The Chaos Insurgency

Assignment

The blaring alarm clock dragged me out of my peaceful slumber. With a groan, I slammed the snooze button and rolled over on my crisp white sheets. My brain urged me to get up but the cold temperature deterred me from even setting one foot on the floor. Blearily, I peeked at the time. 6:00am. The SCP Foundation insisted all staff members wake up at the crack of dawn. Reluctantly, I slowly inched myself out of the bed, my bare feet hitting the freezing floor. Shivering in my underclothes, I trudged to the bathroom that accompanied the room. It was markedly different from the room I had been provided when I had first arrived as a lowly Class-D personnel. Spacious with a comfortable bed and furniture, I was not one to complain. If only the waking hours were different, I thought. Completing the morning tasks with little enthusiasm, I slowly dressed in the uniform I was assigned. White clean shirt, black pants and a white lab coat that swept the floor with each step. Pushing my feet into the black shiny shoes, I retrieved the key card from my dresser and exited the room. The white lighting in the corridor forced my eyes shut as I contemplated stepping into the sanctity of my dark room. Keeping my eyes half-closed, I power walked to the breakfast hall. I had to sustain myself quickly as I had an appointment with Dr. Lancur this morning. After weeks of boring training, I was finally going to be assigned an SCP. A shiver of nervousness that was synonymous with the nervousness that had assaulted me on my first day here ran through me. I shakily slipped into a seat in the breakfast hall, the meal of bacon and eggs looking unappetising. A tray slammed on the table beside me and a mop of flaming red hair sat beside me. Dereck. An acquaintance of mine. He flashed me a white smile and prodded me.

"Why the long face, Erikson?" Derek asked, still smiling.

"I'm just a little nervous," I admitted, pushing the eggs around on my plate.

"Oh!" his face suddenly lit up. "I remember now! You're being assigned an SCP today! Pretty exciting!"

"I admire your optimism," I complimented him, "but I'm afraid I'm not as excited as I should be."

"What is there not be to excited about?" Derek was perplexed.

"What if I am assigned a dangerous SCP?" I asked the question that had been haunting me.

Derek looked at me incredulously and threw his head back, laughing. "Are you serious? You're new! As if they're going to assign you a Keter class! They will most likely assign you a Safe class SCP."

"Really?" I sighed in relief. "I think you just cured my nerves."

"Of course!" Derek slapped me on the shoulder. "Whatever you get, it won't be as bad as what I have."

"What SCP do you have?" I inquired.

"SCP-096," Derek looked glum. "He's a nightmare. I can scarcely conduct an experiment without almost looking at its face."

I shuddered at the mention of SCP-096. During the containment breach, I had witnessed the tall, pale creature gruesomely murder two SCP guards, leaving nothing but their blood painting the steel floor. One look at its face and you would be its next victim.

Suddenly feeling sick, I stood up from the table. "I better be going now. I have to see Dr. Lancur."

"Very well, Erikson," Derek insisted on addressing me by my last name. "Let me know which one you get."

"Will do," I promised, leaving behind my scarcely touched breakfast.

Memorising the passage to Dr. Lancur's office, I marched primly down the hallways. The guards stationed at every entrance gave me a curt nod of respect different from the attitude they had shown me on my first day here. I noticed an increase in the number of guards after the containment breach. The Foundation could not risk history repeating itself. I found myself at the wooden door at Dr. Lancur and with a sigh, I knocked.