After a good night's rest and some breakfast the group gathered in the theater to start the next viewing. Previously the theater had informed them that this viewing will be from their reality so no questions needed to be asked and once everyone was seated the screen turned on.
Words displayed on the screen theater read "Hoia Forest, Romania" as the view zoomed into the inside of a transport truck in the middle of a convoy of six similar trucks. Inside said truck is Sam, Alexis, Nicole, a foundation researcher and some MTF units.
"So, what are we going to be doing?" Alexis asked the researcher sitting in front of her. The researcher is a blonde caucasian woman who stands at about 5'8 feet tall, she has hazel eyes and wears the same uniform most foundation researchers wear. The name Tag on her coat read "Dr. West".
"This is going to be an exploration mission into SCP-2191, commonly referred to as the Dracula Factory." Dr. West answers.
The response she got from the vampire siblings was that of confused looks.
"Dracula Factory? Is this a joke? Surely you're just fucking with us?" Alexis asked.
"I am completely serious." Dr. West responds before pulling a folder out of her coat that contains some information on SCP-2191. She opened the folder and pulled out two pictures, one was of an old church and the other was of a pale creature.
"The church is known as SCP-2191 the creature is a creation of SCP-2191. We've labeled them as SCP-2191-1 every night they emerge from the tunnel systems underneath SCP-2191 and infest the forest looking for prey." Dr. West explains as she hands the pictures to Alexis.
The siblings take a moment to look at the picture then their red eyes widened in shock at the image of the pale creature.
"This is a ghoul." Alexis says.
"A ghoul?" Dr. West questions.
"Ghouls are vampires that have been starved of any form of blood. These are the result of a vampire who has undergone a process we call Ghoulification. The creature looks like the end result." Sam explains.
Dr. Rights was quick to write down every bit of information. "I wonder if these three can explain SCP-2191 mass production of these Ghouls. They say that Ghouls are created by a starved vampire, SCP-2191 seems to manifest an endless amount of them and the only life forms we've detected in SCP-2191 are the ghouls it creates."
"Starvation sounds like a horrible way to go. Do you think that the church kidnaps vampires and starves them?" Lilith asked.
"No way to know. We've made exploration missions into the tunnels under the church but none have ever come back with conclusive results." Dr. Clef says.
"Explain these ghouls you're talking about to me." Dr. West says.
"They are or at least were vampires who starved and underwent ghoulification. Vampires who have the misfortune of going through that painful process end up losing any semblance of who the one was. By the end of it all that's left is a twisted and mutated body and a bottomless hunger. Unlike vampires they don't just crave blood, they eat everything down to the bones. In terms of appearance they are tall, muscular, hairless, all of their teeth become razor sharp, their eyes are as black as the void, and regardless of what gender they were when they were vampires they seem to mutate to the point where they become genderless." Alexis explains.
"How odd, are you sure the creature in the photo is a Ghoul?" Dr. West asked.
"Yeah looks like a ghoul, why do you ask?" Nicole says.
"It's just that SCP-2191-1 instances are different in some ways from these ghouls you speak of." Dr. West answers only to receive curious looks from the siblings. "For starters they feed differently than the ghouls you described. These creatures have a symbiotic organism that takes the place of the tongue. These organisms have a small mouth of their own that bites into the necks of their prey and inject a venom of sorts that liquidates organs, muscles, and bones. After liquidation it sucks the liquidated material out of what remains of the prey. And the prey is exclusively humans. On top of that its claws can inject a paralytic poison preventing its prey from moving." Dr. West explains.
"Oof, that can't be pleasant." SCP-035 says.
"Can't be any less pleasant than when you dissolve anyone who wears you." The Plague Doctor says calling the Possessive Mask out on its hypocrisy.
"That's just rich coming from you Doctor of Death. Tell me, how many of your "patients" have you brutally murdered and then resurrected as one of those mindless zombies?" SCP-035 retorts. "At least I don't pretend like I'm a good person."
'You always pretend like you're a good person. Lying is your specialty.' Dr. Rights thought internally but didn't say aloud.
"That's odd. These things certainly look like ghouls, but ghouls are basically feral beasts with super strength and speed and a bottomless hunger." Nicole says. "Is there anything else you can tell us about these things?"
"Whilst they do have predatory behavior patterns, SCP-2191-1 instances have previously been observed communicating through clicking noises and have even been seen praying." Dr. West says.
"These things pray? To whom?" Alexis asked.
"We don't know." Dr. West answers.
"So these things have a higher intelligence than Ghouls. That must be troublesome. And disturbing." Alexis says a bit disturbed by the new information.
"How do the three of you deal with the sun? This doesn't have anything to do with SCP-2191, I'm just really curious. Do you burn?" Dr. West asked.
Sam didn't mind indulging the researcher's so he answered. "We don't burn in the sun, that's one of many human stereotypes. The sun is just really irritating to our skin and we naturally get drowsy during the day." Sam answers. Pain is also amplified but that was something Sam's not too comfortable saying aloud.
"How do you get around the effects of the sun?" Dr. West asked.
"Sunscreen and clothing." Alexis answers bluntly as the convy comes to a halt.
The convoy came to a stop in front of the church of SCP-2191 and everyone began to unload and set up a temporary camp outside the anomalous building. The group consists of the siblings, a bunch of MTF Alpha-9 soldiers, Dr. West, and a small group of foundation researchers.
Upon exiting the truck Sam immediately regretted forgetting to put on sunscreen, the sun was still up. The trees blocked some of the sunlight but not all of it.
"Damn it, why'd we have to arrive during the day?" Sam questions mostly out of irritation.
"It's the safest time for us to set up camp, the creatures only leave their lair at night." Dr. West answers.
"You should have put on some sunscreen, idiot." Alexis says as she goes to help everyone setup camp.
"Having to wear sunscreen just to comfortably walk around during the day sounds miserable." Iris says.
"To us perhaps, but to them it is probably a normal routine." Cain suggests.
"Or they just sleep through the day and operate during the night." Lilith says. "That sounds simpler and like will save money on buying sunscreen."
"Their poor wallets." Iris mutters.
Sam ignores her comment and walks over the entrance of the church to take a look inside. The door had been busted open and given that what remains of the door is rotten wood, they were busted down a long time ago.
"How old is this place?" Sam asked himself as he continued to examine the outside of the structure.
The stone walls of the church are heavily eroded and covered in plant life. "It's a miracle it's still standing." Sam says aloud.
"Indeed." Dr. West says briefly, startling Sam. "Despite it looking like it will collapse at any moment, it's looked this way since the Foundation first discovered it back in 1916."
"1916? How old is your organization?" Sam asked.
Dr. West shrugged. "I'm not sure to be honest."
Genuinely curious about the answer to that question Dr. Rights leaned over to Dr. Bright who is the oldest researcher here. "When did the Foundation come into existence?"
"I don't know the exact date, but I believe it was sometime in the 1800's." Dr. Bright answers.
"When will we be going into the tunnels?" Sam asked.
"Now actually, the exploration team will consist of you, your sisters, ten Alpha-9 soldiers, and myself." Dr. West explains.
Not counting Dr. West and the siblings, the foundation had assigned a total of twenty Alpha-9 soldiers and five researchers to this mission. "What will everyone else be doing whilst we are inside?" Sam asked.
"The researchers will be monitoring the area, looking for changes, and collecting samples of the environment. The remaining soldiers that aren't going with us will be guarding the researchers and operating surveillance drones that will be going into the tunnel with us." Dr. West answers.
Sam seemed to stare at her intently much to Dr. West's discomfort. "Is there something else you'd like to ask?"
"You reek of fear." Sam says bluntly. Despite having a calm and collective composure he could sense the fear radiating off of her.
"What?" She nervously asked her composure, briefly starting the show cracks.
"Is there something you want to get off your chest? Your fear is radiating off of you. If i can detect it this easily than those creatures certainly can." Sam says.
"My fears are none of your concern. Focus on the mission." Dr. West says regaining her composure. "Come on, we're heading into the tunnels now."
Everyone who is assigned to explore the tunnels gathered inside the old church. The church, as expected, doesn't look any better on the inside than it does on the outside. The various wooden seats that you'd usually find in a church look broken and worn down. The wall looks the same as the outside and the main stage where a priest would speak is in shambles. Laying broken like everything else in the church is a massive catholic cross however unlike everything else the damage to it seems to be man made and not the result of time wearing it down. It looks like it's been frequently clawed at and burned.
"Disrespectful beast." Epon mutters out of sadness and frustration at the state of a symbol of God.
Lilith sits next to Epon so she was able to hear what she said. "Don't worry dear, god abandoned that place long ago." She says in an attempt to cheer Epon up.
"Where's the tunnel entrance at?" Nicole asked.
Dr. West walked over to an unlit candle on the left wall closet to the stage, pulled out a lighter and lit the candle. Upon doing so the stage opened up and revealed a wide tunnel entrance.
With the tunnel open the exploration team started making their way onto the tunnel. The drones being piloted by the soldiers who remained outside flew ahead of the group to scout ahead and take pictures of the tunnels. Meanwhile the exploration team moved ahead in a formation that focuses on protecting Dr. West. Sam and the Alpha-9 soldiers are moving ahead whilst Dr. West, Alexis, and Nicole moved behind them. Alexis and Nicole's task is to guard their rear.
The tunnels are pitch black and reeked of bloodshed. Dr. West and the Alpha-9 soldiers needed to wear night vision goggles to see, but for the siblings they could see clearly in the dark without the goggles. There are blood stains and scratch marks all over the tunnel walls, the deeper into the tunnel system the group went the more common they were. Sam, Nicole, and Alexis could feel the fear radiating of their human allies. Despite the fear they were feeling the Alpha-9 soldiers showed no physical signs of fear and moved, they were well trained to handle the stress. Dr. West on the other hand was not as well trained, she showed visible signs of fear. Sweating, labored breathing, slightly shaking, and a racing heartbeat, all signs of immense fear.
"You know, now that I think about it, why would they send a researcher directly into the line of fire?" Iris asked.
"That's a good question." Dr. Kondraki says as he rubs his chin whilst trying to think of a reason why. Typically the MTF's would be sent to secure the site and once the site is determined to be as safe as they could make it then the researchers would be sent. What's being shown on screen seems to ignore standard protocol.
The group came to a halt at the sound of multiple footsteps moving towards them fast. The sounds were coming from both ahead and behind them. The group waited until the source of the footsteps were in view before firing. The air was tense as the source of the sound got closer and closer. Finally the source of the footsteps came into view, multiple instances of SCP-2191-1. There are at least eight approaching from the rear and twenty approaching from the front.
Alexis was the one who shot first as soon as the "ghouls" came into view. With her glock she was able to drop three of them before they closed the gap with superhuman speed. One of them lunged at Dr. West but had its head cut off by Nicole. Two of them tried to claw at Alexis to paralyze her but she briefly turned herself into fog to avoid the attacks. Once the attacks passed through her she returned to normal, grabbed the ghouls by the head, and used her elemental powers to freeze them before slamming them into the ground causing the frozen monsters to shatter. Nicole dashed at the remaining two and with one fast swing of her katana severed their heads.
