By L
Colloquially known as “The Creature” to the students of the Evergreen State College, this monstrosity has been witnessed by an unfortunate few, lurking in the activities building under the cover of night, feasting on the Greenery’s produce.
Name: Gigastohorrem
Monikers: The Creature, Drain Eater, Slug Mother
Diet: Omnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Size: 15ft x 6ft (when not compressed)
Weight: 5 tons
Description: The Gigastohorrem’s coloration can be anywhere within a spectrum of light brown and deep obsidian black. The shades of color within one specimen can form linear and, in rare cases, speckled stripe patterns, that shift positions as it contorts its massive body made entirely of muscle. It is capable of hardening its body by tensing its muscles, making them hardier than stone. This creature is able to manipulate very large objects. It can take on distinct shapes and, being boneless, the flexible creature is capable of squeezing through spaces as tight as 0.5 inches.
It has deceptively dense white mucus lining its entire body, microscopic teeth dotted throughout which allows it to scrape its food, and large pores which it uses to absorb nutrients. The Gigastohorrem has limited vision; although lacking eyes, it sees through smell by forming a blurry picture using the scents it picks up on its teeth. Those who have had close encounters with this species, have reported it smelled lightly of a mix of sweet milk and an indescribable earthy aroma.
Our Gigastohorrem: It is unknown how “The Creature” arrived at Evergreen but it’s believed to predate the campus. It primarily feeds in the woods, causing little harm by itself outside of occasional damage to the forest when it’s getting ready to birth a new cluster. Fortunately, the local birds have learned to recognize the signs and eat many of the newborns before they can become a problem.
It is inactive for most of the year as it shields itself from the cold by burrowing deep underground. If the rumors are to be believed, it more frequently seeks warmth in the bowels of the Activities Building. The creature becomes very active during the summer when it is consistently warm enough for it to safely wander through the woods. On rare occasions, usually when it senses an unusually long hibernation coming, it raids the Activities Building by traveling through the pipes, getting too close for comfort as it becomes actively aggressive in its search for nutrients to stay nourished through the winter.
Past incidents have been officially reported as “student misconduct”. Additional cameras have been installed in the Greenery, but the incidents have been infrequent enough for drastic actions to be taken yet. While there have been no known deaths, those few who have encountered the creature have been met with an aggressive response. It is advised you stay clear of it.
Traits:
-Hardy: it is extremely tough to injure especially when contracting its muscles.
-Reflective mucus: has highly reflective mucus that makes it impossible to catch on camera.
-Pliable: has the ability to stretch and contort its body often making it be confused for different objects or creatures.
-Absorbent: constantly scraping away at its surroundings and consuming everything in its path indiscriminately. Its tissues absorb everything it consumes, making it especially vulnerable to dangerous chemicals and compounds.
-Tactile: due to its limited vision it interacts physically with its surroundings to gain a better understanding of strange or new things.
Origins: Believed to be native to very warm and humid climates, the Gigastohorrem were first depicted in ancient art by our early ancestors, although alleged experts claim these depictions to be meaningless blobs or stains. Most of what we know regarding their past are educated speculations that draw on the art our ancient ancestors left behind. It is believed they consumed every living thing in their paths, creating a writhing sea of earthy colors as they decimated acres of land in hordes. These near immortal pseudo-beasts were too massive for most predators to consume and were built with strong defense mechanisms. They were a threat to the natural order. Luckily, while able to reproduce asexually, their young were genetically distinct and did not grow to their parents’ massive size, unless exposed to a chemical that the Gigastohorrem excretes on death. Eventually, our ancestors were able to almost completely wipe them out, although information about the means through which they did this has been lost to time. The spawn of the Gigastohorrem eventually evolved into many of the species of mollusks we know today. However, a rare few survived and have continued to eat away at the earth unnoticed by the greater world.
