About the one who got away - SCP Foundation

The loud rumble of the impact scared the birds in the moor, who reveal the wet body of Thomas Heer on take-off. He raises on the spot and inspects his surroundings. A plane of reed and other long shrubbery at night, enclosed by trees: So nothing clear-cut, but freedom by meaning. He is free. He, D-56434, escaped the Foundation's clutches and now united with the outside world. But orientation comes first. A longer foot march eventually led to a sign reading "Wurzacher Ried", which is a quite known nature reserve in Baden-Württemberg. "Hmm, so that's what they meant by "It's nice here, but have you been to Baden-Württemberg?", he thought. Perhaps, he will catch sight on tourists and reintegrated into society. They fortunately gave him civilian clothing, so at least he does not stand out.

Arriving at the end of Wurzacher Ried, the stranded treads a road, following the latter to a town sign with the inscription "Bad Wurzach". Better not draw any attention now, which would make every bull appear ordinary in a china shop. But already the first step towards civilization showed he might be the most normal individual here. Not humans, no, creatures walk these streets. The only human thing about them is their physique, which is, however, covered by grey skin. The eyes blood-red and underlined by a broad grin that solely uncovers their long teeth. No trace of hair but antennae-like appendages cover their heads. Moreover, their hands - and consequently their fingers - are way too thick and their feet too long. They aren't even wearing any clothes. Thomas only stood there, immobilized by fear, and weighing up his chances of survival. Then, he was addressed by one of the profane creatures, and it said with a way too joyful, almost forced voice "Good afternoon sir, are you also here to visit our lovely Baden-Württemberg?" This was the straw that broke the camel's back and the rigidity in his legs. He ran faster than ever before, while the alien called something his ear canal was no longer eager to record. This can't be true. Had he fallen into some kind of mirror world or is all of this a nightmare? He doesn't know how long he traveled after that day. Whereby day is the wrong term, as the sun never rose, which also gave reason to the grey skin of these creatures. He encountered all sorts of strange beings, pedigrees of earthly animals, on the run, all of which featured similar mutations to these "humans" residing here. Ultimately, his feet stepped on Freiburg in Breisgrau, a metropolis, which is, however, situated at the other end of Baden-Württemberg. He did not walk in circles, he is sure of that, but the opposite direction brought him back to Konstanz. What ever this world is, it only consists of this one federal state.

You can probably only stay here to relax. Fortunately, the creatures living here speak German, too, otherwise Thomas would have been up a creek without a paddle. He got the money required for the hotel from pockets of others, using his trained sticky finger tricks. And was in dear need of a shower. These creatures sure are social, he thought. It might be possible to ask them for useful information in order to learn more about this obscure world. At the reception, he could obtain a map for Baden-Württemberg, which only featured one anomaly after closer inspection: The text "Throne Room" in Stuttgart. Thus, he decided to visit said location and ask the authority ruling here for an escape. But first off, he needs to eat. The hotel's own kitchen bore a plethora of bizarre groceries, most of which probably saw as little sun as their consumers. Leaves with orange or violet color, grey chunks of meat, and more unidentifiable curiosities. He filled his plate to the brim and ate the surprisingly tasty food. He took the knife with him for protection.

The bus driver made a suspicious face when paid, but he allowed him to pass. Some inhabitants asked where it takes him, and when he told them his destination, they always tried to deter and tell him about the immaculate beauty of their home. On the one hand, this is annoying, but beneficial in gathering information. There aren't that many differences, except for what has already been seen. In the end, he came to the last bus driver, who forbade the escort and advised to not disturb the highness, as no soul has ever returned. But what could be worse now? And maybe they never returned, because they now walk the Earth. This thought is both comforting but also in conflict with said emotion. One last walk and then he will reach possible freedom.

The castle was of imposing height and width, showing a dark-blue color. Yellow ribbons hang from the towers, which feature Baden-Württemberg's coat of arms. Two guards block the way inside that consists of a wooden bridge above a water-filled trench. Apparently these creatures were neither very developed in terms of weaponry nor aimed at humans, given that he could quickly stab them with his knife. Shortly before he opened the door to the castle, he had this inexplicable thought of going back and leave everything as it is. He could only resist with greatest efforts, and simply kicked the door open. He felt the same way on the outward journey from time to time and wondered what the food contained. Several more short fights later, he stood in front of the pompous door to the literal throne room, which he also simply pushed open.

Now, he imagined a lot of things in his head: An at least two meter tall specimen of these creatures in luxurious gown or simply some bored politician. But never the long, fat, and extremely revolting pulsing of a centipede that probably was even longer and wider than a blue wale. The soft body is covered by a robust shell, which emitted cracking noises when moved. Another "normal" entity emerged and asked what I am doing here, but was cut off, when the centipede's antennae began to glow. It then said "Murderer of my kind, what are your desires in our forbidden halls?" Thomas replied "Your majesty, I search for an escape to flee from this world. I am stranded here." The centipede stretched its head upwards and roared. " Had you not sent my suite to the beyond, I would have been tempted to offer ear to your gobbledygook, but now die." The entity, which seemingly served as mouthpiece, glanced around in confusion, but gets pushed away by the centipede that scuttled towards Thomas. He manages to dodge and ram his knife into the being, whereupon the latter screams, with a dark-green gas being pointedly fired into Thomas' face. He holds a hand over his mouth, but it was already too late and he once again feels the compulsion to return to Baden-Württemberg. This state only dissipated when his head hit the thick inner skin of the beast, which made him lucid again. After a time span, which felt like an eternity, he seemed to have inflicted enough damage onto the interior that the centipede lifelessly collapsed into itself, releasing a whole waft of mist of its gases.

Thomas emerged from the carcass, walked towards the creature previously knocked over to be struck as the new king. But it was just as hard to find as all the other inhabitants. Then it dawned on him that this world was inhabited by a swarm intelligence.