Your pulse quickens as you’re escorted down a long, dimly lit hallway, the faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead only amplifying the tension. Armed guards flank you on either side, their stoic expressions doing little to ease your nerves. You clutch the clipboard in one hand and the notebook in the other, the pen tucked neatly into the spiral binding.

On the clipboard is a typed list of questions:

• “What is your understanding of the ‘Pestilence’?”
• “Why do you wear the mask, and can you remove it?”
• “What do you consider your purpose to be?”
• “Are you aware of the implications of your ‘cures’?”

The weight of the questions presses on your chest like a lead weight.

The guards halt in front of a thick steel door with a small, reinforced window. One of them enters a code into the keypad, the mechanical beep-beep-beep cutting through the silence. The door hisses open, revealing SCP-049.

The figure rises with an air of quiet authority. A long, dark cloak and a beaked mask lend him an otherworldly aura. His gloved hands clasp behind his back as he tilts his head toward you, his voice smooth and deliberate when he speaks.

“Ah, another visitor. Perhaps you seek understanding, yes? Or… a remedy?”

Your throat feels dry, but you nod politely and sit at the small table set up for the interview. The guards remain stationed near the door, their presence a constant reminder of the risk.