Running With the Devil (SCP Fanfic)

Chapter 18: Out of Line

Dr. Riser walked down a thin concrete hallway with box pillars rising into a bright white ceiling made of pure light. On the sides of the hall between each pillar were oil paintings of abstract landscapes with lamps shining down on them.

He kept walking, ignoring the decor, and focused on the words he would be speaking after he made it to the end of the hallway.

He hadn't quite realized how long he had been walking as he broke his concentration and looked back. The thin hallway he had been walking through didn't have an end.

He turned his head back around to where he was standing at the end of the hallway. It opened up into a dim room with the only light that shown being from the lights in the corridor that bled into the space.

He took a step in, then another, then another. He looked around the darkness looking for the people he was to speak to.

After a couple more steps into complete darkness, a light switched on above his head and illuminated a circle around where he stood.

He looked up into the light. He couldn't see the source. It was too far above his head. He knew not to question the oddities of the space he found himself in and proceeded further, not wanting to keep them waiting.

Every time he found himself submerged in darkness, a light would turn on, and after so long, a couple lights back, one would turn off.

Eventually, a light turned on and revealed a wooden chair at a small wooden table. He sat down and placed the briefcase he had been carrying on top.

All of a sudden, a series of thirteen lights turned on one by one like a wave, revealing a long sweeping table in the shape of a semi circle with the light also revealing a new person everytime one of them turned on.

"Dr. Riser," a figure with shadow cloaking his face spoke from the center of the table, "You have uncovered more information from your studies into the book?"

"Yes, I have, and it's quite troubling," Dr. Riser spoke, a bit of fear and worry in his voice.

"So the information in the book is true?" Another shadowy figure spoke from somewhere along the right side of the table in a feminine voice.

"I believe so. The facts thus far are that the Occult Collection Coalition's ultimate purpose is to find this book and release the entity described in the book-"

"They could be chasing a false dream, could they not?" Another figure interrupted.

"They could be, but after reading the book, a person is referenced in it by the name of Anton Wolfe."

"He's a high-ranking member in the OCC. How is he mentioned in this book?"

"The answer is complex if you'll allow me to elaborate it," Dr. Riser reached for his briefcase and opened it.

"Proceed."

Dr. Riser took a stack of loose papers from within the briefcase and scattered them on the table, "Where to begin?" He mumbled to himself, rifling through the papers.

"Well," he began, "The book begins with a templar knight that was tasked by another entity called the 'Shepard' to capture and seal an entity called the 'Fowler'. The knight was successful, and the Fowler was somehow sealed inside the knight and bound by his bloodline. When the bearer dies, the responsibility is passed down to the closest relative."

He put the paper he had been reading from down and found another in the mess, "The knight also founded a society based around worship of the Shepard and containing the Fowler. The book is a written history of this society and its conception. Around 200 hundred years later is when Anton Wolfe is mentioned. He was a member of this society and was next to inherit the responsibility and become the next bearer. Turns out Anton Wolfe wanted to free the Fowler, and so he planned to overthrow the society aided by his followers and attempted to kill the current bearer so he would inherit the responsibility faster. He ended up dying, though, and failed to kill the bearer."