Night shift rules part 5
By galileo2333
I was adjusting to day shift and following the safety protocols the SCP Foundation advised me for when I'm at home. For two weeks, there weren't any anomalies.
When a situation arises that there's no rule for, sometimes you have to trust your instincts. I never experienced coming home to find the bathroom door closed. There's a rule telling me what to do in that event. I came home one late-summer evening, the day noticeably shorter than the height of summer. The bathroom door was open and nothing was out of place. I charged my scooter long enough to replenish the range, with it parked front facing Mecca.
I was eating dinner, having finished cooking and turning off all the stove burners. I opened my phone and began watching YouTube videos, this time a channel about roller coasters, lots of stories about ride mishaps, urban legends vs fact, and technical documentary stuff. After an hour or so, I'd not been noticing what else was happening in my apartment, specifically the bathroom door.
I happened to look over my shoulder and I noticed the bathroom door was shut. It was open when I arrived home and I'd followed protocol that when I'm not in the bathroom it must remain open. Supposedly I'd been alone in the apartment since I'd arrived home.
The bathroom door is on one wall of the kitchen. The kitchen lights were off and I could tell the bathroom light was on by the light from under the door. I heard a hasty rustle of cloth or fabric, followed immediately by what sounded like a stream of liquid at high pressure into something filled with water, a strong "squirt" noise.
I reacted instinctively and immediately as if I'd been through military-like training to act without thinking. My earbuds were in my ears, Bluetooth engaged on my phone and a loud song blasting full volume into my ears. Specifically an early 2000s techno kind of song called "Burn for You" by an artist named Kreo. My helmet was secured to my head above that, and my scooter was off the charger and powered up. I locked the front door of my apartment and sped out of the parking lot of the apartment complex. Just as I was rounding a corner onto a main street, the headless E bike rider stood next to the bike, and this is the first time I've seen the specter in daylight. Both he and the bike were semi-translucent. He looked about my age, was a similar build to me, except for him having no head. He was wearing blue jeans with the knees slightly torn, and a black and grey windbreaker jacket with the sleeves torn. He only was visible for a few seconds then he vanished into thin air.
The moment the headless E-bike rider vanished, the music that had been blaring in my earphones stopped and a voice came on. The voice introduced themselves as the SCP case manager assigned to me. They directed me to keep the scooter in motion, don't stop except for traffic signals and that they'd try to take control of the traffic lights to minimize how often I'd be stopped. They told me to ride to a hike-and-bike trail, (one of those paved trails that used to be a railroad) that I've often ridden. They said stay moving on that trail until SCP Foundation drones, vehicles, and personnel intercept me in motion and tell me it's safe to stop.
After that message concluded, music came on my headphones again. This time, completely unrequested by me and a song I don't have on my phone. It was "Digging on you" by TLC, played at low enough volume I could clearly hear other traffic.
Then, my scooter began acting oddly. Oddly smooth and stable feeling, to be specific. I looked at the dashboard screen and saw something I've never seen before, a feature I had no knowledge of. It said "emergency escape/high stress assistance mode". The handlebars felt like there was some kind of lane assistance and throttle control. The scooter felt like it was nudging me towards safe places.
I had no idea my scooter was equipped with any capability like that. It was like features I've heard about being tested in Tesla and other intelligent cars that have a special mode if you're partially incapacitated due to injury, driving yourself to an emergency room, it will provide extra high level driving assistance.
I continued until I reached the hike and bike trail. The pavement is smooth and there's no exposure to car traffic. The scooter slowed down by itself as I passed walkers, joggers, etc. and the horn even beeped by itself when that happened. Not long after the song ended in my earphones, I saw drones flying on all sides of me. Illuminated display panels affixed to the sides of the drones flashed "SCP Foundation". As the trail reached crossing with a street, SCP armored vehicles were parked and SCP troops were motioning me to stop.
They let me in one of their cars and had me put my scooter in the back. They told me they'd already arranged with the landlord at my apartment complex to temporarily relocate me to a unit in another building at the other end of the apartment complex. They told me I'd have to stay there for a week and they'll fetch some of my clothes and throw in an air bed. They didn't give much details, just that they're going to make my apartment safe.
While temporarily staying in the other apartment, I was given an instruction never to get within line of sight of the building with my apartment. The SCP Foundation personnel set a perimeter around it and evacuated other residents to an unknown location.
I was able to continue at my job during the day, except I was told by SCP to take a different route to and from work than usual. On Wednesday, I recieved a message that I could return to the night shift at work, but not before I recieved some more rules. Wednesday as I left, my supervisor handed me a similar thick envelope to the one I recieved when I first took the night shift.
Once I got to my temporary home, I opened the packet. It included all the original 6 rules and 4 appendices, followed by more rules and more appendices.
Rule 7: The second girl.
The girl in the orange hijab and blue dress has a friend you will encounter. She's slightly older, about 12. She's also Somali appearance, wearing Muslim clothing. She will most often appear in a light blue hijab and dark green dress. Sometimes she'll be wearing a smaller hijab that is tied back but still covers her whole head, and a loose fitting shirt with elbow length sleeves that has one of several phrases or markings on it. See Appendix E for procedures you must follow based on certain outfits she's wearing. You must never talk to her under any circumstances.
The older girl will, to some extent mentor the younger girl and keep her from causing you too much trouble. It's still very important that you follow all the rules, and the stakes are even higher now.
If the older girl appears in the bathroom while you're occupying said bathroom, look at her directly, do NOT look at her in the mirror. If you first notice her behind you in the mirror, immediately turn to face her and don't look at her in the mirror again. Turn off the sink if it was on. Extend your hands towards her as if to embrace her at the lower abdomen. She will instantly vanish. After that, leave the bathroom, close the door with the light off and don't look back. Escape the building immediately and tell the supervisor in the morning, you'll be paid for a full shift with no cost to your paid time off.
Rule 8: The couches in the break room. There are three couches in the break room. At the beginning of every night shift, check to be sure the My Little Pony Apple Jack plushie, (it's been moved here from your apartment), is on one of them. You must never touch the MLP plushie or sit on, place anything on, or touch the couch the MLP plushie is on. It will randomly vary what couch it's on every night.
Leave immediately and tell your supervisor, you'll get paid for a full night without using your paid time off, if any of the following are true:
-The MLP Apple Jack plushie isn't on any of the couches.
-If there's more than one winged Apple Jack MLP plushie (in this case, the headless E-bike rider will escort you when you ride your scooter home).
-Any MLP plushie of a character other than Apple Jack is present on any of the couches.
-If you discover the winged Apple Jack MLP plushie, or any other MLP plushies, figurines, or imagery anywhere else in the building.
-If the MLP plushie is Apple Jack except without wings.
-If, anytime during your shift you discover the MLP winged Apple Jack plushie on another one of the couches than the one you found it when you checked at the beginning of your shift.
Rule 9: Additional information about your breaks and lunch times.
You might enter the break room and discover the older girl sitting at a table. She will invite you to join her. Completely ignore her, and look directly at the My Little Pony Apple Jack plushie on the couch and say out loud "friendship is magic". Next, step out of the break room around a corner out of sight of the break room. Then reenter the break room. The girl will be gone and you can take your break or lunch. If it's before midnight, both girls will disappear for the remainder of that night. If it's after midnight, the girls will keep each other company the rest of that night so they won't be as likely to distract you.
Rule 10: The numbers on the bathrooms and the hand dryers.
You'll notice all the bathrooms except the one in the conference room now have a number on the door. Hand dryers have been installed in all the bathrooms, except for the conference room bathroom. In the conference room, next to the big videoconference screen, is a panel with a set of buttons corresponding to each of the bathroom numbers. Check it before every shift to make sure the indicator light is a steady green. If not, leave the building and you'll be paid for a full night, no paid time off used.
The hand dryers in the bathroom are World Dryer Corp Model A. The buttons have been removed and replaced with a metal cover plate. These hand dryers are not to be used for drying your hands. The paper towels are still provided, use those.
The hand dryers were installed by the SCP Foundation. They are all examples of SCP-313, modified to be started remotely via the control panel in the conference room.
The SCP-313s in the bathrooms for in the event the older girl needs to use the bathroom. If you see the older girl enter a bathroom, take note (extremely important!) of what number bathroom she's in. DO NOT leave the building and take the action described in Appendix F. See Appendix G for a description of SCP-313.
Rule 11: Another restriction on audio.
In addition to not playing Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe through the tulips" between midnight and 1 am, you must never, between 11 pm and 4 am, allow any audio device to play the song by TLC "Digging on you". This includes any mix containing it or cover by another artist, and especially any parody.
Rule 12: Pertaining to appearance of the basement stairs. If the basement stairs appear and you see the older girl enter and descend, DO NOT follow her. Keep looking at the entrance to the stairs until she completely descends out of sight. Then look away. The basement stairs will vanish. The older girl will not appear again that night, and neither will the basement stairs, but the younger girl may still appear, and remember to continue following all rules pertaining to her.
Appendix E: The older girl's outfits.
The older girl is most often dressed in a loose hijab and draping abaya style similar to the younger girl, however sometimes she wears a smaller hijab and a loose fitting shirt with elbow length sleeves. If her shirt is other than described below, leave the building immediately, you'll be paid for a full night shift, no paid time off used.
-Dark green with a pink heart and the phrase "world's sweetest Muslim girl" in blue letters.
-Blue with the phrase "It's our time to rise" in bright yellow letters.
-Gray, beige, or purple, and no words or insignia.
Appendix F, if the older girl needs to use the bathroom.
If you're outside a bathroom and you see the older girl enter the bathroom, immediately go to the conference room and barricade the door. Push the button corresponding to the number bathroom she's in. The indicator light will turn steady yellow, and you might hear the hand dryer in the distance. Watch the steady yellow light. If the yellow light starts flashing, push the button again to keep the hand dryer running. Repeat until the light turns green. This will occur within no more than about 3 minutes since she entered the bathroom. At this time you may exit the conference room and continue your work as normal.
If at any time you're pushing the button to remotely operate the hand dryer while the older girl is in the bathroom, and the indicator light turns red, that means the SCP-313 anomalous mode has been activated. This is why it's EXTREMELY important that you push the correct button, the presence of the girl in that bathroom is what dissipates most of SCP-313's energy and protects the building and you! Brace yourself under the table in the conference room like you would in an earthquake. An extremely loud rumble will occur for about 30 seconds. After that, stay in the conference room with the door barricaded until the day shift arrives and knocks on the door. You'll get overtime pay for that extra time. Also, in this, and only this situation, the conference room bathroom is safe for you to use. Both girls will be absent from your night shift for a period of time that is actually a period (about one month), afterwards.
Appendix G: A description of SCP-313.
Item #: SCP-313
Object Class: Safe
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-313 is to be kept unmounted and disconnected when not being tested. Access is strictly prohibited except with special permission from a level 4 official. Under no circumstances are personnel to press the button, save for officially sanctioned testing under rigidly controlled conditions. Please see Addendum 313 A.
Description: SCP-313 is identical in appearance and marking to a World Dryer Corp Model A electric hand dryer. The object measures 25 cm x 24 cm x 21 cm. Its casing is painted white steel, with a polished stainless steel nozzle and button. Internal workings are consistent with Model A specifications. However, despite this veneer of normalcy, SCP-313 has two significantly anomalous qualities – first and foremost, it is utterly indestructible and impervious to all forces available to us, and secondly, it is extraordinarily destructive, apparently by design. Destruction test logs are available on request to those with level 2 or higher security clearance.
The second anomalous property should be considered ‘armed’ when SCP-313 is mounted on a wall and connected to a dedicated 20 A. power source. Under these conditions, each push of the button represents a 1.5% chance that this property will activate. When this occurs, SCP-313 will begin to emit a stream of superheated plasma, which originates somewhere within the object and exits from the nozzle in a direction perpendicular to the surface on which the object is mounted. The stream’s force and temperature increase exponentially until the object tears loose from its mounting and/or propels itself through the mounted surface. Temperatures of over 25,000 K and forces as great as 650 kN have been recorded, although thrust of this magnitude would never occur under normal circumstances.
The flow of plasma will continue for up to thirty seconds after the object has torn free (i.e., the normal duration of airflow for a standard Model A), generally enough to propel the object an enormous distance if there is nothing in the way, or cause it to ricochet at high speed inside any structure in which the object is confined, potentially demolishing the structure. This destruction is compounded by the effects of extremely high temperatures.
Both the civilian casualties and property damage attributable to SCP-313 are staggering. It has caused a number of fires and other disasters over the years, generally in a predictable pattern of being sold and installed, blasting halfway across the country, and being found and resold. The object passed into Foundation hands when it impacted near Site-05, having been mistaken for a meteorite.
Addendum 313 A: Some of the lower-level personnel have been pestering me about our safety procedures when using SCP-313. For those of you who have forgotten high school physics: 25,000K is over four times hotter than the surface of the sun, and 650 kN is roughly enough force to lift an M1 Abrams main battle tank. Now imagine that much force behind this object, which weighs less than 10 kg (remember, force = mass x acceleration) and is indestructible.
– Dr. Sundstrom, Supervisor 3-401, Site-19
I slept all day Thursday on the air mattress in the mostly bare temporary apartment I was in. Thursday night was the first night in a long while since I'd been on the night shift. I made all pre-shift checks, now including the MLP figure on the break room couch and the control panel in the conference room. For most of the night I didn't notice either girl. Then when I went to take a break at about 2:30 am, I noticed the second girl, sitting at the table. She was wearing a light blue hijab and the "world's sweetest Muslim girl" shirt. I looked at the winged My Little Pony Apple Jack plushie on the sofa and said out loud "friendship is magic". Then I stepped out of the break room momentarily and went back in and the girl was gone. As I returned to my workstation, I saw at the other end of the lab the two girls sitting on the floor facing each other appeaing to have a conversation that I could only hear as distant giggles.
I arrived to my temporary apartment that morning and was just nodding off to sleep having adjusted my standards to the flimsy air mattress. Suddenly a knock on the door by SCP Foundation agents. They told me I was to return to my normal apartment and it was safe.
I was told by SCP that I would no longer need the Skibidi Toilet sculpture but I could keep it if I wanted. I declined and they took it back. They said I'd no longer have to follow any of the rules they'd given for me to follow at home. I've never had much of a taste for Capri Sun and I can't remember trying it, but they said it was now safe for me to consume that. I might, i might not. They told me it was now more important now, than ever, to follow the night shift rules at my job.
I returned to my apartment. Everything looked untouched, although sans the My Little Pony Apple Jack plushie. I lay down on my bed and it took some adjusting my standards before I could sleep on a real bed after several days on the air mattress.
That night, I arrived at work and started my tasks. Very busy. The younger girl remained in my vicinity, looking at me occasionally but not distracting me much. It wasn't until about 3 am that I saw the older girl. Then I noticed her shirt. She was wearing a light blue hijab and a long skirt. Her shirt, however, was a black, long-sleeve shirt with a large red and white KMFDM logo.
I quickly shut down the test equipment and left. Both girls followed me. I rode home and reported to management what happened. They acknowledged and adjusted my payroll.
The following night, at about 1:15 am, I was just starting to catch up on the backlog of orders when, the older girl strolled past me with a flirtatious look. Tonight she was dressed in a much more modest way, similar to the younger girl. She was in a hijab that same light blue color but much longer and draping below her waist, and a dark green floor length dress under that. She glided silently into a nearby bathroom, bathroom #4, firmly closing and locking the door.
I immediately entered the conference room and fastened the quick door-barracade hardware that had been installed. I opened the cover on the control panel for the SCP-313 hand dryers. The indicator light was green. I pushed the button with the number 4. In the distance I heard the hand dryer start and the light turned steady yellow. The light flashed yellow after about 30 seconds. I pushed the #4 button again, and the hand dryer continued. This repeated once more then the light turned green. Just before the hand dryer noise stopped I thought I could just barely hear a toilet flush and a sink flowing far in the distance, but maybe I was imagining that.
Afterwards my tasks proceeded normally and both girls were visible at random intervals in my presence, neither of them distracting me.
The following night, I caught up with the big stack of orders and I wasn't as busy. The older girl walked by me again, a similar flirting grin on her face. Tonight she was wearing the "it's our time to rise" shirt. She entered bathroom #3. Once again I barricaded myself in the conference room. I pushed button #3 on the hand dryer control panel. This time, the light turned red. I crouched under the table and held on tight. A low rumble soon crescendoed into a thundering roar that shook every bone in my body. After 30 seconds, instant silence.
I fell asleep on the floor, awakening to the daytime employees pounding on the door. I was happy to get the overtime pay. Neither girl appeared at my night job for a month afterwards, and that actually made it feel a bit dull.
End of part 5 night shift rules.