SCP-3008.
Object Class: Euclid.
Description: SCP-3008 is a large retail unit previously owned by and branded as IKEA.
SCP-3008-1 is a space resembling the inside of an IKEA furniture store. Extending far beyond the limits of what could be physically be contained within the dimensions of the retail unit.
Current measurements indicate an area of at least ten square kilometers. With no visible external terminators detected in any direction. Inconclusive results from the use of laser rangefinders has led to the speculation that the space may be infinite.
A person entering SCP-3008 through the main entrance and then passing out of sight of the doors will find themselves translocated to SCP-3008-1. This displacement will typically go unnoticed as no change will occur from the perspective of the victim. They will generally not become aware until they try to return to the entrance.
The IKEA store located in Stoughton, Massachusetts is located 20 miles south of Boston and 40 miles north of Providence, Rhode Island.
If it wasn't for Duncan breaking the coffee table during one of his 'mishaps,' the family wouldn't be making the time to drive over there. Annie had been looking through their website and was amazed by the design of the 'Trulstorp.' It's a silly name, but it doesn't really matter what the name was as long as it looked like something to show off to any guest that steps foot in the Harris residence. A message saying that the family took the time to drive to a location and didn't want to pay extra for shipping and assembly.
The first time Duncan visited that specific IKEA store was in the year 2012 when he was only seven years old. He had been introduced into the extremely inconvenient practice known as homework. Schoolwork that he couldn't do at school. Jack and Annie Harris thought it'd be a good idea to purchase a personal desk known as a 'Smagora.'
As horrible as the trip was, Duncan could vividly remember the one thing that made it all seem worthwhile. Those iconic meatballs they served in the dining area. The moment the aroma hit his nostrils, he knew he was attached for life. Even to this day, he considers IKEA his favorite restaurant. Better than Papa Mom's. Better than Chapman's. Better than DiMaggio's. There's no other restaurant that can compare. He enjoyed those meatballs back then and he's really looking forward to enjoying them now.
It started out as a normal visit to the furniture store. Kimberly and Jing went off loitering near the entrance and Jack and Annie ended up getting distracted. They were looking over nightstands that looked like they'd never need repairing. That was when Duncan decided to turn around and look for the cafeteria.
He thought it'd take one minute at the very most, but one minute became two, then five. It was nothing but furniture displays and shelves of junk. Did he seriously get lost in the store? It seemed like everywhere he turns, he's seeing more of the same things. No people. No overhead signs telling him where he is. It was like a maze. One that seemed to go on forever.
Sure, he never bothered to memorize the layout of the store. Why would he? He comes here less than once a year and he's always found his way every single time before so what would be the point?
About twenty minutes since he made the decision to separate himself from his parents and he's starting to feel a little uneasy. This is supposed to be a common retail building. It's a finite space. So that means if he walks in one direction for long enough, he'll just see a wall blocking him off. Well, now he feels like he's walked a whole mile and he hasn't seen any walls. Just more furniture displays and rows of shelves. He still hadn't seen any other people.
That's got to be the scariest part. The loneliness. Has anybody even realized he's gone yet? If so, how will they reach him? He tried to call his parents, but his phone displays that it's not picking up a signal. So he's really on his own right now.
Sure, he's been in an abandoned Circuit City before, but this takes horror to a whole new level. One he isn't experienced in. Trapped in IKEA. Getting more and more lost every time he turns a corner or tries to backtrack. Nothing but the sound of his footsteps to listen to.
Seeing that there was nothing else he could do, he just stuffed his hands in the pockets of his green jackets and began walking. Not turning anywhere. Just walking in a straight line for what he felt like hours. Something good should happen with any luck, he figured. Nothing would happen if he just sat around waiting for help.
It was just after twelve when the Harris family entered IKEA, so Duncan continued walking until the lights shut off. He checks his phone and sees that it's ten o'clock at night. So why else would they shut off? The store is now closed. Luckily, he's next to a row of beds. He's extraordinarily hungry, but until he finds some food lying around, he accepts he's going to stay that way. Though, he isn't too happy about it.
Wiping his tears with a pillow, he silently cries himself to sleep. His hope of being rescued dwindling by the second.
SCP-3008-1 has a rudimentary day-night cycle determined by the overhead lighting within the space activating and deactivating at times consistent with the opening and closing times of the original retail store.
SCP-3008-2 are humanoid entities that exist within SCP-3008-1. In all observed cases, they wear a uniform that is consistent with the IKEA employee uniform.
They are seven foot tall monsters with long arms and short legs. They also have no facial features with no eyes or ears and have hands big enough to crush a watermelon.
During the 'night time' of the cycle. SCP-3008-2 will become violent towards all other life forms within 3008-1. During these bouts of violence, they have been heard to vocalize phrases in English that are typically variations of "The store is now closed. Please exit the building." Once 'day' begins, 3008-2 instances immediately become passive and begin moving throughout 3008-1 seemingly at random. They are unresponsive to questioning or other verbal cues in this state. Though it will act violently if attacked.
It started with the sound of footsteps.
Duncan's eyes shot open as he got off the bed. Someone else is here with him. Maybe it's somebody who knows a lot more than he does. "Is anyone out there!?" He cries out. Trying to get the other person's attention.
For a second, there was silence. Then, for the first time in a long time, Duncan heard a voice. It wasn't a pleasant one.
"Excuse me, sir! The store is closed! You need to vacate the premises!"
Confused, Duncan takes out his phone and activates its light. It took a second to process a monster of some kind dressed in an IKEA uniform running straight at him with its arms outstretched.
Duncan made a run for it. He ran faster than he had ever had before in his life. With that… thing still chasing him, he spotted a wardrobe nearby and wasted no time stuffing himself in it. He went on to hold the door from the inside as the monster continued pounding on it from the other side for a long time. This was probably the closest Duncan has been to dying. Though there were times before where he came really close.
He ended up drifting off to sleep as his brain registers the sound of the monster shuffling away.
The lights came back on not long after and Duncan began a new day at IKEA. Wondering what new thing will await him this time.
His stomach still rumbling, he must have continued walking for an hour and a half before his nose picked up a familiar scent.
Meatballs.
After all this time… After all that walking… He had found a fully stocked buffet. He almost cried when he saw all that food lying out in front of him. It was all warm and fresh. Steam coming off every piece of meat and fish.
Swedish meatballs. Chicken tenders. Pulled Pork and fries. It was all his favorite foods right in front of him. Having gone without food for so long, he didn't even bother to use a fork or a spoon. His hands were his utensils. As he ate, he couldn't help but wonder. Somebody had to be resupplying this. Food can't come out of nowhere, can it?
Well, it doesn't matter. In IKEA, anything is possible.
"Well… you're pretty hungry, aren't you?"
Duncan turns around and is shocked to see a girl who looks to be 19 or 20. She has brown hair that extends to her shoulders and is wearing a gray tank top and camo jeans. Also, she's holding a fire ax.
After taking a moment to swallow the food that's in his mouth, Duncan speaks. "Whoa… you're a… person… A real person."
"As human as the day I was born." The girl smiles at him. "My name is Alice. I'm part of a group of people taking shelter next to some checkout lanes nearby. How about you come join us?"
"Oh, I'd… I'd love to join you… I'm Duncan, by the way."
The group of people that Alice is referring to is a short walk away from the buffet. Apparently, it is their primary food source which Duncan later learned actually replenishes itself at random. He just so happened to stumble across it at the perfect time.
There were about forty people in Alice's group. They were all fortified with the countless furniture scattered around the nearby area. Friendly faces that happily welcomed him into their makeshift community. They're all in the same boat. Facing the same storm.
One of the people in the group, Noah, a man in his late 40s, was kind enough to lend Duncan a phone charger that he carries around. While Duncan was entirely unable to access the internet, he does have a few songs he has saved in his phone's memory. These songs came out during 2020 and 2021. So when the people heard them, they were experiencing them for the first time. Just like when Duncan was back then.
Alice's favorite song was 'Industry Baby.' She had been in this place since December of 2019. So she was here for two and a half years. Duncan tried making a joke about how she'd been missing out what may have been the worst years of her life, but didn't even get a smile from her. The last two and a half years have been horrible. Death could still come at any time as long as the 'staff' was still roaming around. That's what everybody was calling those things. Occasionally one or more would end up killed by them during the night time. Yes, they fought back with all kinds of weapons, but no matter how many corpses they leave behind, more emerge from seemingly nowhere. Infinite space. Infinite staff. At least when you're grouped up with a team of people, you'd have a chance to, hopefully one day, escape from IKEA.
Now having been accepted into this new group, Duncan spent the next week helping out with anything that he could. It wasn't like he had anything better to do anyway. He thought of his family. He thought of his friends who'll probably never see him again. He enjoyed all the memories of the times he spent with Mia Abara. He had no regrets but that didn't mean he didn't miss them. They probably miss him too. He could only imagine what they may be thinking of right now. Probably that he was abducted and that really was what happened. Although it wasn't in the way they think.
As the days went on and he starts to get to know everybody a little bit better, he noticed something odd.
Everybody here is, without a doubt, a human being just like he is, but almost all of them claimed they never even heard of Stoughton, Massachusetts. Which was odd because it was literally the town where IKEA was located in.
Then it hit him. These people were shopping in IKEA stores all over the world. Not just in Stoughton. No wonder why the store hadn't shut down following the disappearances of so many people. Alice claimed that she'd never even heard of The Star Wars franchise. She must have come from a universe where that doesn't exist.
During one of their conversations, Alice told him something else: she has a plan to escape IKEA.
While she had been scouting out the store the last six months, she spotted a number of signs pointing to the direction of the exit scattered around the store. Every other day, she observed that they were moving around to different places when nobody was watching. After a couple months, she has believed to have figured out a pattern. If things go her way, she might have a shot at leaving the store and return back to her family.
SCP-3008-1 is known to have one or more exits located within. These exits do not appear to have a fixed position. Making it difficult to leave 3008-1 once inside. Using any other door besides the main entrance to enter the structure or breaking through the walls of the retail unit leads into the non-anomalous interior of the original store.
On day sixteen, Duncan was informed of the bad news: Alice had been killed by the staff. She had snuck away while everyone else was sleeping. There were half a dozen corpses of staff members littering the ground around her dead body. The fire ax was an efficient weapon, but it unfortunately wasn't enough for her. Maybe if there were two people accompanying her, she would have made it. But it's too late now.
Noah was the one who placed her corpse in one of the many boxes scattered throughout the store and wheeled her away in one of those large roller things that Duncan doesn't know the name of.
Everybody was sad that day. But it wasn't anything they weren't used to, he found out. That was when he couldn't take it anymore. He was going to try to escape IKEA. He wasn't going to wait to die in this place. If he's going to die, he's going to go out fighting just like Alice.
He grabbed her fire ax and packed up a bag of food for the long journey ahead of him. Who knows what may be waiting for him in the days that followed. Maybe other settlements. Maybe an empty break room to spend the night. Maybe more meatballs.
It could take months. It could take years. But it'll all be worth it if there's a day that ever comes in the future where he could see the doors of the exit right in front of him again.
A day where everybody welcomes him back home.
