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|| It was inevitable that your shoes would get bloodied. ||

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It was like trudging through water. With every step, you sunk deeper and deeper. Your lungs filled with water as everything only grew darker. Everything pushed against your body. Heavier, heavier, there was so much pressure. You were going to die. You were dying. You were already dead.

But, you refused.

You kicked upward, reaching for the surface. For anything. Something. This can't be the end, it couldn't. Your fingertips grazed the surface of the water. Just a little more. With the last of your strength, you kicked up one more time. You gasped and-

And your eyes opened again.

You very nearly tripped and fell. What...? Your head whipped around the room, taking in your surroundings again. This was the lockdown checkpoint again. You brought your hand back up to your neck. It had definitely been broken and you definitely should have died. An uncomfortable feeling crawled up your spine. How were you still here? The ground spun and you probably would have vomited if it weren't for you actively holding it back.

Leaning against a wall, you tried to regain your bearings. Was this more like the game than you thought? If you died, you would go back to a checkpoint where you had "saved". But... you couldn't choose when to save nor could you load so was it an automatic thing? Did you only go back after you died?

"Today has just gone from bad to worse," you declared.

Really preferring not to test out the limits of whatever just happened, you decided to just ignore it until it became relevant again. If it caught up to you later, well, that was for later you to think about. Why actually perceive something terrible happened when you could just not? You pushed that entire experience to the back of your mind.

With the urge to vomit subsiding, you inserted the keycard and walked through the door. If it was what you thought it would be, then Peanut wouldn't be in this catwalk but the next one. You put on the gas mask and ran right through the first room. You still eyed the short end of the hall before blinking and entering the second catwalk.

Running, you swiftly crossed the catwalk. You ignored the faint blurriness of your vision as you spotted the statue and exited the catwalk. Shutting the door behind you, you came across two paths. You winced as you kneaded your head gently. A throbbing headache pulsed before disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

You pulled out the S-Nav to check the layout of the Heavy Containment Zone. There was a dead end closer to the right. Pocketing the S-Nav, you went left. You opened the door and blinked in surprise. A tesla gate. Wait, if the tesla gate was here then-

On cue, a woman ran through the other side of the room, looking like she was sprinting for dear life. Her hair was messy and she looked to be out of breath.

"Ma'am! That is a-" Too late, she ran through the tesla gate. It electrocuted her as one would expect. Unfortunately, you had the pleasure of watching her jolt and fall to the ground. "Tesla gate..."

You could feel the static electricity in the air from the gate. Maybe you should move that body. After taking a good look at the dead woman, you decided nah. You'll just leave it to whoever was the poor janitor in this facility. You hoped they got paid enough to deal with that. Now, how should you go through the tesla gate... You knew you had to get close enough to activate it and then sprint through but it was rather daunting in person. You stared at it for a good long while until you sighed and shrugged. "Yolo."

You got close enough for the gate to activate, the electricity just barely tickling the tip of your nose before you directly sprinted through the gate. You heard the gate activate again with a crackle of energy but you were too focused on the mild adrenaline rush to pay attention. You gave the recently deceased corpse one last look before continuing on your path. You needed to find 049's elevator to get the level 4 keycard now. Walking through the straight corridor, you checked the ceiling in case 106 spawned.

In the next room, there was a loud bang and the lights went out. Several seconds later, they turned back on and 173 appeared in the middle of the hall. You kept a close eye on it while squeezing past to exit the hall and close the door behind. You heard another stray scream emanating from somewhere else in the facility. Now, at the four-way hallway, you checked the S-Nav again, deciding to go left. You opened the door and found it was 106's chamber.

"Huh," you mumbled. Welp, couldn't go there yet so you went to the room across from it.

You went through a couple of rooms, finding the body of a facility guard on the ground in one. Checking the S-Nav once in a while, you wandered through the area, trying to find where you needed to go. You had gone back to the tesla gate, this time, passing through it without as much anxiety.

Eventually, you stumbled upon 513's chamber but elected not to go that way yet. In the room across from it, you found the small server room. Entering the corridor, the door immediately shut and the lights began to flicker.

You winced as you heard 096 begin screaming and a poor guard yell. The sound of gunshots came next and the windows became bloodied. The lights flickered even more before it came to an end and the cries of 096 started once again. You were pretty sure that was going to haunt your dreams for the next couple of weeks.

You exited that room and went through 513's chamber. The hole in the wall was perfectly acceptable as a way to get into the room and you only spared a stray glance at the broken glass case before going through. Abruptly, you paused and looked up at the ceiling. There should be a security camera in here...

Oh. There it was. You stared at the blinking red light of the camera, only mildly surprised when you saw it move to match your movements. Interesting. Was 079 watching you? You gave the camera a small wave before going on your way.

You wandered a little while longer and at this point, you really wanted to curse whoever built this damned facility. It was a maze, certainly, and you wondered how many people had gotten lost around here. You nearly sighed in relief when you found the elevator down to 049's room. There should be a level 4 keycard down there.

You took the time to stretch a little and take a short break before going into the elevator. Pacing around the elevator, you waited, noting that it was surprisingly loud. There was also a slight shakiness to it that almost made you uncomfortable. As you reached the bottom and the doors opened with a 'ding' the lights went out.

Walking slowly, you reached for the walls. There should be night vision goggles down here somewhere but for now, you simply fumbled around, waiting for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. If you were correct, then you were either closer to the switch that would turn on the lights or the one for the generator.

It would be a good idea to turn on the generator one first as the 049-2 instances would begin rising if you were to turn the lights on. Noticing a vague darker blob on the ground, you leaned down and reached for it. Grasping it, you found that it was the night vision goggles.

'Do these have batteries in them?' you thought, fiddling with them. Oh well, you wouldn't know until you tried them on.

You pulled them over your head and blinked at the green tinge it gave everything. Yup. Definitely had batteries in them. Nifty. You walked forward and continued into the room, the only sound in the area being your footsteps. One of 049-2 instances was on the ground to the left and while you were walking into the room, you found there was another on the other side.

You turned the elevator power feed from "Main" to "Generator". Exiting the room via the other side, you neatly sidestepped the body and jolted at the loud static noise from the intercom. Ugh. Probably 079. Across the hall was 049's containment room which consisted of a bed, a table and a chair. You wrinkled your nose at the revolting smell of the corpses.

Continuing down the hall, you went left where the other room was that had the switch for the lights. You switched it on and the lights buzzed and turned on. Removing the night vision goggles, you let your eyes adjust to the new light. The 049-2s should be rising up right about now so you headed to the elevator closest to you, knowing the plague doctor would come out of it. Assuming you wouldn't mess up, you should be able to get out. Just as you neared the elevator, the doors opened up, revealing 049.

"Ah, I wasn't aware we had company. We rarely get visitors down here," he said smoothly.

You ran backwards, trying to keep an eye on him while glancing back to make sure you wouldn't run into any walls. You made it about halfway through the hall before accidentally tripping and falling over nothing, giving 049 the chance to catch up to you. You hissed as he reached down and touched your bare neck.

"Do not be afraid. I am the cure."

Your vision blurred and everything went dark, once again.

There was what you thought to be, about a 5-second interlude with blurry visions and nonsensical shapes before your eyes reopened again. You looked around, noticing that you were in front of the lights switch again with the night vision goggles on as well. You clicked your tongue. Another death and that one was definitely your fault. You stretched your arm, frowning a bit at the numbness in it. Strange.

Sticking your hand in your pockets, you counted what was in them. Gas mask, keycard levels 3 and 4, S-Nav and 1499. Okay, so there shouldn't be anything you hadn't grabbed yet. Perhaps this time, you should be more careful when running.

You pulled the lights switch and took off the night vision goggles. 'Alright,' you told yourself, 'don't be an idiot and fall this time.' You went to the closest elevator and took a deep breath. As expected, the doors opened and out came the SCP.

"Ah, I wasn't aware we had company. We rarely get visitors down here," he said again. Then, he stopped in the tracks and tilted his head. "How peculiar. You no longer have the pestilence."

What.

Your eyes narrowed. What the hell did that mean? Although he stopped his pursuit of you in favour of muttering to himself, you decided you didn't want to stick around long enough to see what happened. You sprinted to the other side of the chamber while dodging the zombies. You slammed your hand against the elevator's button and waited for it to arrive.

It came down slow enough for anxiety to take hold but quick enough for you not to be caught. You ran in, pressing the close door button. You breathed heavily and leaned against the side of the elevator. It rode up, not quite as smooth as some elevators you had been on, but functionally fitting for a horror game.

The doors opened up and you stepped out. Where to go next? You didn't necessarily have to go back to the server room but you supposed you could if you wanted to for the experience or maybe just for the hell of it. You checked the S-Nav. Well, it wasn't like you were trying to speedrun through this, you probably had time.

You made your way back around to 513's chamber, stepping through the broken wall and heading into the corridor with the server room. You closed the door behind you and took a deep breath. You could hear 096 crying within the room.

Stepping into the room, you kept your gaze on the ground. The doors slid shut behind you and you began walking. The only sounds were your footsteps and 096's whimperings. You stayed close to the walls and maneuvered your way until you found the switches. You pulled them and worked your way around to find the last one.

"Hey there buddy," you mumbled, seeing 096's pale limbs.

As long as you didn't try to look up, you should be fine. You nearly shivered as you brushed past him. You walked through the doorway on the other side of the room and entered the second half of the server room. Your nose scrunched up at the blood on the floor. You walked through it anyway, it was inevitable that your shoes would get bloodied.

You hurried over to the right side of the room where the other switch for the power feed should be. You pulled the switch from "Main" to "Generator". Slowly, you headed back out, still staying close to the walls.

On your way back, you could feel 096 still sort of meandering around so you tried your best to avoid him. You failed, of course, and very nearly ran into him. You muttered a quiet apology and continued to the door. You heard confused whimpering and the light pressure of someone's hand on your back. You didn't turn around.

"Sorry, buddy, I've gotta go," you said, taking another step forward. Another whine but you could feel the hand lift off your back. "Thanks."

You got to one of the doors and pressed the button. Sure enough, the door opened up. You stepped out and closed the door behind you. Well, that was an experience, you supposed. If you were lucky, you wouldn't interact with 096 again but you doubted it. Taking a glance at the S-Nav, you began to walk.

Time to head back to 106's chamber.

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New SCPs in this chapter:

SCP 106

SCP 513

SCP 096

SCP 079

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Published: October 31, 2020

Word Count: 2,381

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Happy Halloween, everyone. I heard 166 got a rewrite which is pretty cool. Thanks for reading!