairie

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings , feel free to comment here if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

My main issue, is I spent my 20's working at a grocery chain. I didn't do well enough for grad school, kind of fell out of wanting to go into counseling, and figured I could manage a store and make life work. Then covid happened, I injured my back due to poorly built pallets from the warehouse and overwork. I only got 6 months of WC and couldn't take legal recourse.
Since, I just got seasonal jobs at parks but my body can't take it anymore. I look at miscellaneous office jobs on indeed, and the fact that I have no real office experience or experience in any specific industry over the past 10 years and no real career are driving me to suicidal ideation. I currently work for the government, but don't get health insurance for another 6 months so therapy isn't an option right now. I was in therapy for 8 years however, that came to a mutual end last year. I also make less than $20/hr in a HCOL area, and thus currently live with a parent.
I toyed with going back to school for what I'd truly enjoy doing, but I don't have money and student loan payments return very soon, and I still owe for my Bachelors. I'm not sure what my options are. I'd be willing to train for something, if feasible. I am not attuned to learning how to code, but am technologically adept. My only skills at this point are the 10 years of customer service/being a section leader and horticulture/landscaping.
I just need something. I can't move out of home. I can't date. I don't see my friends because of the shame I feel with where I am in life compared to everyone else who just sucked it up, worked hard and accepted that they'd have to work a job they didn't like to pay for the ability to live freely.
I know I am not in the healthiest place mentally, but my body can't take much more of my current job and the 2 hours of driving a day I have to do to get there are things I need to remedy quickly. I'm just so lost.

I (27F) am one of four children (30M, 25M, and 20F). My 25M brother, John* is autistic and his primary struggle at this time is social anxiety. All four of us are quiet people and I struggled with shyness as a young child, so it definitely runs in the family independently of autism, but most of us grew out of it. John struggled with social anxiety throughout school and it seemed to get a lot worse from age 13-14 onward. Being only two grades ahead of John, I often had to meet him outside of the resource room after school to walk him through the crowded halls and out to my car. I was also responsible for driving him to and from school because his van (for special needs students) gave him too much anxiety. This became a little difficult with my schedule at times, but I was more than happy to help my brother and make sure he was okay while he was at school.
Fast forward ten years since I’ve been out of high school and I’ve watched John’s anxiety get so incredibly bad. He still lives at home with my parents and two other siblings. He can’t drive and has some cognitive struggles, as well. He has a case worker with state services who does check in visits periodically. This program helped him get a job as a housekeeper at a hotel before covid, and I think John grew so much during this time. His boss was an angel and he really enjoyed the work and feeling accomplished. He ended up getting laid off during covid and hasn’t been to work since. They offered him his job back recently, but my mother “had a talk” with John and they decided he wasn’t in a good place to return.
He was on one anxiety medication for a short period, but it apparently made him severely tired and my mother didn’t like how it made him seem sedated. I told her there were many other kinds available and it’s rare for people to have success with the first medication they try. She doesn’t agree with me on my stance regarding medication and has opted to try natural supplements for his anxiety - as far as I know, John has not started taking anything yet.
My mom told me that the last time John’s case worker was visiting, he brought another person (I think she was going to do a routine evaluation on John) and John couldn’t even speak, was shaking, etc. He shut down completely and nobody could calm him down. This is not the first time this has happened.
My boyfriend of 4+ years has laid eyes on John maybe 3 or 4 times. John refuses to speak to him and when we are both visiting my parents, he will stay locked away in his room. He actually almost had an accident because he needed to use the bathroom and we were in a communal room that he would’ve had to pass through. It broke my heart seeing just how bad he’s gotten. It makes my boyfriend feel absolutely horrible and it’s been so difficult trying to explain the situation to him, as understanding as he is.
My parents are nearing their sixties and won’t be around forever. My two other siblings have some issues of their own (30M has suspected Asperger’s and has been unemployed for 5+ years and 20F is dealing with severe depression, also unemployed and recently quit college), so I certainly understand that my parents are stretched pretty thin. But I have warned them that John is going to need help for the rest of his life and that they need to set up a plan now, as well as actively work on his social anxiety and get him back into the workforce. I have offered to step in once my parents are unable to assist with him, but they have said it’s not my job and basically to stay out of it.
I’m terrified for John’s future, but I’m getting exhausted from arguing with my parents. Sometimes I wish I could cut ties with my family, but I would never forgive myself if something happened to John after my parents are gone. Is there anything I can do now to either help John directly or push my parents in the right direction?
TLDR: my autistic brother has severe anxiety and I’m worried about his future

About 3 weeks ago I posted in here about some extreme burnout. TLDR: I've been in the field for 25 years, and have one of the best jobs I've ever had, so feeling this level of burnout let me know it was all too real.
I got some really good words, camaraderie, and advice from this community. I had already been taking some responsibility on our Azure defender for cloud solution, and I'm happy to report that my boss supports me jumping in with both feet and getting more on the security side of our operations.
This has reinvigorated me within IT. I have already completed the AZ-500 coursework, and have the cert scheduled for next week. I have not failed a single practice test yet. The stuff just makes sense to me, it clicks. Then I plan on pursuing the SC-100 to obtain my Azure cybersecurity architect expert cert, and hopefully have that done here in the next month or two.
I wanted to thank everybody that came in and showed me some support and camaraderie when I was down in the dumps and not seeing a way out. I took some of your advice and I'm running with it, and happy to report that I am interested and excited again in the things I am now doing.
From an old salty dog in this industry, a big thanks to my fellow IT warriors out here.
Edit for spelling

I’ve been (rather suddenly) offered a job in another board. I am currently in an LTO with an undetermined end date.
It’s definitely my preferred board to be in going forward and would shorten my commute as well as put me in a high school setting (which I want!).
What are the consequences of accepting a new LTO in a different board?

So we moved across country to help my dad his health is failing and he had an injury that put him in a wheelchair. Myself and my dad have never had a super close relationship and I always wanted a better so when he asked us to move out here I was excited to build a relationship with him and my teenagers to get to know him as well. So the last year has been very bumpy so many little things that have drove a wedge with us, my daughter (16) stays inside the house in a bedroom that did belong to my dads girlfriend her stuff is still in there. She came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if my daughter is the type to use drugs, I told her absolutely not she hates pills or anything like that she’s a good student track star, she has a job, she does very good. Well she went into my daughters room and confronted her about these pills but doesn’t actually have them she claims she took them to the pharmacy and they kept them they were supposedly Xanax pills and valum she herself is a drinker, bipolar that is very unsteady she can’t work she can’t do really anything and I just think she is trying to get the bedroom back she claims the pills were in a baggy in her drawer that my daughter doesn’t use. My daughter doesn’t want me to say anything bc she has to see her everyday but I feel as a momma bear I should say something to her but tactfully. My dad is completely blind when it comes to his girlfriend she can treat him like dirt and has and he does nothing bc he is dependable on her to help care for him even though I’ve told him several times I would gladly take care of him k know it runs deeper than that they’ve been together 10 yrs and they have a weird bond. I just want to handle this situation gracefully yet firmly so she stops asking my kid uncomfortable questions.

The previous part of the chapter
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Grata Revenite

"AHHHHHHHHHHH. NOT THIS AGAIN!" You scream yourself awake.
Looking around, you scared everybody up in the teacher's office.
"What's wrong, Mr Nestor?" Someone asks you.
"A rough job being a new head teacher, huh?" They chuckle.
"Yeah. Hahaha- Huh?" You stare at them in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"After Mr Mortimer left, you got the position."
"Ohh yeah, I remember that. Silly me." You laugh.
Mr Mortimer left a long time ago to return to his wife. How can you forget that? Probably from a lot of work.
"Oh, It's time for Class 8E." You walk along that hallway thinking about life.
You still remember the first time you are here. You were a crumbling mess but now? You become a part of the academy, a part of the family.
"A part of our family." Quinn's voice blooms from behind.
"Good day Quinn."
"Yeah. Good day." You can see her smirking beneath the mask.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, It’s just surprising to see."
“See what? Don’t leave me hanging.” You chuckle.
“Why don’t we talk while walking to class?”
“Sure.”
You two walk along the hallway, echoing footsteps following from behind. Somehow you feel uneasy when being near her. Fear in your mind
“To see that mortal can just... forget something... What's your opinion, Aid? I mean Nestor.”
“Aids? You keep calling me by that old name.” You laugh.
“Yeah yeah.”
“Alright, we are here.” You walk up to the door and knock. “Pardon me. Hello class!”
Some students look at you surprised but most of them look normal.
"What's with the silence?" You chuckle while taking out the attendance list. "Alright! Miss Déchu?"
"Here."
"Mr Ermengild?"
"Here."
"Mr Oddmund-"
"IS THIS CLASS 8-" A student screamed while entering the classroom.
Slice!
The student's head slowly drops to the ground. Blood is gushing out like a poked water balloon. Isn't it a familiar sight to see?
"Oh, Hades! Not again." You put down the clipboard and stop the head that rolls toward you with your foot. "Quinn! Can you call the janitor? Please?"
“Sure.” Quinn got up and walked out of the classroom.
Some students scream in shock, others puke out the window and the remaining students turn pale.
"Come on kids. It's just a dead body. Don't puke out the window, we are on the first floor, not the ground floor." You sigh while returning to the whiteboard.
When you turn your back against the board, you are met with a strange stare from the students.
“What’s wrong?” You speak.
“Who are you?” Elio’s amber eyes filled with concern.
“I’m… your teacher?”
“No. No, you’re not. Aid won’t act like this.”
“I've always been like this.” You smile softly.
“Aid would scream.” Ubel shares her opinion.
“Well, it's been a long time. People change." You sense the feeling of uneasiness filling the room.
"It's- only been a week...since you been here and then you went missing for 2 days ." Cedric stands up and walks toward you. "Who are you?"
"What? You're kidding." You laugh awkwardly.
"I knew it." A cold voice breaks the silence, it's Quinn. "Well, today's classes are cancelled then."
No one dares to move a muscle as she stares into the class and everyone's souls. The sharp sound of her footsteps echoing make you flinch while the janitor mops up the floor and collects the body.
"I thought you done the job I gave you..." Quinn stares at Pattinson who has been quiet.
"I'll do it myself then." Quinn smiles and claps her hands. "Let's do it by numbers."
"Block the door." The room turns dim. Dark cloudy figures surround the room.
"What was that!" Elna's body trembles.
"A magic trick," Quinn replies sarcastically.
"Angelica! My sweet fallen angel. Let's get your memories fixed." She takes off her mask.
Angelica slowly gets up and walks toward Quinn, her eyes filling with fear.
"P...please don't hurt me." Tears roll down her face.
"Awww. Don't cry, sweetheart. You won't be like Marakira." Quinn strokes her cheek and whips her tears.
She kisses Angelica's forehead tenderly before giving Angelica the pill to swallow. She falls to the ground.
"Alright, Merkel!" She calls out.
“No!” He yells.
“Come here or the porcupine die.” Quinn said coldly.
Merkel runs toward her trying to bite off her hand with rage. Quinn smacks him, sending Merkel to the wall. Your student groans before Quinn shoves the pill down his throat.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Blerim screamed while trying to get up from his seat.
"Shut up." Quinn turns her head toward the remaining students.
Blerim's mouth was sealed shut, unable to speak.
One by one, your students walk up to eat the pills and they fall to the ground.
"Take them to their room."
The dark figures start lifting the students' bodies out of the classroom.
Only Pattinson, the Scholar students and you remain in the class.
“Quinn. What is all of this?” You break the silence.
“Nothing, Nestor. Everything is fine. Someone just doesn’t do their job.”
"Quinn, I'm sorry but I couldn't do it." Pattinson tries to speak.
"I know. I'll let this slide. Now, mortals. Eat it." Quinn throws the pills onto their tables.
"I can't force you to eat it." Quinn sits on one of the tables. "You will die in my hands."
"What is it?" Geun Hyun-Shik grabs the pill in front of him calmly.
"Well, thanks to my lovely 'aunt', Mnemosyne. I can fix all of your memories." Quinn chuckle.
"What will I forget!? What will it do to my head? " Geun In-Su shouted.
"Not forget, just bend the mind.” Quinn chuckle. “I suggest you take it. Better for you and better for me.”
“No.” Geun In-Su throws it away.
“Fine.” Quinn snaps her fingers.
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Geun Hyun-Shik fell out of his chair and scream on the ground.
“STOP IT!” Geun In-Su cry while leaping toward his brother.
“Well, would you eat the pill now?”
You stare at them dumbfounded, deep down something makes you fear her. Pattinson looks at the ground timidly.
“MAKE IT STOP! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! DAD! DON’T HIT ME” Geun Hyun-Shik continue to scream, pulling his hair, and scratching his arms.
“FINE!” Geun In-Su grabs the pill and makes his brother swallows it then does the same to himself.
“Good boy. Take them to their room. Now you.” Quinn point to Elna.
“S…sure.” She holds the pill with her trembling hand.
“Stop it!” Cedric pulls out his ring and turns it into a golden knuckle duster. “What are you?”
“A god.” She laughs. “Pin him down.”
The dark figures appear again. Now trying to pin Cedric down.
“Get away from me!” Cedric punches the figures.
“Eat it, Elna.” Quinn walks toward her.
“no.”
“What?”
“I said NO!” Elna whipped out her necklace changing it to a baton with a silver handle and try to hit Quinn with it.
“Oh. So you chose death? Interesting. How about some nightmares?” Again, she snaps her fingers and the two students scream in pain.
“How about now?”
“N…NO!” Cedric scream. “TELL ME. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO OUR CLASS AND OUR TEACHER?” He points toward you.
“Maybe you shouldn’t do it.” Pattinson grabs Quinn’s shoulder.
“Get out.” Her void-like eyes filled with anger.
"Yes, Ma'am." Pattinson slowly walks toward the door and leaves the class. "I'm sorry."
“P..please help us.” Elna crawls toward your feet.
You don't understand what is going on. Looking at Elna, you take a step backwards.
"Maybe if you listen to her, you won't have to suffer." You can't believe what you just said.
"W...What?"
"Mortals can't win. We can just follow." You smile while picking up the pill and force Elna to eat it.
"It's for the greater good." Your broken smile makes her go quiet. "Come on. Don't be difficult."
"Please, Aid. H...help me." Tears roll down her cheeks.
"My name is Nestor."
"N..no. No. No. You let us call you Aid because you want to help us! You're not Nestor!"
Her scream wakes something in you. Does Mr Mortimer leave to go back to his wife? Have You been here for only a week? And is your name really Nestor?
"W..who am I?" The pill drop from your hand rolling away.
Elna tries to crawl her way toward the door.
"Don't you dare." You plug your dagger into her ankles out of instinct.
"AHHHHHHH." She let out an agonising cry.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ELNA?" Cedric whose been fighting the figures rushed toward Elna but got stopped by Quinn.
"Rule number 1. Don't turn away from the hunter." She snaps his legs.
"Now that you two are unable to fight. Stay!" Quinn turns her attention toward you again.
"No. No. No. I didn't mean to. I didn't" You balled up against the wall.
"Nestor? Are you alright? You did a great job." Quinn reaches her hand toward you.
"My name is Aid!" You shriek as the broken memories start to piece together.
"So, it came back." Quinn stares at your face so close that you can see the crop's skin on the left face fall off.
"What have you done to me?" Your senses start to come back. Seeing your students injured hurts you to your very core.
You hold your dagger tightly before stabbing it into Quinn's eyes.
"If you remember everything then you should know that you can't kill me." She pulls the dagger out of her eyes and breaks it in her hand again.
"You won't escape me. You can't." She grabs your face. "I won't let you go, my lovely nourishment. You're suffering and pain is the sweetest."
"h..help." You can see Elna bleeding out.
"Save them! Please! I beg you." You start to wail.
"That's so adorable. You're making me cry." Quinn whips blood off her cheek.
"Eat it." She grabs the pills that roll around when they were fighting and drop them in their grasp.
The two students grab them with the little power they have left before eating them.l
"Now it's just you and me." She grabs your face again.
"P..Please don't." You crawl away from her.
"I won't kill you. Just going to fix you again." She smirks while the room turns to pitch dark like the void.
"No. No. Not this again."
"Look into my eyes. Just a little fix and you will become a part of the family. Our family" Quinn's eyes begin to glow.
"A...a part of the family. Our family"
l
l
l
…Beep beep beep... The annoying sound of the alarm clock wakes you up as always, you have fallen asleep while planning your lessons and being the headteacher is not an easy role to fill. You stretch your back and start to get ready.
While you walk to class, you see many students running around, and some teachers grabbing coffee and talking.
"Pardon me." You knock 3 times and walk into the room. "Good morning Class 8E!"
"Good morning Mr Nestor!" The class replied.
Cedric and Elna beam with joy while you teach. You never feel this alive in a long time, you felt as if you are a part of this school.
After the bell rings dismiss the class. Quinn walks up to you and whispers.
"Grata Revenite, Nestor."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Now. Are you interested in making deal with us?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writer's note: This is the end of the Atrare Auroral Academia. Thank you so much for following this series and being patient. Again, thank you.
All of the Atrare Auroral Academia chapters' links

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Going into college, I'm mainly interested in engineering and computer science and plan on having a job combining both of those interests. Recently, I got accepted to Cornell's engineering physics Program as an undergrad, and I'm really excited about it.
I chose engineering physics because I like how it covers several physics and computer science subjects, but I'm concerned about having fewer job opportunities compared to someone studying mechanical engineering or computer science since most engineering physics graduates continue to grad school or research instead of the workforce.
Should I stick with engineering physics, or should I just switch to a mechanical engineering major CS minor?

I'm not particularly a religious person. I never really connected with the idea of believing in a God or a Devil; something like religion never really resonated with me until the night a few of my friends and I explored the Lockwood house.
My mother gave me a laptop this morning; she thought that it might help me cope or whatever so here I am, typing what I remember. I haven't been able to sleep; there's a shadow that stands in the corner of my hospital room at night, and sometimes I hear voices inside my head telling me to do things, and I'm terrified.
No one believes me. They keep stating that my traumatizing experience must have triggered my anxiety. They called it a dissociation or detachment from reality, I think. Whatever. I know that what I saw in that house was real, and what had happened to my friends actually did happen. We just wanted an experience. We never really stopped to evaluate the risks that might come with it.
I guess I'll start from the beginning.
It was Friday morning, and I decided to kill some time in the library across from my high school. The greatest thing about being in a library was the calming atmosphere. I leaned forward on the worn sofa and rolled my eyes as I turned the page.
What? I scoffed. Why is this even a thing someone would think is even remotely attractive?
[ I am a lot to handle, but I can assure you that you'll have fun handling me, love ]
Seriously? I've met drunk perverts hanging outside of bars with better pick up lines than that I thought to myself. I didn't think it could get any cringier until I read the next line.
[ My heart did an unexpected flip, startled by his bizarrely attractive smile ]
I frowned inwardly. You know what you really need instead of a creepy-ass stalker boyfriend? A cardiology consult
"So annoying," I sighed. How is this tripe a best seller?
"What's annoying?"
"Oh, shit." I squeaked. I sat upright and turned around, instinctively about to clog the person when I realized who it was. Harlen leaned up against the wall with a tilted smirk on his face. He stood between me and the fluorescents.
Harlen was a fellow classmate and a friend of Mark's, who was an older guy Albie, and I guess Harlen hung out with. Harlen was a tall, attractive guy with an athletic build, short obsidian hair, and grey eyes. To quote the main character in the novel, Harlen was the kind of trouble smarter girls than I had fallen into with disastrous results and a few regrets.
My cheeks flushed and I closed the book as he cocked his head at me. "Did I seriously scare you?" He joked, but his smile faltered slightly as I glared up at him.
"Dude," I groaned. "Don't sneak up on me like that,"
"What? I didn't sneak," He crossed his arms over his chest in protest. "No sneaking was involved. I just walked over here. And to be fair, this is a library-silence is sacred in a library so technically we're supposed to sneak. We're also the only ones in here right now anyway, so who cares."
My eyes did a pointed sweep of the decidedly empty area before settling back on Harlen's with an unamused glower. "Yeah," I said. "I'm pretty sure the zero other people in here appreciate the deceptive aura of calm. What are you doing here?"
"Well, actually I was doing some research for a paper I'm writing for English." He tightened his grip on his bookbag. "I was told I'd find you here," He explained.
"Why?" I asked. "I didn't tell anyone that I was here."
"I've got my ways of tracking people down."
When he saw my expression, Harlen rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on Kaya. I'm just kidding! Is it really that weird that I happen to be in here the same time as you?"
"I guess not."
"I'll let you get back to reading, then. Oh," He started. "I almost forgot. Meet us down at the Love Triangle for lunch. I found a cool place for us to urbex."
My friends and I loved urban exploring. Most of the time it was exciting and exhilarating. Sometimes it was a challenge; some places were remote enough that you could simply walk in through the front door like a welcomed visitor. Other times we would be forced to climb up over fences or crawl through windows.
There was this one time we decided to check out a drainage tunnel because a few people have sworn they heard ominous laughter coming from it. Water seeped into our clothes and we shivered at the coldness. I remember that I cracked a joke about the movie "IT" when we suddenly heard a loud BOOM right next to our heads. I have no idea what caused the sound, but I doubt that it was anything paranormal.
I was in the middle of stabbing at a large crouton with my fork when Harlen, Albie, and Jessica took their seats at the table.
"Hey, Kaya," Albie said as he sat down beside me. Albie and I have been friends since we were little. He was a skinny black guy with a box fade haircut and light brown eyes. We were neither popular nor unpopular. We were what some people called, "drifters" and, according to Albie, those whose social standings meant that if he made random eye contact with someone in the halls he would probably get a nod back, and maybe even a quick "Hey" or "What's up" If you didn't know us personally you'd likely assume that we were siblings, especially with the way we acted around each other most of the time.
"What took you guys so long?" I asked, pointing my fork in his direction.
"It was my fault. I'm sorry." He grumbled, as he unzipped his lunch bag. "Mr. Wizzner chastised me for like, ten minutes."
"To be fair, You were looking at your phone in class." Jessica said. Jessica was Albie's girlfriend, a petite girl with long blond hair, and hazel eyes. "And that wasn't the only thing,"
Albie sighed. "You're not wrong, but he's kind of an asshat."
"You should use that filter once in a while," Jessica said.
"Oh baby, since when have you known me to have such a filter?"
"Oh please," I scoffed. "You just choose not to use it."
Albie gave me a frown and tossed a baby carrot my way, which I was able to dodge easily.
Harlen cleared his throat as he pulled out his phone. "So, shall we get to it, then?"
The Lockwood house had been abandoned for years now, but a few people who have walked the trail close to the place have claimed they could see the spirits of the family walking around inside, and others had even heard music coming from the house. When they went to investigate, there was no one inside.
In 2010 Ethan Lockwood brutally murdered his wife, Anna Lockwood, and her parents Steven and Isabelle Thompson in the middle of the night. Authorities found Anna's parents dead in their bedroom; both of their bodies were in pieces, and their daughter's body was found in the basement. Anna had multiple blunt force head injuries and what's worse, her eyes and tongue were missing. Ethan's body was found in the living room with a shotgun beside him, and a deep laceration on his neck. People have compared this to the Amityville horror - which was a huge reason we were doing this.
"Get this," Harlen said, as he scrolled down. "There was a survivor - a ten year old boy. He also had a twin brother, but he was never found."
Some have assumed the father killed him and buried his body somewhere on the property, and others have assumed the boy escaped and is probably alive under a new identity. I guess we'll never know.
"Holy crap. What happened to the boy who survived?" I asked.
"I don't know. I guess that part was kept confidential," Albie said. "For the boy's protection I guess."
"Poor baby," Jessica frowned.
"So," Harlen said. "Are you guys up for it?"
◇
We all crawled into Harlen's truck around 6pm and headed to the Lockwood house. Albie took his video recorder and held it in front of his face. "Hey, what's up guys, gals, and nonbinary folks!" Albie spoke with conviction as he stared wide-eyed in the video recorder. "We're going to prove that ghosts are real!"
I rolled down the window and glanced out at the scenery. I laughed to myself when we passed a large cornfield. "Guys, this seriously looks like we're going straight into a modern day horror film."
"It really does," Jessica agreed.
"I can already feel this place, I'm beginning to sweat all over." Albie exclaimed as he turned his camera to the window then back on himself.
"Like something about this place isn't right at all? That's pretty understandable, considering." Harlen said, turning down a gravel road.
"We're gonna recieve a ton of views for this!" Albie smiled. He turned the camera toward Harlen who waved back from the review mirror.
"Dude," Harlen chuckled. "I bet some of these viewers are going to think you're crazy because you're willing to allow something to throw you across the room and-possibly-murder you for content."
We pulled up to the gate in front of the two - story colonial home. There was already a green van parked outside the gate to the property. Mark greeted us at the gate with a colorful bottle of vodka. Mark was an average looking guy in his early 20s with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He raised the bottle in his right hand with shot glasses in the other.
"Hey, guys," Mark handed each of us a shot glass. "Did you get here alright?"
"Oh yeah. I've driven passed this place a couple of times, I didn't even need the GPS" Harlen said.
"This definitely screams illegal." I commented, pointedly toward the large house.
"Only if we get caught, but this place is abandoned so I doubt we'll get into any trouble with the law." Harlen said.
"I'm giving you alcohol, and you're more worried about "breaking and entering"? Mark laughed.
Albie took his shot of the Three Olives Loopy vodka and made a face. "This tastes like Tucan Sam fucked me."
"Ew," Jessica grimaced.
Harlen and I laughed. Mark only snorted.
After we each had several shots of vodka, we got ready. We each grabbed a headlight in order to keep our hands free, gloves, and disposable face masks and placed them into our backpacks, along with first aid (just in case). Mark had been urbexing for a while, and he was always prepared with supplies just in case anyone forgot to bring something.
"So, what happens if we're not alone in the house?" Jessica asked.
Even though urbex sites are technically "abandoned" that didn't mean you wouldn't run into other people inside like squatters or addicts, and they may not react well to seeing a stranger in their space.
"It's a good thing I brought this along," Mark said. He pushed his jacket aside and revealed a hand gun tucked inside its holster.
"Holy crap, man." Harlen said.
"I can't believe you brought a gun." Albie said.
Jessica and I were speechless. It's a good idea to bring some sort of self defense tool just in case your physical safety is threatened, but bringing something like a gun raises the risk of you accidentally injuring yourself.
"Of course I did. It's always good to carry protection." Mark explained.
A few minutes after, the five of us walked up to the large rusted gate. With a little bit of work, we each slipped through the bars and headed up to the house.
"You know those haunted attractions where people dress up in order to scare the shit out of you, except it's actual demons and they're going to steal your soul!" Jessica smiled beside Albie who threaded his fingers through hers. "It's actually kinda thrilling."
"Awesome," Harlen smirked. "I'm glad you sound so optimistic about it."
"I try to be!"
We stepped up onto the porch, which wrapped around the front of the house. The paint on the door was chipped with age in places. "Are you guys ready?" Harlen asked. "Once we enter this house, we will possibly become vulnerable to any demonic presence that might reside here."
I rolled my eyes. "If I'm in serious danger, I'm getting out. I'll throw myself out the window if I have to."
"I'm on Kaya's team," Jessica agreed. "Team rational."
"What, and risk getting a broken leg?" Albie asked.
"Better a broken leg than having your soul taken by some kind of entity." I replied.
"Alright, guys let's do this." Harlen said. He opened the door and the five of us headed inside.
The front door opened up into a foyer. Straight ahead of us was a staircase that led up to the second floor. There was a spacious living room to our right and a dining room to our left, and from there, an alcove enterance that led into the kitchen. I could tell that this place had been abandoned for years; there was cobwebs and peeled paint on the walls. There were remnants of furniture left ripped, dismantled, and stained which laid disorderly on the floor of the living room, reminding me of death.
This had once been the home of a happy upper-class family, full of life. Now it was replaced by ghosts of the past, vermin, spiders, dirt, and trash. The smell of rot and the taste of regurgitated food made me grimace in disgust.
"Why hasn't anyone fix this place up and put it back on the market?" Jessica asked.
"Who really knows," Albie replied.
"Hello!" Harlen announced as he twirled on his heels. "Are there any spirits here?" I glanced over at Harlen with a look and he shrugged.
"Is this what you guys imagined?" Mark queried.
"Sure, minus the dead bodies," I walked into the living room and spotted a mid century record player console propped up against the wall next to a grand piano. There was a record still on the turntable, "Tonight You Belong To Me" by "Patience and Prudence"
"Hey, come check this out." Out of curiosity I placed the stylus and tried turning it on, not really expecting anything to happen. I jerked my hand away when it began to play.
I quickly took the needle off, a little creeped out. "Holy crap, that scared me."
"That thing still works?" Albie asked, as he inspected the record player. "That song is kinda sweet,"
"No it isn't," Jessica frowned. "It's the kind of song you would hear while being tortured to death."
After we goofed around a little bit, we all decided to begin exploring around the house. Mark started up the stairs and asked if anyone would like to join him.
"I'll join you, man." Harlen said. He gave me a wink before heading towards the stairs with Mark, and I glanced over at Albie and Jessica as they disappeared down the hall.
I was alone.
I walked over to the piano, and carefully lifted the lid up and over to reveal its keys. My fingers traced the lines in between them and pushed down lightly on a few. The deep sounds reverberated around the room.
My eyes drifted up to the small picture frame sitting on top of the piano. I absent-mindedly bit my bottom lip and reached up to grab the frame. My fingers trailed across the picture, leaving an oily impression against the glass that held the picture in place. A family of four stared back at me and I realized that it was Ethan, Anna, and their twin boys. I was so focused on the twins that I almost didn't hear my phone alerting me that I had a new text message.
It was a text from Albie.
From "Albie" at 6:45pm: Meet us down in the basement. I want to show u something.
To "Albie" at 6:46pm: What is it?
From "Albie" at 6:46pm: There's some cool shit down here. Hurry up.
I rolled my eyes and placed my phone in my pocket as I made my way down the hall. I paused at the top of the basement stairs. I could hear Jessica and Albie, the beems from their headlights bouncing around.
"Albie?" I called out.
"Yeah, Kaya, we're down here." He replied. "Come on down. We have something to show you."
"Alright, I'm coming down hold on." I carefully descended the stairs and turned the corner. "So, what did you want to show me-"
My voice died in my throat. It was dark down here, and my friends were nowhere to be seen. I was gripped by a sudden sense of unnease. I stood near the stairs and turned on my headlamp. "Hello? Albie, this isn't funny, dude."
What answered me was silence. Absolute silence. I was alone, or I thought I was until my light fell onto something moving a few feet in front of me. It was an androgynous looking kid around my age with pale skin, shoulder-length black hair, and violet eyes. They wore a long sleeve gothic cloak poncho, over thin black leggings. Their lips pulled back into a malicious grin as they came closer to me. I watched in horror as their eyes rolled to the back of their head and their mouth split open wide, revealing sharp teeth.
They reached out for me and I screamed in terror, my instincs finally kicked in. I bolted up the steps, and stumbled into the hallway. I ran for the front door and tried to leave, but it wouldn't open. What the hell?! that made no damn sense! My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Suddenly I felt something touch my shoulder. I screamed, ready to defend myself.
"Hey. Hey! Kaya, stop it's me, Albie."
I stopped struggling as my eyes refocused on the familiar faces in front of me. Albie, Jessica, and Harlen stared back at me with confused alarm.
"Are you alright?" Harlen asked. "What happened?"
I shook my head and quickly glanced behind them at the basement door, but there was nothing there. I know I hadn't imagined it! I turned my attention back to my friends. "I saw something down in the basement! I want to leave. Now."
"What are you talking about, Kaya? Hold up, did you see something down there? Holy shit. The ghosts didn't think one of us would see them, but we did. Can you-"
Before Albie can finish his sentence, I roughly pushed him away from me and turned back to the door. "Damnit, Albie! I don't want to be in this fucking house anymore! It won't open! Why won't it open!"
"Seriously, Kaya what the hell?" Albie asked, almost annoyed.
"Just relax, Kaya. Let me give it a try, alright?" Harlen offered, calmly. He grabbed the knob, but it stayed shut. "What the hell?"
"See? I told you it won't open!" I hissed.
"What do you mean, "it won't open" let me give it a try." Albie shoved his way passed us. He motioned for all of us to stand back and we watched as he tried to use his whole body against it.
"M-maybe the door's jammed." Jessica exclaimed. "Let's chill out. The front door isn't the only exit out of this place."
"Jessica's right. Let's try the door in the kitchen." Harlen said. We entered the kitchen and Harlen quickly made his way over to the screen door that faced the forest. He cursed under his breath. "Damnit. Nothing."
"Hold up, guys. Where's Mark?" Albie asked.
Harlen quickly pulled his phone out to call Mark when we all collectively got a text from him. Reminding us that we had set up a group chat for easy contact. Harlen glanced back at me with an odd expression I couldn't name. I opened my texts and a sharp stab of dread settled in my stomach.
From "Mark" at 7:05pm: I'm down in the basement, Harlen. Where r u?
From "Mark" at 7:06pm: Harlen is that u? It's not funny, man.
Harlen texted Mark that we were all in the kitchen. I watched as the three small dots in a text bubble pending before it disappeared and Harlen's cell phone rang. He answered and placed Mark on speaker phone.
"What the hell do you mean you're in the kitchen? I definitely heard your voice down here."
Harlen cursed, and told Mark to make his way to the kitchen. Harlen started toward the basement and we all followed right behind him. Before we could reach the stairs to the basement, however, the door swung shut, the force of it knocked us backwards. We heard Mark's gun go off several times followed by his peircing screams of terror before they were abruptly cut short. In our inebriated panic, I failed at the last second to realize we were all running in different directions.
I remember running up the stairs and locking the bathroom door behind me. My heart pounded painfully against my ribcage as I fumbled for my phone, thankful that it hadn't fallen out of my pocket. I willed myself to control my sobs and called 911, but for some reason my call wouldn't go through.
"Nononono! Fuck, please no." I collapsed against the bathtub and cried into my sleeves. Paranoia nearly consumed me once I thought of my friends and every horrible scenario when I received a text from Albie. I looked at it confused.
I wiped the snot from my face and quickly texted him back. How in the hell was I able to receive his texts when I couldn't get ahold of the cops?
From "Albie" at 7:20pm: Apparently we can contact each other in this house, but our phone's service seems to be cut off from the outside world. Where r u?
What the hell is going on in this place??
To "Albie" at 7:21pm: I'm in the upstairs bathroom. Do u know where Harlen and Jess are?
From "Albie" at 7:25pm: Jess is with me. I don't know where Harlen is.
My stomach dropped, but before I could reply Albie sent another text, and what I read made my blood run cold.
From "Albie" at 7:25pm: There is smthing moving in the hallway outside the room we r in. Stay quiet and keep ur phone on silent. If we need to contact each other use text.
It was around thirty minutes after when Albie replied with another text updating me with their situation. The thing stalking outside their room a while ago was gone now, and it hadn't come back.
From "Albie" at 8:00pm: We're going to make our way to you. Stay where u r
To "Albie" at 8:02pm: Ok. Be careful.
I slowly got to my feet and set my phone down beside the sink and took a deep breath to level my breathing. Suddenly, I heard something pound against the door. I screamed and stumbled backward. "Holy shit!"
"Kaya?" It was Harlen. "Kaya, is that you?"
"H-Harlen?" I collected myself and made my way over to the bathroom door. I walked into the hallway, relieved that I wasn't alone anymore. Harlen was safe, thank God. "Oh my god, Harlen I'm so glad you're-"
I gasped, and I stumbled forward as the door behind me slammed shut. I felt a sudden wave of dread wash over me as my eyes swept up and down the vacant hallway. Whatever was keeping us here tricked me. I quickly tried going back into the bathroom, but it wouldn't open, not only that but I left my phone by the sink. "No! Damnit!" I needed my phone, it was my only way to stay in contact with my friends, and how was Albie going to know where I was? I had two options, I could try and make my way to Albie or find another place to hide.
My heart thudded loudly in my ears as my headlamp bounced off the walls, chasing nothing more than shadows. I stuck close to the wall as I made my way down the hall. From somewhere down the hall, I heard a voice call out. It was Albie's voice telling me to come over to him. I hesitated for a moment. What if it was another trick? It definitely could be since whatever is toying with us was capable of mimicking voices. What if it really was Albie? Regardless, I had to go passed the room if I wanted to find Albie or another place to hide.
"Kaya, we're in here," Albie whispered to me as I got closer to one of the bedrooms. I hesitated before I stepped inside. The bedroom smelled awful, like rotten meat hung out in the sun for too long. My headlamp's light swept the room until it landed on a lone figure lying face-up on the bed.
"...Albie?" I whispered, tentatively. My voice sounded thin, like old paper. The figure on the bed didn't answer, but when I crept closer, I slipped on something wet. I glanced down at the floor. It was blood; a trail of blood led in from the doorway all the way to the bed. "Oh my god!" I screamed. My stomach rebelled and I heaved out my lunch until I couldn't expel anything else.
My throat burned as I wiped my mouth, and my chest hurt from sobbing out his name. Mark laid sprawled on the bed, his abdomen was ripped open and what remained of his entrails spilled over his body like a gory blanket. I stumbled backward, I fell against the door closing it shut. I was about to leave when I spotted the gun tucked under Mark's jacket.
Oh god, this was probably the worst decision ever and the likelihood that this was yet another trick was high, but I needed something to protect myself with. I've watched Mark use it before when we all went camping a year ago, so I kind of knew how to use it. I steeled myself and started toward the bed.
The closer I got the more I can see the damage done to his body; his abdomen and chest cavity were open and hollowed out. The skin looked like it was rolled back, torn and ragged. His sternum was completely gone, a few of his ribs were cracked so they protruded from either side of his body like fangs. Half of his bottom lip looked like it was chewed off and his left ear was missing. I shook my head and tentatively reached out for the gun. Just as I grabbed it, I felt something gooey covered on the grip of the gun.
I yelped and dropped it on the floor. I cursed and bent down to pick it up. Once I did I wiped the substance off with my sleeve with a grimace and made sure the safety was on. I was tucking it into my jacket pocket when something dripped onto my hand. I looked up and saw Mark or what used to be Mark looming over me from the ceiling like Spiderman. His eyes were oily black, his face twisted in an agonized and vengeful expression. Before I could move, he threw himself at me.
Somehow, I managed to dodge him and wrench the door open, hitting Mark as he lunged at me. The blow was hard enough that it sent Mark sprawling across the floor. I rushed out of the room and back into the empty hallway. I took a chance and looked back, but Mark wasn't there.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I felt hands grab me and pull me around the corner. I opened my mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over my mouth, silencing me. Panic cut through my body like a hot blade, and new found adrenaline flooded my system as I twisted and shoved at the person holding me immobile.
"Kaya, stop," Albie hissed. "It's me."
I turned around and my eyes widened with tears as Albie released his hand from my mouth, and Jessica pulled me into a hug as I told them what happened. Albie pointed towards the stairs and motioned for us to follow. Albie led us into the foyer. We heard movement in the basement so as quickly and quietly as we could, we crawled inside a closet across from the living room.
"What are we going to do?" Jessica asked. "We have no weapons!"
"I found this on Mark's body." I exclaimed as I showed them the hand gun.
Albie got to his feet. "ah, crap...I'm going to be right back. I left my camera in the kitchen."
"What? Hell no." I hissed. Splitting up is a terrible Idea! Risking his life for that damn camera? Was he an idiot?
"Just stay here, alright? Kaya, keep that gun out." He said, with no room for an argument. "Whatever this thing is, it can mimic our voices so we'll need a password to distinguish them from us." He took out his phone and typed Last Alliance
After he left, I crawled over to the door and locked it. I sat down next to Jessica who was sobbing. I turned to her and placed my palms to her tear stained face. "Hey, Jess. We'll make it out of here alright? I promise-"
Jessica shook her head and pushed my hands away from her face. "Don't say that shit to me. We're going to die here, Kaya!" She hissed. "Why is this happening? I wanna go home!"
I sat back against the wall and sighed.
Ten minutes later I heard movement coming from outside the room. I quickly got to my feet and placed my hands on the door.
"Last Alliance," Albie whispered, rather quickly. "Hurry up and let me in."
I hadn't even released the door knob when Albie pushed passed me and helped Jessica to her feet without much protest on her end. "Shit, it was him all along."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I caught it on camera!" He whispered frantically. "The reason he brought us out here wasn't to-shit-" he was breathing hard. He moved toward me and shoved the camera in my direction. "Here, hold onto it for-" His sentence was cut off abruptly as the thing that used to be Mark drilled his fist into Albie's chest from behind. Albie's eyes widened as his mind had come to the realization at what happened.
Mark dropped Albie's body on the ground and his lips twisted into a manic grin as he examined his blood-covered arm. "He was spying on us," Mark said, but it didn't sound like Mark anymore. His voice sounded like several voices overlapping, fighting for center stage. "He didn't think that we would notice, but we did."
We screamed, and holding onto the camera with one hand I pulled her toward me with the other, quickly. We couldn't save him, and I knew that if we didn't move now we would end up just like him.
Jessica and I bolted down the hallway and back up the stairs. We found an empty room that must have been a personal office at one point, and barricaded ourselves inside. I cursed when I noticed the room we were in didn't have a window wide enough for us to escape through. I sat against the wall beside Jessica who sobbed into her sleeves.
I glanced down at the camcorder which felt heavy in my hand. What did Albie capture on camera that had him so upset? I turned it on and what I saw on the screen made my blood run cold. It was Harlen, the kid from the basement who stood beside Harlen, and the thing that used to be Mark; Harlen was speaking to him, but it was in a strange language that I couldn't understand. After he was finished, the thing that used to be Mark knelt down as if Harlen was some kind of royalty, and that was where the video stopped.
I heard that thing right outside the room we were in. He was telling us that no matter what we did, we were not leaving this place. A few seconds later, he broke through the door, pushing the desk and chairs out of the way with ease. With the force, one of the chairs knocked me to the floor.
He released a sick and twisted laughter, and stalked toward me, eyes filled with malice. Jessica grabbed something heavy from the floor and chucked it at Mark. Mark was startled for a second, and then slowly turned his attention to her. She yelped and frantically swept her eyes around the room for anything she could use as a weapon. He lunged for her and they collided to the floor.
I fumbled for my jacket's zipper for the gun, but I was too late. I watched in utter horror as he ripped into my friend; her screams of terror and agony will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life. I pulled myself to my feet, my back bumped into something hard. A metal filing cabinet. Mark turned his attention back on me, but before he could reach me, he tripped over something and he fell to the floor. I shifted, and using my whole body weight, I managed to tip it over. It landed on top of Mark with a sickening crunch of bone and viscera.
I slowly made my way to Jessica's body and collapsed to my knees. I clutched at my own head and screamed until it hurt. At that moment, all I wanted to do was crumble in defeat. My voice had broken into heavy sobs so loud and ugly that I almost didn't hear Harlen's footsteps behind me.
"Kaya, is that you?" He called out to me, his voice full of worry. I was hardly listening to him. This was his fault! Rage spiked through me like a knife to my gut, it twisted and turned until I was all ground beef inside; I had the sudden urge to pull the gun from my jacket and-no, I had to calm down. Maybe if I feigned ignorance, I might still have a chance to escape, however slim that was. He bent down, and I let him pull me along with him without protest. With his eyes forward, I slowly put my hand on the gun.
We were almost to the kitchen when Harlen turned around, and leaned against the wall. "So, you know, don't you."
It wasn't a question. I slowly pulled out the gun, unlocked it, and trained it on him. He stared at me with an unsettling expression, and I could have sworn his eyes were black. I suddenly felt an intense pressure pour down on me. I could feel a miasma of something intense as his eyes bore into mine; my arms trembled with the effort of keeping them aloft. The gun clenched tightly in my hands like a life line. I couldn't faulter. I knew that if I did, even for an instant, Harlen would undoubtedly kill me.
"Oh, don't be like that, Kaya. You're not getting out of this house unless I say so, so let's just chat, hm?"
I shook my head and raised the gun to his chest, and for a brief moment I caught a glimpse of a surprised expression on his face when I pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot reverberated around me. I pulled the trigger again and again, but the gun was empty. I dropped it to the floor, my hands shaking. He glanced down at himself. "Huh. Well, would ya look at that, you managed to get me through the ribs, good job."
I was running before Harlen finished his sentence. However, he wasn't coming after me-at least not yet. Figures. I couldn't leave this place so he had no reason to put much effort into the chase. I stumbled through the house, catching myself on overturned furniture in order to keep my balance as I made my way towards the stairs.
I tripped over something and I caught myself against the wall across from the stairs. I paused for a moment to catch my breath. The house seemed to resonate with his manic laughter. I glanced behind me, and I felt a wave of cold dread as he sauntered toward me down the hall. Hands in his pockets, with an almost amused expression.
"Where do you think you're going, Kaya?" He asked. "Didn't I tell you before?"
The words, "There is no escape" suddenly appeared all over the walls in blood. I cursed, and pushed myself off the wall and bolted up the steps, down the hall, and into one of the bedrooms and quickly closed the door. I looked around at what was once a child's room. There was a twin sized bed in the center of the room, a nightstand across from the closet, and a bathroom.
I spotted a decent sized window and I ran over to it, but it wouldn't open and I cursed when there was nothing around me to break it with. Without any time to come up with a plan, I quickly slid underneath the bed and turned off my headlamp. I immediately cursed at myself again, of all the places to hide I chose the first place any one would look!
I contemplated whether or not to find another hiding place, but before I could move I heard him make his way down the hall singing that creepy ass song. "My honey I know with the dawn that you will be gone, but tonight you belong to me, just little 'ol me~"
The bedroom door opened. I covered my mouth and tried to silence my breathing, hoping to God that he wouldn't find me under the bed. I watched in fear as he closed the door behind him and made his way over to the bed. The bed dipped slightly as Harlen's weight sank onto it. He told me things I didn't want to hear and more. This monster-this demon-slithered into our lives just for all of this to happen.
My eyes widened and I tucked my arms to my sides, the wooden bed frame gave a protest above me as Harlen laid down on top of it. Then he sighed, almost forlorn. "This was my brother's room, you know. Coming back here brings back so many memories,"
Right after he said that I felt something prickle behind my eyelids. I shut my eyes tightly as gruesome scenes appeared inside my head. There was so much blood, and images shown of a young boy in pajamas stalking through the house with an ax in his hands picking off his family members one by one-doing things a normal child his size wouldn't be able to do, but Harlen was anything but normal. I felt bile rise in my throat but I managed to keep it down.
"The final stage of grief is acceptance, Kaya." He said. His cruel voice brought me back to the present. "You have a lot of spirit, I like that. I'm also in a good mood so I'll give you two options: you can either die here or you can come with me. You should be grateful that I'm even giving you an option. So, what's it going to be?"
I opened my mouth and closed it again; what was I supposed to say to something like that? What was going to happen to me if I said yes? If I said no...
A low growl -yes, a growl- rumbled above me and I felt something snag my ankle. I panicked, my fingers tore into the wooden floor as I was dragged out from underneath the bed. I was thrown across the room, pain shot up my back as something bit into my spine. Harlen straightened up and started toward me. I quickly averted my gaze, the panic swarmed all over me like a hive of angry bees.
"Wh-why are you d-doing this?" I asked, my breath hitched between sobs.
Harlen knelt down in front of me. "Hey...hey look at me, Kaya."
Absolute terror gripped me as he forced me to look at him. His features weren't human; the light of the moon highlighted the inhuman planes of his face. Black, spidery thread-like lines creeped around his forehead and right beneath his oily black eyes. His mouth had split open, wider than any human mouth was capable of.
His nails grew long and sharp against my chin. It was mesmerizing, fascinating almost, like watching a lion's face before it tears yours off. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe; my lungs felt swollen and inflamed, my hands came up to my throat as I coughed and wheezed. Was this an asthma attack? No, it was Harlen.
"When I ask you a question, do not answer it with another question do you understand?" He snarled. "You will understand why when you arrive. Now, will it be a yes or a no?"
His features calmed and he looked human again, and whatever power on me broke, it allowed me to inhale sharply. I gasped. I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to rage. Instead, I dropped my hands on my thighs. I wanted to live.
◇
"Kaya, honey" My mom said, as she came into my hospital room, "You've got someone to see you this morning! One of your friends from school, I think."
I placed my book down on the table beside me. She bent down and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "And he's very attractive," She whispered, "It's not every day a tall handsome boy comes to sit by your bedside."
I nodded and gave her a small smile as my chest filled with dread. The doctor informed my mom that I was found in the middle of the woods, unconcious by a young man. She had no idea what really happened to me or what happened to my friends'. Harlen told me that he had ways of covering his tracks so there was no use in telling anyone what really happened. It didn't matter if I did or not because no one would believe me anyway.
Harlen came around the corner with a bouquet of flowers. My mom smiled at him and walked toward the door, "I'll just leave you two alone. What did you say your name was again?"
"My name is Harlen," He said, as he stepped forward. "Harlen Lockwood."
"Nice to meet you, Harlen," She said, smiling back at him before exiting the room.
Harlen placed the flowers on the table and sat down next to the hospital bed, he placed a hand on my thigh. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, Kaya." He said. He gently pushed a loose strand of my hair out of my face and gently tucked it behind my ear. "Remember what we talked about. You will come to me after you are discharged from the hospital,"
I shivered at his touch, and out of curiosity I asked, "What happens if I don't?"
Harlen let loose a dark chuckle. His head dips until his lips skate by the curve of my ear. "Then I'll hunt you down." He whispered to me like it's obvious. "I'll kill you and everyone you care about. I'm capable of all sorts of horrors; things you can't even imagine." I watched as Harlen stood up from the seat.
"Now, I've got a few things to do before you arrive," Harlen said, smiling down at me. He paused by the room's door. "I'll see you soon."
His visit was a few days ago. I've made up my mind; all of those lives are dependent on me. Everything that happened that night was real. I know that most people won't believe me, but to be quite honest I don't care anymore.
[Update] I just got the news I'll be discharged tomorrow.