Promised Land
[RECORDING BEGINS]
[The sound of a banjo strumming is heard, increasing in volume while the screen remains black]
[The sound of metal striking rock becomes audible, followed by laughter]
[Rocks or coal are heard being shoveled, while white text slowly creeps in from the bottom of the screen]
[The other sounds cease as single, high-pitched and distorted note played from a synthesizer plays. The text continues to move upwards, revealing the title]
[The synth ceases]
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: A barbed wire fence has been erected around the parameter of SCP-8687, while the area has been designated as a United States Army property. At least 5 armed guards disguised as millitary personnel are to patrol the fence, while searches for any smuggling are to take place in the nearby countryside on a bi-weekly basis. Any SCP-8687 inhabitants attempting to breach containment are to be subdued and returned to SCP-8687, with lethal force being authorized only in cases of immediate danger to containment personnel.
Foundation personnel are not to interfere with the affairs of SCP-8687 aside from food and supply deliveries. The treatment of the local population in Foundation-operated hospitals has been deemed unnecessary.
[A red haired individual in their early teens is seen riding a red bike from a distance, the camera cutting to a different position every few seconds. A forest with the majority of the trees felled can be seen in the distance. Two clouds of smoke are visible from in between the trees]
Unknown: He never really came outside, except for the workshop.
[The individual rides past an abandoned coal processing plant]
Unknown: Mom said he's been like this since the companies moved out. When I was a baby.
[The individual on the bike rides past multiple dilapidated houses. A car repair workshop is briefly seen, with a red cross spray painted on its wall. A man is seen sitting on a chair up front]
Unknown: Father sometimes played with me when I was a child, until the mitt broke. He said I was good at it. He said I should join the Yankee's. I think he still loved me.
[The teenager is seen from up close, revealing he is wearing a black shirt and brown shorts. His hair is messy and unkempt. A rusting metal prosthetic is present in place of his leg, with duct tape being wrapped around its top. He stops his bike upon reaching a mobile home in an overgrown backyard and walks up to the door, knocking on it twice. An individual of the same age, with short black hair, answers. The two are seen briefly exchanging something]
Unknown: I remember I asked him to go to a game that night. Said we could pray for the yanks to win first.
[Shot cuts to the adolescent sitting on a felled tree, behind a large metal cylinder. Smoke is seen escaping from the cylinder while he takes out a spoon and a lighter from his pocket]
Unknown: Father broke down crying after I said that. He cried often. I couldn't understand it at first, but then I heard him in the night. He couldn't stop.
[The adolescent is seen opening the bag]
Unknown: I think he said something like…"Why did she abandon us".
[The scene ends]
Description: SCP-8687 refers to the phenomena related to the town of Winding Falls, West Virginia. The majority of individuals present in the town have been exposed to major health hazards, including lead poisoning, drug use, carbon monoxide poisoning, major surgical malpractice and anomalous bodily alterations involving various pieces of technology. Despite this, the town's inhabitants have been found to be able to survive for much longer than would be expected, while still suffering extensive health problems. The reason for this is currently unknown, but is theorized to be related to some form of medical thaumaturgy undertaken during bodily alterations.
[The scene begins in a run down apartment. Two men similar in appearance, presumably twins, are seen throwing a ball between each other. Both of them are skinny and have dark hair. The scene lasts for a few seconds, before cutting to one of the men sitting on the couch. He begins speaking].
Tyler: My name's Tyler…that's…that's how I'm supposed to do this?
[The camera cuts to him in the same position. A can of gasoline is seen on the table nearby]
Tyler: My name's Tyler, I'm 25 and born and raised here. I guess I always wanted to be an engineer? Yeah, being an engineer sounds good, well, sounded good.
[Thin black smoke is seen leaving his mouth. In addition to being skinny, Tyler is anemic and his arms are spotting large red rashes. He coughs briefly]
Tyler: Parents always wanted me to be a priest, y'know? Or a miner, heh. Well, until that ran dry too. Eh…
[ He shakes his head, reaching down]
Tyler: But yeah, no one's takin' me like this, so here I am. With my dumbass brother, and this!
[He picks up the can of gas and takes a gulp, before laying it down. He coughs right afterwards]
Tyler: …so yeah, life's good! Praise-
To date, all attempts at medical treatment by Foundation personnel have been refused by members of the community on religious grounds.
[The scene begins with a view of a building composed of red bricks and white-painted wood. The building is in a pristine condition. A group of people are seen entering it through the front door, before the camera zooms in at a rectangular object above it. It is a brass plaque, with the words "FIRST FREE FULL GOSPEL SOUTHERN MEKHANITE CHURCH OF THE BROKEN HEART" on it]
Preacher Hortworth: Thank you, thank you, my fellow cogs. Thank the lady for blessin' us!
Multiple voices: Amen!
[The scene shifts to the inside of the structure, similar to a mid-sized church though lacking any Christian iconography. A statue depicting a female dressed in a robe and holding a sword is present behind the preacher, a middle aged man dressed in a white buttoned shirt and with two rudimentary mechanical prosthetics instead of arms. The statue lacks a head, instead having a cylinder with brass goggles strapped over it]
Preacher Hortworth: Another year, another challenge, eh? I know, I know. You folk have been losing hope. Few haven't in these times. But as long as your faith remains, so does your hope!
[The preacher visibly struggles to raise his hand, rust covering the majority of it. As he takes a step to the side, he is also seen struggling to move his legs]
Preacher Hortworth: "But Father!" You may ask. Why is the business not boomin', even if we remain of faith? Well, I'm telling you folk, Yaldabaoth knows about us, and he hates us! He's tryin' to bring down our spirits in every little way he can…
Unknown: Exactly!
[The preacher smiles. The camera points towards the congregation, with all visible bearing similar prosthetics]
Preacher Hortworth: Thank you, Luke! More folk should have your enthusiasm! Now, ladies and gentlemen, remember the words of Brother Steel Heart. "In the darkest of days, her cogs still move, her coal still burns. Because MEKHANE is forever, and MEKHANE is one!"
[Cheering erupts as the scene ends]
All inhabitants of Winding Falls are members of a previously undiscovered denomination of the Church of the Broken God, a group of parareligions worshipping a deity known as "Mekhane", associated with technology and scientific progress. The specific denomination practiced by the community is thought to have branched off from the Cogwork Orthodox Church in the late 1880s, although the specifics are still under investigation.
[Preacher Hortworth is seen sitting in a well-furnished and clean house, behind a black and white, clearly aged photo of a bearded man in a business suit. He smiles and begins speaking]
Preacher Hortworth: Oh, what a man Steel Heart was. My 'pa told me all about him, you know? He came here…from Wales, I think. Everybody thought he was a looney at first, until he showed them the heart
The heart, oh, believe me. Just looking at those paintings, you can feel its force, that energy it has. Must've been ten times that in person. They found it down at the old coal mine, you know? When it was still all up and running.
[Hortworth is seen grabbing a glass of a semi-translucent brown liquid. It is unclear if it is brandy or gasoline. He takes a sip]
Preacher Hortworth: They thought of him as a lunatic, you know. Told'm to get out if he won't bow before the "God" of the cross. Up until he paid'em to dig it up. And then? They all fell to their knees, every single one. He paraded the town with it until they all saw, all felt the heart of MEKHANE. Sometimes I wish he left it here with us…
[Hortworth shakes his head and takes another sip]
Preacher Hortworth: But he had to bring it home with him. For what? Nothin' I know. But he still helped us. We saw the light, thanks to him. Our factories ran smoothly, our town breathed life. That's something you can't ever forget. And we never did…
Glory to Mekhane!
[Hotworth finishes his glass]
Research into the history of SCP-8687 has thus far been unsuccessful due to the uncooperative nature of the local population, likely the result of both its religious beliefs and the containment of the settlement.
[The adolescent from the opening scene is seen again, riding up to a suburban house. The backyard is overgrown, while numerous holes are seen in the walls and doors of the structure. He locks his bike to the entrance, before entering. The camera follows him]
Unknown Voice: I never really liked mom's new guy. He never talked to me. He never made me food. He never really cared. I think he cared about her, at first.
[The adolescent is seen walking across a kitchen, dirty dishes laying in the sink. A glass pipe is seen among the dishes. The adolescent opens the fridge and pulls out a bowl of store-bought spaghetti. He places it in the microwave]
"New Guy": You bought coal?
[The adolescent looks to his side. A man in his late 30's, with unkempt, long hair is seen standing near the entrance to the kitchen. His left hand has been replaced with a Winchester 1912 shotgun. His jaw has been similarly replaced with a metal prosthetic. The adolescent reaches in his pocket and produces two pieces of coal]
"New Guy": I told you to get a whole bag! Did you spend it all on-ah, whatever, give me this.
[He is seen snatching the pieces out of the adolescent's hands. The adolescent hardly reacts]
Unknown: I miss Father sometimes.
Discovery: SCP-8687 first came into the attention of the SCP Foundation following the publishing of a student film project from the West Virginia University, entitled "Promised Land". The film was an hour-long documentary detailing different parts of the life and culture of the town of Winding Falls, with occasional commentary from its residents. Five students were involved in the making of the film, all of which had no prior ties to the anomalous community. Following questioning, all were amnesticized and released, while all copies of the movie have been destroyed. The film was officially labeled as a pseudo-documentary, with its more drastic and/or anomalous scenes alleged to be practical effects.
[The camera focuses on a car garage with a red cross spray painted on its wall. The door to the garage slowly opens, before the scene cuts]
Unnamed Inhabitant: Oh, Mekhane! Have mercy on me!
Preacher Hortworth: There, there, fella. Just a big whiff, alright?
[Preacher Hortworth, along with multiple men dressed in casual clothes, are seen gathered around a table. An individual is seen in the middle of the table, partially obscured by the persons gathered around it. The camera moves to the side, revealing a metal shelf with multiple surgical tools, cables and screws present across it. One of the men steps back and kneels down]
Unnamed Inhabitant: Mercy, please…I [unintelligible] glory…of lady of…
[Hortworth is seen removing a wet towel from the face of the inhabitant, a caucasian man in his early 50's. His full body is finally shown, revealing an incision in his chest, through which his right lung is visible, and the lack of legs. The lung is blackened and shows extensive signs of internal damage]
"Surgeon": Nasty work he did on himself, eh? Seems someone wanted to receive Mekhane's blessing real fast!
Preacher Hortworth: Not our place to judge, brothers. Come on, time for the sacred repair!
[The camera cuts to some point later in the "operation", with Hortworth visible mumbling phrases while looking down at the unnamed inhabitant of SCP-8687. The surgeons are seen inserting a device in place of the blackened lung, now visible in a trash can nearby. The device appears to be a car exhaust filter, modified with pipes, cables and duct tape for an unknown purpose. Blood sprays out as they insert and begin working on the pipes and cables, attaching them to the subject's body. The camera cuts again]
Unnamed Inhabitant: Did it…did it work?
[The scene shows the man, with visible stitches on his chest, looking across the room. He is now sitting on the same table. As he breathes, a sound similar to a deflating bagpipe can be heard. Preacher Hortworth is seen behind him, holding a hand on his shoulder]
Preacher Hortworth: With Mekhane, all works!
The community was investigated by the SCP Foundation shortly afterwards, with the decision being made to fully isolate it from the outside world while still providing the inhabitants with food rations, fresh water and electricity. The current containment procedures were put in place shortly afterwards, with the town being assigned its present designation.
[The camera shows a photo of a male adolescent, the same one seen in previous footage. It remains focused on it for a few seconds, before zooming out to reveal a messy room. A damaged guitar is visible in the corner. A can of WD-40 oil is seen besides the bed. The adolescent is seen looking out of the window]
Unknown: I used to worry a lot. Mother used to worry a lot.
[A house is seen on the other side of the street from the window. Multiple people, most with visible prosthetics or other haphazard body modifications, are standing near the door. Two are seen carrying stretchers. The banjo strumming heard in the intro returns]
Unknown: I don't anymore. I suppose the preacher, the adults, they may be right.
[The individuals carrying a stretcher enter the house. The banjo strumming continues for the next couple of minutes as little happens. Finally, the door opens, revealing a figure draped in a white cloth being transported on the stretcher. Parts of the cloth are stained in oil]
Unknown: I guess She knows what's best for us.
Updated (04/09/2014): Due to the declining population of SCP-8687, the prevalence of infections among its inhabitants and the continued refusal to receive Foundation-sponsored medical attention, the current containment procedures are undergoing revisions in line with the future predictions regarding the community. It is estimated that by May of 2030, active containment will no longer be necessary.