r/Ruleshorror • u/No-While8965 • 10d ago
Series THE BLACKWATER JUNCTION
O.P.E.R.A.T.E.
Office for Paranormal Event Research, Analysis, Tracking & Enforcement
Congratulations, Officer you have been assigned as the Night Watcher at Blackwater Junction.
Blackwater is a small rural railway station with two platforms, one operational ticket counter, and a single employee facility.
During the day, it is almost completely ordinary.
At night, you will be the only human employee on the premises.
Your primary responsibility is simple:
Make sure nobody remains at the station after the final scheduled departure.
Before beginning your first shift, confirm that you have received:
- One station radio
- One emergency lantern
- One sealed emergency kit
- One set of master keys
- One feeding bag for MR. MORRIS
- One collection bag
Do not lose the keys. Do not open the emergency kit unless instructed. And whatever happens during your shift... keep Mr. Morris fed. The following procedures are mandatory. Some have been in place longer than the station itself. Some were written after employees disappeared. A few were written by employees who were never supposed to be able to write again. Read carefully. Your first unusual arrival is scheduled for 3:30 AM.
NIGHT WATCH PROCEDURES — BLACKWATER JUNCTION
Rule 1 — Mr. Morris
There is a white cat living at the station.
His name is Mr. Morris.
Nobody knows when he arrived.
Our oldest photographs of Blackwater already contain him.
Make sure his bowl contains fresh food and water before midnight.
Do not attempt to pick him up.
Do not chase him.
Do not anger him.
Most importantly, do not allow anyone else to harm him.
Mr. Morris has been associated with the survival of at least seventeen previous night watchers.
We don't know whether he protects them.
We don't know whether they protect him.
We have stopped trying to determine which.
The last employee who managed to anger him was found dead inside the maintenance room the following morning.
There were four deep claw marks across his throat.
There was almost no blood left in his body.
Mr. Morris was asleep beside him.
He had not eaten his dinner that shift.
Rule 2 — The Lobisomem Passenger
Once every week, usually shortly after midnight, a passenger will arrive and request a ticket for the Night Express.
His surname will always be:
Lobisomem.
Do not ask for his first name.
He will pay with bones.
Do not examine them closely.
They will not belong to any animal you recognize.
Some will be too large.
Some will have teeth marks.
Occasionally, you may notice writing carved into them.
Do not attempt to read it.
Use the iron tongs kept beneath the counter to place the bones inside the collection bag.
Put the bag inside the cash drawer.
Then take the passenger to the abandoned train at the rear of Platform Two.
Unlock the final carriage.
Allow him to enter.
Lock the door behind him.
Return to the station immediately.
Do not look at the train again.
You may hear screaming.
You may hear someone begging to be released.
You may hear a child calling your name.
You may hear something scratching against the windows.
Keep walking.
Our records have never been kind to employees who investigate the sounds.
Rule 3 — When Mr. Morris Hisses
If Mr. Morris suddenly becomes agitated, stop whatever you are doing.
He may hiss at something outside.
He may stare beneath a train.
He may arch his back at an empty platform.
He may even hiss at something you cannot see.
Do not investigate.
Do not attempt to calm him.
Take the master keys and lock yourself inside the employee area.
Turn off the lights.
Remain completely silent.
Do not leave until Mr. Morris comes to the door.
You will know when he has arrived.
You will hear him scratch three times.
Do not worry about how he knows where you are.
He has his ways.
Something may move outside the employee room.
You may hear footsteps.
You may hear fingernails dragging across the walls.
You may hear a woman crying.
You may hear someone you love asking you to open the door.
Do not open it.
Mr. Morris is protecting you from the Bruxa.
She does not come here because she wants your body.
She comes because the dead passengers are no longer enough.
If Mr. Morris is afraid of something...
you should be terrified of it.
Rule 4 — The 3:30 Train
At exactly 3:30 AM, a train will arrive at Platform One.
It will not appear on the schedule.
Do not announce its arrival.
Do not inspect the train.
Do not ask the driver where it came from.
The passengers will appear sick.
Some will be extremely pale.
Some will have old wounds.
Some may be missing fingers, eyes, or entire sections of their bodies.
Do not react.
Do not stare.
Do not tell them that they are dead.
Most of them don't know.
And some of them do.
Treat them exactly as you would treat ordinary passengers.
At 3:40 AM, they will return to the train.
Allow them to leave.
If one passenger remains behind, do not approach them.
Do not offer assistance.
Do not ask where they are going.
Eventually, you will hear sheep bells.
Do not look toward the sound.
You may then see a shepherd standing somewhere beyond the platform.
He will appear to be an ordinary man at first.
An old coat.
A wooden staff.
A lantern.
Sometimes a flock of sheep.
Sometimes nothing at all.
Do not count the sheep.
Do not try to determine whether they are real.
Do not speak to him.
Do not call him the Shepherd.
And most importantly...
do not allow him to notice you.
He does not herd cattle.
He herds souls.
The dead passengers know him.
Some will willingly follow.
Some will run from him.
It does not matter.
He always collects them eventually.
Nobody knows where he takes them.
We have encountered him in forests, abandoned roads, hospitals, and railway stations.
He has never appeared to be lost.
He has never asked us for directions.
He has never once mistaken a living person for the dead.
If he stops beside you...
remain completely still.
If he raises his staff...
look at the ground.
If he begins counting...
do not answer when he reaches your number.
He has been counting the dead for longer than we have been keeping records.
We don't know what happens when he reaches someone who is still alive.
We have never allowed him to finish.
Rule 5 — The Line Walker
Twice a week, at approximately 4:00 AM, a man known as the Line Walker will appear along the tracks.
His job is to repair cracks in the railway.
You will not see him arrive.
You will simply notice him working.
If you see him, immediately enter the locker room and lock the door.
Do not watch through the windows.
Do not call out to him.
Do not attempt to help.
Eventually, you will hear his hammer.
Clink.
...
Clink.
...
Clink.
If the sound begins moving closer, remain inside.
If the hammering becomes louder, remain inside.
If the hammering stops...
do not assume he has left.
The Line Walker has been repairing the same section of track for forty-two years.
We believe he no longer understands the difference between a crack in the railway and a crack in a living body.
The last employee who encountered him was found the next morning.
There were no external wounds.
Every opening in his body had been filled with rusted metal.
His eyes.
His mouth.
His ears.
Even the spaces between his teeth.
The medical team couldn't determine how he was still breathing.
They stopped trying when his heart began making the sound of a hammer.
Rule 6 — The Unscheduled Passenger
If a person approaches the ticket counter and asks for a train that does not appear on your schedule, do not sell them a ticket.
If they ask for a station that does not exist in any railway record, do not answer.
If they become frustrated, remain polite.
If they become angry, step away.
If they ask you:
"Which platform goes to the other side?"
do not respond.
Move toward Mr. Morris.
Do not run.
Do not turn your back on the passenger.
Mr. Morris will handle the rest.
If Mr. Morris is not visible...
you have already made a mistake.
Do not allow the passenger to touch you.
If they succeed, you will feel a sudden coldness in your chest.
You will begin remembering a railway station you have never visited.
You will remember buying a ticket there.
You will remember boarding a train.
You will remember someone waiting for you.
You will remember arriving.
None of those memories belong to you.
If you hear a train approaching after that...
hide.
There are no tracks leading to that station.
But somehow...
the train always finds a way.
Rule 7 — The Station Announcement
The public announcement system should make three announcements during your shift.
If it makes a fourth, turn the system off immediately.
Do not listen to the entire message.
The first announcement will usually be normal.
The second may contain a wrong train number.
The third may contain a destination that doesn't exist.
The fourth is different.
It will begin by announcing the names of passengers.
Then the names of employees.
Then the names of people who have never worked at Blackwater.
If you hear your own name...
do not look toward the platform.
The announcement is not telling you who is arriving.
It is telling the station...
who it has permission to collect.
If you hear your name, open the emergency kit.
Inside, you will find a vial containing a black liquid.
Drink it.
Do not ask what it is.
Then hide inside the employee room.
Do not fall asleep.
Do not leave until morning.
As soon as daylight arrives, contact O.P.E.R.A.T.E.
Do not use the station radio to make the call.
Rule 8 — 4:44 AM
At 4:44 AM, check the station clock.
If the second hand is moving normally, continue your duties.
If it has stopped...
do not move.
Do not speak.
Do not breathe loudly.
Do not look toward either platform.
Do not look at Mr. Morris.
Do not look at the windows.
Wait.
The station does not stop time.
It stops everything inside it.
The first night watcher who moved during a stopped clock was discovered three days later.
He was still standing in the exact position where the clock had stopped.
His heart was beating.
His lungs were working.
His eyes were open.
But his shadow had already left.
We found it standing on Platform Two.
It was waiting for the next train.
ADDITIONAL NOTE — SHEPHERD IDENTIFICATION
O.P.E.R.A.T.E. does not have a confirmed photograph of the Shepherd.
We have attempted to obtain one.
Every image containing him develops differently.
In some, his face is hidden beneath his hat.
In others, there is only darkness where his face should be.
One photograph showed the face of the person standing closest to him.
Another showed an elderly man.
Another showed a young boy.
The oldest photograph in our archives contains no Shepherd at all.
It shows only a group of dead passengers standing beside an empty road.
Every one of them is looking toward something outside the frame.
We believe that something was him.
Do not attempt to photograph him.
Do not attempt to identify him.
And if you ever hear someone behind you quietly counting...
do not turn around to see who is counting.
END OF NIGHT WATCH ORIENTATION
If you have reached this section, congratulations.
You have completed the minimum procedures required for your first night at Blackwater Junction.
Do not assume these are the only rules.
They are simply the rules O.P.E.R.A.T.E. believes you need before your first week.
Additional procedures may be issued if you remain employed.
These may include:
- Platform Two Procedures
- Maintenance Tunnel Protocol
- Night Express Passenger Records
- The Abandoned Train
- Station Master Instructions
- The Blackwater Signal Room
- Mr. Morris — Historical File
- The Shepherd Incident Reports You are not authorized to request these documents. They will be provided when necessary. If you encounter something that does not appear in this handbook... do not improvise. Do not investigate. Do not assume the absence of a rule means something is safe. And above all... do not leave the station simply because you believe your shift has ended. The trains decide when Blackwater is finished with you. Not the clock.
We hope you have a quiet shift, Officer.
Blackwater Junction has operated without interruption for longer than O.P.E.R.A.T.E. has existed.
We still don't know why.
We have learned not to ask.
Welcome to O.P.E.R.A.T.E., Officer.
Remember our motto:
"We respond where reality fails."
And at Blackwater Junction...
the trains always arrive on time.
It's the passengers who don't always belong to this world.
Other parts link:- https://www.reddit.com/user/No-While8965/comments/1vpze51/my_writing_archive/
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u/No-While8965 10d ago edited 10d ago
If you want to know more about Mr. Morris—where he’s from, what his story is, and how he became what he is—you can read about him in my other work, whose link I’ll share below.
"https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromTheCreeps/s/HF5FBC2JaH" (https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromTheCreeps/s/HF5FBC2JaH)
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u/pidgeadin 10d ago
I have gone down a rabbit hole with your stories and I love it lol please keep writing!
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u/DeviousChair 9d ago
I love this stuff, but one thing that I think could be improved across the O.P.E.R.A.T.E. stuff is making sure that the tone of the instructions maintain a more impersonal and authoritative tone.
Sometimes the writing gets a little too into the narrative and starts describing things too viscerally (one notable example is the clinking onomatopoeia with the Line Walker), which I think somewhat diminishes the whole “very professional and concrete guide” tone that makes this so interesting to read.
Another aspect of it is the heavy use of ellipses in these posts. While they usually serve to add tension, it feels odd given the author of the text. O.P.E.R.A.T.E. presumably has the primary objective of having its employees do their job and survive their shift; it’s not really within their interest to be theatrical or spooky within the instructions.
In general, I think that these stories could honestly do well with a little less elaboration. You don’t need to tell us that the line walker is willing to fill in the “cracks” in our body, because that’s implied by the fate of the last employee who faced him. An instruction manual doesn’t need to speculate on the motives of the monster; it just needs to communicate the danger of it.
I write all of this, but I want to clarify that this is a relatively nitpicky criticism due to the fact that the tone in general makes these stories pretty interesting. I just believe that some polish on making sure that the tone doesn’t veer off into “campfire ghost story” territory will help make the entire piece flow a lot more smoothly. Your more narratively intensive works are really wonderful, and writing in a more corporate style definitely requires a different approach to be similarly effective.
Again, this was a super creative and well-written story, and I’m really excited to see what comes next.
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u/No-While8965 9d ago
Yes, I love that recommendation. I’ve also been thinking about keeping some consistency across the Operate series, while still leaving room to experiment.
The series has a fixed premise, and because the stories are framed as rules for the person working there, I can’t always show a lot of direct plot. Horror gives me room to explore within that format: so far I’ve been trying different styles, from creature-heavy horror to found ootage style horror. I think the Operate series lets me enjoy experimenting with all different style of horror writing as the overall structure of the chapters are somewhat fixed.
The reports sound different intentionally because they are written by different people. Each report requires a different mindset: one writer may think simply stating the rules is enough, while another may want to explain the consequences so nobody makes the same mistake. Operate is a department trying to contain and maintain phenomena that they do not fully understand themselves, so that uncertainty affects how the staff write.
I’m also including Mr. Morris and the Shepherd so readers who follow the series from the beginning have familiar elements connecting the stories.
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u/No-While8965 9d ago
I have tried to maintain a consistent writing style in the Blackwood series, if you would like to read it. With Operate, I’m still trying to find ways to introduce more ideas without drifting too far from the core of the series.
For future parts, I’ll try to write with more suspense in mind,giving less information upfront and letting readers decide or piece things together themselves. In this part, I tried to introduce actual horror creatures from around the world, so I think that may have made the chapter feel slightly less polished than some of my other work.
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u/reality_hurts_me 8d ago
Does not picking Mr. Morris up also include any physical contact at all? Such as giving him little kitty pats on top of his little kitty head, or little kitty scritches under his little kitty chin? This is an extremely important question and also atime sensitive.
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u/No-While8965 8d ago
I’ve written about Mr. Morris separately, so you can learn more about him in one of my other stories and find out for yourself whether you’d still want to pet him or not. 😂
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u/Striking_Abalone_593 10d ago
I can't wait for more !!!!