Discreetly For Now

You don't even consider taking the backpack with you. You pocket the letter and then seal up the backpack. You walk out of the quad, slowly at first and then breaking into a run. You only look back, and when you do you can almost swear that the backpack is already gone. You almost even trip over a guy sunbathing. If you weren't so spooked, you'd probably not make an enemy out of a six foot four muscular orange man, but your only thought is getting out of there as soon as possible.

Once you calm down some more, you look over the letter again. Shockingly, it does not vanish from your hands once you reach it. This thing is real, and someone left that bag there knowing you'd find it. Was it really the asian girl who left it? You didn't get a good look at what happened that resulted in the bag being left where it was, but you still could have sworn you saw her wearing that backpack.

You spend the next day half waiting for the alien tractor beam to pull you out of anatomy class. Everyone goes about their daily lives like nothing seriously ominous is happening, Todd even makes one of his rare appearances to pick up a guitar case from under his bed that you didn't even know existed in the half a year you'd lived together. You have zero desire to find out what is inside. Alas, by the end of the day you had still not been taken by aliens.

Or by the end of the next week, or the week after that. You still think back to the letter every now and then, but by this point you're pretty sure it was just some kind of prank. Which is why it's pretty surprising to return to your dorm only to find a piece of paper on your bed. Todd hadn't been back, and the door was still locked. As soon as you see the paper your stomach knows at once that it's from the same mysterious source as the backpack.

The paper is relatively simple. It features color pictures of four girls, all of whom are in at least one of your classes. You examine the pictures closely, the pictures look like they were taken by a relatively high quality camera, in situations in which they don't seem to be aware of a camera.

The first girl has dyed green hair, a free-spirited pierced nose, and wears a beany every day. She seems like a pretty cool person, and you've heard that she knows someone who knows someone from all of the major protest movements on campus. All of them. She's in your LGBTQ studies class.

The second girl is a petite brown haired girl with big bug glasses. She's the mouse girl who knows all of the answers in art history. Her clothes are so frumpy you'd be shocked to find out she's even discovered sex before. You've always suspected she'd be cute if she cleaned up a little.

The third girl has tall curly black hair and big tits. She's always kind of an air head when she talks, but you know she must be holding back some of her brains to get into a good school like this. She's in your art theory class.

The fourth girl has long black hair. She's in at least three of your classes, and has a look like she's kept alive by a constant IV drip of caffine. Her hair frays in every direction simultaneously. You've tried to strike up a conversation with her before, but you always get a reply that's as stiff as wood.

At the bottom of the page is a short message from The Ghost.

CIRCLE ONE. MAIL TO 611 HINBRAN STREET