Here we are, another chapter!
Again, like I said in the previous chapter as this is my first story on , I apologize if I can't totally capture everyone's personalities, but I'll try my best!
As we've seen so far, multiple SCPs have now appeared in and/or around the area of Hawkins, Indiana, along with our favorite D-Class personnel escapee! Just as a refresher, they are:
SCP-076: Abel.
SCP-049: The Plague Doctor.
SCP-096: The Shy Guy.
SCP-073: Cain.
SCP-735: The Insult Box.
SCP-040: Evolution's Child.
SCP-105: Iris.
SCP-372: The Peripheral Jumper
SCP-682: The Hard-to-Destroy Reptile.
SCP-999: The Tickle Monster.
D-9341: Benjamin Oliver Walker.
I may or may not add more (currently leaning towards "not add more" at the moment), but these are the SCPs that will be starred for now alongside the main cast of Stranger Things whom we all know and love, or at least, we should know because spoilers are gonna be everywhere in this story.
Thanks to the main SCP Foundation wiki, historical/ geographical records and various Stranger Things episodes for info on the setting and characters!
"What place do you think would suffice?" Cain asked over his shoulder as he landed on another rooftop, The Plague Doctor and the Shy Guy right behind him.
"Possibly… an abandoned building… would be able to… meet our needs." The doctor replied in between jumps. As luck would have it, they found such a place a few minutes later. Stopping on top of a bank across the street, it appeared to be an abandoned hotel; about 5 stories tall and quite dilapidated if the several broken windows were any sign. The doctor and Cain looked around, spotting no one around and carefully leapt to the ground, the Shy Guy following suit after looking around longer than the other two.
"Oof…" The doctor muttered upon landing, his hand on the ground with his knees bent. Seeing the concerned look on Cain's face, he got up and brushed himself off. "My apologies, I am not used to such physical activity." He explained. Cain nodded, and they quietly crossed the street. They had managed to hurry to the hotel's entrance, which was a barely stable double-door, with red paint peeling off of it. Pushing his hand carefully against the door, Cain gently pushed it open, barely managing not to knock it down.
Stepping into the lobby, he and the Plague Doctor could both notice how run-down the place was; dust and garbage littered the floor, and the remaining furniture was, for the most part, knocked over and/or broken apart. The main desk was obviously empty, and it was completely dark with only the moonlight flitting through the (mostly) broken windows that provided any real light. Just a few steps in, the doctor looked like he was about to say something when the Shy Guy turned his bag-masked head towards him and apparently whispered something in his unseen ear. Cain raised a brow at the exchange, unable to hear what was being said.
"… Yes… this will do nicely." The doctor stated, Cain nodding his agreement. Walking carefully through the garbage and broken debris, they made it to one of the hallways that were adjacent to the lobby desk. Peering through the darkness, they found many rooms in the halls, along with an elevator near the hallway's entrance. Most normal people might've been deathly afraid or at least unnerved by the setting, but then again, none of the three of them were remotely normal. A creepy hotel was nothing compared to the other anomalies regularly contained by their captors. Looking around, Cain suddenly spotted a rather large pile of clothes on the floor near one of the intact couches, mostly winter pants and jackets with a few beanie hats, top hats and even a sombrero. Sifting through the pile, he beckoned to SCP-096.
"Here." He said, handing the humanoid a large black jacket with a hoodie, and long grey pants. Slowly and without a word, the Shy Guy took the clothes and, with some difficulty, put on the clothes given to him. When he finished, both the Plague Doctor and Cain could agree that he looked ridiculous, the pants barely even reaching to his knees and the jacket hanging loosely off his thin frame, as well as the jacket sleeves only reaching midway to his elbows. Cain somewhat nervously reached over and flipped the hood of the jacket over, covering his head. Combining the hood with the way that SCP-096 normally walked and stood with his head drooped and facing the ground, someone would have to be standing right in front of the Shy Guy to notice the paper bag still on his head, let alone his face. Cain glanced to SCP-049, who shrugged.
"It will do for now." The doctor said simply. Turning back to the hallway, Cain was about to suggest they simply break into one of the rooms when a loud, somewhat obnoxious voice called from the hallway on the other side of the lobby.
"HEY! The hell are you doing here?"
Turning about, both anomalies faced the source of the voice to see a young man standing in the entrance of the hallway on the other side of the lobby, his face covered in mascara and a rather ridiculous mohawk on his otherwise shaved head as well as a choker around his neck. Cain stiffened, yet stayed calm.
"Hello… me and…" He paused for a second to glance at the doctor and ridiculously-clothed Shy Guy, "… my friends here are just looking for a place to stay the night. We don't to trouble you—"
"Alright, look…" the young man interrupted, glaring at them, "I don't give a shit what you say you're reason is. All that matters…" He gestured to the area around them, "is that you bozos are in our turf." He stated. Cain raised a brow.
"Really? 'Your' turf?" He asked. The young man laughed haughtily, and spread his arms out. As he did so, several more people appeared from the dark hallway behind him: Two young women, one with dark skin and thick hair wearing a green jacket, and one with light skin with a bow in her hair, and an incredibly large balding man towering above the rest.
"Yes… Our turf." The teen proclaimed as his allies walked beside him, facing the anomalies as one. While the Shy Guy didn't react and the Plague Doctor merely gazed at them coldly, Cain visibly tensed even further, the situation reminding him very much of the incident that had gotten him noticed by the Foundation in the first place back in New York. It didn't help that these people seemed to be gang members much like those who had tried in futility to kill him back in New York as well.
"Surely we can come to a compromise." The Plague Doctor's deep and gravelly voice spoke out, his cold gaze staying on the man who had threatened them just now, causing him to glare back.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, didn't realize it was Halloween, already, old man." The first man retorted as he started to slowly approach the SCPs, his friends following close behind. "Yeah, nice mask, that's really scary. Got me quaking just looking at it." The dark-skinned woman taunted, voice laced with sarcasm, though the doctor didn't react in any way.
"Y'know, I've already had it with freaks like you just busting into our hideouts and thinking they can just get away with it. That, and I'm just pissed as shit, so, here's my compromise: You get the hell outta here…" The mohawk man then took out and brandished a switchblade, and was clearly experienced in using it, "Or we throw your bodies out onto the street."
Now Cain was really getting nervous, although not because he was intimidated. Far from it, the guards at Site-17 were far scarier than any of these hoodlums. However, he feared that should things escalate, it would end up exactly like how he'd first been found by the Foundation: Gang members assaulting him, only to be accidentally killed by his curse. He still kept a calm face, however, once the four gang members were standing mere feet away.
"I'm sorry, but there's no other option… we'll just stay in one of the other rooms for tonight only and be out of your hair come sunrise." Cain attempted to negotiate. The man, however, laughed, as did his comrades save for the large man.
"Wow! 'Sunrise'? Where do you think you are, buddy?" The man taunted, waving his switchblade threateningly, "Well, I'm assuming that's gonna be a 'no', then." He continued. Cain furrowed his brows. He tried to extend a friendly hand to him.
"Look, it's just one—" However, he was caught off-guard when the hoodlum suddenly swung his switchblade at his right arm, giving Cain no time to react, and the blade struck his right underarm, slashing through his sleeves. However, much to the shock of his friends, the mohawk-sporting hoodlum suddenly cried out in pain, clutching his own right arm and clenching his teeth. Blood spurted from a wound that seemed to appear from nowhere on his underarm. Cain, on the other hand, had no scars or marks of any kind on his own arm.
"Axel! T-The hell!?" The bow-wearing girl shouted, her and her friends immediately tensing and entering a defensive position. The newly dubbed 'Axel' bent over slightly, fixated on his injury. "The fuck… the fuck did you do!?" Axel screamed at the SCPs, stepping away slightly. The entire time, 096 hadn't reacted to anything at all, simply standing there and staring at what was in front of him. It was both unnerving and slightly irritating to both Cain and the gang of hoodlums they were facing, whether they might admit it or not.
"Please, calm down." The Plague Doctor held his hands to them in a peaceful gesture, causing Axel to stare at him incredulously. "'Calm down'!? The fuck!? What kinda freaks are you!?" He shouted, too focused on his injury as well as too hysterical to notice the doctor slowly reaching into a pouch on his belt. The other gang members moved up to Axel's side, getting right up to the anomalies.
"The hell you want, a fight? Cuz we can give you one…" The large man proclaimed, tensing his shoulders as if getting ready for a brawl. Cain was about to try to diffuse the situation once more when he suddenly heard a creaking noise from above him. He looked up just in time to see a large piece of debris falling from the ceiling, and he managed to leap backwards just as it came crashing down on the floor where he once stood. Then, from the debris, a large cobra suddenly slithered onto the floor, hissing loudly and approaching the doctor. "Be careful, fellows!" He warned his allies. To his confusion, however, the Plague Doctor and the Shy Guy both stared at him like he had just grown another head, seemingly unaware of the snake hissing at their feet, ready to strike. Axel and his allies seemed confused for a second, but then grinned and even laughed somewhat, as if they just had a realization.
"Oh, you're screwed now, pal! You better back off!" Axel yelled, approaching them with his blade again. However, the doctor just sighed, and slowly raised his hand from his pouch. "I said…" He paused, and then in the blink of an eye, he thrust his arm forwards, and a syringe suddenly flew from his palm and lodged itself onto Axel's neck, shocking both him and everyone else in the lobby, "… Calm. Down." The Plague Doctor stated, his gravelly voice seeming much deadlier and serious now. After a few moments of stunned silence, Axel suddenly fell over onto the floor, unconscious. Silence reigned for several more seconds before all hell broke loose.
"THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?" The large man shouted, staring with wide eyes at Axel's unconscious form, the two girls getting tensing and getting ready to fight. Already Cain could see the green jacket-wearing girl reaching into her pocket, no doubt for a weapon. Suddenly, he looked down and saw that the cobra was baring its fangs, ready to strike the Doctor, and without thinking he lunged forwards and grabbed the snake by its neck and wrangled it in his hands, holding tightly as it desperately thrashed about.
"Doctor! Help me!" He shouted, trying to avoid the snake's thrashing body. However, just like before, the Plague Doctor was staring at him weirdly. "Er, Cain? Are you… alright?"
Now it was Cain's turn to stare, while still wrangling with the cobra in his hands. "What-WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? Do you not see that I am currently trying to fend off a serpent!?" He shouted frantically. Usually he was much calmer in these situations, but the chilling memories combined with the overall absurdity going on made him lose his cool. The doctor and Shy Guy kept staring at him before apparently coming to a realization, humming to himself as he turned around to face the hoodlums.
"Ah. So, you too have anomalous properties…" He muttered, staring off at the other hallway. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing, except the cobra that continued thrashing about. Lowering his head slightly, the doctor's cold gaze suddenly seemed to take on a much more menacing look, glaring straight ahead. "I suggest you reveal yourself, and there will be no need for further violence. We do not wish for a confrontation, and are willing to negotiate amicably."
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, to Cain's astonishment, the snake he was trying to handle abruptly vanished, causing him to blink rapidly in confusion. A feminine voice with a somewhat thick accent spoke from the dark hallway across from them.
"Negotiate, you say?"
Out from the darkness, a teenage girl stepped out, no older than 15 by the looks of her. Like her comrades, she was dressed like a gang member/hoodlum, her hair dyed purple with a bit of mascara on her eyes. And like the doctor, her cold eyes sent a glare that seemed a bit intimidating for someone her age. "You came into our hideout, hurt one of our own and expect to walk out of here unscathed?"
"We did not intend to start a confrontation. Me and my…" The doctor paused to glance at Cain, "… friend were only looking for a place to rest until morning. I can provide your friend with medical aid, if you wish." He reasoned. The girl raised a brow at him.
"'Medical aid'? What are you, some witch doctor? Are you a freak like your friend?"
"As a matter of fact, I am a doctor. And although these injuries are not usually my area of expertise, it is still my duty to aid those in need of medical assistance." The doctor offered. The girl stared at him with a poker face, the doctor doing the same. Finally, she spoke. "Who the hell are you two?" She half-asked and half-demanded. Cain and the Plague Doctor glanced at each other before Cain spoke up.
"My name is Cain. And this is—"
"You simply call me 'Doctor'. This is…" He interrupted, gesturing to the Shy Guy and earning a slight glare from Cain, "… The 'Shy Guy', as some call him, or Zero-Nine-Six, if you wish…" The Doctor explained, causing Cain to furrow his brows a bit at him. However, the girl's eyes widened.
"… A number designation…?" She asked quietly, causing her allies to pause in their tracks. Cain mentally face palmed, having believed that the Plague Doctor might've already given them away. However, the doctor didn't seem fazed.
"Yes. We both have number designations. I reiterate, we will leave when morning comes and you will never have to meet with us again." He looked down at the unconscious Axel. "Before I treat your friend, may we please receive your names? We've told you ours… it's only fair if we know yours." The doctor asked, seemingly unafraid. The hoodlums seemed hesitant before the girl with a bow in her hair spoke up.
"Dottie." She said somewhat nervously yet strangely chipper voice. Then, the dark-skinned girl spoke, followed by the big man.
"Mick."
"Funshine."
Finally, only the girl with purple hair remained. She stared expressionlessly at the anomalies before she finally answered as well. "Kali. You already know Axel… crazy nut…" She muttered, gesturing to the man still unconscious on the floor. "So… you gonna help him?" She said. The Doctor nodded, and walked over and took a knee by Axel, reaching into a cloak and retrieving a roll of bandages. "So… how did you do that?" She asked, facing Cain. Cain raised a brow. "Do wha-?"
"Don't bother lying. You hurt Axel without even touching him. He cut you, yet he's the one that got cut." Kali pressed, taking several tentative steps forwards. Cain inwardly flinched. He'd hoped that wouldn't have been brought to attention… then again, why wouldn't it have? He contemplated telling them the truth.
'How would they believe me? They would immediately alert the authorities… then again, they appear as though they are also running from the law as well… either way, it won't negatively impact us in the long run.' He reasoned in his mind. Finally, he answered.
"… Would you believe me if I said I were cursed?" He asked. Immediately, Kali's eyes widened, as well as her friends. "Cursed? Like someone put a spell over you or some shit?" Mick asked with skepticism in her tone. Even the Plague Doctor gave Cain a scrutinizing look from the corner of his vision as he treated Axel's injury.
"… Something like that, yes. Should someone attempt to harm me in any way, directly or indirectly, they themselves will be inflicted with the intended damage instead." He explained, the memories not happy ones. To his surprise, though, they didn't seem too skeptical of his story. It could be that they saw proof in the form of Axel attempting to cut Cain, but…
"And… you?" Kali asked the doctor, getting him to look up at her as he worked, "Do you have any… strange abilities as well?" She pointed a questioning finger at him. He paused, and then answered.
"Yes. I am able to cure any and all ailments and diseases that plague mankind. Well…" He looked off to the side, "One of them in particular is my specialty…" He looked back to Kali, "But yes. Any disease, any illness, I am able to cure without issue."
"Huh…" Dottie commented, "So what about Mister Shy Guy? Any reason you're wearing a weird bag on your big ol' head?" She asked him, attempting to peer into his face behind his mask. Cain averted his gaze to the right. "Oh… let's just say he hates people seeing his face." He stated. The others tossed scrutinizing glances at him. "Why? Some accident?" Dottie pressed on, walking right up to the Shy Guy, who still didn't react or move in any way. Cain stepped up beside Dottie and the Shy Guy and held up his hands. "REALLY long story! Please trust me when I say simply to not look at his face! Please!" He warned her. Dottie raised a brow at him but walked off anyway back to her group. Turning back, she gave a half-mocking half-happy smile.
"So, you're a bunch of freaks then, right? Just like little miss Jane-!" She was silenced by Mick throwing a hand over her mouth. Cain raised his own brow but said nothing. Just then, the Plague Doctor stood up, having wrapped up Axel's arm with a roll of bandages.
"There. Your friend has been treated." He explained. Turning to the group, he nodded. "Do not fear, I have only rendered him unconscious using a dosage of diazepam, and will be fine upon his awakening." He elaborated. Kali and the others stared at him skeptically. "Really? Diaz-diarrhea-die-whatever the hell that is?" Mick asked, stumbling to say the word properly. The doctor gestured to the sleeping teen.
"If you do not believe me, feel for his pulse." He suggested. Funshine did just that, walking nervously passed the masked surgeon and crouching down near Axel, putting his finger on his wrist. After a few moments, the man nodded. "Yeah, he's fine… sleeping like a damn baby, but fine. Hopefully, he'll stop raving on about that thing he says he keeps seeing…" He confirmed, muttering the last part just loud enough for Cain to hear, and picked Axel up in his strong arms and carried him over into the hallway that he appeared from. Kali then turned her cold gaze to the doctor and the other two anomalies.
"So… what is it you want here?" She asked, still tense and ready to take immediate action. Cain stepped forward. "We came here looking for a place to stay. We had no intention of a violent confrontation." He gestured to the empty hallway behind them. "We'll simply stay for the night, and leave come morning without any further interaction between us. Fair?" He asked, not wanting for any further violence. Kali stared at him before turning away and walking back into the adjacent hallway where she'd walked from.
"Touch anymore of our group, and you'll be the ones needing severe 'treatment'." She stated coldly without looking back at him, disappearing into the dark shadows. Her friends stayed for a few seconds before leaving as well, Mick in particular giving them a nasty glare of warning. Cain and the other anomalies waited until they left to turn back and walk into the adjacent hallway.
"So… which one of these rooms shall suffice?" Cain asked nervously. SCP-049 seemed to be in the middle of the thought process when the Shy Guy once again leaned in and whispered quietly in the doctor's ear. After a few moments, the doctor nodded.
"Yes." He then pointed to a room in the middle of the hallway, on the right ahead of a part of the floor that seemed somewhat unstable. "That room will do."
Cain didn't say anything but nodded in agreement, the three of them walking down to the door that Zero-Four-Nine seemed to point out. The doctor approached first, carefully gripping the doorknob and pushing the door open. Holding it open, he allowed SCP-096 to lumber into the room first, still looking ridiculous in its terribly-fitting clothes. As Cain stepped inside, he instantly noticed the near-pitch black lighting, almost infinite amount of dust and overall rundown appearance of the room. At least it was a roof over their heads, though. While Cain was still looking around the room, SCP-049 wordlessly walked over to a dust-covered chair, brushed as much of the offending substance off as he could, and then quietly sat down, clasped his hands together onto his lap and leaned his head down onto his chest, closing his eyes. Cain raised a brow, and sensing his question, the Plague Doctor glanced up at him.
"We will need to get as much rest as possible, for I assume that we will be expending quite a bit of energy tomorrow." He said, then lowered his head back down and closed his eyes, presumably drifting off to sleep. Looking around, Cain realized that the Shy Guy was already hunched over in a corner, his face still instinctively facing away from the other two anomalies and hugging his knees as he sat noiselessly on the ground. Fending off the unease at being in the same room as these two rather disturbing entities, Cain simply laid down onto the dirty bed without bothering to use the even filthier blankets. Before he realized it, he had already drifted off to sleep.
Unbeknownst to Cain, Plague Doctor or the Shy Guy, there was yet another mysterious entity besides them in the hotel.
On the incredibly high ceiling of the lobby, where no one had once looked during the entire excursion, two bug-like compound eyes stared emotionlessly down, watching the two groups' confrontation. Long claws on the ends of sixteen mantis-like legs clung to the rounded-out ceiling, giving the creature an excellent view of the area bellow it.
The Peripheral Jumper looked on excitedly as tensions between the two parties seemed to rise, especially when the teen wielding a knife seemed to get cut while trying to slice the man wearing the dirty sweater. It had to resist the urge to screech and growl in excitement, since it was the same human it had been tormenti—er, following for the past few hours. Unfortunately for SCP-372, the situation settled down when the purple-haired girl apparently worked out some compromise with the hooded figure. Not that the Peripheral Jumper seemed to care, all the more victims to stalk and-.
Wait.
Its fly-like eyes suddenly focused and widened upon seeing the tall, slouched and incredibly thin figure that hadn't really been participating at all in the altercation, doing nothing almost like it didn't care. However, now that the Jumper had focused its senses on the figure, it realized that it had seen this humanoid before. Yes, in the room of glass that it had spent so much time trapped in…
Flicker.
With blinding speed and precision that no one else noticed it, Three-Seven-Two dashed down the round walls and sped off into the hallway that the hooded figure and mask-wearing entity had been about to enter before the confrontation started. Quickly entering through one of the already-open doors at the very end of the hallway, it paused inside the dark and barren room, its long and thin prehensile tail waving about behind its green centipede-like segmented body.
So… if he was here… were the hooded figure and sweater-wearing entity also loose from their captors? Who else was free?
All of a sudden, the Peripheral Jumpers' blood began racing through its long body in excitement, pumping faster and faster, and its reptilian jaws began opening and closing rapidly, trying not to make any noise to give away its position yet unable to contain its rapidly-building excitement. If there were others on the loose, that meant more subjects. More targets. More victims. More prey.
Flicker.
"Can I get a damn break, please!? Just ONCE!?"
Once again, Benjamin found himself running for his life. Instead of the usual Sculpture or Shy Guy like he had in the facility, though, he was running from a much, much bigger threat than ever before.
"WRAAAAUUWGHW!"
The Hard-to-Destroy Reptile roared hatefully somewhere behind him, its enormous footsteps causing the ground to slightly tremble as Ben raced through the dark foliage, darting passed trees and rocks under the moonlit sky in an attempt to escape the giant beast.
'Just my fucking luck to run into mini-Godzilla right after I finally escape!' Ben cursed mentally as he gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't keep running forever, though. He needed to find a hiding place.
Looking about wildly for any place that might help, he spotted the familiar lights of a town off in the distance away, and he stopped cold in his tracks. It had been a long time since he'd seen a town. Or anywhere outside the Foundation Site, really. As focused as he wanted to be in that moment since Six-Eight-Two was still right on his tail, Benjamin couldn't help but feel entranced by the foreign feelings of warmth and… how would he describe it… not alone…?
'S-So… that's what it all looks like, huh…? Are… are there answers to…?'
"GRWOOOAAAAAWRGH!"
His thoughts were broken when Six-Eight-Two's familiar hate-filled bellowing reached his ears. He spun around behind himself to see, off in the distance, trees and rocks being flung into the sky by the monster, which itself was unseen due to the dense trees and foliage in the way, as well as the darkness that the night casted. However, Ben had already seen firsthand what the Keter-level beast looked like not even half an hour ago, and knew that he had to keep running. He looked back to the sleepy town, and prepared to dash for it, but something stopped him from immediately rushing over.
'If I do this… no, I don't give a damn what happens to them, I need to… h-he'll destroy everything…' Ben mentally battled in his mind, knowing that if he fled to the town, SCP-682 would no doubt follow him and level the entire town to the ground before morning came. On the other hand, though, he really did not want to die…
"… Fuck…" He muttered, then lunged to the side and ran in a different direction than the town, shouting all the way.
"Hey! Can't catch me, you overgrown [REDACTED] gecko!" He taunted it, the beast's furious roars and changing footsteps indicating that SCP-682 had fully heard him and was now changing direction get right back on his tail, causing Ben to immediately curse himself for risking his neck once again.
'Those damn people have no idea what the hell I just saved them all from!' He cursed mentally as he charged through the foliage, panic beginning to settle in since he was just now starting to get tired. This, of course, meant that the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile would be able to more easily catch and devour him unless he found somewhere to hide or escape to ASAP. Out of nowhere, Ben suddenly saw a flash of pink and blue from a nearby swath of low-standing trees, and felt a large mass slam into him.
"Oof!" He grunted, feeling the wind get knocked out of him by whatever just hit him and getting sent flying through the air. However, instead of the leafy forest floor, he felt his rear and legs land on… a furry animal?
"Wait, what the hell!?" Ben shouted, realizing that he was now riding on the back of… something. It looked like a strange hybrid of a bear, salamander and a squirrel, covered in blue and pink fur. Even more surprising was the fact that, ahead of him, on the creature's shoulders, was a little girl wearing an orange sweater and purple pants, no older than 10 years old. Even stranger, the fact that she seemed to be enjoying the ride on this bizarre animal.
"Yay! Go, Mowie!" She shouted into the breeze as the large creature tore through the forest underbrush while effortlessly carrying the both of them on its muscular back. Just as Ben was about to start swearing once more in confusion, the girl turned to look over her shoulder at him, unintentionally startling him by revealing two differing eyes colored green and yellow respectively, with her yellow eye having a black sclera, indicating that her yellow eye was blind.
"Hi, mister! Don't worry, we'll get away from that big bad monster! There's no way he can catch up to Mr. Mowie!" She cheered, the wind somehow not whipping her bright pink hair around. Ben could only stare at her in absolute confusion and awe, his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly agape at the sheer absurdity of the situation . It was only until he heard SCP-682's angry roars behind them did he snap back to reality, gasping as he realized that he was still riding on 'Mr. Mowie' alongside a strange girl. Usually, he'd be spouting all kinds of questions regarding this entire situation, but right now he was primarily focused on living and not dying a horrible death at the hands of his giant and angry pursuer.
Looking over his shoulder as he gripped Mr. Mowie's fur to keep from possibly falling off, he noticed that they were traveling much faster than he was by foot, and while he could still easily hear the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile's roar and feel its rapid stomps shaking the ground, it was clear that Mr. Mowie was outpacing SCP-682 by some margin. What margin it was exactly, Ben did not care, as long as they were getting away from the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile. Relieved, he allowed himself a slight second to relax before immediately turning back to his apparent savior riding ahead of him.
"Uh… just who the hell are you?" Ben tried to keep himself from shouting into the wind, his utter confusion returning in full force. Looking over her shoulder, the multi-colored-eyed girl gave him a cheeky smile.
"I'm Emily!" She cried happily, apparently not caring that they were riding on an animal running faster than a car, "And this is Mr. Mowie!"
'Mr. Mowie' grunted in agreement as he sped between the trees, being careful not to drop Emily as she rode on his shoulders. Ben, on the other hand, seemed to be having a somewhat rougher ride, having to hold on to the thick fur on Mr. Mowie's back to avoid falling off. Suddenly, Emily pointed to the left of Ben's head.
"Oh! And that's Poofa! There you are!" Emily cheered. Ben raised an eyebrow in confusion, until he looked to his left and noticed the large, round, bug-like thing floating in the air right next to him, its long tentacles drooping under it as its sacs repeatedly inflated and deflated to keep moving.
"GAH! THE HELL!?" Ben couldn't help but scream in surprise, leaning back and almost falling off Mr. Mowie's back. Barely regaining his composure, he almost didn't hear Emily giggling in amusement.
"Oh, don't be scared, silly! Poofa won't hurt anyone! Isn't that right?" Evolution's Child asked, bouncing as Mr. Mowie bounded across the ground and rolling its shoulders as a result. In response, Poofa made a strange noise somewhat similar to a balloon deflating, except higher in pitch and quicker, apparently agreeing with Emily. While Ben was still struggling to comprehend everything, Emily seemed to notice his orange D-Class jumpsuit for the first time, gasping as she did so.
"Ah! You're one of the nice Foundation men! Are you going to take us home?" She asked almost innocently, but most of what she said went unnoticed by Benjamin, who suddenly went pale.
'Foundation...'
'She… She recognized my uniform… she's heard of the Foundation… so, then…?'
Ben's mind seemingly went blank, looking straight ahead without actually paying attention to anything at all. Emily cocked her head to the side in confusion, unaware of the effect that a single word had done.
"Um… Mr. Scientist-Worker person…? Hello?" She called behind herself to him, waving an arm in the air. To her relief, it seemed to do the trick, seeing as how Ben suddenly blinked rapidly, shaking his head somewhat and managing to get back to reality.
"H-Huh? Wha-?" He tried to say, but at that moment, several things happened, seemingly in slow motion. First, Mr. Mowie charged through several bushes and came across a large log in their path. Since he was still in full running mode, he bent low mid-stride and took off, jumping four feet directly into the air and above the log. However, he had evidently failed to notice the tree literally right next to it, and sailed right under a low-hanging branch as he jumped over the fallen log. Thanks to her low height, Emily also passed harmlessly under the branch, and Poofa just hovered above it. However, since Benjamin was significantly taller and older than Emily, he ended up getting smacked directly in the face and forehead, hard enough that he was forcefully pushed back and ended up falling back and right off Mr. Mowie's still-airborne body, landing on the back of his head on the cold, hard ground.
*Thud!*
"MR. SCIENTIST-WORKER PERSON!" Emily cried, evidently not yet knowing what to call him, pulling on the fur on Mr. Mowie's neck and bringing him to a halt like a horse. Jumping off his powerful shoulders, she landed on her feet and rushed to Ben's downed form, standing over his body nervously.
Judging by how still he was lying yet was clearly still breathing thanks to the rising and falling of his chest, Ben was knocked out cold. Not quite knowing what to do, Emily fidgeted, the adrenaline rush from riding on Mr. Mowie's back beginning to wear off and the cold night air starting to affect her. Looking around her surroundings, Emily was starting to get seriously worried. She'd seen what people looked like when they were in serious medical trouble, and needless to say, she did not like it.
She was on the verge of full-on panicking until she turned to her left and saw what looked to be some sort of scientific facility about two hundred feet from her. Walking slowly up to it and squinting her eyes to see better, it was pretty big, yet also seemed strangely deserted.
"H-Hawkins… National Laboratory?" Emily read aloud nervously, using the reading lessons that Dr. Habernathy and Logan had taught her during her stay with them. Looking around, she saw nobody else in sight, which wasn't very far due to how dark the night was. Fidgeting more than before, and thinking of nothing else, she motioned to Mr. Mowie.
"U-Um… M-Mr. Mowie! Can you bring the Scientist-Doctor-Worker person to this shelter please?" She asked him. With a mix of a bark and a grunt, he gently grabbed Ben's shoulder in his blunt teeth and dragged his unconscious form carefully onto the dirt road leading to the abandoned lab. Luckily, the 9-foot tall gates were left slightly ajar by whoever had been here last, and Emily carefully opened them while Mr. Mowie dragged him to the lab's entrance. They made it to the front double doors, which were obviously locked and required a card to be scanned by a card-scanner on the wall. Emily stared up at the doors, pondering how to get in, until her sleeve began vibrating, causing her to look down at it.
"Huh? You have an idea, Flozzle?" She apparently asked it. In response, her entire shirt suddenly gained green stripes in a plaid pattern before vanishing to the usual orange color. Apparently, this meant 'yes'. Flozzle vibrated and made several churning sounds before going silent and still.
"Yay! Good thinking!" She congratulated it, raising her sleeve to a card-scanner on the wall. Suddenly, the cloth on her sleeve grew outwards towards the reader and shapeshifted the ends of the 'cloth' into a card-shape, changing colors to match an actual ID card. Emily scanned it, and to her joy, a light *beep!* buzzed through the wall, accepting it. The doors automatically opened, and Poofa, seemingly having enough of Ben being dragged around like a rag doll, graciously reached down with her tentacle-like limbs and picked up his still form, depositing him on Mr. Mowie's back to move him better.
"Whoo! We did it! We… oh…" Emily quickly quieted down upon seeing the dreary and dark interior of the laboratory, clearly abandoned and left to rot by whoever once worked here. It did remind her of the Site hallways and rooms whenever Dr. Logan or Izawa would take her out of her room to walk around and see somewhere that's not where she and her friends live, which wasn't much, although here it was definitely a lot creepier due to the lack of life and activity.
Grunting, Mr. Mowie meandered into the dark and decrepit main lobby of the lab, sniffing and growling at the gloomy atmosphere. Emily clung close to his stocky legs, clutching his thick fur like a lifeline as the group traversed through the dark facility. Occasionally, they came across a cockroach or a rat that either Mr. Mowie or Poofa would scare away from Emily, but that was it.
"Uh… H-Hello?" Emily called out nervously, fearfully keeping close to Mr. Mowie's thick frame as they walked down a particularly spooky hallway, which, like the rest of the laboratory, was almost pitch-dark due to the majority of the lights not working. Poofa hovered just above them, her tentacle-like limbs splayed out almost like a protective cage over Emily, Mr. Mowie and the unconscious Ben. Eventually, the group came across one room that had working lights, which seemed to be an office of sorts. There were several chairs in the room, although they were strewn about and some on the floor, along with a wooden desk with a swiveling chair right next to it. There appeared to be papers scattered across the floor, one of which Emily picked up and read with squinted eyes.
"Huh… 'gates'… 'hostile growth'… 'electromagnetic waves'… boooring!" She finally shouted and tossed the papers aside, having enough of reading. Whilst she did so, Poofa carried Ben off Mr. Mowie's backs and set him down carefully on the wooden desk, which was just big enough to act as a makeshift bed. Seeing this, Emily yawned, the adrenaline from rushing through the woods beginning to dial down. Sensing that she would fall asleep soon, Mr. Mowie laid down onto his side with his stomach exposed and barked, catching Emily's attention. At the same time, Poofa sank down near the ground, landing on Mr. Mowie's chest.
"Hm? Oh, thank you!" Emily said happily, eagerly hopping into Mr. Mowie's furry stomach and laying down as the large creature curled its long, furry tail up to act as a blanket for Emily. On the other hand, Emily laid her head down onto Poofa, seemingly using her as a pillow. Then, Poofa strangely began to emit what sounded almost like a lullaby, soft tunes and gentle pitches echoing quietly from the top and center of her bulbous body.
"Okay… good night, Mr. Mowie… good night, Poofa… and good night, Flozzle…"
In response, Mr. Mowie let out a friendly gruff, Poofa paused momentarily to wrap her tentacles around Emily in a hug, and Emily's own shirt vibrated once softly. Combining all of this, Emily's eyes began to flutter, and she was soon fast asleep. Almost as one, Mr. Mowie, Poofa and Flozzle all instantaneously fell asleep as well, ceasing their movements and laying still around Evolution's Child.
None of them noticed Benjamin's still form twitch and stir briefly on the cold, lonely desk.
*The next morning*
Iris woke up peacefully, fluttering her eyes open. Reaching an arm up to rub the sleep from her eyes, she realized that she couldn't actually move her arm. Startled and fully awake, she moved her head up and saw a familiar blob of orange goo resting peacefully on her body, its gelatinous mass weighing her down, and she suddenly remembered what had happened.
'Wha—oh, that's right… SCP-999…' She remembered, recalling what had happened the previous night. Seeing that her upper body was inadvertently pinned by the Tickle Monster, she tried to 'wake' it up.
"Um… excuse me? Nine-Nine-Nine?" She nervously asked. To her relief, SCP-999's familiar voice replied.
"Hmm?" It gurgled, jiggling its mass before apparently realizing where it was. "Hi, Iris!" It greeted her casually, waving a gooey orange tendril at her. Iris would've waved if she could have.
"H-Hi… uh, look, can you… can you please get off me?" She asked politely, slightly unnerved by the fact that she was talking to a living blob. She realized that, as an SCP, she probably shouldn't have been taken aback by it considering the other oddities she'd seen, but nothing about this entire situation was normal to begin with, what with her and the Tickle Monster somehow on the loose. Speaking of which, the gooey blob seemed to recognize her wish and slipped quietly off, leaving no residue on Iris' clothes.
"There! Good morning!" SCP-999 chirped joyfully, still not apparently worried about… anything, really, Iris realized as she shakily stood up on the forest floor. Looking up, she could see the Sun's light pouring through the tree line, indicating that it was daytime.
"How long were we out here…?" She asked more to herself than her gooey companion, moving a hand to her eyes to shield the sunlight, partially taken aback by its brightness.
'How long have I spent in that hell?' She thought as she looked around, spotting her camera lying on the ground. As she bent over to pick it up, she suddenly realized something.
She had absolutely no idea where she was.
'What forest is this? Are we in China? Canada?' She asked herself in a mild panic, looking around the trees as if it might somehow give her a clue. The two SCPs were in a warm, sunny forest, obviously, but they had no idea where in the world that forest was located.
"Hey! Just where do you think-?" She tried to ask her gooey companion, but was cut off by the sight of it happily chasing a butterfly around a maple tree.
"Hi! Happy bug! Happy wings! Yay!" It gurgled cheerfully, waving its pseudopods endlessly and happily as it chased the butterfly around the tree. Iris couldn't help but sweat drop at the Tickle Monster's complete lack of concern over the situation. She was starting to get the idea that the gooey ball was totally incapable of genuinely worrying over anything.
"Ooookay…" Iris muttered quietly, putting the camera strap around her shoulder to carry it more easily, and found herself surprised by how natural yet foreign it felt after not being in contact with it for so long. Getting over her initial feelings, she turned and decided to try to find where to go.
'So… the Sun rises from the east and goes west… the Sun's to my left… north is that way… that means south is…' She tracked mentally, trying to figure out her directions. Eventually, she found out where west was, and decided to head west, turning to her right and started walking. Apparently, the Tickle Monster noticed her leaving, and gave up pursuing the butterfly and slithered across the grass to catch up to Iris.
"Hey! Wait for meee!" It gurgled excitedly, clearly not wanting to be left alone. Iris raised an eyebrow but didn't object, deciding that it would make a good travelling companion thanks to its overwhelming positivity. At the very least, she wouldn't be alone.
'Wait… is he a 'he' or a 'she'?' Iris suddenly asked herself, questioning SCP-999's gender, '… it sounds like a boy… I think… oh, screw it, I'll think about it later'…' She finally decided, her own thoughts beginning to frustrate her. Thankfully, the sun was warm enough to keep them both comfortable, and provided plenty of light. Walking through the tree-filled landscape, a soft feeling of serenity fell between the two anomalous entities, something that the Tickle Monster paid no heed to since it was full of bubbly energy to begin with, innocently playing with fallen leaves and branches that it came across in its path.
Iris, however, continued rubbernecking like a tourist. Site-17, along with almost everything to do with the SCP Foundation in general, seemed so lonely, cold, gloomy… dark. However, the forest seemed to be the exact opposite; she was still the only human being around with no one to talk to but the Tickle Monster, of course, but the air was warm, and the Sun shone its beautiful golden rays down onto the earth below, the crunching sound of dead leaves seeming much more welcome and natural than the sounds of weary shoe soles against the cold metal floors of the Foundation's Sites. Iris was so caught up in her whirring emotions and thoughts that she stumbled on an obstacle in her way.
"Woah!" She suddenly cried as she felt her foot come loose on something and lurched forwards. Luckily, SCP-999 had been paying attention, and immediately rushed forwards and caught Iris in its warm and slimy body and saving her from landing onto the hard ground. Bouncing slightly on the Tickle Monster's gelatinous body, Iris allowed herself to breathe in and out to calm down.
"Phew…" She muttered, looking underneath herself at SCP-999, "Thanks…"
The Tickle Monster gurgled happily. "Of couwse! Anything foh my fwiend!" The blob replied, its childish, high-pitched voice slightly hampered by its gooey anatomy.
"Wow...you got quick reflexes for—" Iris was cut off when she turned around.
At that moment, Iris's face went pale and immediately shut up upon glimpsing the ground behind them. Because, the thing that had apparently caused Iris to trip in the first place, was a gigantic footprint, easily larger than monster truck tire, with three toes and seeming vaguely reptilian, like a crocodile. More still, there was a large trail of them. Now that Iris took the time to actually look around, she'd only now realized that half of the trees in the area had been toppled over and crushed, evidently by whatever had left these tracks in the first place. She felt a shiver down her spine.
"Shit… just what the hell left these?" Iris muttered nervously as she got back up on her own two feet, looking in directions that the footprints had come from and were now headed, just in case the thing that left them was still nearby. It almost reminded her of one of those cheesy dinosaur movies she'd seen as a child… although now, Iris got the feeling that whatever left these prints was much bigger and more frightening than any T. Rex or Spinosaurus. She didn't even bother denying it as being a hoax or a joke by local kids, since her time in the Foundation taught her that literally anything is possible. All the while, Nine-Nine-Nine watched the tracks. Iris was too busy worrying to tell, but the Tickle Monster seemed more… somber… than usual. It was watching the giant footprints intensely and in a rather focused manner, which seemed unusual for the normally chipper blob.
"… Nope." Iris finally decided, turning and walking in the direction she and SCP-999 were originally travelling in and being subsequently followed by said blob, "I am NOT getting involved in that… whatever THAT is…" She muttered firmly. She was not about to let whatever left those gargantuan footprints kill and/or eat her so soon after waking up outside her usual containment cell.
This was not about to be one of those cheesy slasher flicks where everyone goes towards the source of terror and gets killed in the first five minutes!
Still, now Iris was alert and tense, nervous of running afoul into whatever monster had rampaged through the forest. Thanks to her time with Pandora's Box, she had learned how to accurately paint a picture of a scene after it already happened. And unfortunately, what she gathered wasn't very pretty: The toppled and crushed trees indicated that whatever left the tracks was evidently pissed off or, if not, at the very least filled with adrenaline, and the large space between the individual footprints implied that it was running at a surprisingly fast pace for something its size.
So, that probably meant that either A) it was being chased by something – and whatever could scare a beast that big must've been extra bad news for Iris - or the far more logical conclusion and the one Iris chose to believe, B) whatever left these tracks was chasing something or someone else through these woods, tearing down and destroying anything and everything in its path. While answer B was infinitely more plausible, it was still bad news for Iris either way. And as much as she admittedly enjoyed her new companion, it was obvious that the Tickle Monster would be almost useless if they had to defend themselves.
Speaking of which, Iris had only now noticed how quiet SCP-999 had been since they found the trail of footprints. However, given that she herself was shaken by their discovery, she didn't bother to talk about it out loud, instead thinking hard to try to find any answers to their predicament.
'Obviously, we're in the middle of nowhere, and there's some giant animal… monster… thing out here that'll more than likely try to eat both of us if it finds us. And we somehow ended up here outside our… cells, without remembering how…'
The more she thought, Iris' face gradually turned into a scowl to the lack of answers she was getting; only finding more questions. Obviously, the Foundation didn't just up and decide to let her go free, otherwise they would've erased all her memories of the Foundation, and even if they didn't, they sure as hell wouldn't have left another anomaly literally right there by her side. Plus, she woke up in the middle of an empty forest. Why not just drop her off at home-?
'H-H… H-Home!'
Suddenly, Iris' eyes flew open, jerking her head up in shock as her mind almost froze, nearly stumbling again because of how fast her body spontaneously stopped mid-stride. She didn't even remotely care or even notice that, though. All she was focused on were a few particular thoughts.
"C-Can I… go home…?" Iris shakily asked herself in a quiet voice that she herself barely even heard. By this point, the Tickle Monster had noticed her sudden change in behavior, and was now staring up at her in confusion and slight concern. Not that Iris really noticed, too caught up in her million-miles-an-hour thoughts speeding through her head. After spending four years in that same, empty white cell since she was fourteen, and already failing to get home once even after Dantensen had done his absolute best to get her as far as the airport, the notion of returning home to see her family and friends had all but vanished under a cloud of despair and depression. If only the damn flight had taken two minutes less to take off…
She stared down at her camera, her eyes focusing rather intensely.
'I'm… I'm free, right now…'
She then stared at the forest ahead, the Sun's rays suddenly seeming a bit brighter. Iris suddenly started walking forwards again, although with a bit more speed and energy, her boots pounding against the leaf-littered ground harder than before, and Nine-Nine-Nine was so caught off guard that it initially struggled to slither after her and catch up. After a few seconds, the orange ball of goo managed to finally find words.
"Um… where are gowwing?" It gurgled, though it didn't seem like it was going to leave her regardless of the answer. Iris didn't take her eyes off the horizon for a moment, nearly surprising herself with how confident her own voice sounded.
"… Home. We're going home."
"Can you guys hurry the hell up!?" Mike called over his shoulder as he ran down the hallway, nearly pushing over other students in his rush. Dustin and Lucas panted as they tried to keep up, with Will behind them in a leisurely jog. Scoffing at his friends, Mike reached his locker, stopping in his tracks as he hurriedly moved through his belongings. Lucas caught up first.
"Dude, can you chill!? It's like she's going anywhere!" He pointed out, getting an eye-roll from Mike in response. Dustin and Will stopped next to them, the former out of breath and the other seemingly just fine. Will spoke up, "Sheesh. I knew you really liked El, Mike, but can you please not get an aneurysm before we see her?"
Mike stopped and looked him dead in the eye. "I'm not making her wait any longer than I need to." He stated in a serious tone, causing Dustin to throw his arms up in a gesture of giving up.
"Uh, dude, I think she can afford to wait for us! Don't you thi-!" He was cut off.
"NO!" Mike shouted, causing Dustin and Lucas to flinch, "I promised her it would be exactly 3:15! I need to be there on time!" He shouted. Will, to their relative surprise, just shrugged, apparently understanding of his friend's behavior despite not even formally meeting Eleven yet. He just turned and sifted through his locker.
"Just try not to get any cramps. Last time I checked, we were proud nerds, not athletes." He pointed out calmly, trying not to start an argument. Mike grunted in mild annoyance, though it was obvious that he wasn't truly irritated as he closed his locker shut and adjusted the straps on his backpack, turning and walking swiftly down the hallway with purpose and determination. Lucas, Dustin and Will looked with various reactions, Lucas in particular seeming a bit miffed at his friend's antics.
"Geez, you'd think we'd all be calm and happy after all this…" He muttered, putting his hand to his forehead. Suddenly, a feminine yet tough voice called them.
"Geez, you'd think you'd be following your own philosophy." The three of them turned to see Max sauntering over, a teasing smirk on her face. Lucas raised an eyebrow, returning the smirk.
"Oh, so NOW who's a stalker?" He teased, getting a playful punch in the shoulder in return, eliciting a few chuckles from their friends. Dustin looked between Max and Lucas with a grin.
"So, you guys still on for the arcade tonight?" H asked. Max opened her mouth, but Lucas spoke up next, cutting her off.
"Yup! I've been practicing and studying the codes, and I'm about to wreck everyone's high score this time! And I do mean…" He grinned challengingly at Max, "Everybody."
Max placed a hand on her hip. "Well, someone sounds confident. Guess I'll have to rub your failure in twice as much when we're done." She challenged. Will took the opportunity to input his own two cents.
"Eh, as long as you guys keep your hands on the joysticks and not anywhere else." He teased, causing Max and Lucas to feel their faces flush, turning away from each other while Dustin broke into laughter, not caring about the stares he received from other students.
"Hah! Got 'em! Nice!" He jeered, patting Will on the shoulder, embracing the glares from his other friends. Lucas gave Dustin a deadpan stare.
"What about you and Steve? You guys seemed awfully close out of nowhere a couple days ago when we had to catch Dart." He retorted. Dustin immediately stopped laughing.
"Hey! Me and Steve are just close buddies! He's helped me a lot over the course of our manly friendship!" He replied, trying and not exactly succeeding in looking intimidating. Lucas wasn't buying it.
"Really? What'd he do, give you advice on how to make your hair stick straight up like a mountaintop?" He mocked. Dustin was about to retort, but Will stepped in between them, sticking his arms out to separate them.
"Hey, can we not follow Mike's example and just stay calm? I don't know about you, but I kinda want some peace and quiet around here for a change." He interjected. Lucas and Dustin looked at each other, then to Will, then back at each other before shrugging their shoulders.
"Alright, fine." Dustin calmly replied, reaching into his locker for his Nougat, "I gotta clean out Yurtle's tank, anyway." He explained, his friends noticing the somewhat somber tone he used. However, they didn't say anything about it, knowing the situation behind it.
"Alrighty then…" Max spoke up, facing Lucas, "Ready to lose?" She asked tauntingly. Lucas crossed his arms in an attempt to look cool. Max resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It had only been two days after Eleven had forced the Gate to close, and Hopper had stubbornly refused to let anyone see her since she had apparently collapsed from exhaustion from her duel against the Mind Flayer. She was there to see Mike desperately plea with the Police Chief, but the man stood firm as a boulder. On the plus side, the whole thing at least did confirm to her that Mike wasn't a total jerk like she'd first thought. Just a lovesick, emo puppy.
Luckily, now that El was back, she could finally see him as the dorky and caring dweeb that Dustin and Lucas had tried to describe to her when they first met.
"Could ask the same for you, dweeb." Max retorted easily, causing Lucas to give in to his temptation and roll his eyes and walk down the hallway, with Max following after and leaving Dustin and Will behind near their lockers. Will couldn't help but notice the still-somber look on Dustin's face as he watched them go. Sensing his friend's plight, Will placed a hand on his shoulder, getting Dustin to turn to him in confusion.
"Hey", Will spoke softly, "At least they're both happy. Isn't that what you would've wanted?" He asked. Dustin glanced at Max and Lucas walking away side-by-side, and then sighed to himself.
"Yeah…" He admitted. Will gave him a gentle smile. "There. Now c'mon, my mom's gonna freak if I'm home a few minutes late. She was kinda freaked out by those weird noises last night, remember?" He reminded him, eliciting a groan from Dustin as they left as well.
"Ugh, we get attacked by an interdimensional monster twice and everyone's suddenly on the alert for an alien invasion every time we hear something weird in the woods." He remarked sarcastically and tiredly, and Will had to suppress the urge to laugh out loud at Dustin's antics. Some things never change, he supposed.
"What the hell are we gonna do about those freaks?"
The question seemed so obvious, yet difficult. Funshine sat in a rather poorly-fitting chair in one of the abandoned hotel rooms, just across from Dottie, who was looting one of the drawers that they hadn't gotten to yet. Between them, Axel lay in a somewhat clean bed, still unconscious from being tranquilized by SCP-049. Outside, in the hallway, Mick was conversing with Kali. Or at least, it could be called that if it weren't for the fact that the former was struggling to keep her voice down.
"They don't appear to wish us any harm, Mick… if they wanted to fight, they would've done so by now." Kali refuted, running a hand down her tired face. The group had managed to get an uneasy sleep after their altercation with Cain, the Plague Doctor and the Shy Guy. Mick had approached Kali early about how to deal with them while Funshine and Dottie kept an eye on Axel. Speaking of which, the large-haired woman rolled her eyes at Kali's calm tone.
"Kali, I dunno if you saw, but that weird-haired freak cut Axel by doing literally nothing, and the witch doctor just knocked him out with that diarrhea-diazzapa-whatever the hell it was that he just conveniently had, all because of some 'curse' or spell or whatever." Mick argued, easily recalling the night before, taking a glance at the other hallway adjacent to theirs across the lobby where the anomalous entities where staying. Kali followed her line of sight and sighed.
"Mick, I don't know if you noticed, but Axel started that whole fight to begin with. Besides, I think he needed a bit of extra sleep if he keeps shouting about seeing a monster in the corner of his vision, don't you?" Kali retorted, recalling how Axel had just suddenly stormed into the lobby and accused her of making him hallucinate a lightning-quick green monster the previous day, causing an argument that escalated rather quickly. "Why are you talking to me about this, anyway?" Kali asked. Mick suddenly seemed to stiffen, folding her arms tensely in a rather defensive way.
"I dunno… I mean… they're mostly freaks, kinda like you, no offense…" She answered somewhat nervously. Kali narrowed her eyes at the older woman.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" She accused. Mick's eyes widened only slightly, but enough for Kali to notice. "Hm, that's what I thought. Now, out with it." She ordered. Mick might've been older, but she knew better than to try to square up to Kali. Reluctantly, she sighed, averting her gaze.
"I mean, I was just thinking… you think… you think they might have something to do with your… 'sister'…?" She finally answered. Kali's eyes widened. She'd pondered over the origins of their temporary new neighbors all night, but she had never come to that conclusion. Obviously, she came to the conclusion that they had also at one point gotten involved with the government's typical "hiding-secret-experiments" code of things, but she had never came to the conclusion that the three strangers might have also had something to do with Jane.
"I mean… y'know, they're all freaks and have number codes and—"
"I got it." Kali interrupted, silencing her. Now, her cynical mind was running at a thousand miles per hour. Closing her eyes to think, she tried to make sense of everything. It was clear that Cain, the Plague Doctor and their 'shy' friend were all involved in some government conspiracy, like herself and Jane. Or El, as she said she'd been called. However, it wasn't clear exactly what they were involved in… or who might be looking for them.
Then again, it seemed that whoever they'd escaped from wasn't also after Kali and her group. For one, unlike Cain and his allies, she actually remembered Eleven from her time with Project MKUltra, and probably would've remembered Cain or the other two entities had they been involved. Secondly, throughout their quest for vengeance against the scientists of Hawkins National Laboratory, she'd never once seen or heard any mention or implications of experiments or subjects like the Plague Doctor or his supposed comrades from neither the supposed scientists that they killed nor any documents that they happened upon. And there were a lot of them.
At that moment, they heard one of the doors from the adjacent hallway open, and both Kali and Mick turned to see the Shy Guy, Plague Doctor and Cain appear from one of the hotel rooms. While the Plague Doctor and Shy Guy seemed relatively fine (which was only a guess considering that both of their faces were covered by a mask and paper bag respectively), Cain seemed exhausted with bags under his eyes. At the same time, though, Kali couldn't help but notice that Cain still walked and acted just fine, as if he was already used to sleepless nights. Kali was so deep in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice Cain walking over to her. Almost.
"Well…" He started off somewhat awkwardly, somewhat nervous of her tough and hardened appearance and mood, "It is sunrise. As per our agreement, we will be leaving now." He paused, and to Kali's surprise, reached a hand out towards her for her to shake. "We wish you the best of luck."
Now Kali really was thrown for a loop. Normally, most people on the run would've snuck off without them knowing, and even if they didn't most simply would've left without a word to anyone else. However, this Middle Eastern man whom they attempted to attack the night before was apparently saying goodbye as though they were somehow close. It seemed… off, so someone on the move to be so kind and polite, and to a total stranger no less.
"… The same goes to you." Kali answered, shaking his hand firmly, "I suppose I should thank you for not killing Axel when you could have… he was already beginning to be a loose cannon as it was, and he likely would've blown up if something drastic hadn't happened." She continued somewhat nervously, not quite used to this sort of exchange. Cain didn't seem to mind, only smiling kindly.
"Of course." He paused to glance at the Plague Doctor and the Shy Guy, who were waiting patiently near the double doors of the abandoned hotel, "I know that we are a rather… strange bunch, but we aren't violent… at least, we try not to be." He trailed off, seeming a bit… regretful?
Cain shook his head. "Ah, sorry, I am afraid that we have overstayed our welcome. Farewell, Kali." He said as he turned away and began walking to rejoin the other two anomalous entities, his polite tone seeming so foreign to someone as cold and hardened as Kali. Behind her, Funshine and Dottie poked their heads through the door of their room, and they, alongside Mick, were listening intently to their conversation. Kali, however, couldn't help but ask one last question.
"Do you know where you're going?" She found herself blurting out, causing Cain to stop and look over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised. "Pardon?" He asked in mild confusion. Kali, who could feel her friend's eyes drilling into her back, decided she may as well go through with her curiosity.
"Do you know where you are heading after this? Are there any destinations you are trying to reach?" She asked tentatively. Cain, who seemed to now understand, opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out for a few seconds. He glanced back at his allies, who didn't respond.
"… No, I don't believe so…" He finally replied, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "We… we find ourselves in a rather… strange predicament, I suppose you could say… and we are currently trying to find answers to this mutual problem, or at the very least, a safe place where we may remain… ahem, under the radar, so to speak." He finished, choosing his words very carefully. Kali stared with a deadpan expression.
"You're running from a secret organization, aren't you?" She decided to just come out with it, knowing that if she hadn't she might have never known. That, and it was just plain obvious to her. Cain's eyes opened in surprise.
"W-What? Where did you-?" He stuttered, then realized that there was probably no point in lying. Averting his gaze somewhat, he nodded.
"Yes… there are some who might wish us harm, or at the very least would want to strip us of our newfound freedom if they were to find us again. They… they aren't aware of our freedom just yet, but we are trying to find shelter where they may not find and re-contain us." He explained, not mentioning the SCP Foundation by name so as to make sure that Kali and her group were not put in danger. Well, not in any more danger than they probably already were judging by their "tough-street-gang" demeanor, and the fact that Kali herself was anomalous in her ability to create illusions, but he knew firsthand how vicious the Foundation could and would be in order to contain their 'specimens'. Surprisingly, Kali seemed to readily accept this new information, tossing it back and forth in her head.
"… So… you don't know where you are going?" She asked carefully, to which Cain gave a slow nod. Thinking it over, she opened her mouth again.
"… Have you ever heard of Hawkins?" She asked him again. Cain perked up, his interest obviously piqued. "Well… yes, I have but… isn't it a rather quiet town?" He replied. Kali nodded.
"Exactly. Last I heard, it is apparently a very quiet and easy-going area… doesn't that sound like a good place to lay low?" She pressed, knowing that she had Cain's full attention. Pressing further, she finished, "And besides, I… I know someone there… someone who just might be able to help you."
"Someone who can… help us? Are you certain?" Cain asked carefully, knowing to tread lightly here, "How exactly can they help us?" He asked. Kali's expression turned soft, and if one looked carefully – which Cain did – also rather remorseful.
"… Let's just say that she would understand your situation to a... certain extent." She elaborated rather vaguely, "At the very least, she definitely wouldn't give you away to anyone pursuing you… as long as you are willing to defend both the safety of her and yourselves at the same time, of course." Kali didn't know why she continued talking. It was clear that they were complete strangers and likely wouldn't meet ever again, yet she couldn't help but feel a sort of kinship to the three strange entities, particularly relating to Cain.
She understood perfectly what it was like to constantly be on the run from government agents and the authorities just because they weren't considered normal in the eyes of society and the government. Humans tended to fear that which they don't understand… a curse that seemed to plague more people out there than Kali initially realized.
"And… how do you know she will help us?" Cain asked. It sounded a bit too good to be true in his mind, just hearing about someone who would understand how he and his newfound allies felt and would lend them aid and support. Kali crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
"She's… like us. You know…", She gestured to Cain and then herself, "Not normal… She has special abilities, like you and me. She's… she's only a child, but we've been through similar experiences, so… yeah, she lives in Hawkins, which is fairly nearby. There should be a bus headed there in about an hour, so you'd better catch it."
Cain nodded, but couldn't help but to ask one last question regarding this person, "Ah. And… just, what might 'her' name be?" He asked. Kali felt silent for a few seconds.
"… Eleven. She publicly goes by Jane Ives, though, from last I heard… she's currently under care of the Chief of Police of Hawkins, who will also be a possible aid to you, so they should be relatively easy to find so long as you don't stir up trouble for him or the authorities." She answered, the underlying warning clear to Cain: Don't attract the attention of the authorities and/or the government, and if you do, you'd better protect her and not drag her down with you if everything goes to hell. Luckily, Cain easily understood, and got the implication that Kali was rather close to this 'Eleven/Jane Ives' person. To what extent, he couldn't discern, but he understood and could relate easily enough.
"Alright… Eleven, Jane Ives, Hawkins, Chief of Police…" He muttered, going over the various names he had just received before nodding and bowing slightly, "Thank you tremendously. We will not forget this favor you have done us, Kali. If there's anything we may be able to aid you with in the future, do not hesitate to attempt to contact us." He thanked. Kali shrugged casually, though it was clear that there were many emotions and thoughts racing inside her mind. Nodding again, Cain turned and was about to walk to rejoin his allies when he glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh, before we depart… may I ask, just how do you know this 'Eleven' person?" He asked in a slightly nervous tone. Kali's eyes widened a bit in surprise, before returning to their usual neutral look.
"Ah, yes, about that…", the tiniest traces of a proud smile appeared on her lips, "She's my sister."
As was usual, the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile was angry. However, as was not the norm, it wasn't that angry. At least, when compared to its normal anger. In fact, compared to its usual state, it was actually pretty relaxed. Yes, it was still a bit grumpy, but that was only because the human that had appeared sitting on its back in the forest when it awoke had managed to elude and escape the beast's hungry jaws.
Thick acidic saliva dropped rom rows of large incisors and into sizzling puddles on the ground as its enormous feet pounded the ground as it walked, leaving enormous footprints and crushed trees and boulders in its wake as he trudged on, the bright and colorful scenery beginning to wear on his nerves. However, the beast managed to keep itself together, know that it was now free from the Foundation. It did not know how it managed to wind up laying in a field with a D-Class personnel resting on its enormous back, but, to be frank, it did not matter to him how he managed to get there. And while it had frustrated him that the offending human somehow managed to escape, he knew that such a feculent waste of flesh like a human would never pose a threat to it nor was really worth getting all that upset about to begin with.
All SCP-682 cared about was that it was free to do whatever it pleased. And it would gladly do just that.
"Humans must be getting even faster… as they should be…" It muttered under its smoky and putrid breath, its dark and somewhat garbled voice seeming to shake and intoxicate the air itself as it knocked down yet another tree merely by nudging its enormous jaws against it too hard, crushing it into splinters beneath its massive feet. As it moved, the natural wildlife apparently knew; any deer within a football field's range would immediately turn and move off, squirrels and chipmunks would dive into their homes and abandon any nuts and acorns, and birds within a mile radius would immediately stop singing and fly away, unlikely to return. Even the many, many insects and arachnids, such as mosquitoes, ants, centipedes and spiders that would normally show no fear to other animals all scurried away upon Six-Eight-Two coming within 200 feet, seemingly aware of exactly what had appeared in their forest.
Not that any of it mattered to SCP-682, who continued to stomp through the forest. At one point during the chase with the D-Class human the previous night, it could have sworn to have smelled a small society, perhaps a town, of humans nearby, but it had been too distracted by his taunts and overall worthless existence to investigate. So, as much as he hated to admit it, the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile was lost.
Better than the Foundation, though, it quickly discovered as its spike-covered tail knocked down several more trees and slashed across the ground like a giant rake, its pillar-like legs and gargantuan feet obliterating large rocks and animal dens that had the terrible misfortune to be in its path.
"Aaaargh!"
Suddenly, the giant beast stopped in its tracks, right before its front pair of feet would have crushed yet another innocent foal sleeping in a bush. Was that what it thought it was? It turned its head on his enormous shoulders towards the source, trying to hear the sound again. It had been incredibly faint, and obviously was far off in the distance, but…
"Yaaargh! Kutyhafhuryastan!"
'… Ah, yes… there's not mistake… him…' Its ancient mind tossed about, recognizing those enraged battle cries from anywhere. To even further prove his suspicions, several cleanly cut tree trunks and piles of earth could be seen flying in the air above the treeline, though only the giant beast's ancient and well-trained eyes would've been able to properly make them out from this distance. His malicious eyes glinted, and he suppressed the urge to grin at this new turn of events. Slowly turning his enormous girth to face the source of the sound, the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile began walking slowly towards the enraged shouts and cries, feeling excitement building up in his cold veins as he grew closer and closer.
'It has been quite some time… this should allow me to blow off some steam for now… Abel…'
("COME ON! I'M BARELY EVEN WINDED HERE! I'M SURPRISED THAT ANY SHEEP WOULD FOLLOW A [REDACTED] SACK OF [REDACTED] LIKE YOU!")
If there was one thing Abel despised more than anything else… well, except for that person… it was this infernal, damned and wretched box. For literally all night, he had tried his absolute best to rip, tear, slash and hack into the offensive and unholy cube to no avail, all while it continued to somehow read into his past and taunt him with some of his most personal secrets and inner demons that were better left buried away.
All of it now culminated to this moment, which consisted of Abel on one knee on the ground, using a pitch-black katana to hold up his absolutely exhausted body, gritting his teeth in pure frustration in front of a single grey-colored metal box. All around them, there was nothing within a hundred-foot radius. Beyond that, it was hard to tell it was a forest anymore, due to the many piles of cleanly-chopped trees, equally cleanly-cut tree stumps, the bloody and gory remains of what used to be deer, wolves and birds, and the thousands upon thousands of slash marks in the ground. Only about one-hundred-and-fifty feet away from the two entities were there any normal signs of life. Speaking of 'life', never before has Abel ever wished to end one like he did towards this one damned cube.
("H-How… ARE YOU STILL ALIVE, YOU DAMNED ACCURSED CUUUBE!?") Abel roared with what little energy he had left. He hadn't even noticed that it was now daytime until the infernal box had pointed out how much time he was wasting in one of his earlier taunts. Throughout his many battles and kills, he never once thought that he would ever feel as much hatred as he did for him against someone else…
… how very wrong he now was.
("Obviously, you were only meant to belong in a sheep's pen and nowhere else, you ugly old [REDACTED]") SCP-735 jeered at him in perfect Sumerian. If it had a face, it most certainly would've had an arrogant smirk the entire time, reveling in 076's torment. Without a moment's hesitation, Abel raced up to it and grabbed it, lifting it off the ground in shaky hands, gritting his teeth together so hard it was a miracle that they didn't shatter like glass.
("S-Shut… the hell… UUUUPPP!")
With that, the ancient warrior slammed the box down as hard as he could, followed by repeatedly jumping up and kicking down on top of it with both feet. It almost resembled a toddler throwing a tantrum over a defective toy, except instead of a toy it was a mind-reading box with record-breaking insults, and instead of a little kid it was a full-grown Middle Eastern man wearing robes and wielding pitch-black blades.
("HA! IS THAT- *BLAM!* -ALL YOU CAN- *BLAM!* - DO, YOU- *BLAM!* - WORTHLESS FOSSIL!?") The Insult Box hollered in-between Abel's powerful and deadly kicks and stomps. Abel's rage only increased, but now he was beginning to tire out from spending literally all night trying to destroy a single sentient cube. Eventually, after what felt like hours, Abel's exhausted legs buckled, causing him to slip and fall over onto his sweaty back on the withered ground. Upon feeling his back collide harshly with solid earth, Abel gasped, the wind utterly knocked out of him and too exhausted to immediately get back up. As the back of his head struck the ground along with the rest of his body, Abel felt the searing pain in the back of his head, grunting and being forced to focus on the pain. As he did so, he suddenly became aware of just what he was doing: Wasting his time on a single damned telepathic box. Suddenly, Abel's mind cleared, and was brought back to his senses as he lay exhausted on the torn soil. SCP-735 was as energetic as ever, though.
("Wwwwoooooowwww… I'm REALLY shaking in my boots right now! Speaking of which, can you even afford boots, you old hobo—?") He jabbed on and on, to the point that Abel was sure that he was going to lose his mind. Slowly and shakily getting back onto his feet while the Insult Box continued to drone on and on about his clear lack of money and personal belongings, Abel's withered eyes took in the sight of the destroyed and ruined land. Now that his mind was too tired to stay very angry and was in a slightly more relaxed place, he also realized that he'd totally forgotten to take his surroundings into account.
"All this… in so little time… How-?" He was cut off by Seven-Three-Five's incessant ranting.
"Oh, speaking English now, are we? How the hell did you even learn it, you big hairy monkey—"
"ENOUGH!" Abel shouted, having decided what to do. Lifting the infernal cube in both hands, he began swinging around in a circle, rapidly gaining speed and velocity, until at least he let go and used the momentum to send the Insult Box soaring far, far away.
"HEYI'MNOTDONEWITHYOUYASACKOFPIIIIISSSss…!" It screamed as it flew into the distance, its infinitely grating voice shrinking as it did so. Panting and growling, Abel stood shaking as he glared at the general area where the box had headed. After making sure that he could indeed no longer hear SCP-735's deafening insults, he allowed himself to breathe easier, slowly relaxing and dropping to his knees in sheer exhaustion.
"Graaah… haaah… finally… wretched cube…" Abel muttered to himself. On the one hand, he felt proud that he'd finally gotten over his rage and dealt with that horrid cube. On the other hand, he felt ashamed that he'd let a damn BOX get to him so bad and make him waste an entire night trying to slice him a new one. A true warrior shouldn't let something so… so… trivial mask his senses… especially in a place so full of life and-.
Wait… just where was he, anyway?
Abel suddenly perked his head up, suddenly aware of a predicament that he'd been facing since last night but had yet to directly confront.
'Where… where am I?' He asked in his mind's eye. Last time he'd been aware, his… containment chamber… was deep underwater at the bottom of some trench. So, unless the Foundation was trying to grow trees thousands of feet beneath the surface, that meant that Abel and his tomb had both somehow been whisked into the middle of a forest.
Or, at least, what was left of it, considering the damage that Abel was unwittingly caused in his quest to destroy a foul-mouthed metal box. With a tired groan, he slowly got up and examined his surroundings, this time with a much more relaxed manner. Barring the decimated landscape, most humans probably wouldn't have been able to discern much. However, Abel was, by no means, 'most humans'.
Bending low to the ground, he carefully examined the soil and what grass was still leftover.
"Hmm… Pteridophytes… Cottontail Rabbit, Coyote, Fox Squirrel… Mink… Opposum…" He uttered as he examined the ground for clues, using his knack for animals to guide him. Eventually, his eyes widened.
"Wait… how have I ended up in Indiana…!?" He asked aloud, astonished. Then, however, he merely shook his head. "No, it does not matter… it is not the chains and restraints of the Foundation… anything is better than that foul disgrace to the Earth!"
With that, he quickly turned and glared at the sky, specifically to the Sun. After measuring its angle, brightness and position, he quickly came to multiple conclusions.
"… 3 hours and 10 minutes after midday… 10 degrees Celcius… east, west…"
Eventually, after thinking enough, Abel rasied his arms and blades straight up and, on cue, two small and pitch-black vortexes suddenly appeared in the space where his swords were. Letting go of their night-colored hilts, Abel allowed the vortexes to silently engulf his blades, both the vortexes and blades vanishing as quickly as the former had arrived. All of this happened in less then two seconds. Sighing to himself, Abel took in a calming breath before he took off at breakneck speed, rushing barefoot far faster than any normal human could match, through the first circle of obliterated land before he quickly reached the area of woodland that had not been decimated by his one-sided conflict with SCP-735, where there were many more trees and foliage still standing tall.
"Must keep moving… must keep moving…!"
Abel grunted with effort, forcing his exhausted body to keep racing through the trees, almost seeming as though he were dancing due to how well he navigated through the underbrush, ducking, leaping and maneuvering through the forest depths.
Where exactly he was going, he wasn't totally sure. However, if it meant one extra day of freedom from all the horrors he'd endured for so long and from the pursuers who would no doubt soon realize that he was missing, he'd head to the ends of the Earth.
"Fucking bitch…" Billy Hargrove swore as he left yet another "girlfriend's" house, rather disappointed by today's one-night stand. Only a few days after he and "King Stevie" had their little rumble, Billy quickly rose to popularity at the high school. Of course, one of his favorite perks of being popular: hot chicks who were willing to practically throw themselves at you.
This time, though, the girl that he'd been wanting to swoon into bed hadn't been quite as… receptive, as Billy had hoped. Fortunately for him, this little lady wasn't too high on the social totem pole, so he wouldn't need to worry about her being a liability either way.
"Welp, guess you can't win 'em all…" He muttered, ignoring Vicki's heartbroken sobs and cries from within the house he'd just exited. Sauntering across the street, he stopped in front of his car to light a cigarette and put it in his mouth. So caught up in his smoking, he didn't see the metal cube flying through the air and striking him square in the back and landing on the asphalt.
*THUD!*
"AAGH! THE FUCK!?" Billy cursed as he stumbled forwards, feeling the metal object hit him directly from behind. Catching himself right before he would've fell forwards by grabbing the hood of his vehicle, he took a few seconds to catch his breath before he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! Can you watch where you're smoking, [REDACTED]!?"
Whirling around, Billy glared in the direction of the voice with fists clenched.
"Dad, I don't give a-!" He cut himself off, seeing no one there. Leaning back slightly in confusion, Billy looked around. He could've sworn that he heard the smug voice of his arrogant step-father…
"Down here, asshole!"
Reflexively looking down, Billy was surprised to see a small grey metal box sitting on the asphalt in front of him. Leaning down, he kicked the box slightly, trying to see just what it was.
"Hey, uh… what the hell-?" He was about to ask himself but was cut off by that same irritating voice, coming from a small rectangular opening in the cube.
"Yeah, here's some advice, can you NOT touch me with those terrible shoes!? God, you'd think you would've listened to your mom more! Oh no, wait, you're too much of a bitch to admit it?" SCP-735 jabbed, clearly aware of what it was doing. Billy's features coiled in anger, and he looked around.
"Oh, yeah, REALLY fucking funny, Max! Yeah, ha ha, joke's on me! Now get the hell outta whatever hole you're hiding in, because I've had e-fucking-nough for one night!" He shouted, coming to the conclusion that Max or – God forbid – her new friends just pulled a prank on him using a recording device in a box. Instead of childish giggles, however, the Insult Box spoke up again.
"Hey, in case you're too much of a retard to notice, we're the only ones out here, dumbass!" It taunted, garnering Billy's attention again, "Why are you even trying to call your little sister out here, anyways!? OH! I get it! It's because you're her new loyal lap dog, isn't it, ever since she showed you how much of a pussy you are back at Byers' house?"
All at once, Billy's face hardened darkly. His fists clenched and neck muscles bulged, veins clearly visible on his knuckles and forehead, and while his exterior face appeared calm, it was obvious by the sheer look in his furious eyes that there was an unholy rage within him,and it was clear that his rage was blinding him to the point where he no longer cared if this box were housing a recording or not. Quietly walking over to the Insult Box, he leaned carefully over it and glared directly into the hole in its front side. Taking in a deep breath, his voice was quiet, but it was obvious that it was holding back a fury just waiting to be released. And Seven-Three-Five was reveling in every bit of it as Billy's quiet yet furious voice left his lips.
"… What did you just say to me, bitch…?"
. . .