I'm still questioning how I managed over 400 votes—
———
[15— Closed Doors]
|| 049's P.O.V ||
I lead you further down adjacent hallways, being just as ignorant as you were about where any direction was going to lead. I hadn't given up hope on our escape. This was the farthest I had ever gotten before, and it was all thanks to you. It only seemed you were only just recently realising that.
Yes. Only just recently. Turning the corner, my mind also turned back to earlier. How you had broke down and soaked my tunic with your tears. Still, it was strange to see, even if I had seen you cry and freak out several times since the beginning of the breach. It was such a contrast to what I had grown so used to.
Then there was what happened in that room. I could tell something was different. Not just in you, but also me. Being so close to you, feeling your hot breaths against the mask. How red you turned underneath me once we had both settled from my... Session.
That experience was running through my mind over and over again. I wasn't able to get it out of my mind. Something about it and how I acted was bothering me.
I knew upon closer inspection of you, save for back when you were assigned to me and got up in my face in frustration with me, I had realised something. I was able to admit to myself then and there that you had quite the fine features. Charming [colour] eyes that I knew to have witnessed more traumas than I would've preferred them not to have. A fair complexion riddled with scars from happenings I couldn't keep you from. I would've been liable to go on.
I glanced over my shoulder and to you, seeing the top of your head from it being lowered. No doubt you were in thought.
Good heavens... What's becoming of me?
Another corner was turned. Another distant bang from an anonymous disaster.
Such trivialities shouldn't be thought about when I have to focus on getting out of here to work on my cure.
A faint sound of crying yanked me out of my thoughts, and I regained my focus on ahead of me. Was that another human being, perhaps?
My brows perked faintly behind my mask whenever one of your hands wrapped tightly around my left wrist. "Wait!" You blurted.
Pivoting, I faced you and met your gaze. "What is it? Is it that weeping?"
Trouble was written all over you face, and your grasp on me only tightened. "I recognise that sound... It's bad."
Simply, my head tilted faintly to the side. "Bad?"
You removed your hand from me, calming your expression. The sobbing only seemed to become louder, as if nearing us. "Remember when I said that I had help with killing those two guards?"
I recalled all of that blood, and took it that the 'bad' part was a sort of understatement. "I do." I gave a single nod for you to continue.
"Well... You can't look at its face, unless you want to become a pile of bloody mush," you cautioned grimly. "You need to not even glance at it. Please."
Lifting one of my hands, I placed it on your shoulder. "Of course... I understand." That serious? I knew there was no point in being quizzical about it. There was so many strange creatures in the Site.
You hummed in response and pushed past me, lowering your head in the process. I mimicked the action, only imagining what you had went through back with those two guards if the creature was able to make such a bloody mess just for having its face looked at.
Whatever happened to their bodies?
You turned the corner, the weeping being well loud enough by then. I was at your heels, us being about right on top of the other SCP. I trusted you, so I hadn't thought there was any need to worry.
Until you froze in place, and it had let out a whine.
From the top of my vision, I was barely able to see a white, alarmingly large and malnourished hand grasp your shoulder.
"Hey, again," you greeted gingerly to it.
Footsteps were audible from it, and I watched its shadow as it neared you. Guttural nothings emitted from it, being in a frantic pattern. Its crying had seemed to stop rather hastily. How intriguing... Does it feel better, being around them?
You spoke to it once more. "Sorry, I— I can't hang around."
It let out a groan, lightly shaking you. At that, I was prepared to take you away if deemed necessary.
"I still don't know what you want with me," you started. "I'm on my way to the surface. I don't know if I—"
The creature interrupted you with more distressed sounds. Is it begging? What would the thing desire? I wasn't able to read its pleads like you appeared to be able to.
I heard you let out a sigh. "I don't... Damnit... Don't have a choice, do we?"
My queue to speak up. "Oh, we definitely do. It's much too risky to bring this thing along with us, [Name]. You know that."
"Yeah, but..." I knew what you were going to imply: How it was clinging to you.
Of course, the thing could be of use for defense too, hm? Anything that sees its face would suffer the same fate I or you would.
"So long as you're considerate of the drawbacks, I suppose I wouldn't mind," I expressed. I wasn't able to shake the feeling that I was going to regret it, however.
A brief pause before you spoke again, attention switching from me to the thing once more. "You can come if you stay behind us." A flat tone.
Its hands released you, a few quiet groans coming from it in reaction to your statement. I only assumed it had agreed, given I had no indication on what it specifically meant.
Your footsteps were audible once more, and so I was prompted to continue forward as well. A light flickered above us, yet I paid no mind, only following you. The only hint that the creature was indeed following us was the faint patting sound of its presumably large feet against the ground over both of our own steps.
As we walked, it croaked out the occasional noise, only growing more and more frequent as time went on. I was reluctant to allow you to, but you insisted on you and I switching places so you could comfort it.
In turn, I was the lead once more. Hadn't ever minded doing it. Noises of something foreign was heard not long after, and so we took quick shelter in a room. You had pulled 096, as you had called it, in with you by a jerk on its wrist. It whined out in surprise, but gave no retaliation.
"Shh," you hushed the creature. "We can't be heard."
Shutting the door behind us, we moved to hide along a wall, the room excluding a light. I pressed up against the said wall as you had, the sounds getting louder and more violent.
