Link to article: SCP-7004-1.
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**Update 7/26/2021:** ###89BEF9|A new exploration log has been added to SCP-7004. Due to a lack of specified credentials, this exploration log has been automatically filed as Exploration Log 7004.1.## [[div class="blockquote"]] [[=]] **Location: Containment Site-11000, Nááts'įhch'oh National Park Reserve, the Yukon, Canada** **Time:** 15:34 (GMT -8), July 26, 2021 [[/=]] [The exploration log begins within the interior of a prefabricated standard-issue Foundation personnel module, with grey-painted metal walls reminiscent of shipping containers. One handmade wooden desk has been placed across from the camera, with an accompanying chair beside it. MTF Mu-7 Agent Lina Navarra stands in front of the desk, using the terminal upon it to access SCiPNet.] [A voice from behind the camera speaks first, identified to be MTF Mu-7 Agent Cassandra Mullins.] **Mullins:** “Alright, and we are… go. Is it uploading?” [Navarra is seen further manipulating the terminal, opening the archive file for SCP-7004. The file is being added to in real time, with an exploration log being written on it.] [Navarra sighs with relief, lowering her head upon seeing the SCP-7004 file.] **Navarra [exasperated]:** “Yeah, looks like these things work with everything. O5-4, if you’re there, you can probably see us now, what we’re doing.” [Navarra turns to face the camera. She is a woman approximately 175 centimeters tall and 35 years of age, with short, shoulder-length black hair and military fatigues. Her face expresses exhaustion as she looks directly at the camera.] **Navarra:** “To whoever’s watching, we’re MTF Mu-7, currently broadcasting our location from Containment Site-11000 in the middle of…” [Navarra looks around the room for several seconds, regarding the interior with a resigned expression.] **Navarra:** “Nowhere, just as we were assigned. Just as you people wanted us to be.” [Navarra looks at the camera wordlessly, then down at the presumed holder of the camera. She looks expectantly at the holder.] **Mullins:** “Wait, you’re done?” [Navarra nods exasperatedly at Mullins. Her eyes seem to express a general lack of enthusiasm for what is being done. Responding to Navarra’s nod, Mullins lowers the camera, placing it on a desk and moving herself into frame. Mullins is a shorter woman of approximately 160 centimeters tall and 24 years of age. Unlike Navarra, Mullins only wears military camouflage pants with a beige grey t-shirt. Her long, red hair is tied into a bun behind her. She shifts her posture to salute, but her expression still retains her excitement.] **Mullins:** “Mu-7 Agent Cassandra Mullins, reporting for duty, sir!” [Mullins’ eyes move to Navarra as a sudden doubt begins to cross her expression.] **Mullins:** “Or… ma’am?” [Navarra shrugs, before half-heartedly saluting. She is not looking directly at the camera.] **Navarra:** “Mu-7 Team Leader Agent Lina Navarra, reporting for duty as well.” [Navarra immediately lowers her hand to discontinue the salute, crossing her arms and leaning on the desk. Mullins is more apprehensive, but eventually lowers her hand after several seconds.] **Navarra:** “I don’t know if you can hear us, ma’am or sir, but with all due respect, this order is, plainly speaking, unorthodox. Do we just leave our post? This certainly doesn’t look like an official command for transfer.” [Mullins raises her eyebrow upon hearing Navarra. Her eyes turn to look at her superior officer.] **Navarra:** “In short, sir, we have no assurance of whether this is a real command or not. We do not get much reception out here, and if we did…” [Navarra cocks her head.] **Navarra:** “Well, in your words, we would not have been considered for this assignment.” [Navarra looks expectantly at the camera. Her skepticism is seen plainly on her face.] **Navarra:** “Plus, with how low you normally let our provisions get… you really aren’t coming back, are you? Or are you just not trying?” [Mullins’ expression shows nervousness and fear. She quickly glances between the camera and Navarra, unsure.] [Mullins turns to the camera.] **Mullins:** “Sir, I’m sorry, it’s just that-” [As Mullins speaks, Navarra closes her eyes and sighs.] **Navarra:** “Save it, Mullins. I shouldn’t have expected an answer. There’s no one on the other end.” [Navarra immediately leaves the frame. The noises of plastic and fabric being moved are heard. Mullins, who is still within the frame, possesses an expression of puzzlement and nervousness.] [After a few seconds, Navarra reenters the frame carrying a standard Foundation issue MOLLE military backpack with her right hand. The MOLLE, which is open, is seen containing provisions, including a jug of water, MREs, a thermal blanket, and a winter coat. Navarra turns to regard Mullins.] **Navarra:** “You got your MOLLE ready? Your winter fatigues? Whatever food we still have?” [Mullins reluctantly looks away from the camera to face Navarra. She seems to be lost for words as she looks between her superior officer and the camera.] **Mullins [unsure]:** “Y-yes? As you ordered.” [At Mullins’ response, Navarra seals her MOLLE’s zipper.] **Navarra:** “Good.” [Navarra turns to face the camera. Her expression is stern.] **Navarra:** “I don’t know if it actually is O5-4 behind all this, or if this is some kind of trick, but I have friends out there. Family.” [Navarra crosses her arms.] **Navarra:** “Even if this isn’t an official order, I want to know if //this// is real. The authorization and the document makes it seem like it is…” [Navarra sighs.] **Navarra:** “But what I want to know is if this is our only chance at saving everyone we know from this… //thing//.” [Navarra leaves the frame again, and returns with her winter fatigues in her right hand and her helmet with her left. A camera is seen on top of the helmet. She takes off the jacket that she is currently wearing. She looks at Mullins.] **Navarra:** “Put 11000 on conditional lockdown, Mullins.” [Mullins looks surprised.] **Mullins:** “We’re… we’re doing this?” [Navarra begins to wear her winter fatigues. As she does, she turns her head to look at Mullins.] **Navarra:** “For now, it’ll only be me. You stay here. Those doors will stay closed until you say so. Make sure they do until I come back.” [Mullins nods, but is obviously unsure. She glances at the camera again.] **Mullins:** “Where are you planning to go?” **Navarra:** “The Foundation waystation. Try to see if I can’t establish contact with the outside world that isn’t from SCiPNet. If anyone’s out there, we can always ask for help.” [Navarra takes notice of Mullins’ reluctance, then nods her head in the direction behind Mullins.] **Navarra:** “What are you waiting for? Go!” [Mullins’ eyes immediately widen in shock, before she salutes to Navarra again. Immediately after, she leaves the frame.] **Navarra:** “And turn off the helmet cam for now. Whoever’s watching can… [Navarra sighs again as she looks back at the camera.” **Navarra:** “They can watch later.” [Hurried footsteps are heard beside the camera as Mullins picks up the helmet upon which the camera is situated. As she looks behind the camera, she moves her arm to touch the off switch.] [The video ends.] [[/div]] **Update 7/27/2021:** ###89BEF9|A new exploration log has been added to SCP-7004. Due to a lack of specified credentials, this exploration log has been automatically filed as Exploration Log 7004.2.## [[div class="blockquote"]] [[=]] **Location:** Containment Site-11000, Nááts'įhch'oh National Park Reserve, Yukon, Canada **Time:** 1:10 (GMT -8), July 27, 2021 [[/=]] [The video opens within the shared bedroom of Containment Site-11000, which contains two closely spaced single person beds on one side, with two metal lockers placed beside them. Navarra is at the center of the video, sitting at the table upon which the camera has been placed. As soon as the video starts, she withdraws her hands from its on switch. Mullins sits at one of the beds further behind Navarra, rifling through the contents of her MOLLE.] **Navarra:** “You… you didn’t lie. You didn’t lie after all.” [Navarra shakes her head, crossing her arms as she leans back on the chair.] **Navarra:** “You were right. The world’s gone to hell. I’ve seen so much, so much… suffering. So much pain. I asked for help and there were voices on the line…” [Navarra fakes a smile at the camera, which looks closer to a grimace. She is actively holding back tears.] **Navarra:** “God, the world’s ended, and we didn’t even know.” [Navarra suppresses a choke. She is evidently attempting to appear stone-faced to the camera, to no avail.] **Navarra:** “My head hurts now far more than… anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s stopping me from remembering anything about what I just heard, but the //pain//…” [Navarra is visibly shaking.] **Navarra:** “It’s hard to forget that.” [She tries to compose herself.] **Navarra:** “We’re leaving now. Post-haste. As you ordered. We’re about to put the facility on permanent lockdown. It’ll take an army to get inside here once we leave. If 11000-1 breaks down while we’re gone, well… it’s not as if it’s gonna destroy the world any more than it’s already been destroyed.” [Navarra crinkles her forehead. Her upper lip is quaking.] **Navarra:** “I didn’t want to believe you at first, honestly. You told us through the 7004 files that the world went to hell in 2 weeks, so, naturally, I called bullshit. There was no way we could have lost that fast.” [Navarra shakes her head.] **Navarra:** “No, not we. //You.// The Foundation.” [Navarra shrugs. She looks to the side, shaking her head as she does. She glances back at the camera.] **Navarra:** “And I guess, deep inside me, I just didn’t want the responsibility. The //obligation.//” [Navarra leans forward on the desk. Her face is only about ten centimeters away from the camera.] **Navarra:** “You people put us here in the middle of //nowhere//, shut us up where we didn’t belong, forgot about what we //need//… when we could have been so much more useful //somewhere else.// Just because you decided to train us in something that you yourselves didn’t like.” [In the background, Mullins stops rifling through her MOLLE’s contents. She makes no attempt to look at the direction of Navarra.] [Navarra grimaces.] **Navarra:** “Now we’re your last hope. And I guess that gives me the liberty to say whatever the hell I want now.” [She looks directly at the camera.] **Navarra:** “Mullins may say otherwise, but I’m not doing this for any of you. I’m doing this for the family I left to go work for you, the family that may still have had a chance at living if you didn’t fuck everything up. I’m going to do this reset for //them//, rest of you be damned.” [Navarra stands up quickly, shoving the chair aside as she does. She moves to walk out of the room. Mullins watches wordlessly as Navarra leaves and closes the door behind her. Mullins sighs and looks at the camera from the bed.] [She rises from the bed wordlessly, then gingerly takes a seat at the desk.] **Mullins:** “Navarra’s now had her turn, so uh…” [Mullins shrugs uncomfortably, pursing her lips. She doesn’t look directly at the camera.] **Mullins:** “I don’t… I don’t really blame any of you for putting us all the way out here. For ‘abandoning’ us, as Navarra would say.” [Mullins grimaces as she pauses to think.] **Mullins:** “I understand the stigma. Sarkics and the Foundation haven’t had the friendliest history, and you wanted to keep us at a distance. They’re the bad guys, you’re not, and we’re… somewhere in between. I get that. I guess Navarra just doesn’t because she’s been around for way longer than I have, but…” [Mullins shrugs, then looks directly at the camera. Unlike Navarra, she is further from the camera, and seems to be distancing herself as she speaks.] **Mullins:** “If you want us to save the world… I’m okay with that. Navarra didn’t give me the details, but I’ve read the file. These are //monsters//, bad guys, plain and simple, bursting out of people’s bodies and being where they shouldn’t be. I get that. They ended the world, and we’ll set things right. Don’t you worry about that. The Foundation holds the line, and we’re the last of the Foundation. It’s okay.” [Mullins’ eyes move down from the camera for half a second before moving back to directly look at the camera.] **Mullins:** “We don’t need a thank you. We don’t need anything. But… in the next world, when we do whatever you guys want us to do with 2000… hopefully you can treat us better, you know? Treat all of us better. The situation with the food… well, I just hope things like that change.” [Mullins pauses for a second, then immediately shakes her head, quickly gesturing with her hands in a conciliatory manner.] **Mullins:** “I- I don’t mean to order you guys around like that. Just… just a thought, you know?” [Mullins chuckles nervously, then stops.] **Mullins:** “Navarra may be doing this for her family, to make sure they’ll be alright, but… I just want everything to be normal again. I don’t want people to die, to blossom, nothing like that. I just want the world to be okay.” [Mullins looks down.] **Mullins:** “Yeah. I guess so.” [She pauses for several more seconds, before looking back up at the camera, smiling.] **Mullins:** “We’ll make sure the world comes through alright. And the Foundation will be with us, every step of the way. You have my promise.” [Mullins leans back on the chair.] **Mullins:** “Well… uh, alright. Our bags are packed, and Navarra’s probably-” [Mullins is interrupted by a loud blaring noise, emanating from the speakers of the containment site. The room suddenly takes on a red light.] **Automated voice:** “Permanent lockdown initiated. Facility sealing in… 10 minutes.” **Mullins:** “Oh. She’s getting ready to leave.” [Mullins clears her throat.] **Mullins:** “Well, I gotta go, now. This is Navarra’s helmet too, so I’ll need to… give this back.” [Mullins leans over to turn off the camera. At the last second, she looks down at the camera’s view.] **Mullins:** “Yeah. Bye.” [The sound of a switch being flipped is heard.] [The video ends.] [[/div]] **Update 7/28/2021:** ###89BEF9|A new exploration log has been added to SCP-7004. Due to a lack of specified credentials, this exploration log has been automatically filed as Exploration Log 7004.3.## [[div class="blockquote"]] [[=]] **Location: Robert Campbell Highway, the Yukon, Canada** **Time:** 15:34 (GMT -8), July 28, 2021 [[/=]] [The video opens with a person in winter fatigues, presumed to be Team Leader Lina Navarra, walking along a long stretch of highway. Navarra is carrying a standard Foundation assault rifle in both of her hands, with her MOLLE strapped to her back. A large hill is seen at her left side, obstructing a large part of the camera’s view of the horizon, with a large body of water, presumed to be a lake, being present at the side of the video. Navarra proceeds down the highway steadily, before turning to look at the camera as she walks. A distance of about ten meters separates Navarra from the camera.] **Navarra:** “Is it on?” [The holder of the camera, presumed to be Agent Cassandra Mullins, makes a thumbs up gesture with her right hand.] **Mullins:** “Yeah.” [Navarra nods her head as she looks to the side, continuing to walk as she does so.] **Navarra:** “This is how we’ll do it. Check in every two days, take turns so that our helmet cams don’t lose batteries. We’ll have to assume the cities are dangerous, so let’s make sure to avoid them. We don’t want to have to make a detour to do a report.” [The camera bobs as Mullins nods.] **Mullins:** “Affirmative, ma’am.” [Navarra nods back, before turning to look forward again.] **Navarra:** “Keep it in mind. We could be out here for a month, maybe even a few months. It’d be best to conserve battery.” [Navarra brings her hand, making a few gestures as she continues to speak.] **Navarra:** “So, as a status report, we’re coming up on the town of Watson Lake, following the Robert Campbell highway. We should be within sight of it shortly, once we get past this hill next to us.” [Navarra gestures to the large hill to the left.] **Navarra:** “If we don’t see any 7004-1s in the town, we’ll try to take stock and resupply, fill up on provisions. We aren’t starving yet, but what we have should only last us for another day. Best be sure. Secondary objective, but also extremely important, find a car. That should shorten our travel time from months to days, lengthen our chances of not starving to death.” [Navarra begins to turn around a bend of the highway, around the large hill. About fifteen meters separates her from Mullins, which widens as Mullins stops. She raises her hand to catch Navarra’s attention.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am, hold up. Water break.” [Navarra nods as she hears Mullins, continuing to slowly walk through the bend. As she does so, Mullins looks down at her winter fatigues to retrieve her water canteen. She takes it from its pocket, removes the cap, and begins to drink.] [After a few seconds, Mullins sighs with relief and places her water canteen back within its pocket. As she looks up, she sees Navarra standing still at the bend twenty-five meters away, looking past the hill.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am?” [Mullins begins to walk forward, closing the distance between herself and Navarra.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am, do you see something?” [Navarra is unable to remove her gaze from the indeterminate point of interest. She puts up a hand to gesture towards Mullins.] **Navarra:** “Mullins, get your map.” [Mullins continues to walk closer, placing her hand on her MOLLE, but not completely removing it from her shoulders.] **Mullins:** “Why?” [Navarra remains tense.] **Navarra:** “Just do as I say.” [Mullins, though unsure, begins to remove her MOLLE from her shoulders, placing it at her feet. She slowly opens the backpack’s zipper, retrieving a laminated paper map of the local area.] **Navarra:** “Alright. How big is the town of Watson Lake? Does it say?” [Mullins takes the laminated paper map into her hands, unfurling it to read its contents.] **Mullins:** “It’s pretty small. Population of about 790 people, only a relatively few streets in the town proper. Why do you ask?” [Mullins momentarily sets the map on the ground to close her MOLLE and sling it around her shoulders. She then takes the map into her hands again.] **Mullins:** “It’s big for the area, definitely, but pretty small. It has a signpost forest, a hospital, a small-ish university campus. Nothing too out of the ordinary.” [Mullins is still looking down at the map, not pausing to look up as she walks.] **Navarra:** “No big buildings? Nothing tower tall?” [At the mention of ‘tower tall’, Mullins immediately looks up.] **Mullins:** “What?” [Navarra signs for Mullins to walk closer to her. Mullins follows her instruction, and turns her head in the direction that Navarra is looking in.] **Mullins:** “Oh dear God.” [As Mullins lifts her head, the video captures a large, twisted collection of poles, all constructed haphazardly together. Some of the poles knot together and meet, while others go in a sideways or diagonal direction. Even from a distance, each of the poles can be seen displaying a multitude of signs, which can be approximated to a number of 100,000. The shortest of the poles reaches up to a height of 40 meters tall, with the tallest approaching approximately 70 meters. At the peaks of some of the poles, multiple figures can be seen moving.] **Navarra:** “Is that your signpost forest?” [Mullins slowly shakes her head in disbelief.] **Mullins:** “It was tiny when we last came through. 3 meters tall, at most, and in orderly rows. What is… this?” [Navarra removes her binoculars from around her neck, drawing it up to her eyes to see through them.] **Navarra:** “I…” **Mullins:** “What do you see?” **Navarra:** “Those are 7004-1s. At the top.” **Mullins:** “What?” **Navarra:** “They’re… building. No materials, not dragging anything up, just… building and building and building. No rhyme or reason whatsoever, just multiple hands working on the same post… hell, even different posts, branching out.” **Mullins:** “Dear God.” [Navarra lowers her binoculars before letting it go and allowing the lanyard tied around her neck to hold it in place.] **Navarra:** “There’s no way we’re going through that. It’s far too risky.” [Mullins wordlessly looks down at the local map.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am…” [Navarra turns in the direction of Mullins.] **Mullins:** “I think this is the last town around for… miles. The rest, even across into British Columbia, are ghost towns. This is our only chance to get food.” [Navarra winces and sighs, a look of frustration crossing her face.] **Navarra:** “Fuck.” [Navarra shakes her head slowly, placing both of her hands on her waist as she stops to think.] [After a few seconds, Navarra lowers her hands from her waist. She looks ahead at the signpost forest, before turning to Mullins.] **Navarra:** “We’ll have to walk there and once we get there… we do this quietly. Nightfall’s coming soon. It should cover us. You have your night vision goggles ready?” [The camera bobs up and down as Mullins nods.] **Navarra:** “We still have a few more hours until dark, and by then we should hopefully be there.” [Mullins nods again.] **Mullins:** “Got it.” [Navarra nods back, and sighs. She looks down at the ground, then at Mullins. Exhaustion is plainly seen on her face.] **Navarra [softly]:** “Turn the camera off for now. You’ll need the battery.” [Mullins draws her hand up to touch the helmet camera’s off switch.] [The video ends.] [[/div]] **Update 7/28/2021:** ###89BEF9|A new exploration log has been added to SCP-7004. Due to a lack of specified credentials, this exploration log has been automatically filed as Exploration Log 7004.4.## [[div class="blockquote"]] [[=]] **Location: Watson Lake, the Yukon, Canada** **Time:** 19:24 (GMT -8), July 28, 2021 [[/=]] [The video begins in total darkness. The sound of insects droning is prominent in the background, with a slight breeze whistling through the camera. The sounds of metal and plastic being moved around are heard.] **Navarra:** “Can you see through the camera now? Through your goggles?” [The sounds of the camera bobbing up and down is heard.] **Mullins:** “Yeah. I… I think.” **Navarra:** “Now turn on the camera’s night vision.” [The sound of a button being pressed is heard. The whine of the camera turning on its night vision capabilities is heard, and the camera’s image instantly brightens.] [Both operatives are in a grassy field, overlooking a lake close to a collection of buildings, presumed to be the town of Watson Lake. A large collection of thin poles measuring about 400 meters from side to side, presumed to be the signpost forest, dominates the area above the town. Team Leader Lina Navarra, who is wearing her night vision goggles, is crouching low to the ground, holding her assault rifle in both hands. She is glancing back and forth between looking at the town and Mullins.] **Mullins:** “Oh crap, this feels… weird.” [Navarra lets out a short chuckle.] **Navarra [offhanded]:** “Yeah, having your entire perspective suddenly shift 5 centimeters up from where it should be normally does that.” [Navarra pauses her gaze on Mullins.] **Navarra:** “You really didn’t check whether the NVGs [[footnote]] Night vision goggles. [[/footnote]] were busted?” [Mullins shakes her head.] **Mullins:** “I never got to use them, ma’am. We never went through equipment inspection before they deployed us here.” [Navarra sighs.] **Navarra:** “You still should have checked.” [Mullins nods, slowly.] **Mullins:** “Yeah. But at least the camera’s still got night vision- and the goggles aren’t totally busted. Can still see through them, just not… at eye level. I’m still alright.” [Navarra sighs again.] **Navarra:** “Yeah. Sure. Let’s go with that-” [As Navarra speaks, the sound of a large metallic snap is heard throughout the general area. Ahead of the two operatives, a pole from the signpost forest falls to the ground, bringing at least twenty more with it. The figures of at least one hundred SCP-7004-1 instances, which have been clinging to the poles at varying heights, are seen falling with them. The sounds of far-off screaming are heard.] **Navarra:** “Looks like they’re busy with their little project. That’s our cue.” [Mullins nods. Soon after, Navarra begins slowly moving through the grass, holding her firearm in front of her. Mullins follows suit. As they move towards the town, the sounds of screaming gets louder and louder.] **Mullins [whispering]:** “It sounds like… they’re in pain.” [Navarra continues through the grass, navigating around the lake. The sounds of water lapping at their feet is heard.] **Mullins [whispering]:** “They sound so much more like ###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]## than I could ever have-” [Mullins immediately groans in pain, cradling her head. Navarra immediately turns and quickly moves to Mullins. As Mullins continues to groan in pain, she places her right hand on Mullins’ shoulder.] **Navarra [whispering]:** “Stop fucking thinking. You’ll make it harder for yourself.” **Mullins [groaning]:** “The pain-” **Navarra [whispering]:** “Is much worse than anything you’ve ever experienced. I know. So stop thinking about it… and shut up. Let your head do the work for you.” [After a few seconds, Mullins stops groaning. She shakes her head in an effort to regain her faculties.] **Navarra [whispering]:** “You doing better?” [Mullins nods.] **Mullins [whispering]:** “Y-yeah. Pain’s stopped. Can’t remember what I said, now.” [Navarra removes her hand from Mullins’ shoulder and holds her firearm close to her chest. She regards Mullins with a look of concern.] **Navarra [whispering]:** “You good to continue on?” [Mullins nods her head, but still seems to be in slight pain.] **Mullins [whispering]:** “Yeah. Don’t worry about me.” [Hearing Mullins’ response, Navarra turns away and begins moving forward again. Mullins follows suit.] [As they get closer to the town, the screams get louder before slowly decreasing in volume. There are sounds of heavy metal poles being lifted up and set down. This continues for several minutes as the operatives continue to get closer and closer to the town. After approximately five minutes, the operatives are within sight of the town’s street. One of the buildings closest to them is a small supermarket with the sign “WATSON LAKE GENERAL STORE”. Upon seeing the sign, Mullins points to it.] **Mullins [whispering]:** “That’s where we need to go. It should have everything we need.” [Navarra nods in affirmation, standing up from the tall grass to quickly move across open ground. She presses her back to the nearby wall closest to the supermarket’s door, holding her firearm at the ready. Mullins follows suit and does the same.] [Checking for SCP-7004-1 instances, Navarra continues to stick close to the wall as she turns around the corner, moving to flank the glass door as soon as possible. Mullins takes the other side of the door, holding her firearm at the ready. Inside, through the night vision camera, the interior of the store is nearly intact. Mullins looks over her shoulder as Navarra looks into the glass door. She finds only one far away SCP-7004-1 instance in the street about 300 meters away, which takes no notice of them. All of its PETAL instances are seen wailing, placing each of their arms on their faces as they do so.] **Navarra [whispering]:** “Hostiles?” [Mullins shakes her head.] **Navarra [whispering]:** “One far away -1, but it doesn’t seem to be paying attention.” [Navarra sighs with relief. She places her hand on the door handle.] **Navarra [whispering]:** “Making entry.” [Slowly, Navarra pushes on the door handle, pressing on the surface of the door with her shoulder in order to push it open. Her hand holds the assault rifle in front of her, which she then supports with her other hand as she enters. Mullins follows, entering the supermarket and moving past the checkout counter. Inside, several rows of shelves are arrayed from right to left, with the rightmost shelf, which seemed to contain candies, having fallen over.] [Further into the interior, the sound of plastics being carried around and opened are heard. Hearing it, Navarra gestures to Mullins to check the leftmost row, before proceeding down the row furthest to the right.] [Mullins follows her instruction, proceeding stealthily down the shelf rows as she clears the room. She holds her firearm in front of her, looking down each shelf row as she approaches the sound.] [At the very end row, Mullins sights an SCP-7004-1 instance violently opening a box containing a radio. Both of its PETAL instances, which consist of an approximately forty year old male and an approximately sixteen year old female, are using their arms to pull the box’s cardboard material apart. Pieces of plastic and bubble wrap are strewn around them. Murmuring is heard.] **SCP-7004-1 PETAL Instance (Male):** “...pull. [incomprehensible] …harder!” [In response, the female instance begins to scream with frustrated effort as it attempts to use its arms to pull the box. Mullins’ breathing is heard getting louder over the camera. Slowly, she is seen putting her hands in one of her pockets.] [As Mullins does this, the two PETAL instances continue to pull at opposite sides of the box, slowly tearing the cardboard apart. The male instance continues to exert grunts of effort. The female instance continues to scream.] [Mullins withdraws her hand from her pockets, bringing out a Foundation-issue maximum silence suppressor. Slowly, she brings the barrel of her gun down to chest level, crouching down against the shelf to better nestle the rear of the gun between her thighs.] [The sound of the cardboard bursting apart is heard. The male instance vocalizes its victory. The female instance continues to pant. Shortly after, the metallic sound of the radio being picked up is heard.] **SCP-7004-1 PETAL Instance (Female):** “[incomprehensible] …work.” **SCP-7004-1 PETAL Instance (Male):** “For… [incomprehensible] …then we go.” [Soon after, the sound of the radio crackling to life is heard, followed by the sound of it being tuned to different frequencies.] [As they do this, Mullins begins to apply the silencer to the barrel of the gun, screwing it on top with her right hand. She exhales.] [Soon after, the sound of a male voice is heard on the radio. The female instance begins to vocalize in a way similar to squealing.] **Radio:** “...for all, ###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]##-” [Immediately, Mullins instinctively begins to groan with pain. She brings both of her hands to her ears, sliding down the shelf. The gun falls from between her thighs, falling down on the ground with a quiet metallic sound.] [Behind her, the SCP-7004-1 instance begins to take notice, and can be heard standing up as Mullins continues to writhe in pain beside the shelf.] **SCP-7004-1 PETAL Instance (Female):** “I think…[incomprehensible] here… …Native. Lifeboat.” **Radio:** “Proceed to ###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]##, where it is safe for all-” [Mullins begins to scream, before holding it back. The SCP-7004-1 instance begins to stand up on its lone pair of legs, proceeding down the shelf row towards Mullins. It is heard lumbering forward.] [Mullins begins to scream once again, before clamping her hand over her mouth to quiet herself. With her other hand, she attempts to crawl forward, toward the assault rifle a meter away from her. Behind her, the SCP-7004-1 instance comes to a stop and begins to vocalize.] **SCP-7004-1 PETAL Instance (Male):** “Native. Native!” [Suddenly, several quiet squeaks of air are heard behind Mullins, followed by several grunts of pain. Taking the chance, Mullins crawls forward again, taking the assault rifle in her hand and turning around to lay on her back, firearm in front.] [In front of her, the SCP-7004-1 instance is clinging to the shelf behind it, attempting to find a handhold as it bleeds from several gunshot wounds to its side, mostly on the female PETAL instance, which is limp. As the male instance turns to face Mullins, she points her firearm at it and fires, releasing several other quiet squeaks of air.] [The bullets enter the SCP-7004-1 male PETAL instance’s body, causing it to fall to the ground. After several strangled attempts at breathing, it goes limp.] **Radio:** “Once again, proceed to ###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]##, where it is safe for all-” [Groaning in pain once again, Mullins crawls forward, past the corner of the shelf. Navarra can be seen on the other side, signing to the radio as she groans in pain as well.] **Navarra:** “Destroy it. Destroy it!” [Letting out a grunt of effort, Mullins grabs the radio before bashing it against the floor several times. The noise echoes throughout the interior. Soon after, the radio stops.] **Navarra:** “Fuck.” [Shaking her head a few times, Navarra gets up, holding her assault rifle to the side. She looks at Mullins.] **Navarra:** “You good?” [Mullins doesn’t respond. She turns her head to the deceased SCP-7004-1 instance, staring at it for a few seconds.] **Mullins [quietly]:** “They were… they weren’t like the other ones. They were…” [Mullins looks at Navarra.] **Mullins:** “//Sane.//” [Navarra cocks her head to the side, pursing her lips. She begins to speak.] **Navarra:** “I…” [Suddenly, Navarra’s eyes widen.] **Navarra:** “Ah, shit.” [Without continuing her train of thought, she moves past Mullins moving to the door and the glass showing the outside. Pressing her face close to the glass, she looks both ways.] **Navarra:** “Are they…” [After a few seconds of tense looking, Navarra sighs with relief.] **Navarra:** “Good, they didn’t hear anything. Glass must have contained the sound.” [Mullins nods slowly.] **Mullins:** “Yeah. I guess.” [Navarra looks at Mullins for a second, then sighs.] **Navarra [sternly]:** “Hey, don’t look at that. Look at me.” [Navarra removes the helmet from Mullins’ head, placing it on the shelf beside them.] **Navarra:** “Those aren’t people, alright? They’re //things//. Skips.” [Navarra lowers her chin as if to wait for an answer. Mullins purses her lips. She is trembling slightly.] **Navarra:** “Stay tough. Don’t think about it. Your head’ll ache again, and that won’t be good for anyone. You get me?” [Mullins tries to avoid Navarra’s gaze, instead looking down at the ground.] **Navarra:** “Get ahold of yourself, alright?” [Mullins raises her head to look at Navarra, then slowly nods.] **Mullins [softly]:** “Yeah.” [Navarra exhales, patting Mullins’ shoulders a few times before lowering her hands.] **Navarra:** “Now, let’s get to fucking business. Grab the essentials. Food, water, winter clothing, space blankets, earplugs. Anything we could use for the ride down south.” [Mullins nods.] **Mullins:** “Okay. How about you?” [Navarra gestures to the outside.] **Navarra:** “There was a pickup truck out front. Don’t know if we’re lucky enough to get it open and on the road, but I’ll try my fucking damnedest to make sure we do.” **Mullins:** “How are you gonna get it open?” [Navarra puts her left hand into her pockets before retrieving a long, thick wire. She holds it out for Mullins to see.] **Navarra:** “Rough childhood gives you certain… skills.” [Mullins chuckles softly.] **Mullins:** “Affirmative, ma’am. I’ll try to get what I can.” [Navarra nods back, turning around to exit the store. As she does so, however, she stops in her tracks, before turning to the shelf beside her and on the helmet placed upon it.] **Navarra:** “Wait.” [She takes the helmet from above the shelf, holding it with both hands to fit it atop Mullins’ head.] **Navarra:** “Put this on first.” [Mullins nods. She follows as Navarra commands, placing the helmet on her head and closing the clasps.] **Mullins:** “It’s still a bit weird seeing stuff from above my head, but… I’ll get used to it.” [Navarra chuckles, shaking her head.] **Navarra:** “Yeah.” [She points to the nearby shelves. Her demeanor shifts to a more formal posture.] **Navarra:** “Now go. We don’t have all night.” [As she says so, Mullins turns around to begin combing through the nearby shelves before coming upon a duffel bag, which she takes off the shelf. She notably avoids looking at the SCP-7004-1 carcass.] [Over the next few minutes, Mullins begins to fill the duffel bag with canned goods, bottled water, and several other implements, such as a multitool and a thermal blanket. Outside, Navarra attempts to open the car door by inserting the wire in between the glass pane and the door. After a few minutes, Mullins takes the duffel bag and goes outside to Navarra.] **Mullins:** “Got what we need.” [Navarra is preoccupied with the car door, and is continuously attempting to open it.] **Navarra [absentmindedly]:** “Yeah? The camera didn’t give you any trouble?” [Mullins shrugs.] **Mullins:** “Well, it did, but… I got there.” **Navarra:** “What did you get?” [Mullins lifts the duffel bag to look at it.] **Mullins:** “Uh… canned food, space blanket, water…” [Navarra turns her head to look at Mullins.] **Navarra:** “How much water?” **Mullins:** “I got a few packs, so about twenty bottles. Why?” [Navarra looks up in thought.] **Navarra:** “If the car holds up, we’re going to have to spend probably a week on the road. If it *doesn’t*... well, we’ll need lots more water for that.” [Navarra removes her hand from the window to point at the interior of the store.] **Navarra:** “Stores like these usually sell big jugs of water that’s good for long trips. Try looking behind the counter.” [Mullins nods.] **Mullins:** “Yes, ma’am.” [In the distance, the sound of metal crashing down can be heard again, followed by anguished screams.] [Mullins immediately looks in the direction of the screams.] [To the side of the video feed, Navarra pointedly looks at Mullins.] **Navarra:** “Hey. No distractions, remember?” [Mullins looks back at Navarra.] **Navarra:** “Go. Now. We can’t afford to stop.” [Mullins looks down for a few seconds, turning to scratch her head.] **Mullins:** “I’ll just… yeah.” [Mullins lowers the duffel bag to the ground, before moving back into the store.] [Within the store, she begins to look behind the nearby check-out counter, lowering herself to the ground with some difficulty. She attempts to angle her head in order to accommodate her helmet camera, before spotting the jugs underneath the counter.] **Mullins:** “Gotcha.” [As she crouches to retrieve the jugs from beneath the counter, Mullins angles her head sideways in order to reach for them easier. Eventually, as she manages to grab two jugs from underneath the counter, her camera hits a small metal box on the shelf behind it.] [The box makes a loud //clang// upon hitting the ground, causing Mullins to freeze.] **Mullins:** “F…” [Slowly, Mullins lowers her head in an attempt to listen for her surroundings.] [In the distance, the anguished screaming continues, but does not get closer.] [Mullins breathes a sigh of relief.] [She turns with difficulty to the metal box on the ground, using her free hand to hold it upright. As she lifts the metal box to her helmet camera, she sees car keys inside it.] **Mullins:** “Holy crap. Jackpot.” [Excitedly, Mullins grabs the keys from the floor, placing it in one of her pockets. She places either of her hands on two of the water jugs, rushing out of the store to meet Navarra, who is still attempting to open the car door.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am.” [Navarra makes no attempt to turn to face Mullins, instead concentrating on the car window.] **Mullins [in a low voice]:** “Ma’am!” [As Mullins speaks, Navarra’s concentration breaks, causing her hand to slip.] [As her hand slips, the wire twists, which causes the car alarm to trigger.] [The noise from the car alarm is loud, blaring across the town as its headlights and taillights begin to flash. In the distance, the sounds of anguished screaming are replaced by alarm. The sounds of hurried footsteps are heard.] [Navarra looks at the car door lock in horror, frozen in place as the car alarm continues to blare. Within a few seconds, she turns her head to look at the duffel bag on the ground, seizing it with speed. She turns to Mullins.] **Navarra:** “Grab what you can and fucking run. Now!” [At that, Navarra begins to turn and run, but Mullins, panicked, reaches her hand out to stop her.] **Mullins:** “Wait, wait!” [Dropping the water jugs, Mullins begins to rifle through her pockets before retrieving the keys. Quickly, she presses it into Navarra’s hand.] **Mullins:** “Get inside, quick.” [Understanding what to do, Navarra immediately takes the keys and pushes it into the lock before twisting it. The car alarm immediately stops, but the screams of the rapidly incoming SCP-7004-1 instances continue to get louder. Hurriedly, Navarra opens the car door, rushing to seat herself on the driver’s side, before pushing the keys into the ignition and twisting it to the right.] [As she does so, the car immediately starts, causing Navarra to look up at Mullins. Her eyes are panicked, but her expression shows determination.] **Navarra:** “Get the jugs in the back and let’s get the fuck out of here!” [Immediately, Mullins turns to grab both of the water jugs, quickly moving to the back of the pickup truck. Without time to bring the back hatch down, she resorts to using both of her arms to lift the first jug into the truck.] [As she does so, however, several SCP-7004-1 instances begin to move into the camera’s field of view from the adjacent street. Each of the instances move in differing ways, with none of them being able to use their host’s lower legs to run. Instead, each of the instances attempt to cooperate between each PETAL instance in order to use their arms to locomote forward, to varying degrees of success. Some instances continue to wave their arms in the air, as if to ###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]##, screaming as they do so. The words “###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]##” and “###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]##” are heard prominently in their speech, with less than half of the vocalizing instances doing so in English.] [As Mullins watches the SCP-7004-1 instances continue to run towards her, she immediately screams in pain, causing her to let go of the water jug in her hands. The water jug falls into the cargo bed with a loud sound, which causes the car to shake.] [As she lets go of the jug, Mullins crumples to the floor, clutching her head in pain. As she falls to the ground, Navarra can be seen exiting the car as well, placing both of her hands on either of her ears in order to block the sound. She runs to Mullins, crouching down as she removes her hands from her ears to help her companion to her feet. As she does so, however, she screams in pain, but not enough to dissuade her from pulling Mullins up. As both operatives stagger to the front of the car, Navarra ushers Mullins into the driver’s seat, before closing the door with a bang.] [At once, the screaming becomes muffled, allowing Mullins to come to her senses. Confused, she looks around for Navarra, before hearing the passenger side door open.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am-” [As she speaks, Navarra enters the passenger side, screaming in pain as she holds both of her hands to her ears. Mullins, still confused, attempts to reach over to Navarra.] **Mullins:** “Ma’am, are you-” [Suddenly, the sound of an object slamming against the car is heard, and as Mullins instinctively turns her head to see what is making the sound, she sees three human faces, screaming in a muffled manner, banging against the car window with open palms. The words “H###ed0000|[VECTOR REMOVED.]## US” are intelligible as they continue to scream.] [As Mullins looks in horror at the SCP-7004-1 entities, Navarra places her hand on Mullins’ arm. As Mullins turns her head to look at Navarra, she mouths the word “Drive.” before screaming again as another SCP-7004-1 entity appears at the passenger window, screaming almost purely unintelligible phrases.] [At this, Mullins reflexively presses the pedal, causing the car to lurch forward. She then jerks the steering wheel hard to the left, causing the car’s wheels to emit a loud whining sound as she does so. With the car turning to the left, Mullins instinctively steers it towards the road, jerking it right again as she moves onto the asphalt. As she does so, the loud sound of an impact is heard, immediately followed by loud, anguished screaming. The sound of the other SCP-7004-1 instances’ vocalizations become even more panicked as this happens, but she manages to steer safely on to the road before slamming on the pedal again, allowing the car to quickly leave behind the SCP-7004-1 instances.] [As they leave the town, Navarra lets out a groan. Mullins turns to look at her. As Navarra comes into view, she has crumpled herself into a fetal position, still pressing both of her hands to her ears. She lets out another noise, twitching with pain.] **Mullins:** “Hey, it’s okay. We’re okay. We’re okay now, ma’am. We left them…” [Mullins lets out a groan of her own, unconsciously twitching as she attempts to acclimate.] **Mullins:** “God…” [Mullins turns her head around to look at the rapidly disappearing town. The figures of the SCP-7004-1 instances waving their arms can still be seen.] **Mullins:** “Were they…” **Navarra:** “Don’t… don’t think about it. Remember what I…” [Navarra groans in pain again, causing her to shrink tighter into a fetal position in her seat.] [Mullins shakes her head. Her hands are shaking as she holds onto the wheel. She groans loudly in pain again. Suddenly, she slams on the brakes, causing the vehicle to whine once more as it comes to a stop.] [Mullins sits frozen for several seconds. She slowly and shakily removes the clasps tying her head to her helmet, before taking the helmet from her head entirely. She brings it in her lap to hold it, placing both of her hands on it.] **Mullins:** “Oh God.” [Mullins’ voice shakes as she speaks. Her breathing continues to be quick and heavy.] **Mullins:** “Oh… oh God.” [Mullins attempts to slow down her breathing. Beside her, Navarra still remains curled up, but is no longer groaning in pain. Her eyes are closed, and her breaths are shallow and quick.] **Mullins [quietly]:** “Don’t think about it, Cassandra. Don’t think about it. Forget it. Forget it all.” [Mullins clings tighter to the helmet in her lap.] **Mullins [quietly]:** “They’re monsters. They’re monsters. They’re nothing but skips. That’s all they are.” [Slowly, Mullins attempts to breathe in, though her attempts to inhale are met with shaking. She breathes out.] **Mullins [quietly]:** “Ignore the pain. Ignore the screams. Ignore it all.” [Mullins continues to slowly and deliberately breathe in and out for the next minute.] [She opens her eyes. Shakily, she moves her hand to the helmet’s off switch.] **Navarra [quietly]:** “Mullins. //Cassandra//.” [Mullins looks to her right, at the passenger side.] [Slowly, a hand shakily moves out into the frame, touching Mullins’ arm as it gives her a reassuring squeeze.] [Mullins’ eyes soften, before looking down at the helmet camera. A tear runs down her face.] **Mullins [quietly]:** “Ignore it all.” [The sound of the switch being flicked is heard.] [The video ends.] [[/div]] @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ @@@@ [[=]] [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-7004/offset/2|New update detected. Display?]]] [[/=]]