《Fragile》SCP-049 x Injured!Reader

《Chapter Four》

The sirens have ceased their earsplitting wail, but the lights still blared red, drenching the walls of the outside corridor in a hellish glow. Ellie hovered right next to you, her hair disheveled, softly rubbing the red marks on her wrists from the restraints. The rest of your classmates were huddled together behind you, their stares not breaking from the tall figure standing at the end of the hallway.

SCP-049's back was to you, his masked face swiveling left to right. At first, you assumed he was looking for any trace of the two guards who fled earlier, but your thoughts were flooded with memories of the creature in your English class. With a shudder, you were hit with the realization that you and everyone else were probably in immense danger.

SCP-049 turned around to meet your gaze and, for a brief moment, you wondered why he even wore that bird-like mask, anyway. Perhaps it was because he was scarred or deformed in some way? Insecure, maybe?

If his gorgeous eyes are any sort of indication, you pondered, I would assume the rest of his face was handsome as well.

You blinked several times, almost astonished at the boldness of your intrusive thoughts.

As SCP-049 beckoned you silently with a gloved hand to follow, you started slowly forward, favoring your right knee slightly. Ellie pressed closer to you, her entire body trembling furiously as if stricken by a fever. You had been elected the unspoken "leader" of the pack, for lack of a better term. The rest of your classmates trailed behind closely, but not too closely. They were wary of you, you could tell.

And you couldn't blame them.

You all followed SCP-049 in near-silence for several minutes, turning down dark corridors and passing by many large, reinforced metal doors, each of them wide open, gaping at you ominously as you shambled by. If they were empty on the inside you did not know, and you weren't too keen on finding out. After a while the red lights, you noticed, had stopped blinking. The quietness was almost suffocating, every step echoing off the pristine, white walls and reverberating all around. SCP-049 still hasn't spoken. You couldn't decide whether to be nervous or relieved.

Then, when he was just about to lead you down another long hallway, something heavy crashed in the distance. The sound sent a shockwave of terror throughout your entire body, rooting itself within you and freezing you mid-step. A volley of screams erupted behind you from your horrified classmates, which made SCP-049 whip his head around violently. For a fraction of a second, you caught a glimpse of his eyes through his mask as he faced the group. You could've sworn you saw a glimmer of alarm within their gray depths.

"Quickly," he commanded in his deep, echoing voice, forcing open the nearest door. He held it ajar as all of you streamed inside hurriedly.

The room inside was small and rectangular, with a corner desk tucked into the far edge, its surface strewn carelessly with several manilla folders and ballpoint pens. A black rolling chair was tipped over on the ground nearby. Another desk was set in the very center of the room, this one metallic and pristine, not an inch of clutter on top. On one wall stood a row of black filing cabinets; papers overflowed messily from a bottom drawer. The last thing you noticed was what appeared to be a large one-way window facing the hallway.

You hoped and prayed that whatever was outside couldn't see in.

Once again, you find yourself grateful for the small size of your English class. There were fourteen of you total, including SCP-049 and yourself. Any more and the room would've felt cramped and claustrophobic. A twang of jealousy shot through you at the thought of the three students who were absent today. If only one of them could've been you...

The masked man closed the door with a quiet click and you suddenly longed for the security of the thick iron door the scientists had kept him locked up behind.

This thing is so flimsy that a strong gust of wind could open it! You had a hunch that whatever was outside was stronger than a strong gust of wind. Another loud crash made its way to your ears, followed this time by a deep, guttural growl.

Whatever it was, it did not sound human.

As SCP-049 held up a finger, signaling everyone to be quiet, you pressed your back against the wall parallel to the one with the window. Your breaths came in quick and shallow. Several of your classmates scrambled to hide under the two desks (one really tiny girl attempted to squeeze herself behind the filing cabinets), but you remained fixed to the wall. A quick glance to your left and you saw Ellie clutching her knees to her chest underneath the desk in the middle of the room.

At least she's safe...

As everyone in the room held their breaths, you saw it. The monster was easily over ten feet long and took up almost the entire width of the corridor, looking as if someone had dumped a gallon of acid on an enormous, deformed alligator. It stalked by slowly and meticulously, huffing and growling darkly with each step. Your heart was pounding in your throat. You wanted to squeeze your eyes shut and turn away from the sight of the reptilian beast, but your body refused to comply.

If it was searching for you or just simply passing by, you had no idea, but it failed to notice you or your classmates. After what seemed like forever, you exhaled a long, shaky breath. The creature was gone, at least for now.

You had a strange feeling deep in your gut that it hated any form of human life. And, if it was kept locked up as SCP-049 had been, you couldn't really blame it.

Slowly, your classmates began to pull themselves from their hiding places. Besides you, only a handful of them had caught a glimpse of the reptilian monstrosity, and each of them were being bombarded with rapid-fire questions by the ones too scared to look at it themselves.

Questions like, "What was it?" and "What did it look like?" and "Is it really gone?"

"It was, like, a big-ass komodo dragon or some crazy shit," you heard Caleb declare, a wild look in his eyes. His hands made a big arc in front of him in the air, as if trying to depict the creature's largeness. Somehow, his description induced a few giggles from your classmates. A small smile made its way to your face when you noticed that Ellie was one of them. It feels like forever since you've heard your best friend laugh. A small spark of hope flared in your chest.

It seems as if Caleb Valazquez, self-appointed class clown, has still got it.

"Do you mind sitting on top of that table in the middle?" SCP-049 must've moved over to your side while you were busy listening to Caleb. "I would like to take a closer look at your knee."