BEGIN RECORDING:

Miller: And mics are working! Lowell, is the camera streaming okay? … Yup, we're good.

Ives: And we're ready!

Thayer: [mumbling] As we'll ever be.

Reed: Eh, buck up, will you?

Ives: Let's go! We're wasting moonlight!

[The team enters the enclosure and locks the door behind them, and begin to walk deeper into the forest.]

Thayer: It's quiet.

Ives: Should've seen it before we cleared it. Goddamn nightmare. You had birds dive-bombing you, deer charging you - god, never thought a bloody squirrel was capable of being terrifying, but there you are. Be grateful.

Reed: Well, if I'm grateful for anything, it's these beauties. [Reed pats flamethrower issued to all members of the team for the mission.]

Ives: Weapons locked till I say draw. They've cleared the area, but sometimes there could be things that hide in the trees. That's what they're for - anything bigger than a mouse, you get the rifles. Got it?

[Irrelevant footage removed.]

Thayer: Um, Ives. I heard you were gonna propose, yeah?

Ives: Oh, god, you heard too? I swear to god, you lot couldn't keep a bloody secret if you were paid to.

Thayer: Sorry, I just… I think Locke told me? I don't remember where I heard it.

Ives: Well, just don't tell her, is the only thing.

Miller: You think she'll say yes?

Ives: Well, I certainly hope so.

Reed: Fuck yeah. Bout time you got laid, Ives. But really, good on you. Invite me to the wedding, will you?

Miller: [laughing] Yeah, do you have a best man yet?

Thayer: [grimacing in pain] Mmmmmnnm. Ugh.

Reed: C'mon, Thayer, get over it! It's legal now!

Thayer: No - not it - [Thayer begins pawing at his ears in discomfort] Owwww, fucking oww.

Miller: What's wrong?

Thayer: My - my ears - fucking - fuck just stop!

Miller: Shit, where's his meds, is he - he's on propanolol? Is that what he needs? Or is it that other stuff?

Reed: No, I feel it too. Shit, that does hurt. Reporting definite aural discomfort, for the record.

Thayer: Ohhh god, it's getting worse -

Ives: Quiet, everyone. Do you hear that?

[A faint clicking noise coming from all directions. A pause, before swarms of termites erupt from the surrounding trees.]

Miller: Fuck!

Ives: Draw!

[Ives grabs her flamethrower and begins incinerating one of the trees. Reed and Miller follow. The termites swarm Thayer, covering his camera, as he unsuccessfully attempts to remove them. Ives switches her flamethrower for a can of aerosol pesticide, which she sprays over Thayer. Miller helps brush the termite corpses off of Thayer.]

Ives: Report. Uninjured.

Reed: Uninjured.

Miller: Uninjured.

[Thayer is silent.]

Ives: Thayer, are you injured? Please respond.

Miller: You okay?

Thayer: [through tears] Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

[Silence. The team members turn to look at Thayer cautiously.]

Reed: Thayer. Go. Back. Whatever this place is, you're not dealing with it well. It's getting to you. That's not your fault, but we can't risk it.

Ives: Reed will take you back, Miller and I can continue. HQ -

Thayer: No. You need me.

Reed: Look, Thayer. I know you're our expert here.

Thayer: Exactly. I can tell when something's wrong, exactly how it's wrong.

Reed: But you're not. You can't tell. You're jumpy, you're paranoid, you're a mess.

Ives: Thayer, please, I'm asking you as your friend, not your captain. What happened with 417, it - you're not handling it well. I vouched for you to Administration. Don't make me regret that. Recognizing you're not ready and going back will make you a lot more likely to get back in the field eventually. If you push through like an idiot and get us all killed…

Thayer: Look. That buzzing earlier? That crap with your ears? Termites. They hid in the trees, the old rotten ones, the ones that don't burn. They make that sound, infrasound, you can't hear it, but it hurts your ears.

Miller: Okay -

Thayer: I knew they were there! [pause] I. Knew. I told the director that it might happen, and they told supplies, and that's why we had that spray can in the first place. [pause] I know this place. I've spent my whole life, in places like these. I know them. I know how they work. I can read them. You need me.

Ives: Fine.

Reed: Captain, I can't -

Ives: This is what's happening. HQ approved him. He's our expert on this ecosystem. You have a problem, I will radio for an escort back to HQ.

[Irrelevant footage removed. The team continues walking until they reach the barrier to the inner circle. Ives opens the gate and allows the team through, and locks it behind her.]

Ives: HQ, we're into the inner region, time is 02:34.

Miller: Hey, no more termites! Nice!

Thayer: Mmmm.

[Irrelevant footage removed. The team progresses towards the center. When they are around 9 meters away, Reed pauses to pick up an object.]

Reed: Unidentified foreign substance here.

[Reed holds up the object he has found so that it is visible to the camera. It appears to be a fragment of a hard, glossy black substance almost an inch thick.]

Reed: Looks like…obsidian, almost?

Thayer: It's not. It's chitin. Insect shells.

Miller: I thought there were no animals here.

Reed: Might've been here before the thing moved in?

[Thayer takes the fragment from Reed, shakes his head.]

Thayer: Too new. Edges are too sharp.

Ives: That means - [Thayer nods.]

Miller: Oh, god. That's from -

Ives: HQ, we have evidence of an organism near the center of SCP-2709. We have a chitinous fragment, likely insectoid in nature. Draw your weapons, everyone.

Reed: Keep that bugspray out. Right, Thayer? [Thayer has frozen in place, facing away from the camera.] Thayer? [Thayer slowly turns to face Reed, and throws himself at the camera.]

Thayer: Run! Run! Run! For goddsakes, run! Go! Get out! Go! Get out! Go! Run! Fucking run! Run! Why won't you run!?

[Reed stumbles back, and pushes Thayer forward. Thayer continues to try and force Reed back, slamming his shoulder into Reed's stomach repeatedly before tackling him. Reed throws Thayer to the ground. There is a sharp snap, and the ground collapses beneath Thayer and Reed. This initial impact leads the ground to begin caving in in a radius of about 15 meters around the point of origin, forming a roughly conical pit. All four team members begin falling into the pit. Ives finds a handhold in the dirt, and manages to drag Miller up with her. As more soil falls, a niche is exposed, where Ives and Miller take cover. Thayer attempts to shove Reed to solid ground as they slide down towards the center, but loses his balance, and tumbles into the pit. When he reaches the bottom, a pair of elongated mandibles approximately 2 meters long emerge from the sand and begin to drag him underground. He continues screaming for the other members to run until his body is crushed. His remains are pulled down into the pit. The mandibles do not resurface.]

Ives: HQ, we've got a hostile entity, carnivorous, insectoid. We need back up. Now. Thayer's dead.

Miller: Reed! Can you make your way over here?

[Reed does not respond.]

Ives: There's a tunnel over here! Dig your fingers in, crawl over.

Reed: This is my fault.

Ives: Reed, get over here, now. That's an order!

Reed: I threw him in. I threw him to that thing. He died, I did it. My fault. Mine.

Miller: Fucking hell.

Ives: Reed, don't you dare. Get the hell over here.

[Reed moves over slowly. When he is about 3 meters from Ives and Miller, he loses his grip and slides into the pit. He begins scrambling upwards to no avail, as the movement appears to alert the creature in the pit, hereby designated SCP-2709-1. SCP-2709-1 resembles a larval member of the Myrmeleontidae family, though significantly larger.]

Reed: No no no fuck! [Reed begins firing his rifle at SCP-2709-1. SCP-2709-1 is undeterred and continues towards Reed. After biting Reed in half, SCP-2709-1 catches sight of Miller and Ives. It emits a loud shriek and begins climbing towards them.]

Ives: Run!

[Ives and Miller descend further into the tunnel, which is revealed to be part of a network of subterranean passages. The tunnels appear to allow for SCP-2709-1 to travel underground. Miller and Ives pick tunnels at random, while tremors behind them indicate the approach of the entity. Miller trips over a root, and injures his ankle.]

Miller: Go. go go go. I've got my rifle.

Ives: Not fucking happening.

[Ives drags Miller into a side passage, and presses against the wall.]

Ives: I don't know how well it can see us. I think it senses mainly through vibrations. If we keep quiet, we might be able to deal with it.

Miller: Okay. Stay still, stay quiet. Got it.

[The sound of SCP-2709. approaching grows louder, and lower, but eventually slows. Ives turns towards the entrance as it pokes its jaws into the chamber. After approximately 10 seconds, it leaves. Miller and Ives remain motionless for some time.]

Miller: I think it's gone.

[Ives begins to laugh, and Miller joins her. The two embrace. When they finish laughing, Ives stands, and begins to explore the chamber. As she turns and walks closer to the far wall, piles of dried excrement become visible in the corner. Several off-white objects are protruding from the heap. She pulls one out - a human femur. She finds another - a human vetrebrae. After some digging, she finds a human skull.]

Ives: Holy fuck.

Miller: What? Oh, gross, Ives, don't fucking dig around in that.

Ives: Come see this. This is important.

[Miller comes to join her.]

Miller: Bones.

Ives: All of them human. Nothing from any other animal. We're immune, but it doesn't eat… Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god. Fuck. Fucking hell.

Miller: What is it? What's wrong.

Ives: They all scream except us. We're not immune, we're targets.

Miller: I don't understand.

Ives: When Thayer lost it: what was he saying? He was telling us to run. They all were.

Miller: The thing doesn't affect humans.

[Debris begins falling from the ceiling. Neither Ives nor Miller notices.]

Ives: Thayer had PTSD. Anxiety. Something. He was just like them. Oh my god. He knew. The animals - they all knew. Oh my god.

[SCP-2709-1 emerges from the ceiling. Miller and Ives begin fleeing, but SCP-2709-1 is gaining on them. Miller fires at it, but the bullets do minimal damage.]

Miller: Throw me your bug stuff!

Ives: Have you seen the size of this thing? It won't do jack shit!

Miller: Do it!

[Ives tosses the bug spray to Miller. Miller stops, sprays the can, opens the can and pours the rest on the ground. and sets the pesticide alight. The SCP-2709-1 is ignited and stops pursuing them. Ives and Miller find a path that slopes upward and follow it. They eventually emerge above ground, and do not stop running until they reach the barrier. Once they are safely on the other side, they both collapse to the ground.]

Ives: Jesus -

Miller: - fuck.

Ives: HQ, this is Ives. I'm sending you my coordinates now. Send transport, medical. Please.

[Irrelevant footage removed.]

END RECORDING