Not that he minded the silence, it was refreshing from the normal 
buzz when he came home, but it was unexpected. No Amanda 
trying to pick up, with a kiss by the door. No Christian bopping about 
underfoot, or Jamie bouncing and shrieking for a hug. He leaned in 
to the fridge, fishing out a pop and snatching up a bag of chips 
before slumping back in to the couch. It'd been a long bloody day. 


Pete watched the TV without seeing, munching absently as he 
considered what to do. Really, he should put some time in on his 
report, but it was honestly nothing that wouldn't keep until later in the 
week. The new position was proving both more and significantly less 
demanding then his old one. More quality, less quantity, in a way, 
but that was honestly how Pete liked it. Not so rushed, taking time- 


His hip suddenly pulsed with the beat of some forgotten pop song. 


He fumbled for the ringing device, having to stretch out to get the 
pants pocket unfolded enough to fish the phone free. He saw the 
smiling face of his wife from the screen, and grinned, tapping it on. 


“Hey babe, where are you guys? | was just about to call.” 
“Oh, so you're home already?” 


Pete chuckled, tucking the phone against his neck and rising to 
slowly walk and pace around the room. She'd always ribbed him 
about it, but he could never just sit on the phone and talk, it felt... 


odd. “Yeah, | figured you were with your mom or something, going-” 
“I'm...not with mom, Pete.” 


“with...what? Who then?” He stopped, stock still. Something in her 
tone, in the tiny sigh she'd given put him immediately on edge. 


“...It's not important, Pete. I...oh god. I'm sorry, Pete. | can't...1 just 
can't do this anymore.” 


He moved his hand uselessly in the air, seeming to try and pull 
understanding from vapor. “Can't do what? Amanda, | don't...I'm not 
following here, what's going on?” Even as he asked, a sick, sticky 
realization was trying to crawl in to his awareness. 


She continued almost as if he hasn't spoken. “I know you try, Pete, 
and you're great, and you love the kids...but...Pete, it's not enough. 
You don't make the time for me, for us, you work so much, and you 
never get back until late. It's been going on six months since you 
touched me like you used to. | can't just live on memory and life 
support. I'm a human woman, Pete, not a plant you can just water 
from time to time and call it good.” The anger was seeping in to her 
voice, making it quick and sharp. 


He glared at the wall, breathing deep and slow, biting back venom. 
“Are you joking me. | work for US. | work to keep US alive and 
afloat. You think | like coming home in time to basically put the kids 
to bed, too exhausted to do much of anything? Shockingly, | don't. | 
don't get what the hell you're revved up about, but | think we need to 
talk about this, face to face at the very least.” 


There was a sob in her voice now, along with the rage. Lordy. “NO! 
No more talking, and discussing, and working things out. You're not 
going to change, | know better now. | thought | loved you, and | think 
| do, but | can't...my heart is bleeding out to you, Pete, and nothing 
coming back. It's like I'm pouring my feelings in to a sieve, and it all 
just runs away. Did you really care about me, Pete, or was | just a 
fun time that got out of hand? You wanted me so bad you had to go 
and marry me to seal the deal? Was that it?” 


Her voice was laced with bile and festered anger, yet he still stared, 


blank, at the wall. His voice, however, simmering and tight, betrayed 
that bland mask. “Why is all this happening now? You could have 
TOLD me this, | ask you what the hell is wrong almost daily! You just 
keep letting it simmer and simmer, and then explode on me like it's 
somehow my fault you won't talk? | don't know what you're thinking, 
but we need to at LEAST talk this out face to face.” 


“No, no, no, no more talking, or letting you put your sticky fingers in 
my head. I...I've found someone else, Pete.” His heart dropped like 
a stone in a frozen lake, even the sickly expectation of it hadn't 
helped. She kept on through his silence. “He loves me, Pete, truly, 
and the kids, too. You took six years of my life, Pete. You bled me 
out for all | had, and didn't give me anything, anything-” 


“Amanda, where are my children.” It was barely a question. He 
knew, but had to hope. He was willing to ignore the unfairness, the 
one-sided, petulant whining if this one, single question was different 
from his expectation. He started walking again, slowly. 


“Pete...| can't leave them there, with you. You...you're not even 
there, Pete. You wouldn't even be able to put them on the bus in the 
morning. You're a picture to them, and not much more. They're safe, 
and will be until the trial, but I'm not letting you see them, Pete. | 
can't...| can't trust you anymore. You've hurt me too much, | just...” 
She dissolved in to sobs, gasping in to the phone. 


The sudden, explosive laughter brought those sobs up short. 


“Hurt you? Oh wow...me, hurting you? Honey bunny, | don't think 
you understand that term.” 


“l...Pete?” 


“You have not clue at all what | gave up for you, what it took every 
day to be the very best husband and father | could be, do you? | 
mean...wow.” He loosed another gale of laughter, shaking his head 
and starting to walk down the hall. “This...wow. Baby, I'm stunned, 
really | am, | don't mean to laugh, | just...you have no fucking clue, 
do you? At all?” 


“This...this is what I'm talking about, Pete, these games you play... 


it's not healthy, it-” 


“Dearheart, | don't think you have a clue. Listen, babe, | hate to yank 
you out of the speech I'm sure you've been mentally reviewing for 
weeks when you insisted everything was fine, but | have a question 
for you, if you'll indulge me.” He tucked the phone against his neck 
again, swinging open the basement door and starting down the 
steps. 


“...don't talk down to me like that, Pete, I'm not goin-” 
“You will listen to every word | have to say.” 


He could almost hear her freeze and stare at the phone. He smiled a 
easy, empty smile, tasting her confusion over airwaves. Now, finally, 
maybe she was understanding that the situation had changed. 


“P-Pete, you're-” 


“When we got together babe, | loved you more then anything in the 
entire world. | mean anything, and | don't think you ever fully got 
that, not all the way. Then, when we had kids...well, | hate to admit 
it, but they took the forefront. Harsh, | know, but | think that's how it's 
supposed to be, even if you seem to think my every waking moment 
should be in devotion to you.” 


“That is NOT what-” 


“ANYWAY. | gave up a lot for you, the smoking, the swearing, all 
those goodies, but | don't think you fully understand the...sacrifice | 
made to be with you.” He crossed the basement, the gloom of the 
bare bulbs showing just enough to move the old bookcase safely, 
sliding it along the dusty floor. Have to sweep down here, sometime. 
“Do you remember, way back when we first got together, there was 
that thing in the news about...oh, what was it, the red ghost, or the 
red phantom or something?” 


Silence stretched across the phone line. 


“Still there babe?” 


“ ” 


.es. 


SCP-623: One Groovy Room 


Item #: SCP-623 
Object Class: Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-623 is located in the 
annex of University. The entrance to SCP-623 is to be guarded 
by two (2) Level 3 Security personnel at all times. In-room 
monitoring must take place every hour for no longer than five (5) 
minutes. Extended observation of SCP-623 is done from an external 
observation room through remote monitoring devices. Personnel 
operating within the observation room are required to switch out 
every five (5) minutes. An additional Level 3 Security Guard is 
required to escort any observers out of the observation room and 
must not enter until needed. 


All personnel subjected to SCP-623 for longer than five (5) minutes 
are to be taken for psychological reevaluation, regardless of direct or 
indirect exposure. 


No photos, videos, or sound recordings are permitted near 
SCP-623. Sketch-drawings and mock-ups must be approved by 
command-level personnel before being released. All photos, 
mockups, or recreations of SCP-623 are to be destroyed 
immediately. 


SCP-623 may safely come into contact with room-altering SCPs, as 
any major alterations to the room neutralizes SCP-623's effect. 
However, room-altering SCPs will still carry their same inherent 
dangers. 


Addendum 623-1: All testing on individual subjects may last no 
longer than six hours. Security monitoring observing personnel are 
now required to remove observing personnel before the fifth minute 
has elapsed; possibly earlier if needed. 


“Oh good. Remember, you had me walk you home those few times 
because there was a murder a couple towns over? Always homes, 
never any real struggle, nothing broken in to, so they were thinking 
that this phantom was snatching people on the street and making 
them drive home with him? You were so scared, and I'm sorry | 
laughed, but | mean...it was cute, really.” 


“P-Pete...what are...” 


He reached low, listening to her breathing turning ragged as he 
fished out the loose bricks. Was this other fella right there, offering 
moral support, or did she excuse herself to rip his heart out in 
private? Kids probably not with her, maybe mom? No...Kathy, 
probably. Worth a stop, at least. “Some things are automatic, babe. 
You don't think, it's just...needed, and you do it. Washing hands, 
tying shoes, automatic. It takes no thought at all to do, but a ocean 
of focus not to. Every single day, every one, | made the choice not to 
be automatic. Because | loved you, | chose not to.” 


Pete grinned, pulling the duffel bag from the wall with a uneven 
clank. He fished inside, pulling the thick, smooth curve of the 
linoleum knife free and tapping the point. “I'm...| can't believe you 
would do this. And take the kids, no less. Wow. | just...do you get it 
now baby? Do you understand what I'm telling you now? Is it sinking 
in?” 


Her breath was coming too fast, sobs choking in “Oh god...oh my 
god...I...I'm gonna call the cops, Pete, Y-you aren't...| won't...1 
won't let you do...oh god, Pete...” 


“Call 'em babe, please. Please. I'll be gone, but | want you to feel 
good baby, | want this to be easy for you now. You know me lovey... 
remember, you kept commenting how | fit in anywhere, | can talk to 
anyone? | have that open, trusting face people love, people really 
love to listen to me. Trust me. Believe me.” His smile was honest 
amusement as he pulled up his shirt and secured the harness, 
dropping the knives, needles and other helpful bits to their places. 
“Didn't you ever wonder why they stopped right around when we got 
together? And you decided to just toss me to the wind, like nothing. 
Garbage. Wow.” 


“Pete, keep a-a-away from me, I|...oh god, Pete, don't, you're 
scaring me, please...” 


“Honey-bunny, you don't understand that term. You're going to be 
checking under your bed for me. I've never felt such a whipsnap of 
devotion...as much as | loved you, it's gone to the same amount in 
the polar opposite direction. | don't think you could just pass it off as 
‘April fools' anymore, even. I'm still trying to wrap my head around 
how you could do this.” He shook his head in disappointment, 
adjusting it as he took a practice throw with a knife. Rusty, need to 
practice. Still, like a bicycle, never really forget. 


She was just sobbing now, blubbering something threatening, 
maybe. 


“I'm going to get rolling baby, let you call the cops and such, maybe 
get a quickie from your new boy, just to take the edge off, right? You 
know why they called it the phantom? Because a couple witnesses 
said they saw him, and he looked so white it had to be a ghost, ora 
mask. Ain't that a scream.” He laughed, hefting up the bag, forgoing 
the normal gloves and mask that was normally required. Just a 
gentleman on the way to the gym, officer. “Il would have let you go. 
You hurt me, but | would have let you go...but you had to try and 
take the whole pie, snatch it all from me. Don't worry babe, the 
kiddle-biddles won't ever know any more than you tell them.” 


More moaning and crying now, something about keeping away from 
the kids, maybe. 


“Sweetheart, you may love them enough to steal them, but | love 
them enough to kill for them. See you in a couple weeks, babe. Tell 
your new boy | said hi...or, you Know what, never mind. I'll tell him 
myself.” 


He hung up, then crushed the phone against the wall even as it 
chimed again, slamming it over and over in blank-faced rage, 
leaving the splintered heap on the floor. He locked up, unplugged 
the power strips behind the TV and computer, and stepped out on 
the porch, heading for the car. 


The Red Ghost inhaled the night. 


Dread & Circuses Hub 


Banner Art by Zhange 


"All the World loves a Clown." ~ Cole Porter 


Opening Acts: 


1. Herman Fuller Can Shove It Up His Ass ~ "You're going to 
want to insert it rectally." 

2. Clown Breeding 101 with Prof. Richard C Normus ~ "My 
Grampie once turned a kid inside out, | shit you not." 

3. Upside-Down Cake ~ "/ can’t tell you how much pleasure it 
gives me to finally see your face the right way up after all 
these years." 

4. A Real Humdinger ~ “Tom, if | didn’t know better I'd swear 


that someone up there has it out for me.” 
Headlining: 


Act I 


1. Former Assets ~ "You're not afraid of clowns, are you?" 

2. Fuller Than Full! ~ "He /et out one final scream, and then 
popped like a balloon." 

3. Fuller's Fantastic Fun-lover's Funhouse ~ “Fun-lovers? 
That’s what you call those... milking creatures, right?” 

4. Your Call Is Important To Us ~ “OH GOD, ITS NOTA 
DRILL! 1 REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL! EVERYBODY 
PANIC!” 

5. She Remembered Me ~ "Sing once again with me, our 
strange duet." 

6. Freaky Commodities Il: Freak Harder ~ "/... may have left a 
Sarkist and a Mekhanite together in the same room.” 

7. There Are No Strings On Me ~ “Are you out of your mind? 
Do you know who you’ve got? Icky will send the whole Circus 
after you to get her back!” 


Interlude | 


1. So They Called Him Darke ~ "He immersed himself in the 
Darkness, sustained himself on the Darkness, empowered 
himself with the Darkness." 


Act Il 


1. A Scip Or A Star? ~ "Coarse, irritating, gets everywhere." 
2. Dark And Disquieting ~ "Lolly didn’t respond immediately, 
being transfixed by the sight of a bird wizard battling self- 

cannibalizing ethereal snakes." 

3. City of Wonder™ ~ “Lesbians are family friendly now. 
There's like a whole show on Cartoon Network about space 
lesbians. It’s awesome.” 


4. The Sea Slug and the Showman ~ "He stood in the spotlight, 


proud as can be in his top hat and red-tailed coat, the most 
preposterously verbose and verbosely preposterous 


poppycock rolling off his tongue as he presented each new 
marvel." 

5. Freaks, Friends and Fiends ~ “Not even the weirdest part of 
my day.” 

6. Let's Get This Show On The Road! ~ "Can / get a 
Frapaccthulhu? Extra whipped cream, extra drizzle, extra 
existential horror? | can handle it, I'm a Clown." By 
RecursiveRecursion ! 

7. A Circus Come To Not ~ "Eat Lemon Meringue you son of a 
bitch!” 


Interlude Il 


1. Undead, Insane and Fully Loaded ~ "Trust me, you want 
weapons that put the fear of the Big Boss into your enemies' 
hearts. You want them to go ‘oh my god we're all going to die 
because they are and it's common courtesy to let them know 
that." 


Act Ill 


1. A Vale of Tears ~ “In the words of another interdimensional 


a 


traveller, ‘don’t think about it’. 


Special Attractions: 


1. ...And I'm the Star! ~ "/'m a motivated worker, most of the 
time, and | don't mind getting my hands dirty. Anymore, 
anyways." By DarkStuff !