We were more forgiving. We trusted that they would change, and we went along with their lies. Never again.



SCP-8035: I Have Seen What The Darkness Does

by: Merehrab

⚠️ Content warning: Depictions of gore, body horror, and ableism. Some views expressed in this article are not expressed or condoned by the author. This article is a commentary on topics such as ableism.

⚠️ content warning

Item#: 8035

Containment Class: esoteric

Secondary Class: umbra

Disruption Class: keneq

Risk Class: danger

Aerial capture of the forest containing SCP-8035-1.

Special Containment Procedures:1 As SCP-8035 cannot be reasonably contained, containment efforts are to instead be directed towards SCP-8035-1. Foundation Site-35 has been assigned to supervise these containment efforts. The known entrances to SCP-8035-1 have been blocked off, and a cover story about construction in the area has been sent to all news media outlets. Four armed guards are to be placed near these entrances to further ward off civilians. News coverage of disappearances near the entrances to SCP-8035-1 is to be suppressed, with cover stories to be implemented as soon as possible.

Any SCP-8035-2 instances are not to be interacted with, and any personnel who have been taken by an SCP-8035-2 instance are to be considered lost. The Foundation has partnered with a nearby campground2 and its personnel to further observe the entrances to SCP-8035-1, and any SCP-8035-2 instance that travels through these entrances.

Description: SCP-8035 is the noticeable decline of anomalous manifestations in the U.S. state of Ohio that has occurred since the late 1930s. Anomalies currently living in the state of Ohio have not been observed to degrade or decay, however, very few anomalies have been shown to manifest in the state of Ohio as of the year 2022.

Examples of this reduction of anomalous manifestations include:

Birth rates of various types of reality benders and thaumaturgists, which have decreased to a rate of 0.00001%.

Some anomalous flora that are common in the American Midwest are not known to commonly grow in the state of Ohio in the past few decades, if at all.

A variety of anomalous species were documented living in Ohio prior to the late 1930s, however, most of these species have since fled from the state for unknown reasons.

The cause of this reduction of anomalous phenomena is a previously assumed separate anomaly, now designated SCP-8035-1.

SCP-8035-1 is an extradimensional space of uncertain size and origin, containing a forest biome that houses several anomalous entities. SCP-8035-1 is accessible via several Ways that commonly appear in Shawnee State Forest, located approximately 80 kilometers from Site-35. There is also a mostly undetermined process to enter SCP-8035-1, which occurs whenever an individual becomes “lost,” where then a dark space will manifest on the side of their current path regardless of where the individual is going, and individuals who walk through this space will inevitably enter SCP-8035-1.

Not much is known about the interior of SCP-8035-1, as individuals who entered the anomaly have not been found since. SCP-8035-1 has been presumed to possess numerous anomalous qualities.

The inhabitants of SCP-8035-1, designated SCP-8035-2, are various anomalous species that have been transfigured by an unknown effect, presumably caused by SCP-8035-1. These anomalous species have been transfigured in various ways, including growing extra limbs, massively increasing in size, and gaining various deformities and mutations. SCP-8035-2 instances have also been observed to possess unstable personalities, suggesting that each instance’s psyche has also been affected by SCP-8035-1.

SCP-8035-2 are usually docile when not interacted with, however, they can become aggressive when threatened, or when an individual upsets them in some sort of way. These entities will also occasionally exit the portals connecting SCP-8035-1 and Shawnee State Forest, and will subsequently grab any human nearby and take them back through the portal. Any attempts to rescue these individuals have been unsuccessful.

Research is ongoing to determine the full effects of SCP-8035-1, and to further understand the connection between SCP-8035 and SCP-8035-1.

Discovery: SCP-8035 was discovered on 1963/04/23 when the Analytics Department compiled a report of anomalous manifestations in the state of Ohio, where they found that the number of anomalous manifestations in the state has been slowly decreasing since the year 1939. Numerous attempts throughout the years to determine the cause of this decline of anomalous manifestations have been unsuccessful.

SCP-8035-1 was discovered on 1999/07/02, when several reports of unexplainable disappearances near Shawnee State Forest were intercepted by Foundation agents. These reports describe several individuals entering through “some kind of wormhole” before “completely disappearing” in front of witnesses' eyes. These reports were intercepted before news outlets could report on the situation, and the witnesses were subsequently amnesticized and cover stories were implemented.

Observations of the Ways connecting Shawnee State Forest to SCP-8035-1 revealed the existence of SCP-8035-2, and initial interactions with instances of SCP-8035-2 resulted in immediate aggression from the instances, which led to the creation of current protocols regarding interactions with SCP-8035-2 instances.

Further research into SCP-8035-1 has revealed little about its connection with SCP-8035, and its overall effects. Initial exploration within SCP-8035-1 had been approved, however, footage of this exploration could not be recovered, as once personnel entered the anomaly, the cameras immediately lost function, and could not be reactivated. The additional loss of personnel once entering the anomaly has led to a halt in further explorations.

Addendum 8035.1: Update regarding SCP-8035-1

Throughout the weeks between 2022/09/25 and 2022/10/09, the number of disappearances near SCP-8035-1 due to the actions of SCP-8035-2 has increased at an immense rate. The latest disappearance has been reported to be the head of Psychology and Parapsychology at Site-35, Dr. Michael Prescott. Witnesses described Dr. Prescott’s office as having been “ransacked”, and that they saw a “dark shadow” slowly dissipate from the wall. It has been presumed that a portal had manifested inside Dr. Prescott’s office and that an SCP-8035-2 instance attacked Dr. Prescott, and took him through the portal for unclear reasons.

By the order of Director Webb, a task force was created for the purposes of entering SCP-8035-1 to find and rescue the missing doctor and any other missing individuals, and to diplomatically engage with SCP-8035-2 instances to learn more about SCP-8035-1 and its effects.

Before this task force could be deployed, Officer Emily Blake from Site-35 was sent to the campground to discuss the matter of SCP-8035-1 and its inhabitants with the personnel of the campground, and how to effectively engage with SCP-8035-2 instances.3 The first briefing with the campground personnel has been transcribed below.

<Begin Log>

Emily’s body camera activates, showing the interior of a black van. The van can be seen moving along a dirt path. The van slows down, and Emily turns to the front of the van. The camera shows a section of the forest suddenly moving on its own, revealing a dirt path.

The van turns left into the path. As it drives through this path, a sign can be seen in the distance. On closer inspection the sign reads “CAMP FANTASIA UP AHEAD”, with a logo of a dragon’s head breathing fire from its mouth, and an arrow pointing upwards underneath the text.

The van eventually arrives at a clearing in the forest, where several tents and buildings can be seen up ahead. The driver pulls open the van door, and Emily disembarks the van and steps onto the ground below.

In the distance, two children can be seen. One is a human boy looking through binoculars, and the other is a young girl with red skin and horns that curve up from the side of her head above the ears, looking at the van along with the boy.

Child #1: Is that them? Are they here?

Child #2: Yeah, that’s them. Go get the others!

The girl springs up and immediately begins running towards the campground.

Child #1: The wardens are coming! The wardens are coming!

Immediately, more children can be seen peeking their heads out of the tents. Several campground personnel can be seen leaving the buildings, looking at Emily up ahead. One of them, a dark-skinned male, heads toward Emily to greet her.

Campground Employee: Haven’t seen you guys in a while! What’s the deal, now?

Emily walks up to the employee, and shakes his hand.

Emily: Emily Blake. I’m here to discuss some issues that we’re having with the forest.

Campground Employee: Oh, okay, this is serious, then.

Merek: Well, my name's Merek, it’s nice to meet you. How bad is it?

Emily: Enough to have an entire task force about to storm the place.

Merek: Great.

Emily: We’ll take care of it once we know more about what we’re dealing with.

Merek: Do you not have any procedures to deal with this?

Emily: ‘No contact’ was the procedure before we got here.

Merek: Why, though? These guys aren’t the ‘eating people’ type that you keep around. We’ve had plenty of negotiations with them, and they seem fine.

Emily: Can you show me what they’re like, then? We need to know how to diplomatically engage with them.

Merek: So you’re not just brute forcing your way in and shooting anybody.

Emily: We’re changing how we run things.

Merek: I guess that’s good to hear, ‘cause I’d rather not deal with what you used to be. But anywho, let me take you to our administrative office, so we can talk things over.

Merek: Welcome to Camp Fantasia!

Emily follows Merek into one of the buildings. They enter a room with a large table and several desk chairs, with two filing cabinets pushed against the wall behind the table.

Merek: Feel free to sit wherever you like.

Emily takes a seat, and Merek takes the seat across from her.

Merek: Alright, so. What’s the situation here? What’s making y’all get so antsy?

Emily: Your forest friends have been kidnapping people in droves since September, including our own personnel.

Merek: You’re serious?

Emily: Analytics reported an unusual increase of disappearances in this very area, so I’m inclined to believe that they’ve been kidnapped.

Merek: Look, this has never happened when I was here. We’ve never seen them take anybody. And even before I got this job, I never heard of something even remotely similar happening here.

Emily: We’ve figured it was a recent development, but we still need answers. Maybe you can shed some light on these beings, so we can figure this out together.

Merek: I mean, it’s not really that complicated, at least for us. We’ve noticed throughout the years that our forest neighbors have some sort of pattern for each of them. They like and dislike certain things, and if someone steps out of line and does something that they don’t like, things don’t go very well for both parties.

Emily: So they have unwritten rules that you have to follow, otherwise-

Merek: They get angry, obviously. But I know it’s not their fault. Whatever’s in that forest is changing them into something that they can’t control.

Emily: Can I see a list of these rules?

Merek: Sure! I got a packet right here.

Merek stands up, goes to grab a packet from the filing cabinet, and hands it over to Emily. Emily scans through the packet, looking over the rules.

Merek: See anything interesting?

Emily: ‘All the doors to the campground buildings must be kept unlocked after 8:00 pm every Thursday. The Man-Who-Laughs does not like the look of the doors when they aren’t able to be opened.’

Emily: You keep the doors unlocked?

Merek: First time that guy visited our campground, he busted down one of the doors when he found out that he couldn’t open it. We’ve kept those doors unlocked ever since.

Emily: What if something else decides to come in through those doors?

Merek: Oh, I should’ve clarified. We only keep the doors unlocked every Thursday night. Because he only ever comes around Thursday, you see?

Emily: These rules are very thorough. This one says ‘Each camper must not look outside their tents when the zippers are found to be open at night. If they do, they must not turn around.’

Merek: Oh, yeah, I know that one.

Emily: What happens when they turn around?

Merek: Well, we have negotiated with our neighbors to not harm the children, but they like to scare them in their own, uh, special ways.

Emily: That doesn’t sound worrying at all.

Merek: Look, we got everything under control, there is absolutely nothing that you should be worried about.

Emily: Besides what’s happening right now.

Merek: …Yes.

Emily: Alright, I think I have everything I need to know. Thank you for helping me out today.

Merek: You’re welcome. What are you going to do once you enter the forest?

Emily: We most likely have to interview the entities in those woods to find our personnel, then we determine any exit strategies and leave.

Merek: That doesn’t sound that difficult.

Emily: You have no idea.

Emily grimaces.

Merek: Something wrong?

Emily: I’m fine, it’s just- There’s someone in there that I’m worried about. A friend of mine.

Merek: Was he one of the kidnapped?

Emily: He was the latest to be taken. Dr. Michael Prescott, our psychologist. I don’t even want to think about what’s happening to him in that forest.

There is a short pause.

Merek: They got my brother?

Emily quickly straightens herself, and looks at Merek with a shocked expression.

Emily: Your what?

Merek: Oh god, if he’s in there, then- Oh no.

Emily: I had no idea he’s your- He never told me.

Merek: That’s alright. I don’t think he would rather talk about his family on any given day.

Merek: But if he’s in there, I- we need to get him out of there.

Emily: I’ll figure it out. Your information will help us in the long run.

Merek: Look, it’s not just that. Does Mike ever leave his office?

Emily: Not often. It’s his safe space.

Merek: Exactly. He likes to live in his little safe zone. I know why. You know why. He’s not going to be doing well in that forest, and now I’m getting worried.

Emily: He can defend himself just fine.

Merek: What makes you think that?

Emily: I know him.

Merek: So do I, and for a lot longer than you. Believe me, you should be worried.

Emily stands up, and turns to leave the room.

Emily: We’ll send our team in tomorrow. We’re going to get them all out. I know we will. We-

As Emily opens the door, on the other side is a large, dark shadow.

Merek: Wha-

The room violently shakes, and both Emily and Merek are suddenly dragged by an imperceptible force. Emily is immediately subsumed by the shadow, while Merek is dragged by the legs. He scratches his nails through the floor, screaming before being taken through the shadow.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.2: Exploration Log 1

The following video from Emily Blake’s body camera was sent to Site-35 Command on 2023/04/09. This video was cut into five separate logs along with other documentation for necessary context. Of note is that unlike previous expeditions, Emily’s camera was completely operational for the entire exploration, and never ran out of battery.

<Begin Log>

Interior of SCP-8035-1.

Emily’s camera activates, pointing up at the night sky. Emily slowly gets up and looks around to see a large forest in complete darkness. There is no sunlight from above.

Emily turns her head to see Merek standing next to a tree. Emily turns on her flashlight and begins to look around.

Emily: I see.

Emily searches her pockets, but cannot find her tranquilizer nor her service weapon.

Emily: I don’t have them anywhere. I could’ve sworn they were here a few minutes ago.

Merek: We’re gonna die.

Emily: We’ll be fine, just stay behind me and I’ll get us to safety.

The pair continues to move forward through the forest. There is a dense fog that proliferates throughout the forest. The trees look to be in a severe state of decay, and the vegetation has an ashen grayish-purple color, with leaves that have jagged edges. The low-hanging branches and roots of the trees are knotted and tangled, jutting like brambles.

Merek: This place creeps me out.

Emily: No kidding.

Merek: What should we do?

Emily: I’m finding one of your forest friends, we’ll get some answers, then we’ll find the missing personnel and get out. Just like I said.

Merek: How are we supposed to do all that? You’re not even part of the task force, right? And I’m just a camp counselor. We’re no match for this.

Emily: We’ll do what we can, and survive. That’s the only option we have.

Merek: I guess.

Emily stops in her tracks, and holds a fist up. Merek stops behind her.

Merek: What is it now?

Emily: There’s something up ahead.

In the distance is a humanoid figure, cloaked by the darkness and the fog.

Emily: Hopefully this one can give us some answers.

The figure begins to step closer to the pair, eventually being revealed by Emily’s flashlight. The entity resembles a human, but it lacks eyes, leaving only the eye sockets. It wears a black trench coat and a black fedora.

Merek: I’ve never seen this guy before.

Emily: You haven’t?

Merek: I’m serious, I haven’t. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one wandering around the campground.

Emily: We’ll just have to exercise caution, then.

Merek: Can’t we just turn around? I don’t like this.

Emily: We’ll be fine. Just remember: if it asks for your name, don’t give it one.

The entity eventually reaches the pair, and waves its hand as a greeting.

Entity: Salutations! I don’t think I’ve seen the two of you before. What brings you to this place?

Emily: We’re trying to look for our missing personnel that have ended up in these woods.

Entity: Ah, I see, you’re Foundation-folk! It’s quite nice to see some of you again.

Allan: Now, if I may introduce myself, my name is Allan. What are your names?

Merek: About that.

Allan: Do you not have the courtesy to just simply tell me your name? Unless you think I’m one of them.

Emily: What do you mean by-

Allan: You know what I am referring to. You’ve seen what they did.

Merek: You’re saying the people of the forest did this?

Allan: Not directly, no. But ever since they stepped foot in this place, everything fell apart. You’ve seen it as well, haven’t you?

Emily: You know about our manifestation problem?

Allan: Yes. It corrupted your side as well.

Allan: I doubt any of them are capable enough to cause something like this. But their mere presence caused something to react. And I was caught in the crossfire.

Emily: You were once a human?

Allan: Long ago, yes.

Emily: Do you remember what happened to you?

Allan: It’s been long since then. My memory’s fuzzy enough as is. However, if you are looking for your colleagues, I do have knowledge of that.

Merek: Have you seen any of them?

Allan: They were taken. By those who also wander these woods. For what purpose? I’m not certain.

Allan: But this place is not one where life flourishes. I have seen a corruption consuming these entities. They are content with this place, in its miserable state. If you are looking to rescue your personnel, you must be quick.

Emily: We’ll find a way to get them back. Have you seen any of our personnel around?

Allan: If I recall correctly, the last one went somewhere in this direction.

The entity points to the left.

Allan: Remember, you must be cautious. They can and they will harm you.

Emily: We’ll be fine. Thanks.

Emily and Merek head off in the direction that the entity pointed towards.

Merek: I don’t think this is a good idea. Should we even trust whoever that was?

Emily: We got a direction to point towards. That’s all we need right now. If it is a trap, we have to be on our toes and think quickly.

Merek: I guess so.

Emily and Merek continue to walk through the forest. All around them, there can be seen small blue glowing orbs of light, floating around the trees. A purple and green light shines through the dense fog, similar to an aurora borealis.

Merek: Not gonna lie, this is a beautiful sight.

Emily: It really is.

Emily looks around to spot any suspicious characters or other anomalies.

Merek: While I got the chance, can I ask you something?

Emily: Sure. We got time.

Merek: What exactly do you do at your sites? I know about your mission and whatever, but do y’all just sit around after you put people in cages or what?

Emily: Well, for our site specifically, we’re kind of like a therapy center. We get all kinds of skips with neurodivergent and physical conditions from other sites, and we help them make their lives more manageable.

Emily: We’ve helped some anomalies get Integrated into other sites, and we also have a section of our site where our pals over at the AEED help us provide a more safe and healthy environment for our staff and our contained anomalies alike.

Merek: Do you also have hotel rooms as cells for them?

Emily: They have more amenities than other sites. They have a furnished bed and a bookshelf, and we provide other amenities at the anomaly’s request, within reason. But it’s not a hotel room.

Merek: This sounds like you’re trying to make things look all fine and dandy for the people trapped in those cells. Didn’t do a great job with that, huh?

Emily: We are trying. What we do works. We’re here to protect everyone.

Merek: Keep telling yourself that.

Emily looks in the distance, and sees an object sitting on the ground in the far distance. As she walks ahead, she picks up the object and examines it. It is an internal Foundation newspaper with the headline “BLAKE AWARDED FOUNDATION MEDAL OF HONOR.” Such a newspaper does not exist.

Emily: The hell is this?

Merek: I don’t know, did one of your guys drop it when they were walking around?

Emily: I don’t recognize this publication.

Merek: Eh, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Maybe someone’s just screwing with you. I mean-

Merek looks to his left, and sees a tape recorder on the ground. He picks it up, and presses the ‘play’ button. A distorted voice begins to speak.

Unknown: I know he made mistakes, but he’s trying to be better. I understand that he’s trying. And I forgive him.

The tape ends.

Merek: Okay, that’s a little weird.

Emily: Maybe you’re right. Something is messing with us.

Merek: That was just a rough guess. I-

A loud howling sound can be heard in the distance, and the trees begin to shake violently.

Emily: What was-

An imperceptible force pushes Emily and Merek at an exceedingly rapid pace. Before Emily hits the ground, she turns her body at an angle so that the camera does not break.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.3: Exploration Log 2

The following is the second segment of Emily and Merek’s exploration inside SCP-8035–1.

<Begin Log>

Camera footage shows another section of the forest. Emily and Merek can be seen staring off into the distance.

Emily: Okay, why is that even there?

In the middle of the path, there can be seen a wooden outhouse.

Merek: I have no idea.

As the two approach the outhouse, banging, retching, and moaning noises can be heard coming from inside the outhouse.

Emily: We should go around.

Merek: Yeah, let’s do that.

The two carefully walk around the outhouse, and try not to get close to it. As Merek goes around where the door is to the side of the outhouse, he begins to walk faster.

Merek: Please don’t jump out at me, please don’t jump out at me, please don’t jump out at me…

The two successfully manage to get around the outhouse, and continue to walk through the path.

Emily: We need to find a safe space before we get ambushed by something that we can’t handle.

Merek: I know a guy in here who can help us, but his place could be anywhere around here. I wouldn’t know where to find- Wait, look!

As Emily and Merek go through a curve in the path, they see up ahead, in the distance a log house can be seen. Two bright lanterns are seen, one on each side of the porch.

Merek: This is the best convenient timing I’ll ever have in my life. We’ll be safe here.

Emily: I’ll take your word for it.

The two walk up to the front door of the house, and Merek knocks three times on the door. The door cracks open slightly, and an eye peeks through the crack in the door.

Unknown: Who’s calling?

Merek: It’s Merek.

Unknown: In the forest?

Merek: Look, just open the door. It’s a long story, but we’re here for a reason.

The unknown entity opens the door completely. The entity is a humanoid, wearing trousers, a black soft-collared shirt, and a tweed-wool newsboy cap. Its ears are long and pointed.

Merek: It’s nice to see you again, Sean.

Sean: I didn’t think you’d even be in here, Merek. What got you and your friend there into this mess?

Emily: We’re here on a mission. I think it’d be better if we can talk inside, we don’t feel safe right now.

Sean: Fair enough. This place isn’t that welcoming to visitors. Come on in.

The entity steps to the side and reaches out its arm towards the hallway ahead, welcoming Emily and Merek inside. The two enter the house and follow Sean through the hallway.

They enter a room with a couch, two chairs, and a coffee table. The room is in a severe state of disrepair, with the table nearly cracked in half and paint slowly being chipped off the walls. Hundreds of analog clocks can be seen throughout the room, on the furniture, and affixed to the walls.

Sean: I know this doesn’t look presentable, but I don’t got the time to fix it, unfortunately.

Emily: That’s alright. What about the clocks?

Sean: I can’t answer that. Sorry.

Emily and Merek both sit on the chairs, and Sean leans against the wall.

Sean: So, why are you two here? It must be important if you’re willingly walking through these woods.

Emily: We’re trying to find some of my colleagues, who’ve been reportedly taken by the inhabitants of this forest.

Merek: And my brother.

Emily: And his brother. It’s been getting worse over the past two weeks.

Sean: Even your brother?

Merek: Yeah. Right now I’d rather curl into a ball and cry, but he’s trapped here too, so I- I have to take action.

Emily: We’ll get him back. We just need to find where they took him and the rest.

Sean: That’s the thing that’s not adding up to me. We never try to ‘take’ people. Usually we just leave you all alone to deal with our own ackamarackus.

Emily: We saw them take people. We can’t deny that.

Sean: Well, whatever is taking them isn’t one of us. We’ve got problems that don’t involve you, and ever since this place decided to come into my life, those problems only became worse.

Emily: What kind of problems?

Sean: The mental kind, woman.

Merek: Is this about the-

Sean: Yes. It’s about that.

Emily: How is it getting worse?

Sean: For one thing, this forest has completely neutered my connection to magic. I’m just a regular bloke now, like you.

Emily: That’s exactly like what’s going on outside.

Merek: Yeah. Not a lot of magic is going around the state anymore.

Sean: Not just us now, huh?

Merek: It’s been like that for a while now, and there’s a whole connection between all of this, we just can’t figure out what.

Emily: What about your-

Sean: Did you meet anybody before you got over here?

Merek: Just a dude with a black fedora, why?

There is a short pause.

Sean: How did he not catch you?

Emily: Who?

Sean: Allan. He’s an enforcer for her. He likes to grab visitors and drag them somewhere. Don’t know where, but I bet they’re good as dead.

Merek: Her?

Sean: Yes, her. She is our mother, and we are our children. At least, that’s what she thinks. She’s the one who runs the place, or maybe even is the place, depending on how you look at it.

Emily: Is she responsible for this phenomenon?

Sean: No. Where did you get that idea from? She’s just as trapped as the rest of us.

Merek: Well, Allan is the one who takes visitors, right? So he might also be the guy who’s taking the wardens.

Emily: That doesn’t explain the fact that there are multiple entities.

Sean: I’ve seen him dragging along a few henchmen a couple of times. They could be doing the dirty work for him.

Merek: We’d have to go after him, then.

Sean: It’s not exactly a wise move to go after Allan. He’ll just tear you apart piece by piece. None of us can die here, but we’ll still feel the pain. All of it.

Emily: Before we do anything, we need to figure out where the missing personnel are. And ways to stop Allan without confronting him directly.

Merek: If we can get away from him somehow, I will definitely prefer that. I’d rather not get fried.

Sean: There are ways to navigate the forest without getting lost. It all just depends on the path that you want to take. If you want answers, the forest will give you answers.

Emily: So I need to think about my destination and a path will open up for us?

Sean: Pretty much. I wouldn’t give too much credit to the forest, though. It’s never going to give you an easy path.

Emily: We can defend ourselves just fine.

Merek: Emily can. I’m just dead weight.

Sean: You’ve made it intact so far, Merek. I’m sure you two will be fine.

Sean pushes itself away from the wall, and begins to look around the room and stare at the clocks.

Merek: Is something wrong?

Sean: No, it’s just- A lot has happened. I’ve been here too long.

Emily: What do you mean?

Sean: Like I told you before, we got problems. They were manageable, for a while. But now it’s just- I’m tired. Of all of this.

Emily: So what’s affecting you is more like an amplifier, and not something that’s controlling you?

Sean: I’m not some mindless beast or ‘unstable’ or whatever these hacks are coming up with nowadays. I can think for myself just fine, thank you.

Merek: It’s still affecting you with something, though.

Sean: Something has changed within us. For me, my memory was already a mess, but now there’s a fog in my brain and if you asked me anything about yesterday, I couldn’t tell you.

Sean: This place is changing me into something that I never wanted to be. And it’s changing them into something even worse.

Emily: I’m sorry that this is happening to you.

Sean: Don’t look at me like that. Just sitting there with pity on your face isn’t going to help anybody.

Merek: But we can help you. They can help you. We can fix this.

Sean: With what? The wardens have been turning a blind eye on us from the beginning.

Merek: We can fix you. Fix them. We can end your conditions altogether. They have the resources for that, right, Emily?

Sean: Alright, wise guy. That’s not how this works. You’re not going to cure anything. The only thing you can do is help make things more tolerable for us. No one’s got a cure, and if they did I know for a fact that just about everybody here would reject such an offer.

Merek: But you’re literally living in your own personal hell, why not take the offer?

Sean: Because one, you don’t know what it’s like, and two, most of the time when someone offers a ‘cure’ for stuff like this it’s usually some eugenics quackery. One of these days I’m going to go right up to those twits and just rip ‘em apart. Tell ‘em every little thing they’ve done to us.

Sean: I understand that you care, and you’re trying to help, but right now you're no help at all.

Emily: We’ll figure out something to help you and the people of this forest.

Sean: Good luck.

There is a short pause. Sean grabs a clock to look at it, and frowns.

Sean: Damn it all to hell.

Sean throws the clock against the wall. It shatters upon impact.

Merek: Whoa, whoa, hang on-

Sean: Like I’ve said, I’ve been here too long.

Sean: Look at the clocks. Look at them.

Sean starts to point at all the clocks. The hands of each clock move at a rapid pace, going faster with each rotation.

Sean: I can never see my family again. I can’t manage this. It keeps going, faster and faster. Soon enough, there’ll be no one around to miss me. Years go by, and you’ll miss everything. I’m going to miss everything.

Merek: Calm down, bud. Chill. I’m right here. You’re going to be-

Sean: Okay? You couldn’t even see me for who I am. You suggested ‘fixing’ me the moment it was brought up. Do you really care, or are you just doing this to feel good about yourself?

Merek: I want to help you.

Sean: Then do it the right way. Don’t just try to play nice and say the same shit as everyone else.

Emily: We’re going to stop this. We’ll come back for you.

Sean: You are such a terrible liar.

Merek: Look, Emily, he’s not going to be convinced. We should’ve followed Rule 74. We can’t talk about time or mental health in front of Sean.

Sean: Fuck off with all those rules. They never worked.

Sean: I just want to feel the sun's warm rays on my skin, and not just a facsimile. I want to feel the grass on my toes, the wind in my hair. I want to live.

Emily: We-

Sean: Just stop. Please.

Merek takes a step forward, but Sean stops him.

Sean: Leave me.

Merek: Wait-

Sean: Leave.

Emily grabs Merek’s shoulder and pulls him toward the door. They leave the premises, and head for the woods ahead of them.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.4: Exploration Log 3

The following is the third segment of Emily and Merek’s exploration inside SCP-8035–1.

<Begin Log>

Emily and Merek are walking through the forest. Amongst them are patches of purple, brown, and gray fungus, and heavily thatched leaves that intermingle with the winding and knotting tree trunks and extended branches.

Merek: What a great diplomatic conversation!

Emily: Why were you asking to ‘fix’ him?

Merek: Why were you not even trying to comfort him? You looked like a robot in there, cold and calculating. Do you even want to help him?

Emily: Do you?

Merek: Yes, I do. I have my reasons. What’s yours?

Emily: It’s my job to help them.

Merek: It’s always your job, and not a genuine desire to help. You’re not even helping people! You're putting people in cages!

Emily: I want to help them. Genuinely.

Merek: Then let’s stop dicking around and help!

Emily and Merek continue their walk. Merek closely inspects the area and starts to eye the trees surrounding the forest. He looks up from the trunk to where the branches extend. On closer inspection, where the branches extend, there are fragments of bones protruding along the branches, and the tips of these branches extend to form shapes similar to human hands. From the base of the trees up, the trees are shaped to resemble an elongated mouth, in a position as if it were screaming. Above this stretched mouth are holes in the trees resembling eye sockets that wind upward into where the canopy extends.

Merek: Have those always looked like that?

Emily: I haven’t looked at the trees.

Merek: This place just keeps getting worse by the minute.

The pair continue to walk through the forest, at a quicker pace. As Merek pushes a branch out of the way, the sound of a twig snapping can be heard in the distance. The two stop in their tracks.

Emily: Hide. Now.

The pair quickly but carefully move to the side, and crouch down behind some shrubbery. Emily turns slightly to get a better view of what is outside.

Running from the right of the camera view, there can be seen a human male, wearing a tattered suit. He is barefoot. He looks around wildly, before coming to a stop and breathing heavily.

Man: Is there anyone there? I saw something, and it was looking at me! Hello? Is anyone out there? You have to help me! Please, someone-

A blur seen from the right side of the camera rushes toward the man in a flash, grabbing him and immediately slamming him against a nearby tree. The man screams.

A three-meter-tall humanoid entity with large muscle mass can be seen holding the man up against the tree. It has no skin, and its body consists of only muscle tissue, organs, and blood vessels, somehow connected to form a whole body. Further review of this entity suggests that the shape of the entity’s body resembles that of a Yeren.

The entity carries a scythe, and as the man screams, the entity, in a particularly rapid motion, raises its arm and immediately plunges the scythe toward the man. The tip of the scythe goes through the man’s open mouth, tears through his neck, and embeds itself into the tree. Blood gushes from the man’s neck, dripping to the ground below. Gurgling noises can be heard.

Emily looks at Merek, who puts his finger to his mouth, indicating that they should stay quiet. As they slowly begin to quietly step away from the entity, it begins to speak.

Entity: That’s better.

The entity grabs its scythe and removes it from the tree and the man’s neck, dropping the man to the floor. The man can still be heard gurgling.

Entity: Oh, don’t worry about it, it’ll heal up soon. You’ll be fine.

Merek and Emily slowly and quietly move through the forest, making sure to make as little noise as possible. As they continue to move forward, Merek steps on a twig.

Merek: Shit.

The entity immediately turns its head toward the pair, and in a flash, dashes directly toward them. It stops, just in front of Merek, and waits. Merek slowly raises his arms, and gestures to Emily to do the same.

Entity: Please be more quiet next time.

Merek gives the entity two thumbs up. It nods, and walks away from the pair. Once it moves far away enough, the pair quietly move ahead, before they get to a spot where they are sure that the entity will not hear them.

Emily: Who even is that?

Merek: I know him. Rule 408. No loud noises when he’s nearby.

Merek: One time he went to camp and someone blasted thrash metal from their speakers. The guy heard it, went over to one of the tents, and kept bashing his head against the speakers until they broke. We added a new rule from then on.

Emily: Sean’s right. It’s making everything worse for them. We have to help them.

Merek: We will. I will.

The pair walk through the path ahead of them, as it continues to twist and turn in several directions. As they keep moving, a bright light suddenly shines on the pair from above. The light illuminates the forest, giving it the appearance of a non-anomalous forest. The trees look similar to the trees seen in Shawnee State Forest, and the leaves are an orange, yellow, and brown color.

Image of the rock with the carving that Officer Blake spotted.

Emily’s camera captures a rock, carved with the image of a circle and an eye, with a line passing through the middle of the eye. The light subsequently dissipates, leaving the forest in darkness.

Emily: That must’ve been the ‘sun’ that Sean was talking about.

Merek: Came up shorter than I thought.

Merek: Wait, quick question. How long have we been here?

Emily: That is a good question. I’d say a few hours, give or take.

Merek: Yeah, but if what Sean said is true, I want to know how long we’ve actually been in this place.

Emily: I don’t think we’ll know until we get out of here.

Merek: Fair enough.

The two continue down the path. The path leads to another clearing in the forest. The two slow to a stop, as they see three figures in the distance.

Merek: Great.

In the distance, Allan, the skinless entity from before, and a large entity with the body of a scorpion and the face, arms, and torso of a man can be seen conversing with one another.

Allan: Any luck with finding them yet?

The skinless entity from before speaks up.

Entity: I found two. They were trying to sneak through the forest.

Allan: Where did you see them go?

Entity: They’re near this area. Don’t know where.

Allan: Then we must find them. She is speaking with me again, and she needs more.

Scorpion Entity: Sir, this hunt of yours is beginning to be a waste of time. How many of these wardens does she need before she is satisfied?

Allan: They left us to rot here, my friend. You know what they did. We all know what they did.

Allan: How many times have you heard these fools call us the monsters who prey on their children? They were the ones who set this madness into motion. They do not care about your needs. They do not care about your suffering. They will cast you out and leave you to die.

Scorpion Entity: But she wants us to take them to her, for what reason?

Allan: Retribution. That is the only clear course of action here.

Allan: Find the two wanderers, and bring them to me. With them, we’ll obtain the rest shortly.

The two entities nod, and head in different directions. Allan leans its ear close to a tree, as if listening for something. It hears nothing, and stands straight before looking off into the distance.

Allan: Excellent. It’s not watching me.

Allan smiles, with the edges of its mouth stretching to the tips of its ears.

Allan: Now the real game can begin. They have no idea.

Allan vanishes from the space, leaving only a dark fog, resembling a portal. This fog subsequently dissipates.

Merek: What does he mean by that?

Emily: He might be playing his own game. He lied to us earlier about the entities. He’s planning something.

Merek: Let’s hope we figure this out before he gets to us first.

The pair hurry down the path ahead, until they reach an eventual end. Ahead of them are the debris of what looks to be an abandoned facility, with moss and rust covering the exterior of the facility.

Emily: This is it. This is where we’ll find what we’re looking for.

Merek: Let’s end this.

The two enter the facility, closing the doors behind them.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.5: Exploration Log 4

The following is the fourth segment of Emily and Merek’s exploration inside SCP-8035-1.

<Begin Log>

Emily and Merek are seen walking down a corridor, with white walls and a sterile surrounding. The lights in the ceiling continue to flicker every few seconds.

Merek: Do you feel like something is off about this?

Emily: I’ve been in abandoned places before. This doesn’t look that off to me.

Merek: Still, I’m getting this weird feeling in my stomach. Like something’s about to happen.

Emily: We should be alert, then. We can’t let ourselves be jumped by another anomaly. Not right now.

Emily and Merek continue to walk down the corridor. They eventually turn left, to another corridor. Merek notices something on the wall to the left. It is a logo of a circle, with three arrows pointing inwards.

Emily: How?

Merek: You were here before.

Emily: No one has ever told us this. The director didn’t mention anything about this.

Merek: Maybe she knew, and couldn’t tell you.

Emily: That doesn’t sound like something she would do. She would never allow something like this to stay hidden.

Merek: You said that they wouldn’t allow you to enter the forest or talk with our forest neighbors, right?

Emily: They had very specific restrictions.

Merek: Well, now we know why.

Emily: You’re suggesting that we did this?

Merek: From what I see, the evidence is pretty damning. But we can find out otherwise.

The pair continue down the corridor and turn left. Down this corridor are containment cells, with each door to the containment cell left open. As the pair move through this corridor, in one of the cells there can be seen dried blood on the floor.

Emily: What even happened here?

As the pair reach the end of the corridor, the camera’s audio picks up faint whispering, and an entity with long, black hair that reaches down to its shoulders and a white dress passes through an intersection between two corridors, from left to right. Merek and Emily do not notice these occurrences.

They turn down another corridor, with more containment cells. The doors at the end of the corridor lead to a cafeteria.

Merek: I’m not ready for this.

Emily: Nowhere to go but forwards.

Emily opens the doors, and the pair step inside. Inside the cafeteria, there are a large number of corpses littered around the area. They are melted and charred, and fused to the walls and the floor.

Emily: Oh my god.

Merek: I think I’m going to be sick.

Emily: We have to keep going.

Merek: Through the bodies?

Emily: Just walk over them, don’t step on anything.

The pair pass through the cafeteria, making sure not to step on any of the corpses. They eventually make it to the door on the far end, but before they can open it, Merek notices a body fused to the wall, with its eye and parts of its mouth still able to function. Its eye turns to look at him, and its mouth can be seen twitching.

Merek: We have to go. Go!

Emily and Merek pass through the doors, and continue to walk at a quick pace through various sections of the facility. Nothing of significance occurs during this period. They eventually reach a room that looks to be an administrative office, with a large table in the center of the room and various filing cabinets in the back wall.

Merek: I’m getting sick of this.

Emily: This might be where they put all their documentation. We can start looking through the filing cabinets.

Merek: We should bring these back to your superiors, right?

Emily: We can’t bring them all back. I don’t have enough room for-

Emily looks at the table. A large duffel bag is seen on the table. It was not present when Emily and Merek entered the room.

Merek: Well, that’s convenient.

Emily: I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.

Merek: What, is there gonna be a head in the bag? I’ve already seen enough bullshit today.

Merek opens the bag, to find nothing.

Merek: See? Nothing to worry about. It’s not like everything’s out here to murder us. We can never be too ca-

The surroundings are enveloped in complete darkness. Merek is nowhere to be seen. Emily is standing in a dark void, alone.

Emily: Merek? Merek? Damnit.

Emily looks around. There is an object in the far distance. Emily walks in the direction of the object, and as she gets closer, she sees a large bronze statue of herself. A plaque on the base reads ‘EMILY BLAKE, HERO OF THE FOUNDATION’.

Emily: What even—

The surroundings shift. Emily is now in a building similar to a standard Foundation facility. The area is in disrepair, and the blaring sound of a klaxon can be heard in the distance.

Several corpses of unknown researchers in lab coats are seen scattered around the floor. The PA system in the facility suddenly activates, and a deep voice can be heard.

Unknown: Failure. Cretin. Worm. You could not save them. You failed to protect them.

Unknown: The locks will shatter, and the cracks in the foundations, your Foundation, will form. You will die like the rest.

Emily runs through the hallway, and turns a corner. The surroundings revert to the office where Emily was standing before.

Emily: I need to find Merek.

Immediately after, Merek slams the door open, and nearly collapses against the doorframe. Emily rushes to his side.

Emily: Are you okay?

Merek: What does it look like?

Emily: What did you see?

Merek: Spiders. Too many spiders.

Emily: It’s trying to trick us. It’s playing with our fears.

Merek: Well, it’s gonna have to try a lot harder than that.

Emily and Merek pick up the documentation, shove them in the bag, and move to leave the office. As they cross the door, the surroundings shift.

Emily and Merek appear in the void. A tape recorder is seen sitting on a small, round table. Merek picks it up and examines it.

Emily: What is this?

Merek: Only one way to find out.

Merek plays the tape. Two distorted voices can be heard.

Unknown 1: What’s up?

Unknown 2: I’ve been calling your name five times, and you didn’t even look at me.

Unknown 1: I’m trying, alright? I’m sorry, but I can’t-

Unknown 2: You never listen to me.

Unknown 1: I know that! I’m trying, but I can’t fix that. There’s nothing I can do.

Unknown 2: There is. You’re not slow, but you need to figure this stuff out. Unless you’re ignoring me.

Unknown 1: I’m not ignoring you. I’m not, I promise.

Unknown 2: I’m just sick of you not understanding shit. You don’t ask people things. You don’t even try.

Unknown 1: It doesn’t matter that much.

Unknown 2: It does to me. You don’t talk to anybody at school. You’re a nobody. How are you going to function once you leave the house?

Unknown 1: I can talk to people. I’m learning things.

Unknown 2: I don’t think you know anything at all. I’m worried about you, man. I don’t want you to get kicked to the curb.

Unknown 1: I can think for myself. I just slip up too often.

Unknown 2: You’ve done a lot more than just ‘slip up’, dumbass.

The surroundings revert to their previous state.

Emily: God, I- Who even was that?

Merek looks to the floor, and says nothing.

Unknown: That was what he’s been hiding from you this whole time.

The pair turn around. In front of them is an entity with a black trenchcoat and a black fedora.

Allan: I had quite a fun time watching you stumble around and revisit your worst nightmares.

Emily: Why are you doing this?

Allan: None of this was my doing. This is the true power of this place. You have desires, and you perceive things around you in your own way. Eventually you obsess over these desires, and you fear what would come if you lose them. These are no mere falsehoods.

Merek: Already figured that out. What do you want?

Allan: An audience for the spectacle ahead. I want your Foundation to know that their hard work will finally be complete.

Allan: Go ahead and look through those documents. Once you’re done, come find me. I’ll be waiting to start my grand finale.

Allan: You’ve done your part, so I will do mine.

Allan tips his fedora, and immediately vanishes. Emily and Merek are shifted to the exit of the facility.

Emily: I’m going to stop him.

Merek: How?

Emily: We know how this place works. So we’ll turn it against him.

Emily closes her eyes. After a few seconds, she opens them, and looks at her hand. She is now holding a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun.

Merek: Whoa.

Emily checks the ammo of the gun.

Emily: Only one bullet, of course. But it’ll have to do.

Emily opens the door, and leaves the facility, with Merek in tow.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.6: Recovered Documentation

The following is a collection of documents found in the abandoned facility inside SCP-8035-1. These documents contain transcripts of audio recordings, interviews, and notes left by the personnel of this facility.

Journal Entry from Unknown Author. April 9, 1939.

Got some new ones today. Director Huxley wants them for the new phase of his “experimentation trials.” God knows what that means.

They came down from Zane’s Trace, a frontier road built in the early 1800s, used by many Irish immigrants. It connects from St. Clairsville down to Adams County, right next to where we are.

They call themselves “The Wanderers”. Group of a bunch of faeries, Sasquatch, and creatures that look like they just walked right out of a fairy tale. We found a Cyclops that only speaks in rhyme, a few goblins strolling around, a banshee, and even an Aqrabuamelu! I never thought I’d get to see sights such as these.

They’re all displaced, for some reason or another. A large number of them have some sort of mental or physical condition. They grouped up together, to help one another and to fight to protect each other and their rights as citizens of our great country. It’s a nice sentiment.

I keep hearing how the director is conducting his tests, and extracting blood from these people. Apparently he is “determining their taint.” It’s not my business to snoop around, but I’m beginning to suspect that something is going on behind the scenes, and whatever it is, it can’t be good.

Interview between Director Huxley and [[ILLEGIBLE]]

<Begin Log>

Kegley: Here she is, sir. Your ‘oracle.’

Director Huxley looks through the glass in the observation room, at a young girl, sitting in a chair in the center of the room.

Huxley: I will speak to the entity. You will record this conversation through the audio receiver.

Kegley: Affirmative, sir.

Director Huxley enters the room, and sits in a chair opposite from the entity.

Huxley: Good afternoon, Dorothy. I will be your interviewer for today.

Entity: Sal Norton Huxley, your hubris will be your downfall.

Huxley shifts in his seat.

Huxley: Care to elaborate?

Entity: Your mission will not work. It is infeasible. Your traditional ways and your cult will fail you. This place will turn to ash.

Huxley: Can you give the exact details of when and how this place will fall?

Entity: I will never give you a when. But you will know it when you hear the screams, and the tearing of flesh, and the knowledge that you, director, have failed. You will forever be a footnote in history.

Huxley smiles.

Huxley: We’ll see about that.

Huxley leaves the room, and looks at Kegley.

Huxley: We shall continue our mission as intended.

<End Log>

Audio Recording of Interaction between Director Huxley and Engineer George Adler. July 21, 1939.

<Begin Log>

Adler enters Huxley’s office. Huxley is seen at his desk, shuffling some papers. He looks up at Adler, and smiles.

Huxley: What brings you here today, George?

Adler: There’s been a backwash of esoteric waste. We’ve been estimating that it can go critical in a month or so.

Huxley: That’s concerning.

Adler: We need a better system to deal with this. If you’re just going to keep being careless and let this excess magic junk from your experiments seep into our primitive ‘recycling’ system, it will mix with all the dimensional and temporal objects stored upstairs and kill us all. We need to get Acroamatic Abatement to fix this. Promptly.

Huxley: I will send them a notice. You can expect this to be solved in about three weeks.

Adler: Three weeks isn’t enough. That estimate I gave you was just a rough guess. We don’t know when any of this is going to blow.

Huxley: I have important business to attend to. Your situation will be addressed at another time.

Adler: What kind of ‘important business’? Your experiments? Hiding away in your office nearly every day? Your constant insistence on this nonsense ‘mission’?

Huxley: I am doing important work, work that will keep our Veil alive. You are sympathizing with these creatures. They are trying to convince you to release them from their restraints. They want nothing more than to go out to our world and spread their taint. We must remove this taint.

Adler: Is that why you’ve been collecting their blood?

Huxley: They need to be saved. I must make a cure, to fix their slow minds, and their physical conditions. They need our help.

Adler: I don’t think they need anything, especially from someone like you.

Huxley: Do you want to be labeled a traitor? Are you going to run out and free them all when I’m not looking?

Adler: I’m not going to be a deserter. But we need to reevaluate what we’re doing here.

Huxley: There is only one clear course of action here. We must fix them.

<End Log>

Notes from Director Huxley. August 30, 1939.

It is my God-given right to free these beings from the conditions holding them back.

They are content with having these conditions. They think they’re just as alive as us, and they are willing to keep slowing themselves from their natural evolution as a people.

We must save these creatures from their own annihilation. I can’t imagine what would happen if we released them into our society. If the schizophrenics and the psychopaths of the world were to ever reach our children…

But that will not happen. I will see this through. They must be cured. I will find a cure.

Audio Recording. August 31, 1939.

Note: It is undetermined how this transcription was created, as it transcribes the events that resulted in the destruction of the facility residing in SCP-8035-1.

<Begin Log>

Several explosions and screams can be heard. A loud whirring noise and sounds of what could be described as squelching can be heard in the distance. The announcement system of the facility is activated, and Director Huxley’s voice can be heard.

Huxley: Good evening, staff at Site-35. It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you all that I failed. Go ahead. Have your guffaw. But this is not the end. No, it’s a new beginning.

Huxley: I have started a lockdown. No one can get in or out. You can hear the sounds, can’t you? This is our chance. This is my chance, to become something more, and to rid the world of the taint that plagues it. In just a few moments, I will be a god. Our status quo will be preserved.

Huxley: Witness me.

The audio feed cuts out.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.7: Exploration Log 5

The following is the final segment of Emily and Merek’s exploration inside SCP-8035-1.

<Begin Log>

Emily and Merek are seen walking down a path in the forest. No sound can be heard other than the leaves crunching beneath the pair’s feet.

Merek: He’s going to kill us.

Emily: We’re dying in here no matter what we do. We can at least try.

Merek: But I don’t want to die! I don’t want to sacrifice myself for some stupid cause. There has to be another way.

Emily: If you want to turn around and go back, I’m not going to stop you. But I can’t just sit here and let him do his thing.

Merek: I can’t play the hero. I’m not like you.

Emily: But you’re still here, helping as much as you can. That’s good enough for me.

The pair continue to walk through the path. Faint whispering is picked up by the camera’s audio, but is not heard by Emily or Merek.

Merek: You saw what happened back there, right?

Emily: Yeah.

Merek: I hurt your friend. My brother. And I’m sorry.

Merek: It’s no excuse, but I’ve always felt like nothing I did or said ever mattered to people. I was just a pushover to everybody around me.

Merek: I thought he was ignoring me, because he could. Because I didn’t matter to him. But he did care. He already was going through a lot, and all I ever did for him was rub salt in the wound.

Merek: He’s never going to want to see me again. And that’s 100% warranted. But I want to talk to him again. I miss him, I really do.

Emily: I don't think you're being ignored. All those kids look up to you, right?

Merek: Yes. Which makes me feel worse. I kept harassing him and gained nothing from it. He’ll forever feel like shit, because of me.

Emily: He’s more forgiving than you think.

Merek: Not to me.

Emily: You’re not an exception. If you want to see him again, you’ll have to call him, to arrange something. He’s not calling first.

Merek: What if he doesn’t want to see me?

Emily: You have to give him time. Healing takes time, and effort. You have to put in the effort. You can’t half-ass it, and pretend like it’s all better now. You have to put in the work.

Merek: I understand.

The pair stop in their tracks, as a loud screeching sound can be heard from up above.

Emily: Get down.

The pair crouch down near some shrubbery, as a twelve-meter-long entity with the appearance of an eagle flies in the sky above Emily and Merek, and passes by them. Its wingspan is 24 meters long.

Emily: Got anything about that in your rules?

Merek: No.

Emily: Let’s quiet down and get to Allan before anything else tries to spot us.

The two walk through the path ahead. After five minutes of traversing the forest, they end up in another clearing in the forest.

Allan can be seen, hovering in the center of this clearing, with its arms raised.

It spots the two approaching it, and floats to the ground below.

Allan: Welcome. You’re about to see my work finally being accomplished.

Emily: We’re not going to let that happen.

Allan smiles.

Allan: My work is almost complete. There is nothing you can do.

Allan: The world outside is healing. You’ve seen the numbers trickle down. Everyone wants a quiet life, with no worries to be had, no conflicts, and not a single taint in sight. Normality is the key to keep the gears of civilization turning. I am healing the world and humanity as a species.

Merek: And you think that’s a good thing?

Allan: I am saving these creatures, Merek. I have found the cure to the taint that plagues them. I can help your brother, as well. I can make him be the brother that you always wanted to have.

Merek: Don’t even think about bringing Mike up again.

Allan: He is diseased, Merek. They are all diseased. They are unloved, wretched creatures who can’t even sustain themselves as members of society! And they try to pretend that they’re just like you and me. That is not the case. But I can save them.

Merek: I won’t let you take him from me. Where is he?

Allan: At his office. His involvement became unnecessary when I found the two of you. But I could have saved him, along with the rest.

Emily: They don’t need to be saved. There’s nothing wrong with them.

Allan scowls.

Allan: You won’t understand like I do. I know what it’s like. I am just as affected by the corruption in this forest as they are.

Allan: I remember when I saw two visitors in this place for the first time. They were lost, and confused. I lured the male away from his companion, and I snapped his neck.

Allan: The female kept calling out to her companion, and she was shouting the same word every time. Allan, Allan, Allan. It was irritating. But I knew then that something was wrong with me. So I fled, and took the male’s corpse with me.

Allan: I can never feel whole again. Even after every drop of blood I’ve stolen from the visitors, I still have this taint. They corrupted me.

Allan: You must let me finish what I started. You must let me be their savior, before it’s too late.

Emily: No. You’re going to fail, just like you did all those years ago.

Allan: Sal Norton Huxley was weak. He does not have the power that I wield. Let me end this.

Emily: I have sworn to fulfill my duty to protect and serve the people. The people in this forest are no exception. I will not let you harm them.

Allan: And I had high expectations for you. What a shame.

An imperceptible force slams Emily and Merek down to the ground below. Emily is dragged through the dirt and is lifted into the air, while Merek is restrained by the force.

Allan slowly closes his hand to form a fist, and Emily starts to choke, as her windpipe slowly begins to be crushed.

Allan: Can you feel it, Emily? Every failure, every hesitation. They’re choking you!

As Emily struggles in midair, she slowly reaches for her holster and pulls out the handgun. She fires a single shot, directly into Allan’s left eye socket. Blood begins to pour out of the eye socket, and Emily is dropped to the ground below.

Allan: I respect the effort. But a single bullet won’t be enough to save you now.

Allan’s wound instantly heals, and it thrusts its arm forward, and lightning shoots out of its fingers, directed towards Merek. It sustains this lightning, and Merek convulses and screams.

Allan: This is what happens when you sympathize with their ilk, Merek! You will suffer just as I and many others have before you.

Emily: Stop! Wait-

Emily is grabbed by another imperceptible force, and is thrown into a nearby tree. She crumples to the floor.

Allan: Pitiful fools. You will-

A gunshot can be heard from the distance, and Allan is struck by another bullet, this time in the head. It is thrown back for several meters.

Sean: I think it’s time for you to realize that we outnumber you 264 to one.

Sean walks into the clearing, carrying a Remington Model 17 shotgun.

Allan: Excellent. Now I have more nuisances to deal with.

Sean: We’re not the monsters that you think we are. We experience everything around us in different ways than you, and we’re put in a position where we constantly have to fend for ourselves. That’s why it’s so hard for us, everywhere we go. Because the world won’t adjust for us; they’d rather knock us down at every turn than take the effort to acknowledge that we exist. But I do know one thing. We’re going to be okay, in the end. We’ll all be okay.

Allan: You are content with this. You think there’s nothing wrong with you.

Sean: I’m not content with what I have. Things can hurt for us. A lot of things hurt for me, right now. I was never proud of what I have, and I don’t know if I ever will. But I’m not going to allow some shmuck to try and ‘save’ something that he doesn’t understand.

Sean: I want a world where we can acknowledge the pain, see both sides, and still celebrate ourselves as who we are. I want a world that can at least try to accept that we exist, one that accommodates our needs, no matter what we need. It’s going to hurt, but no matter what, I’m going to live my life the way I see fit.

Merek slowly gets up, along with Emily.

Merek: This place is made out of what people think, right? If that’s the case, maybe all of this is what you perceive, and not objective truth. It’s what you think. The state losing its anomalies, the grotesque-looking people, the fact that you're a godlike being, all of this is just what you want. You see them as monsters, and you want everything to be what you think is normal.

Allan: I will not be silenced by your lies. I am their savior. I will—

A large entity swoops down from the air and grabs Allan. It is the same eagle-like entity from before. It grabs Allan by the legs with its talons and swings Allan’s head directly into a tree.

Allan falls to the ground, and takes a few seconds to get back up.

Allan: Is that all you have? I cannot die here. You will not be able to prevent my eschaton.

Sean: Sure you can’t die, but you can still feel the pain.

In a flash, the entity without skin rapidly approaches Allan from behind it, grabs it, and slams its head into the tree repeatedly. The entity is eventually pushed away by another force.

Allan: You-

An arrow pierces Allan’s shoulders. The scorpion entity runs into the clearing from the right, wielding a bow and arrow.

Five other entities also enter the clearing. The main entity is a pale humanoid with four arms wearing a red dress with wide shoulders and puffy sleeves, a red beret, and white elbow-length gloves. Four emaciated entities are seen standing behind it.

Entity: About time someone finally knocks some sense into this wet smack.

Sean: Here to join the party, Judith?

Judith: I dreamt of this day for the longest time. I wouldn’t want to miss a second of it.

Allan: That is enough.

Allan pulls the arrow out of its shoulder and begins to float up, high above in the air.

Allan: You’re all congregating, just to remove me from my rightful place as your savior.

Allan: But deep down, you know you can’t defeat me. I rule these woods. I am your god. You will bow down to me, eventually.

Emily: You’re not the one in control. There’s one other person who’s in charge of this place, right?

There is silence.

Allan: Oh.

Two massive arms reach out from the darkness of the forest, and drag Allan by the legs. It screams as it is being taken away.

Sean: Here she is.

An entity with long, dark hair and a white dress is seen entering the clearing. Its eyes are like those of a snake’s, with elliptical pupils and yellow sclera.

Entity: You should not have come.

Emily: Hello, miss. I’m sorry that we’re trespassing in your space. We were on a mission to find some missing people who were trapped in this place.

Entity: I know. I wanted them here.

Merek: Hold on, what?

Entity: Your Foundation knows what happened to this place, and yet they continue to ignore us. I told him to bring them to me, but he kept them all for himself.

Emily: I know about the abandoned site now, but I was never told about any of this. I don’t even think our director fully knows what’s going on here.

Entity: Ah, Madeline. I wonder how she feels, having to lock up her kin.

Entity: I know that none of you would have knowledge of this place, because they wouldn’t let you know of this place.

Merek: Who?

The entity turns, and points a finger at a nearby tree. A light fog is created near the tree, showing a visual of a meeting room, with a large conference table in the center of the room. Thirteen individuals are seen sitting at this table, four of which are female, six male, and present is a spectral entity, a cat, and a supercomputer.

Unknown: We must not let this be known by the wider anomalous community, or our personnel. We cannot let this be known by anyone.

The cat paws at a microphone on the table, and activates it.

Unknown: There are still people trapped in there! They need our support. Our personnel and the humanoids will be slowly consumed by this anomaly if we keep ignoring this.

Unknown: The risk of sending a team to rescue these individuals is too great, according to my calculations.

Unknown: Your calculations are always at least partially incorrect, and you know it.

Unknown: My calculations are clear. We cannot help them. We must leave them.

Unknown: They’re right. We can’t risk any of our men. They’ll just have to live with it.

Unknown: They won’t forgive us for this.

Unknown: I know. But we have to do what needs to be done. The Veil must not be broken.

Unknown: I say we move in favor of this proposal. All in support?

The fog dissipates.

Emily: No.

Entity: You say you’ve changed your ways, that you’re more willing to cooperate with us. How many other lies have they told you?

Emily: I don’t get it. This isn’t the Foundation I know.

Entity: Of course it isn’t. The Foundation that you know is not the Foundation of reality.

Entity: We were more forgiving. We trusted that they would change, and we went along with their lies. Never again.

Merek: Quick question. Who is ‘we’?

Entity: Us.

Several bodies can be seen rising from the ground below. Each of them are bodies of researchers, security officers, administrative personnel, and several other unidentified bodies. They all begin to speak simultaneously.

Entities: We are the screams of those you damned on August the 31st, 1939.

The bodies crumple to the ground, unmoving.

Entity: We cannot trust you. You will not change in meaningful ways. You are not protecting us. You will never be protectors.

Emily: I’ve seen what you’ve been through. And I can’t just let you rot here. I want to help.

Entity: Help? You are not making the decisions. You are not the ones condemning us to die. You can do nothing. The best thing you can do is leave.

Merek: Miss, if I may?

Entity: You may speak, Merek.

Merek: I know you’ve been ignored for the longest time, but that will change. I’m not the Foundation. I’m not here to uphold some dumb status quo. We came here to help, so we’re gonna help.

Merek: The Foundation can’t change what it did. I can’t change what I did. But we can learn from the past. We can strive to grow, to change for the better. Healing takes effort. Change requires action. We’ll take all the action that we can take.

Entity: Your acquaintance is a cog in a large, efficient machine. Take one cog away, nothing changes.

Emily: Remove one cog, and the machine will noticeably stagnate. If we can get enough people to help us, drastic changes will happen.

Entity: Your sites tear each other apart daily. There is no sense of camaraderie. You will be alone in this fight.

Emily: Even if I’m the only person willing to make things change, I will try to help you. We can work together, and try to fix this.

Entity: I am not willing to be left to die for a second time.

Emily: You won’t be left to die. I will not let them be forgotten.

Entity: You must understand that I cannot take your words lightly. Everything you see here is your doing.

Entity: When you build a prison of stone and steel, you merely present the prisoner with a challenge. Any truly determined prisoner will find a way out.

Entity: Your promises of aid are only promises, nothing concrete. If you want to help us, you must prove it. Remove your site from the greater Foundation, and then we’ll talk.

Emily: That’s going to be harder than-

Entity: You still hesitate. You will always hesitate. Nothing greater can be done to help us than for you to set your own path.

Entity: We will remove everything that your Foundation stands for. Nothing will remain of your Veil. You must eradicate the Council in its entirety, or we will remove them for you. We will let you leave for you to decide.

Merek: What about the missing people? What about my brother?

Entity: I’ve already put them back in their place, and your brother is alive and safe. You may leave as you wish.

The entity snaps its fingers, and the environment is shifted to another area in the forest. Only Emily and Merek are seen.

Merek: Well, at least we’re still alive.

Emily: I think we should take a lot more from this than ‘glad I’m not dead.’

Merek: What should we do, then? We didn’t help these people in the slightest.

Emily: We’ll head over to the site, together. Tell the director everything. She’ll know what to do.

Merek: I don’t want this to be all for nothing.

Emily: It won’t be.

Emily: I remember something a friend once told me. ‘Más ven cuatro ojos que dos.’ Four eyes see more than two.

Merek: We can’t half-ass it.

Emily: Exactly. We have to try. So let’s do that, together.

The two enter the Way in front of them, and exit SCP-8035-1. The sun is seen, high in the sky. A Foundation van can be seen in the distance.

Emily: You ready?

Merek: More than I ever was.

The two start to walk towards the van.

Merek: One more thing before we go.

Merek: I’m going to call Mike, but if he doesn’t answer, can you tell him that I want to talk, and make things up with him?

Emily: You’re going to have to talk with Mike about that whole thing yourself. But I’ll tell him.

Merek looks at the ground.

Merek: Thank you.

The van approaches Emily and Merek. One agent disembarks the van, and walks closer to Emily and Merek.

Emily: Ximena?

Ximena: Emily?

Ximena runs up to Emily and embraces her.

Ximena: I’m so glad you’re okay.

Emily: Hey, it’s alright, we made it out. I’m right here.

Merek: It’s been a hell of a few hours.

Ximena: A few hours?

Ximena pulls away from Emily and takes a step back.

Ximena: You don’t know?

Emily: Is something wrong?

Ximena: You’ve been gone for six months.

There is a short pause.

Merek: What?

Emily: That has to be a joke. You’re joking.

Ximena: I’m being completely serious. Everyone thought you died in that forest.

Merek’s eyes go wide, and he turns toward the tree line, and to the entrance to SCP-8035-1. High-pitched laughter can be heard emanating from the tree line.

Emily: No. No. This can’t be happening.

Merek: The kids. What about the kids? Are they-

Ximena: They’re fine. And so is your brother.

Merek: I have to get back to the camp.

Ximena: We’ll be heading back there for your debriefing, anyway. Let’s get out of here.

The team heads back to the van. As the van drives toward the campground, Emily and Merek stare back at the entrance to SCP-8035-1. The laughter can still be heard.

<End Log>

Addendum 8035.8: Update

As of 2024/01/15, the rate of anomalous manifestations in the state of Ohio has increased to 50% of those reported in the late 1930s. After approval from Site-35’s director, a majority approval from the Classification Committee, and a 6-5-2 vote from the O5 Council, SCP-8035’s object class has been changed to Pudicitia.4

Footnotes

1. The Umbra class designates anomalies that directly affect the manifestation of anomalous phenomena.

2. Camp Fantasia, a sleepaway camp that provides housing for anomalous and non-anomalous children alike. The personnel of this campground have made several negotiations with the SCP-8035-2 instances for decades, and have partnered with the Foundation since 2006.

3. As the personnel of the campground have more firsthand knowledge about SCP-8035-2 instances, their cooperation is necessary for the continued development of understanding SCP-8035-2 instances.

4. Anomalies that have been negatively affected by Foundation involvement and are now receiving aid from the Foundation.

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