Please post video here
[The video starts in rec, back at the site. Marks face appears in view, as he checks out the camera.]
"What's this little red light? Oh shit, I think I'm recording."
[The video then pans around the rec room. Dan and Ashley are sitting on the couch together, Ashley sticks her tongue out at the camera. Ralph and Eriko are beside them. Eriko is holding a bag of candy, which is zoomed in on.]
"Aw, look at the lovebirds." «ATTENTION ALL SPECIAL OPERATIVES PLEASE PROCEED TO THE LAUNCH PAD NOW»
[At this, the film shows Marks trip to the launch pad. On the way he falls over a step.
Now in the plane, the shot pans over the group, who is discussing something or other. The camera then points at Marks face.]
"Alright, so I'm going to make my first log now. Uh, well, there's already some bickering between the shooters, this plane feels like it's going to fall out of the sky at any moment. Fuck I hate planes… Anyway, we're not far off now, and I'm pretty excited. So good to be out of that damn base, place has some real bad vibes man. But while I'm pretty fucking excited for this, I'm also worried. A monster able to kill over 100 people at once has to be pretty nasty…"
[First log ends.]
[Second log of the first day begins.]
[The footage shows them going along the river, and you can just see a crocodiles head duck under the water at one point. Mark is chilling in the boat, one hand in the water.]
"Just thought I needed to show how nice it is here."
[It's night time, and the camera pans around the village, it's really nice looking outside. The video then cuts to Mark, sitting on the ground just outside his tent. He looks tired, and a little worried.]
"Well we got here with no trouble. Taggart saw a crocodile on the boat trip here, whish I'd seen it… Anyway, we got to the village, and their leader, this dude called Tarlock met us. They took all our gear, and showed us where we're staying" he gestures over his shoulder to the tent behind him. "But then this dude named Venom told me that his sister, Flower, likes me and want's to marry me. So that was uncomfortable…
But anyway, the dinner came up, they'd prepared this massive feast for us, and they'd given some of us nicknames. I'm Love. Anyway, Flower sat next to me at dinner. She's a nice girl. Anyway, after that we danced. Rick danced with pretty much every kid in the village, haha. But then I did something dumb, Flower took me into this hut, and I told her that I wouldn't be able to stay, or take her with me, even though I'd like to. But she didn't care and well… One thing led to another I guess."
[He runs his hand over his head.]
"But geez, I already feel bad about it. I shouldn't have done that."
[He looks off to the side for a bit.]
[Second log ends.]
Smith, William
Special Task Force A-354
20 OCT 2013
'DAY ONE'
[Video follows]
[Dimly lit hut]
"October twentyith. Day one. We have arrived at the vill, and were recieved by the elders and villagers, who held a feast and celebration in our honor. Very friendly people, and Leaf makes delicious curry. Say hi Leaf!"
[The camera pivots to focus on an unidentifiable woman on a mat]
"…Hi!" *Giggling*
[Camera pivots back to Smith]
"We were met by the village, who fed and sheltered us for the night, and presumably will be serving as our base camp for the remainder of the mission. Most fun I've had since leaving the States. We leave for the ruins that Tarlock mentioned tomorrow night. Supposedly this thing only does it's deal at night, so we may as well be on that kind of schedule. I think. I dunno. We weren't well briefed on the situation beyond the vill, and there doesn't appear to be much in the way of leads. I assume we'll head out tomorrow with one or more of the villagers as a guide.
Overheard something about a book? Maybe Loren can get something from it, she's eggheady enough. Ain't that just like everything we're put on though. We're mushrooms, I tell ya.
Still beats being back on site.
"Anyway, status is currently well, if underinformed. This is Smith, Goodnight.
[Video ends]
"Well, this one's starting out just bloody wonderful. So far we've got Bill and Mark sleeping with the local girls, no intel, and something about this village just sets me on edge. Don't know why, they seem hospitable enough. But they all speak English in the middle of the Burmese jungle, the hell is going on there? On the positive side, at least we've got some damn good people with us, and enough firepower that we could probably take over a small country. Dad always told me he hated jungles, I get the feeling I'll know exactly why by the time this is over…"
[Loren struggles with the camera. It starts facing a wall in a hut, with muttered curses from Loren.]
"Wait, wait. Is that… Yeah, I got it, okay."
[Camera is turned back on her, too close to her face to make out all of it at once.]
"There we go. We made landfall in Burma some hours ago, and it is entirely too hot. Way too hot. It's too hot in every imaginable way. We've been welcomed openly by the natives, with a feast in our honor, with strange foods. I'm a little worried the monkey brain will end up making me sick… but we'll just have to see. I managed to offend our hosts very quickly, by having my pack on me. It's a trust thing… It has to do with them wanting to take care of us and for us, as their guests, to trust that, but I really just don't trust them, even a little bit. They're not my team, why should I?"
[Camera is zoomed out to take the rest of her face in.]
"Beyond that, the elder, Tarlock, gave me a book, I'll be reviewing and analysing it's contents tomorrow. The social situation here is likely reparable, but I don't know. I worry that we've already fragmented relations with this tribe altogether. I'll make every effort to hold trust between us, but I don't know if I can do that, while keeping us all properly outfitted. The feast was great, but it's still not home. We're suppose to go to some kind of ruin tomorrow, I should study the journal before that."
[Loren frowns.]
"I miss Elif."
[Chloe adjusts her camera. Her face and a wall can be seen.]
I guess we have to do this thing? Well, our journey was uneventful, but I feel uneasy. The natives, while polite, were oddly insistent about us getting rid of our stuff. I hope we didn't offend anyone. However, I find it strange how they all can speak fluent English despite being in an isolated location. And why have we been given so little info to work with? Like, for a Pool dive, I understand, but shouldn't we have been giving a more comprehensive briefing? I feel like we're going to end up shooting ourselves in the foot, because we can't see what's going on.
[Beat, then a sigh]
Bill and Mark have gone off to have sex with some of the local girls, I hope the others don't follow on their example. God forbid they get some kind of STD or impregnate them, though maybe it'll serve them right.
[Chloe wipes her brow and sighs in exasperation]
This place is too damned hot, and creepy. I've never been in the jungle before and this place seems too alien to me. It's like diving in SCP samosa[sic] again. I wonder if everything I'll do will somehow remind me of my assignment at Area samosa[sic]. I wouldn't want to be haunted by that…yet, I don't want to just get an amnestic and forget everything I knew. I wouldn't want to forget the friends I have here, or the adventures I had, though 'adventure' is romanticizing the actual experience a bit too much.
I'm rambling here, aren't I? My point is that there's something not right about this assignment, and it's making me uneasy.
[Beat, long pause, then Chloe pats her hair down]
…This is going to be difficult to say in English.
[Audio changes to Korean]
Don't get me wrong here, I think the team we have is as close to fantastic as you can get, but I feel like there's a lack of trust, a lack of respect in the team. Dodridge thinks Taggart is incompetent and full of talk, Taggart thinks Bill is untrustworthy, and Bill's creating this conspiracy, a clique, really, and while his intentions are great, I'm worried that it'll exacerbate the trust and respect problems
that we've been having since the hallucinations started, maybe before the hallucinations.
I want to address this with the others but I don't know how to bring it up and make them listen.
[Chloe sighs. The camera is jostled and then the audio switches back to English]
My current status is that I'm full to the brim from the feast, but exhausted from all the traveling and feeling both worried and paranoid about this mission.
Well, this is Agent Jiyeon Song, signing out. Good night.
[Recording ends]
[The display powers on, centered on Jason. It appears slightly off-kilter, as if sitting on an uneven surface. He's backwalled by what looks like the treeline.
"Security Officer Jason Dodridge, SL3, Special Task Force Alpha-354 reporting. Local time is…"
[Jason glances at his watch, then looks back to the camera with a bored expression.]
"2354. Just before midnight. I'm, uh, reporting successful insertion of the team upriver via rickety-ass boat, where we were met by an elder of the indigenous tribe here, calls himself 'Tarlock.' After we arrived, we were, at large, welcomed by the tribe. Approximately… eh, two hours after our arrival by boat, we were treated to a, uh, feast, festival… some shit.
[Jason looks around, then stops and stares off-camera for almost two minutes in the direction of the jungle before continuing.]
"What else, what else, what else… they've got us split up by gender, which I've noted my objections to. Not sayin' the females ain't capable'a defendin' themselves, but they've got Loren and Chloe in some couple's house, with the males of the group stuck up in their tribe's 'warrior' tent.
"Ummm, indigenous people themselves, it's pretty in-line with the briefin', but they've got this almost pathological obsession with us walkin' around without our gear on. Obviously, that's an absolute negative. This attitude offended'em, with them sayin' it's because 'we don't trust them.' Logic's apparently not their strong suit.
[Jason checks his watch again.]
"Uh, rest of the away team here, good health, no injuries to report, and they're dealin' with the heat'n conditions pretty well. We're, uh, lucky we got some'a the ones deployed with us that we did.
"Operationally, near as I can tell, we're on target, with a foot patrol scheduled in the mornin' to take us out to some ruins, which might, uh, shed some light on what's goin' on here. The locals have refused to talk about it at all outside'a that, and… it's… there's some weird sh-tuff at play here. Not gonna elaborate on it until I get a better pulse'a what's goin' on.
"As a final note, I'm formally recommending censure and an investigation on the individual or individuals that planned this operation, with regards to the method of insertion, long-term sustainment considerations, and lack of planning and information dissemination at the task-force level as it relates to ensuring operational success. It should be noted to anyone reviewing this that the locals knew we were comin' quite a while before we knew back in Canada.
"This is Security Officer Jason Dodridge, STF-Alpha-354, out."
[Jason reaches toward the camera, shutting it off.]
Military Consultant, SCP Wiki
18:04 Echo As he lets his feet recover from being cooped up in boots, Jason reaches over in the map pack and hauls the little camera out, pops the screen out, and aims it around. "Say hi to the camera, Bill."
18:04 PaulS_laptop Bill laughs
18:04 PaulS_laptop "Hi mom"
18:05 Echo As he aims it at Bill, he narrates. "Here we see the two most important non-tactical components to an LRRP contact patrol. Steady infusion of caffeine into the individual operator, and proper maintenance of the operator's primary means of locomotion."
18:05 PaulS_laptop "Yo9u want some of this shit?"
18:06 * ShotgunFiendM joined #intothewild
18:06 Echo "Fuck it, if you got an extra servin' saved up, sure."
18:06 PaulS_laptop "You think I'd go without?"
18:07 PaulS_laptop He tosses over a container of it
18:07 Echo Jason places the camera on the stump beside him and catches it.
18:07 PaulS_laptop "More important than food"
18:07 Echo "Save your canteens."
18:09 Echo Jason unclips the sides of the map pouch on his pack, flops the half-detached bag out of the way, and uncinches the main bag's keeper. After rummaging around inside for a few moments with one hand, he comes back up with a gallon jug of water, about 3/4 full.
18:09 PaulS_laptop "Good thinkin"
18:10 Echo "Layers, man."
18:10 Echo "Gimme a second to get these boots back on and I'll bring it over."
18:10 * Puppetmaster joined #intothewild
18:12 Echo Jason puts on the fresh pair of socks, dons his boots, and replaces the old pair into the ziplock baggy, and shoves them back into the map pouch. He pushes himself up off the log, and heads over to Bill, the water dangling from his left hand. He tosses it down beside Bill, and fishes a canteen cup from his LBE.
18:13 PaulS_laptop Bill fishes out a cup "made sure to bring one myself"
18:14 Echo "Ya know, this is like, one of those few situations where I wouldn't say it's boot as fuck to carry a canteen."
18:14 PaulS_laptop "Canteen's useful as fuck"
18:15 TheRaven "Keep one handy in the pool, too. Never know where you'll end up." Taggart is sitting on a handy rock.
18:16 PaulS_laptop "Thinkin, when we get back, I'm gonna pull one of those fancy flasks for liquid nitrogen from Research"
18:16 PaulS_laptop "Bigass thermos"
18:21 * Gara joined #intothewild
18:21 PaulS_laptop Bill spots a white feather somewher on the ground
18:21 PaulS_laptop Pulls his hat off
18:21 Gara "You're going to get bird flu."
18:21 PaulS_laptop chuckles as he dons it again, noww feathered
18:22 TheRaven "He's going for the disease high score."
18:22 PaulS_laptop "Nothin that cell gas can't cure"
18:22 * Strifey joined #intothewild
18:23 Gara "Naw, it's bingo."
18:23 Echo "Easy there, Hathcock."
18:23 Echo "Y'all want some baby powder?"
18:23 PaulS_laptop Bill chuckles
18:23 PaulS_laptop "Least someone gets it"
18:24 Gara "I think it's possible he's just a bit jealous he didn't get any."
18:24 Echo Jason aims the camera around the group, and points at the bottle sitting beside Bill.
18:24 Echo "Nah, Loren, I just didn't feel like it."
18:24 PaulS_laptop Bill holds it up
18:25 Gara "Wasn't talkin to you, Jason."
18:25 Echo "Ahhhh."
18:26 Echo Jason plops back down on his log, and aims the camera at Loren. "So, Agent Steinberg, what's your assessment of our situation?"
18:27 Gara She clears her throat. "We're in the dark, thus far. Hitting up the ruins will give us some indication of how long this tribe's been doing with the entity, and maybe what kept it away in the past."
18:29 Gara "As of know? We have absolutely no idea what we're up against, or how to get rid of it."
18:30 Echo Jason clears his throat, adopting a more serious tone than usual. "Any thoughts on causative factors? Hazard a guess?"
18:31 Gara "Not yet. I'm sure looking into the tribe's history will shed some light on it, however."
18:32 TheRaven "Get anything from the village elders last night?"
18:33 Echo "Now, say all that again, more pizzazz this time. Give 'em the ol' razzle-dazzle."
18:33 Echo "Do it ducimo."
18:33 Gara "Pfft ha ha ha, yeah."
18:33 Gara "Okay."
18:34 Gara "Yeah, I did, Taggart, I got a journal, didn't get far into it, though."
18:34 Echo He snaps the camera shut, and tosses it back in his map pouch, cinches the pack up, and listens
01:57 Echo Jason activates his camera and pans it around the tent, focusing on Chloe for a moment. He squints. "Was it *really*? Are you *sure* it was three fours?"
01:57 Balthazaar Mark watches the game and wonders if he is married or not.
01:57 PresidentEvil "I'm going to skim over the first night in the village. I believe everyone's impressions and actions-" he shoots a dirty look over at Mark's tent. "-are pretty well documented. We've located some kind of stone arch… apparently it needs a blood sacrifice to be opened. We're figuring that out in the morning."
01:57 Tehpillowstar "Yes I am sure," she deadpans to the camera.
01:58 Tehpillowstar "Are you gonna call BS or not?"
01:58 Echo He grins at her, and - still smiling - tosses down a single card. "Of course not. One five."
01:58 Tehpillowstar Loren's turn, unless she isn't playing,"
01:58 Gara "Two sixes."
01:59 Tehpillowstar -"
01:59 Tehpillowstar Chlie tosses a single card. "One seven,"
02:00 Gara "One eight."
02:00 Echo Jason zooms the camera in on the half-dozen or so cards in the middle. "Security Officer Dodridge, STF-354 reporting. 2nd day…" He tosses a card down. "One nine."
02:01 Tehpillowstar "We're going the other day? Two tens"
02:01 Gara "Bullshit."
02:01 Echo "As of this moment, myself, Agent Steinberg…" He pans the camera to Loren.
02:01 Balthazaar Mark gives Greg a thumbs up.
02:01 Echo And turns the card up with his other hand. It's a 9.
02:01 Tehpillowstar Chloe flips the cards to reveal…two tens.
02:01 PresidentEvil "Our hosts couldn't really tell us what was on the side, except that it's seriously malicious and . So, nothing too different from what we normally do."
02:01 Gara "Damn."
02:02 PresidentEvil and linked to the disappearances*
02:02 Echo "As of this moment, I'm conducting a test to see how Loren reacts when she's been completely had."
02:02 Gara "Badly."
02:02 Tehpillowstar Chloe pushes the pile of cards to Loren.
02:02 PresidentEvil "I'm on first watch tonight, so I'll cut this a little short. Powell, out."
02:02 Gara She grudginly takes them.
02:03 Balthazaar Mark scratches himself and wonders what to do about the Flower situation.
02:03 Echo He pans back to the cards. "As the observers of this record will note… we're using a standard means of probability, uh, variance to keep things fair."
02:03 PresidentEvil Greg shuts the camera and tucks it away. He brushes his teeth, adjusts his hat and gives his weapons a quick check before heading back out into the downpour.
02:04 PresidentEvil «I'm starting watch, all.»
02:04 Echo Jason unzips the tent enough to stick his face out. "Hey man, if them monkeys fuck with ya, you give'em hell."
02:04 Tehpillowstar Loren will see that Chloe did not have a seven.
02:05 Balthazaar "But remember how well the warning shot worked."
02:06 PresidentEvil "If they try, we're having monkeys for breakfast. Enjoy your card game, kids."
02:06 Echo "The record here will show that Agent Song is a supreme tactician, capable of lying, cheating, and outright bullshitting her way to victory."
02:06 Gara "You should not trust her."
02:06 Gara "ever.
02:06 Echo He leans back out. "Yeah, sure thing, Slick."
02:06 Tehpillowstar Chloe grins evilly
02:06 Balthazaar Mark sighs. ~Why on earth would monkeys attack humans?~
02:07 Echo Jason zips the tent back up, and tosses down a card. "One Ace."
02:07 PresidentEvil Greg smirks, flipping his night visions on, before finding a suitable patch of foliage and melting into the rainy shadows.
02:10 Gara "Two twos."
02:10 Balthazaar Mark gets out of his tent and starts gathering some rocks.
02:10 Tehpillowstar "Three threes"
02:10 Echo "…"
02:11 Echo Jason stares at Chloe for a moment, still wielding his camera.
02:11 Gara "Jason if you have four fours I'm quitting the Foundation."
02:11 Echo "…" He squints.
02:11 PresidentEvil Greg glances over at mark, then resumes scanning.
02:12 Balthazaar Mark builds a rockpile
02:12 PaulS_laptop "I've got five aces, does that count?"
02:12 PaulS_laptop suddenly bill
02:12 Gara "What the fuck are you even doing in here Bill."
02:12 PaulS_laptop "in where?"
02:13 PaulS_laptop Bill isn't there
02:13 Gara "Around here. Lurking."
02:13 PaulS_laptop he's talking from outside, and knocks on the tent
02:13 PaulS_laptop "You talk loud"
02:13 Tehpillowstar Chloe is totally flatfaced.
02:13 PaulS_laptop Bill wanders off
02:13 Echo Jason tosses down four cards.
02:13 Echo "Four fours."
02:14 PaulS_laptop content that his job of fucking with people is done
02:14 Gara "No fuck you."
02:14 Gara "No."
02:14 Echo He laughs, unable to contain a shit-eating grin.
02:14 Tehpillowstar "Bullshit," Chloe cracks up.
02:14 Echo "You wanna call bullshit? Really?" He barely gets it out.
02:14 Echo He looks between the two of them.
02:14 Echo "Is that your final answer."
02:15 Gara "Yeah."
02:15 Tehpillowstar "yes," she chokes out
02:15 Echo He pauses… his laughter stops.
02:15 Echo And he stares again at Chloe, realizing his fatal error.
02:16 Echo "God *dammit*."
02:16 Gara "Yep."
02:16 Echo He flips over a pair of Jacks, a Queen, and a 7.
02:17 Echo He scoops up the cards and folds them into his hand. "That's fuckin' bullshit."
02:17 * Balthazaar quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
02:17 Tehpillowstar Chloe can't stop laughing. "And here, we see an example of Agent Dodridge's poor short term memory, she tells the camera,"
02:17 Echo "My short-term memory's certified as hell."
02:17 Tehpillowstar +" -"
02:19 Echo "That was me bein', uh… fuck, all nice'n shit. I mean, you been humpin' that pack all day, you come in here to take a breather and relax, not get beat at Bullshit."
02:19 Tehpillowstar "Keep telling yourself that,"
02:19 Echo "I mean, I can take it. I ain't gonna wear y'all out like that."
02:19 Echo He tosses down the pair of Jacks. "Two Jacks."
02:20 Echo He glances over at Loren. "So, tell me about that book?"
02:20 Gara "Coded to hell, a queen."
02:20 Echo "Coded? Like how?"
02:21 Gara "Like, pictures, mostly."
02:21 Gara "It's weird as hell."
02:22 Tehpillowstar "Two kings," Chloe tosses in the cards.
02:24 Echo "…" Jason stares down at the cards… and tosses down what he would have the ladies believe is three Aces.
02:24 Echo "That all there is to it?"
02:27 Gara "You kept an Ace?"
02:28 Echo Jason looks at his cards.
02:28 Echo He stares at an Ace hiding behind that first damned 7.
02:29 Echo Looks back to Loren. "No."
02:29 Gara "No?"
02:29 Echo "Absolutely not."
02:29 Gara "You started if off last time."
02:29 Gara "Doesn't fit what you've done before. Bullshit."
02:30 Echo He flicks the Ace at Chloe. "No way. She's got it."
02:31 Echo He aims the camera at Chloe. "I've got video *proof* that she's got the Ace."
02:31 Tehpillowstar Chloe raises an eyebrow.
02:32 Echo "Possession's like 9/10 of the law."
02:32 Echo "… Fine." He scoops up the cards he'd tosses down, then leans over and picks up the one he flicked at Chloe.
02:33 Echo *d
02:33 Gara "Even if she does have an ace, you started the last round on playing aces, and yet you have more? Neh."
02:33 Echo "You're up, Steenberg."
02:34 * Strife joined #intothewild
02:34 Tehpillowstar "You're awful at this game Dodridge,"
02:35 Echo He is
02:35 Gara "One two."
02:35 Tehpillowstar "One three,"
02:38 Echo Jason looks at his cards, and tosses down four of them. "There. Finally. *Done* *with* *fours*."
02:38 Tehpillowstar Chloe shitgrins.
02:39 Echo "Yeah, laugh it up over there."
02:40 Echo "If you win, I'm callin' imminent domain an' tossin' ya out in the rain."
02:40 Tehpillowstar "Then I'm telling Mark that he can take my spot,"
02:41 Echo "… Man, cuttin' *throats* in here, huh."
02:41 Tehpillowstar For those who don't remember: Mark is currently in his tent in his undies. The one with the hole.
02:44 Tehpillowstar "Your turn Loren,"
02:47 Gara "A five."
02:49 Echo Jason watches her card for a moment, as if it had a secret he desperately wanted it to reveal.
02:54 Echo Then he checks his watch.
02:55 Echo "I'm… gonna try and get some sleep. Let y'all finish beatin' my ass some other time."
02:56 Gara "Night.'
02:59 Echo Jason turns back over and pulls his poncho up over him, then tosses his pants down by the rest of his gear. He rolls over to face away from Loren and Chloe. "Y'all rest well when ya go."
[Camera powers on. Jason can be seen dimly lit and sitting cross-legged in the center of the frame. He's stripped down to his underarmour, with the inside of a tent visible in the background.]
(barely audible) "This is… my second report. Local time on deck is…"
[Jason checks his watch.]
"0326 hours. We're currently racked out in tents at the location of our last security halt. Our guide left us, went back to the village, and we found the ruins. There's a large gate that we'd have to go through, an' high walls on all sides. The trip here was pretty uneventful, just a long day'a patrollin' down the trail. Loren had seen a picture'a the whole deal in the book the elder gave'er. Place is bad ju-ju. Found some stuff indicating that it's supposed to be opened by… a, uh, blood sacrifice. We obviously didn't execute on this, and… it started like a damn monsoon not too long after. We got the tents set up, divvied up watch. I just got off my shift, took damn near five minutes gettin' back in the tent without wakin' Loren and Chloe up. That's… uh, up to current. More tomorrow. Dodridge, out."
[Video shuts off.]
Military Consultant, SCP Wiki
[The camera's screen is aimed at a stone gate.]
"Day three, Dodridge. We're trapped inside, thanks to Mark. Had a talk with him… he seems like he realizes he fucked up. Smeared blood from a monkey on the gate, it opened up, and closed behind us. We're uh, aside from bein' stuck inside, we're doin' all right. Tryin' to get our gear dry from the rain'n flood. So… we got the ruins dead ahead of us. Gonna check them out later. Dodridge out."
[Camera cuts off.]
Military Consultant, SCP Wiki
[Camera opens on Jason sitting in his tent.]
"We've… got some problems. Had a gator attack, and, uh… found some shit in the ruins. The thing killed the girl Bill spent the night with, and… well, people are pretty fucked up right now. Loren seemed a little… off when she got back. Real short with me. I'm not gonna push'er too hard, but… There's more shit to worry about. That thing's out there now. And I think it's watchin' us. We're going to head in an' check the runs out some more tomorrow night, and I think Rick had some plans for some traps… so we'll see. S/O Dodridge, out."
[Camera powers down.]
Military Consultant, SCP Wiki
"Not much to report today. Hiked through the jungle for hours to get to where we're supposed to be going. Locals said their tribe have been working with the Foundation for a while, like to know why command never told us that. My guess is since WWII at least, and that explains the English. Found where this monster is supposed to be coming from, fucking big gate in the middle of the jungle, covered in vines…and some stains I'd rather not have noticed. Loren's translating a book the village elders gave her, apparently they used to do some human sacrifice rituals here to open it. Won't be doing that, with any luck it's just blood that activates it, not human blood. I'll blow the damn thing off its hinges before we start sacrificing people. Work on that tomorrow, it's pouring now and I haven't been this tired in a long time."
[Marks video starts with plenty of random footage Mark has taken during the day, including shots of animals he has seen, and an extreme closeup of Jason's nose. A long stretch of the film shows Mark's feet walking, until he apparently realizes that the camera is indeed filming.]
[Now at night, the video feed shows Mark sitting inside a tent, outside can be seen through the flap. Mark is sitting in his underwear, with his jacket over his shoulders. He looks numb and tired.]
"Well, this is agent Mark Williamson. Today was… Long. We hiked from the village to the temple of doom today. Gates to it are sealed tight. Loren read this book that Tarlock gave her, and according to the book we need a blood sacrifice to open it up. Anyway, it started to rain, so we camped under the trees. I get to have a tent to myself because the others say that I smell. Oh, and there were some monkeys here too. Jason and Greg wanted to shoot them, but I scared them off instead."
[Mark looks around and zips up his tent. He sighs and rubs his face.]
"Now, that's the work side of things just about summed up, so I'll figure you're my journal now. I'm not going to call it a diary…"
"I'm worried about some stuff. The group seems to be getting along well for the most part, but I'm seeing some tension in places. Greg seems pretty pissed off at me, and Jason's been getting on my nerves a little. He's a good guy, but he needs to lighten up, and I don't like that his reaction to nearby wildlife seems to be to shoot it."
"As for the rest of it, this temple freaks me out. It's a lot like that story where the explorers find that ancient city in Antarctica… I'm like 90% sure that didn't go well for them…"
"On top of that, I get the feeling that working with a team like this is going to be hard for me. Not used to working in a group in these sorts of places you know? I'll have to try remember to look out for the rest of the guys, and not just myself here… It's also hard to do this without Johno. I haven't done real wild work without him since he died… Well except for Siberia, but that was different… I keep looking to my side expecting him to be there…"
[There is a lengthy pause.]
"Well, now for the big one. This morning before we set off, Flower came out and had a chat with me. She kissed me and walked off, and she was wearing all colourful clothes, but the night before she wore white. I asked our guide, a bloke called Spear, what the colours on the clothes means. He says that if a woman wears colourful clothes then she's married. Then he congratulated me… So… I uh, I think I might have gotten married…"
[Mark runs his hands through his hair.]
"Now, while it's fair to say that I didn't really plan this… I need to make sure I do the right thing. It wouldn't be right to just ditch her you know? So… I think I might have to either try and stay, or try and take her with me… "
[Mark shakes his head, then reaches for the camera. End log.]
Smith, William
Special Task Force A-354
[No video, only audio. Voices identified as Smith, Dodridge, Steinberg, and Taggart]
Smith: "Thank ya"
Dodridge: "Say hi to the camera, Bill."
Smith: [Laughter] "Hi mom"
Dodridge: "Here we see the two most important non-tactical components to an LRRP contact patrol. Steady infusion of caffeine into the individual operator, and proper maintenance of the operator's primary means of locomotion."
Smith: "You want some of this shit?"
Dodridge: "Fuck it, if you got an extra servin' saved up, sure."
Smith: You think I'd go without?. More important than food"
Dodridge: "Save your canteens."
[Sloshing noise]
Smith: "Good thinkin"
Dodridge: "Layers, man. Gimme a second to get these boots back on and I'll bring it over."
[Sloshing and a thump]
Smith: "Made sure to bring one myself"
Dodridge: "Ya know, this is like, one of those few situations where I wouldn't say it's boot as fuck to carry a canteen."
Smith: "Canteen's useful as fuck"
Taggart: "Keep one handy in the pool, too. Never know where you'll end up."
Smith: "Thinkin, when we get back, I'm gonna pull one of those fancy flasks for liquid nitrogen from Research. Bigass thermos."
Steinberg: "You're going to get bird flu."
Taggart: "He's going for the disease high score."
Smith: "Nothin that cell gas can't cure"
Steinberg: "Naw, it's bingo."
Dodridge: "Easy there, Hathcock. Y'all want some baby powder?"
Smith: [Laughter] "Least someone gets it"
Steinberg: "I think it's possible he's just a bit jealous he didn't get any."
Dodridge: "Nah, Loren, I just didn't feel like it."
Steinberg: "Wasn't talkin to you, Jason."
Dodridge: "Ahhhh."
Dodridge: "So, Agent Steinberg, what's your assessment of our situation?"
Steinberg: She clears her throat. "We're in the dark, thus far. Hitting up the ruins will give us some indication of how long this tribe's been doing with the entity, and maybe what kept it away in the past. As of know? We have absolutely no idea what we're up against, or how to get rid of it."
Dodridge: [Throat clearing] "Any thoughts on causative factors? Hazard a guess?"
Steinberg: "Not yet. I'm sure looking into the tribe's history will shed some light on it, however."
Taggart: "Get anything from the village elders last night?"
Dodridge: "Now, say all that again, more pizzazz this time. Give 'em the ol' razzle-dazzle. Do it ducimo."
Steinberg: "Pfft ha ha ha, yeah." [Pause] "Okay. Yeah, I did, Taggart, I got a journal, didn't get far into it, though."
Steinberg: "They couldn't read it. I don't know why, though, yet."
Dodridge: "Little bit'a light readin' later? Wait, what if it's got shit we need to know before we head in?"
Steinberg: "Then we're very vaguely fucked… I've got it under control, though, so."
Taggart: "I'd say Bill and Mark have that under control." [Snort]
Steinberg: "Jealous."
[Unidentified noise]
Taggart: "Not remotely."
Steinberg: "Uh, huh, sure.'
Smith: [Snickering]
Dodridge: "That's why he's got those thermals. Lookin' for a cold silhouette. Ya'know, somethin' that won't run away."
Smith: "Do you prefer 'em cold and stiff , or warm and squishy?"
Dodridge: "Hell, what am I talkin' about." [Pause] "There ain't no kangaroos around here anyway."
Steinberg: "Holy shit, Jason."
Dodridge: "Man, I wish I still had the camera runnin'."
Steinberg: "That was gold."
Smith: "Well…"
Steinberg: "Oh, thank fuck, that's perfect."
Dodridge: "Out-fuckin'-standing. It's important to log this sorta shit, you know, for analysis of our state of mind. For future operational considerations."
Steinberg: "Of course."
Dodridge: [Laughter] "And so we know when to warn the poor fuckin' kangaroos." [Pause] Hey guys, look out! Taggart's comin'!"
Steinberg: "At that point, its too late."
Smith: "What about the sheep? Do they deserve a warning, or are they gonna get what they deserve?"
Steinberg: "I mean, once he's gotten there…"
Dodridge: "Nah, that's them New Zealand boys."
[Audio ends]
21 OCT 2013 PART 2
[Video begins]
[Unlit tent, person in footage is identified as William Smith]
"Smith here. Update for 21 October 2013, day two. We seem to have arrived at a large gate in our way. Our guide says that it's where tthe monster comes out of. Whole lotta blood on the front, which I don't like. Rest of the trek was uneventful.
The weather is beginning to turn sour, with this being monsoon season. We need to get this shit donee and get back before something big hits. Last thing I wanna do is be stuck out here in the jungle during a monsoon.
Loren has managed to translate some of that book. She says the gate only opens with a blood sacrifice. Makes me wonder why we ran off those monkeys instead of just killing one of 'em and using that to open it. Blood is blood, right? Fuck if I don't wish we had gotten that book translated before we caame here. Would have made life tons easier. We're mushrooms.
…I wonder if we'll swing by the vill on our way back. Could certainly go for more of their food, and another night with Leaf. "
[Video ends]