Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What happens when Ziggy enters SCP-017's containment chamber?
If it wasn't for the protective suit that he wears, everyone watching the security cameras would see Ziggy pissing himself. It wouldn't be the first time. Ziggy has a weak bladder and it has plagued him his entire life. Once, while playing dodgeball in middle school, he got hit in the belly and his bladder just emptied itself.
He didn't even feel like he needed to pee, and knowing his proclivity toward unfortunate accidents, he hadn't drunk water for hours. Yet, there he was, 25 sixth graders all staring at his gym shorts as they dripped onto the polished wood floor of Ulysses S. Grant Middle School's main gym. He was known as Pissball Peters until high school graduation.
Now, he's known as D-0116798, and the orange jumpsuit he and all the other D-class peons at the Foundation site are required to wear is sticky and warm inside his protective suit of reflective material. He prefers to be called Ziggy,
But the guards like throwing his assigned D-Class number in his face, just to remind him, and his other D-Class colleagues, that they are no different than when they were in prison, county lockup, sweating on a work gang detail, or rotting away in a mental institution. They are owned and controlled 24-7. What's the holdup, D-0116798?
Drudgement shouts over the comm as Ziggy stands stock still, staring at the small shadow in the corner of the room, the inside of his protective suit smelling worse than an interstate rest stop men's bathroom during Memorial Day weekend. Ziggy doesn't know how to answer the question. He's not sure if he can even answer the question.
To do that, he'd have to think about what exactly the holdup is, why he pissed himself, why he is terrified to move even an inch. "'Did you see that?' Ziggy whispers." Drudgeman shouts. Ziggy winces. He winces because of the shout, and winces because it's Drudgeman doing the shouting. Why'd it have to be this prick to supervise Ziggy and Dominic's work?
Dominic, Ziggy's good friend, one of the few he's made here at the Foundation site. Dominic, gone in the blink of an eye, swallowed by that... No, not swallowed. Dominic wasn't swallowed. He was… hugged? Yeah, hugged. As crazy as that sounds. The shadow in the corner lifted up and wrapped itself around Dominic.
It was huge enough to wrap itself around a living man one second, then it was back to being small the next second. Dominic was nowhere to be seen. Hey, D-0116798, what seems to be the problem, slacker? Get your ass moving, and change that damn spotlight bulb before SCP-17 eats your ass! Drudgeman doesn't silence the comms right away, and Ziggy hears the guards' sadistic laughter. I saw it eat.
Ziggy mumbles, then clears his throat and speaks up. I saw it eat. You hear that, drudge man? I saw it. It ate Dominic, you asshole. Ziggy knows he's gonna pay for the outburst. Drudgeman is legendary for taking his frustrations out on the D-Class personnel.
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Chapter 2: Why is Ziggy terrified of the shadow in the corner?
And I tried to call you, but you didn't answer. Like I said, I was taking a piss. Same. Ziggy shakes his head. Then he looks down and stares at the huge bulb in his hand. His head tilts up, and he studies where the bulb needs to go. A bank of spotlights fills a high corner of the room. Only one bulb is burned out. Apparently, that's all it takes.
Not wanting to think about what he saw, Ziggy tries to concentrate on the task at hand. How in the hell is he going to get up to the bank of spotlights and change the burned out bulb? Where's the ladder? Ziggy asks. There was supposed to be a ladder in here. Dominic tried, but we were gonna look for it when the thing... Ziggy can't finish. He'd pee himself again if he had anything left.
All the memories come flooding back, and Ziggy stifles a gasp as the images of Dominic's death flood his mind. They were standing there, the two of them in their reflective suits, glaring up at the impossibly bright bank of spotlights. Even with shaded visors that were reflective on the outside, the glare was painfully strong, What the hell, Drudge Man?
Are we supposed to Spider-Man our asses up there? Dominic had asked. Yeah, where's the ladder? You said we didn't need to bring one. Ziggy added. No response. Yo, Drudge Man! Dominic shouted. We need a damn ladder! Dominic turned towards Ziggy, even though neither of them could see the other's face behind the reflective visors. Maybe you can boost me up, and I can stand on your shoulders?
Dominic had suggested. Are you nuts? You'll fall and break your damn neck. Nah, I'll be fine. You hold the bulb. I climb up on you. Get the old bulb out. You hand me the fresh one and I'll screw it in. We'll be done before the first lunch bell rings. We should wait for Drudgeman. If we wait for him, all the pudding cups will be gone. Ziggy laughed. No one ate the pudding cups.
They all tasted like stale ass. How's that sound, drudge man? Dominic shouted. We get this done in extra pudding cups for all, right? Still no response. See, he's MIA, and I don't feel like waiting around for him to show back up.
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Chapter 3: What shocking event occurs to Dominic during the mission?
Pudding cups aside, man, it's pulled chicken sandwiches today. You know most of those other D-class bastards are going to go back for seconds or thirds, which leaves us with the scraps of skin and fat and broken buns. Not cool. Ziggy studied the corner of the room. If he placed his hands on the walls and braced his feet against the floor, he could hold Dominic's weight.
Of course, he'd still have to handle the trade-off of the bulbs, but that wouldn't be too hard. Ziggy nodded. Let's do it. Ziggy got into position, tucking the bulb into a small pouch attached to his belt. He braced his feet and placed his hands, then nodded again. Climb away, dude. Dominic did just that.
He awkwardly clambered up over Ziggy's back until he got his knees up onto Ziggy's shoulders. Then, putting a hand on Ziggy's head, Dominic slowly straightened up. Shit. Ziggy frowned. What? I can't quite reach. Great. Okay, get down and we'll wait for drudgment. Screw that. Ziggy felt Dominic's weight shift as the man went up onto his toes. Stay still, Ziggs. I can almost reach it.
Ziggy stood as still as he could. Got it. Just need to twist a little and pull. And there, it's loose. Here, I'll hand it. Dominic's weight shifted again, and then it just wasn't there anymore. Ziggy was knocked off his feet as Dominic's boot slammed into his helmet. It wasn't a tactical helmet, not meant to protect against any sort of heavy impact.
It was a soft helmet, made only of stiff reflective material and a solid face visor. There was zero protection, and Ziggy grunted as he fell hard, slightly dazed. But at least he had the presence of mind not to land on the pouch and crush the new bulb. Dominic said. Ziggy pushed up onto his hands and knees just as his friend stood up.
Dominic's helmet was torn and hanging limply against his left shoulder. He stood there with a semi-grin on his face. His brow furrowed as he looked back up at the bank of lights. Yeah, we're gonna need that ladder. Where the hell is Drudgeman? Before Ziggy could answer, everything changed in the cell.
For just one moment, Dominic stood in just a way that his head, no longer wearing the helmet, hence no longer reflective, cast a shadow behind him. That was all it took.
Ziggy watched in horror as something thick and black and huge pounced onto Dominic, enveloping his head first, then the rest of his body, like a blanket made of shadow had come alive and was swallowing Dominic up before Ziggy could even scream. was the last thing Dominic said. Then he was gone. Only the huge shadow remained. Ziggy wasn't sure then, but he is sure now.
That thing was watching him the entire time it absorbed Dominic. Ziggy has unfortunately seen his fair share of sick, sadistic pleasure before, and that thing, whatever it was, was very pleased. Then it shrank and shrank and slowly returned to its small, huddled form that currently sits in the corner opposite Ziggy. 3-0-1-1-6-7-9-8. Snap out of it.
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Chapter 4: How does Ziggy react to the disappearance of his friend?
Did you hear me?" Drudgeman's voice brings Ziggy out of his nightmare recollection. What? Sorry, what did you say? I said that the ladder is in the wall. There's a compartment next to the door, down by the floor. Should be easy to find. It runs lengthwise, so get down on your knees and feel around. When you find the seam, just press the wall. The compartment door will pop out.
Ziggy is close to the door, so we must be close to the ladder compartment. He gets down on his hands and knees and starts hunting around. Every couple of seconds, he glances over his shoulder at the small shadow. It hasn't moved since it shrank down after eating Dominic. There's a click and a long compartment door, maybe three meters, pops out of the wall by about an inch.
Ziggy grabs the edge with his gloves and pulls. The door opens vertically, falling flat onto the floor, revealing a 10-foot step ladder folded inside the compartment. There's a hiss, and Ziggy spins around. Did it move? Is the shadow still in the same spot? Ziggy watches the thing closely for a few seconds. It doesn't even twitch.
Returning to the ladder, Ziggy grabs a rung and pulls it free of the compartment. Ziggy ignores judgment. He can't afford the distraction. As he gets the ladder free and begins to stand up, Ziggy notices the issue immediately. There's no light inside the compartment. Yeah, it is lit up from the cell's lights, but not completely. Ziggy hears the thing before he sees it.
It's like a rustling of leaves on an autumn breeze. Ziggy, as if his life depends on it, which it most certainly does, hooks his toe under the compartment door and kicks it up, setting it back in place and covering any exposed shadows. The rustling slows, then stops. Jesus, has the guy already forgotten that Dominic is missing? Devoured by the thing in the corner?
Neither of them is having pulled chicken sandwiches when they are done with this hellish task. Drudgeman will probably be dealing with HR for a week, while Ziggy has a feeling he's either gonna end up in solitary confinement or the Foundation will simply terminate him and not have to worry about any blowback from Dominic's death.
Keeping his back to the shadow, Ziggy picks up the ladder and walks it over to the corner, setting it up under the bank of spotlights that proved to be Dominic's downfall. Another rustle of leaves and Ziggy spins around, almost losing his grip on the ladder. He balances the ladder against the wall as he studies the shadow. Is it bigger than it was before? Ziggy thinks so, but he isn't sure.
All he's really sure of is that he wants the hell out of this cell. He focuses back on the ladder and gets it set up under the bank of spotlights, making sure each foot is secured on the polished white floor. Giving the ladder a shake, Ziggy is happy with how it stands, so he grabs a rung and begins to climb. Halfway up the ladder, Ziggy freezes. Drudgeman, are you watching me? Yeah, so?
What's the anomaly doing? I don't know. You want me to watch you or it? Can't do both. Ziggy wonders how in the hell Drudgeman even got a job at the Foundation site. He wonders how half the guards got their jobs. Most are just a step above Renekop in ability, and just below pissed-off Honey Badger in attitude.
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