“What was that?” The man and woman’s hike through a gently
rolling portion of the Rocky Mountains has just taken a turn for the dangerous. “There’s something there in the bush”
the man tells her before stepping in front of her in a defensive pose. They watch the bush intently, there’s a
slight rustling of the leaves as if something is inside. The man picks up a stick from the ground and
holds it in front of him, ready to strike whatever fearsome beast is lurking in the
underbrush. The rustling stops but the man doesn’t move
from his protective stance. “Do you think it’s gone?” the woman
asks. The man isn’t sure. He leans in towards the bush, searching for
signs of what might be hiding inside when - Ahhh! The man screams and falls backwards as the
creature emerges from the bush. “Aww” the woman cries, “it’s a pika!” She kneels down to get a closer look at the
adorable little creature. Pikas are native to this part of Colorado
and they resemble rabbits but with small, rounded ears. She watches it hop back off the trail before
turning around to see her friend lying tangled in the branches of a tree. She can’t help but laugh as she offers a
hand to help pull him out of his predicament. “Are you alright?” she asks between fits
of laughter. Yes, he’s fine. The only thing hurt was his pride. He notices a small red spot on his arm and
rubs it, but it doesn’t seem to hurt at all. His attention is diverted by the woman though,
who is marveling at the tree he was just stuck in. Free of the branches, he can appreciate now
that the tree really is incredible. It looks like a huge blue spruce, but the
name is a complete misnomer, because this tree is a vibrant red color. “I’ve never seen anything like it,”
she says and the man hasn’t either. Neither knows what species it is, and strangely,
there don’t seem to be any others like it. Maybe this is the result of an odd genetic
defect that turns blue spruces red? After admiring the tree for a moment, the
pair decides that they’ve hiked far enough and that they should probably head back to
the car. She jokes that he’s likely exhausted from
his run-in with a wild animal and he laughs, but clearly his ego has been bruised. The man stops his car in front of the woman’s
house and she thanks him for taking her on the hike. As she starts to get out though he stops her. He asks if she wants to go do something else. Like… dinner? The woman thanks him for his offer, but she
has to be up early the next day for work. Just a quick drink then? An hour? 30 minutes? The woman tries her best to let her friend
down easy, explaining that she likes him as a friend and as only that. The man opens his mouth to respond but she
stops him. If he valued their friendship then he wouldn’t
try to take advantage of it by using it as a backdoor to dating her. The man again looks like his pride has been
shattered. He apologizes and admits that she is right. It’s just that he has such a good time with
her that he never wants it to end. She gives him a sad smile as she closes the
car door and he watches her enter her house before he finally drives away. It’s two weeks later when the man’s phone
rings. It’s his friend. She explains that she’s been thinking a
lot about what he said in the car and that she likes spending time with him too. Maybe there could be something more to their
relationship. The man can’t believe it, is this really
happening? The woman is serious. She’d like to take him up on that dinner
offer if he’s still interested, her treat. She wants to know what he is doing right - AHH. The man suddenly yelps in pain. Is he okay? What was that sound? “Yes, I’m fine, it was nothing,” the
man tells her. “It’s just that now… now’s not a good
time.” The woman doesn’t understand, she thought
he’d want to see her. She explains that she’s leaving town for
a work trip the next day and will be gone for a couple of weeks. She was hoping she could see him before she
left but - The man cries out in pain again. He tells her that he hasn’t been feeling
well all day, but that he’ll be alright. “Okay, well… get well soon. I’ll call you when I get back.” They exchange goodbyes and the man hangs up
the phone. The man looks terrible. His skin is pale and his face looks hollow
and gaunt. He looks down at his arm and sees that the
veins themselves appear to be moving, pulsing and vibrating. He screams again in agony and falls to the
floor, clutching his arm. After writhing on the floor he manages to
summon the strength to reach for the phone. His hand searches on the table above him and
eventually he’s able to knock it onto the floor. He grabs the phone and starts to dial… Nine… One… before he can press one again another
wave of intense searing pain consumes him. Several weeks later, the woman is standing
outside the man’s house. Mail and newspapers are piled up on his front
porch, as if no one has been in or out in some time. She knocks on the door but there’s no response. “Hello?” she calls out, but still nothing. She’s very worried. She’s tried calling him several times but
he never answered or returned her messages. She tries the doorknob and to her surprise,
the front door swings open. She steps inside and the room is dark. She’s also immediately hit by a strong aroma
of… pine? She searches on the wall and finds the switch. She turns on the lights and can’t believe
what she sees standing in front of her. There in the middle of the room, is a massive
spruce tree, it’s upper branches pressing against the ceiling. She reaches out and touches the tree's vivid
red branches. They feel sticky and wet. She pulls her hand away and looks down to
see that it’s covered in a red substance. That’s when she notices something else. Stuck among the trunk at the base of the tree,
is the half consumed body of her friend. Unfortunately this pair would never have the
opportunity to see their feelings take root and grow, because unbeknownst to them, this
beautiful tree is actually a very deadly anomaly, known to the SCP Foundation as SCP-867, but
which is perhaps better known by its very appropriate nickname… Blood Spruce. SCP-867 is, or at least appears to be, quite
similar to the species of tree Picea pungens, better known as the blue spruce. Of course there are a number of dramatic differences
between 867 and its non-anomalous counterpart. Visually, and most obvious, is the coloration. While blue spruces, as the name implies, are
typically a blue-green color, SCP-867 is a deep, vibrant red. There’s another major visual difference
too, with the Blood Spruce lacking any sort of seed cones that you would normally expect
to find. With no pine cones to protect and spread seeds,
you’d be right to ask how SCP-867 goes about reproducing. The answer to that question is what makes
this beautiful tree such a dangerous anomaly. The secret to how SCP-867 reproduces is found
in its leaves. While they look like pine needles, SCP-867’s
leaves are, in fact… needles. Their structure is very similar to that of
hypodermic needles, and each one contains a single long, thin seed which sits above
a small gas pocket at the base. When a living creature touches the leaves,
the tree immediately reacts. It triggers the gas pocket in the base of
the leaf to release which injects the seed into the skin of whatever touched it. The process is quite similar to that found
in auto-injectors, like those used to quickly treat allergic reactions. The seed itself is extremely small, and is
coated in a liquid that has both anesthetic and coagulant properties, which makes the
process virtually undetectable. Once implanted in the skin, these seeds can
lay dormant for up to two weeks, before they begin the germination process , and the true
horror of SCP-867 is revealed. Once the seeds begin to sprout and grow, they
will not seek to penetrate through the skin like a plant rising out of the soil. Instead, the strange plant will grow within
its host’s body, spreading throughout the circulatory system. This process is extremely painful for the
host. The plant’s tendrils wind through their
veins and capillary system, stretching and pressing against them as the blood spruce
grows within them. Eventually, the ever increasing size of the
plant’s tendrils becomes too much and the veins will begin to rupture. This leads to severe internal bleeding and
soon after, the death of the host. The entire process is quite quick, with it
only taking twenty-four hours from when the seeds first sprout to the host dying, but
that single day will feel like an eternity to the afflicted individual as they feel the
plant rapidly growing inside of their body. But even though the host has expired, this
parasitoid tree is far from finished with them, or at least their body. Soon after death, a new instance of the Blood
Spruce will burst from the body. The red tree is quite small at first, but
it will continue to quickly grow, just as it did within its host’s body, and can reach
maturity in just thirty days. And unlike most other plants, SCP-867 is able
to grow regardless of light or soil conditions, because it does not produce food via photosynthesis,
no this plant is carnivorous. As it grows, the 867 will slowly consume its
host’s body until nothing remains except the blood red tree. Instances of SCP-867 were first identified
in Colorado during the 1990s, following reports of numerous disappearances of hikers and Park
Rangers. The SCP Foundation dispatched a team to the
area to investigate, and they soon discovered numerous instances of the previously unidentified
tree. Several still young specimens were acquired,
though unfortunately this led to the deaths of several agents, who were not yet aware
of just how dangerous the red spruces could be. Once their threat level was properly assessed,
several specimens were flagged for containment and research purposes, while all of the other
identified instances still in the wild were destroyed. The remaining instances of SCP-867 were classified
as Euclid, and are now securely kept at a Foundation Bio-Containment site. Direct human contact with the plants is normally
not allowed, and remote rovers are used for the majority of tests and upkeep. If for any reason, it is necessary for a human
to enter 867’s containment cell, they are to wear full hazmat suits with a kevlar underlayer,
and upon exiting the cell must undergo a full herbicidal treatment and inspection. Should any possible puncture marks be discovered,
they will be forced to quarantine for no less than fifteen days. Ah nature… It's so beautiful, peaceful, and calming,
yet seems determined to try and kill us in any number of ways. If you’re out hiking or camping in the woods,
try to remember this extremely famous adage which I may, or may not, have just made up. It goes, “leaves of three, let them be,
needles of red, well… you’re probably already dead.” Now go and watch another entry from the files
of Dr. Bob, like SCP-021 The Skin Wyrm, for another deadly anomaly with parasitic tendencies. 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.
