I am red-hot temptation served cold on a silver platter.
ITEM #: SCP-8077
LEVEL-
CONTAINMENT CLASS: EUCLID - {$sc}
DISRUPTION CLASS: VLAM
Assigned Site
Site-81-5
Site Director
Emmitt Ivers
Research Head
Riley Aimes
Assigned MTF
Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots")
ITEM: SCP-8077
LEVEL-
CONTAINMENT
CLASS: EUCLID - {$sc}
DISRUPTION
CLASS: VLAM
Assigned Site
Site-81-5
Site Director
Emmitt Ivers
Research Head
Riley Aimes
Assigned MTF
Epsilon-6 ("Village Idiots")
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-8077 is to remain within a modified anomalous humanoid containment chamber at Site-81-5 until further notice. The containment chamber has been modified to the extent that once every hour, a specialized aerosol will be released into the containment chamber that severely inhibits the production of saliva within the mouth when inhaled. Due to a hypothesized post-traumatic unresponsiveness toward Foundation questioning, beginning shortly, SCP-8077 will be visited by a Foundation-sanctioned psychiatrist for regular sessions. While the chosen psychiatrist will be permitted to wear a provided mask or face covering during their sessions, SCP-8077 is to remain exposed to the specialized aerosol at all times.
Should future testing and / or psychiatric-related sessions necessitate SCP-8077 to be removed from its containment chamber, a mask constructed from an enhanced, corrosion-resistant material will be provided to cover the lower portion of its face. In addition to this, multiple industrial canisters of the specialized aerosol are to be delivered to the location outside of its containment chamber prior to its arrival to be utilized by assigned personnel at any sign of a potential containment breach
Description: SCP-8077 is a 16-year-old Caucasian female of European descent possessing the anomalous mutation of producing saliva that displays extremely caustic properties. While SCP-8077’s organs and tissue are immune to the corrosive effects of its saliva, it has been observed to drastically affect most other materials (organic and inorganic) that it has come into contact with, resulting in the rapid corrosion and decomposition of said material. Most notably, the saliva has displayed a fatal efficiency toward eating away at all forms of organic (specifically human) organs and tissue.
Upon SCP-8077’s discovery by Foundation personnel, it was transported to Site-81-5 from its original home of Salvation, Indiana.
Addendum - 8077.1: Supplementary Information
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As SCP-8077 was in the process of being uncovered, six agents of MTF Epsilon-6 (“Village Idiots”) were deployed into Salvation to accomplish two different assignments. Three of the agents were tasked with conducting rudimentary interviews with specific townspeople to gain additional information regarding SCP-8077 and what exactly had transpired on the night of its discovery. The same three were also to be responsible for the town’s amnesticization following their investigation. The additional three agents were tasked with locating a person of interest who was believed to be SCP-8077.
MTF Epsilon-6 (“Village Idiots”): Town-Side Team
Team Members: E6-02 (Beta), E6-03 (Gamma)
Team Lead: E6-01 (Alpha)
SCP-8077’s name is Florence Ignis. It was born in October 2008, in Salvation, Indiana, where it resided until it was taken into Foundation custody. Its anomalous mutation is congenital, though neither of its parents tested positive for similar (or otherwise) anomalous properties. The anomalous mutation appeared to have developed gradually, over time, from approximately the ages of three to 13. Since that point, the lethality of its anomalous mutation gradually ceased increasing.
SCP-8077’s parents, Joseph and Marilyn Ignis, refused to outright confirm whether or not they had known about their daughter’s anomalous mutation. However, the presence of significantly charred eating utensils made from a Polytetrafluoroethylene (colloquially known as Teflon) based compound found within their home suggests that its parents were aware of its anomalous mutation, modifying their home accordingly to accommodate their daughter.
When interviewed by the Town-Side Team under the guise of gathering research for an article on declining religious affiliations in Indiana, Trent Linklater, a teacher at Salvation High School, corroborated similar accounts that during its attendance at the school, SCP-8077 was quiet, reserved, and lacked social connections to its peers and the school’s faculty.
Linklater: You know, now that you’ve got me thinking about it again, I did notice something strange back when she’d (SCP-8077) been a student in my homeroom class. I must’ve forgotten about it just as quickly as I’d realized it. She never ate or drank anything while in school. I remember it was a student’s birthday, he’d brought in a platter of cupcakes that his mother had baked to share during homeroom. Everyone in the class had gotten one, the mother had baked one for every student, you see, until he arrived at her desk. She politely declined but… it was the look in her eyes, despite the tone of her voice, that struck me. She looked… afraid? Nervous. As if the pastry were about to leap from the tray and devour her instead of the other way around! I think the birthday boy ate the leftover cupcake himself, I can’t quite remember. But since that moment… I began watching a bit more closely. Nothing. She never ate or drank a thing. Not in the cafeteria, not between classes, never. A strange quirk for a strange girl, no? I just hope that it wasn’t a sign of some kind, a warning of things to come. One in such a position as mine can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for what’s happened… oh well. What’s done is done. Something to add to the confessional, I guess, right?
When interviewed by the Town-Side Team, Roger Beltide, a volunteer chaplain at Salvation High School, told the agents that he’d believed that SCP-8077 had begun to improve after meeting 18-year-old Morgan Finlay (POI-8077-01) during its Sophomore year. According to Beltide and similar accounts from others close to Finlay, she quickly became extremely interested in SCP-8077, the two forming an intense friendship just several months preceding Finlay’s graduation.
Beltide: The truth is, we simply don’t have all of the facts about what happened. But if what people are saying turns out to be true, then our belief must dictate that this wasn’t some awful accident, crime, or mistake to have occurred. But that it was an act of divine retribution, no? Jot this down for your little puff piece or whatever it is you’re doing. The Devil is a roaring lion… and we are not to enter the thicket in search of the lion, for He is a hungry beast with an appetite for childish and naive temptations made manifest. The girl (POI-8077-01) was always of the curious sort… and if she went looking for trouble, we can’t rightly pretend to act surprised that she found it, can we? I can only hope that the Lord deigned to bless her with an opportunity for repentance before it was all over… this I can only hope.
When interviewed by the Town-Side Team, 18-year-old Roman Shelby, Finlay’s partner at the time, told the agents that he’d been embarrassed and perturbed by her friendship with SCP-8077. When asked to elaborate and for more specific details regarding their sudden relationship, Shelby admitted that he hadn’t known much, only that, oddly, their preferred mode of communication involved the passing of handwritten notes back and forth, despite each having the other’s phone number saved in their respective contact lists. According to Shelby, he would often (and aggressively) attempt to pressure SCP-8077 into divulging the contents of these notes against Finlay’s wishes, however, it would refuse each of his marked threats.
Shelby: One day, I didn’t even know she (SCP-8077) existed. The next, I can’t seem to get away from her for more than a couple of minutes at a time. Look. I get that Mo’s (POI-8077-01) allowed to have her own friends and all but you’ve gotta admit, it got out of hand. I mean, she’s my girlfriend, first and foremost… or was, I guess. Weird. That’ll take some getting used to. But some of my best memories in this town were of running off the football field and into her arms after games. Playing hooky to kiss under the bleachers, you know? We were teens in love, man, what else is there to say? But after they’d met, every time I hugged her, I was forced to stare at that fucking gimp over her shoulder, following her around like a lost puppy. Football games, parties… church! I couldn’t even pray to God without the cunt within five feet of me! Maybe Mo just had a thing for broken dolls whose heads you could twist on backward, who fucking knows. All I know is this. I’m never getting that image out of my head. Never. If they don’t find that demon soon, I know of a couple of boys who’d be itching for a chance at a proper witch-hunt. The books all tell you that your best weapons are holy water and the strength of your own faith. Well, my faith is strong. And they don’t say anything about bullets but I’ll take my chances.
When interviewed by the Town-Side Team, Finlay’s mother provided a brief account of her feelings toward her daughter’s relationship with SCP-8077.
Julia Finlay: Our girl (POI-8077-01) gave everything she had for that deviant pariah. What spark of divinity she saw in the little beast, I couldn’t tell you. But I do know this. Pests fly into fires because of the glamour it casts upon their primitive minds. Morgan’s light must’ve seemed a mighty glamorous flame reflected in that beast’s black eyes.
Notably, out of everyone that the Town-Side Team had interviewed, Shelby appeared far more angry at the prospect of SCP-8077 not being found than he was distraught at Finlay’s sudden death. Aside from the general apathy that most townspeople displayed toward the death of the young woman, most (aside from a select few) also seemed to share in Shelby’s sentiment.
Addendum - 8077.2: Incident Report
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On the night of June 15th, 2024, Shelby, Finlay, and SCP-8077 had all been in attendance at an unsupervised party thrown by a classmate while his parents were out of town on a work-related excursion. The party was thrown within the classmate’s home, the home’s security system (including most of the security cameras) had been deactivated at the time, and alcohol had been present within the home that night despite later claims from certain individuals that it had been a “dry and drug-free” event. The only security camera that hadn’t been deactivated at the time was a tree-mounted security camera that the classmate was unaware of and displayed a view of the home’s front door. Multiple eyewitness accounts corroborate the reality that Shelby and Finlay in particular had both been exceedingly inebriated while SCP-8077, on multiple occasions, outright refused to partake in any offered substances.
The following Incident Report represents the Foundation’s most cogent interpretation of the night’s events, gathered from the extensive interviewing and cross-referencing of all persons involved by Epsilon-6’s Town-Side Team.
Incident Report
DATE: 06 / 15 / 2024 - 06 / 16 / 2024
[BEGIN LOG]
(11:30 p.m.): The footage from the tree-mounted security camera shows Shelby, Finlay, and SCP-8077 arriving at their classmate’s home. Shelby is carrying a cardboard six-pack of beer but only two drinks are being held. Finlay is holding a half-empty bottle of red wine in one hand and one of SCP-8077’s hands in her other. The front door is unlocked, Shelby opens it, and the three enter.
(12:25 a.m.): Two of Shelby’s classmates see Finlay and SCP-8077 entering a bathroom on the home’s second floor. According to these sources, Finlay was extremely intoxicated and had pulled SCP-8077 into the bathroom with her, closing the door behind them. One of the classmates informs a friend of Finlay’s about what he’s seen.
(12:50 a.m.): The footage from the tree-mounted security camera shows SCP-8077 exiting the classmate’s home. While it remains largely silent, it is crying profusely. Its entire body is trembling. It appears to be acting in an erratic, paranoid state, constantly looking around itself as it vacates the property heading north. An unknown substance (presumably vomit matter) is caked onto both of its hands.
(1:00 a.m.): Shelby claims to have noticed Finlay and SCP-8077’s absence at this time. Finlay’s friend informs Shelby about what she’d been told by one of his classmates.
(1:10 a.m.): Shelby goes to the second floor bathroom to investigate for himself. The door is closed but unlocked. He opens the door and finds Finlay’s body lying on the tile floor. Her head is sat in a pool of its own blood and there are two massive wounds to her mandible and chest respectively.
A splash of dark red on the bathroom counter’s edge suggests that she’d cracked her skull as she fell.
Her mandible had almost completely dissolved, leaving a cavity of gored and rotted flesh in its place. The corroded skin separating the injury from the remainder of her lifeless face was discolored a dark green, almost black. Nearly all of her tongue had dissolved alongside her mandible but what little remained toward the back of her throat had blackened and shriveled. Strangely, the positions of her maxilla (upper jaw) and what little remained of her mandible suggests that as she died, she was smiling.
The wound to her chest displayed a similar caustic origin to that of her mandible. The entirety of her torso was either partially or completely dissolved, skin sloughing from bone and pooling into small mounds of flesh on either side of her body. Her rib cage had been exposed and her sternum was dripping liquified bone and marrow into the slurry of dissolved organs and skin contained within her chest cavity.
Later forensic evidence would reveal several characteristics regarding her sustained injuries. First, the wound to her mandible must have occurred slightly before the wound to her chest. Second, vomit matter was detected within and around the wound to her chest.
(1:15 a.m.): The local police station of Salvation is called to the classmate’s home. The partygoers quickly vacate the property leaving Shelby and the classmate who’d thrown the party to meet with the police as they arrive.
(1:45 a.m.): The classmate’s home is completely cordoned off as police begin their investigation of the crime scene. Simultaneously, a Foundation AIC (Artificially Intelligent Conscript) notifies the personnel of Site-81-5 regarding social media posts that have been made in reference to Finlay’s death and SCP-8077. As the AIC begins its cleanup protocol, erasing any and all posts or comments referencing the incident before they can begin to spread, the three agents of Epsilon-6 that would later become the Town-Side Team are sent to the home to take control of the situation.
(2:00 a.m.): Both Shelby and the classmate who’d thrown the party are driven back to Shelby’s home by an officer and dropped off before the officer returns to the crime scene.
(2:30 a.m.): Posing as members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the three agents secure the cordoned crime scene and begin a rudimentary forensic analysis of Finlay’s body (see above). The three agents hold their positions within the classmate’s home until additional Foundation support could arrive to relieve them. The AIC successfully quells the spread of information pertaining to Finlay’s death and SCP-8077 from across various social media platforms.
(3:00 a.m.): Finlay’s body is collected by Foundation personnel and transported back to Site-81-5 to be placed within its cold storage facility for further analysis and potential testing purposes.
(5:00 a.m.): Epsilon-6 is split into the Town-Side and Retrieval Teams and given their assignments by Researcher Riley Aimes.
[END LOG]
Addendum - 8077.3: Recovery Log
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Following Finlay’s death, the three agents of Epsilon-6 tasked with locating SCP-8077 consulted all available cameras active on the night of the 15th (traffic, storefront, home security, etc…) and determined the path that it must have taken from its classmate’s home out of Salvation. The Retrieval Team located SCP-8077 the next day, as they had tracked its path through a forest outside of the town’s limits. Prior to engaging, the Retrieval Team observed it for several hours as it walked through the forest. It was during this period of observation that SCP-8077’s anomalous mutation was first witnessed and confirmed by the Retrieval Team as it attempted (and failed) to cook a raw fish that it had caught from a nearby river by coating its carcass in its saliva. The transcript of the Retrieval Team’s eventual encounter with SCP-8077 is provided below.
MTF Epsilon-6 (“Village Idiots”): Retrieval Team
Team Members: E6-04 (Chi), E6-05 (Psi)
Team Lead: E6-06 (Omega)
Recovery Log Transcript
Date: 06 / 16 / 2024
Overwatch: Researcher Riley Aimes
Subject: SCP-8077
[BEGIN LOG]
The Retrieval Team is crouched behind a small rock face approximately 75 yards from SCP-8077. SCP-8077 is sitting in front of an extinguished fire pit in a makeshift camp, picking meat from the bones of a half-corroded fish carcass. Omega turns his back to the rock face and presses the comm. built into his helmet.
Omega: Overwatch. We’ve got eyes on the girl.
Aimes: And?
Omega: It’s what we’ve been looking for. It’s anomalous, it produces some kind of acidic saliva, or vomit, and its effects appear to match our POI’s cause of death.
Aimes: What else?
Omega: It’s alone. We’re in a forest northwest of Salvation, four, maybe five klicks deep.
Aimes: No worries, we’ve got your locations.
The comm. goes silent for a moment before Aimes continues.
Aimes: Alright then. You’ve got a green-light, Retrieval Team. Bring it in.
Omega: Ma’am.
Omega nods and presses the comm. a second time, switching it off. He turns toward Chi and Psi.
Omega: We’re good to go. Masks up.
The Retrieval Team each slide on a tactical gas mask clipped to their belt.
Omega: With me.
Omega peeks out from behind the rock face, pauses for a moment, then starts walking, closing the distance between them and SCP-8077. Chi and Psi follow close behind. When the Retrieval Team is approximately 25 yards from SCP-8077, Omega raises a hand, and Chi and Psi stop. With two fingers extended, he gestures toward SCP-8077. With his index finger extended, he makes a circular motion. He slowly counts down from five on the fingers of one hand and clenches his fist. Chi and Psi nod and silently break off from him in opposite directions, beginning to circle around SCP-8077 from either side.
Approximately two minutes pass as the Retrieval Team secures their positions. Omega and Chi stand behind two trees while Psi is crouched down in a patch of wild shrubbery. Omega peeks out from behind his tree and receives a silent wave from Chi. Five seconds pass. The Retrieval Team duck out from their positions and begin their approach from all sides of SCP-8077.
SCP-8077 looks up and drops the fish carcass. Omega is in front of it while Chi and Psi hold diagonal angles behind it. Its body doesn’t move but its eyes dart rapidly.
Omega: Florence Ignis. Surrender peacefully and you won’t be harmed.
SCP-8077 remains still for a moment longer before standing and attempting to run between Omega and Chi.
Omega: Chi.
Chi intercepts SCP-8077 before it can split the gap. She grabs it and holds it in place from behind with an arm around its throat. Psi rushes toward them, turning the valve attached to a steel canister of nitrous oxide horizontally fastened against the small of his back. He readies an oxygen mask connected to the canister with a hose, pressing it against SCP-8077’s face. It quickly inhales, thrashing its body and legs wildly in an attempt to free itself from Chi’s grasp, then spits onto the inside of the oxygen mask. The plastic immediately begins to dissolve where the saliva made contact with it. Psi rips the oxygen mask from SCP-8077’s face and throws it away.
Psi: Omega!
The tarnished oxygen mask lands at Omega’s feet and he immediately stamps it into the ground. The corrosion slows. He stamps it again. The corrosion ceases. Psi retrieves a nozzle holstered to his hip and connects it to the hose.
SCP-8077: Wait!
Psi levels the nozzle at SCP-8077’s face and pulls the trigger.
SCP-8077: Wait, wait, wait…
SCP-8077’s thrashing quickly slows as the nitrous oxide begins to take effect. Chi releases it and it stumbles between the Retrieval Team, slowly swaying from side to side.
SCP-8077: S-She kissed me, I… I swear… she kissed me, she kissed me…
SCP-8077 falls to its knees, clasping its trembling hands in front of its chest as it tilts its head upward, staring into the sky. Its voice is hushed and it is speaking rapidly. The Retrieval Team stands around it and watches.
SCP-8077: O-Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be t-thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will b-be done; on earth as it is… as it is in h-heaven…
SCP-8077 appears to clear its throat once, twice, before spiraling into a fit of strangled coughing. It covers its mouth with its hands as it begins to vomit, however, nothing emerges but saliva. The saliva dripping down from its chin and between its fingers immediately begins melting through the dirt and dead leaves beneath it but does not affect its hands. SCP-8077 raises its trembling, saliva-coated hands in front of its face, looking from them to the melting ground beneath it and back.
SCP-8077: Why is my heart burning… why is there fire in my veins…
SCP-8077’s voice has lowered to a hoarse whisper. It drops its hands to the ground, its fingers digging into the decaying earth. It looks up at Omega, its expression one of abject horror, and it begins to cry.
SCP-8077: …why is my heart burning?
SCP-8077’s eyelids begin to twitch before its eyes completely close, it collapses onto its stomach, then goes silent. Psi disconnects the nozzle, slides it back into its holster, and turns the valve attached to the canister. Omega reaches down, picks up the destroyed oxygen mask, and stuffs it into a pouch clipped to his belt. He peels off his tactical gas mask and returns it to his belt as well. Chi and Psi follow suit. He presses the comm. on the side of his helmet.
Omega: Overwatch. We’ve secured the anomaly without issue. Heading to the extraction point now.
A moment passes before Aimes responds.
Aimes: Excellent work, Epsilon-6. We’ll meet you town-side shortly.
Omega: Ma’am.
Omega nods and presses the comm. a second time, switching it off. Psi gently lifts SCP-8077 from the ground, hooking one arm beneath its knees and wrapping the other around its shoulders.
Psi: What should we do about its anomalous property?
Chi: Pray it doesn’t wake up and that the Extraction Team will have something figured out by the time they arrive.
Omega nods in agreement.
Omega: That’s not our department, kid. Let’s get going.
The Retrieval Team starts off toward the extraction point with SCP-8077.
[END LOG]
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on the day of retrieval, the Retrieval Team arrived at the chosen extraction point with SCP-8077. It was still unconscious from the initial dosage of nitrous oxide given to it by the Retrieval Team. While unconscious, the Extraction Team fastened an oxygen mask to its face, connected with a hose to a steel canister of the specialized aerosol that would later be utilized in its containment chamber. Researcher Aimes, who’d accompanied the Extraction Team to Salvation, ordered the Retrieval Team to remain on standby within the town’s limits until the Town-Side Team had finished their investigation and amnesticization of the townspeople. While the Retrieval Team assumed their new position, SCP-8077 was loaded into a Foundation vehicle, along with Researcher Aimes and the Extraction Team, and taken to Site-81-5.
During the drive back to Site-81-5, SCP-8077 awoke from its induced sleep. Initially extremely panicked, it attempted to remove the oxygen mask fastened to its face but was unable to, as it had been restrained within the vehicle. Eventually, following multiple assurances of its (and its family’s) safety, Researcher Aimes succeeded in calming it, though it continued to attempt to free itself from its restraints throughout the drive back to Site-81-5. As it had begun to calm down, Researcher Aimes asked it what had happened between it and Finlay on the night of her death.
SCP-8077: You heard them. I deserve this. The Devil poured hellfire down my throat because He knew what I was, what I could do for Him. I am red-hot temptation served cold on a silver platter. It’s her fault she fell for me. It’s her fault she’s dead.
SCP-8077 begins to sob.
SCP-8077: Why… God, why? I didn’t ask for this to happen… it’s just what I am. Don’t you understand? Don’t you understand?
Aimes sits in silence for a moment. And another moment passes. She sighs.
Aimes: …the heart wants what it wants, Florence. You can't choose who you love. It's love that chooses us.
SCP-8077 stares at Aimes, drops its chin back to its chest, and continues to sob.
Following this brief exchange, SCP-8077 has yet to speak.
Addendum - 8077.4: Artifact Recovery
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Following the retrieval of SCP-8077 by the Retrieval Team, the Town-Side Team began the process of administering Class C amnestics to the inhabitants of Salvation. Following their amnesticization, they were fed the devised masquerade that several months prior, Morgan Finlay had committed suicide by drowning herself in a large river southwest of the town. Her body was never recovered. Last week, Florence Ignis had also commit suicide at the tail end of an enduring depressive episode stemming from Finlay’s death. Joseph and Marilyn Ignis chose to have their daughter’s body cremated and the ashes spread in the river where Finlay had been seen last.
Before leaving Salvation with the Retrieval Team, the Town-Side Team conducted a final interview with Joseph and Marilyn Ignis within their home. The transcript of their interview is provided below.
Interview Log Transcript
Interviewed: Joseph and Marilyn Ignis
Interviewer(s): E6-01 (Alpha), E6-02 (Beta), E6-03 (Gamma)
[BEGIN LOG]
The Town-Side Team sits around a small table in the connected kitchen-dining room of the home. Alpha sits at one head of the table with Beta and Gamma on either side of him. A black duffle bag sits against the legs of Beta’s chair. Marilyn sits at the other head of the table, constantly moving her hands from her lap to the table and back. Joseph walks from the kitchen to the table, an ornate teacup in his callused hands, and sits next to Marilyn. He slides the teacup in front of her, smiling.
Joseph: (whispering) …careful. It’s hot.
Marilyn taps the teacup with her fingers several times before slowly picking it up. She smiles.
Marilyn: (whispering) …thank you.
She takes a sip of the teacup’s contents. Joseph turns toward the Town-Side Team.
Joseph: Are you sure I can’t get you folks anything? Some water, maybe coffee?
Alpha shakes his head.
Alpha: No, thank you, Mr. Ignis. We don’t plan on staying long, you see.
Joseph shrugs.
Joseph: Suit yourself. You said that you were here about Florence, didn’t you? How can we help?
Alpha: If it’s alright with the both of you, we’ve got some questions that we’d have you answer for us.
Marilyn takes another sip from her teacup.
Marilyn: She should be home from… f-from school any minute now. Wouldn’t you rather wait until then? I’m sure she’d be happy to answer any of your questions!
Her eyes appear to unfocus for a moment before returning to the Town-Side Team. Joseph doesn’t seem to notice. Alpha glances at Beta out of the corner of his eye and she nods.
Alpha: …that’s alright, Mrs. Ignis. We’re confident that you’ll have all the answers we need.
Marilyn smiles.
Marilyn: Alright then, if you’re sure.
Alpha returns her smiles with one of his own.
Alpha: Great. Was your daughter acting different or unusual in any way throughout the days leading up to Morgan Finlay’s death?
Marilyn sighs and looks down into her teacup.
Marilyn: The poor thing… it was such a shock for everyone. A girl as beautiful and bright as Morgan doesn’t deserve to have her life snuffed out at such a young age. And her parents, God, I can’t even imagine. The pain of losing your child, it’s… it must be indescribable. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Florence to dote on.
Marilyn smiles and Joseph takes one of her hands into his own.
Joseph: Morgan’s death… you’ve gotta understand, it hit Florence pretty hard. Florence never had many friends growing up. Maybe that’s partially our fault, we kept her a bit sheltered, you see. But Morgan… a gift from God, I imagine. She really took a liking to Florence, took her under her wing.
Joseph laughs softly to himself.
Joseph: …we used to joke that the two were joined at the hip. After they’d met, it felt like we’d never see Florence without her somewhere nearby, like the only exception was when we’d tuck her in at night! They spent a lot of time here. Sometimes they’d go back to Morgan’s house but… well, mostly they’d be here.
Alpha: …and before Morgan’s death?
Joseph: Right, right…
Joseph raises his free hand and rubs one of his temples.
Joseph: …sorry about that. Florence was… she…
Marilyn speaks up.
Marilyn: (fondly) …in all honesty, she was the same brand of strange that she’d always been.
She pauses for a moment before continuing.
Marilyn: Although, if I had to pick out something stranger than usual from before Morgan’s death, there was one thing. It was this… note, or paper, that she’d been reading obsessively, over and over again. I swear, any time I’d find her in her room, she’d be reading it, the same one! Isn’t that right, Joey?
Marilyn squeezes Joseph’s hand and he smiles wearily.
Joseph: Yes, yes… I do remember that.
Marilyn: I thought that maybe it was a report card for her classes or something. I was just happy that she’d finally begun to take her studies more seriously, another effect that Morgan had had on her. But she’d never let anyone read it.
Marilyn sighs.
Marilyn: After Morgan’s death, I…
She pauses for a moment before continuing.
Marilyn: …you know what? I can grab it for you.
Gamma: Are you sure? We’d hate to invade your privacy any more than we already have.
Marilyn smiles.
Marilyn: You’re kind. But if you’re writing about Morgan, I’m sure Florence would be alright with you reading it. I’ll be right back.
Marilyn stands and walks from the table, presumably upstairs to SCP-8077’s bedroom. A moment passes in silence. Then another. Joseph clears his throat.
Joseph: So… you said this was for a newspaper article?
Alpha nods.
Alpha: Yes.
Joseph: What paper? I’ll have to keep an eye out!
Alpha pauses for a moment before responding.
Alpha: …we’ll send you a copy.
Joseph: Ah… okay.
Marilyn returns, sitting down at the table. She holds up what appears to be a folded piece of paper in her hand.
Marilyn: Well, here it is.
Strangely, certain edges of the folded piece of paper appear to be slightly charred.
Alpha: You were saying that you’d found out what it was?
Marilyn shakes her head.
Marilyn: No, I… I could never bring myself to read it. Not when it seemed so important to Florence, it just wouldn’t feel right. But I know what it might be.
Alpha: What’s that?
Marilyn: A few months ago, Florence had started burning papers in a small fire pit that we have in our backyard.
She turns in her chair and points toward a window that looks out upon the property behind their home.
Marilyn: When we asked what she was burning, she told us that they were just little notes that she’d written to herself. Things to remember, to do, to keep track of… stuff like that.
Marilyn laughs softly to herself.
Marilyn: Just one of her little idiosyncrasies. If I had to guess, I’d say that this is one she decided to keep around for some reason. It looks like she started to burn it…
She gestures to the folded piece of paper’s charred edges.
Marilyn: …but never finished the job for some reason.
The Town-Side Team stares in silence for a moment before she continues.
Marilyn: I’m afraid that’s all we know about it. I’m sorry we couldn’t have been of more use to you but like I said earlier, if you’re happy to wait a little while longer, I’m sure Florence would be happy to answer your questions herself!
Alpha: That’s quite alright, Mrs. Ignis. You’ve been plenty helpful.
Marilyn sighs.
Marilyn: In any case, you’d better take this with you. I know you’ll do right by our girls.
Marilyn holds out the folded piece of paper and Alpha takes it from her, placing it into his back pocket.
Alpha: Thank you both. You’ve truly helped us more than you know.
Joseph smiles.
Joseph: If we don’t help our neighbors, who will?
Beta peeks down at a watch on her wrist and turns to Alpha.
Beta: It’s time.
Alpha nods.
Alpha: Alright then. Masks up.
Beta reaches down to the black duffle bag sitting against her chair and unzips it. Inside are three tactical gas masks. She passes the first to Alpha, who hands it to Gamma, passes the second to Alpha, and keeps the third for herself. The Town-Side Team each slide on their gas mask. Joseph and Marilyn watch them curiously but seem strangely unconcerned by their actions. The Town-Side Team stands. Joseph and Marilyn’s eyes seem to unfocus, their eyelids growing heavy.
Alpha: We’ll be taking our leave now. We’re terribly sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Ignis. Florence was an amazing girl. She’ll be missed dearly.
Marilyn grabs at the sides of her head for a moment, groaning, her eyes squeezed shut. She slowly opens her eyes. Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper.
Marilyn: Our… loss? Right, right… yes, thank you, God bless her, God bless them both. May they both rest in peace… finally.
Joseph looks up at the Town-Side Team, his head swaying gently from side to side.
Joseph: …can I g-g-get you fellas anything? Water? Maybe… iced t-tea?
Alpha: We really must be going, Mr. Ignis. Thank you.
Joseph and Marilyn slowly rest their heads atop the table and fall silent. Alpha retrieves a small radio from his pocket and holds it up to the front of his gas mask, pressing down its push-to-talk button.
Alpha: Overwatch. The amnesticization has been taken care of. We’re heading to rendezvous with the Retrieval Team, then we’ll head to the extraction point and prepare for a lift back to 81-5. Over and out.
Alpha releases the push-to-talk button and slides the radio back into his pocket. He nods toward the front door.
Alpha: Come on, let’s get going. It’s getting stuffy in here.
Alpha walks to the front door and steps out. Beta and Gamma follow close behind and Gamma closes the door behind them.
[END LOG]
The folded piece of paper retrieved by the Town-Side Team was Finlay’s last known message to SCP-8077. It reads as follows.
Hey, Flo!
How was your day? I’m sorry that I can’t be there to ask you in person, Roman’s dragging me to his football game after school today. I wish you were going, too, but I guess you’ve built up a resistance to my peer pressuring by now haha. By the way, they had ice cream sandwiches in the cafeteria today, the ones with giant cookies for buns! I know you don’t like to eat in front of other people so I grabbed one for you and put it in your locker! Wait, shit, I put an ICE CREAM sandwich in your locker… how am I just realizing how much of a bad idea that was as I’m writing this? Okay, let me know if there’s melted ice cream all over your locker after school, and I’ll clean it up! (It’s the thought that counts, right?)
You’re going to Jameson’s party on Saturday, right? Who am I kidding, of course you are! Maybe I’ll even get you to do a shot with me. But don’t worry, I won’t go too crazy, I’ll spare you the trouble of having to take care of me at the end of the night (even though I think you’re really good at it). And then I was thinking, after the service on Sunday, maybe we’d go back to your place for a bit? If we can’t, that’s totally cool, just let me know. I know we see each other almost everyday but I really want to see you. Oh well. I guess it can wait until Saturday. Roman and I will pick you up like usual, yeah? Can’t wait!
Can I tell you something? With graduation in a few days, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. I’m about to get all mushy by the way so… consider yourself warned. Anyway. Roman and I aren’t going to make it doing the whole “long distance” thing. He doesn’t know that yet but I do. I've tried to make myself feel guilty about how easy of a decision that was for me to make but I just can't. I don’t care about him enough. I know that sounds harsh but you’re the only one that I can talk to and I hope you know where I’m coming from. You also know that I’m going to school in Connecticut. That’s not too far from Salvation! I’ll make sure to visit whenever I get the chance. If I see Roman while I’m back, I’ll tell him that I’ve missed him, but I’m only coming back for you. And my parents, I guess. AND MY DOG!
The note continues on the other side of the folded piece of paper.
…you know something funny? I keep thinking about this. We only met because you bumped into me in the hallway. At least you’ve started to look up while you’re walking since then. But I’m really happy that you didn’t back then… hey, Flo? I know it’s only been, like, half a year since we met but I feel like I’ve known you my entire life. Like I’m going to know you for my entire future, too, if that makes any sense. I don’t want to leave you. But I need to leave this place. It’s suffocating me, I can feel it. I think it’s suffocating you, too. I feel so torn. I know that I’m leaving soon but a part of me can’t follow if you’re not leaving with me. I want to see you so bad. I need to see you. When you leave, too, will you find me? Promise me that you’ll find me, Florence. I’ll make you promise on Saturday but for now, just writing it down is making me feel a bit better, so it’ll have to do.
I know it’s only two years, and maybe this is silly in the grand scheme of things, but I need you to know that I’m going to wait for you. I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll wait fucking forever. I won’t forget about you, Spitfire. I promise. Don’t go forgetting about me.
Love,
your M. Always.
Scattered across the front of the note are spots where the folded paper has been faintly charred. These spots occur exclusively along the margin of the note, as if made purposefully so as not to cover any of the note’s words. Upon closer inspection and rudimentary DNA sampling, however, the charred spots appear consistent with marks that would’ve been made from a pair of lips. On the orders of Researcher Aimes, Finlay’s note is to be returned to SCP-8077 within its containment chamber to do with as it pleases.