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to start listening today. I

0:30

walk through the building's doors and look at

0:32

the emblem that covers the wall behind the desk.

0:35

It's a circle with three arrows, two

0:38

pointing up from the left and right sides.

0:41

The last is pointing down from the top.

0:43

Each meets just short of the center of the

0:45

circle. Around the symbol

0:47

are three words secure, contain,

0:51

protect. There's a matching

0:53

emblem on the left shoulder of my brown uniform.

0:56

I fall in step find a group of

0:58

other men in uniforms the same as my

1:00

own. Smiling, I

1:03

nod and greeting to them and I'm only

1:05

met with indifference. I

1:07

mirror them and readjust my expression.

1:11

So it is as devoid and joyless

1:13

as theirs. Guess I won't be

1:15

talking to these fellows about the clean

1:17

sweep the Ravens managed to pull off

1:19

last night. I matched

1:22

my step with theirs, confident

1:24

and sure. Like walking down

1:26

a familiar path. I

1:28

slow my pace just to smidge, then

1:31

break left, and scan up and down the halls.

1:34

This facility looks enormous from the outside,

1:37

but inside, it somehow

1:40

even bigger It's probably

1:42

because of the decor. Besides

1:44

the mural at the front desk, the rest

1:46

of the building looks sterile. Cleaner

1:48

than a hospital with pristine tile

1:51

floors and matching nondescript

1:53

doors. What are you doing here?

1:55

This is a risk triggered area. I

1:57

spin on my heel. The man is also

1:59

in a brown uniform. There's no

2:01

designation of rank, but there's no

2:04

question that he a superior officer.

2:06

It's written in how he carries himself and

2:09

the stern echo in his voice. The

2:11

expression on his face respect

2:14

faster than the side arm at his hip,

2:16

an automatic cult, the same as

2:18

mine. Sorry, sir, I

2:20

say, and fire off a quick dilute

2:22

before standing at attention. He

2:24

frowns and glances over the name

2:26

on my right breast. Murphy.

2:29

That's a name I don't know. Yes,

2:31

sir. I've recently transferred, still

2:34

learning the lay of the land. His

2:36

eyes flick over me and dismiss me quicker

2:38

than he would, some gunk on his shoe.

2:40

Notting. He gestures for me

2:42

to follow him. I fall in

2:44

line beside him. Quick enough to see

2:46

the flicker of his disgruntled from.

2:49

Where did you transfer from? Site

2:51

twelve, it nods again.

2:54

How did you like Anchorage? Didn't

2:56

get to see much of the city, miss Martin.

2:58

Besides, I'm not a big fan of freezing

3:01

my balls off. His body

3:03

stiffens, and I realize that

3:05

I fucked up. Wherever Site

3:07

twelve is, it must be nowhere

3:09

near Alaska. Shit.

3:11

His hand shoots toward his side arm.

3:14

Janning my hand over his before he can draw.

3:16

I barely have time to brace myself as

3:18

I slam my forehead into his nose. It

3:20

takes a moment for my head to clear and I

3:22

see realization come to the man's face.

3:25

I thrust my fist into his cutting

3:27

off his cry for help. Then I ran

3:29

my forehead into his face again, shattering

3:31

his already broken knows. The

3:34

element of surprise is my only advantage.

3:36

There's no way I could take this guy in a fair

3:38

fight, so I fight dirty. My

3:41

hand is throbbing, and I stumbled before

3:43

writing myself and unholstering my

3:45

gun. As my vision clears once

3:47

more, I forced the barrel into his

3:49

mouth. He struggles as I squeeze

3:51

the trigger. The sound is muffled,

3:53

little more than a loud wet pop as the

3:55

back of his head explodes, spraying

3:57

his brains on the wall. It's

3:59

still louder than I want. I don't hear

4:02

any cries of alarms or sirens, but

4:04

that doesn't mean there's not someone on way.

4:07

If this is a restricted area,

4:09

how long until some other guard stumbles upon

4:11

me. Shit. I

4:14

wrap my hands under his armpits and drag

4:16

him down the hall, trying not to get

4:18

any blood on my clothes, which is harder

4:20

to do than it sounds. Luckily,

4:23

it's not the fur the bloody corpse I've had

4:25

to hide. Stopping at one of

4:27

the doors, I pulled the key from

4:29

around my neck and it slides seamlessly

4:31

into the lock. A sigh

4:33

of leaf escapes me as I see the contents

4:36

inside. It's a cleaning

4:38

closet full of mops and brooms. I

4:40

dragged body inside, step outside,

4:43

and lock the door behind me. That

4:45

ought to find me some time. Bear

4:48

nearly ten minutes into the job and I'm

4:50

already stowing away dead bodies.

4:52

I should have asked for more money. Someone's

4:55

going to notice the blood stay and splatter

4:57

of brain sooner or later, so I

4:59

better act fast and slip out

5:01

as quickly as possible. I

5:03

reach a hand to my chest and feel the

5:05

key around my neck. It shouldn't

5:07

be a problem with this little beauty. I

5:11

wasn't always a thief, Well,

5:14

I guess nobody has born one.

5:16

But for me, it's a very

5:18

recent development until

5:20

a few years ago. I was just

5:22

a simple proprietor of a pawn shop.

5:24

Sure. I worked with thieves

5:26

now and then. Mostly junkies,

5:28

you didn't know the value of what they brought in.

5:31

But my shop was too small to attract

5:33

any major players. That all

5:35

changed after I bought a box of junk from

5:37

an estate sale. I

5:39

was disappointed to find that the silverware

5:41

that had prompted my high bid was

5:43

only silver plated. Nothing

5:46

but worthless nickel beneath that.

5:48

My only other takeaways from the

5:50

bidding war were a bunch of shitty nicknacks.

5:53

Among them was one long bronze

5:55

ornate key. They didn't go

5:57

to anything in the set. That

5:59

night, I found myself at a bar, spending

6:02

money on cheap booze, I

6:04

stumbled through my door and passed out until

6:06

the following day. I woke

6:08

up with a pounding headache, made

6:10

only worse by failing to find my apartment

6:12

key so I could lock up and go to work.

6:15

But I remembered that I had left

6:17

it at the office. The only key

6:19

in my pocket was the one from the estate

6:21

sale. Curious and

6:23

confused. I stepped outside

6:25

and tried the key in my lock. It

6:27

slid in and turned easily. I

6:29

turned it the opposite way and heard the door click.

6:32

After pulling the key out and examining it,

6:34

I saw that there was no way that should

6:36

have been the case. The keyhole

6:38

didn't match the key's notches at all.

6:40

Yet five more tries and it locked

6:43

and unlocked each time. I

6:45

rushed to my shop and the

6:47

key opened it just as quickly as

6:49

my apartment. The whole

6:51

day passed in a world I tried it on

6:53

everything. Anything that could

6:55

be locked, my key could unlock.

6:58

This included the new Rolls Royce left

7:00

unguarded in a parking garage, which I

7:02

promptly delivered to the nearest chop

7:04

shop. I was ripped off,

7:06

but even still It more than

7:08

made up for the busted goods from the auction.

7:11

The key also unlocked a new career for

7:13

me. You don't need to be an experienced

7:16

thief when you have something that will open any

7:18

safe for you. As

7:20

time passed, I picked up a few

7:22

new skills like my willingness

7:24

to kill. It's not my

7:26

first choice, but, hey,

7:28

people you don't know die every minute What's

7:31

wrong with adding to that figure if it fills your

7:33

pocket too? I'm not a homicidal

7:35

maniac. Trust me. I'd

7:37

much rather do a clean job without a body

7:39

out. But if it comes down to

7:41

the death of some random person you never

7:43

met, well, that's a

7:45

small price to pay for being rich.

7:48

Maybe that makes me a heartless bastard,

7:50

but show me one rich man who isn't.

7:54

Eventually, My reputation

7:56

expanded so far that I started only to

7:58

accept work from the highest bidders.

8:00

I don't know much about my latest

8:02

employers. And I don't need to know.

8:05

My business is word-of-mouth. And

8:07

if a past employer referenced me,

8:09

then that means they had the money to afford

8:11

my services. This

8:13

is why I'm in a secret facility, shoving

8:16

dead bodies into cleaning closets and

8:18

looking for a metal sphere. My

8:20

client men in fancy suits,

8:22

sitting at a table smoking cigars and

8:24

drinking cognac, laid the job out for

8:26

me with as much detail as they could,

8:29

which really wasn't that much. They

8:32

want me to procure some item that looks

8:34

like a perfectly spherical orb,

8:36

other than a now dress and a

8:38

security uniform. They couldn't tell me

8:40

anything about the building's layout

8:42

or where the orb might be held.

8:44

Usually, would pass on a job

8:46

with such scant information. I

8:48

might be able to unlock anything.

8:50

And while I can be formidable when

8:52

the situation calls for it, I

8:55

can't take on an army of hired goons.

8:58

The first half of a million smackeroos in

9:00

my bank account put most of the trepitations

9:02

to bed. How hard could it

9:04

be? I sigh

9:06

as I hurry and think about the hidden corpse.

9:09

I should have asked for more money.

9:11

I walk down a set of stairs and find a

9:13

row of heavy doors on each side of the

9:15

hall. Each looks like something from

9:17

a bag vault. With different digits

9:19

engraved into the metal. My

9:21

hands trace across one, not

9:23

even taking in the numbers. If

9:26

I was going to hide something expensive,

9:28

it would be behind one of

9:30

these giant doors. I

9:32

slide my key through the door and turn the

9:34

lock. It does its magic, and the

9:36

lock at the center of the heavy vault spins

9:38

to the left. I rubbed

9:40

my hands together in anticipation,

9:42

ready to step inside when the

9:44

foul smell inside slams into my

9:47

nostrils. The beast inside

9:49

dance twice as tall as a man. Glowing

9:51

red eyes light up from its skull and are scattered

9:54

across the rest of its body. Its

9:56

shoulders, chest, and knees all

9:58

stared at me. It strides

10:00

across the room, clearing the floor with a

10:02

single step. Its green fur

10:04

is splashed crimson and

10:06

blood drips from the claws of each of

10:08

its forearms. Its proximity

10:10

snaps me back into reality. I

10:12

shoved the door forward, hope into

10:14

closing, but it's too goddamn slow.

10:16

The door clangs and swings wide,

10:18

knocking me off my feet. My

10:20

back slams into something hard and I slump

10:22

against the opposite wall falling to the

10:24

floor. I breathe quickly,

10:26

tasting the creature's scent as it steps

10:28

through the door, its eyes blink

10:30

in unison, and I freeze as

10:32

it turns toward me. I hold

10:34

my breath, but it turns away and ends

10:36

up the stairs. Shortly

10:38

after, the screams and gunfire

10:40

echo throughout the building. Climbing to

10:42

my feet. I exhale slowly.

10:45

Yeah. Definitely should have asked

10:47

for more money. Another

10:49

blood curdling screen rips down from

10:51

the hall. Oh, well,

10:53

that should keep the security guards busy while

10:55

I keep looking. I never let

10:57

an excellent distraction go to

10:59

waste. With

11:02

my new beastly friend keeping the boys and

11:04

brown busy, I take my time

11:06

deciding on the next vault. I'm clueless

11:09

about my next selection. The

11:11

only difference between the vaults are the

11:13

numbers. I press my ear

11:15

against a few of the vaults, seeing if I

11:17

can hear any sounds, but nothing

11:20

comes through. Or

11:22

maybe I just can't hear anything from all the

11:24

shouts and gunshots. Sign

11:27

I play a game of any, many, many, many Moe,

11:29

and unlock the next vault.

11:31

This one opens a little faster

11:33

than the door before, which

11:36

surprises me. I mean, if

11:38

you have an option on how quickly a door

11:40

closes, wouldn't you want the one

11:42

housing a giant multi eyed

11:44

monster to shut the fastest? The

11:46

vault opens into a landing with an

11:48

expansive room beneath it. There's

11:50

a handful of people in orange jumpsuits

11:53

with numbers, sprawled on their

11:55

backs. Besides them, the

11:57

room is populated by guys in white

11:59

lab coats and a few security guards

12:01

in brown. They glance up

12:03

at me. But only glimpse at my

12:05

uniform, then return to their

12:07

business. I closed the

12:09

vault behind me and cut down

12:11

the stairs. It would look

12:13

more suspicious if I headed back

12:15

out. Besides, if I

12:17

listen closely, maybe I'll hear some

12:19

clue about the artifact I'm looking for. A

12:21

map would probably be asking for too

12:23

much. But then again,

12:25

they must have some way of telling

12:27

which things kept wear. A

12:30

flashing light starts on the wall, and the

12:32

people in orange jumpsuits nearly pissed

12:34

themselves as something rises

12:36

on the floor. It looks like an

12:38

empty door frame, but the power

12:40

dims with a buzzing sound that raises the hair

12:42

on my arms, light,

12:44

he erupts from the doorway in a shivering pool

12:46

of jade. Well,

12:49

that's something you don't see every day.

12:51

But then again, what can I expect from

12:53

an organization that keeps monsters

12:55

locked up in their basement? Even

12:58

still, I can't look away from the

13:00

glistening light. Everyone else must

13:02

feel the same because nobody

13:04

moves when the first tentacle flops out of the

13:06

light and onto the floor. It

13:08

lashes out like a whip and knocks the head

13:10

off one of the men in orange. The

13:12

air fills with blood as the appendage

13:15

drops around the decapitated man

13:17

and reels it back into the portal. It

13:19

and the corpse vanish before the head

13:21

hits the ground. The head

13:23

rolls across my feet when everyone springs

13:26

into action. A scientist

13:28

rushes over to the wall and pulls down an

13:30

alarm. Again, the light's

13:32

dim. Flashing red is more

13:34

tentacles whip through the door.

13:36

The people in Orange jumpsuits scatter, but

13:38

two competing sets of tentacles grab a

13:40

heavy set man. He screams as

13:42

they snap them and have like a wishbone.

13:45

H dragging a bloody half back

13:47

toward the eerie light. Go red.

13:49

Go red. God dammit. A scientist

13:51

yelled into his radio. Where the hell

13:53

is it dirty. A voice

13:55

breaks through the static on the other end. We

13:57

got our hands full up here. Something got

13:59

out of containment. It is ribbing the site

14:01

to shreds. Oops.

14:04

Something wrenches into my shoulder and I

14:06

jump back ready to defend

14:08

myself. Instead of a set of

14:10

alien tentacles from Mars, it's another

14:12

man in a white coat. He's flabbied

14:14

out of shape, but the red in

14:16

his face and scalp show me

14:18

he's as much in command as the security

14:20

guard I popped earlier. What are you

14:22

waiting for? I feel spit on

14:24

my face with every word. Your

14:26

security. Good God, man.

14:28

Get in there and contain nothing.

14:30

I follow his pointed finger to the

14:32

other gods in the room. They've got their

14:34

side arms pulled out and are firing

14:36

wildly. Their bullets bounced off the

14:38

tentacles. They're only

14:40

effective on the poor, orange suited

14:42

bastards caught at the crossfire. Yeah.

14:45

I say and shake my head I don't

14:47

actually work here. My answer

14:49

stuns him into silence before his ruddy,

14:51

complexion deepens. He probably

14:53

thinks I'm joking and is getting ready to

14:55

read me the riot act. I'm not

14:58

interested in hearing it, not even if there

15:00

wasn't tentacle slithering in our direction.

15:02

I'm not a killer, but I'm also

15:04

in no hurry to die. So I

15:06

shoved the scientist as hard as I can.

15:08

He topples over backwards and falls

15:10

flat on his ass, potential

15:12

coils around him like a snake and

15:14

golfing his whole body. It

15:16

tightens around his neck, muffling his

15:18

screams before a loud pop could be heard

15:20

and his array of blood emanated from what

15:22

used to be his head. Something

15:24

wraps around my ankle and yanks the

15:26

ground out from under me. My vision

15:29

flashes I taste blood. Swearing,

15:31

I opened my mouth, removing my

15:33

teeth from my bottom left, my

15:35

fingers squeak across the linoleum

15:37

floor. I'm being dragged

15:39

across the room. I flipped myself

15:41

on my back with a grunt, but then

15:43

tendicle has taken hold and is

15:45

dragging me toward the portal. I unholstered my

15:47

gun and opened fire. Most of

15:49

my shots go wide, and the few that

15:51

hit their mark bounced uponlessly

15:53

off the tentacle. Unlucky I haven't

15:55

blown a hole in my foot as the light from

15:57

the doorway grows brighter. Wait.

16:00

It's a doorway I reach around

16:02

my neck and bring out my key.

16:04

Keeping a firm grip on it, I stumbled to

16:06

my feet as the fingerless appendage

16:08

drags me closer. With one hand

16:10

free, I'm just able to keep my

16:12

body on this side of reality. I

16:14

pull my leg back stretching the

16:16

tentacle taut and we play a game of tug

16:18

of war. Careful not to lose my

16:20

balance. I thrust my key into

16:22

the light and turned it right. The

16:24

light vanishes, and the tentacle is

16:26

severed. It flops on the

16:28

floor, splashing green fluid

16:30

everywhere, The room is total

16:32

chaos. Equipment has been

16:34

upturned, and the few people that weren't

16:36

missing were crushed, mangled, or

16:38

shot. It looks like I was the

16:40

only one to walk away unscathed. You

16:43

there, drink the wounded. I snap at the

16:45

nearest person, hoping my voice

16:47

sounds authoritative. get help.

16:50

Before anyone can think to ask who I

16:52

am or how I had stopped the

16:54

portal, I make a mad dash upstairs.

16:56

I closed the door

16:59

behind me and locked the vault safely

17:01

away from the others. I let out a

17:03

sigh of relief. Save,

17:06

a hysterical chuckle rises from the back of

17:08

mouth road. How could anyone be

17:10

safe here? What kind of

17:12

place housed monsters and

17:14

gateways to to whatever the health technical monsters called

17:16

home. When my employers

17:18

pitched the job to me, I got

17:20

the impression that I was infiltrating

17:22

some COVID government workshop.

17:25

Now though, I'm not so

17:27

sure. All this shit is just too

17:29

strange to be I'm sliding the key

17:31

around my neck again when I think about

17:33

it. It shouldn't exist

17:35

either. It breaks all the rules

17:37

for reality. Was it

17:39

things like my key that these people searched

17:41

for? And then just what exactly

17:43

could this orb thing do? You

17:45

there. Just what do you think you're

17:47

doing, agent? My eyes snap up in time

17:49

to see more men in brown uniforms,

17:51

or I think they're brown.

17:53

The fabric is too blood stained from

17:55

me to be sure. Their expressions are tired

17:57

and haggard, probably from dealing with

17:59

the mess I am leashed. I

18:01

see the unfamiliar linearity flicker across

18:03

their faces. They don't recognize

18:06

me. So I dash across to the opposite vault

18:08

as they reach for their guns. I

18:10

am inserted my key, turned it

18:12

left, and swung the door open.

18:14

The vault thankfully acts

18:16

as a shield. Bullets ricochet

18:18

off the metal with are pings.

18:20

It also protects me from whatever is

18:22

in the vault. It sounds like

18:24

gallons of water being emptied into the hall, followed by

18:26

the sounds of guard screaming. Maybe

18:29

it was a pool of acid. Maybe

18:31

it was filled with sharks.

18:33

Anything seems possible at this point.

18:35

I don't stick around to find out. I

18:37

just run to the nearest vault and unlock

18:40

it. My eyes widen as I

18:42

step inside. This room

18:44

is small than the size of a walk in

18:46

closet. There's a raised

18:48

metal platform at the center and just

18:50

above it is the orb from

18:52

the picture. It hangs above its small

18:54

platform floating without a sound or

18:56

any visible means of suspending it.

18:58

I stepped forward and examined it closely.

19:01

Just like the pictures my clients showed

19:03

me. There's no design or any seams.

19:06

It's smooth all over. I

19:08

reach a hand toward it, but hesitate. Maybe

19:10

it'll grow teeth and bite my arm off,

19:13

or maybe it's some source of

19:15

raw electricity that will fry me where

19:17

I stand. Anything

19:19

seems possible at this point.

19:22

No. Calm down. You idiot.

19:24

I focus on my breathing. And

19:26

let logic catch up with my shock.

19:28

A million bucks. That's

19:30

what the clients are willing to pay for

19:33

this thing. That means that whatever it is,

19:35

it's worth a lot more than a million

19:37

dollars. With a payday that

19:39

big, no one's going to try and miss

19:41

out on it. If this

19:43

theme could kill me just by touching it,

19:45

then there's no way I would ever be able to get it

19:47

back to them. No one throws that

19:49

kind of money away on a

19:51

mark. The logic is sound, but my hand

19:53

still shakes as I reach out and wrap

19:55

my hand around the orb. I

19:57

flinch as it shrinks. But

19:59

there's no painful sensation accompanying its strange metamorphosis.

20:03

It actually goes cooler within the grip

20:05

of my hand, matching my

20:07

body temperature. Lifting

20:10

it, I test the weight in one hand

20:12

before dropping it into the

20:14

other. It's no longer floating

20:16

and barely weighs a thing Smiling for

20:18

the first time since I walked in here,

20:20

I tossed the ball back and forth a couple

20:22

of times before heading back.

20:25

I whistle a jaunty tune as I

20:27

unlock the vault. Mister

20:29

Eman, whoever you are. It's been

20:31

nice doing business with you,

20:33

but hopefully, I'll never see

20:35

you. My face collides with a brown

20:37

wall. Taking a step back, I

20:39

see that it's actually a mountain of man

20:41

in a brown uniform. The other

20:43

two guards with him are only slightly

20:45

smaller. His fist looks more

20:47

intimidating than the gun in his hand.

20:49

The other guards are more preoccupied with the

20:51

charred skeletons littering the

20:53

halls. I guess it's the leftovers

20:55

from whatever I emptied before.

20:57

I no longer have a gun or a good

20:59

explanation for why I'm here with two dead

21:02

bodies. So I swing the hand

21:04

with the orb across the giant chin.

21:06

I might as well have hit him with a feather.

21:08

My hand vibrates from the force

21:10

of the blow, but big, tall,

21:12

and gruesome just grins.

21:14

His smile drops when I swing

21:16

the orb again this time between his

21:19

legs. You might not have had a glass

21:21

chin, but I've yet to meet any man with a

21:23

set of brass balls. I spin and run-in

21:25

the opposite direction. Gunfire

21:27

fills the air, and a piece of

21:29

the wall explodes beside me.

21:31

A serpentine of the hallway. If

21:34

they're going to shoot me, then goddamn

21:36

it, they're going to have to earn

21:38

it. I see a stairwell to the left and

21:40

dodging side, dashing up the

21:42

stairs and into another bland

21:44

hall. Exit. The

21:46

four most beautiful letters in

21:48

the English language. It's right there at the end of the

21:50

hall rushing forward. I

21:52

feel the wind went through my hair and

21:54

laugh when I try the knob. Locked,

21:56

but that's never stopped me before and

21:58

it's not going to stop me now. I

22:01

unlock the door, step outside,

22:03

and immediately get seized by a

22:05

sense of vertigo. My leg dangles over a

22:07

chasm plummeting miles below the ground. That

22:10

shouldn't be possible. I didn't know the

22:12

layout of the place, but

22:14

it's me three stories, not a fucking skyscraper.

22:16

Racing my hands against the sides

22:18

of the door, I managed to hang on to

22:20

dear life without dropping the key

22:22

or the orb. I look left and

22:25

right, but the building doesn't exist past

22:27

the door. Instead, It's

22:29

a frozen white tundra. The front

22:31

half of my body freezes and shakes

22:33

when my rear half sweats. A

22:36

roar in sky forces my eyes

22:38

upward. It has long leathery

22:40

wings and when it roars

22:42

again, flames erupt from

22:44

its mouth Circling, it dives toward

22:46

me. As it grows closer, the

22:48

scales and talent come into sharp

22:50

focus. The fanged mouth open

22:52

and its tongue rolls out, dripping saliva

22:54

that splashes on me like a hot

22:56

heavy rain. Something grips me roughly

22:58

by the neck and flinks me back. I

23:00

don't even mind the shoe pain

23:02

as I land on my back. I'm just grateful to be away from

23:04

those teeth. There's a loud slam.

23:07

My body shakes violently from the cold

23:09

and the shock. Was

23:11

that was that a fucking

23:13

dragon? I suck in deep breaths

23:15

and let the warmth of the room wash over

23:17

me, knowing my shock and

23:19

clearing my vision The snow

23:21

in my hair melts and runs down my eyes

23:23

to only silhouette's tower above

23:25

me. The shadows become more distinct

23:27

and morph into several secure guards,

23:30

six of them, including the guy I

23:32

beamed in the balls earlier. None

23:34

of them look happy, and each of

23:36

them has a gun in their hands, all pointed

23:38

right at me. As I raise

23:40

my hands, I realized that the orb and the key

23:42

are gone. They hoist me up to

23:45

my feet and dragged me a short

23:47

distance. Standing in front of me is

23:49

a man in a business suit and a bow

23:51

tie. Studio's eyes

23:53

examine me behind wire rimmed

23:55

glasses, while the guards frisk me clearly,

23:58

he's the man in charge. Nothing else

24:00

on him, director Myers?

24:03

Good. Myers says, then he was

24:05

only able to procure this item. In

24:07

one hand, he holds the orb, but

24:09

it's not near his soul crushing as what dangles

24:11

from his other hand. The

24:14

key, my only chance of escape, I

24:16

dash forward but get stopped by

24:19

gruesome. He shoves his knee into my

24:21

groin. The force lifts me off the

24:23

ground and I stumble on

24:25

my feet. It feels like the whole weight of my body is

24:27

pouring out of my testicles as I sink to

24:29

the ground. Okay.

24:32

Try it. Cough, then

24:34

try again. Okay. I

24:36

guess I deserved that. It

24:38

looks like the society is up to their

24:40

tricks again. Myers smiles at

24:42

me. At least we have one of their

24:44

agents, prep him for

24:46

interrogation. His tone makes

24:49

interrogation sound an awful lot like torture.

24:52

Whoa. Hold up now. Myers.

24:54

Right? Director Myers, sir? The

24:56

guard looks like he's ready to obliterate

24:58

my nuts again. But Myers

25:00

holds up a hand bidding him to

25:02

wait, and the gargoyle complies

25:04

without hesitation. I'm

25:06

a thief Disgression is one of

25:08

the utmost rules of the

25:10

trade, but there's one rule that trumps that

25:12

one. Self preservation Look,

25:15

I don't know who or what this society

25:17

is. I don't even know what this place

25:19

is. I'm just an independent

25:21

contractor. I nod toward the orb.

25:23

They paid me half a mill to steal that

25:25

thing from you. Keep it. Keep

25:27

my key too. Its magic

25:29

opens up anything with a lock.

25:32

give you the details of my bank

25:34

account. You can use it to trace it back to

25:36

whoever paid me. Magic.

25:39

Myers sized. You

25:41

were just a moron hired by the society,

25:43

aren't you? Do you know what

25:45

this item does? He held

25:47

up the orb toward me and I

25:50

frowned I don't get paid to ask questions.

25:52

Myers, let's go of the orb. It

25:54

drops just a few inches before

25:57

hovering of its own volition again.

25:59

Benny reaches his handout. Once

26:01

more, it shrinks into the shape

26:03

of his palm. He does this again a

26:05

couple of more times for my benefit.

26:07

I scratch my head.

26:11

You'll have to give me a clue. It

26:13

looks like all it does is float and

26:15

shrink. Myers nods. Precisely.

26:17

I don't get it. How does that

26:19

make it worth a million bucks? It

26:22

doesn't you episode? But

26:25

the damages you've done to this site and

26:27

our personnel are priceless.

26:29

His words land like a punch

26:31

to the face. That's why I was

26:34

hired. They didn't want me to steal

26:36

anything. I was just supposed to come in

26:38

and cause as much mayhem as I could

26:40

while I looked for something worthless.

26:42

They weren't looking for a thief, but a

26:44

hand grenade. And no one comes looking

26:46

for a grenade after you pull the pin and chuck

26:48

it at the enemy. No

26:50

doubt they've already cleared your bank account of any transactions.

26:53

The paper trail won't be there.

26:55

The society's methods are almost as

26:57

thorough as our own.

27:00

Myers looks down at my key.

27:02

Still, nothing was

27:04

stolen, and you've revealed vital flaws

27:06

in our society. Above all else we

27:08

have another anomaly to enter into the

27:11

archives, as well as another volunteer for

27:13

d class. I

27:16

blank. What the hell's d

27:18

class? Myers only smiles and

27:20

nods toward gruesome. His

27:22

fist flies so fast, I barely

27:24

see it. There's a thud that I vaguely

27:26

realized is his knuckles cracking

27:28

against my skull. My

27:30

vision blurs as the weight

27:32

gives out from my knees and I collapsed to the floor.

27:35

In appearance,

27:38

SCP five resembles an

27:40

ornate key. Displaying

27:42

the characteristics of a typical mass produced key

27:44

used in the nineteen twenties. The

27:47

key was discovered when a

27:49

used it to infiltrate a high security facility.

27:53

SCP five seems to have the unique

27:55

ability to open any forms of

27:57

locks, beat a mechanical or digital

28:00

with relative ease. The

28:02

origin of this ability has yet to be

28:04

determined While

28:06

SCP five has been shown to be effective

28:08

in removing almost any form of

28:10

locking device. Further experiments,

28:12

have shown that efforts to disguise the

28:15

purpose or identity of a

28:17

lock have proven at least somewhat

28:19

successful in defeating SCP

28:21

five's ability. In approximately

28:23

fifty percent of cases where a volunteer was

28:25

not able to identify a locking device,

28:28

SCP five was not

28:30

successful in deactivating the

28:32

device. Due to these results,

28:35

SCP five has been tentatively classified

28:37

as sentient and further tests are

28:39

being run to determine its

28:41

cognitive abilities.