Your heart sank as you walked back to where you knew you had seen the door just a moment ago. The forest seemed endless ahead of you with no sign of anything but trees and hills for miles. You wrapped your arms around yourself silently cursing your choice to walk in so quick without any prior knowledge.

"The doors gone." You said staring out into the trees. Of course this was some sort of SCP. You just prayed that it wasn't going to be any worse than what you've already been through.

Leaves crunched behind you when SCP-049 stepped back to where you were. Standing in what used to be a small clearing now was full of overgrown leaves, trees and bushes. It looked as if no one has walked through here for a long time. Birds chirped up in the trees around you.

You turned to see him staring at the what you assume to be the same spot, his hood covering his expression. Then without a word he left. He didn't speak until he was where he was before.

"Surely there is somewhere else we can go, we should get moving." He said, sounding sure of himself.

You stayed in place for a moment racking your brain thinking hard on what SCP or SCP's you could be dealing with. You came up with nothing, no recollection of what this could be. You walked after him, catching up before he could disappear into the leafs, but still making sure to keep your distance.

Scanning the trees and shadows you stayed alert for anything that could be a threat. You didn't know what could be in here other than the noisy birds singing overhead.

You breathed in and out slowly in an attempt to calm your spiked nerves. SCP-049 walked with confidence over bushes and pushing through tree branches. It didn't take long for that confidence to seem to help you as well. Giving you a little light at the end of a dark, painful tunnel.

Even though he still scared you and as much as his presence always kept you on edge, you'd be lying if you said that it wasn't nice to have someone with you.

The two of you walked on, holding your injured arm close to your body for support. You looked ahead, the forest winded into a blur that seemed to rise higher than the clouds.

Your steps began to mock the confidence SCP-049 displayed. Keeping up with the SCP, the two of you pushed through the next cluster of trees.

------

"Umm, haven't we been here before?" You finally worked up the courage to ask. "I swear I've seen that tree before..."

The two of you have been walking for hours now. Your legs were weak and your shoulder.. It was killing you. It was like you had been carrying a hot chunk of metal on your shoulder. The sun beating down on you wasn't helping either, at least it had seemed to start to set.

SCP-049 kept moving. "All the trees look the same doctor." He said quickly, though this time you picked up a little less confidence than he had displayed at the begining. And looking around, that was far from the truth and we had definitely been here before. You continued to follow him before finding another bout of courage.

"What if we're going in circles?" You heart trembled when he stopped in his tracks.

His bright eyes met yours. You took a step back.

"We will be fine. We've been walking in a strait line this whole time."

You bit your cheek. That would be true for a normal forest, but this obviously wasn't a normal forest. You thought for a minute before speaking again.

"I'm sorry, I just want to make sure that we find our way out of here. Because I'm sure that this is some sort of SCP and it might be danger-" His eyes shifted to a glare.

"I'm sure you would think that. But like I said, we'll be fine." You shrunk a little at his tone.

You thought about keeping your mouth shut after that until a small spark lit up inside you. You had every right for you feel this way. The sun going down made the shadows begin to cover SCP-049 even more. The birds were silent now.

"Well still, we don't know what we are dealing with here." You kept your voice calm in hopes to avoid any argument, but still take time to figure out what was going on here instead of walking deeper into an endless loop.

He sighed. He was about to say something else before a huge crash from behind you cut him off.

You jumped. Whipping around to see in the distance trees were being knocked over by some unseen force. Your heart raced. A deep rumble shook the ground when the approaching creature growled. The closer it got the more the towering figure took form. It resembled a human-like creature, but instead of walking on two legs it crawled on its hands and knees as if it was some kind of baby.

"We need to go." His voice had a tone of urgency. You had only heard him use that tone when he spoke about his pestilence.

He started to run and you took off after him trying your best to keep up. He was faster than he looked. The branches stung you by whipping you in the face and bushes tried to trip you from below as you ran. The sun fully set and it was getting harder to see where you were going. Fog had began to seep out from the trees making your vision even worse.

The crashing behind you only got louder as the beast speed up even closer. Your throat burned from your frantic breaths. SCP-049 got more and more difficult to see in front of you, and you were quickly loosing steam.

"W-wait!" You yelled with your last bit of breath. Slowing down your legs were begging you to stop and your shoulder and side might as well of been shot a second time.

A tree beside you fell forwards nearly crushing you. You raced to the right, trying to avoid all of its long branches only to end up slipping and nearly rolling down an unseen hill. You hit a tree instead and forced yourself back up and moving again. You were notably slower now barely making past the falling trees.

You could barely see your hand infront of your face from the dark fog. All you could feel and hear was the crashing trees and the beasts roar occasionally booming through the forest.

A hand reached through the fog, grabbing your uninjured wrist and yanked you away. Running down the hill and bringing you with it. You screamed at the sudden movement and tried to get away from whatever was pulling you. It yanked you harder and pulled you further down the hill until the creature from behind you passed by. You hit flat ground again and tried to free yourself again. Thrashing and attempting to run from its grasp.

"Stop fighting." The figure called back to you.

You stopped and visibly relaxed at the voice. With out a second thought you let him lead you through the endless, horrific forest. Past growls, inhuman screeches, bright glowing eyes following you through the fog. Sharp teeth poking you from the ground. Then, all at once SCP-049 had suddenly become the least threatening creature in the forest. The one thing you had been so scared of was now for the second time, the only thing keeping you alive.

The trees began to thin out the further the two of you ran. They opened up into another clearing similar to the one from before. The closer you got the more a rectangular silhouette formed in the distance.

Your feet pounded harder against the ground as you picked up your speed to make it to the distant door as fast as possible.

The two of you were nearly to the white door, it cracked open. The forest roared. You had reached the next clearing even the fog seemed to clear up the further the door opened.

Something sharp clamped down on your ankle stopping you and propelling you forwards leading you to face plant into the ground. Forcing your wrist out of SCP-049's hand you were violently pulled back into the darkness. You couldn't help but scream. Your fingers raked against the cold hard ground while you frantically tried to claw your way out from tight jaws.

Dirt clogged your fingernails and the rocks ripped a thin layer of flesh off of your fingertips. You kicked into the fog in an attempt to kick away the growling SCP. Your foot hit something and a high pitched yap followed. Not a second passed before a doglike creature pounced on you. It's claws were uncomfortably close to your injury.

It's eyes were huge yellow spheres glowing through the darkness. It's face and body had markings the same glowing yellow standing out against its purple fur. It's sharp teeth were covered with the blood from your leg. It opened it's mouth aiming for your throat before SCP-049 grabbed it by its scruff. The instant his hand touched it the dog stopped moving. It's glowing markings dimmed as if SCP-049 had flipped off a light switch. He simply tossed the creature aside and helped you back up.

The forest floor was begining to heat up beneath your feet. The trees visibly began to move.

Your steps were painful and wobbly as you followed after SCP-049 he moved you along heading strait for the door. The two of you were only inches away before another larger creature clamped down on SCP-049's arm. He let out a grunt and touched the creature.

His eyes widened when the beast stood their alive, staring back at him with bright glowing eyes. Somehow, It's jaws stayed firmly clamped around his arm, tugging his limb in an attempt to get him off balance. You were shoved forwards when he nearly threw you towards the door. The door sat wide open waiting for you. He turned back using both hands in an attempt to fight off the beast. You picked up your speed for a minute before you made it into the clearing.

Through the closing door you could see a light grey wall with yellow stripes trailing through. Your heart skipped, the door lead to light containment. Getting through here meant that you didn't need that key card any more. The way out was just around the corner.

Your feet pounded painfully on the forest floor inching closer and closer to the door. Every step shook your body, your shoulder burned worse than it ever had before. Your lungs stung from your breathing. A wet feeling came from underneath the bandages, it wouldn't surprise you if the stitches were coming undone. You haven't exactly been careful.

Choosing to ignore your wounds you raced faster, reaching out your hand as the door cracked to only a sliver of light peaking through. You nearly lunged yourself towards the handle only to phase through the closed door and crash onto the hard ground. Rocks poked at you as you tumbled on the hard forest floor. After a few breathes you tried to push yourself up with trembling limbs.

The door was already gone, replaced with more trees materializing out of seemingly no where. The fight behind you still could be heard, dogs crying their paws scrapping against the dirt. You wanted to cry. Looking back at the fight, you watched SCP-049 effortlessly snap the neck of the beast from before startling the other two. You flinched. Even without his deadly touch he still is just as dangerous.

Your body begged for you to just lay down, your stomach hurt from your hunger. You cursed yourself again for not grabbing something to eat from the safety room. A second snap came from behind you.

You forced yourself back up. Bones creaking you staggered slightly when you stood to your full hight. You finally caught your balance. The fog seemed to thicken and the fight behind you went quiet. It was thick enough that you soon couldn't see SCP-049 or the other SCP's anymore.

Your shaky breaths were all that broke the silence. A panic welled up inside you. Everywhere you looked was the same.

"SCP-049?" You called out into nothing. The silence was deafening, you didn't dare move. There was no way you could see what you might step into.

For all you knew the forest could change again, you could be transported somewhere else. The white fog was thick enough to make you feel suffocated.

You swallowed and called his name again. Your words drifted out into the abyss. It was as if the fog swallowed any noise you made.

"I'm here."

You turned towards the voice. Taking a careful step forwards.

"Where are you?"

You reached out your hands and carefully walked through the fog. You reached out far to feel any unseen trees or bushes.

"I thi-"

His voice stopped when your hand finally hit a smoothe, leathery jacket. Your heart jumped out of your chest making you immediately pull you hand back.

"I'm sorry," you blurted out squinting until you could barely make out his dark silhouette.

"It's... Fine." His breathing picked up. "Now, come along. We should not stay here,"

You hesitantly approached him, close enough to reach out and find him again. Your fingers nervously touched the outside of his sleeve. Pinching the clothing while staying as far away as you could.

Without another word he started on his way leading you through the fog. Your feet threatened to trip over nearly everything they passed. There was only silence other than the two pairs of footsteps quietly squashing the grass below. The creatures from before had strangely disappeared, even still you felt like you were being watched. Eventually the fog seemed to thin until you could finally see SCP-049 in front of you as well as a few near by trees.

Your light pinch slowly became a firm grip the further you two went. Even though technically you could see now and didn't need to hold on anymore, nor did you think that holding onto a dangerous entity was a particularly good idea. But, your body was on the verge of giving out. Without him to keep you moving at a steady pace you would probably be on the ground, most likely unconscious again too.

The corners of your lips fell further when you felt a tiny drop of water on your hand. You looked up, the sky was a dark grey. Just when you thought the situation couldn't get any worse a second one hit your face then a third. You stared down at the ground watching the fog swirl from your footsteps. Rain fell faster, quickly drenching your hair and clothes. You heard SCP-049 sigh.

Every step was like another challenge now, each one rendering you weaker than the last. The rain occasionally causing you to nearly slip on the roots and grass. Now, even with his help, you weren't going to get much further without any rest. Your body wasn't like his, from what you understand is that he's not human. He doesn't need sleep, water, or food or at least not to the extent that you did. Your breathing was slow and deliberate, your hand nearly digging into his long plague doctor coat. Your fingertips burned from being dragged on the forest floor.

Your legs trembled and you feared that you were going to end up collapsing again. The forest floor seemed wabble beneath you making your steps feel even worse. You looked back up until to see a huge dark mountain came into view. It rose high above all the trees and the peak was far up into the dark clouds. SCP-049 began to walk a little faster towards the new part of the forest. You let him tug you along with his long strides.

The mountain before you began to clear and with it a small cave materialized at the base. Your stomach felt uneasy rocking side to side with your weak body. Your eyes trailed up to the back of his head. The rain pouring down on the top of his hood and trickled down his black cloak.

He wasn't crazy enough to want to go in there is he? After what you'd seen in the forest so far you dreaded what you could find hidden away in a cave somewhere.

You nervously scanned the trees, flooded with fog, shadows and now puddles of water. What if there was a reason why those dog things suddenly disappeared. You're eyes were wide as you stared at the ominous cave in the distance.

Just as you feared he lead you closer and closer to its mouth. By now the floor switched from grass to slick rocks. You purposefully slowed down, lightly pulling him back. He ignored your tugging and continued to pursue the cave.

"You're not thinking of going in there right?"

His calm eyes met your alarmed ones. You lightly pulled on his coat trying to direct him another way. He seemed to take the time to rethink his original plan for a moment. His gaze shifting from the cave to you. Then, the next thing you knew he took another step towards the entrance.

"H-hey.. We don't know what could be in there." You started to panic and let go of his jacket refusing to follow him.

"I'm quite sure it will be alright. We haven't seen many other options for a while, and with all this rain. We wouldn't want you to fall ill now would we?"

Your heart dropped and you absentmindedly took a step back. The fear in the back of your mind resurfaced. If you got sick would he think you had the pestilence? The comfort he had given you fled as well as the rest of your confidence.

He waited for you until he eventually continued.

"Nevertheless, I'll check if anything is in here if that will soothe you."

Your teeth grinded against your cheek as you watched him disappear into the cave. But what if, the real danger in the cave turned out to be him? You breathed in slowly and listened to the rain fall around you. If you left now, again you'd be as good as dead. But, if you risked it with SCP-049 you would at least have a chance. You began to relax again when you reassessed the situation. You held your burning and bandaged shoulder, maybe you had more than just a chance.

"It's empty, Doctor." His deep voice echoed against the caves walls out to you.

Your body had already began to shiver with the combination of cold, tired, hungry and pain. You took in a deep breath and stepped into the cave.

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