Chapter Text
A new anomaly is just another week. All Ash can do is sigh while he’s assigned to yet another anomaly. To study it with a team of other researchers like him. Albeit, not as great at him.
“Possible extraterrestrial.” Jaron tells him before passing a file onto him. “Nothing is… well, nothing about it really matches up to any sort of organism or earth.”
Ash turns his head from the file to the pulsating mass of flesh on the cold floor of the containment chamber.
“Anything else that I need to know?” Ash asks.
“SCP-8279,” Jaron says. “it’s sensitive to light and can only live in colder places. That’s all we know other than it’s resistant to bullets. An agent tried to shoot it during transport and it just swallowed it…”
Ash pauses with a nod to what Jaron just explained to him. They continue looking at the new anomaly. It looks to be breathing although it’s not clear whether or not it has anything that could possibly make it breath. A nose or lungs? Nada.
“Well have you thought about experimenting with- have you ever thought about trying to burn it? To test how ‘durable’ it actually is.” Ash says.
“Wha- but we barely just had it?” Jaron reminds the senior researcher assigned to this new anomaly. “Don’t you think we can wait a little bit? Maybe wait if it’s safe or not?”
“Jaron, when you’re working for the foundation, you don’t put into question if the anomaly is nice to you or not. The objective in here— especially if I’m the main researcher assigned to this thing— is to make sure that thing never gets out. No matter.” Ash explains to him.
Ash pats Jaron on the shoulder.
“I’ll be checking up on Spepticle, you get to command these other people for me. You get to stand in this.” Ash leaves and his footsteps begin to fade. The light from the door appears and then goes as he leaves.
Jaron looks at the file. He’s second in command. Well, if it’s Ash, he’s always second in command.
But seriously. Why do something like this? Why do something that could potentially anger an anomaly? It could force it to be come aggressive, but why?
Jaron has been working for site-15 for five years now. Still, he doesn’t get why everything is just so goddamn cold.
But there’s no way in hell, that the director is gonna let Ash do this so soon. Jaron could never believe if Branzy ever lets anything horrible happen in the site without the final decision going through him first.
He’ll just wait. Jaron sits down on a chair with the latest rework of the file in his hand. The paper has gone through several rewrites and edits, researchers finding better ways to describe it and it’s capabilities so it looks presentable to the director.
The director isn’t really that picky when it comes to writings of files, all he cares is that it best describes the anomaly or the situation.
Jaron looks at the clock, nearly lunch. The conversation of the other researchers are a blur to his ears, becoming a ringing as he closely observes the mass of flesh. It’s containment chamber is dark and there hasn’t been any noticeable changes since it’s arrival to it’s new home in the last 27 hours.
“Alright, lunch time.” One of the researchers say. “Jaron?”
“Yeah?”
“You gonna spend your lunch here?” He asks.
“Yeah.” Jaron answers. “I’m too scared of not being here. I might get a lecture.” He chuckles.
46 hours, since this anomaly has been transferred into a containment chamber. It happened during the night, where everyone was too busy with other things.
The warning goes as follows: “Site under lockdown, anomaly missing. Please stay calm.” with the usual red lights flashing that’s enough to give anyone a migraine and the sirens blaring.
“What-” Jaron looks around to everyone else in the hallway. He recognizes one of the people, Rek. “Rek? Rek, do you know who- what anomaly has gone missing?” He asks, the words rapidly being spat.
“Heard it was that extraterrestrial anomaly that you were assigned to.” Rekrap says. “I’m not really sure but Minute and other agents arrived as soon possible around the same area-”
Jaron has no time before his heart skips a beat. He rushes, down the corridor to get to the metal door.
There’s the researchers inside, Ash too, and agents.
“Jaron, ” Ash says when he notices him. “do you know what happened?”
Jaron stammers. “I don’t- I don’t know.” He answers.
The agent looks to Ash, then to Jaron.
“Well it just happened all of a sudden.” Pangi, the agent, adds on with. “Cameras became all static-y, and now we have a potentially violent alien thing on the loose.”
Ash pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly irritated at the current events unfolding right before him.
“Oh god, can’t really catch a fucking break around here…” Ash says.
“All we can do- as said by both the director and my captain, is that we just kind of stay put, and… gather as much information as we can.” Pangi states. “So, knowing you two are the main people to this little SCP gone loose, what’s everything you two noticed or observed?”
Jaron looks at Ash.
Ash sighs. “It’s got durable flesh. When it was being transported, one of the agents tried to shoot it but the muscle just made the bullet slide down. But, it’s also photosensitive like that fish bitch that won’t stop complaining.”
“I know the foundation is-” Pangi pauses. “cold and not cruel whatsoever, but have you tried… you know? Experimenting with it more in the last two days?”
“I sent some requests to Branzy that were waiting to be approved, and… well it’s gone now.” Ash answers.
“Oh.”
“Wait- wait, you were actually really going to burn it?” Jaron repeats.
“Yeah.”
Jaron just keeps his mouth shut. Still, even then, the site is thrown into chaos.
The hours after that were silent. Amongst the group that were assigned, and the agents who helped take SCP-8279 into the facilitated halls of the foundation, they all stayed silent.
Jaron is in the break room, a half-empty coffee clutched into one hand.
Someone sits next to him. Minute, who just came out of field work.
“Heard what happened from Leo.” Minute says to him, voice flat. “Uh…” He exhales. “So…. are there any other things you’re assigned to?”
“Hopefully not demoted.” Jaron replies.
Minute nods, slowly.
“What happened during your field work?” Jaron asks him. Making small talk won’t hurt.
“Just observed this lady.” Minute says. “B-but not in a bad way, okay? She’s like poison ivy but real and also more human like- like without the green skin? Yeah, without the green skin… and red hair.”
“Where was that?”
“A four hour drive from here to a forest.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah.”
They sit together on a teal sofa. The breakroom only gets colder as staff get in and out. The scent of coffee hangs in the air.
Minute pats his lap before getting up. “Alright, see ya doctor, hope something good comes outta what just happened.”