Chapter 3: The Fall of the Foundation
The world shook beneath Ethan's feet. The Foundation's high-tech facility, once hailed as humanity's secret fortress, was reduced to chaos.
Screams. Sirens. Gunfire.
SCP-001's awakening had triggered a cascade failure across the facility. Doors meant to never open had melted from within. Corrupted SCPs swarmed the corridors, their shapes shifting, shrieking, hunting.
From his cell in Sub-Level 9, Ethan could only watch.
Until Astraeus appeared.
"I can't hold this dream long," the dream man said, fading in and out. "There's a breach on Level 7. The door will blow in two minutes. Use the eastern shaft. You'll find weapons, rations, and a keycard to the surface."
Ethan blinked. "You're helping me now?"
"I always was," Astraeus whispered. "Even when I lied."
"You told me the Gatekeeper had to die to stop this. But the corruption was already here."
"I didn't know it would spread that fast. I didn't know SCP-001 had been born corrupted. I failed you. I failed them all."
The dream faded.
Boom.
The reinforced door to Sub-Level 9 exploded outward. Ethan didn't wait. He sprinted through smoke and flame, through tunnels slick with blood, past scientists impaled on steel, past guards crushed by entities too fast to see.
He made it to the armory. Grabbed what he could: a modular rifle, two rations, a med kit and a spare eye contact made from a machine.
He didn't look back.
As he climbed through the emergency shaft, the final tremor came. The Foundation collapsed into itself. Entire floors caved in. Power grids sparked and died.
Ethan emerged into the Mojave dawn, covered in dust and dried blood.
The world was quiet. Too quiet.
He walked for miles, crossing burned earth and abandoned checkpoints.
He found may things but not a single sign of life. After days of walking he took some rest under the shade of a oak tree. Then the dream man appeared and told him-
"Go to the north. You will find what you need now"
Ethan - "Hey what is happening pls tell me. Pls tell me (crying). "
Then Astraeus left. Ethan woke up, calmed down then started heading north.
To be continued...
> 🔹 Note from the author:
I'm still improving as a writer, and the story gets much better from Chapter 7 onward — deeper characters, more intense twists, and way darker vibes.
Thanks for giving it a shot 💙