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Team 10 : Faust
Faust
Two hours before the fall of Site-DE20.
"You're sure you really want to come with us?" Tara Singh, team leader of MTF DE20-ℜ, looked skeptically at her counterpart.
"Of course, I don't want to just work as an armchair farter while you have so much fun," Dr. Stephan Faust, one of the leading researchers in the field of occult and artifact SCP (at his site anyway), took a sip of his chai tea.
"You never have come along before. Why now?" The soldier let her raven-black coffee circle in the cup. She wasn't thrilled to look after an adventurous scientist. Especially if it was an indispensable expert for the team. "-and don't you have work to do on Site? I can hardly imagine O4-8 is pleased to hear about your wish."
"The reason I can come with you on this is- well, because all the SCPs decided this morning not to screw up for the next two or three days."
Tara saw through the claim and smiled internally. "Do you really think you can keep up with Peterson, Dr. Sturm, and the rest of us?"
"I observed 20-Rena's mission and studied it in detail."
Captain Singh sighed. "Need I remind you that you've only assisted us on missions via radio as an expert, but that you are also not sufficiently trained with the already hard, but still insufficient fitness plan of O4-8? Just let it be a dream for now."
"You're the boss," Faust saluted, to which the Captain just rolled her eyes. "but let's see what we can do today-"
The alarm that everyone feared finally sounded. THE alarm that should never sound. Ever.
One day after the Fall of Site-DE20
Dr. Faust groaned and coughed.
The bunker had intercepted the main effects of the shock, but it had to be a huge one, since it had felt strong- even inside.
When he considered himself capable of focusing on his senses, he rose to his feet. They were gracious enough to carry him for the time being. He tried to open his eyes.
Dark… Twilight… Schemes… a Door.
…one step…
…second step…
…third step…
…Reached.
With as little force he could muster, he trembled against it, but the door remained firmly still. His efforts were eventually rewarded with a squeaking, crunching screech of the door. He almost fell as it opened. It had reached its limits and now fulfilled its last task: to open for good.
Light forced its' way into the chamber like an explosion. "ah…" was the only to escape his dry mouth.
He was blind for a terribly long moment.
God, the Gods, Mother Nature, Whatever, was gracious enough not to take his sight for much longer. He lowered his protective hands.
"No…" was the only word to broke the silence.
The world, the corridor, the sector he knew was no more, in its place was a labyrinth of rocks and rubble. But what worried him more was the silence, and the dusty corpse of a young woman. Stephan Faust was not squeamish, but this dead person, who looked like she was sleeping peacefully, was an exception.
He overcame that feeling and went to the body. It was protocol and as long as he didn't know where and when he was here, it helped him fight his insecurity.
As soon as he had removed his hands from his eyes, he had noticed the distortion of the room. He believed that he had seen and felt feathers and bird claws instead of his hands. The estimated three meters were significantly longer. Every step was to be walked through a tough mass, but at the same time it disappeared more and more.
Dust was stirred up when he dropped to his knees. He knew this face. The body in question was an assistant researcher who was recently sent to the Site. Her eyes were closed and she even had an oblique smile. Seated on the side, something entwined. A backpack or a bag, it wasn't identifiable.
Stephan Faust wanted to feel for a pulse.
He paused. Had a dust cloud risen? Without thinking, he put his ear to the motionless body. Life?
"Are you still alive?" He asks, unsure of wanting the answer.
The woman's eyes opened. "Good evening, Mr. … Faust."
Faust was happy. At least something less depressing in this hellish time. But something told him that this hope was not long lasting.
"… I'll get help, as quick as I can", Stephan Faust completely forgot where he was.
"No!", Faust's arm was grabbed by a surprisingly strong hand. "Go, take the backpack."
"What about you?" He pleaded.
"I am neither dead nor alive. I don't know what anomaly it is, but it feels like shit. I know you certainly don't remember me, but go! Let me 'die'…"
With trembling hands she pressed the bag into his hand. Dr. Faust still hesitated.
"I know who you are. You are Alilia Baummann, future medical researcher. I won't forget you, I swear!"
The dying woman smiled and closed her eyes. "… Thank you, Doctor."
Silence
Stephan Faust climbed over the pile of stones.
The backpack contained provisions, a compass, a map of the sector, a rope with snap hooks, and binoculars, also a flashlight and four batteries.
Nobody appeared to have been in the Security chamber. In it, he found a fire axe and a first-aid kit. Someone had grabbed the latter broadly, with a pocket knife, a small pharmacy and a few objects that looked suspiciously anomalous. But he was glad. As long as it helped him survive.
Oh, and he found a mobile phone number too. That made him smile.
Where had everyone gone? The sub sectors swarmed with activity, about 300 people at a time. But he didn't even find corpses or any other remains. Even the 'freezer boxes', in which they were put into a cryogenic sleep, were empty. The debris was too fresh, in a way.
What could possibly be as destructive as a natural disaster, but as selective as a reality bender?
He looked at the map. He could reach the control centre, but whether he could comb through was not certain. He peered over the edge. Already free, then he could already try.
He looked at his hand, then the watch on his wrist. Only 20 minutes had passed since he last heard the alarm, but everything looked, even felt older. Just the fact that the two hands of the clock were shaking told him that it was paradoxical. In order not to endure the silence, he had been talking to himself for some time. "Are we in a time bubble?", He asked the watch.
The hands were silent.
"If you would answer me, at least it would tell me that there's a reality bender. Or that I'm going crazy." A small coughing laugh escaped his mouth.
As Faust trudged forward, he racked his brain. He was missing much of his memory, except for the part where he'd probably been put into in a freezer box. It worried him, though he knew that was normal in the Foundation. Massive amnesthetics were used here, an (anti)memetic effect or two there, memory-influencing life forms, but always there was a person or at least information that said what to do or what had happened.
Okay, not always, but often by Foundation standards. If not, the O5 Council has maltreated the reboot button once again.
He made his way forward again. His flashlight beam showed a pretty clear path. Maybe Ragnarok had not been so thorough and spared some places. Maybe.
After the map he should soon come to a fork, he thought. He checked, just to prove a point to himself. Yes, ten meters at 12 o'clock.
He walked enthusiastically… he was right at the intersection.
A shadow came around the corner, long and thin.
"An anomaly!", ran through his head.
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