Chapter Text
Okay Samiya… it's just one interview. You can do it. Just get it over with and you're good, right? It's not like he’s going to kill you or anything…right?
Samiya looked down at her clipboard, checking the notes she wrote for the near millionth time. She made sure she didn't mess up, reciting all the questions in her head. Even then, she wasn't confident. In fact, she was far from it.
As Samiya took a deep breath in, she began approaching the entity before her: SCP-049, also known as the plague doctor. The masked man was restrained with shackles on his wrists. They appeared to be causing him mild pain from how tight they were. Samiya wanted to loosen them to at least relieve some of the discomfort. However, she knew that it might not end well for her if his hands were free.
Wanting to get things over with, Samiya sat in the chair across from SCP-049. She cleared her throat before she finally spoke, shifting in the uncomfortable metal chair.
"H- hello..." was all she could manage to stammer.
SCP-049 perked his head up. "Hello, Doctor. What is your plan for today? Another interview? A new cadaver perhaps?"
"Just an interview for today." Samiya replied. "I'm no doctor, just a junior researcher. Oh a- and you can just call me Samiya."
"Well then Samiya, what do you have to ask?" The plague doctor leaned forward in his seat, causing Samiya to move back a little. Her heart raced as she tried to keep herself calm. She didn’t want SCP-049 to think she was afraid of him, even though she was a little bit intimidated.
She took a few deep breaths before looking back down at her clipboard, looking for a good question so start with. When she finally found one among all the hastily scribbled words, she cleared her throat. Samiya made sure her voice was as clear as possible so he could understand her.
"first question... what made you want to start curing this... uh pestilence?" She gulped right after saying the word 'pestilence'. Clearly, she still wasn't prepared, even after reciting all the questions she planned in her head.
Dammit Samiya, quit your stuttering! You're making a complete fool out of yourself.
SCP-049 thought for a moment, causing an awkward silence that made Samiya's anxiety rise. It felt like ages before he finally responded. "It is my purpose, the sole reason I even exist: to rid the world of this disease among us."
Samiya scribbled in her notes a little. Whatever she was writing, she seemed extremely focused. It was almost like she forgot about the whole interview altogether. After a couple moments, Samiya looked up from her clipboard.
“What exactly is the pestilence anyways? I know you've probably been asked this a million times, sorry. We'll skip this one for now.” Samiya put her head in her hands, sighing loudly.
SCP-049 sensed that Samiya was feeling stressed. “That's alright. I’d be happy to tell you! You’re just asking questions. It is an important part of your profession to ask questions, even if they've been asked before.” He reassured her.
“I know…I know… it's just that- never mind. That's not important right now. You were going to tell me about the pestilence?”
“Allow me to explain.” SCP-049 said, rather cheerfully. His calm and seemingly pleasant demeanor was surprising to Samiya. He was much more cooperative than the other anomalies Samiya was tasked to interview in the past. She knew she should be worried, but she couldn’t help but feel that SCP-049 was genuinely trying to help.
When Samiya didn’t respond right away, SCP-049 continued with his explanation. His explanations were pretty hard to grasp for someone who wasn't in the field. But she couldn't deny the fact that the plague doctor was acting strangely... and... charming even...?
Samiya was slightly nervous as she continued. She didn't want to seem unprofessional, so she waited for him to tell her everything.
“To make a long story short, humans have been suffering from this horrible disease since I can remember. However, this pestilence affects much more people than it did a few centuries ago. Far more people are infected than ever before. It is my duty as a doctor to eradicate it once and for all." SCP-049 explained.
Samiya clicked her pen a few times as she listened to him talk. She began zoning out again, the plague doctor's words becoming more muffled as her thoughts consumed her.
Samiya bit down on her lip, trying to force her mind to focus on what he said. She couldn’t understand how this pestilence thing worked. Was it even real or is SCP-049 just delusional?
Samiya shook her head and started to write down everything he was saying. She took a deep breath in before speaking again. "049 do I... Do I have the pestilence? Do you sense it in me?" Samiya nervously shifted in her seat as she asked that question, hoping that she wasn't infected.
SCP-049 examined Samiya for a few moments, looking her up and down. “I can't sense any of the Pestilence within you. You are safe.”
Samiya breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! Thank goodness! I was kinda worried about that... speaking of the pestilence, how do you sense it in others? Is it like a feeling in your body telling you that someone is infected? A voice in your head? God that sounded worse than I thought..."
"It's... it's difficult to describe. The best way I can describe it is a feeling. I apologize if that's not the answer you want." SCP-049 replied, taking another glance at Samiya.
Samiya nodded. “No, it's alright. That will do.” She looked back down and took some more notes.
After the interview concluded, Samiya finally got to leave SCP-049’s containment chamber. “Bye 049! I hope I can talk to you again someday.” She said before she exited the cell. She was in a much better mood after talking to him.
That went…a bit better than expected. Thank goodness I'm still alive. Now, I just got to give the notes and interview log to Dr. Grey. Oh god… Samiya shook these unpleasant thoughts from her head. Why does Dr. Grey always have to be so officious and strict about things?
Samiya walked into the dimly lit control room, a few guards greeting her. “Hello Dr. Grey! I have finished the interview. You will be pleased to know that SCP-049 was much more cooperative than he was when Dr. Weselton interviewed him.”
Dr. Grey nodded. “I see. So it seems that he has finally decided to give us the answers we have been waiting for. I’m happy to hear that!” He took the notes from Samiya and read them carefully, his eyes squinting which made the wrinkles underneath them more prominent. After he finished reading the interview notes, he looked down at Samiya, smiling for the first time in a while. “Well, Starr. I think this is the first time I'm saying this, but I am impressed.”
Samiya looked down at the floor. “R-really? Thanks…”
“You did good for today, Starr. I expect the next interview with SCP-049 to be just as good, if not better.” Dr. Grey said.
Samiya froze. Next interview? She thought to herself. She didn't know what to think about this. Talking to SCP-049 gave her a certain feeling, one she hasn't felt for a while. She couldn't quite grasp what this feeling exactly was, but she knew that she was looking forward to the next interview.
Samiya has never been this excited about her job before.