After a few minutes of navigating the eerie and dimly lit hallways of the facility, they have arrived at a double-door with two MTF guards on each side.
Dr. Kondraki showed his key card and the guards nodded in, opening the doors and letting them pass through. They went inside the adjacent observation room and saw a man who was arranging some papers and files.
"Good Morning." Dr. Kondraki's emotionless greeting caught the attention of the man who immediately walked in their direction to greet them.
"Good Morning, Dr. Kondraki and Researcher Roswell. I'm Doctor Winston and I am here as a substitute for Dr. Beck's absence. He was having a meeting so he wouldn't be here." the man, now known as Dr. Winston, explained to the two.
Dr. Kondraki nodded in acknowledgement and he set his eyes on the two-way window installed in the room.
"It seems that 343 has a visitor. How long have they been talking?"
Dr. Winston looked at the analog clock and back to Dr. Kondraki.
"It has been two and a half hours now since they started conversing." Dr. Winston answered, while walking next to the two men.
SCP-343's visitor then stood up and appears to be thanking the SCP before making their way out of the room. At this moment, Dr. Kondraki activated the microphones and speakers installed in the chamber.
"Good Morning, SCP-343." Dr. Kondraki greeted, once again, in an emotionless way. 343 fixated his eyes, or what seems to be his eyes on the window.
"Good Morning to you too, doctors and to the young researcher with you." SCP-343's greeting surprised Christopher. He looked at the two doctors behind him.
"H-how?!" Christopher asked, his blue eyes wide from bewilderment. He's sure that the microphones inside their observation area was off when Dr. Winston greeted them
"Do not be afraid, My child. As you know who I am, I expect that, perhaps, you already discerned what I can do." A gentle, booming voice echoed inside the room.
The three men turned their head towards the source, and they found SCP-343 standing behind Christopher, with his arms behind him.
Christopher backed away a few steps before observing 343. He is not doing anything, just standing there, watching them.
"Tell me, My child, what is your name?" SCP-343 asked. Christopher looked at his superiors if he can share his name. The two doctors gave him the go signal.
"It wouldn't hurt to tell Him." said Dr. Kondraki.
"Well then, my name is Christopher Roswell. Nice to meet you, SCP-343." He greeted politely. SCP-343 gently smiled and walked towards him.
Christopher tensed. He doesn't know what to do. What does SCP-343 have in mind? Why is SCP-343 walking towards him?
These thoughts swam in his mind before he was brought into a tight embrace.
"Wait. What!?"
"My child, be of courage, for from today onwards, you are about to experience things, way beyond what you have from the last breach at your former Site." 343 gently said and released Christopher from the hug.
"W-what do you mean?" He asked, his face showing confusion.
"You will find out...but I want you to know," SCP-343 said.
He looked back at Christopher with a gentle smile.
"You are the key."
At this, SCP-343 walked back to his room and remained silent and unresponsive.
SCP-343's words and actions baffled the three men, but specifically left Christopher shaken.
"Experience things? Way beyond the last breach? What does he mean?" He thought.
Strange.
A cough broke the silence in the room. Christopher turned his attention towards the two doctors.
"We haven't done the observation, though we got something worth while. This observation is over. We will conduct this again some other time." Dr. Kondraki said as he extended his hand towards Dr. Wilson.
"Thank you for your participation today, Dr. Wilson." Dr. Wilson took his hand and shook it.
"Yours as well, Dr. Kondraki."
Dr. Kondraki faced Christopher, and gestured for him to follow.
"Let's get back to my office to discuss some things. Then after that, you are allowed to have your break. But then, you have to return after an hour." Dr. Kondraki sternly said as he expertly navigates the halls of the facility.
After a few minutes, they were back again at the familiar office door. It opened automatically after Dr. Kondraki tapped his key card on its security lock and they entered.
Dr. Kondraki walked back to his desk and sat down on his chair and fully focused his attention on the black haired researcher.
"That observation did not go as planned. It is to be expected as SCP-343 can practically do what it wants. But what we did not expect was its actions." His eyes turned into a serious one that made Christopher tense.
Seeing his underling's reaction caused him to sigh in a tired way.
"Well, whatever SCP-343 means, we still need to prepare on what it is. Who knows what will happen." He pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back on his chair.
"You are dismissed. I expect to see you in an hour."
"Certainly, Doctor."
Christopher left Dr. Kondraki's officed and let out a shaky breath.
"That was nerve-wracking and what kind of day is this?" He thought.
He was about to get lost to his own world again when he suddenly felt an arm slung itself on his shoulder.
"Hey, Glitch." A familiar voice greeted.
Christopher's eyes twitched at the name.
"When will you recognize it in your system that my name is not "Glitch"?" He asked exasperatedly.
"Heh. I'm not a graduate of computer science or anything, but when you caused those 15 computer units to lag and then shut itself down back in Site-19, I must say that the nickname is just appropriate." Damon said in an attempt to piss off his friend.
"You make it sound like as if I did it on purpose." Christopher replied. Damon laughed and lightly hit his friend's side.
"Hey. What are you going to do on your break?" Damon asked, placing his arms behind his head while walking.
Christopher was about to answer when his stomach grumbled. Damon laughed loudly while clutching his own stomach. Christopher followed the laughter of his friend shortly.
"Dude. You got to stop your habit of not eating breakfast. Your stomach just sounded like a whale. A dying whale."
"You are exaggerating again..."
"What? It makes it more fun!"
The two arrived at the site cafeteria and ordered their food. It was packed, as usual, by scientist and researchers. The light buzzing of talking people made a friendly atmosphere in the area.
"So, how's your day?" Damon asked after sipping his coffee.
"Kind of normal, save from what has transpired at SCP-343's chambers." Christopher said and continued eating his food.
"Well, what happened?"
Christopher placed down his utensils and looked at the plate as if on a trance. Damon noticed this and flicked his friend's forehead.
"Dude. If you don't want to talk about it, I'm not forcing you to." Christopher smiled at his friend's word.
"Uh... Everything started out fine at first. We met Dr. Wilson and observed SCP-343 while it is on its chamber. When its visitor left, Dr. Kondraki greeted it. SCP-343 turned towards us and greeted us back, but he also mentioned me even though I haven't let my presence known."
Damon hummed and urged his friend to continue.
"SCP-343 then appeared inside the room and it...embraced me."
Hearing it caused Damon to raise an eyebrow.
"Really? Did it say anything?" He asked. Christopher nodded.
"Yeah. He said something about what I will "experience" and that I was "the key"." Christopher said. Damon scrunched his face in confusion.
""the key"? As in SCP-343's key?" Damon asked, clearly not getting what Christopher said.
"I don't know."
"Oh. Well, you better be careful then." said Damon, finishing his cup of coffee.
"Yeah. I'll certainly do that."
Christopher then noticed his watch and abruptly stood up and took his plates to put it away.
"Hey, 'Mon, I need to go. My break is up." Damon nodded and waved at his friend.
"See you back at the quarters then."
"Yeah. See you later."
Christopher bid his friend farewell before heading back to Dr. Kondraki's office.
"Wait a minute... Where are the personnel quarters again?"
He arrived back at the office. He's late and he's probably screwed. After calming his breathing down, he called out to Dr. Kondraki, but there was no answer.
Christopher decided to enter the room by tapping his key card. He then found out the reason why no one answered him.
There was Dr. Kondraki, snoozing off while resting his head on his desk, his hat sliding down his brown locks.
"Doctor. Doctor... Doctor wake up." He called out to the doctor. Dr. Kondraki stirred and woke up. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes and yawned.
"Did I fell asleep?" He asked, clearly disoriented.
"Yes, doctor." Christopher affirmed. Dr. Kondraki, now aware of his surroundings, focused on his new researcher.
"I need to find a new way to keep myself awake." He said. Christopher placed his fingers on his chin, having a thoughtful face.
"Doctor. Have you tried listening to Haydin's Symphony No. 94?"
The doctor had a look on his face, clearly considering Christopher's suggestion.
"Haydin's Surprise Symphony? I'll try next time. But enough of this chit chats, I still have to tell you something." Dr. Kondraki's serious tone speaks of something important.
"What is it, Doctor?"
Dr. Kondraki reached out for a document and passed it on to Christopher. After receiving the file, he opened it and skimmed its content.
"Death's Record? The anomalous book that shows a person's day and manner of death?" Dr. Kondraki nodded in affirmation to Christopher's inquiry.
"Yes. You are assigned to do research on it. I count on you to do that."
Christopher smiled.
"Yes, Doctor."
Somewhere in Site-19, a figure stood in a corner, holding a radio transceiver.
"I believe you know of the details already." a voice said. A clicking sound was heard as the figure answered.
"Yes, sir. I'll immediately issue an order to the MTFs to tighten the security and to stay alert on that sector."
"Good."
Author's note:
Thank you for reading this story! Please leave your comments (hopefully some constructive criticisms). Please read and review. Love lots!
