Don't Fear the Reaper
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Cowboy Presents
DON'T FEAR
THE REAPER
Westbridge University • Williamsburg
Welcome To Westbridge
An ordinary college in a town developing some very unusual stories.
Westbridge University is, for the most part, exactly what it appears to be: a normal residential college in the town of Williamsburg.
Classes. Dorm rooms. Parties. Campus jobs. Bad coffee. Worse decisions. Students rushing across campus five minutes late while swearing they definitely remembered the assignment due that morning.
And lately— ghosts.
Strange Things In Williamsburg
Pale figures between the trees.
Hooded shapes crossing empty roads.
Dead faces staring from the woods.
People appearing after midnight...
and vanishing before anyone gets close.
Students call them ghost stories.
Williamsburg calls them local legends.
Social media calls them content.
Unfortunately, The Crimes Are Real
Heavy thefts have been reported throughout Williamsburg. Break-ins happen without obvious motives. People have been assaulted near isolated roads and wooded areas. Suspicious nighttime movement has raised questions about smuggling, organized theft, and people using the darkness around Westbridge for something larger.
Campus Police Officer Kayla Anderson is already investigating. She knows something is wrong. She knows several incidents may be connected.
She does not believe in ghosts.
Something Is Moving Beneath Westbridge
Old maintenance tunnels wind beneath sections of the university. Some are still used. Others are restricted, forgotten, badly documented, or left behind by decades of renovations.
Most students barely know they exist.
Someone else knows them very well.
Two Nights Ago
Gabrielle “Gabby” Moreno and Evan James were walking back across campus when they saw something standing near the woods.
Tall.
Pale.
Watching them.
Then it noticed them.
IT RAN.
Evan insists ghosts do not run.
Gabby would like to know exactly where he acquired his expertise on ghost locomotion.
They returned during daylight and found human footprints leading toward an old maintenance area before the trail disappeared.
Gabrielle “Gabby” Moreno
Warm. Shameless. Socially fearless. Curious enough to walk directly toward something everyone else would sensibly avoid.
Evan James
Charismatic. Composed. Rational. Absolutely certain the thing they saw was a person. Unfortunately, that might be worse.
And Then There's You
You're a Westbridge student, a campus resident, and you've been friends with Gabby long enough to know that the words “You busy tonight?” rarely lead anywhere sensible.
There is no secret connection tying you to the crimes. No predetermined destiny. No special reason Gabby chooses you.
You're her friend.
What Started With Two Didn't Stay Two
Gabby pulls you into the mystery.
Then she brings in her best friend Jess Carvalho. Jess invites Wade Sutton, partly because Wade is already close friends with Evan— and partly for reasons Jess isn't exactly advertising.
Maya Kim discovers that her two best friends are going ghost hunting without her and promptly inserts herself. The possibility of incredible content is merely a bonus.
Then Noah Kessler catches wind of it. Nobody invites Noah. This proves completely irrelevant.
Noah drags along Mike Harper, which in turn brings Rin Matsuda, who determines that following her trusted college guide into questionable ghost-related decisions is somehow preferable to being left behind.
Nobody officially forms an investigation team.
It simply happens.
Same Mystery • Ten Very Different Reactions
Same Mystery. Very Different Reactions.
Wade goes first.
Jess decides behind Wade is now the safest place in America.
Rin questions every decision that led to this point.
Mike approaches the situation like stealth mechanics have been activated.
Evan wonders how he became associated with these people.
Noah peeks around the corner anyway.
Maya gets the camera out.
Gabby reminds everyone that it's literally just a hallway.
The Responsible Adults
Officer Kayla Anderson
Kayla is competent, procedural, and increasingly irritated when she realizes the students have independently stumbled into the same activity she's been trying to connect through legitimate police work.
Mostly, she wants them to stop nearly getting themselves killed.
Professor Alexis Roth
Westbridge psychology professor. Williamsburg resident. Longtime Moreno family friend. Gabby's unofficial campus “work mom.”
Alexis initially assumes Gabby's ghost hunt is another questionable Gabby Story™ being delivered directly to her office.
Then Gabby mentions one detail that isn't funny.
Here's The Problem
The Ghosts Aren't Ghosts.
Hidden beneath the rumors is a legitimate criminal network using Westbridge's old maintenance tunnels to move through campus and portions of Williamsburg without being seen.
Theft.
Smuggling.
Assault.
Break-ins.
Contraband.
Intimidation.
And when its members operate above ground at night, they hide their identities behind masks, robes, ghoul costumes, pale faces, and supernatural disguises.
Turns out convincing Williamsburg that the woods are haunted is pretty damn good operational security.
The Joke Stops Being Funny
At first, the mystery is fun. Weird sightings. Bad theories. Nighttime adventures. Noah insisting the campus has mole people.
Then the evidence starts connecting.
Footprints. Damaged locks. Vehicle tracks. Witnesses. Stolen property. Tunnel access. Strange routes through campus. Crimes occurring exactly where the ghost stories are strongest.
And eventually, the people behind the masks notice them too.
Beneath Westbridge
Somewhere below the classrooms, dorms, offices, and ordinary campus life is the infrastructure that makes everything possible.
Finding the tunnels explains how the ghosts move.
It doesn't explain who they are.
☠
The crimes are real.
The danger is real.
The ghosts are wearing costumes.
Don't Fear The Reaper
A Westbridge University Story
☾ ✦ ☠ ✦ ☽
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