The Badlands Ballad

Inspiration: Trigun Badlands
THE BADLANDS BALLAD
“Hey, kid,” A voice called to him.
Isaac looked up to see a tall man in a dark navy blue coat and black hat towering above him.
“Ugh, what is it? Whaddyou want?” Isaac mumbled, drowsy and still half asleep from his nap.
“Well, nothin’, really, just wanted to know if you knew where I could find Isaac Bledsoe.”
“Why?”
“Well, see, I served with his father, Jeff, during the war, and recently Jeff died. But before he died he asked me to look after his son until he was old enough to live on his own.”
Isaac jumped up with surprise. “Really?! You served with my father?!”
The man responded with a surprised and worried look.
“Oh, uh,” Isaac said, trying to compose himself, “I mean, what makes you think he’s here?”
The man gave an agitated look. “Look kid,” he said, “Are you Isaac Bledsoe, or not?”
“YES! NOW PUT ME DOWN ALREADY!”
The man let go and Isaac fell with thud.
“So, uh, you said you served with my father during the war, is that true?” Isaac asked, wiping the dirt of his clothes.
“Yeah,” the man said, his face suddenly depressed.
“Oh wow!” Isaac said excitedly, “That’s amazing!”
A sudden realization came to Isaac.
“But wait, was what you said about him dying also true?” Isaac said with a worried look on his face.
The man knelt down to meet eyes with Isaac. “I’m afraid so. Your father, Jeff Bledsoe, is dead.”
Isaac slowly began to cry at the death of his beloved father.
“OW!” The man suddenly yelled, “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!”
Isaac peered over his shoulder to see a beautiful young woman standing behind the man. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a green t-shirt. Her hair was as black as, well, nothing is that black. It was as though she somehow had hair that was darker than black. But her eyes were an emerald green. She also had in her hand an umbrella. But she also looked mad. Very mad.
“God dammit Alex!” she yelled, the fury in her eyes giving her the appearance of a vengeful demon, “Don’t you think you could’ve broken the news to him a little more gently?!”
“What were you expecting, Joy?!” The man, Alex, yelled as he stood up to face her.
As their eyes met, they locked foreheads together and stared intently, as if they were waging a war with their eyes.
Out of nowhere another woman, more beautiful than the first, stepped out from behind the two. She was wearing a yellow sun dress, had red-orange hair with bright blue eyes, and a warm smile on her face.
“Hi sweetie,” she said to Isaac, gently grabbing his hands, “My name is Kate. This man right here in the coat is my husband, Alex. The woman he’s having an intense yet silent argument that seems like could decide the fate of the world with is Joy.”
As soon as Kate spoke, it seemed as though the entire area was in a state of tranquil peace that would last forever.
“H- Hi Kate,” Isaac sobbed.
“Oh, please don’t cry,” Kate said, hugging him, “Just know that everything is going to be alright from here on out now that we’re here, okay?”
“O- Okay,” Isaac whimpered as he hugged her back.
Alex looked onto the scene with a sense of… something… it was a feeling he didn’t recognize by name, but knew he had felt before.
“C’mon, kid” Alex said, kneeling down to pat Isaac on the back, “Let’s go pack up your stuff.”
Isaac let out a sob. “But I don’t have any stuff.”
All at the same time and in perfect sync, Kate, Alex, and Joy each became confused beyond reasoning.
“Uh-“Joy stuttered, “But then what is this place?” She said, gesturing to the door of the building they were standing outside of.
The building itself was definitely nothing to be marveled at. It looked as though it were straight out of a documentary about the Wild West. This seemed hurtfully stereotypical, as they were in the middle of a great big dessert, with no sign of civilization anywhere, except for the city silhouetted against the sunset on the horizon.
“This is just some old hunting cabin that I always use to hide.”
This seemed to puzzle the trio even more.
“Hey, boss,” Blake called out as he and Kevin walked up towards the cabin, “we checked the surrounding area like you said, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else here.”
“Ugh,” Alex sighed in frustration, “What do you mean ‘hunting cabin’? There’s no way there’s anything on this desert planet that could be hunted.”
“Um actually,” Kevin interjected, “This planet wasn’t always like this.”
“Who the hell are you?” Joy said, her hand over her eye patch, ready to fight.
“That’s Kevin Conary,” Alex answered.
“What?! You mean, that’s George’s son?!” Joy exclaimed.
“Yep,” Blake said.
“Ugh, taking in two kids in one day, are you serious?” Joy complained.
“Well, look on the bright side,” Kate said.
“Well?” Joy responded.
“Oh, y’know, I honestly can’t think of one right now,” Kate giggled.
“ERRRR!” Joy moaned, then walked away saying, “Fucking bullshit brats.”
“Oh!” Alex said, “I just realized! Kevin! You live on this planet.”
“Uh, yeah, that’s kind of obvious,” Kevin mumbled under his breath.
“So, do you know this kid?” Alex asked.
Kevin stared intently at Isaac before moving up for a closer look.
“Uh, no, can’t say I’ve seen him before.”
“Damn. So then you don’t know where he actually lives, then, huh,” Alex said.
“Oh, well don’t have a home,” Isaac explained.
“What?!” They all exclaimed in surprise except for Blake.
“Well, see, when my Mom died, my Dad started acting different. Then, one night, he said he was going to go to the bar to ask if anyone could provide him with a job to help pay the bills, but he never came home. Eventually some men in suits came to my house and told me that I had to leave. So, I came here, where I usually played with my friends. I’ve been all alone out here ever since.”
“I see,” Alex said, “Well, you’re not anymore. C’mon, let’s go.”
“Uh, sir,” Blake interjected.
“Dammit Blake, can’tcha see I’m tryin’ to have a moment here?!” Alex said.
“But sir, those men in suits were probably the IRS coming to reclaim everything that Jeff owned, meaning-“
“Meaning Jeff’s debts probably haven’t been repayed,” Alex said, finishing Blake’s sentence.
“Well what makes you think that?” Kevin asked.
“Well,” Blake said, “If Jeff had had any relatives, they probably would’ve heard about Jeff’s disappearance, and would’ve come to take care of Isaac already. You see, the Jeff started years ago. So, since no family has been contacted yet, he must have none. Meaning there was no one to repay his debts.”
“Started? Started what?” Kevin asked.
“Never mind that. What’s important right now is that we repay those debts for him. Or else they’ll be given to Isaac as soon as he turns 18, only it’ll cost more due to interest,” Alex said.
“But wait,” Kevin said, “Who the hell is this Jeff you keep talking about?”
“Jeff Bledsoe,” Alex said.
Kevin immediately knew who they were speaking of.

Years ago, a man named Geoff Bledsoe was walking home from the bar drunk off his ass. He was seething with rage at the fact that none of the people whom he thought were his friends had agreed to lone him some money so that he could take care of his son. But while he was walking home, he came across those same people who dared to call themselves his ‘friends’.
“Ehehe,” he laughed maniacally, “Hey guys.”
They all turned around to see him holding a piece of glass tightly in his hand.
“CHECK IT OUT, I FOUND A SHIV, BITCH!” he yelled before lunging at the closest man and tackling him to the ground. He then began stabbing the man, over and over again.
In total, he stabbed each of the three men 37 times in the chest.
After that night, he had a very high bounty of 45 million bitcoins on his head. A bounty given to him by the government for killing 3 senators.

As soon as Kevin came to this realization, ha was about to argue against paying the man’s debts, when he saw that Alex’s eyes were glued to him.
Alex was giving Kevin a look that said “I swear to god, you’d better shut your fucking mouth now before I rip it off, boil it, mash it, stick it in a stew, and serve it at a fancy restaurant to some rich assholes, saying some bullshit like ‘it’s a French delicacy’.”
Scared for his life, Kevin kept his mouth shut.
“Alright, now let’s go into that city, find the bank Geoff used, and repay his debts,” Alex said heroically.
“Sir, we don’t even have enough money,” Blake pointed out.
“What do you mean?”
“Well sir,” Blake continued, “By my estimates, Geoff was probably at least 34 million bitcoins in debt.”
“WHAT?!” Alex yelled, “WE DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY! Oh! Yes we do! We just got 45 million bitcoins for, uh, that last job we did. Yeah, y’know, that one, haha,” Alex laughed nervously.
“But Alex,” Kate whispered in his ear, “That was 45 million bitcoins if we caught Geoff alive, and 30 if dead.”
“Hey,” Joy interjected, shouting from a few dozen yards away over at the ship, “Maybe those guys could spare some cash!”
Everyone turned to look where Joy was pointing, only to see a plume of dust coming their way. But it was what was causing the plume of dust that really worried the group.
It was a large group of people, most likely thieves, that seemed to be very hungry.
As the thieves drew closer, Alex noticed that they had a tank.
“OH SHIT!” Kevin yelled, before cowering behind Blake.
Blake grabbed the handle of one of the swords on his belt and popped it out a few inches, ready to fight.
“Stand down, Blake,” Alex said as he walked away from the cabin and towards the oncoming gang, “I’ve got this.”
The moment the thieves arrived, the tank parked horizontally from Alex, as if providing cover to the thieves on foot. But suddenly, two more tanks appeared from out of the dust plume, and took positions on either side of the first tank.
Alex grinned with excitement.
Suddenly, the first tank’s hood popped open, and out stepped a man clad in a brown cloak. He had brown hair and brown eyes, as well as a brown mustache.
The man hopped off the tank, and swaggered up to face Alex.
“So,” the man said, “You’re Alex Maynord. Hmph. I imagined you to be… more muscular.”
“And who might you be?” Alex demanded.
“Hahaha! I’m glad you asked! I am the great and powerful Keith!” The man boasted.
Joy covered her mouth to hide her smile, but still giggled at the man. She then broke into full laughter.
“WHAT’S SO FUNNY?!” Keith shouted.
“It’s just, your name is Keith! I mean, can you honestly imagine someone saying ‘Oh, watch out for that Keith! He’ll getcha!’ And actually being serious?” Joy said.
“So then, Keith,” Alex interjected, “What is it exactly that you want?”
“RESPECT GOD DAMMIT!” Keith yelled, his face now less than an inch away from Alex’s, “It’s people like that bitch over there that really piss me off! I’ve never been able to get respect from anyone thanks to this god awful name my mother gave me.”
“Well then why don’t you just go by a nickname or something?” Kevin suggested.
“DAMMIT! THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! I WANT PEOPLE TO RESPECT AND FEAR ME BY MY REAL NAME, KEITH HUMPERDINK!”
With this revelation, Joy, Kevin, Isaac, and Kate all burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Hahaha! His last name is Humperdink!” Joy burst out while laughing.
“Well then tell me, Mr. Humperdink, if no one respects you, then who the hell are all of these guys?” Alex asked, gesturing to all the men around the tanks.
“Why these are my men of course! They also bear the same burden that I do!” Keith answered.
“You mean they’re all named Keith, too?” Alex asked.
“Er, well, sort of. Some of them are named Keith, but others just had parents who were complete assholes and decided to name their children ridiculous things. Like Hugh over here,” Keith said while pointing to the front of the tank.
“Uh, who?” Alex pondered.
“Wha? Oh, right sorry, Hugh’s one of our tank drivers. HEY HUGH! WHY DON’T YA COME OUT HERE AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF!”
Suddenly, a man’s head popped out of the entrance. He had a very burly and almost comical black mustache, along with several black streaks of grease across his face.
“Hi! I’m Hugh Janus! Nice ta meet ya!” The man said.
Joy and Kevin now burst out in laughter, complaining that their sides were hurting.
“Oh, please, no more, you’re killing me,” Kevin said.
Hugh then started crying and yelled, “I HATE YOU GUYS!” before crawling back inside of the tank.
“NO! HUGH, WAIT!” Keith yelled, “GAH! NOW LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE! YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!”
Keith pulled out from his belt his revolver and pointed it straight at Alex’s face.
With this, everyone got quiet.
“WAIT! BOSS!” A voice called from inside one of the tanks, “Are you sure you wanna do that?! That’s the guy who was able to defeat ‘Jagged’ Jeff Bledsoe! He killed the guy without even breaking a sweat!”
“AH! WHAT?!” Keith yelled, “THAT CAN’T BE!”
“NO, BOSS, IT’S TRUE!” Another voice called out.
Keith’s legs began to shake in fear.
“Still wanna shoot me?” Alex said, “Go ahead, try it. I fucking dare you.”
“Eh, ah, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! FUCK YOU!!!” Keith then pulled the trigger, put the gun was for some reason pointing upwards now.
“AH! WHAT THE-“ Keith managed to say before Alex sent him flying.
What Alex had done was, just before he pulled the trigger, Alex ducked down, hi kicked Keith’s hand so the gun was pointing upwards, punched Keith in the leg, then headbutted Keith in the chest as he fell, sending Keith flying backwards towards the tank, and the revolver spinning away in the opposite direction.
“SIR!” Hugh yelled as he jumped out, grabbed Keith, and pulled him back into the tank.
“EVERYBODY FALL BACK!!” Keith ordered.
Suddenly, the tanks had driven away leaving nothing but a cloud of dust.
Kate was distracted by the fighting, and wasn’t paying attention to the fact that Isaac had run out to grab the revolver.
As soon as Alex turned around, he saw Isaac standing there, 10 feet in front of him, pointing the gun at him.
“You,” Isaac said, “It was you, wasn’t it. IT WAS YOU WHO KILLED MY FATHER!” Isaac fired the gun at Alex, but missed completely.
“Heh,” Alex said, dipping his head, “You’re right. And you should’ve seen it too, the way he was begging for mercy like a coward,” Alex said as he slowly began to walk towards Isaac.
“STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU JACKASS!” Isaac yelled as he fired another bullet, this time shooting off Alex’s hat.
“What is he doing?” Kevin said.
“Leave him be. He knows exactly how to handle these kinds of situations,” Blake said.
“MY FATHER WAS NOT A COWARD!” Isaac yelled as he fired off another bullet, this time grazing Alex’s cheek, and making him bleed.
Alex looked up at Isaac, and what Isaac saw still haunts him to this day. He saw Alex in his most feared look, the look of a demon.
“OH, BUT HE WAS!” Alex screamed, as though he were a psychopath, “That man loved to shank people from behind before stealing their money and defiling their corpses!”
“YOU SHUT UP! MY FATHER WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!” Isaac yelled as he fired yet another bullet, this time grazing Alex’s ear.
“Oh, but alas he did,” Alex cheered in an Irish accent, “I’m terribly sorry, young lad, but I’m afraid that after the war, yer precious papa still had a taste far blood, one that made him fall into a deep depression over.”
“SHUT UP!!” Isaac yelled before firing the gun, this time nailing Alex in the chest.
Alex now grabbed Isaac by his collar, pulled him up to his face, and said in his original voice, “Oh, NOW I get it. Little boy wanna play creepy pasta roleplay, is it? JUST YOUR FATHER! But what’re you going to do next, hmm?!”
Isaac took that bottom of the handle, and swung it at the side of Alex’s head, but Alex stopped him by grabbing his hand. He then let go of Isaac and let him drop to the ground.
Alex took the revolver, pointed it at Isaac’s head, and pulled the trigger.
CLICK.
Alex threw the gun away.
“And that’s exactly what got that dumb bastard killed. He became so immersed in his own little fantasy world that he just started killing, raping, and maiming whenever he pleased.”
Alex then went to go pick up his hat. But as soon as he did so, he said, “But you listen, and you listen good, kid. If you wanna be like your dear old dad and become a psychopath, fine by me. It’ll just give me another bounty to round up, thus putting more money in my pocket. Just make sure that you don’t also kill your wife, like he did.”
“No,” Isaac said, crying, “No, that can’t be true. He told me she died because a poisonous snake bit her.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Isaac, when you grow up, just make sure you remember these two important things: Don’t trust anything you hear, and no matter what anybody does, there is never any rest for the wicked.”
And with that, the crew flew off the planet, with their new crew member, Kevin, on board.

And So It Begins

Yesterday I had an assignment in Creative Writing to take one sentence from the article "She Thinks I Don't Know" and make it into a story, but I had to finish it by the end of class. And here it is. "You Make Me Sick"-Egypt Central

Part 1

Inspirations:
“You Make Me Sick” –Egypt Central

She Thinks I Don’t Know

I hug my knees to my chest and press my back against the cold metal of my bed. I hear him opening the fridge door in the kitchen. ‘That bastard’ I think to myself ‘He’s doing it again. He’s drinking.’
My name is Kevin Conary. I am 14 years old, and I live in a run-down old house with my father, George Conary, my mother, my younger sister, and youngest brother. My father is an alcoholic, and sometimes beats us. He doesn’t beat me anymore, but he said that it’s because when I got in a fight in school when I was 12, I proved myself ‘worthy’, whatever that means. But he still beats my younger brother and sister, and even beats my mom. The only reason my mom doesn’t do anything about it is because she’s too afraid. We’re all too afraid to do anything. I still don’t understand why my mom married him. She makes up excuses for him, saying things like ‘It’s because of what happened to him during the war’ and ‘It’s just a one-time thing. He’s not going to do this again, I promise.’
I hear him pop the cap off a beer bottle, drink it, and then sigh. He slams the door closed and goes back to the couch to watch TV. The TV blares all throughout the ‘house’, if you could even call it that. I clench my fists tightly out of anger and frustration, but my fingernails are sharp and uncut, and I end up cutting my palm. As the blood seeps through my finger tips, I contemplate and plan what I would do if I could make him stop.
Creeeek. “Kevin?” my little sister pokes her head through my door after carefully creaking it open.
“What’s wrong Melona?” I respond.
“Can I sit with you?” She answers, “I was gonna sit in the family room, but dad’s in there.”
“Come on,” I said, patting the bed.
She walked over and reached her little arms out in a ‘help me up’ gesture. I pulled her up onto my bed and sat her next to me. She had her favorite pink blanket and stuffed bear with her, and she hugged them tight as she rested her head on my shoulder.
“Why does he do this?” she asked, “Why does he drink the way he does?”
“I don’t know Melona,” I responded, “I just don’t know.”
I looked down at her and saw she was asleep. I decided to follow her lead and also try and get some rest.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!” my mom screamed.
I jolted awake. “Mom?!” I yelled.
I looked next to me and saw Melona was no longer by my side. I ran out into the hallway to see what was going on. When I got out there and looked down the hall towards the family room, I saw my father standing there, a blood covered knife in his hand, and the dead body of Melona lying on the floor in front of him. I got in the hallway just in time to see him stab my mother.
I backwards onto the floor, and backed against the wall. Then, the rage hit me. I stood up, prepare to strike him, when I heard a voice calling to me.
‘You’re not going to be able to do it’ the voice said, ‘At least, not without me’
I turned to look into my parents’ bedroom, where the voice was coming from. Ignoring my mother’s cries for help, I ventured into the room, and saw on the dresser a ring the color of ice. It was surrounded by a dry ice-like fog.
‘That’s right’ the voice said, ‘Come on now. I won’t bite. Just pick me up, put me on, and I’ll help you’
And then, I blacked out.
When I regained consciousness, my father was standing in front of me, mouth gaping open, and blood flowing out of it. I looked down at his chest and saw that there was a giant ice spike stabbing him. I followed the spike to its source, and saw it was coming from the ring, which was now on my hand. I quickly pulled the spike away and out of my father’s chest, and the ice immediately disappeared. My father went tumbling onto the now blood stained floor, next to my mother and sister.
‘I’ve killed him’ I thought to myself, ‘what have I done? They’re dead.’
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” I heard from the room down the hall.
“Josh,” I said to myself. I started to walk towards him, but stopped dead in my tracks.
‘No,’ I thought, ‘I can’t. I have to run away.’
I ran out the door without a second thought. I didn’t know where exactly I was going, I just knew I was going.

Part 2

Inspirations:
“Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” –Cage the Elephant

MANY MONTHS LATER
If there's one thing I should have known, it’s that there are no second chances in life. Once you’ve done something, it’s done, and it cannot be erased or forgotten. Instead you just have to try to get over it, move on with your life, and hope things get better.
But I didn’t know that, and I had to figure it out the hard way. By losing my family and all I held dear to me. By becoming a beast of a man. By running from my former life and living out on the streets alone. I had just about given up on life until one day, a man walked up to me and said, “Are you Kevin Conary?”
I was sitting on the sidewalk, laying against the brick wall of some building, too starved to stay alive. “Y-yes”, I managed to say.
He then kneeled in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders and said, “My name is Alex. I served with your father during the war.”
At the mention of my father, I immediately clenched my fists in rage and fury. “Shut up,” I said.
“I’m sorry?”
“I SAID SHUT UP!” I yelled louder now, “I don’t want to hear a god damn thing about that man.”
“Look,” he said, grabbing the sides of my head with both hands, “I know what you did. I know you killed him. But I don’t give a shit. He may have been my comrade during the war, but that didn’t mean I liked him. I just want to help you.
“What you have here,” he said pulling up my hand to display the ring I had on it that was once my father’s, “Is a very dangerous power, and those who don’t know how to use it, but use it anyways, will nine times out of ten end up killing everyone around them. I just want to help.” With this, his grip on me loosened, and he sat next to me against the wall.
“Y’know kid, I used to be just like you. Confused, angry, hurt, angsty, etc. But then I met this girl. She later turned out to be the love of my life, and later we got married. Now, we have two adopted children, and have been living happily for hundreds of years,” he said.
“Hundreds of years?!?!” I yelled in astonishment.
“That’s right, kid. I’m immortal. And so is the rest of my crew. And just about every other Holder there’s ever been. But,” he continued, “Most Holders don’t survive on their own. In fact, chances are, you’ll die in a few days.
“Unless,” he said, standing up now and reaching out his hand, “You join my crew.”
I hesitated and stared at his hand. Then, I grabbed it, he pulled me up, and we shook hands.
“So,” he said, “We got a deal?”
“Yeah,” I said, “We got a deal.”


TO BE CONTINUED

The Hunter

As the trail loops back to the east, the group starts to feel the miles in their tired muscles. For five hours, they have trekked along a winding trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in eastern Tennessee. Occasionally, a member of the group pauses to take a long sip from his water bottle, but other than that, they keep walking.
By five o’clock, the sun lazily hovers above a ridge in the distance. Though not in a rush, they know they will need to make camp soon. Alex, in the lead, turns to signal to the others, but something seems out of place. Puzzled, he begins counting… one, two, three, four, five. Odd – there should be six of them. Peering into the distance, he looks farther down the trail, but no one is there. The others turn, and the realization dawns on them as well. Where is Adam?
Just then, a loud screech fills the air, followed by a horrendous scream, and then silence. They know where he is now. He is dead. Like another ten survivors of B Company of the 209th Army, he has fallen behind, and has been either eaten by the dangerous creatures that inhabit the area, or he was murdered by an Onagan scout party.
“Come on,” Alex commanded, his voice hoarse from severe thirst, “We have to keep moving.”
And so, Alex led the other four remaining survivors, Ted, George, Kyle, and Nathan, further up the mountain, seeking refuge in the small town located there, called Brownsboro, which was an old mining town.

“But Alex,” George argued, “what about Adam?”
“What do you mean?” Alex asked.
“Well what if he’s alive?” George suggested.
“He’s dead, George,” Alex replied, “And you know as well as I do that Adam would want us to leave him behind even if he were alive. Besides, I think I know what killed him.”
“Well what the fuck does that mean?” Kyle asked, hands on his knees and out of breath.
“I think we’re being followed,” Alex stated.
“Followed?” Ted repeated, “By what?”
“Not what,” Alex answered, “Who.”
The rest of the group took a moment to ponder over what he meant.
“Wait, you don’t mean by the Onagans, do you?” Nathan asked, beginning to panic.
“Exactly so,” Alex confirmed, “Now come on, we need to find somewhere to make camp before the sun goes down.”
“There’s no point!” Nathan argued, beginning to get into a frenzy, “They’re just gonna kill us!”
“Nathan, calm down!” George said, grabbing his shoulders, “Get a hold of yourself!”
“No! No! No! No!” Nathan continued as he wriggled free of George’s grasp. Nathan then began to hallucinate. “Ahhh!” he yelled, “There they are!” he said pointing behind the group towards some brush.
The rest of the group turned around only to find a lizard. When they looked back, they say Nathan teetering towards the edge of the Cliffside.
“Nathan!” Alex yelled, “Just calm down, and come back away from the cliff.”
At this point, Nathan began hallucinating that the others were actually Onagans in disguise. “No! Back away!” Nathan yelled as his feet were right on the edge. Nathan craned his neck to look at the steep drop to the chasm below them. “You’ll never take me alive, you Onagan bastards!” he yelled. Out of nowhere, Nathan spun around and dove off the cliff to his death, and he fell to the bottom with a splat.
“NATHAN!” Ted yelled, trying to reach out to stop him, but George held him back.
“Forget about it Ted!” George said, “He’s gone.”
Alex let go of Ted as soon as he stopped struggling seconds later.
“He’s gone,” Ted said with a look of disbelief on his face, “He’s actually gone. He just…gave up.” Ted was struck by the realization that his best friend just killed himself.
“Look, I know you and him were friends,” Alex said, trying to comfort him, “But we have to move on.”
“Uh, guys,” Kyle said, “Isn’t that an Onagan right there?”
The rest of the group spun around only to see the exact same brush they say before when Nathan was hallucinating. They gave him a look that said, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, not there, there,” Kyle said pointing further down the road at an Onagan who was peeking around a corner. The Onagan, at the mention of him, then stepped out from around the corner to reveal himself. He was a Hunter. Hunters were Onagans that sought out and killed important enemies, such as SCP Users, Holders, and Generals. This one in particular had a sniper rifle strapped across his back, a shotgun in hand, and a curved sword which was sheathed. The curved sword was the standard melee weapon assigned to Hunters, with the basic appearance of an Arabian sword, but on one edge had sharp points, giving it the appearance of having teeth. When the Hunter came around the corner, he grinned devilishly and cocked his weapon, while giving them a ‘hungry’ look from his eyes.
“Run!” Alex ordered.
The group called upon their remaining strength, and set off sprinting further up the mountain, with the Hunter close on their feet.

As they continued running, the sun did the same. Eventually, it was so dark, that they could barely even see each other. If The Hunter was human, then that would’ve meant that they could relax, because then he wouldn’t be able to see either. But The Hunter had advanced technology that let him see perfectly in the night, as though it were a bright sunny day. So they kept running, simply keeping track of each other by the sound of each other’s footsteps.
After awhile, they all noticed Alex had come to a stop.
“What are we stopping for?” George panted, breathless and puzzled.
“He’s stopped,” Alex answered.
“Wha-…..Huh?” George responded still as confused and breathless as before, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I mean The Hunter stopped chasing us,” Alex explained vaguely.
“How do you know?” asked Kyle.
“Even Onagans need to take a break every once in awhile,” Alex explained, more clearly this time, “Although Onagans are superior to humans in many ways, their basic strength that can be accessed when not under stress is still less than the immense strength humans can call upon when in stressful circumstances. Like ours.”
“Look,” Ted intervened, “Either way, that doesn’t matter. As the highest ranking person here, I’m in charge, and I say we keep moving.”
“Hate to break it to you Ted,” Kyle interjected, “But you and Alex are technically the same rank. Holders might have a different ranking system, but he’s still your equal. Meaning your both the highest ranking ones here.”
“Look,” Alex said to Ted, “Just trust me on this. We can take some time to rest right now, but we will have to wake up before sunrise.”
“Why sunrise?” Ted grudgingly asked.
“Because that’s how long The Hunter will probably be sleeping,” Alex replied.
Ted looked around at the others, taking in all the information of the situation before making a decision. “Alright, fine,” Ted said, “But where exactly do you suggest we rest?”
“Right under there,” Alex said, pointing to a nearby tree.
The group was only able to vaguely see what Alex was speaking of, but it was because their eyes were still adjusting to the surrounding darkness.
“Alright,” Kyle said, “Well then, Alex, do ya mind using your powers to start us a fire or make a tent or something?”
Alex gave him an annoyed expression, while his eyes said “Shut the fuck up, moron”.
“Okay, never mind I guess,” Kyle said, “I guess we’ll just sleep on the ground.”
The group waddled over towards the base of the tree, and lay down for the night.

The next morning, the group was suddenly awoken by the cry of a dying animal, most likely being killed by The Hunter. It was just minutes after sunrise, so the group decided to continue forward. The entire time they trudged onward, they each knew in the back of their minds that The Hunter was watching from the shadows, but they didn’t say a thing about it. Instead, they did their best to ignore while still being wary of it, so that they could continue on towards the safety of Brownsboro.

As the group began to approach Brownsboro, they noticed something incredibly strange. Mainly that there was no noise. Everything was silent. There was no commotion, no talking, there was just nothing. Puzzled by this, the group continued.
Eventually, they came to the entrance of the town and were horrified. Bodies of men, women, and children littered the streets which were now stained red from blood. There were buildings which were in ruins, with giant man-sized holes in the walls. But what horrified them even more was that there was but one Onagan body. But not just any kind of Onagan, a Hunter.
“So, I see you’ve discovered my secret,” a voice said from behind them.
Everyone immediately spun around, ready to attack whoever was there. But what they saw was the Hunter with his weapons tucked away. And he grabbed his face, undid a latch, and the mask fell off. The Hunter was a human, it turned out, and he had a very pale face with red eyes.
“You see,” The Hunter continued, “The Onagan Empire is very mighty and all powerful. How could I not resist but to take up on the bounty on this things head,” he said, pointing towards the Onagans corpse, “The fucking traitor tried to help this little town, and so the Onagan Empire hired me to eradicate not just the treacherous Onagan, but also any and all humans who resided here. I would say they fought well, but they were shit at it.
“And now,” he said putting back on his mask and drawing his weapon, “It’s your turn to die.”
Suddenly the Hunter lunged at the group with his sword in hand, prepared to strike down the closest person in range, which just so happened to be Kyle. Or at least it was until Alex acted.
Alex, being the Holder of both Creation AND Imagination, imagined the feel of his katana in his hand, and within milliseconds it was there. He then quickly stepped in front of Kyle, shoving him to the ground, and parried the Hunters attack with such force that the Hunter was sent stumbling back in surprise.
“Oooohoho,” the Hunter chuckled, “Looks like we’ve got a badass over here.”
Suddenly the Hunter wasn’t standing where he was anymore, and was behind Alex somehow, as though he had teleported, and while bringing his sword down on Alex’s head, he yelled, “Too bad it won’t be for very much longer!”
But George, being the Holder of Ice, blocked the attack by placing his arm over Alex’s head and in the path of the sword. George was not hurt because he had covered his arm in ice before doing so. But the Hunter’s strike still broke through the ice, and George, astonished by this, was left wide open.
But Alex quickly limboed under George’s arm, and struck out at the Hunter with his katana. But the Hunter was too fast, and immediately blocked the attack with his sword, and then leapt backwards in the direction of Ted, did a complete 180 degrees turn in mid-air, and landed on Ted’s chest with his sword buried in it.
Kyle immediately acted by drawing his gun and trying to shoot the Hunter, but Kyle was too slow and the Hunter scuttled off into one of the nearby buildings, leaving the group to be distracted with Ted’s injury. Or so he thought.
Without even realizing it, the Hunter had stabbed Ted in the heart, killing him instantly.
As Kyle and George stood there, mortified by the loss of their comrade, Alex acted quickly.
“Come on,” Alex commanded, “We’ll deal with him later, he’s already dead.”
Kyle immediately came to his senses and took what remaining ammunition Ted still had on him, and went to follow Alex and George as they pursued the Hunter into the building.
But the Hunter had been expecting this. Before even going out on his task to kill the remaining survivors of B Company of the 209th Army, the Hunter had suspected that he would be able to herd them into Brownsboro, which is why before leaving, he had set up a multitude of traps.
As Alex ran through the threshold of the door of the building the Hunter had entered, he noticed the gleam of a wire in the doorframe, and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Stop,” he said holding his hand up to the others, “It’s a trap. He’s probably got the whole place rigged.”
“Well then for all we know, he could have the whole town covered in traps,” Kyle added.
“Right you are,” the Hunter’s voice said from behind them.
Kyle spun around just in time to look into the barrel of the Hunter’s shotgun, which was now staring him in the face, before getting his head blown off.
The Hunter then immediately ran off while laughing manically.
Alex and George, now covered in blood from their dead friend, wiped their face with their sleeves, and chased after the Hunter.
But as they ran down the road on which they last saw the Hunter on, the Hunter snuck up behind George, and raised his sword, prepared to strike.
But Alex, being clever as usual, anticipated this move and had already materialized his pistol, so when the Hunter raised his sword, Alex simply shot it out of his hand.
The Hunter panicked and tried to get out his shotgun, but George used his powers to freeze the gun to the Hunter hand, making it so that he could not use it, and Alex put the barrel of his pistol right to the Hunter’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.
As the Hunter’s brains splattered everywhere, the two felt an adrenaline rush that came from the sweet revenge for the brutal and inhumane deaths of their friends and comrades.

After the fight, Alex and George took Kyle’s and Ted’s bodies and buried them. They then searched the town for the radio station, which they found still intact. They called for an evacuation, and they got one. The town of Brownsboro has since been blocked off from the outside world because during the investigation of how everything happened there, they found dangerous chemicals in the air that had been released from one of the traps that the Hunter had made, but was set off by a rat scurrying around of the houses.

The DeathS of the 169th Army

As she ran for her life from the terrible beast in pursuit of her, Sierra Celestia Pelletier, a cyborg child tested upon by her father who was a scientist, was beginning to run out of breath for the first time since she was turned into this monstrosity. She was being chased by an Onaga, an alien race that had invaded Earth in the year 2467.
Two years ago, Sierra’s father, Dr. Stephan Pelletier, was conducting research on immortality when he came to the conclusion that robotic recreation was the best way of doing it. His daughter, sickly and dying, was only six years old. He cared for and loved her so much. She meant the world to him, especially after his wife, Monroe, died during the childbirth, and he wasn’t about to lose her. This is why, despite never being tested before, he used his new invention on her. The invention was supposed to replace her skin and organs with artificial replacements. But something went terribly wrong, and many parts of her body were disintegrated and replaced with metal parts, before exploding. Sierra survived the explosion, feeling better than ever, but her father did not have the same luck. A few days after that, the government sent soldiers from the military to investigate the explosion. One of the soldiers, a Holder by the name of Blake Stille, found Sierra cowering in a corner underneath a pile of rubble, absolutely terrified. Blake, being the Holder of Devotion, was a very kind and caring father figure to Sierra. He vowed to take care of her for the rest of her life. Blake took Sierra with him wherever his Company was told to go. Their current location: The Ural Mountains. They were sent to investigate an old conspiracy theory about 9 hikers being abducted and killed by aliens in the year 1953. Their findings: an Onagan base, built hundreds of years ago. But now, they were in deep trouble.
“Blake!” Sierra called out, desperately trying to find her adoptive father, knowing he would protect her.
“Sierra!” she heard a familiar voice call out.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down the Onaga chasing her. Out of the shadows appeared John Champbell, one of Blake’s squad mates, whom Sierra thought of as an uncle.
“Uncle John!” Sierra said as she ran into the man’s arms, “Where’s Blake?” she asked with a worried twinkle in her eyes.
“More importantly,” John said, “Where are the soldiers we assigned to protect you at the campsite?”
“We were attacked,” Sierra replied, “They told me to go find you or Blake.”
Just then there was a gut-wrenching scream from down the mountain where the campsite was. And then, a flash of orange light.
“Oh no,” John said.
“What?” Sierra asked, “What is it? What does it mean?”
“It means they’re dead,” John said with a morbid expression, “Come on. We have to find Blake and get out of here.”
“No need,” Blake said as he walked up to join them, ”We need to get out of here at all costs.”
“But what about the others?” John asked.
“There’s no time. Besides,” he said pulling a bulky piece of machinery out of a sack, “They knew what they signed up for.”
The piece of machinery was in the shape of a rough cube, and was glowing a harsh reddish purple.
“What is it?” Sierra asked, mesmerized by the beauty of the object.
“It’s a copy of their database,” Blake said, as he quickly tucked it away so as not to draw attention, “Come on, let’s go.”
“But Blake,” John argued,” What about Sierra?”
“What about Sierra?” Blake asked, confused.
“Look at what she’s wearing!” John said.
Sierra was still wearing her night gown, a frilly, silky, pink dress, and had on bright red rain boots, obviously to protect her feet from the snow, and had on what appeared to be one of the soldier’s coats, but was soaking wet from when she tripped. Her night gown’s exotic color complimented her deep violet hair.
Blake contemplated the suggestion as he looked out over what was once the campsite. “We can’t go back. What I found while scoping out their ship was horrifying,” he explained,” They’ve been conducting experiments on humans for years. In fact, they’re probably the cause for the sudden disappearance of the Mansi people.”
“Who are the Mansi?” Sierra asked.
“They were the people who were native to this land,” John explained, ”But, that doesn’t mean we can’t do something.”
“I also found a breeding ground,” Blake said, ”and a massive one at that. I was able to save some hikers while I was there. They should be waiting for us at the base of the mountain. But we’ll have to be careful, there could be scout parties looking for survivors.”
“Alright,” John said, ”Well then let’s go.”
And the group set off towards the base of the mountain.


A FEW DAYS EARLIER
“Alright, listen up mates,” Colonel Sceoten ordered, his Australian accent heavier than ever before, ”We’ve got orders from headquartas. We’re goin’ ta Russia. More specifically, we’re goin’ to Kholat Syakhl in the Ural Mountain range. Apparently, in 1959, noine hoikas went missing there, and were all found dead by mysterious and unknown causes. Headquartas thinks it moight be that the Onaga have a ship there, and have been kidnapping hoikas since the beginning of the 19th century. We have been assigned to investigate the situation, and, if we do find an Onagan base, destroy it. We leave tomorraw at O’six hundred hours. Dismissed.”


[Later that night]
When Blake got back to his room after his shift, he lifted out his sack from under his bunk. But the sack was mysteriously heavier than normal. Upon opening the sack, he found that Sierra was lying inside of it.
As soon as the light from the outside world shone on her face, and she saw Blake, she gave him a playful smile.
“Sierra,” Blake said, ”What are you doing?”
“I’m going with you!” Sierra said enthusiastically.
“Sierra,” Blake said as he kneeled down in front of her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and looked her in the eye, ”You’re not coming with.”
“Wha-what?” Sierra whimpered.
“Sierra, this mission is too dangerous, and I don’t want you to get hurt,” he explained.
“But I won’t get hurt, I promise,” Sierra begged, ”I’ll just stay out of the way, but please let me come with you.”
“Sierra, that’s just not good enough,” Blake said, ”Not only are we probably going to be fighting the Onaga, but this in Siberia, one of the coldest places on Earth. Even if we don’t fight any Onaga, there’s still the possibility that you could freeze to death.”
“But-“ Sierra tried to argue.
“No buts, Sierra. You’re staying here with Captain Board,” Blake commanded.
“Okay,” Sierra said, heartbroken.
“Now go to sleep,” Blake said as he lifted Sierra to her bunk above his.
“Goodnight, Blake,” Sierra said with a whimper.
“Goodnight Sierra,” He said as he kissed her forehead, ”I love you.”



[The next morning]
“Hey, has anyone seen Sierra?” Blake continued to ask everyone he came across as he ran around the base in search of Sierra.
Earlier that morning, when Blake woke up, he was surprised to see that Sierra was not still in bed, sound asleep and refusing to wake up. He assumed she must have gone to the mess hall already to eat breakfast, but when he got there, he found she wasn’t there. Blake had begun to worry, and started running all around the base to try and find her.
“Second Lieutenant Stoille!” shouted Colonel Sceoten, ”C’mere!”
“Yes, sir?” Blake asked as he ran up to the Colonel and saluted him.
“We’re leaving in ten minutes. Get your stuff, and get on that ship!” the Colonel ordered.
“But, sir, what about Sierra?”
“Wot about Sierra?” the Colonel asked, confused.
“Well, I can’t seem to find her anywhere sir. She’s missing, ”Blake explained.
“Why don’t you let me handle that, son,” Captain Board said to Blake as he walked up to stand alongside him and put his hand on Blake’s shoulder.
“Thank you Captain,” Blake said as he ran off to get his bag.
“No problem,” Captain Board yelled so Blake could hear him.

LESS THAN A FEW DAYS LATER
As he was unloading the ship, Blake noticed a bag that no one had claimed. And on top of that, it looked like it was his, even though he had already put away his things. As he stared at the bag intently, he saw that something inside of it moved. Then he realized that Sierra had snuck on board.
“Sierra!” Blake yelled
“No,” Sierra’s muffled voice responded from inside the bag, “No one is here. Go away please.”
Blake walked up to the bag and violently picked it up with no regard to Sierra’s safety, so as to teach her a lesson.
“Ow,” Sierra whined from inside the bag, “What was that for?!”
“For disobeying me,” Blake answered, while walking non chalantly towards his tent so that none of his superior officers would get suspicious.
“I did no such thing!” Sierra argued.
Blake tugged at the bag again to shut her up. “Keep quiet. We can’t let any of my superiors know you’re here. Otherwise I might get dishonorably discharged from the army.”
Sierra gasped in surprise. “Is that why you wouldn’t let me come with?” Sierra pondered.
“Of course,” he said, “If I really wanted to protect you, then I would’ve brought you with me, not just leave you at the base. But, if I were to bring you with, and gotten kicked out of the army, then I wouldn’t be able to protect you as well.”
“Oh, Blake, I knew you loved me,” Sierra said, getting all mushy and beginning to squirm around in the sack.
Blake tugged on the bag once more, ruining the moment Sierra was having.
As soon as he entered the tent he was sharing with the rest of his squad, he silenced all of them that were in there.
“Can you guys keep a secret?” Blake asked.
They all nodded in approval.
Blake set down the bag on the floor, unzipped it open, and grabbed Sierra to pull her out. As soon as they saw her, they all face palmed.
“Look, it’s not my fault,” Blake began to explain, “She snuck on board! I couldn’t just leave her on the ship!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Markel sassed, “Just make sure she doesn’t go anywhere near my beer.”
Markel Brewster was a former SCP Agent who had volunteered to be in an experiment testing SCP 212, a medical robot that controls itself. Because of it, he is pretty much all machine on the inside and can only drink beer.
“Oh, come on, Markel, she’s just a kid,” Trent remarked.
[Insert info on Jack’s son here]
“Blake,” John said, “Where do you plan on hiding her?”
“I’m not sure,” Blake answered with a worried look on his face, “But I don’t care, really, just as long as she’s safe.”
“Where are we, anyways? And why is it so cold?” Sierra said, shivering.
Blake looked up at Markel and gave him an expression that said, ‘Hand me a coat’, and Markel plucked a coat from out of his bag and tossed it onto Sierra.
“Now Blake,” Markel joked, “Are you absolutely sure that you want this? I mean, taking care of a little girl is a big responsibility. You’ll have to feed her, walk her, pick up after her-“
“Shut the fuck up, before I murder you in your sleep,” Blake said while covering Sierra’s ears with his hands.
“You can go ahead and try,” Markel replied, “But I really don’t give a shit.”
“Well what if I were to throw all of your beer out onto the snow?” Blake said.
“Okay, fine,” Markel surrendered, “I’m sorry. Just leave mein beer und schnitzel alone.”
“But wait,” Trent interjected, “What about her meals? I mean, we can’t exactly bring an extra meal from the mess hall back to our tent……wait, can we?”
“No, you dumbass,” Markel said as he smacked Trent on the backside of his head. “And we especially can’t say that we’re getting a meal for me, seeing as how I can’t eat,” he said, looking at Blake.
“I’m sure we’ll think of something eventually, but right now, I need to go make a phone call and explain the situation to Captain Board,” Blake said as he threw back on his coat and walked out of the tent.
“I’m tired,” Sierra immediately complained.
“Well then take a nap,” Markel snapped.
Sierra thought about it for a moment. “Okay!” And she skipped off to bed.
“Father of year,” Trent remarked sarcastically.
“Silence, shneidhole. She is not the only vun who is tired. Goodnight,” Markel said before lying on his side and falling asleep.



[LATER THAT NIGHT]
“Sierra. Sierra. Sierra!” Blake said as he shook Sierra in an attempt to wake her up.
Finally, Sierra partially woke up, but extremely groggy. “Wha?”
“Sierra, we’ll be gone for the rest of the night. If there’s an emergency, go see Sergeant Mercer next door,” Blake said before kissing her on the forehead, “Goodbye. I love you.”
“Yeah, I, love you too,” Sierra mumbled before drifting back to sleep.

Eeeeeeerrrrrrooooooo, Eeeeeeerrrrrrooooooo, Eeeeeeerrrrrrooooooo.
Sierra bolted awake and alert by the alarm that ran through the base. She ran up to the window of the cabin to see what was going on. But what she saw made her gag and wretch from disgust. It was a blood bath out there, with human and Onagan bodies littering the campsite. The words Blake had said to Sierra earlier now rang throughout her mind, ‘If anything happens, go see Sergeant Mercer next door’. Sierra threw on some rain boots, and ran out the cabin door and into the snow. She stopped when she realized something very crucial and important: Blake never told her if Sergeant Mercer was in the cabin on the left, or the right. She stood there a moment, paralyzed with fear. ‘What if I go in the wrong one?’ She thought, ‘What if that decision kills me?’ Suddenly Sierra was whisked away by an unknown assailant. “PUT ME DOWN!!!” She yelled as she banged on the person’s arms.
“It’s okay, Sierra, it’s just me,” an unfamiliar looking stranger said. The man could see the obvious look of confusion on Sierra’s face.
“Do I, know you?” Sierra asked.
“It’s me, Sergeant Mercer!” the man explained.
“Oh! Hi Sergeant Mercer!” Sierra exclaimed.
“Sierra, listen to me,” Mercer said as he grabbed Sierra by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes, “I need you to go up the mountain and try to find Blake. Go!”
“Wait!” Sierra said just before Mercer tried to continue the fight. “I’m cold.”
“Here, take my coat,” he said, “Now go!”
Sierra began to run as fast as she could up the steep mountain slope, occasionally slipping on the snow but catching herself and the way down, with her hands, making them so wet and cold she could no longer feel them. She was making good progress until about one-sixth of the way up, when she grew too tired to go on. Her energy was renewed, however, when she turned around and saw an Onagan climbing up the slope in pursuit of her. She screamed at the top of her lungs before springing up the mountain faster than Usain Bolt on his best day. Before, the Onagan was going for a slow and silent approach, so as to catch her by surprise, but now its full potential rang free as it began to match the little girls speed.
“Blake!” Sierra called out, desperately trying to find her adoptive father, knowing he would protect her.
“Sierra!” she heard a familiar voice call out.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down the Onaga chasing her. Out of the shadows appeared John.
“Uncle John!” Sierra said as she ran into the man’s arms, “Where’s Blake?” she asked with a worried twinkle in her eyes.
“He’s with Trent and Markel farther back,” he said, pointing to the dense forest he just came out of, “But where is everyone else who was at the campsite? Where’s Sergeant Mercer?”
“We were attacked,” Sierra replied, “They told me to go find you or Blake.”
Just then there was a gut-wrenching scream from down the mountain where the campsite was. And then, a flash of orange light.
“Oh no,” John said.
“What?” Sierra asked, “What is it? What does it mean?”
“It means they’re dead,” John said with a morbid expression, “Come on. We have to find Blake and get out of here.”
“No need,” Blake said as he walked up to join them, ”We need to get out of here at all costs.”
“But what about the others?” John asked.
“There’s no time. Besides,” he said pulling a bulky piece of machinery out of a sack, “They knew what they signed up for.”
The piece of machinery was in the shape of a rough cube, and was glowing a harsh reddish purple.
“What is it?” Sierra asked, mesmerized by the beauty of the object.
“It’s a copy of their database,” Blake said, as he quickly tucked it away so as not to draw attention, “Come on, let’s go.”
“But Blake,” John argued,” What about Sierra?”
“What about Sierra?” Blake asked, confused.
“Look at what she’s wearing!” John said.
Sierra was still wearing her night gown, a frilly, silky, pink dress, and had on bright red rain boots, obviously to protect her feet from the snow, and had on what appeared to be one of the soldier’s coats, but was soaking wet from when she tripped. Her night gown’s exotic color complimented her deep violet hair.
Blake contemplated the suggestion as he looked out over what was once the campsite. “We can’t go back. What I found while scoping out their ship was horrifying,” he explained,” They’ve been conducting experiments on humans for years. In fact, they’re probably the cause for the sudden disappearance of the Mansi people.”
“Who are the Mansi?” Sierra asked.
“They were the people who were native to this land,” John explained, ”But, that doesn’t mean we can’t do something.”
“I also found a breeding ground,” Blake said, ”and a massive one at that. I was able to save some hikers while I was there. They should be waiting for us at the base of the mountain. But we’ll have to be careful, there could be scout parties looking for survivors.”
“Alright,” John said, ”Well then let’s go.”
As the group set off down the slope on the opposite side of Kholat Syakhl, they made sure to be as quiet and careful as possible. If any sound waves disrupted the mountains snow build up, then there would be an intense avalanche, leaving almost no chance for survival. Even if they were to survive, they would be captured by the Onagan scouts which were prowling around the area, looking for any stragglers. Occasionally, the group would come across lone survivors being chased by Onagan Scout parties, but were unable to help, for fear of being caught. Instead, whenever they came across these, they were forced to hide and wait in the shadows as they watched their fellow soldiers die horrible deaths.
Eventually, the group made it down the mountain, where Markel and Trent had been waiting, along with other survivors who had made it past the scouts. Together, they all escaped the area and traveled on foot to the nearest town, which was about ten miles away. Of the original five hundred and fifty six soldiers who were in S Company of the 169th Army, only twelve had survived.

The Beginning of the End

Alex: When the Holders War started in 2467, it was because of an attack by an alien race called the Onaga. They had weapons that were more accurate and more deadly than our own, rendering our guns absolutely useless. It was then, when the UN was scrounging up the dirt for answers, that the CIA revealed it had a solution: The SCP Project. With the UN having no other alternative, they went ahead with plan. The CIA assigned their best SCP Agents to become SCP Users. But it just wasn’t enough. Most of the SCP’s were too uncontrollable, too unpredictable, too dangerous, or just couldn’t even be used as weapons. So, the CIA revealed another project they had call The Holders. Even though The Holders’ powers had never even been tested before, they were put on active duty and sent to the front lines. They ended up being used as Super Soldiers. They were used as weapons of mass destruction. They were used to win the war.

Joy: Years after the war, the UN designed and created spaceships capable of interstellar travel using technology they recovered from the wreckage of the Onagan Empire’s once great Planet Buster. After that, the human race began settling amongst the stars, leaving Earth behind in the dust, a war torn heap. Eventually, all knowledge of the SCP’s and Holders died out, and it just became a myth. An urban legend. A conspiracy theory.

Blake: We were told after the war to keep silent. To keep a low profile. Stay under the radar, and never use our powers unless in a life or death situation. Most of us decided to live on a settlement made specifically for SCP Users and Holders called “The Mansion”. Others gave up the legal right to use their powers in any situation, no matter how dire. And in exchange they were allowed to live however they pleased.

John: And so, for 1000 years, mankind lived in peace. There were no wars because everyone was learning how to survive in the final frontier. But this peace ended in the year 3147. But that’s another story, a tale to be told at another time, on some other day.

All: Now, this is our story.

The Holders Profiles

Alex  Maynord

The Holder of Creation and Imagination 

Sacrifice: None due to being original Holder of Creation 

Age of Holdership: 18

H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Wise | Funny | Serious | Clever | Loving | Understanding | Started out as being just the Holder of Creation, but after the Rochester Massacre, he realized he wasn’t strong enough to protect this world and made himself also be the Holder of Imagination | Son of Joseph, The Holder of All | Before Joseph left this world, he told Alex that he was the new protector of the Earth

 

John Champbell 

The Holder of Lightning 

Sacrifice: Voice (He uses his electricity to charge up his vocal cords so he can speak) 

Age of Holdership: 24

First S Company, then H Company of the 169^th Army

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Cold towards others (like a tsundere, only not as soft on the inside) | Strict | Stubborn | Cares a great deal about his friends | Super fucking rich

 

Markel Brewster

Agent Brewster of SCP Foundation

First S Company, then H Company of 169^th Army

Notes: Born in Frankfurt, Germany | Gun enthusiast | Dark sense of humor | Perverted | Alcoholic | Don’t let him near the companies’ stash of beer, he will drink it all | He was part of a test for SCP 212 and these are the notes from the test:

Subject: Agent Brewster: 34 years old, 112kgs, 176cm, Caucasian (German) descent. Submitted request on ██-██-2456, approval granted and exposed on ██-██-2460

Description of Upgrades:
Removal of stomach, intestines (large and small), liver and kidneys. Organs replaced with two “sacks” of synthetic tissues, attached to the esophagus. Esophagus lined with the same tissue. “Sacks” produce an acid capable of breaking down steel, and transfer all nutrition directly to the blood stream. This process produces no waste, and any indigestible matter is expelled up the esophagus and out the mouth. Eyes replaced with optic sensor pads capable of seeing visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light spectrum. Hands removed at the wrist and each replaced with eight metallic “tentacles,” each measuring 3.8 cm long.

Subject Status: Medical leave until ██-██-2466, to allow adjustment to new internal structures.

 

Because of this, he is very overconfident in his abilities | He can drink beer because he had (Jack’s Son) modify him so that he could do so | The only liquid he can drink is beer

 

 

Cameron Balfeur 

Holder of the Sixth Sense

Sacrifice: None due to being original Holder of the Mind

Age of Holdership: 20 

H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in Marseille, France | Bitchy | Conceited | Overconfident | Insane | Started the Rochester Massacre | Thought to have been killed by Alex at the Rochester Massacre, but somehow survived

 

Jack Plaise 

Holder of Strength 

Sacrifice: Manliness (Pride) 

Age of Holdership: 36

H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in Austin, Texas | Kind-hearted | Caring | Loving | Fatherly towards children 

 

Trent Plaise

Former Holder of Ingenuity

Sacrifice: [REDACTED]

Age of Holdership: 12

First S Company, then H Company of the 169^th Army

Notes: Born in Wichita Falls, Texas | He is the son of Jack Plaise | He became a Holder at the beginning of the invasion when amidst the chaos, the Holder Item of Ingenuity called out to him. Trent was already a fairly smart kid, so when the Holder Item explained to him about how the greater the sacrifice, the more powerful he would be, he decided to sacrifice his future life. Due to this sacrifice, Trent became the smartest human to have ever lived, which is why he was able to reach so many great achievements during the war that helped the humans. He built spaceships, planned how to force the Onagans to retreat, and even planned the final assault. Shortly afterwards, however, he met his demise on his eighteenth birthday, just as the item had promised.

 

Dallas Fontana 

Former Holder of Water 

Sacrifice: His sense of smell, meaning he lost his love for Jack Daniels’  

Age of Holdership: 18

H Company of 169^th Army

Notes: Born in Dallas, Texas | Always wears a cowboy hat and boots and blue jeans | Heavy southern accent | Had dirty blonde hair

 

Kenji Toshiro 

Holder of Alchemy 

Sacrifice: Both eyes 

Age of Holdership: 25 

Leader of H Company of the 169th Army 

Traits: Born in Osaka, Japan | Wise | Intelligent |

 

Hikaru Fontana 

Current Holder of Water 

Sacrifice: He made none. His father paid the toll with his death, because after he accidently killed his wife, he couldn’t live with himself, so he killed himself, and the Holder Item chose to give itself it Hikaru, because it knew he was worthy enough. 

Age of Holdership: 15

Traits: Born in Shanghai, China | He has jet black hair just like his mother | Over protective brother towards Rikku | Street-smart | Cautious 

 

Rikku Fontana 

Holder of Ingenuity 

Sacrifice: Her eyesight

Age of Holdership: 13

Traits: Born in Shanghai, China | She has dirty blonde hair just like her father | Clever | Rebellious | Tech-geek | Counteracted her sacrifice by using her wits to cure blindness

 

Geoff Bledsoe

The Holder of [REDACTED]

Sacrifice: [REDACTED]

Age of Holdership: 26

H Company of the 169^th Army

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Also known as “Jagged Jeff”, due to the media’s coverage of his multiple homicides | Son’s name is Isaac

 

Aidan Ryoko 

The Holder of the Flames 

Sacrifice: None due to being original Holder of Flames

Age of Holdership: 20

H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in Limerick, Ireland | He has fiery orange hair | Brother to Alex | Was once told by an Oracle that one day he would have “to rescue the brother of an enemy | During the second part of the Invasion, he fulfilled his fate foretold by an Oracle, and assisted the Guardians of Onaga in assuring that the peaceful Onagans survived

 

 

Eddy Leviathan 

Holder of Speed 

Sacrifice: None due to being the original Holder of Speed 

Age of Holdership: 19 

H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in Richmond, UK | During the time of King Henry VIII he was a notorious thief who was quick and agile. When he tried to rob Aidan, he was captured and turned over to the king, who ordered he be executed. But Aidan persuaded the king to let him go, and had Alex make Eddy the Holder of Speed.

 

Joy Nightingale 

The Holder of Illusion 

Sacrifice: Left Eye completely missing, so she moves her bangs in front of her eye to cover it up and suppress her powers. But when she wants to use her powers, she has to move her hair out of the way, revealing an empty eye socket with a glowing insignia in the middle. 

Age of Holdership: 17

H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Likes to wear dark clothing | Dyed her hair to be jet black | Tough | Smart | Devious | Intimidating 

 

Blake Stille 

The Holder of Devotion 

Sacrifice: Sense of free will 

Age of Holdership: 19

First S Company, then H Company of the 169th Army 

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Always quiet | Intimidating 

 

George Conary

Former Holder of Ice

Sacrifice: Patience

Age of Holdership: 18

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Alcoholic | Beats his wife and children a lot | Couldn’t hold a job after the war | His brother was killed during the first invasion, which is why George decided to join the army to help fight off the invasion, even though really he just wanted to feel like he was avenging his brother’s death

 

Kevin Conary

The Holder of Ice 

Sacrifice: He cannot feel warmth ever again. He will always be cold. 

Age of Holdership: 14

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Shy | Stole his own father’s Holder Item and killed him with it | The Holder Item of Ice has a demon inside of it, which clouds the users heart, and throughout the series Kevin does his best to resist this evil | In love with Rikku

 

Kate Rosaleen 

Holder of Animals 

Sacrifice: Subconscious 

Age of Holdership: 16 

Interests: Alex, children, cute things

Notes: Born in [REDACTED] | Ditsy | Clumsy | Some might even say she’s like a blonde | Gullible | Most of the time she’s blissfully unaware of what’s going on around her | Basically a dojikko | When she is in animal form, she is kenomomimi | Because of her sacrifice, the original Holder of Animals lives on in her mind, and so is kind of like a second voice in her head

 

Tony Finian 

Holder of Accuracy 

Sacrifice: Both middle fingers (he has prosthetic ones) 

Age of Holdership: 18 

H Company of the 169th Army 

Interests: Flirting with women 

Notes: Born in Boston, Massachusetts | Womanizer | Pretentious | Quick-Witted | Romantic | When Alex first sees that Kevin might be corrupted by being the Holder of Ice, he tells Tony to keep an eye on him, so Tony takes up Kevin as his “Apprentice In the Ways of a Gentleman”

 

Caleb Griffin

Holder of the Faith

Sacrifice: [REDACTED]

Age of Holdership: 15

A Company of the 169^th Army

Notes: Born in Nazareth, Israel | Very devout Christian | Was turned away by the Church after participating in the second part of The Invasion in which the humans invaded the Onagan homeworld (Blames Alex for this) | Is able to control the ground in any number of ways [W.N. I chose this to be his power because of his faith is immovable like that of a mountain] | Although he was born in Israel, he was raised in Rome because his parents moved there when he was 2 | Former Cardinal in the Catholic Church

 

Sierra Celestia Pelletier

SCP-191 

SCP Class: Safe 

Notes: Born in Chartres, France | She has deep violet hair | Emerald green eyes | Tends to wear warm-colored clothing | Her father was a scientist who, after having lost his wife to illness, did not wish to lose his precious daughter as well, so, in order to make her live forever, he turned her into a mix of android and human. | Legally, she has no guardian, but that’s just because even though Blake is her guardian, he acts all tsundere about it.

 

Alice Carling

SCP-239 

SCP Class: Keter 

Description: Alice is basically a witch. She can manipulate any and all matter. 

Notes: Born in Bedford, United Kingdom | Her “imaginary friend”, as most would call it, is a stuffed white rabbit with red eyes, but is actually an SCP. He was originally Alice’s older brother, but one day, whilst on a ship, the ship was destroyed by a black hole. They somehow both survived, and now had new powers which they didn’t understand. But they also got amnesia due to the incident. | “She has a bit of a dark side” would be an understatement to describe her. Basically, at times, despite her size and age, she can be a total badass. | She usually doesn’t ever do anything at all without asking Ken for permission first | After having been found by Alex and the crew, Kate asked Alex if they could adopt her, so they did. | STOP TELLING HER ABOUT FAIRY TALES! WE DON’T NEED MORE SCP’S! 

 

Kenward Carling

SCP-██

SCP Class: Keter

Notes: Born is Bedford, United Kingdom | Goes by Ken | Alice’s older brother | Tended to get in a lot of misadventures with his little sister Alice when they were kids and before the crew of the Valkyrie found them | Although he is forever “cursed” to be a stuffed rabbit, he still talks to Alice every day, and acts as her guardian angel | He is the only thing stopping Alice from having absolute control over her powers. As such, he only ever lets her use her full power if she is in a situation where she would die otherwise.

Author’s notes: “White Rabbit” –Egypt Central

 

 

 

 

Please note that I will be updating this regularly.

Also, you may have noticed that some of these people are from different countries and therefore do not all speak the same language. The reason they are all able to understand each other is because in the year 2192, a universal translator was designed by scientists that works by an earpiece.