Item #: SCP-4859
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-4859 events are to be logged as they occur and analyzed for discernible patterns to ease suppression efforts. In the event of a civilian casualty, Cover Story-021 "GUN CONTROL" is to be enacted. D-Class personnel may be used in incidents of massive casualties to satisfy public concern, with a cover trial and sentence of 15-35 years time in prison.
At this time, Foundation fronts in Washington state are to include at least one agent with expertise in demonology.
Description: SCP-4859 is the corpse of a human male that appears irregularly throughout the state of Washington. No pattern or common element triggering this event has been discerned, and it is considered to be random at this time. Once SCP-4859 has manifested, a specific series of events will follow:

SCP-4859 will manifest. Passersby fail to notice the object here.
A wake of black vultures1 (Coragyps atratus) will gather around SCP-4859, pecking away at clothing and eating the flesh. Passersby fail to notice the act here.
A man dressed in a heavy coat and jeans,2 armed with a rifle, will approach the scene, keeping a distance of approximately 40 meters.
SCP-4859-B will aim and fire the rifle at SCP-4859-A. The resulting gunfire will alert all people within earshot.
SCP-4859-A will collectively gather around and conceal SCP-4859 before flying away. No evidence of SCP-4859 will be present after flight, and no trace of SCP-4859-A will be present after thirty seconds.

Attempts to locate SCP-4859-B after the event have failed. Before January 9th, 2019, the Foundation was only able to confirm the event through consistent witness accounts.
While the events following SCP-4859's manifestation have carried out the same sequence each time it has been witnessed, there have been slight variations after Stage 4 dependent on whether an SCP-4859-A instance has been successfully shot. A majority of SCP-4859 related events, however, result in SCP-4859-B consistently missing.

Incident Log 4859.1:

RECOVERED VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Date: January 9th, 2019
Foreword: SCP-4859 appeared in Wenatchee Valley Mall in East Wenatchee, Washington. The following events were recorded and posted to social media site Twitter by Josh Munn, a witness to the event. Munn captioned the video as "What an idiot". When later questioned, Munn claimed to have no recollection of filming anything past his interaction with his friend, Darryl Hay, nor did he remember uploading it.

<BEGIN LOG>
Video begins with a shot of a person across the table, identified as Darryl Hay. He has sat down with a paper food basket holding a large pretzel. In the background to the right, SCP-4859-A can be seen peeling flesh off of the right hand and face of SCP-4859. Munn is assumed to be filming and is not captured in the video.
Munn: Oh, man. Look at that thing.
Hay: Huh? What do you mean?
Munn: Your pretzel, man. It's just a big piece of knotted bread. Look at it. No salt.
Hay: What? You're crazy, this thing has plenty of salt on it.
Munn: Yeah, if you're watching your sodium intake. Why don't you put some more on it?
Hay: Doesn't need it. It's fine.
Munn: I'm telling you that if you bite into that right now, you are going to get a bland, greasy pretzel. You want a greasy pretzel with flavor, and that means more salt. There's some on the table next us, so why don't you use it?
Hay is silent for a moment before rolling his eyes and sighing. He reaches for the salt on a table on the left off-screen. Some SCP-4859-A instances begin tearing through the shirt of SCP-4859. One instance reaches into the mouth with its beak.
Hay proceeds to add salt to the pretzel. As he shakes the container, the cap comes off, emptying out the rest of the salt onto the pretzel. Munn bursts out laughing.
Hay: Fuck you, dude.
Hay throws the pretzel at Munn. At the moment of impact, a gunshot is heard and the video flashes white twice. Several diners in the food court leave their seats and run. Others remain seated. Hay is the first to turn towards the sound. Munn turns second, aiming the camera at SCP-4859-B.
SCP-4859-B stands up from its kneeling position and walks towards a wounded SCP-4859-A, the remainder of which, along with SCP-4859, have already fled. Seated civilians visibly recoil as SCP-4859-B walks by them. It kneels down and holds the creature in both hands.
SCP-4859-B: Tell the others to leave it alone.
A short period of silence follows.
Two mall security staff arrive, identified as Jamison Durth and Mark Rowlins.
Rowlins: Sir, drop the weapon and move it aside.
SCP-4859-B does not acknowledge the order and maintains eye contact on the SCP-4859-A instance.
Rowlins: Do you hear me? I said put the gun down, and move it to the side. Authorities are on their way.
SCP-4859-B: (to SCP-4859-A) I know you hear me. Leave my body alone.
After a brief moment, SCP-4859-A begins imitating a human laugh.
SCP-4859-B: Laugh all you want. We both know the truth.
Rowlins: Final warning: Put the gun on the ground and move away from it.
SCP-4859-A's laughter becomes more intense.
SCP-4859-B holds SCP-4859-A to the ground, pinning it down by the neck. SCP-4859-B grabs a knife from inside its coat and raises it in the air.
Durth: That's enough. Move in.
Durth and Rowlins both approach SCP-4859-B.
SCP-4859-B swings the knife down, severing SCP-4859-A's head. The video distorts for one second after. Both mall security officers stop moving.
Everything is quiet for seven seconds.
Munn starts laughing.
Soon after, Hay begins laughing. Within eight seconds, all people present in the food court begin laughing except SCP-4859-B. SCP-4859-B stands up, bringing their rifle to bear.
SCP-4859-B: Stop it. Leave these people alone!
The crowd continues laughing. Durth holds his stomach.
SCP-4859-B aims and fires at Durth, the video distorting as the shot rings out. Durth falls backwards onto the floor, still laughing despite the wound in his chest.
SCP-4859-B: These people have nothing to do with me! They're not your toys!
Munn continues to laugh, causing the video to shake. SCP-4859-B turns towards him and fires, but the bullet fizzles in mid-air.
SCP-4859-B walks closer and fires another round, the second bullet dissolving like the first. As SCP-4859-B comes closer to the camera, scabs form over its right hand and face. It draws its knife.
SCP-4859-B: One way out.
SCP-4859-B takes two steps forward before stepping on the salted pretzel. A sound akin to crackling fire can be heard as SCP-4859-B steps back in recoil, grunting. It looks at the ground, then back at Munn and into the camera. The laughter has not stopped.
SCP-4859-B begins to disappear.
SCP-4859-B: One way out…
The video flashes white twice. SCP-4859-B is missing in the last frame.
<END LOG>

Closing statement: The video has been removed from Josh Munn's Twitter feed, as well as from Wenatchee Valley Mall's security footage. Witnesses present have been amnesticized and the death of Jamison Durth has been explained as a rogue shooter in the area.

Addendum: Since Incident 4859.1, known SCP-4859 related events have left behind a decayed black vulture skull after their conclusion. The skulls are assumed to have belonged to SCP-4859-A instances and have been collected by Foundation agents to be kept in Safe Item Storage for further research.

Incident Log 4859.2: On December 20th, 2023, local authorities in Leavenworth, Washington received several phone calls at 02:42 AM. Calls had reported the sound of gunfire near the Leavenworth area, prompting an investigation from authorities and, subsequently, embedded agents in those authorities.
At 3:37 AM, the sound of laughter was heard within a forested area northeast of Leavenworth by Agent Liss. Liss then followed the sound and located SCP-4859-B, sitting across from SCP-4859. The two entities were surrounded by traces of a black liquid3 and seven black vulture skulls imitating human laughter. Notably, the Latin phrases "asinus", "vastum", and "iam quid"4 were heard in the collective laughter.
SCP-4859-B has been unresponsive since discovery. Amendment to Containment Procedures is pending due to these new developments.

Footnotes
1. SCP-4859-A.
2. SCP-4859-B.
3. Identified to be ectoplasm.
4. Translated as "fool", "waste", and "now what" respectively.

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