I felt a hell of a lot better after I'd reconnected with Tiger Star, my former boss.
"I still can't believe you're here. That fake execution was so real-looking!" I said, shaking my head in disbelief as we sat in a currently unmoving elevator, pouring over a map that Tiger collected on the top floor.
"Yours was probably the same way." I reared my head back so fast that I bumped it on the wall behind me.
"What do you mean, 'mine was probably the same way'?" I asked, rubbing my bruised melon.
"Exactly what it sounds like," said Tiger. I bit my bottom lip to stop it from quivering.
"Y-you mean... Everyone thinks I'm...?" I trailed off, refusing to believe what Tiger was telling me. I stared at the floor of the elevator like it was the most important thing in the world.
"Maple, look at me." I looked up into his harsh amber eyes, finding them to be calming. "Promise me you'll listen to me with reason."
I gulped and nodded. "I promise," I rasped, my throat suddenly feeling as dry as desert sands.
"Maple, when you signed that contract, did you take the time to read it? The whole thing?"
I shook my head. "No."
"Well, I did. I studied it and memorized it before making my decision. It clearly stated that an execution would be faked, to appease the public."
"So my family..."
"Maple, to the outside world, you are dead."
There was the truth, harsh and bitter, without any sugar coating. I blinked back tears.
"Is... Is there anything else that you can tell me?" I asked, my as I tried my hardest to keep my emotions in check.
"Yes. When we get out of here- not if, Maple, when- We can start all over again. I will be there for you. I swear on my life." Those words were like a little ray of sunshine, a little light in the sea of darkness that surrounded me.
"You mean it?"
Tiger extended his arm and placed a firm hand on my shoulder, looking me dead in the eyes.
"Maple, you of all people should know that I don't talk to hear the sound of my own voice."
I smiled, for the first time in what seemed like a million years.
"Thank you, Tiger."
He smiled back, which was a rare occurrence coming from Tiger.
"You're welcome, Maple." He scooted closer to me, his hand never leaving my shoulder, as we resumed discussing which floor to go to. "I saw the Statue on this floor," he pointed to the third, "about 40 minutes ago."
"Does that matter? It could be anywhere at the moment, it moves so fast," I argued.
"Good point. Hey, did you get any info on it, by the way?" I nodded, shuffling through the papers on various SCPs before finding 137's page. I gulped and read aloud: "This SCP is highly dangerous-"
"As if we didn't know that already," interrupted Tiger. I suppressed a snort of laughter despite the situation and continued.
"Hmmm... It moves with supernatural speed... It kills by snapping the skull at the base of the neck... Oh! Here we go: To avoid being attacked by SCP-137, keep your back to the wall and, when with a group of 2 or more, warn each other when you're about to blink, for SCP-137 cannot move within a line of sight!" I exclaimed, grinning like I'd just won the lottery.
"Okay, that's good, but we still have the problem of which floor to go on," Tiger murmured. I furrowed my brows in concentration.
"Well, I saw 049 on the bottom floor..."
Ten minutes later, we'd located the control room and how to get there.
"Uh, Tiger?"
"Hmm?"
"I know that you're dead set on going there, but we might have a problem..."
Tiger's eyes widened.
"What do you mean, Maple?"
In response, I jabbed a finger at a door only three doors away from the control room. Tiger squinted, and read the number on the door:
"SCP-682. Oh, [DATA EXPUNGED]..."