Gunnar grunted as he scooted back from the edge and handed the 
binoculars to Sgt Dave. "Whatever, dude. | haven't seen anything 
exciting anyway. Hey, is Moonbeam back at camp?" (Fuck, that 
girl's a damn fine piece of ass, even if she is some kind of trippy 


confines of the river. 


Incident 856-F 

Date: / /2009 

Events: Due to a particularly bad drought, a section of the 

River, including the containment area for SCP-856, dried up for a 
period of 42 hours. At 08:30 in the nearby city of [DATA 
EXPUNGED]. All three entities were finally pushed back by 
Foundation forces at 13:50. Total deaths numbered 22 civilian, 9 
local law enforcement, 1 Foundation personnel. 

Notes: This incident has called into question Foundation 
understanding of the exact composition of SCP-856. It has been 
ascertained from this incident that with significant firepower, 
SCP-856 can be restrained for a short period of time. Requests 
have been filed for measures to prevent further incidents of this 


type. 
« SCP-855 | SCP-856 | SCP-857 » 


flower-power chick. I'll give it another shot and see if | can get in her 
pants before we clean up.) 


Sgt. Dave low-crawled into the spot where Gunnar had been, 
rustling slightly as he pushed aside fallen leaves, and whispered 
back, "Nah, she's still on the other side of town, trying to find 
wherever it was they all went yesterday. She said she could smell 
the magic on the wind and was going to go track it down." 


"Cool." (shit) "I'll straighten up and wait for you then. Things gotta 
look nice for our visitor. Hey, do you know if this kumiho chick is 
hot? | heard she was hot." 


Sgt. Dave sighed softly and whispered back, "I'm sure | don't know. 
Just be nice to her when she gets here." 


Sgt. Dave Mastromarino listened as Ral-Gunnar started walking 
back to camp, dry leaves and twigs crunching loudly beneath his 
feet with every step. He briefly contemplated the difference between 
that boy and his squad mates back in Iraq and wondered again 
whether he could get transferred to another cell. One that was more 
serious about The Cause, that had more discipline. Moonbeam 
meant well, and was actually able to be useful on occasion with her 
paranormal intuition, but that boy was just useless trash. At least 
"Gunnar" didn't know about the guns and grenades in the truck's 
lockbox. Mastromarino doubted that that boy had ever held an 
actual gun before and didn't want to have to be constantly pestered 
by the boy to let him have one. They were only for a last-ditch effort, 
if the townsfolk interfered or those oppressive Foundation fucks 
showed up. 


Mastromarino watched the town and nearby woods for another 90 
minutes, switching to night-vision as the light waned. He didn't see 
or hear anything out of the ordinary, just a deer and a small horde of 
squirrels. There wasn't even much activity in town, just a few cars 
driving in and out. Mostly SUVs and pickup trucks like his, but there 
was a string of four panel vans right at dusk. The light wasn't good, 
but he thought they had the same logo: some kind of beach scene. 
A little weird to see that many all in a row, but probably just a 
coincidence. 


As full darkness descended, Mastromarino decided to head back to 
their little campsite and see just how badly that boy had botched the 
cleanup job. He wanted to be there before the kumiho showed up, 
anyway. After all, as the leader, he needed to greet their guest. He 
scooted down the ridge until he was below the sight-line to the town 
and slowly stood up, making a minimum of noise. As he turned to 
walk back, he was startled to see an attractive Asian woman 
standing only a dozen feet behind him. She was easily the most 
beautiful woman he'd ever seen and he almost felt like kneeling at 
Her feet. He wasn't even sure how She was dressed; the darkness 
made Her form somewhat indistinct. 


“Oh! You startled me, Miss. Are you lost?” 


She gently drifted forward like a mist on the breeze as She replied in 
a soft, sweet voice. “Why no, I'm not. You are the leader of this 
group of the Teacher's, are you not? I'm here to see what progress 
you've made in locating that poor unfortunate freed from the 
Foundation's clutches. |'m quite interested in seeing what it's 
capable of.” 


Mastromarino was captivated by Her eyes until he humbly lowered 
them so as not to profane Her beauty. “You must be the Lady 
Kumiho. | am indeed the squad leader. If you'll allow me to escort 
you, Lady, | can fill you in on what we've found so far.” 


She placed a delicate hand pale as fine porcelain on his arm and 
murmured, “How kind of you. You are so sweet | could just eat you 
up. Please lead on.” She smiled a secret little smile while she said 
this, and Mastromarino felt honored that she would indulge in a little 
joke with him like that. 


Dr. Shivaji pulled up to the curb along Marcia Brody's place, parking 
behind a rather impressive-looking black sedan. Even though she'd 
supervised the placement of all the medical equipment just 
yesterday, she wanted to check it again. Although she was doing 
her best to hide it from everyone, she was really nervous about this 
whole thing. Even with the adult on hand, she was worried about all 
the things that could go wrong: one of the children could start 
changing away from a safe place, one of them could have a bad 


reaction to the IV supplement during the change, some of the 
monitoring equipment could malfunction... There were a thousand 
ways that something could go wrong and as much as she didn't 
want to disappoint the adult, she was more worried about something 
bad happening to the kids. 


As she walked up to the door, it opened and a couple of large men 
walked out. Marcia stood behind them, telling them “And again, I'm 
sorry but we're booked full right now, gentlemen. | think that we 
might be able to squeeze you in next month if you're still interested 
then.” 


One of the men, a short, muscular black man, replied, “We'll keep 
that in mind, Ms. Brody. We heard a lot of interesting things about 
this town and wanted to just get away from it all. Can you 
recommend anywhere else in town we could stay overnight?” 


“Well, there's the Ramada across town. | can give them a call and 
let them know you're coming, if you like.” 


“Thank you, Ms. Brody, we would appreciate that. You have a good 
night, now!” 


Dr. Shivaji watched them climb into the black sedan, then drive off. 
"Who was that, Marcia?" 


"Oh, those were some nice homosexual gentlemen on their 
honeymoon or antiquing or some such. It's always so nice having 
the homosexuals stay; they're always so cordial." Marcia laughed 
gently. "But there's no room at the inn tonight, is there?" 


Dr. Shivaji smiled. "| suppose there isn't. How many children have 
already arrived?" 


Marcia waved Dr. Shivaji in, and started to lead her upstairs. "Oh, 
only three so far. | have room for five more, if they don't mind being 
two to a room. | was going to call you in a few minutes anyway, so 
you could make sure that all the medical doo-dads were attached 
right." 


As they entered the first bedroom, Dr. Shivaji's eyes quickly took in 


the bloated body of the 10 year-old laying on the bed. He had to 
weigh 250 pounds if he weighed an ounce, and resembled an over- 
ripe tomato about to burst. "Well, Donnie here looks to be 
progressing on schedule, and in fine shape, too. Let's just make 
sure all the leads are placed, then I'll check the others." 


Dr. Shivaji snapped on a pair of gloves and went to work, happy in 


the knowledge that everything would be just perfect when the adult 
arrived. 


« Imago | BoFA: Inhale | BoFA: Holding It | BoFA: Exhale » 


A Breath of Fresh Air: Inhale 


« Imago | BoFA: Inhale | BoFA: Holding It | BoFA: Exhale » 


From: mamamia78@ ~_.com 
To: shampaingurl@ __.net 
Subject: can i get your advice? 


Howdy, sis. | hear that you have a new bf. What is this? 
3 in the last 2 months? Better slow down, girl, or there 
won't be any left for anyone else! :P So what's his name? 
Do you think that this one'll last long enough for any of us 
to meet him? :P 


How are the kids doing? Mike looked good in that play 
last semester, but Mom tells me that he's not in the 
drama club this year? Is he spending more time with the 
football team? And how did Mary do on her cheerleader 
tryouts? 


| did want to get some advice from you, though. Beth's 
going through some kind of phase and | was hoping that 
you might have soem experience from when your kids 
were younger. Beth's spending a lot of time by herself 
and just acts like she's starving all the time. | swear that 
she's put on 15 pounds in the last month. Do you think 
she might have an eating disorder or something? | mean, 
she's only 10, that kind of stuff doesn't happen until 
they're older, right? Please don't let Mom know about 
this, you know how she freaks out, and | don't want her 
deciding to come "fix" Beth if nothing's wrong with her. 


Thanks, sis! 
Jody 


From: mamamia78@ ~ .com 


To: shampaingurl@ __ .net 
Subject: Re: Beth 


| guess you're right, she could just be going through a 
growth spurt. Maybe | *am* just being a little 
overprotective. 


| do think that | need to look at what TV shows she's 
watching, though. Lately she's mentioned this weird 
imaginary friend thing that she never did before. She's 
not really clear, but it's big and has wings and talks 
without talking. Really weird stuff. If this keeps up, 
maybe | should take her to a psychologist. 


I'm sorry that Mary didn't make the squad. Is it too late to 
try out for any other sports? 


From: mamamia78@ ~—_.com 
To: shampaingurl@ __ .net 
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Beth 


Oh, that secret friend thing? I'm not worried about that 
any more. She introduced me to the adult and he seems 
nice. Not scary at all. You hardly notice the wings after a 
few minutes. :P 


So what are your plans for the holiday? Do y'all want to 
come visit? You can even bring your boytoy if he's still 
around then. :P 


From: mamamia78@ — .com 
To: shampaingurl@ __ .net 
Subject: Visiting 


Come on, it'll do you all good to get out of town fora 
couple of days, especially Mary. Beth always likes being 
around her and | think she's a good example. Plus, it'll be 
nice for Beth to introduce Mary to the adult. | think he 
gets lonely sometimes and could stand to meet some 
new people. Everyone around here likes him, but you 
can never have too many friends, right? 


Beth's looking better, too. She was so skinny before, but 
the new weight makes her look a lot healthier. 


From: mamamia78@ ~_.com 
To: shampaingurl@ __.net 
Subject: Re: worried about you 


Why are you worried? There's nothing wrong over here. | 
bet you'd feel better if you came and met the adult. I'm 
sure he's like to meet you all. 


Looking forward to seeing you soon! 


Shakti Shivaji had been a doctor in the backwoods town of Spring 
for over a dozen years, originally coming on a program that 
assigned doctors to underserved communities for college loan 
assistance and liking the area enough that she decided to stay. It 
was mostly a quiet life, leaning more towards cold and flu than major 
trauma. Even the local methamphetamine manufacturers tended to 
avoid going to the doctor for as long as they could, generally 
paranoid that they would get reported to the police. Shakti took her 
patients’ privacy seriously, though, and reassured the manufacturer 
and addict in front of her of that. 


"Mr. Jameson, you don't have to worry. | keep your records strictly 
sealed and private. | obviously think that your health would stop 
deteriorating if you would stop using meth, but | won't report you to 
Sheriff Michaels. Now please, tell me what's wrong." 


"Well... if you say so. I'm still not saying that | use meth, just so you 
know, but if | did, how could | quit it? Um... | wanted to know if you 
could do anything about my chest hurting all the time. And maybe 
how to put on some more weight. He thinks that I'm too skinny and 
sick and need to put on some weight." 


"If you were using meth, | would suggest going down to Forrester 
and checking into the rehab program at the hospital there. It's in- 
patient and lasts at least 30 days, and they would help you with the 
withdrawal symptoms. If you were taking meth, of course." 


Dr. Shivaji continued speaking as she listened to Bill's chest and 
heart. 


"As for the chest pain, your heart sounds a little weak. I'd like to get 
an EKG and chest X-ray on you and possibly send you down to the 
hospital for a CT scan later this week, so | can get a better picture of 
your heart. You should know, however, that if there are any 
problems with your heart that he probably won't pick you. He really 
only chooses people in tip-top shape. Still, any effort to improve your 
health will be a good thing, even if you might not be his." 


Dr. Shivaji slung her stethoscope around her neck as she finished 
the exam. 


"The nurse will be in in a few minutes to take you to get your X-ray. 
And remember: if you did do meth, continuing will only make things 
worse, and he wouldn't like that." 


Bill hung his head like a little boy getting reprimanded and replied, "| 
know, | know. And, um, could you get me that information about the 
rehab? | really don't want to disappoint him." 


Shakti left the room and gave the instruction to her nurse, then went 
to write up her notes. As she typed them into the computer, she idly 
thought, "/ really ought to go visit him myself this weekend. | wish he 
would choose me too, but | know he thinks we still need a doctor for 
now. And he says that the first of the children will be almost ready 
for their next stage soon. | should see about ordering some more 
beds for them." 


Dear Diary, 


Mr. All-Growd-Up is thinking at me a lot today. He thinks 
I'm going to be ready soon. He says | won't be scared. 
But | think | will be. 


I'm going to miss Mommy and Daddy and Beth. But not 
Uncle Dan. He looks at me funny sometimes. | don't like 
it. 


And i forgot that Beth is going to be ready soon too. Mr. 
All-Growd-Up thinks at us that her and Tommy and Dani 
will be first. 


They're lucky they can go first. | bet they will be real 
pretty like Mr. All-Growd-Up. | hope I'm pretty too. 


| want to take Scooter with me when i go. He's a good 
cat. But Mr. All-Growd-Up thinks | can't. He thinks | can 
have Scooter when | grow up if | want. So that's good. | 
hope | get Uncle Dan like that too. 


Bye! 


Sheriff Brett Michaels ("Yes, like the rocker.") was worried. He'd 
been feeling strange lately and wasn't sure what it was. Lately he'd 
go on patrol in some of the farther parts of the county for a few 
hours and would start feeling really angry and afraid of something, 
although when he was feeling better he couldn't remember what, 
exactly. He'd come racing back to Spring, all fired up to do 
something, charge straight into the clearing that the adult usually 
appeared in and then he'd feel a lot better. The air always smelled... 
better around the adult. Everything just felt right around him, like he 
could take care of everything. Even Sheriff Michaels, the nominal 
authority in the county, deferred to the judgment of the adult. He 
knew best, after all. 


Brett spotted Dr. Shivaji across the clearing while the rest of the 
crowd was getting set up for the choosing and decided that he'd talk 
with her afterwards and see if she could give him some medicine or 
something to calm him down. 


In the meantime, he kept his hands firmly on the shoulders of his 
brother Jake and his sister-in-law Debra. Their boy Jacob stood in 
front of the three of them, looking a little nervous. But that was only 
to be expected for meeting the adult for the first time; it was a big 
moment in anyone's life, and Jacob was about the age that the adult 
was interested in helping.