Quick stop in Why for gas and a restroom break, then head down to 
the campgrounds. Or near enough. Sun's going down and we want 
to get set up out in the desert rather than the official spots. We go 
offroad a ways, drive past a hill and park where the truck won't be 
seen. Hiking time. We grab our packs, bags, and the cooler and 
head out. A mile or so we deem sufficient. We find a nice clear flat 
area that's to our liking and set up camp. 


Night now. Smores and hotdogs are sufficient for us. Playful 
makeouts, with an eye toward the sky. There it is! First meteor of the 
night. A kiss for every one we see. Soon there's too many for us to 
keep up, so we just lay in each other's arms and enjoy the show. 


Starting to feel a bit sleepy. Wouldn't be my first time sleeping in the 
open, and Sophie doesn't seem to mind. My body tingles a bit, then 
starts to go numb. | drift away and darkness takes me. 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 5: TroyL 


He’s standing there. He’s standing there, rooted to the spot, looking 
at me. He’s going to kill me. He didn’t realize it when he walked in 
the room—and he doesn’t even realize it now—but it’s going to 
happen. They’re going to make him. 


“Richard,” | whisper, putting my hand on the glass separating the 
two of us. “Richard, please don’t do this.” 


His eyes look almost pained as he takes a step back, his face 
contorting as his teeth clench abnormally hard. | can feel it as they 


grind, enamel on enamel, the sound practically boring a hole into my 
head. 


“Please,” | beg, my voice a pained whisper. “Please don’t do this. I... 
I'll do anything. I'll do whatever you want. Just...don’t do what they 
say. Don’t kill me, Richard.” 


He looks at me, gagging suddenly, as the intercom clicks: “Follow 
your orders, 18765. Proceed with the experiment.” 


| pound my fists on the glass, screaming, “They don’t even know 
your name! Please! | know you! I’m your friend, Richard! Please. 
Please. Don’t let them kill me.” 


I’m sobbing, and so is he. The intercom sounds again, and he 
closes his eyes. | watch as he backs away from me, his face 
streaming with sweat and tears. | pound on the glass again, and 
again, and again, to no avail. “RICHARD!” 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 6: Redswift 
"August 14, 1981 


I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. | was weak and this will be my very last 
entry. Even now | can hear him, pounding and screaming. His pain 
is real and actions justified but | could fight back if not for the 
screaming. Damn his screaming! It's his pain reverberating through 
my ears and my eyes and my bones and lending him my strength. 
There is no doubt | would already be dead if not for the heavy 
dresser which is slowing him down but will not stop him. He will 
never stop kill he kills the one responsible for taking her from him. | 
never had a “her”. All | have is my farm and this journal. My last 
hope is that someone else will find use for them so at least some 
small good will have come of my existence. | can see the field right 
now from out my bedroom window. 


The corn has seen better days but the sight of it is calming. 


Well nevermind about that first part. | don't know what came over 
me. I'm sure I'll be just fine. | don't know why I'm still writing. It 
seems kind of silly and so does this barricade...I'll go say hello." 


And then | died. 


(Unsolved) 


Round 7: Redswift 


Finally | spot him walking toward the house. He is late for the first 
time today. Why does he look so shaken? | hope he is ok. The 
young man who brings me the mail is my only neighbor for miles. My 
driveway is too long and | am too weak to get it myself. His smiling 
face is the only reason for these old bones to get out of bed 
anymore. Yesterday's paper said there has been a series of strange 
break-ins but hell if | can remember any details. 


| turn to walk toward the door so | can greet him when suddenly 
there it is. Soundless, still and black as the devil's heart, its 
featureless face just inches from mine. The strain is too much and | 
drop to my knees from the pain. My eyes remain locked on the 
intruder. The pills on my dresser are far out of reach but all | can 
hope for is one last smile, even from this fiend. The young man 
knocks as he finally reaches my door. Thankfully it doesn't react. | 
clutch my chest as the world fades. In a blink it's gone. 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 8: CondorTalon 


I've been sick just about my whole life. Chicken pox, mumps, the flu, 
mono, E. coli; you name it, I've had it. At first, it was really 
frightening, not Knowing when the next strike was, but now, it's just 
annoying. | think I've been held back a grade about 3 times when | 
was younger. Thankfully, my wife has the patience of a saint, and 
she sticks by me without fail. Unlike me, she's almost never sick. | 


don't know what I'd do without her. 


It's happened again. I'm stuck in this bed, staring at the ceiling as 
the symptoms overtake me. My head feels like it's burning up, and 
my entire body is itchy. | even had to close the curtains because the 
lights were too bright for me. I'm worried that I'm getting attacked en 
masse. 


Well, somehow | made it through without too many problems. I'm 
quite tired now. | think I'll turn in. Let me just grab my pills... 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 9: Redswift 


The first warm day of the new year just happens to be my first day 
off in months. It's actually a little warmer than | would prefer but it 
seems like no matter where | walk the cloud position is perfect. Lady 
luck smiles on me today. Eating my favorite food at a picnic table in 
the local park | can hear the laughter of children on a nearby 
playground. 


| lay down on the grass to let my fully belly rest under the beautiful 
blue sky. It is much softer than what | have in my yard. Hell this 
grass is almost better than my bed. | don't want to ever leave. That 
cloud looks like a bunny... | don't have a care in the world... That 
one looks like a heart...| haven't done this since | was a kid... That 
one looks like a... 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 10: A Fat Ghost 


Sailcloth claps with the wind as | bring the boom around, salt 
massaging its way into my skin in the spray of a sharp turn. Summer 
sun bakes the landscape into focus as | try to keep it within sight. It’s 


a lonely and haunted coast, hot sand and a shallow treeline the only 
definition for miles. The quiet is almost so absolute as to be a 
distraction. 


Have | found a secret current, hiding somewhere just outside the 
comfort of a hundred outboards? A lighthouse idles by like the only 
telephone pole beside an unkept track of road, how did | miss that a 
minute ago? 


A flash of fish just under the surface, or maybe just sun on the sea, 
draws my attention starboard. Something whistles on the gentle tidal 
roll, against wood and fiberglass and memory: my mother’s 
humming in her small drawing room, my first girlfriend calling me in 
from the cold, the first movement of the only orchestra I’ve ever 
attended. 


The boom taps out a warning strain against its tether, and | release 
my grip on the rail. The bow shudders and unfurls like a tulip. My 
feet leave the deck as wet stone rises to fill my eyes. 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 11: Sorts 


The rainy season had been getting shorter and shorter for the past 
few years and the grazing has become hazardous. The other 
farmers have been losing some of their stock as well, so | have 
taken it upon myself to spend more and more time with my flock with 
a rifle slung over my back. Some of the other villagers think that 
there's some sort of new predator stalking the savanna but I've not 
seen any unusual signs or heard any calls. 


Most of the familiar watering holes are drying out, so | moved my 
flock further out to an older location | Knew well when | was a boy. 
The water there was more often visited by wild animals, perhaps if 
there truly was some sort of new predator on these plains | thought | 
would at least be able to spot some sign of it there, but no such luck. 
There are few tracks and no animals to compete with, and the trees 


All houses within SCP-784 are occupied by a variable number of 
instances of SCP-784-1. SCP-784-1 is composed mostly of adult 
humans, all of whom wear sweaters typically associated with holiday 
gift giving. The number of unique instances of SCP-784-1 within 
SCP-784 has been estimated at three hundred. Instances of 
SCP-784-1 have not been observed engaging in reproductive 
activity, and no instances of SCP-784-1 have ever observably been 
born within SCP-784. Instances of SCP-784-1 appear to age 
normally, though the death of an instance of SCP-784-1 has never 
been observed by Foundation personnel. 


All instances of SCP-784-1 express traits commonly associated with 
‘Christmas spirit’ throughout the year. These traits include singing of 
Christmas carols, performance of plays commonly associated with 
the birth of Christ, and various eggnog-related festivities. These 
activities are engaged in daily, though specific activities will never 
repeat more than once per week. 


During daylight hours, instances of SCP-784-1 will engage in 
activities such as gift exchanges and home decoration. Post-sunset 
activities include decorating of foreign objects as well as vandalism, 
which is typically holiday-themed. A Foundation supply convoy 
refueling overnight near SCP-784 attracted an unprecedented 
response from SCP-784-1, which proceeded to: 


* Egg several in-transit prefabricated buildings. 

¢ Convert a Humvee into a sleigh. 

¢ Replace a shipment of fragmentation grenades with similar- 
appearing glass ornaments. 

¢ Fill the gas tank of several vehicles with -brand eggnog. 

¢ Weld steel antlers onto one hundred and fifty-six safety 
helmets. 


Any living creature within SCP-784 not viewed as displaying 
adequate ‘Christmas spirit’ will become the focus of all instances of 
SCP-784-1 within approximately four meters. In the case of an 
animal, instances of SCP-784-1 will be called from the nearest 
house and place a holiday-themed accessory on the focus. 
Observed decorations have included: 


¢ Fifteen collars, red with a small bell. 


and grass look to be striped with some sort of dark coloration. | 
feared the water was fouled so | drove my thirsty flock back towards 
the village when | heard the splashing. 


One of my goats must have over-enthusiastically wandered into the 
water and was now thrashing about in the mud like it was injured. | 
dismounted and headed towards the shore but it wasn't a goat at all. 
It looked like a child, flailing in the shallow water in panic. | rushed 
over to help the boy out, his skin was coated with thick mud, black 
with silt. He took my hand and would not let go, and as his face 
turned to mine | remember thinking that | have never seen anyone 
so scared. 


And then | died. 
(Solved) 


Round 12: Dexanote 


Finally, | thought. This place is great... | stepped into the abandoned 
house, this will do nicely. Cobwebs, dust, a bit away from busier 
areas... Need a spot to drop the... eh. Maybe later. | sighed. 


“Eh... nobody’s coming right now...fuck it.” | sat on a chair. Comfy 
enough. The body sat halfway into the doorway. Gas was back in 
his car. 


“... Man.” | yawned. Felt the chair creak. Eh. 


| tried to yawn, couldn’t. Pressure on my shoulder. Growing more 
tired by the second... 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 13: Felgraf 


| slid back into wakefulness, and the first thing | could remember 
was the pain. My chest felt like I'd been hit by a sledgehammer, my 


arms felt sliced up, and all | could smell was smoke and leaking fuel. 
What the fuck was going on? 


The memories filtered hazily into my mind. Mary and I, our small 
transport plane—something had made us crash. | couldn’t 
remember how it had happened—was it the brewing storm? 
Mechanical failure? Something else? The trees had ‘broken’ our 
landing, but now we were upside-down, and by the smell of it, the 
plane was on fire— 


Shit, Mary! Fighting through the haze of pain, | struggled to unbuckle 
myself, fumbling with the straps. Finally, | managed to undo my 
harness, and | pitched forwards onto the ceiling in a heap. As | 
struggled to stand, my hand pressed down into something warm and 
sticky—blood? 


It was hard to see through the haze in my head (and the growing 
smoke), and | sure as hell couldn’t smell, but—no, it wasn’t blood. It 
was something leaking from the cargo hold. | couldn’t even 
remember what we were transporting. Mint ice cream, maybe? Fuck 
it, it wasn’t important. | had to check on Mary-| hoped she was just 
unconscious. 


| staggered the few steps to the copilot’s seat, and look upwards. 
She was still strapped in, but she wasn’t moving. Her eyes were 
open. She was gone. My copilot, my love, gone. 


| ignored the growing smoke as | stepped closer to her, tears in my 
eyes. “Oh, Mary..” | lifted my hand to touch her face one last time, 
brushing her hair from her cheek. 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 14: Dr_Adams 


It was the most exciting day of my life. All of my hard work was 
paying off with an interview at the largest company in my field. I'd 
finally met someone special and my confidence was at an all-time 


high. 


| walked into the glistening, new skyscraper with the highest of 
hopes. A quick check-in at the front and | was off to the 30th floor. If 
this worked out, the rest of my life's dreams would soon follow. 


Everything in the building was new. The floors and walls were 
spotless, and the plants were put in place just as they were in 
bloom. | walked into the bathroom for one last check. | felt like | was 
the first person to use it. My suit and tie were perfect. | turned on the 
faucet to wash my hands and was blasted with a shocking spray of 
cold water. | guess they hadn't gotten the water pressure quite right. 
If getting a little wet was the worst that happened, it would still have 
been the best day ever. 


And then | died. 


(Solved) 


Round 15: RhettSarlin 


She says her name is Jackie, and she's the most beautiful woman 
who's ever shown any interest in me. All dressed in this really 
revealing red getup, big hair, lots of big fancy jewelry. She went light 
on the makeup though, which | can appreciate. We've laughed and 
made dirty conversation all evening. I'm certain I'm gonna get lucky 
tonight. She's obviously horny, she's been touching me in flirty ways, 
dirty ways, she's got a bit of an evil glint in her eye, playful I'd call it. | 
don't know what she wants with an ugly mug like me really, best | 
ever picked up before was a lady just out of a divorce looking to feel 
better about herself for a while. 


Yup, sure enough, she wants to come home with me. Easy enough, 
| live close, come here all the time. Well, ya win some and you lose 
some, and | guess this one | win. Let's have some fun tonight. 


We go through the pleasantries at home, | offer her a drink even 
though we're both already plastered, she pretends to laugh at my 
attempts at humor, but | see the look in her eye, so | figure we might 
as well just head to the bedroom. She's wild alright, she rips me out 


of my shirts, slams me onto the bed, and kisses me passionately... 
her nails dig into me and she bites me a little as she pulls away. | 
start working her out of this getup she's in, | don't really want 
anything in the way of this. Undo the back, start working on the 
front- 


And then | died. 


(Unsolved) 


Round 16: RhettSarlin