The 13 year old boy gets a running start,
before leaping across from one moss covered boulder to another. He barely makes the jump and turns around
to admire how far he leaped. He continues along through the woods, hopping
over streams and making sure to swing on any hanging vines he can find, whether he needs
to or not. He picks up a branch and starts to swing it
against a tree, engaging in a life and death duel with the evil knight of the woods. After slaying the knight, the boy solemnly
salutes his fallen foe before mounting his trusty steed to ride deeper into the forest. He’s all alone out here, and must be thousands
of miles from civilization. The valiant knight unmounts from his horse
and walks towards the culmination of his quest. The Tree of Lost Memories. Legend tells that anything buried beneath
this tree will cease to exist. All memories of anything associated with the
object buried will disappear from the minds of anyone involved and no one will ever bring
them up again or wonder where the memories went. The knight takes a letter sealed with wax
from where he was keeping it safely inside of his armor and kneels in front of the tree. He brushes the leaves and dirt away from a
spot near the base of the tree and digs a small hole with his hands before placing the
letter inside the hole. The boy looks down at the letter, satisfied
with his work. He starts covering the letter inside the hole
with dirt when he suddenly stands up. Was that a noise? He listens again, it’s not just a noise,
it’s a voice. The knight unsheathes his sword and starts
making his way in the direction he can hear the sounds coming from. He follows a game trail through the woods
towards the noise. There’s no doubt, it’s definitely a voice,
and he can make it out clearly now. “The Wheel of history turns, and ages come
and pass, leaving memories that become legend” The knight rounds a corner and the woods open
up into a clearing. In the middle of the grassy open area is a
stone archway unconnected to any walls. When looking through the archway though, one
doesn’t simply see the other side of the clearing. No, inside the archway is a beautiful, white
alabaster castle perched on rock overlooking the sea, its red roofed turrets jutting high
up into the clouds. And standing next to the archway that seems
to lead to another land, is an old man dressed in a long flowing robe, a wizard’s robe. The boy steps out of the woods into the clearing. What is this old man doing out here? And what’s going on with this archway? It really does look like it is showing something
it shouldn’t be able to. “Legends fade to myth, and even myth is
long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.” “Are you talking to me?” the boy asks. “Venture forth and face your true calling,”
the wizard responds. “You are the one that has been prophesied,
but have you what it takes to enter this land of adventure?” The boy looks around, there’s no one else
here, this old man must be speaking to him, right? The boy tosses his stick to the ground and
steps closer to the old man and the archway. He can see now that the surface of the archway
appears to be shimmering, as if it were a vertical surface of water. “Only the truest of hearts may enter the
magical archway, but for the fair and brave, a great quest awaits. “ “A quest? For me?” the boy asks, but again the old man doesn’t
respond. He doesn’t seem to be looking at him either,
is this wise old man in the woods blind? The boy gets much closer now, close enough
to wave his hand in front of the old man’s face, but there’s no reaction, he really
must be blind. The boy looks back at the portal in the archway. He can see the waves breaking on the rocks
and birds flying in the sky. He can even make out, up in one of the highest
windows on the tallest tower, what looks to be a… a girl. She’s waving her ribbon in the air. She’s beckoning him, she needs the brave
knight to come save her. “Pursue your destiny, and become the hero
you were always meant to be!” The boy is entranced by the beauty of this
land, the castle, the clouds drifting between the white towers, the perfectly blue sea,
the beautiful princess locked in her tower, waiting for him. The boy reaches his hand through the surface
of the archway and it passes through as if nothing were there, but on the other side
it turns into the gauntleted hand of a knight. He pulls his hand back out and it looks like
his own hand once again. The boy thinks about his mother, yelling at
him for drawing pictures of the lands he wished he could live in when he should be studying,
he thinks of his teacher grabbing the fantasy book out of his hand and dropping it in the
trash calling it a waste of time, he thinks of his friends laughing when he came to school
dressed as a knight. He knew he was destined for something greater,
and here it finally is. He really is a knight. He’s the hero that was prophesied. He will become a legend. He’s special. The knight girds himself and steps forward
into the archway. As he does he hears the old man still talking. “The Wheel of history turns, and ages come
and pass, leaving memories that - “ The boy passes through the archway and the
castle, the sea, the princess… all of them disappear in an instant. The boy spins around but the archway constricts,
snapping shut in a tight ball with him still inside. The old man sinks into the ground as the archway
seems to rotate. The archway then also disappears into the
earth, as something else emerges. A giant centipede appears out of the ground,
its scaly body the color of stone with movable plates on its posterior end that resembles
the movement of cloth. The centipede opens its mouth and there’s
a sound like the cry of a child before it dives down and disappears under the dirt. Have you ever thought that you were destined
for something more? Do you feel as if the worlds described in
fantasy books and that are brought to life in movies and in video games are somehow the
places you actually belong? You’re far from alone, but be careful, because
it’s exactly those thoughts that make you the prime target for SCP-4310, a deadly predator
that preys on those with the desire to embark on a Hero's Journey. SCP-4310 is an anomalous creature that resembles
a common centipede in many ways, though it has a number of traits that distinguish it
from the kind you might find under a rock in the forest. Perhaps most obvious is its size. While some centipedes can grow as long as
a foot, SCP-4310 is over 20 feet in length. This massive, carnivorous centipede, which
is native to Great Britain and Ireland, also has a hunting method that is quite distinct
from any arthropod, insect, or known animal at all for that matter. SCP-4310 hunts by cocooning itself in a pair
of keratin flaps that cover its entire body except for its tail end, which is left exposed. The centipede then buries itself in the ground
keeping its head and the majority of its body under the ground, except for a portion that
arcs above the ground in a semi-circle shape as well as its exposed posterior. The centipede’s end resembles an old man
wearing robes, and the centipede is able to manipulate its rear legs in a way that resembles
the movement of a mouth and jaw, giving the impression that the old man is speaking. The rest of its body is contorted and the
legs are arranged in such a way to resemble a stone archway standing unsupported on the
ground next to the old man. Through a process that is yet to be understood
by the Foundation, the centipede is able to produce a spatial anomaly in the area where
its body is taking on the form of an archway. This spatial anomaly is actually a portal
of sorts, a portal that leads directly into SCP-4310’s stomach. As soon as its prey enters the spatial anomaly,
the centipede closes the portal. Inside, paralysis inducing enzymes incapacitate
the prey as powerful stomach acids break down its meal over the course of several days. You may be thinking, “I would never walk
into an archway next to an old man in the middle of the forest” but SCP-4310 has two
powerful mechanisms perfectly suited to luring its prey. First, it is capable of emitting a pheromone
that induces a state of mild euphoria while at the same time suppressing fear and encouraging
curiosity. This appears to affect all warm blooded mammals,
but humans and their natural inclination towards exploration makes them especially vulnerable
to the effects. The second method 4310 utilizes to acquire
food is producing a very unique set of sounds. These sounds, which are made by rubbing together
portions inside of its tail segment, resemble English speech, and are almost always phrases
that describe quests, prophecies, and heroic deeds that can only be undertaken by journeying
into the archway. SCP-4310 calls can last for as long as three
minutes before they begin to repeat the series of heroic phrases. And each instance of SCP-4310 appears to have
its own unique set of calls to embark on adventure, but with all encouraging entrance into the
archway. It is unknown just how SCP-4310 learns these
phrases, since other than this advanced hunting technique, no instance of the anomalous creature
has shown intelligence levels above that of an ordinary centipede. Interestingly, the same heroic speech sounds
appear to also act as SCP-4310’s mating call, and it is unknown if the luring of would-be
adventurers by the noises is merely a lucky by-product, or if it specifically uses the
sounds for both mating and eating. SCP-4310 became known to the SCP Foundation
in the 1950s following an investigation into multiple missing persons in Belfast, Northern
Ireland. Agents searched a nearby forest and soon discovered
human teeth in animal droppings concentrated around a wooded grotto. The grotto was excavated and three instances
of SCP-4310 were found hibernating beneath the ground. It’s since been learned that after eating
their fill, SCP-4310 will enter a hibernation state that can last as long as ten years,
and it appeared that these three instances ate well, since the remains of over seventy
children were eventually found in the immediate area. SCP-4310 has been classified as Euclid, and
currently, one instance is kept in a containment cell for observation and testing. The cell has been filled with a thick layer
of soil resembling that found in the temperate forests of Great Britain and once per week,
five piglets are introduced into the centipede’s enclosure. Mobile Task Force Labda-12, codenamed “Pest
Control,” is dispatched to areas where there are reports of old men resembling wizards
encouraging people to step through a magical archway, and the MTF agents are to exterminate
any instances that they find in the wild. The Foundation’s Department of Analytics
also monitors all contemporary British children’s and young adult literature, especially the
fantasy genre, for references to portals in the woods that lead to wondrous locations,
and Lambda-12 is alerted to any that may be inspired by or referencing real SCP-4310 instances. All of us fantasize from time to time about
embarking on an epic quest that will allow us to escape our regular lives. While it is fun to dream about being swept
off to another world, be very careful if you meet an old man in the woods who tells you
that your quest begins with stepping through a magical archway, or you might just find
that your hero’s journey starts and ends in the belly of a giant centipede. Now go and watch another entry from the files
of Dr. Bob, like SCP-3456 The Orcadian Horseman, for another anomaly that blurs the lines between
myth and reality. And make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications,
so you don’t miss a single anomaly, as we delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s
classified archives.
