Chapter 8: Whispers in the Red Dust
The morning after their rough encounter left their bodies bruised and spirits tested, the trio stood around the battered camping van. Ethan, brushing dust from his clothes and wiping dried blood from his brow, gave the others a determined look.
"Let's fix this thing," he said, rolling up his sleeves.
Hours passed. Lira patched wiring with scavenged supplies. Nolan fitted new tires with care. Ethan found a jerry can of oil in a nearby abandoned gas station. As the sun dipped low behind shattered buildings, the engine growled to life.
Lira pulled out a folded, water-stained map from her coat pocket. The red lines traced the old roads of the United States, now mostly lost beneath rubble and time.
"We're here," Nolan pointed to New York. "Next stop-Washington D.C.?"
Ethan nodded. "Yeah. There might be answers there."
Lira took the driver's seat. "I'll drive."
"Nolan, help her with the roads," Ethan said, climbing into the back and slumping against the wall. "I need sleep... and a talk with Astraeus."
The van rumbled on, its headlights piercing the foggy dusk.
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The White Room
Ethan opened his eyes. He stood in a white void-blank, silent, unnaturally cold. A familiar figure in a long dark coat waited for him. His eyes glowed faintly, like two dying stars.
"Let me reintroduce myself," the man said. "It's me Astraeus."
Ethan stepped forward, clenching his fists. "Astraeus... can you explain what the hell is happening now?"
Astraeus didn't answer immediately. Instead, he raised his hand. "Hold out your arm."
Ethan hesitated but obeyed. Astraeus conjured a jagged black knife from thin air-its surface shimmered with writhing shadows. Then, without warning, he sliced across Ethan's waist.
Ethan screamed, falling to his knees, thinking his side had been torn open. But there was no blood. No pain, beyond the illusion. The wound glowed faintly, like a cursed seal.
"What the hell-!?"
Astraeus's eyes narrowed. "Now SCP-001 can sense us. We don't have much time."
Suddenly, the white void cracked like glass. They were sitting on a rusted bench on the barren red plains of Mars. The wind was silent, yet something ancient and wrong seemed to breathe beneath the surface.
Astraeus gazed at the starless sky. "You humans awakened SCP-001. And in doing so, opened a gate-one from which the corrupted SCPs have begun to emerge."
Ethan clenched his jaw. "Then how do we close it?"
"By killing SCP-001," Astraeus said coldly.
Ethan stared. "But you said they're corrupted. What about you? Where did you come from? Why are you helping me?"
Astraeus's expression turned to stone. "Because you're the chosen one."
But in the echoing depths of his mind, Astraeus added silently: Because the others died when I entered their dreams. Their minds broke. But you... you survived.
"The rest," he said aloud, "time will reveal."
Ethan's voice lowered. "That SCP back at Walmart... it was terrifying. Are all of them that powerful?"
"No." Astraeus leaned closer. "That one was one of the lowest-class corrupted SCPs. SCP-939. It mimics human voices to lure prey. That one was weak."
Ethan blinked. "Weak?"
"Yes. They can all be killed the same way-heart destruction. But if the heart remains intact, even a mutilated body can regenerate. That's why you must aim for the core."
Ethan's voice turned grim. "So... there are stronger ones."
"More powerful than you can imagine. Some can twist space. Others can't be seen. Some... were human once."
Ethan looked away. "And weapons?"
"Swords, guns-they work. But the SCP Foundation created other weapons, scientific horrors designed to counter the anomalies. You'll find them. In time."
Astraeus stood. The red dust danced around his boots.
"My time here is ending. SCP-001 grows aware of us. I can't stay hidden much longer."
Ethan stood too. "Wait-I still need to-"
But Astraeus had already vanished.
Ethan gasped awake in the van. His shirt clung to his skin, drenched in cold sweat. The map rustled beside him. The stars above whispered nothing.
And the journey toward D.C. continued, darker than before.
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End of Chapter 8