Pen 22

Fuck, I need to write something here. Come on, write something!


"You found anything?"

"No, you?"

"Nothing"

They had been searching for hours now. A set of events, a pattern, anything that would at least give them a lead to follow, but nothing came up. Every event was completely random, no set time frame, no specific targets, no nothing. The only thing they knew was the fact winter was the more active season, and the specifics on how to activate SCP-3502.

Agent Ogluin looked up from the piles of papers he had arranged into a map, with red circles corresponding to locations of Kangaroos signs, each infected with SCP-3502. Dr. Bishop swore at the computer screen and punched the table.

"Why did the file have to corrupt now?" He groaned.

Ogluin took a look at the screen, which displayed a mocking message of file corruption and a reference to an obscure film from the 1930s.

"You tried turning it off and on again?" Ogluin asked, with no sign of sarcasm in his voice.

Bishop kept a straight face as he grit his teeth. Did Ogluin have to be such an ass about this?

"Turning it off and on wouldn't change anything, corrupted files can't be recovered."

A moment of silence.

"Oh."

With no other words, the agent returned to the map and began to circle more areas, this time in a green pen, with lines connecting the red and green together.

When Isabel said that he wasn't emotive, I didn't think she meant a bloody android.

With another fist to the table, effectively rattling the computer free of it's power cord, Bishop decided to gather files on 3502 and head over to Ogluin. Without looking at the doctor, Ogluin stood up straight and took a paper from Bishop.

"I can't read this."

No sign of emotion to be seen. Was Bishop sure this person before him was human?

"You can't read it?"

A moment of silence.

"I do not understand the sceintific words used."

Bishop mentally slapped the slow witted agent.

"Oh, uh, it's just documents of tests. No need to read them, they end the same."

The agent cocked his head.

"Do they?"

The doctor choked a bit, and then coughed. Did he have to catch him off guard like that? He didn't even change his tone!

"What? Of course they do! The vehicles get stolen by the kangaroos, that's all!"

The agent stroked his chin for a second, and then grabbed a purple pen. He scribbled circles around the green and red, as if it was an art project. A stupidly made art project, but an art project nonetheless.

Does he just have a infinite supply of pens or something?

"Take a look at this."

The doctor looked at the map, which was covered in colours and map typography. Nothing made sense, even with the arrows connecting each other. Perhaps if he took a look at the papers again…

"It's all the information we have on SCP-3502 and it's instances. The red circles represent the locations of the signs infected with SCP-3502, the green circles represent the last signals the GPS gave before giving out, and the purple circles represent the test vehicles that were found."

Bishop still didn't understand, not until Agent Ogluin explained a second time, using the exact same words as before, in the exact same tone.

God give me strength.

With a long hard sigh, Bishop racked his brains for connections. If there was any connection, it would be that all the signs were around Yaraka, the literal caravan park of the Outback. But the town had nothing in it, just 12 people who maintain its image as a defunct train station! And even then, the GPS circles were just random, either 45 kays away from the signs, or not even 100 metres from their original location.

"I found a connection."

Agent Ogluin's words snapped Bishop out of his thoughts. The agent took out a blue pen and scratched lines between some of the green circles, forming a polygon. And then using the corner as a math table, he wrote out a sum, and then drew a square in the centre, crossing it for good measure. Bishop went to grab a cup of coffee.

"The cars would lead there, an outpost. We can investigate it for signs of activity, and then report to Isabel."

Bishop looked at the circles size and almost choked on his own coffee.

"Jesus, 8 kilometres squared? How are we gonna cover that!?"

The agent took off his sunglasses and looked at the doctor. Without a shred of shame, dignity, or attitude, he said:

"I own a Ford Focus."


Version 2:

"You found anything?" Bishop called from one side of the room.

"No, you?" Partner called back.

"Nothing."

The duo had been searching for hours now. The sun had just set over the horizon, leaking light through the shutters of the conference room. Bishop was looking through a pile of papers he found, most of which he had to dry out manually, as he found them in the bottom of the coffee machine, not like he was going to admit that he was the one that did it in the first place.

Damn sleep deprivation.

"You need help?"

An overwhelming presence made Bishop jump, nearly ripping the paper apart.

"Jesus, Ogluin! Don't scare me like that!"

A moment of silence followed, not at all helped by Ogluin's naturally intimidating build, with a black suit to match.

"Noted. Do you still need help?"

The doctor spread the papers out and looked at the ones that were doused in coffee.

Unreadable.

"Can you read coffee paper?"

The agent took off his sunglasses and picked up the paper, somehow still dripping coffee. That was the weird thing about Ogluin, the fact that he was more machine than human. And while he had to take Isabel's word that he was human, Bishop still had his suspicions.

"No, the legibility is beyond my comprehension."

No emotion whatsoever.

"Great."

Well, that was the POI documents gone. Bishop made a mental note to report that to Isabel later. Ogluin went back to the cork board, which towered over the both of them. With finesse and accuracy, the agent threw 4 pens in the cork, each a different colour.

Bishop decided not to question it.

A beep from Ogluin's watch alerted Bishop.

"You need to go?"

A moment of silence.

"Yes. I have to go to guard duty. The staff has significantly shortened since the incident. I'll leave you to your work."

As Ogluinr left, Bishop put all the coffee soaked papers and threw them away. They were useless anyway.

As the lights flickered on, Bishop decided to pull an all nighter, to see if there could be information he missed.

He would regret that decision the next day.


Ogluin had a very quiet night. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing out of the blue, nothing to be worried about. He opened the door to the conference room and began speaking as soon as he stepped foot.

"Morning Dr. Bishop. While I only had 6 hours of uninterrupted rest, I should be able to still help today."

He turned to the pile of papers and then to the unconscious body of Doctor Bishop. Ogluin swallowed, and then rushed over to check for a pulse. Even when he placed his fingers over the doctor's wrist, Bishop didn't stir.

Partner let go and let out a sigh. The doctor was merely a heavy sleeper.

He then noticed the papers on the table. From the looks of it, the pile had been arranged into a map of the surrounding area, Yaraka. With a silent sigh, Ogluin took up the papers and grabbed a pile of thumbtacks.

Without another sound coming from his mouth, he began the slow and methodical organization of every piece of information available to him.


A snap of the fingers made the doctor shoot up from his chair. Shaking, he turned to Ogluin. But before he could get the words out, Ogluin spoke for him:

"Good morning Doctor Bishop, apologies for the intrusion. When I walked in at earlier, you were unconscious, so I went ahead and made that map for you."

"Map…?"

Bishop dragged himself over, holding a coffee mug that his body forgot to tell him about.

"Ah! Coffee!"

Ogluin rearranged 2 thumbtacks of different colour.

"Yes, I brewed some coffee while you were unconscious, there's more on the table. It took me longer than normal though, someone managed to clog the machine, so I had to make it by hand. If I remember correctly, you enjoyed black coffee the most."

Sneaky bastard, you read my personnel file.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks."

"No problem."

Good thing this coffee is decent.

Bishop took a look at the corkboard, now adorn with tacks, string, and multicoloured pens. Perhaps Ogluin had an affinity with primary colours or something.

Ogluin stiffened, and snapped his fingers again.

"I found a connection."

Whilst he didn't sound like he was excited, the aura emanating from him definitely gave off that fact.

"I don't see it. I just see colours."

I'm too tired for this…

Ogluin snapped his head to Bishop with an audible crack.

"Then I will explain it." Ogluin began pointing to the various tacks and strings. "The reds represent the locations of the signs infected with SCP-3502, the greens represent the last signals the GPS gave before giving out, and the blues represent the test vehicles that were found."

His hand hovered over a group of blue and yellow tacks.

"While at first, this group appears to be spread over the course of a year, it's only from the last three months, and has had the most concentration from the data we could gather. If we head there, we can figure out if it is merely a dumping ground, or the Hidden Sanctuary."

Bishop's eyes widened. Now it all made sense, of course those furry things would have some sort of scrap yard. This can be huge if it ends up being the Sanctuary!

"Just one problem."

With a curious grunt, Bishop took a closer look at the group of tacks. He nearly spat out his coffee.

"Jesus, 8 kilometres squared? How are we gonna cover that!?"

The agent took off his sunglasses and looked at the doctor. Without a shred of shame, dignity, or attitude, he said:

"I own a Ford Focus."


Ford Focus? Are you kidding me? May as well be using a tricycle!

The desert sun was unbearable, the heat waved over everything metal, including Bishop's glasses, which were now covered to stop his retina from being set on fire. As soon as he saw the little white car, he knew they were doomed. The lemon couldn't handle the city streets, let alone the unpaved roads of the Outback, where flat tires could happen to monster trucks! The doctor shuddered at all the situations they could end up in.

Ogluin, on the other hand, merely grunted as he threw all the supplies in the back. Canteens, food, flints, hunting knives, everything you could think of. After everything was shoved inside, the agent took a curious glance at Bishop.

"Shouldn't you get ready?" Ogluin looked him up and down. Bishop wore nothing but a t shirt and cargo shorts. Ogluin, on the other hand was equipped with sunglasses, a wide brim hat, and a "business summer outfit" as he called it.

Bishop didn't question it.

With them both now squished together in the tiny interior of the car, Ogluin threw it in drive and floored it out of the parking lot, speeding down the dirt road ahead. With each bump and slight variation of weight distribution, the car would rock, nearly sending the supplies careening into Bishop and Ogluin.

"Couldn't we have taken another car? At least one that can 4 wheel drive?"

Ogluin kept his eyes on the road.

"I used to own an SUV, but then I had to sell it after I was placed in Sydney."

At least an SUV as air conditioning…

[stuff happens will add later]

"Hey Ogluin, do you think that mirror statue was something else?"

"Not really, why?"

"Cause I feel a little lighthea-"

THUMP


Version 3 (combined):

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