After a long day of classes, I headed to the library. I could head home but Evan begged me to help him out with calculus. I’m no expert at math so Evan should’ve gone to one of the tutors offered at the campus. I guess he just wants another excuse to bother me since I can offer some help. The conversation went something like this.

“David, please. You gotta help me out here.”

“What is it this time, Evan? It’s ten in the morning. I don’t have time for your antics,” I said with an intentionally grumpy voice.

“You’re taking calculus, right?” He said with glowing eyes. “So help me study. We can go to the library.”

Then he ran off by himself.

What a pain. If I left him alone, he’d whine and complain about it tomorrow. I have nothing to do anyway. I would just kill time doing something else anyway.

I wandered through the campus trying to delay my arrival at the library. There were plenty of students going about. Some may have finished their classes ready to go home or study here. Others may have evening classes.

I yawned as I walked down a dirt path nearby the campus football field. This was just a little detour. I wanted to bother Jasmine a bit since she was in the gymnastics club. They do some activities around here since today was their time on the field. They must not have practice today since they weren’t around.

Then I passed by Paramount College’s famous water fountain. This was the location of the campus square. It was surrounded by the main buildings where most classes took place and the library by the end of the block. This was usually where many students sit by the grass or take a jog around. Sometimes club activities took place here. Then I found a weird sight.

A bunch of robed weirdos walked in a group. They were in a square formation, carrying flashlights and signs. I didn’t bother to read the signs and walked on the other side of the water fountain.

They scared off the students sitting by the grass as they gathered their belongings and ran off. The group marched around the square and chanted in unison. They were speaking in some foreign language. It sounded like latin. But if I were to be honest, it sounded like gibberish.

I wonder if this was the cult I heard about before. A bunch of weirdos in robes does fit the bill. But what was with the flashlights? Torches would’ve fit their image better. I guess they were warned not to use actual fire.

“What a bunch of weirdos,” I whispered to myself.

I walked up the steps to the library and entered. There, I noticed someone waving at me. I tried to ignore them but Evan was one of them.

“David, over here!” They shouted.

“This is a library,” I said in a loud whisper.

“Whatever.”

The person who called out to me was none other than Jasmine herself. Her backpack was hanging off of her chair and she had no books in front of her. Meanwhile, Evan was sitting in front of her with his notebook out.

I sighed as I wasn’t anticipating the extra person joining us today. I doubt Jasmine needed any calculus help either. I sat down next to Jasmine and sat across Evan.

“What are you doing here?” I said as I turned to Jasmine.

“Can’t I join in the fun?”

“What’s fun about studying?” Evan asked.

“I was bored, so I decided to bother you guys.”

Bothering was a huge understatement.

“Whatever, just don’t interrupt,” I said.

“Wait, you passed your calculus class too, right?” Evan asked Jasmine.

“Yup, with a 71!”

The librarian passing by shushed us. I could only say sorry while doing a light smack on Jasmine’s shoulder.

“Okay, let’s start.”

I let Evan tell me what topic he was currently studying. Then I assisted him with any problems he had with the questions in the textbook. It took awhile but after two hours, we finished a single section of the topic.

“There are still so many sections left,” Evan said as he was demoralized.

“Why don’t we take a break,” I said.

“Sure thing.”

“Finally,” Jasmine said with excitement. She stretched her arms as she was asleep the whole time I was helping Evan. “Is those weirdos still outside?”

I peeked outside the window along with Jasmine. After two hours, they were indeed still outside marching.

“Who do they think they are?” I asked.

“I heard they’re the cult. Remember?” Jasmine said with a curious look in her eyes.

“Yeah, why show up now?” Evan asked.

“I don’t know. They’re just a bunch of freaks in robes. Why should we pay any attention to them?” I asked.

“It’s better than talking about dumb ol’ calculus.” Jasmine pouted as she crossed her arms.

“You don’t have to be here you know.”

“I know that, David. It’s just that-”

Before she could finish her words, the ground shook. Books started falling off of the bookshelves. Students grabbed onto the tables and chairs they were sitting at. I looked around and noticed we were sitting by an extruding wall by the window. On top of it was a support beam supporting the floor above. We should be safe where we were sitting at, especially since we were on the ground floor.

The trembling continued for a while as it slowly declined. All the students were alerted. They looked around to make sure they were safe. The library itself was fine other than the mess of books all over the floor.

“Are you okay?” I broke the silence. Jasmine and Evan stared at me with widened eyes. They could only nod.

The strangest part was that this was an area that never had earthquakes. This was a first ever in this city. It made no sense at all. Scientifically, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

I peeked outside. There was a gruesome sight. The water fountain in the campus square was completely demolished. A giant crater had formed. It wasn’t as if something had crashed. It was as if the whole ground collapsed on itself, forming a bowl-shaped hole.

On the side of the hole were the weirdos in robes down on their knees. They started bowing towards the crater. I looked at the crater once more. It was just nothing. Just debris and broken water pipes leaking from the side.

What happened?